RadioActive 9/21/17

Producer: Meredith DeFrancesco

Overview: Climate Change, Climate Policy and the Fossil Fuel Industry

-As Hurricane Maria devastates Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands, on the heels of Harvey and Irma and drought and fires consume other regions of the US, we look again at climate change, climate policy and the fossil fuel industry.
-Today, we take a broad look with the US policy director for Oil Change International, Janet Redman.
-Topics include, the Trump Administration’s stance on climate change and fossil fuel extraction, the EPA’s Science Advisory Board, the Union of Concerned Scientists new report on the quantifiable impacts of fossil fuel companies’ emissions on climate change, the varying definitions of “Clean Energy”, the Paris Climate Agreement and the disproportionate impacts of climate change on individuals and communities with the least economic resources.

Guest: Janet Redman, Oil Change International, US policy director; Associate Fellow at Institute for Policy Studies

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

RadioActive 9/14/17

Producer: Meredith DeFrancesco

Greater Bangor Solarize Initiative and End Violence Together Rally and March
-As the size and intensity of hurricanes hitting Houston, Florida, the Caribbean and Mexico are linked to the increased temperatures and moisture brought on by global warming, people across the country and Maine step up initiatives to accelerate a transition to solar energy through grassroots action.
-Greater Bangor Solarize is one of these initiatives – a program offering discounted costs and aid in accessing resources and installation. Bangor is joining other communities in the Br Harbor, Mid-coast, Waterville and Freeport areas in initiating the “solarize” model to accelerate a transition to solar energy. The deadline to participate in Greater Bangor Solarize is September 30th.
-We also look towards this Saturday’s annual End Violence Together March and Rally in downtown Bangor.

Guests:
Karen Marysdaughter, coordinator Greater Bangor Solarize
Amy Hughes, Eastern Maine Peace and Justice Center

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

RadioActive 9/7/17

Guest Producer/Host: Carolyn Coe

Topics:
Lebanon
Palestinian refugees
Syrian refugees

Palestinian refugees empower themselves and educate others about their situation by publishing their own stories. Both Palestinians and Syrians volunteer or find often low-paid work with NGOs as the Lebanese government makes work in many fields very challenging if not impossible. Some refugees find work in the refugee camps themselves. Meanwhile, NGOs offer scholarships and educational and cultural experiences to individuals in different marginalized communities, including refugees, to help give youth hope and resolve conflicts in Lebanese society.

In this program, we meet a Palestinian and Syrian refugee who attended a We Are Not Numbers writing workshop. Both share their personal stories, including the challenges they face in Lebanon. We also meet the founder of Unite Lebanon Youth Project (ULYP), which works with the different marginalized communities in Lebanon–Syrian and Palestinian refugees as well as Lebanese public school students.The Social Support Society, the umbrella organization for ULYP, runs a physical therapy center in Borj el Barajneh camp. There we meet Amira Dabbagh, one of the therapists on staff.

Guests:
Huda Ibrahim Dawood, volunteer coordinator in Lebanon of We Are Not Numbers
Dalia Swaid, former school teacher, Syrian refugee living in northern Lebanon
Melek Nimr, founder of Unite Lebanon Youth Project (ULYP)
Amira Dabbagh, physical therapist in Borj el Barajneh, a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon

FMI:
wearenotnumbers.org
unitelebanonyouth.org
thesocialsupportsociety.org

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

RadioActive 8/31/17

Guest Producer/Host: Carolyn Coe

Topics:
Lebanon
Palestinian refugees

Writer, activist and professor in Lebanon, Rania Masri explains why Palestinian youth have a high drop out rate in UNRWA schools in the country. Among the reasons for drop outs is the ban on employment for Palestinians in many occupations. Masri also explores the idea of full citizenship and phantomized landmarks.

Also in this program, we visit the Active Ageing House, where elders in the Borj el Barajneh camp in Lebanon find community as well as cultural and wellness support. At the center, we speak with Sahar Serhan and Mariam Sharqyeh; both are residents of the camp.

