RadioActive 3/05/09

Producers/Hosts: Amy Browne & Meredith DeFrancesco

Topics: Privatization of water supplies….. the impacts of coal mining and burning on the environment…… climate change—– concerns about these issues are mobilizing international coalitions. Today on RadioActive we’ll get the latest news from Mainers who are involved. Segment 1: Residents of the towns of Shapleigh and Hancock move to protect their groundwater from corporate extraction; Segment 2: Thousands of protesters marched to a coal-fired plant in Washington DC Monday, and surrounded the plant to call attention to the coal industry’s impact on the environment and climate change. The event was organized by several groups, including the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Bill McKibben’s 350.org and Powershift 2009. In the days leading up to the protest more than 12,000 students attended a conference on the issues at George Washington University. Local artist and activist Rob Shetterly was among the participants. We spoke with him by phone yesterday and he described the protest and the growing movement of young people mobilizing on this issue.
FMI: www.coldrivermountainwatch.org , www.ilovemountains.org , www.kftc.org and mountainjustice.org/