Go Green Radio

David Sedlak's new book, Water for All, gives a fresh look at the world's water crises, and the existing and emerging solutions that can be used to solve them. Our twentieth-century systems for providing the water that grows food, sustains cities, and supports healthy ecosystems are failing to meet the demands of growing population and the challenges brought on by climate change. However, communit...

After receiving praise from President Biden for working to address the indoor air quality crisis in Denver Public Schools, Attune deployed its IAQ monitoring systems in 45 school districts and 369 school buildings across the state of Colorado. This CDC- funded initiative aims to improve IAQ environments in Colorado school districts for students, teachers and administrators. Today we will talk with...

Today's guest is Ginny Leary, the Zero Waste and Sustainability Project Manager for Boston Public Schools (BPS). We will discuss how BPS strives to reduce the amount of waste generated by building occupants and reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste that is hauled to and disposed of in landfills or incineration facilities. BPS's Zero Waste program is comprehensive and can serve as a role model...

It was going to be Disneyland at the top of a mountain. A vacation destination where guests could ski, go ice skating, or be entertained by a Disney Imagineer-created band of Audio-Animatronic bears. In the summer, visitors could fish, camp, hike, or take a scenic chairlift ride to the top of a mountain. It was the Mineral King resort in Southern California, and it was Walt Disney's final passion...

Founded by Roger Silveira, We Need Fresh Air is an organization dedicated to improving student achievement one breath at a time. Replacing HEPA filters or installing new school ventilation systems is not enough. School districts must do more to ensure students are breathing fresh, clean air. Classrooms are some of the most densely populated spaces with an average of 30 students per 1,000 square fe...

Today we will talk with two experts on IAQ in schools about the magnitude of the problem in American schools and what can be done. In recent years, comparative risk studies performed by EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) have consistently ranked indoor air pollution among the top five environmental risks to public health. Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can impact their health, bu...

Environmental justice (EJ) communities are on the frontlines of the adverse impacts of climate change and are disproportionately exposed to a wide range of polluting industries, including fossil fuel infrastructure like coal plants, natural gas plants, and pipelines. Will the use of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) mechanisms and hydrogen co-firing in the power sector will further harm EJ co...

Today we'll be joined by the CEO of Cleancult, Ryan Lupberger and the CRO of Boxed Water, Robert Keonen, to discuss their companies' strategies to eliminate plastic waste from waste stream with sustainable packaging solutions. Cleancult is the first company in the world to successfully package soaps and detergents into 100% recyclable paper-based cartons, prioritizing refilling over landfilling. C...

Testicular cancer. Kidney cancer. Liver damage. These are just a few of the effects of PFAS on human health. Today we're joined by Dr. Scott Bartell, Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health at UC Irvine, to discuss what every person should know about the risks to their health caused by exposure to PFAS chemicals. We will also discuss guidance for medical doctors whose patients have elevat...

New laboratory tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group found four water filters that reduce the detected "forever chemicals" known as PFAS in sampled drinking water by nearly 100 percent. The results come as the U.S. Geological Survey announced alarming findings that almost half of the nation's tap water has been contaminated by one or more of the 32 individual PFAS for which the age...

A new study by a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist and collaborators shows that nearly all the recent increase in California summer wildfire burned area is attributable to human-caused (anthropogenic) climate change. Anthropogenic simulations yielded burn areas an average of 172% higher than natural variation simulations. The research appears in the Proceedings of the Nationa...

The Center for Green Schools, in partnership with the Campaign for Environmental Literacy, released a new report highlighting the need for state-level legislation that enhances and broadens climate change education in all K-12 schools. The report, State-Level Legislation Concerning K-12 Climate Change Education, along with an accompanying executive summary, provides detailed talking points with ci...

The Lomakatsi Restoration Project in Alturas, California recently won the $20,000 Edge Prize — a new prize celebrating exceptional projects from Alaska to California which work towards creating resilient communities in the face of climate change. The Lomakatsi Restoration Project engages youth in learning how to build fire-adapted forests and communities. The model creates meaningful, living-wage...

