Journalist and filmmaker Eleanor Goldfield joins me to discuss her documentary To the Trees, which documents humankind’s relationship to the sacred Redwoods and the tactics tree defenders use to protect old-growth forests from the clear-cutting practices of the lumber industry. In our discussion, Eleanor disputes the claims made by the industry of practicing sustainable harvesting practices in the Pacific Northwest, and how it is part and parcel of a larger global effort by extractive industries to greenwash ecologically destructive practices in the name of sustainability and the "green energy" transition.
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#246 | Planet Of The Humans: Addressing The False Promises Of Green Energy w/ Jeff Gibbs
Intro: 11:53 | Book Pre-sale
In this episode, I speak with Jeff Gibbs, Director of the popular and controversial documentary film ‘Planet of the Humans.’ The film was Executive Produced by Michael Moore and released to the public on YouTube, generating over six million views since its release on Earth Day last month.
Since its release, ’Planet of the Humans’ has generated enormous controversy, backlash, and intense discussion within the environmental and climate movement at large. Some of the harshest criticisms this film has received have come from stanch proponents of "renewable" and "green" energy technologies (like wind, solar, and biomass — the subjects of the film). The harshest of these criticisms have come from activist and ‘Gasland’ filmmaker Josh Fox, who has stated that the film "is wildly unscientific, outdated, full of falsehoods, and benefits fossil fuel industry promoters and climate deniers" and has asked Moore and Gibbs to disavow the project. (https://bit.ly/3b6ElPa / https://bit.ly/3dnft7c) Pen America, preeminent watchdog in the U.S. defending free expression and human rights, in turn has responded to the calls to take down the film by stating “calls to pull a film because of disagreement with its content are calls for censorship, plain and simple.” (https://bit.ly/2YDZKgg)
In researching the dozens of reactions this documentary has generated, I recognized that the underlying point of the film was lost in all the controversy. In this discussion, I ask Jeff to provide some deeper insights into what his intentions with the film really were, as well as address some of the criticisms the film has received, in particular from Josh Fox.
Jeff Gibbs is the director, writer, and producer of the feature documentary film ‘Planet of the Humans.’ Born in Flint, Michigan, Jeff has served as a long time collaborator with Michael Moore. The first film he ever worked on was ‘Bowling for Columbine’ producing many iconic scenes including “the bank that gives you a gun,” “dog shoots hunter,” and the “Michigan Militia.” Following the success of ‘Bowling for Columbine’ Jeff became co-producer for ‘Fahrenheit 9/11,’ the largest box-office documentary of all time. Jeff also wrote the original score for both films. Since ‘Fahrenheit 9/11,’ though taking an occasional break to produce other films including the Dixie Chicks documentary ‘Shut Up and Sing,’ Jeff has been singularly obsessed with the fate of the earth and humanity.
Episode Notes:
- Learn more about ‘Planet of the Humans’ and watch the film: https://planetofthehumans.com
- Read Josh Fox’s take on the film: https://bit.ly/3b6ElPa
- Read the response from Pen America regarding the calls to take the film down: https://bit.ly/2YDZKgg
- Some more resources that Jeff shared with me back up the film: https://bbc.in/2L2MGJl / https://go.aws/2WwN0VL / https://go.nature.com/2W7tH6L / https://bit.ly/2W6Rxzl / https://bit.ly/2xDxK0Z / https://bit.ly/2A3eJGd
- The song featured in this episode is “Active” by Dark Party from the Ghostly Swim album.
#198 | Sacrifice Zones: Between The Devil & The Green New Deal w/ Jasper Bernes
INTRO: 10:38
In this episode, I speak with Jasper Bernes, Managing Editor of Commune Magazine. We discuss his recent article ‘Between the Devil and the Green New Deal,’ featured in the second issue of Commune Magazine.
In this interview, I ask Jasper to explain the details of the Green New Deal, as has been proposed by the more progressive wing of the United States political establishment, and most famously by New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Democratic Party. What is the Green New Deal, and what is materially required for it to be successfully implemented? As Jasper explains, its main objective would be to convert the US economy to (net) zero carbon emissions with renewable power by 2030 — an undertaking that would require a massive overhaul of the energy infrastructure towards solar, wind, and biofuels as the primary source of energy production. While that all sounds rather nice, what are the (not-so) hidden costs of developing these so-called sustainable technologies, especially on the scale demanded for in the Green New Deal? As Jasper points out, “nearly every renewable energy source depends upon non-renewable and frequently hard-to-access minerals: solar panels use indium, turbines use neodymium, batteries use lithium, and all require kilotons of steel, tin, silver, and copper,” (http://bit.ly/DevilGND) all of which require extensive mining (most often in the less “developed” regions of the world), which is highly environmentally destructive and relies almost completely on the exploitation of human labor and fossil fuel use. As we frame it in this interview, to maintain an infinite growth economic model (capitalism) while trying to mitigate the worst impacts of global climate change and environmental degradation through “sustainable” technologies is not only unfeasible, but entirely impossible. Jasper and I go over the details of this subject in more depth in this episode.
