Green Options

The NAACP has joined with environmental groups to oppose the construction of three power plants because of concerns that burning the feces will expose poor people to arsenic and other contaminants.

“Everyone wants jobs, but you have to be against a job that on the back end may bring disease,” said William Barber II, president of the state NAACP. “I guarantee you if they attempted to put it in a suburban community or a higher-income area, it would be an all-out fight against it.”

There is an entire world of craft radio out there in the ether. In the same way in which I blog, obsessively, every single day about my crafty life on my personal blog and read the crafty blogs of others, there is also an audio/video version of that same crafty obsession that can be watched or listened to at one’s leisure.

While you grade papers, or wash the dishes, or eat your lunch, or walk home from school at night, you can listen to craft news (the CPSIA, although delayed, is still a big deal), craft opinion (which type of knitting needles are the best?) and interviews with other crafty people (Alicia Paulson has a lot of interesting things to say about the process of writing a craft how-to book).

I heart podcasts.

So let’s say you’re a green business owner. Or an environmental non-profit. Or a green blogger. No matter what you do, on a basic level, you want more people to know about what you do. Advertising can work. An online presence in social media/network outlets can work. But what if you want people to hear your voice - your real voice, on the radio?

Sure, you can contact radio stations and podcast creators and make a case for being invited on. But for the most part, it’s on their terms. But what if you could just go and make an appointment to be on a show, shape the content, and be interviewed by someone who gets it, is interested in what you’re up to, and will engage you in a conversation rather then just be a dry question asker?

You can.

Yesterday our leader here at Sustainablog, Jeff, let us all know about an interview he did on the Green Talk Podcast. If you haven’t listened to it yet, I encourage you to download it now. It’s informative and entertaining.

There are a lot of environmental podcasts out there. Grist has one. Treehugger has one. NPR has one. Even the EPA put out a few podcasts around Earth Day (don’t bother). And while these more prominent ones can give a lot of good information, sometimes they leave me feeling flat. When I’m listening, I prefer a podcast with personality.

If you’re like me, and demand to be entertained as well as informed before you’ll download a podcast, try one of these green, fun options.

More Hip Than Hippie - This is my all time favorite podcast. The hosts, Val and Dori, have a blast while they discuss the environment, beer, chocolate and how to determine your porn star name. This is not your run of the mill green podcast. They make every green action they discuss sound appealing. A few weeks ago, they interviewed a guest about canning, and now I’m looking forward to planting even more tomatoes next summer because I’m excited about canning. And did I mention the beer and chocolate?

The Little Green People Show - This podcast is hosted by Laurene von Klan and Jill Riddell and is dubbed “sound advice on green living in the big city.” Their big city is Chicago, and they answer listener questions and give lively commentary about environmental issues in their city and beyond. They tackle a variety of issues from foraging for food to solar cookers to green fashion. Good stuff.

Two proposed coal-fired power plants in Iowa could negate the state’s efforts to cut emissions with clean, renewable power.

LS Power Group wants to build a 750-megawatt (MW) plant near Waterloo, and Alliant Energy wants a 630 MW coal plant near Marshalltown. A new MidAmerican Energy coal plant just began operation near Council Bluffs on June 1.

Local and regional supporters of clean and efficient energy will fight the plants.

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