In May 2023, Washington State Department of Ecology Director Laura Watson signed new rules that, for the first time ever, ban toxic chemicals—including PFAS, phthalates, flame retardants, and bisphenols—put in plastic electronic casings, vinyl flooring, and beverage liners, among other products. These new rules conclude the first cycle of regulations as part of Safer Products for Washington, the n...

As auto and oil industry companies bet on an EV filled future, many are now directly sourcing raw materials (such as lithium) for EV batteries themselves. And while the future of transportation is definitely going green, will gas-powered cars simply be replaced by electric ones or will the transportation industry experience other changes as well? What might drive those changes and what can we expe...

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed into law the first-ever ban in the U.S. on PFAS "forever chemicals" in cookware, dental floss, and menstrual products as part of the broadest PFAS policy package in the country. The new law bans all uses of PFAS in products by 2032—except those that are necessary for public health, requires manufacturers to report their use of PFAS in products to the state by 202...

California Assemblymember Laura Friedman authored a bill signed into law in 2022 that will prohibit the entire class of PFAS, a.k.a. "forever chemicals," from cosmetic products sold in the state of CA. We will discuss the expected ramifications of that legislation, as well as the public policy she champions to combat climate change. As Chair for the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the bic...

California State Senator Ben Allen chairs the Senate's Environmental Quality Committee and co-chairs the Legislature's Environmental Caucus. As the author of SB 54, Ben continues to pursue ambitious policies that address the plastics pollution crisis. He has also worked to bolster the state's climate resiliency by proposing a measure to invest in preparation for extreme weather and other climate-r...

Our guest today is a candidate for Philadelphia City Council and a father of three kids (ages 5, 9 and 10), and he just might change the way you think about sanitation workers. Less than three months after accepting the position as laborer for the Philadelphia Sanitation Department, Terrill Haigler became an essential worker. To bridge the gap between residents and sanitation workers he created th...

California's new Plastic Pollution Producer Responsibility Act (SB 54) may be the most consequential Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation in a generation. By 2032, the law requires a 25% reduction of single-use plastic packaging and foodservice products; all single-use packaging and foodware (including non-plastic items) be recyclable or compostable; and a 65% recycling rate for plas...

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities have been fighting superbugs for years, but they made a resurgence during the pandemic. Superbugs are resistant to antibiotics, and can cause fatal infections, especially among vulnerable populations like hospitalized patients already weakened by serious illness. To date, many of the "solutions" involved harsher and more dangerous chemical cleaning solutio...

Keeping food waste out of landfills is one of the most significant ways to combat climate change, and recovering edible food for human consumption is one of the most significant ways to combat hunger. Therma is a tech startup that aims to combat food waste with an IoT solution to keep food at safe temperatures. Therma technology is currently deployed across 5,000+ restaurants, retailers and manufa...

We've all heard the old adage, "You are what you eat." Today we'll take that a step further… "you are what your food ate." Pesticides and herbicides can impact the plants on which we rely for nutrients, and those same plants coupled with antibiotics fed to livestock can impact the meat in our diet. The plants and animals in our diet imbibe what is in the soil and food that nourishes them, and is p...

Sustainability in schools includes school meals! Tune in today as we speak with the Senior Director of School Nutrition for the Camden City School District (CCSD) in NJ, Arlethia Brown, MBA, CPFM. She will discuss the many ways she has incorporated sustainability principles into the healthy, appetizing food she and her staff serve the children in Camden, NJ. We will also discuss CCSD's sustainabil...

Today we'll talk to Rodney Williams, Director of Energy and Sustainability for the Newark public school district, a.k.a. Newark Board of Education (NBOE). In recent years, Rodney has led the largest school district in New Jersey to achieve prestigious and rigorous awards in school sustainability. Tune in and listen to his pro tips that can be replicated in school districts across the U.S.!