Tag: Fossil fuel divestment

WERU News Report 2/18/15

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Engineer/Reporter: John Greenman

Segment 1: WERU board votes to divest from fossil fuels, moving to a “socially-responsible” investment fund. WERU General Manager Matt Murphy and Board President John Greenman join us with the details.

Segment 2: A new report from Naomi Schalit of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, that will give you a clear idea of what you’re up against when you try to have some influence over your state legislators. Can you compete with the luxury resort stay and steak dinners offered by Time Warner?
(Full report: http://pinetreewatchdog.org/time-warner-made-its-case-to-legislators-at-luxury-resort/)

Segment 3: Latest news on some of the threats to Penobscot Bay, as well as plans for developing a Bay Keeper position with guests Ron Huber, Executive Director of Friends of Penobscot Bay and Sheila Dassatt, Executive Director of the Downeast Lobstermen’s Association. We open the phone lines for listener calls. FMI: http://www.penbay.net/ & http://www.downeastlobstermen.org/

WERU News Report 2/11/15

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Engineer/Reporter: John Greenman

In Augusta yesterday, the legislature’s committee on Agriculture Conservation & Forestry heard nearly 2 hours of public comments in support of legalizing growing hemp in Maine – and not one argument in opposition. In the 1st half of today’s program we take you to that public hearing. Then we’re joined by Karen Marysdaughter of “Climate Solutions” and 350Maine; WERU General Manager Matt Murphy and Board Member John Greenman for a discussion of the station’s upcoming vote on divesting from fossil fuels. Meredith DeFrancesco also joins us with a preview of tomorrow’s episode of “RadioActive” which will be focusing on the latest developments in the controversial re-write of Maine’s mining regulations

WERU News Report 1/28/15

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Engineer/Reporter: John Greenman

Interactive news report covering issues with a local connection and taking calls. Today: Many Searsport veterans of the successful fight against a massive LPG tank in that town had just started a process of coming together with other residents to look at what kinds of economic development they DO want in town, when suddenly they found themselves faced with another proposed development that is raising alarms. We’ll be getting all the latest on that with our guests in the studio (Peter Taber and Harlan McLaughlin) and taking your calls as well. Before we start on that topic though, we want to take you to the University of Maine Trustee’s meeting on Monday where they made history by becoming the first land grant university system to vote to divest from coal.

WERU News Report 12/3/14

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Engineer: John Greenman

Program Topic: The University of Maine System today took a big step toward becoming the first public land grant system in the country to divest from coal. Two of the students who helped make that possible are with me here in the studio today to tell us how they did it, and what other plans they have up their sleeves — and then we’ll open the phone lines to your calls.

Connor Scott and Brooke Lyons-Justus are members of Maine Students for Climate Justice. Along with another student, Catherine Fletcher, they are also the co-founders of Divest UMaine at UMaine Orono. They’ve been working on fossil fuel divestment of the entire University of Maine system, which is 7 campuses and Maine Maritime Academy. Connor is also the student representative for the UMaine-Orono on the Board of Trustees.

RadioActive 2/13/14

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Radio Consciencia; Rally of Unity speakers on University and State Fossil Fuel Divestment, Climate Change, South Portland Tar Sands Pipeline

Key Discussion Points:
a) The work of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a Florida based tomato farm workers association, has revolutionized a system which has held workers in abusive conditions, without a voice,and dismissed growers and retailers from responsibility or repercussions. One of the organizing tools for the CIW is their low power FM Station, Radio Consciencia.
b) We hear from some of the speakers of last month’s Rally of Unity, organized through the Alliance for the Common Good. Topics include the South Portland struggle to keep tar sands from being piped through Maine, and the student and state level efforts to divest from the fossil fuel industry.
c) Unity College was the first in the nation to begin the process of divestment from the fossil fuel industry. College of the Atlantic was the first to complete the process.

Guests:
A) Silvia Perez, farm worker and organizer with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers www.ciw-online.org
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/nov/17/radio_conciencia/?neapolitan

B) Jake Ratner, Just Harvest USA

C) Maria Giraurd, member of Penobscot Nation and Penobscot Tribal Council

D) Iris SanGiovanni, Maine Students for Climate Justice; student at University of Southern Maine
http://gofossilfree.org/maine-students-unite-against-climate-change/ http://www.350maine.org/divestment_campaign
http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/College-of-the-Atlantic-divests-of-fossil-fuels/15425/

E) Maine State Representative, Brian Jones, from Freedom

RadioActive 1/9/14

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: Mining Bill at BEP; Divestment from Fossil Fuels

Key Discussion Points:
a) Today we discuss the ongoing moves to change Maine’s mining laws,which open the state up to metallic mining, without regard for environmental consequences or adequate industry clean up responsibilities.
b)Tomorrow the state Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) is expected to approve a new set of rules, which would send it on the legislature.

We also look at the movement to divest colleges and universities from the fossil fuel industry, and a bill in the state legislature which would similarly divest Maine Public Employees Retirement System.

Guests:

A) Beth Ahern, Maine Conservation Alliance; Maine Mining Watch
http://www.maineminingwatch.org/

B)Sarah Linnekan, climate activist with 350 Maine

WERU News Report 1/8/14

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Part 2 of 2

Individuals/groups that were in the news on WERU in 2013, look ahead to 2014. Today: Karen Marysdaughter of 350 Maine, Phil Caper of Maine AllCare, Diane Messer & Lynne Williams of Move to Amend and We The People, Lindsay Newland Bowker of Bowker Associates, Rachel Healy of ACLU of Maine

WERU News Report 10/30/13

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Audio recorded by John Greenman

We’ve reported extensively on the re-write of Maine’s mining laws that is presently underway, and also on the situation in El Salvador, where those who resist mining have been threatened, jailed and even killed. Here in Maine, one of the giant Canadian Irving Corporation’s spin off companies and their lawyers, authored the new mining legislation- that was originally introduced in 2012—consisting of their wish list of changes to Maine’s mining laws. The company wants new regulations that would allow metallic mineral mining on Bald Mountain in Aroostook County, and elsewhere. They have the support of the LePage administration.
Stefano Tijerina is a Professor of History and Economics at UMaine and Husson University, and has worked in banking in the past. He has researched mining and free trade agreements in the US, Canada and Latin America. In a recent talk at the university, he focused on Canada’s role, and how it impacts us here in Maine:

(Professor Stefano Tijerina, with a segment of his presentation last week at UMaine, titled “Canada’s ‘Goodwill’ Revised—Mining, Capitalism, and Imperialism”. The talk was sponsored by the university’s Marxist and Socialist Studies lecture series, and was recorded by WERU’s John Greenman.)