Crappy summer weather?
August was more like November for many across Canada, while the U.S. South was battered by heavy storms, with more to come.
But it isn't just "bad weather". Two scientists from the UK and the U.S. have published a paper in the journal "Science" showing extreme rainfall events are increasing - and they are caused by global warming.
Whenever you hear the phrase "record rain" on TV, or in the newspapers - pay attention. In this program I've collected reports on crazy rainfall events in many parts of the world - just this summer. Many towns and cities in North America, for example, broke records for rainfall in 24 hours, set in the 1800's. Local drainage and sewer systems can't handle it - our infrastructure was not built for the new extreme rain.
The physics is so simple. Warmer air holds more moisture. As the world warms, even slightly, and as the oceans warm - more moisture goes up into the atmosphere.
Naturally, rain continues to fall where rain usually falls, while dry areas can get even drier. So the excess rain comes down by the barrel load. Cape Canaveral got a record 22 inch drowning in 24 hours. Some places got several inches of rain in an hour.
This is happening all over the world, and I think it's one of the under-reported climate stories of the year. Yes we saw pictures of Myanmar (Burma) after a tropical storm wiped out millions of people. That was part wind, part storm surge off the ocean, but also a lot of rain.
And remember, just after the horrible Earth Quake in southern China, and several times since, that area was drenched in unbelievable rain events. Just next door, in Vietnam, same thing. In fact all the countries of the Mekong have been flooding from heavy rains.
Heavy rains, which the UN authorities blame on global warming, also caused a river in Nepal to burst, leading to massive flooding in the Northern India state of Bihar.
We've heard a lot about the threat of rising seas. Now it's time to look at the new climate guest at our doors: extreme rainfall events.
Ooops - I forgot our main event for this Radio Ecoshock Show: George Monbiot. He's a constant columnist in the UK newspaper the Guardian, and a long-time activist against expanded roads, airports, and coal burning. George is also the author of the best-selling book "Heat, How to Stop the Planet Burning" - and now a new book called "Bring on the Apocalypse."
George tells us about the new book. The interview ranges from carbon rationing through global justice all the way to his ideas on eco-incarnation. Monbiot also rates the U.S. Presidential candidates. Don't miss this interview. George doesn't fool around. He loads every answer with strong points, things we need to know and do.
I wrap up with a kind of "where we stand" piece. The situation. How we face it.
We also showcase an old song that most of you don't know: "A Good Planet Is Hard to Find" by Steve Forbert. It's catchy, almost soothing our worries.
Next week: Dr. Peter Ward, author of "Under the Green Sky" talks about past mass extinctions, and whether we are headed for a new one. We'll also chat with Peak Oil specialist Julian Darley. Julian was way ahead of us on oil and gas decline - he founded the Post Carbon Institute to look at life after oil.
We're back for another hard-hitting season - and thanks for the encouragement I've been receiving by email from a lot of loyal listeners.
Hopefully, we'll also come up with more possible solutions this Fall - along with the horror of our times.
Alex Smith
host
Radio Ecoshock
Friday, September 5, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Peak Oil and the Media
Experts predict Mexico, America's number 3 oil producer, will run out of oil in just 7 years. OPEC producers have been lying about their reserves for years. The world is starting new subterranean military tensions - or outright wars - just to keep our Hummers humming.
Our whole life depends upon oil based fertilizers, oil based plastics, oil based medicines. The whole world wants to cache in on fossil energy supplies, just as supplies are getting harder to find, more expensive to produce.
Now gas prices go through the roof.
Why is the public so unprepared? Why isn't mainstream media explaining oil decline, and it's impact on society?
What we can do. Vancouverpeakoil.org presents a panel of 5 journalists: Rex Weyler, Barbara Jaffe, Charlie Smith, Sara Robinson and Alex Smith. How to organize, use media, bypass the mainstream. Ecoshock Show 080829 1 hour
CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Rex Weyler is a founder of Greenpeace, author of "Greenpeace the Inside Story" among other books, a Vancouver publisher, editor, and online columnist with The Tyee. In addition to his concerns about climate change, Rex is on the executive of the Vancouver peak oil group.
Barbara Jaffe is a famous Canadian newspaper columnist and editor, with many awards over a long career. Recently she has been warning about Peak Oil, one of the few journalists to take on the issue.
Sara Robinson is a blogger and think-tanker, originally from the United States, and lately moved to Canada. She has almost completed her degree in studies of the future. Her articles appear all over left leaning blogs.
Charlie Smith is the publisher and editor of Vancouver's most prestigious alternative newspaper, the famous Georgia Strait. You'll find he is also an outspoken critic of the mainstream media.
