Water Environment - Lakes, Rivers, Oceans, Aquifers, Groundwater - Water (h2o) Environmental Issues: Conservation, Sustainability, Preservation, and Ecology

A lecture by Dr. Tom Sever of NASA on how the Maya may have affected their own regional climate leading to drought.

Climate Change and Violence? Cautionary Tales from the Pre-Columbian Andes The seminar will take place on January 25, 2008, 4 to 5 PM, in 201 Old Chem Building, West Campus, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Arkush received her PhD at UCLA in 2005. Her research centers on the interplay of warfare, political power, social identity, and ritual in the prehispanic Andes. Her doctoral research focused on the later part of the prehispanic sequence after about A.D. 1000, when many small polities throughout the Andes were apparently engaged in cycles of endemic warfare. Fieldwork on a suite of fortified hilltop sites in the northern Lake Titicaca basin in Peru investigated the regional patterns that emerged from conflictual and cooperative social relationships. This study also examined the chronology of fortification to question current interpretations of the causes of intergroup violence at the time.

Climate Change and Violence? Cautionary Tales from the Pre-Columbian Andes The seminar will take place on January 25, 2008, 4 to 5 PM, in 201 Old Chem Building, West Campus, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Arkush received her PhD at UCLA in 2005. Her research centers on the interplay of warfare, political power, social identity, and ritual in the prehispanic Andes. Her doctoral research focused on the later part of the prehispanic sequence after about A.D. 1000, when many small polities throughout the Andes were apparently engaged in cycles of endemic warfare. Fieldwork on a suite of fortified hilltop sites in the northern Lake Titicaca basin in Peru investigated the regional patterns that emerged from conflictual and cooperative social relationships. This study also examined the chronology of fortification to question current interpretations of the causes of intergroup violence at the time.

Professor Andrew Frank of the University of California, Davis is the godfather of plug-in hybrids. He and his students have been building them for more than a decade, showing us what the car companies could be doing, if only they would. Hear his take on the state of the industry in an interview at EVS23, the international electric vehicle symposium in Anaheim, Calif. in December 2007.

Activism has always been an important tool for Plug In America. Besides our inside work in government and industry, we hit the streets when a good protest or demonstration would be the most effective move. Zan Dubin Scott talks about some of our best actions, and why they worked.

For the first time, visitors to the 2007 San Francisco Green Festival could inspect a kit on sale that converts a hybrid into a plug-in hybrid. Hear the details from Robb Protheroe of Plug-in Supply Inc., which makes the kit, and Carolyn Coquillette, owner of Luscious Garage, a new "green" garage in San Francisco that plans to offer kit installation.

Neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) aren't for everyone, but they serve an important niche. With a short range, a top speed of 25 mph, and an affordable price, they're great for running gas-free errands, taking the kids to school, etc. One of the new NEVs on the block -- the Zenn NEV -- is featured in this podcast from the San Francisco Green Festival.

The synergies between plug-in cars and solar or wind power are sparking a convergence of our transportation and energy industries. Mike Kane, a solar power professional and a director of Plug In America, discusses the win-win of combining renewable electricity with electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids. Individual homeowners and society as a whole are benefiting from this combination.

Plug In America's executive director, Chelsea Sexton, describes the exciting recent activity in car companies both large and small to move toward production of new electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Are these cars really coming? When and where can we get one? Hear an expert's view on developments, and what you can do to speed them along.

Plug In America President Linda Nicholes loved driving her Toyota RAV4-EV electric SUV so much, she jumped at the chance to become one of the first owners of the sporty new Tesla Roadster, a sleek electric sportscar that sprints from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds and has a range of 200 miles per charge.

More than 40 studies of well-to-wheels emissions show that plug-in vehicles are a better environmental choice than gasoline cars, hybrids, or hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Plug In America board member Sherry Boschert discusses the data.

21 December 2007 - In this Podcast Pamela recounts her particiption in Just Food's Summit on Food, Farms, and Community Health, which took place on December 1, 2007 at the New School in Manhattan, NYC. She recaps her own experience at the conference as well as that of Lisa Lindblom, a vegan animal advocate and friend. The sponsoring group, Just Food, with its sold-out audience, certainly advocates many important causes: organic agriculture, labor justice, local food, food security, agricultural sustainability and humane food. But it does not go out of its way to push for veganism or vegetarianism. Lisa and Pamela both had a big problem with this. You simply cannot have many of these good things without more people eating less meat or, better yet, adopting a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle.

4 November 2007 - This Podcast is an on-the-spot account of a great outreach event with the VivaVegie Society. Pamela Rice, Hard News Vegan, and five compatriots set up a to-spec veal crate at Astor Place in New York City. Several activists took turns sitting inside it, making a particularly powerful image for passersby and passing cars. Activists held pro-veg'n signs, passed out information about the veal crate. And when they got a chance, they also distributed "101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian." Several people are interviewed in this podcast. Later, the activists trade accounts of their experiences at the demo over a late lunch.

