On the Green Front

After ten years interviewing the best and the brightest in the environmental and climate community, time to say farewell to "The Green Front" on PRN with Dr. James Hansen, the pioneering former NASA scientist who has become one of the world's most powerful voices urging action to confront the calamity of carbon pollution. We also speak with another leader in the climate movement--Michael Brune. The Executive Director of The Sierra Club joins us with his thoughts on where we need to go next.

Senator Tom Udall joins us, virtually via video, with his moving comments on how climate change is impacting his state of New Mexico. Udall's speech was made during last week's dramatic overnight session in the senate, one of a few dozen given on the climate crisis. Next Linda Marsa, scientist and author of "Fevered: Why A Hotter Planet Will Hurt Our Health and How We Can Save Ourselves" shares how unabated climate damage will have an adverse impact on everything from dengue fever todepression. And just when we thought we'd covered every possible angle to climate change, a new one to consider: how collegemascots may be endangered by a warming planet. NWF's Josh Saks explains that connection.

"We are sawing off the limb we're sitting on". That quote from futurist Paul Erlich, just one of many dramatic comments in the new film, "Call of Life". The 6th great extinction is upon us and yet most Americans remain in the dark about this and other urgent challenges to our life support system on earth. Director, Monte Thompson, joins me to discuss the making of this important film and it's urgent message to humanity. Next, Professor Emeritus Dr. Michael Kraft joins us from the University of Wisconsin to share what prompted him to go out on a limb demanding congress pass more comprehensive climate legislation.originally aired 12/11/13

Our first guest is an unlikely "fractivist"...Lou Allstadt is a longtime former Executive Vice President of Mobil Oil and he sharesthe roots of his post-career activism and what led him to write an angry open letter to Exxon head Rex Tillerson. Next noted environmental writer for the New Yorker and author of three books joins us to discuss her latest work..."The Sixth Extinction, An Unnatural History".  Elizabeth Kolbert discusses what humans are doing, knowingly or otherwise, to doom life on our blue planet. 

On the Green Front - 02/26/14

Despite the Obama administration's insistence that natural gas must be a part of United States energy policy, it's increasingly clear that natural gas is not all that it's "fracked" up to be--and that it has already inflicted harm upon communities, our country, and climate. Jim Morris of the Center for Public Integrity joins us to discuss a new report on how the fracking industry has messed with, and messed up, Texas. Next, tireless--and fearless-- climate activist Douglas Grandt joins us to discuss his efforts to encourage ExxonMobil to care about our climate, one letter at a time... Doug's letters to Rex Tillerson, Barack Obama and the State Department are archived athttp://TellRex.com. His 350+ letters to Rex are in a collectionhttp://bit.ly/letters2Rex. He encourages everybody to "Write to Rex, Write Away!"

Human-caused climate change will be calamitous for many--and extremely profitable for a few. McKenzie Funk's new book "Windfall" examines the interests that stand to cash in on the consequences of carbon; he joins us in our first segment. Next, as the world tunes in to the summery Winter Games at Sochi, author and skier Porter Fox discusses the threat climate chaos poses to the ski industry, winter sports, and even the Olympics themselves. Slushy conditions already affecting athletes results in Russia. From snow boarding to snow hoarding--what does it portend??

History may record Republican operative and Fox News Channel head Roger Ailes as being every bit as darkly effective as Charles and David Koch in terms of twisting the American political system in order to block needed action on human-caused climate change. Gabriel Sherman, author of "The Loudest Voice in the Room," discusses the legacy of the man who dispensed the dialogue of denial to millions of TV and radio listeners. And all in the name of "entertainment" , environment be damned (says Betsy!). Then Ryan Cooper of the Washington Monthly and Evan McMorris-Santoro of Buzzfeed discuss the growing grassroots effort to compel President Obama to take the moral high ground on whether or not to under ground the Keystone XL pipeline.

NWF's Miles Grant joins us again to discuss the President's SOTU address as it relates to some of our favorite topics.Grant, also a blogger at "The Green Miles", weighs in on what what was both encouraging, and discouraging, aboutthe president's comments on climate change, fracking and even a mention of extreme weather thrown into the mx. Healso shares the National Wildlife Federation's six-month progress report on the President's climate action plan. Nextwe're joined by longtime conservationist, Brock Evans, to discuss his newly released book, "Fight & WIN...StrategiesFor The New Eco-Warrior". After some 50 years in the trenches Evans shares his wisdom on winning the most noblebattles of all.

While much of the Northeast is once again stuck in a polar vortex, mainstream media entities are stuck in a tunnel of NOT connecting the weather dots— the Republican Party is spinning in a vortex of denial.Why? We get answers from Salonassistant editorLindsay Abrams andBrigham Young University geochemistry professor Barry Bickmore.

Just HOW concerned are the scientists at Union of Concerned Scientists about thestate of our environment? We'll talk to senior climate scientist at UCS, BrendaEkwurzel, as well as UCS spokesman, Aaron Huertas about a warming planet, polarvortex' andweird weather, oh my! Next you'll hear about the other scandal Chris Christiedoesn't want to talk about--the impact of the New Jersey Governor's pulling his stateout of a successful Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Doug O-Malley, Director ofEnvironment New Jersey weighs in on the other controversial Christie move.

Is the cold snap, deep freeze, polar vortex or whatever you want to call it that gripped muchof the nation this week connectedto climate change or does it mean "global warming" is nota real threat? We'll "drill down" for the facts with Daniel Weiss, Senior Climate Fellow at TheCenterfor American Progress. Weiss also gives us a preview of what his former boss, JohnPodesta, is likely to do in his new role as advisor to President Obama. Next, USA TodaywriterDoyle Rice discusses his paper's commitment to connecting climate and weather news.

One of the big names in both climate science and academia joins us to discuss where things are as we close out 2013.Kerry Emanuel, on sabbatical from MIT as professor of atmospheric science, shares his views of the political and mediaclimate around global warming, as well as the need to protect against its potentially catastrophic effects. Next, from ouratmosphere to wetlands under siege in the southern U.S. Scot Quaranda, Campaign Director for The Dogwood Alliance,weighs in on the widening practice of burning trees for energy and their newly released mini-doc, "Wetlands Up in Smoke".

"We are sawing off the limb we're sitting on". That quote from futurist Paul Erlich, just one of manydramatic comments in the new film, "Call of Life". The 6th great extinction is upon us and yet mostAmericans remain in the dark about this and other urgent challenges to our life support system on earth.Director, Monte Thompson, joins me to discuss the making of this important film and it's urgent messageto humanity. Next, Professor Emeritus Dr. Michael Kraft joins us from the University of Wisconsin to sharewhat prompted him to go out on a limb demanding congress pass more comprehensive climate legislation.

Academics, politics and weird weather, oh my! That's the overview for today's program where we get a first hand accountof COP19 from Harvard's professor of Business and Government at the Kennedy School. As the Director of Environmental Economics, Dr. Robert Stavins has attended many of the UN climate conferences -- he shares some optimism about what happened...and didn't...in Warsaw. Next, Politico's Environment and Energy Reporter, Darren Goode, on his article aboutconservatives and green groups coming together for common causes, even if driven by different motivators. And, Matt Russell,an agriculture professor at Iowa's Drake University, on why his state's extreme weather should be EVERYONE'S CONCERN!