Alex Smith, of course, is the host of Radio Ecoshock, and appears as a voice from the radio media.
In addition to digging into the willful blindness of mainstream media, when it comes to the threat of peak oil - the panel discusses ways for citizens to organize, and get the message out. How to prepare your own community. You get the full panel presentation.
Recorded by Alex Smith, of Radio Ecoshock. No copyright, get the word out.
Production Notes: 30 sec music break at 29:30 for your station ID; or cut into end music for more time. Song: "End of the Age of Oil" by David Rovics (U.S.)
Our whole life depends upon oil based fertilizers, oil based plastics, oil based medicines. The whole world wants to cache in on fossil energy supplies, just as supplies are getting harder to find, more expensive to produce.
Now gas prices go through the roof.
Why is the public so unprepared? Why isn't mainstream media explaining oil decline, and it's impact on society?
What we can do. Vancouverpeakoil.org presents a panel of 5 journalists: Rex Weyler, Barbara Jaffe, Charlie Smith, Sara Robinson and Alex Smith. How to organize, use media, bypass the mainstream. Ecoshock Show 080829 1 hour
CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Rex Weyler is a founder of Greenpeace, author of "Greenpeace the Inside Story" among other books, a Vancouver publisher, editor, and online columnist with The Tyee. In addition to his concerns about climate change, Rex is on the executive of the Vancouver peak oil group.
Barbara Jaffe is a famous Canadian newspaper columnist and editor, with many awards over a long career. Recently she has been warning about Peak Oil, one of the few journalists to take on the issue.
Sara Robinson is a blogger and think-tanker, originally from the United States, and lately moved to Canada. She has almost completed her degree in studies of the future. Her articles appear all over left leaning blogs.
Charlie Smith is the publisher and editor of Vancouver's most prestigious alternative newspaper, the famous Georgia Strait. You'll find he is also an outspoken critic of the mainstream media.
Alex Smith, of course, is the host of Radio Ecoshock, and appears as a voice from the radio media.
In addition to digging into the willful blindness of mainstream media, when it comes to the threat of peak oil - the panel discusses ways for citizens to organize, and get the message out. How to prepare your own community. You get the full panel presentation.
Recorded by Alex Smith, of Radio Ecoshock. No copyright, get the word out.
Production Notes: 30 sec music break at 29:30 for your station ID; or cut into end music for more time. Song: "End of the Age of Oil" by David Rovics (U.S.)
Friday, August 22, 2008
UK Climate Action
Thousands gather in Britain's climate camp against coal; 3 protests, police over-reaction.
Is it "Green Stalinism" versus decentralized power? That is a recurring theme between those calling for big government action - and the anarchists who believe the government poisons everything it touches.
Quotes from George Monbiot, and music from the camp.
Plus a good interview on getting the public to accept alternative clean power. Will a windmill really blot out the landscape? Or is it better to accept climate change? How to overcome public resistance, and empower those who are ready to change.
The police seemed to think any public gathering was a good chance to practice mass anti-terrorist games. They raided the peaceful camp for no reason, and confiscated such dangerous items as crayons (from the kids) which could be used to make signs.
The media focused on the discovery of a set of kitchen knives, which proved deadly intent. Actually, it proved there were thousands of people on site to feed. Try slicing onions by hand.
The protest was to stop the construction of two new coal fired power plants at Kingsnorth (which is actually in the South East of Britain). After more or less closing down their coal industry, and lowering emissions with natural gas, the government of Gordon Brown is turning back the clock, to go back to coal. Never mind their own lofty greenhouse gas promises.
This regressive action threatens us all. How can anyone ask the Chinese to stop, when rich Britain, loaded with wind and tidal power options, decides to build more coal plants?
Even though a huge group of scientists in the UK have protested building new coal, and even though the protesters were merely asking for what the government promised - the entire police apparatus of the state was used against the generally middle-class and student protesters.
While the camp was going, with clean energy and food raising workshops, there were three protests: one against the Royal Bank of Scotland, which funds more dirty energy than anyone in the country; a very innovative campaign at Heathrow airport, trying to get holiday-goers to consider their climate impact; and the main attempt to get into the Kingsnorth site (where an old coal fired plant is still belching black into the sky).
All peaceful attempts, met generally with police violence. That is the only answer the state has, apparently, to people gathering to protect the climate. And the media focused on that, of course, rather than the issues. Headlines about knives, hardly anything about the ecosphere going down the crapper. Stupid humans.
The show is composed of clips broadcast live from the Climate Camp in early August - another useful demonstration of the new media. Don't like the old media? Do it yourself. A great work-together project by several UK community stations and radio activists.
