Archive
Earthgauge News – Nov. 12, 2017
Edition #6 of the Earthgauge News podcast for the week of Nov. 12, 2017.
A weekly Canadian environmental news podcast featuring stories from across Canada and around the world.
Join me here every Monday or subscribe in iTunes or your favourite podcast catcher.
On the show this week:
- The COP23 Climate Summit is underway in Bonn, Germany just as 2017 is likely to be the 3rd hottest year on record.
- More than 15,000 scientists have issued a new, dire warning to humanity.
- A new study says that the world can be powered by 100% renewable energy by 2050.
- The City of Ottawa’s latest draft Budget is out and the news is not all good for climate action.
- Recent state elections in the US could be good news for the climate, but it comes at a time when the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve could be opened for oil and gas drilling.
EG Radio April 11, 2013: Our 50th show! EcoBricks, Ontario Home Comfort and Rachel Carson
This week marks our 50th program since Earthgauge Radio was launched in the fall of 2011! So we’re celebrating a big milestone today and are sending out our thanks to all the guests we’ve had in the past year and a half, the numerous people who have contributed to the show, the whole CKCU radio family and of course to our faithful listeners for tuning in every week either live, online or by podcast.
On the program this week, we discuss Eco-bricks, saving energy (and money!) on home heating and the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s book ‘Silent Spring’.
We also have our usual update from Kathy of Ecology Ottawa on local environmental events and campaigns.
Click the audio player above to stream the show or right click here to download.
Part 1 – Eco-bricks in Guatemala
(Right click here to download file)
Earthgauge contributor Xerez Bridglall brings us her interview with two Carleton University undergraduate students who participated in the Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program this year. ASB is an immersive year-long program that culminates with a week of cultural exchange and community service over reading week in February. Mario Pizzuto and Megan Stacey went on the ASB trip to Guatemala where they were involved in building a structure made out of eco-bricks, an environmentally friendly, additive free pressed kiln dried hardwood sawdust bricks used for home heating fuel in wood burning stoves, wood burning fireplaces and outdoor fire pits.
Part 2 – Saving energy and money at home
Right click here to download file.
James Keena of Ontario Home Comfort tells us about some ways for homeowners to upgrade to more energy efficient furnaces and hot water tanks, which can save you hundreds of dollars every year in energy costs and reduce your environmental footprint. You may also be eligible for additional government and Ontario Power Authority rebates.
Part 3 – 50th anniversary (sort of) of Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’
In honour of the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking book ‘Silent Spring‘ by Rachel Carson, a book that many believe launched the environmental movement in the 1960s, today we feature a Democracy Now! interview with renowned author and environmental health activist Sandra Steingraber who reflects on the significant impact the book has had over the years.
‘Silent Spring’ documented detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment, particularly on birds. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting industry claims uncritically. When the book was published, Rachel Carson was already a well-known writer on natural history, but had not previously been a social critic. The book was widely read and inspired widespread public concerns with pesticides and pollution of the environment. Silent Spring facilitated the ban of the pesticide DDT in 1972 in the United States.
Earthgauge Radio airs every Thursday morning at 7:00 AM on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa and online around the world at www.ckcufm.com. Ottawa’s only radio program dedicated exclusively to environmental news and commentary from Ottawa, across the country and around the world. Podcasts on iTunes and right here on earthgauge.ca.
EG Radio this week: EcoBricks, Ontario Home Comfort and Rachel Carson
On Earthgauge Radio this week, Xerez Bridglall will bring us her interview with two Carleton University undergraduate students who participated in the Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program this year. ASB is an immersive year-long program that culminates with a week of cultural exchange and community service over reading week in February. Mario Pizzuto and Megan Stacey went on the ASB trip to Guatemala where they were involved in building a structure made out of eco-bricks, an environmentally friendly, additive free pressed kiln dried hardwood sawdust bricks used for home heating fuel in wood burning stoves, wood burning fireplaces and outdoor fire pits.
Also on the show, I’ll be speaking with James Keena of Ontario Home Comfort. OHC offers ways for homeowners to upgrade to more energy efficient appliances such as furnaces and hot water tanks, which can save you hundreds of dollars every year in energy costs and reduce your environmental footprint. You may even be eligible for additional government and Ontario Power Authority rebates. We’ll find out more about this great program in my interview with James.
Finally, given that 2012 was the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking book ‘Silent Spring‘ by Rachel Carson, a book that many believe launched the environmental movement in the 1960s, we’ll feature a Democracy Now! interview with renowned author and environmental health activist Sandra Steingraber who reflects on the significant impact the book has had over the years.
Earthgauge Radio airs every Thursday morning at 7:00 AM on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa and online around the world at www.ckcufm.com. Ottawa’s only radio program dedicated exclusively to environmental news and commentary from Ottawa, across the country and around the world. Podcasts on iTunes and right here on earthgauge.ca.