Guests:
Rania Masri, writer, activist, and professor in Lebanon
greenresistance.wordpress.com/
Sahar Serhan, manager of Active Ageing House in Borj el Barajneh and Nahr el Bared camps in Lebanon
Mariam Sharqyeh, resident of Borj el Barajneh camp
Social Support Society’s Active Ageing House: thesocialsupportsociety.org

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

RadioActive 8/24/17

Guest Producer/Host: Carolyn Coe

Topics: Lebanon, Palestinian refugees

Writer, activist and professor in Lebanon Rania Masri describes the campaign to boycott supporters of Israel in Lebanon. She also explores the state of education, both public and in the UNRWA schools, in Lebanon and the deliberate fracturing of society.
What history gets taught in Lebanon and what is banned?
How has the recarving of geopolitical boundaries helped to reframe how people are taught to see themselves?

Guest:
Rania Masri, writer, activist, and professor in Lebanon
greenresistance.wordpress.com/

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

RadioActive 6/15/17

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Penobscot River Rally and Flotilla

1) Today we hear some audio from Saturday’s Penobscot River Rally and Flotilla on the Bangor Waterfront, where people gathered to support the Penobscot Tribe’s struggle for continued stewardship of the River, and other local and statewide struggles for clean water and clean energy.
2) Over 30 organizations co-sponsored the event, which showed support for the Penobscot Nation’s efforts to retain sovereignty and stewardship on the section of the river passing through their island territory. In 2012, the Maine Attorney General’s office sought to establish that section as State territory. The Tribe has sued the State in an on going legal case: Penobscot Nation v Attorney General Janet Mills.
3) Speakers broadcast in this program address the Juniper Ridge Landfill expansion in Old Town and the dumping of toxic leachate into the Penobscot River and on state bills and policies that could support or paralyze the development of solar energy in Maine.

Guests:
Ed Spencer, Old Town resident, logger and intervenor in Juniper Ridge Landfill expansion process
Dawn Neptune Adams, Penobscot tribal member and activist
Fred Greenhalgh, ReVision Energy and solar activist
Jim Freeman, Flotilla organizer, Alliance for the Common Good,

This program was produced in partnership with the Sunlight Media Collective.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

RadioActive 6/8/17

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

BEP Proposed Rule Changes to Allow Increased CDD Import; Solar Legislation; Penobscot River Rally and Flotilla

1) Today we look at rule changes the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) is poised to make which would allow for the increased importation and incineration of toxic Construction and Demolition Debris (CDD) in Maine. The BEP will be accepting comments on the rule changes until June 25th.
2) We also look at two solar energy bills currently before the Maine legislature: LD 1504: An Act Regarding Solar Power for Farms and Businesses and LD 1444: An Act Regarding Large Scale Community Solar Procurement.
3) We also look towards Saturday’s Penobscot River Rally and Flotilla, where people will gather to support the Penobscot Tribe’s struggle for continued stewardship of the River, and other local and statewide struggles for clean water and clean energy. Over 30 organizations are co-sponsoring this event.

Guests:
Hillary Lister, waste activist, Maine Matters Research, Consulting and Advocacy. ( BEP Rule Changes Summary : app.box.com/s/acwa9mqnl7firfw9y5ori9ua40oim60y)
Dylan Voorhes, Clean Energy director at Natural Resources Council of Maine
Sherri Mitchell, Penobscot Tribe, indigenous rights attorney, Land Peace Foundation

This program was produced in partnership with the Sunlight Media Collective.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

RadioActive 6/1/17

Guest Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Juniper Ridge Landfill Expansion Approved by BEP; Trump Withdraws from Paris Climate Agreement

-Today the Maine Board of Environmental Protection approved the expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town.
-Local activists have strongly opposed the expansion, underlining the amount of out of state waste that is reclassified as “in-state waste” and disposed at Juniper Ridge, which is state owned, but privately operated by Casella Waste Management. Opponents, including members of the Penobscot Nation, are alarmed by potential impacts on ground water and the continued dumping of leachate by product into the Penobscot River.
-We also examine Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord

Guests:
Ed Spencer, Old Town resident and intervenor in Juniper Ridge Landfill Expansion
Erika Lennon, senior attorney for the Center for International Environmental Law

This program was produced in partnership with the Sunlight Media Collective.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download