Tag: Climate Change

WERU News Report 7/22/14

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Segment 1: The South Portland city council voted last night to pass the an ordinance preventing tar sands exports from the harbor there. For several years environmentalists have expressed concerns that the direction of flow of an existing pipeline to Montreal might be reversed so that tar sands from Canada could be piped to the deep water port in South Portland. The extraction of tar sands has had a devastating environmental impact, and concerns about the potential dangers of piping the corrosive substance and the pollution caused by processing it were also cited as reasons for passing the ordinance. While the ordinance still could be overturned by referedum, the news this morning is being called historic by some, and is drawing attention from across the country. The Natural Resources Council of Maine has been working on bringing attention to the tar sands pipeline since 2009. Dylan Voorhees is NRCM’s Clean Energy and Global Warming Project Director:

Segment 2: The tar sands issue is also part of the wider movement for climate justice, which is taking hold on college campuses across the state, notably – as we’ve reported in the past – in the form of student-led pressure to divest from fossil fuel industries. Iris SanGiovanni is one of the organizers of that movement, and one of the resources she and other youth can tap into here in Maine is Pine Tree Youth Organizing. We spoke with Iris, and with Christine of PTYO, to learn more about that group, what they have to offer the community, and how the community can support their efforts:

WERU News Report 6/17/14

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Contributing Producer: John Greenman

Segment 1: Protestors gathered outside the Cianbro offices in Pittsfield yesterday, to call attention to their opposition to the East-West corridor promoted by Cianbro’s CEO Peter Vigue. WERU volunteer John Greenman joined the group at roadside, and asked them why there were there

Segment 2: We talk with Lisa Pohlmann, Executive Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, about their upcoming event, on Wednesday, July 2: Climate Change and the Future of Snow: A Discussion with Porter Fox, Author of “DEEP” in Northeast Harbor. FMI: http://www.nrcm.org/nrcm-happenings/wednesday-july-2-climate-change-and-the-future-of-snow-a-discussion-with-porter-fox-author-of-deep/

RadioActive 6/5/14

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Program Topic: Analysis of Obama Administration New Rules on Carbon Pollution

Key Discussion Points:
a) Earlier this week, the Obama administration announced proposed carbon pollution standards, they say, will cut national emissions by 30%, from 2005 levels, by 2030. Rules would be finalized in June 2015.
b) Janet Redman, director of the Climate Policy Program at the Institute for Policy Studies, gives analysis on the discrepancy in individual state reduction requirements, the allowance of cap and trade, offsets and other controversial means to meet requirements and the lack of federal oversight.
c) Redman also speaks to these rules in the context of international climate negotiations at the IPCCC, and on the climate meeting UN Secretary General Ban KI-moon is convening in NYC in September.

Guest:
Janet Redman, director of the Climate Policy Program, at the Institute for Policy Studies

WERU News Report 6/4/14

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Segment 1: An update on the East-West corridor issue from Chris Buchanan, Statewide Coordinator of “Stop the E/W Corridor”, as the group marks it’s 2nd anniversary

Segment 2: It was announced Monday that the EPA is proposing new carbon-reduction rules that would bring the rest of the country in line with standards already in place in Maine, and help address climate change.
Emily Figdor, the Director of Environment Maine, called the announcement “historic” on a conference call Monday, organized by Environment Maine and the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
Dr. Mark Green, Environment Sciences Professor, St. Joseph’s College, weighed in on the impact climate change has already had on the ocean. Special thanks to Judy Berk of NRCM for making a recording of that call available to us.