Earthgauge Radio December 6 2012: Over the climate cliff! Special program on the Doha Climate Change Conference
This week on Earthgauge Radio, it’s our Doha Climate Change Conference special broadcast. We have several features on the program today:
- On the ground reporting and news from the Doha summit courtesy of Deutsche Welle Living Planet
- An interview from Doha with Beatrice Yeung who is attending the conference on behalf of the Students on Ice Alumni Delegation
- An interview with Jeff Orlowski, director of ‘Chasing Ice‘, a new film that chronicles the astonishing changes currently taking place in the Arctic as a result of human-caused climate change
We also have our usual update from Ecology Ottawa on local environmental events and campaigns. Click the audio player above to stream the whole show or right click here to download. Individual interviews will be posted shortly.
I’m feeling a little rough today and you’ll hear it in my raspy voice (apologies!) but the show must go on and today it’s our Doha Climate Change Conference special. To kick things off, we hear three reports from correspondents on the ground in Qatar reporting for Deutsche Welle Living Planet who give us some context on the lead up to the Doha conference, what is happening on the ground at the summit, and what is at stake.
Next I speak with Beatrice Yeung who is in Qatar representing the Students on Ice Alumni Delegation. Students on Ice is an organization based in Gatineau, Quebec that offers unique educational expeditions to the Antarctic and the Arctic. The alumni delegation is composed of students such as Beatrice who have visited the polar regions and are now advocating on behalf of polar conservation. Given the rapid changes taking place in these parts of the world, this entails taking serious and immediate action on climate change.
In the second half hour today, we hear a feature interview with the director of the remarkable new documentary film ‘Chasing Ice‘. With all this talk about climate change and what the international community should be doing about it in Doha, sometimes it’s good to get a reality check from those out in the field. Dubbed by some as the new “Inconvenient Truth,” Chasing Ice chronicles the work of National Geographic photographer James Balog and his Extreme Ice Survey, which is a visual legacy of how climate change and other human activity is impacting the planet. Using time-lapse cameras, his videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. To find out more about the film, I caught up with the director Jeff Orlowski on the phone from Boulder, Colorado. The film is being screened at the Bytowne Theatre in Ottawa from December 7 – 11 and Geoff tells us more about the filmmakers’ incredible journey to provide incontrovertible proof that our planet is in crisis and what we do to it matters.
We’ll also have our usual update from Ecology Ottawa on local environmental events and campaigns.
Earthgauge Radio airs Thursday mornings from 7-8 AM on CKCU 93.1 in Ottawa. Podcasts on iTunes and earthgauge.ca. Stream live on www.ckcufm.com. Check us out on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/EarthgaugeRadio.
Tomorrow on Earthgauge Radio: 24 hours of Climate Reality and the International Year of Cooperatives
On Earthgauge Radio this week, we speak with Donna Balkin of the Canadian Co-operative Association about the U.N. International Year of Co-operatives and why the co-op model places environmental values at the core of its business. We’ll also be talking about last week’s 24 hours of Climate Reality, in which millions of people tuned in to hear the ‘Dirty Weather Report’.
Tune in for a great show tomorrow! Earthgauge Radio airs Thursday mornings from 7-8 AM on CKCU 93.1 in Ottawa. News and interviews on environmental stories from across Canada and around the world. Podcasts on iTunes and earthgauge.ca. Stream live on www.ckcufm.com.
Earthgauge Radio June 28, 2012: Rio +20 Earth Summit in review and the Emerald Ash Borer beetle
On Earthgauge Radio this week, we take a look at the recently concluded Rio +20 Earth Summit and we discuss Ottawa’s Emerald Ash Borer beetle infestation, which is becoming a growing problem in regions across North America.
I have two interviews on today’s program:
- David Suzuki (courtesy of Democracy Now!) who gives us his take on the Rio +20 Summit
- Meg Sears, an Environmental Health advocate in Ottawa, and Sean Barker of the Eastern Ontario Arborists who discuss the threat posed by the Emerald Ash Borer beetle to Ottawa’s prolific ash tree population and what can be done about it
Earthgauge Radio is broadcast every other Thursday morning at 7:00-8:00 AM on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa. Click the audio player above to hear the full show. Right click here to download today’s full show.
The so-called Rio +20 Earth Summit wrapped up last week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This was of course a huge international United Nations summit that came on the 20th anniversary of the original Rio Earth Summit back in 1992. And how things have changed since then. 50,000 participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups came together last week to try to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet to get to the future we want. And this was in fact the slogan for the Summit: The Future We Want. However, expectations for the summit were quite low and many feel that Rio +20 accomplished very little. We take a closer look at what happened in Rio first up on today’s show.