All of this: North America (and Australia) - take notes! We don't have to sit around moaning about stupid coal plants being built. Let's get together and act! Britain leads the way.
Alex.
Radio live from Camp. Ecoshock Show 080822 1 hour CD quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Production Notes: Compiled over 9 hours of live radio from www.climatecamp.org.uk/radio. 30 second music bed for station ID at 30 min (with re-intro). Cut last two minutes of music if you need more time.
Is it "Green Stalinism" versus decentralized power? That is a recurring theme between those calling for big government action - and the anarchists who believe the government poisons everything it touches.
Quotes from George Monbiot, and music from the camp.
Plus a good interview on getting the public to accept alternative clean power. Will a windmill really blot out the landscape? Or is it better to accept climate change? How to overcome public resistance, and empower those who are ready to change.
The police seemed to think any public gathering was a good chance to practice mass anti-terrorist games. They raided the peaceful camp for no reason, and confiscated such dangerous items as crayons (from the kids) which could be used to make signs.
The media focused on the discovery of a set of kitchen knives, which proved deadly intent. Actually, it proved there were thousands of people on site to feed. Try slicing onions by hand.
The protest was to stop the construction of two new coal fired power plants at Kingsnorth (which is actually in the South East of Britain). After more or less closing down their coal industry, and lowering emissions with natural gas, the government of Gordon Brown is turning back the clock, to go back to coal. Never mind their own lofty greenhouse gas promises.
This regressive action threatens us all. How can anyone ask the Chinese to stop, when rich Britain, loaded with wind and tidal power options, decides to build more coal plants?
Even though a huge group of scientists in the UK have protested building new coal, and even though the protesters were merely asking for what the government promised - the entire police apparatus of the state was used against the generally middle-class and student protesters.
While the camp was going, with clean energy and food raising workshops, there were three protests: one against the Royal Bank of Scotland, which funds more dirty energy than anyone in the country; a very innovative campaign at Heathrow airport, trying to get holiday-goers to consider their climate impact; and the main attempt to get into the Kingsnorth site (where an old coal fired plant is still belching black into the sky).
All peaceful attempts, met generally with police violence. That is the only answer the state has, apparently, to people gathering to protect the climate. And the media focused on that, of course, rather than the issues. Headlines about knives, hardly anything about the ecosphere going down the crapper. Stupid humans.
The show is composed of clips broadcast live from the Climate Camp in early August - another useful demonstration of the new media. Don't like the old media? Do it yourself. A great work-together project by several UK community stations and radio activists.
All of this: North America (and Australia) - take notes! We don't have to sit around moaning about stupid coal plants being built. Let's get together and act! Britain leads the way.
Alex.
Radio live from Camp. Ecoshock Show 080822 1 hour CD quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Production Notes: Compiled over 9 hours of live radio from www.climatecamp.org.uk/radio. 30 second music bed for station ID at 30 min (with re-intro). Cut last two minutes of music if you need more time.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Climate Change Impacts on America
Ecoshock Show 080815
Top IPCC organizer & U of Arizona Professor Jonathan Overpeck speech at Washington U. given on April 1st, 2008.
After updating the world climate report, Overpeck predicts climate impacts on North America.
His focus, on the two worst climate problems for America:
1. Rising seas. More than half of Americans live within 50 miles of the sea coast. Many American cities, like New York, and States, like Florida, may be flooded by rising seas (plus storm surges) within the experience of our children - or sooner. The implications are enormous.
2. The drying of the West. Already well underway. Dry soils, and 20 percent of normal rainfall this spring (and hot temperatures) are behind the North California fires we now know. Overpeck explains why tree species are dying, and the great droughts that have driven humans from the South West in the past. This time, we have triggered this phenomenon, as the Jet Stream moves North, the former rains move with it.
Overpeck gives a clear explanation, with predictions for Americans that sound to me a lot like what has hit Southern Australia. The possibility of centuries-long drought.
1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB.
Production Notes: 30 second music bed for station ID at 30:14
Top IPCC organizer & U of Arizona Professor Jonathan Overpeck speech at Washington U. given on April 1st, 2008.
After updating the world climate report, Overpeck predicts climate impacts on North America.
His focus, on the two worst climate problems for America:
1. Rising seas. More than half of Americans live within 50 miles of the sea coast. Many American cities, like New York, and States, like Florida, may be flooded by rising seas (plus storm surges) within the experience of our children - or sooner. The implications are enormous.