Jasper Bernes is the Managing Editor of Commune Magazine and Founding Editor of Commune Editions. He is the author of ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Deindustrialization’ and two books of poetry: ‘We Are Nothing and So Can You,’ and ‘Starsdown.’ He lives in Berkeley with his family.
Episode Notes:
- Read Jasper’s article ‘Between the Devil and the Green New Deal’ at Commune: http://bit.ly/DevilGND
- Learn more Jasper and his work: https://jasperbernes.net
- Follow Jasper on Twitter: https://twitter.com/outsidadgitator
- Read more from Commune and subscribe to the print edition: https://communemag.com
- The song featured in this episode is “First & Last” by sndwn. & Skullkid from the album Sounds From Above Vol. 1. (http://bit.ly/2W9QPOG)
#135 | The Sustainable City: The Future Of Urban Living w/ Steven Cohen
In this episode, I speak with Steven Cohen — former executive director of Columbia University's Earth Institute, a professor in the practice of public affairs at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, and the author of ‘The Sustainable City,'
Steven, in this interview, provides an overview of the broader trends in sustainable technological development, particularly within the context of the ongoing urbanization of human life, with “54 per cent of the world’s population liv[ing] in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 66 per cent by 2050.”☨ Steven provides an overview of these technological trends regarding their application in city planning within major urban areas around the world. Steven details the increasing efficiency of battery storage, the evolution of solar and wind power, and the rise and growing prominence of the electric automobile — and ties these evolving technologies to the ongoing development and planning of “sustainable cities.” Toward the end of the interview, Steven provides a nuanced perspective on the ongoing policy decisions by the Trump Administration, under the former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt, to deregulate environmental protections enforced by the EPA, and how these decisions will ultimately play out into the near future.
In this interview, I attempted to challenge some of the underlying assumptions presented in Steven’s work, regarding the notion that sustainability can really be achieved within the socio-economic paradigm we exist within — a system that demands infinite growth in order to function. I don’t really know how successful I was in this regard, but I greatly appreciate Steven’s input and perspective in this episode.
Steven Cohen is the former executive director of Columbia University's Earth Institute and a professor in the practice of public affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He is the director of the Master of Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy and the Master of Science in Sustainability Management at Columbia. His books include ‘The Sustainable City,’ ‘Understanding Environmental Policy,’ ‘Sustainability Management,’ and ‘The Effective Public Manager.’ He has written numerous articles on public management, sustainability management, and environmental policy. Dr. Cohen also writes a weekly blog for the Earth Institute’s ‘State of the Planet’ website.✧
☨ Source: http://bit.ly/2LqeutH
✧ Sources: http://bit.ly/2LriR7C / http://bit.ly/2LDvdsP
Episode Notes:
- Learn more and purchase Steven’s book ‘The Sustainable City’ at Columbia University Press: http://bit.ly/2LDvdsP
- Learn more about Steven and his work at The Earth Institute: http://bit.ly/2LriR7C
- Visit Steven’s frequently updated blog ‘State of the Planet’: http://bit.ly/2LIe6px
- Steven on Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenACohen
- The song featured in this episode is “Sincerely, Future Pollution” by Timber Timbre from the album Sincerely, Future Pollution.
#109 | Designing Regenerative Cultures: An Incomplete Conversation w/ Daniel Christian Wahl
This is a segment of my incompletely recorded conversation with Daniel Christian Wahl. Unfortunately, due to some technical issues with the recording of this episode, a significant chunk of our conversation was lost and unsalvageable. Daniel asked that I release what was recorded, and here is the finished result. I thank Daniel for sharing his insights with me, and I appreciate his kindness.
Daniel Christian Wahl is an educator, speaker, strategic advisor, and the author of ‘Designing Regenerative Cultures’. Originally trained as a biologist and zoologist at the University of Edinburgh and the University of California, Santa Cruz, Daniel also holds an MSc in Holistic Science (Schumacher College, 2002) and a PhD in Natural Design (University of Dundee, 2006).*
*Source: https://goo.gl/V76ckw; https://goo.gl/RkjMUk
Episode Notes:
- Learn more about sustainable and regenerative cultures from Daniel's book 'Designing Regenerative Cultures' at his Medium page: https://goo.gl/V76ckw
- Pick up Daniel's book "Designing Regenerative Cultures": http://a.co/0O2142M
- Follow updates from Daniel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrDCWahl