RadioActive 4/09/09

Producers/Hosts: Meredith DeFrancesco and Amy Browne

A report on: “A New Day in Trade: Public Forum on NAFTA Reform and Fair Trade, with Congressman Mike Michaud”, which took place last night in Bucksport, Maine

From the announcement for the event: “The current NAFTA model of free trade has devastated workers, farmers, and the environment and eroded our democracy. There is unprecedented opposition in the U.S. and Congressman Mike Michaud is leading the House of Representatives in fighting for an end to NAFTA-style free trade and globalization. Michaud will discuss his blueprint for fair trade and take questions & comments from the audience.

“The Maine Fair Trade Campaign will let people know how they can plug-in locally in the fight for a more just and sustainable global economy.

“This event is co-sponsord by the Maine Fair Trade Campaign; USW Locals 1188 and 261; the Hancock County, Waldo County, and Penobscot County Democratic Committees, Food AND Medicine, and the Eastern Maine Labor Council.

“For More information Contact Daphne Loring at the Maine Fair Trade Campaign
Office: 777-6387
Cell: 266-5895

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 4/09/09

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

During this last month of WERU’s 20th Anniversary year, we’re digging a few old editions from the Electronic Cottage vault that seem to us to be just as relevant today as they were when they were first broadcast. In this edition from November 2004, we take a look at spam, the scourge of the Internet.
Everything in this years old edition is still true today, except one point.
The one exception is that spam is no longer just 40% of Internet email traffic. Estimates in April 2009 are that it comprises as much as 94% of Internet traffic. It seems that in some parts of the digital world, just as in the physical world, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

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RadioActive 4/02/09

Producers/Hosts: Amy Browne & Meredith DeFrancesco

Segment 1: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have scathing criticism of the Maine Department of Transportation’s plan to start a federal Umbrella Wetlands Mitigation Bank on Sears Island— and they have made their concerns known to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who is currently considering MeDOT’s proposal. We talk with Kyla Bennett, Director of the New England branch of PEER, to get the details. FMI: www.peer.org

Segment 2: Rob Brown, Executive Director of Opportunity Maine, talks about LD 1181, the “Green Jobs, Green Savings bill”, a proposal to create jobs and energy efficiency in Maine. Opportunity Maine authored the bill, it was sponsored by Rep. Seth Berry (Bowdoinham), and it has drawn an out-pouring of support from labor activists, environmentalists, students and others in recent public hearings. FMI: www.opportunitymaine.org

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