2. The drying of the West. Already well underway. Dry soils, and 20 percent of normal rainfall this spring (and hot temperatures) are behind the North California fires we now know. Overpeck explains why tree species are dying, and the great droughts that have driven humans from the South West in the past. This time, we have triggered this phenomenon, as the Jet Stream moves North, the former rains move with it.
Overpeck gives a clear explanation, with predictions for Americans that sound to me a lot like what has hit Southern Australia. The possibility of centuries-long drought.
1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB.
Production Notes: 30 second music bed for station ID at 30:14
Methane Burps & Tele-Everything
Ecoshock Show 080808
Guest host KMO from C-Realm podcast interviews David M. Bushnell, Chief Scientist from NASA Langley Research Center.
Lots of doom, but really good solutions too.
Thanks to KMO for sharing this rare interview.
1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Production Notes: 30 second music bed for station ID at 33 min
Guest host KMO from C-Realm podcast interviews David M. Bushnell, Chief Scientist from NASA Langley Research Center.
Lots of doom, but really good solutions too.
Thanks to KMO for sharing this rare interview.
1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Production Notes: 30 second music bed for station ID at 33 min
Saturday, July 12, 2008
ENDLESS SUMMER
Ecoshock Show 080801
Surf is up and the heat is on.
We begin with a review of the UK climate activist scene. Hear a representative of "Rising Tide" describe British climate protests, including boarding coal trains headed for a massive polluting power station. Courtesy of RiseUp! Radio - a community program from Nottingham England.
We also hear a short clip from a new/old climate radio program coming out of London, called "The Two Degrees Show".
Phil England has been doing this program for a couple of years, and it just got new funding, for a new series. In the re-opener he interviews a top UK climate scientist to get the latest juice, and goes after government administrators to see how they resolve the conflict between proclaimed carbon reduction goals - versus the construction of new highways and everlasting airport construction. That is broadcast from Radiance FM, the finest alternative radio station in the UK.
Radio Ecoshock tries to keep track of climate activism at least in the English-speaking world, and this week's review of the UK scene balances our previous coverage from Canada, the United States, and Australia.
Then we go to a hot speech by Canadian scientist and broadcaster Dr. David Suzuki. He's worried about where all the wild things will go, as the climate shifts too rapidly out from under them.
Suzuki became known to millions as the brilliant scientist who educated us all with the television program "The Nature of Things" (which is still broadcast all over the world in re-runs). Now 70 something, Dr. Suzuki heads his own environmental advocacy group, the David Suzuki Foundation, based in British Columbia.
This speech, where David doesn't hold back much! - was recorded in Toronto by our fellow posse recording friend, John Paul Warren. Excellent job John Paul, and thanks for sending this one in.
If you want to capture important speech and events in your city or town, take a look at our "How to Record for Radio" page on the Ecoshock web site. It all helps.
This is the Radio Ecoshock Show for August 1st, 2008 - sent out early because Alex Smith is on vacation. He is, "with Nature."
1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Production Notes: 30 second music bed for station ID at 29:34 Song "Endless Summer" by Ghostly Penguin Display.
Surf is up and the heat is on.
We begin with a review of the UK climate activist scene. Hear a representative of "Rising Tide" describe British climate protests, including boarding coal trains headed for a massive polluting power station. Courtesy of RiseUp! Radio - a community program from Nottingham England.
We also hear a short clip from a new/old climate radio program coming out of London, called "The Two Degrees Show".
Phil England has been doing this program for a couple of years, and it just got new funding, for a new series. In the re-opener he interviews a top UK climate scientist to get the latest juice, and goes after government administrators to see how they resolve the conflict between proclaimed carbon reduction goals - versus the construction of new highways and everlasting airport construction. That is broadcast from Radiance FM, the finest alternative radio station in the UK.
Radio Ecoshock tries to keep track of climate activism at least in the English-speaking world, and this week's review of the UK scene balances our previous coverage from Canada, the United States, and Australia.
Then we go to a hot speech by Canadian scientist and broadcaster Dr. David Suzuki. He's worried about where all the wild things will go, as the climate shifts too rapidly out from under them.
Suzuki became known to millions as the brilliant scientist who educated us all with the television program "The Nature of Things" (which is still broadcast all over the world in re-runs). Now 70 something, Dr. Suzuki heads his own environmental advocacy group, the David Suzuki Foundation, based in British Columbia.
This speech, where David doesn't hold back much! - was recorded in Toronto by our fellow posse recording friend, John Paul Warren. Excellent job John Paul, and thanks for sending this one in.
If you want to capture important speech and events in your city or town, take a look at our "How to Record for Radio" page on the Ecoshock web site. It all helps.