Also on the program we discuss Ottawa’s Emerald Ash Borer beetle infestation with Meg Sears, who is an Environmental Health advocate and Sean Barker of the Eastern Ontario Arborists. They both joined me for a live interview to discuss the increasing problem of the Emerald Ash Borer. Basically, this is a beetle that is originally from northeastern Asia but has been causing havoc in North America since its arrival in 2002. The beetle has had a devastating impact in the decade since, spreading across 14 US states, southern Ontario, and now the Ottawa Valley and Eastern Townships, killing at least 10 million trees. It has now been unleashed in Ottawa so we’ll find out just what the city is doing about it and what needs to be done.
We also have our usual segment with Ecology Ottawa who update us on local environmental events and campaigns.
Contact the show at or facebook.com/EarthgaugeRadio.
New Josh Fox Film “The Sky Is Pink” Reveals Fracking Contamination
Check out the latest ant-fracking film from Josh Fox (the maker of Gasland) called The Sky is Pink, which is being called “the best 18 minute movie ever made.”
Earthgauge Radio June 21, 2012: Solar power to the people!
On Earthgauge Radio this week, I have a special program on the coming solar power revolution.
Have you ever thought about installing solar panels on your roof or, if you don’t have a roof, what about investing in solar energy? Well if the answer is yes to either of those questions or if you are just interested in learning more about solar power and its potential as a viable energy source of the future, you’re going to want to listen to the podcast today.
I have four interviews on the show today:
- Janice Ashworth of Ecology Ottawa who explains the details of the FIT program
- Dick Bakker of the Ottawa Renewable Energy Cooperative who will tell us how you can invest in solar energy projects in Ottawa at a healthy rate of return
- Graham Thomas of iSolara Solar Power on what is involved in installing solar panels on your roof and
- Councilor David Chernushenko, an early pioneer in the home solar movement who will give us the experience of a homeowner who has gone through the process.
Earthgauge Radio is broadcast every other Thursday morning at 7:00-8:00 AM on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa. Click the audio player above to hear the full show. Right click here to download today’s full show. Scroll down to listen to individual interviews only.
I attended the Ottawa Solar Fair this past weekend, and had the opportunity to talk to a number of well-informed people about the new Ontario Solar Rules, microFIT applications, investment options, joining the Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative, and expected rates of return. Did you know that through Ontario Power Authority’s Feed-In Tariff or FIT program you can sell the energy you generate through your solar panels at 54 cents per kilowatt hour? What does this mean exactly? We get into all the details in the show but suffice it to say that for a medium-sized set of panels, this means you can pay off your investment in about 7 or 8 years and then start generating a healthy annual profit.
Janice Ashworth interview, right click here to download:
Graham Thomas interview, right click here to download:
Dick Bakker interview, right click here to download:
David Chernushenko interview, right click here to download:
Special program dedicated to solar energy on tomorrow’s edition of Earthgauge Radio
On Earthgauge Radio this week (7:00-8:00 AM on CKCU radio 93.1 FM in Ottawa or online at www.ckcufm.com), I’m presenting a special program on the coming solar power revolution.
Ever thought about installing solar panels on your roof or, if you don’t have a roof, what about investing in solar energy?
If the answer is yes to either of those questions or if you are just interested in learning more about solar power and its potential as a viable energy source of the future, you’re going to want to listen to the program tomorrow.
At the Ottawa Solar Fair this past weekend, I had the opportunity to speak with a number of well-informed people about the new Ontario Solar Rules, microFIT applications, investment options, joining the Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative and expected rates of return.
Did you know that through Ontario Power Authority’s Feed-In Tariff or FIT program you can sell the energy you generate through your solar panels at 54 cents per kilowatt hour? What does this mean exactly? Tune in tomorrow to find out!
Interviews with Janice Ashworth of Ecology Ottawa who will explain the details of the FIT program; Dick Bakker of the Ottawa Renewable Energy Cooperative who will tell us how you can invest in solar energy projects in Ottawa at a healthy rate of return; Graham Thomas of iSolara Solar Power on what is involved in installing solar panels on your roof and Councilor David Chernushenko, an early pioneer in the home solar movement who will give us the experience of a homeowner who has gone through the process.
Listen tomorrow at 7:00 AM on CKCU 93.1 FM, anytime online at ckcufm.com or download the podcast right here on earthgauge.ca.
Solar power to the people!
Can we “green” the tar sands? The Energy Conversation Canada Needs
For anyone interested in the tar sands “debate” – and this should include all of us as it is really a debate about our collective energy future – you will want to keep an eye on a new investigative reporting series being produced by The Tyee.
Under the general heading of “Canada’s Transition to a Sustainable Energy Economy,” the Tyee has launched today the first of three major projects growing out of a “desire to be of service to the how-to-transition conversation,” beginning with Geoff Dembicki’s “Greening the Oil Sands.” This will be followed by a report on how Norway has managed its fossil fuel windfall (Mitchell Anderson) and an inquiry into the challenges and opportunities Canada faces in evolving from a fossil-fuel based society (Andrew Nikiforuk). Click the link below for more info.
The Tyee – The Energy Conversation Canada Needs.