3 September 2007 - With this Podcast, I focus on yet another spinach recall, this time Salmonella is the contaminant. Last year it was E. coli O157:H7. What's going on here? Suddenly, raw fruits and vegetables are one of the most likely food categories to be contaminated with pathogens? And why did produce producers ask to be regulated last year?

Animal Diseases

23 July 2007 - Listen to Pamela Rice in her inaugural podcast as she describes the topics she will cover in the podcast.

North American Vegetarian Summerfest, 2007 The conference (http://vegetariansummerfest.org/speakers.htm) features experts in the fields of health, nutrition, animal rights, the environment, exercise and related lifestyle areas, plus talented chefs.

North American Vegetarian Summerfest, 2007 The conference (http://vegetariansummerfest.org/speakers.htm) features experts in the fields of health, nutrition, animal rights, the environment, exercise and related lifestyle areas, plus talented chefs.

Vegetarian advocate Pamela Rice (http://www.vivavegie.org/podcast) gave a reading at Jivamukti Yoga Center (http://www.jivamuktiyoga.com/) in New York City on August 21, 2007. Title: 101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian in 101 Sentences. The current file is a re-make of the original reading, which suffered from technical problems. Contact: PamelaPodcast@vivavegie.org Audio Editing: http://H2Opodcast.com

Vegetarian advocate Pamela Rice (http://www.vivavegie.org/podcast) gave a reading at Jivamukti Yoga Center (http://www.jivamuktiyoga.com/) in New York City on August 21, 2007. Title: 101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian in 101 Sentences. The current file is a re-make of the original reading, which suffered from technical problems. Contact: PamelaPodcast@vivavegie.org Audio Editing: http://H2Opodcast.com

101 Reasons (Why I'm a Vegetarian) in 101 Sentences a reading, first given on August 21, 2007, at the Jivamukti Yoga Center, 841 Broadway, NYC.

Many many thanks to the group Magpie (Greg Artzner & Terry Leonino) for their wonderful song and permission to use it for the Mountain Top Removal podcast. Please visit their website (http://www.magpiemusic.com/) for more great music on the Environment and Political Issues.

An introduction to the horrific practice of Mountaintop Removal Mining that is destroying our beautiful Appalachian Mountains - what it is, the damage it is doing, and how you can help stop it before it's too late. Barbara Strangfeld is volunteer for I Love Mountains and Appalachian Voices. She is first to say that her position is only that of a concerned citizen. Listen to her introduction to Mountaintop Removal Mining. She would like to fully credit the I Love Mountains and Appalachian Voices organizations for the material she uses in her presentation.

The American Rivers Organization (http://www.americanrivers.org) is very happy to bring you an interview with Tim Palmer, author and river enthusiast, for American Rivers' September 2006 eNewsletter.

Making Progress a part of the "Progressive Voice of the Mountains" WPVM 103.5 Asheville interviewed Hartwell Carson the French Broad Riverkeeper RiverLink.org. In the interview Carson explains what he does and how you can be part of the Muddy Water Watch program.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.'s reputation as a resolute defender of the environment stems from a litany of successful legal actions. Mr. Kennedy was named one of Time Magazine's "Heroes for the Planet" for his success helping Riverkeeper lead the fight to restore the Hudson River. The group's achievement helped spawn more than 150 Waterkeeper organizations across the globe. Mr. Kennedy serves as Senior Attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and President of Waterkeeper Alliance. He is also a Clinical Professor and Supervising Attorney at Pace University School of Law's Environmental Litigation Clinic and is co-host of Ring of Fire on Air America Radio.

This is a brief intro to the main problems that are affecting us on the Lower Susquehanna River, and how these problems then affect the health of the Chesapeake Bay. A few solutions are offered, but some of the problems are much too complex to share in this brief intro. More information can be found at our website. Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. See you on the Suskie! http://lowersusquehannariverkeeper.org/

Lack of political leadership from Dow Chemical's dioxin contamination of Michigan's largest watershed and the overall lack of leadership in the State of Michigan on the Great Lakes. The preservation and protection of the Great Lakes need to be taken to the people to drive the issue then elected officials will follow and do what's right. Elected officials do not lead as a rule. Michigan needs a handful of legislators who will rise up out of these waters, so to speak, and focus their efforts on protecting what is Michigan's greatest economic resource and our greatest legacy.

It's a modern cliché: Water is the oil of the 21st Century. It also happens to be true. About one-fifth of the world's fresh water is harbored in the Great Lakes. Raging wildfires in the West and a sudden water scarcity in the Southeastern U.S. have raised public awareness of the significance of fresh water. The Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces are seeking to prevent water exports through a new regional compact and agreement. Unfortunately, a giant loophole in the agreement allows unlimited exports in containers under 5.7 gallons in size: bottles, for example. Citizens need to support compact ratification and demand that the states go beyond it by shutting the loophole down.

Are the Great Lakes getting cleaner or dirtier? The answer is mixed. Pollutants that were top priorities in the 1970s like phosphorus and PCBs have been on the decline while new contaminants have worsened. The loss of wetlands, which filter pollutants and provide habitat, and increases in pollution from poorly planned development are causing new problems. As the successes of the 1970s showed, the key to further progress is citizen activism. Government only follows where citizens lead.