This is the Radio Ecoshock Show for August 1st, 2008 - sent out early because Alex Smith is on vacation. He is, "with Nature."
1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB
Production Notes: 30 second music bed for station ID at 29:34 Song "Endless Summer" by Ghostly Penguin Display.
Coping with Climate Change
Ecoshock Show 080725
How can we face it? 2 interviews: Pulitzer prize winner Catherine Ellison, and climate/nuclear historian Spencer Weart.
Catherine Ellison is one of America's top reporters. She caught me attention again when she wrote about the difficulty of telling kids about climate change. What should we tell them? What should we tell ourselves. We discuss that, and also a bit on her earlier book "The Mommy Brain" - on how giving birth and raising children actually stimulated parts of the brain. A little on women, and how they handle the stress of climate change, too. Catherine is just a smart, stimulating, grounded person - I loved doing the interview with her.
Spencer Weart is someone who educated and tortured me, with his book "Nuclear Fear". I had a lot of resistance to the book. Partly it is because Weart is a nuclear physicist, in fact he's a top member of the nuclear scientists organization. In the book, he analyzed why we were so terrified of this new technology. The images of mad scientists, and other quasi-religious fears that have always been with us.
Ostensibly, Weart is trying to exorcise these demons, so we can all build new nuclear plants, or something. In fact though, the book turns out to be a kind of psychological cleanser for a lot of Cold War fears, built into our psyches. And Weart himself admits nuclear tech scares him too, at times. I recommend the book, even though I dislike (hate) nuclear weapons, and nuclear power.
But the real reason I called Spencer Weart: he is also an environmental historian. His book "The Discovery of Global Warming" explains how we rose to consciousness on this subject. It's also handy for the new generation of students, who know less about how we got here. How did our ideas about climate change develop? Weart knows.
That's why I though he would be a good interview, knowing how to cope with both nuclear fear, and with climate change. How does he do it? It was a good chat, with helpful info, and that's why I'm running it again, just as the news about possible complete extinction of our species looms closer to possibility. (See previous Ecoshock programs, like "Climate Criminals" on James Hansen, and "A Warning from the Past" with Dr. Andrew Glikson...)
This is an updated replay from our 2007 season. 1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB Our one and only re-run of the year. Not because we don't have enough good audio, but because it's time to heal ourselves, somewhat. Many of our newer listeners would have missed this show.
Production Notes: 30 second music bed for station ID at 30:00 Music "Mother Earth" by Shane Philip (Canadian content)
How can we face it? 2 interviews: Pulitzer prize winner Catherine Ellison, and climate/nuclear historian Spencer Weart.
Catherine Ellison is one of America's top reporters. She caught me attention again when she wrote about the difficulty of telling kids about climate change. What should we tell them? What should we tell ourselves. We discuss that, and also a bit on her earlier book "The Mommy Brain" - on how giving birth and raising children actually stimulated parts of the brain. A little on women, and how they handle the stress of climate change, too. Catherine is just a smart, stimulating, grounded person - I loved doing the interview with her.
Spencer Weart is someone who educated and tortured me, with his book "Nuclear Fear". I had a lot of resistance to the book. Partly it is because Weart is a nuclear physicist, in fact he's a top member of the nuclear scientists organization. In the book, he analyzed why we were so terrified of this new technology. The images of mad scientists, and other quasi-religious fears that have always been with us.
Ostensibly, Weart is trying to exorcise these demons, so we can all build new nuclear plants, or something. In fact though, the book turns out to be a kind of psychological cleanser for a lot of Cold War fears, built into our psyches. And Weart himself admits nuclear tech scares him too, at times. I recommend the book, even though I dislike (hate) nuclear weapons, and nuclear power.
But the real reason I called Spencer Weart: he is also an environmental historian. His book "The Discovery of Global Warming" explains how we rose to consciousness on this subject. It's also handy for the new generation of students, who know less about how we got here. How did our ideas about climate change develop? Weart knows.
That's why I though he would be a good interview, knowing how to cope with both nuclear fear, and with climate change. How does he do it? It was a good chat, with helpful info, and that's why I'm running it again, just as the news about possible complete extinction of our species looms closer to possibility. (See previous Ecoshock programs, like "Climate Criminals" on James Hansen, and "A Warning from the Past" with Dr. Andrew Glikson...)
This is an updated replay from our 2007 season. 1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB Our one and only re-run of the year. Not because we don't have enough good audio, but because it's time to heal ourselves, somewhat. Many of our newer listeners would have missed this show.
Production Notes: 30 second music bed for station ID at 30:00 Music "Mother Earth" by Shane Philip (Canadian content)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
