Go Green Radio

Ben Lecomte is a marathon swimmer, ocean advocate, entrepreneur, and speaker. He swam the Atlantic from Cape Cod to France in 1998. In 2018 he attempted to swim the Pacific, but after 165 days of swimming his team had to call it off due to severe storm damage to their mainsail. During each swim, Ben collected data on plastic pollution in the ocean and worked with scientists to create extensive, un...

In recent months PFAS contamination has been found in the groundwater in a small suburb of the Bay Area of California. There is no obvious source for the chemical contamination, and currently, the local water agencies must fend for themselves to pay for treatment to keep their drinking water safe. Tune in as we talk with Olivia Sanwong, President of the Board of Directors for the Zone 7 Water Agen...

2020 has been a painful year in so many ways, but for communities of color, the suffering has been especially severe. Today we'll be talking to Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., founder of the Hip Hop Caucus, about the ways in which environmental racism and injustice place a disproportionate burden on communities of color, and the many ways his organization is working toward a just, sustainable, and prosp...

The Wyland Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving the world's ocean, waterways, and marine life. The foundation encourages environmental awareness through education programs, public arts projects, and community events. Today our guest is Steve Creech, Executive Director of the Wyland Foundation. Tune in as we talk with him about some...

Today we are joined by Miguel Veiga-Pestana, SVP of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability for RB, makers of common household brands like Lysol, Woolite and Clearasil, just to name a few. Under Miguel's leadership the company has instituted a rigorous set of policies and reporting to create measurable, transparent environmental benefits throughout all their brands.

The EPA set legal limits on nitrate levels in 1962 to prevent acute cases of methemoglobinemia, which causes an infant to suffer from oxygen deprivation in the blood after ingesting excessive nitrate. More recent studies have found correlations to additional human health risks. An Environmental Working Group (EWG) investigation found that nitrate contamination in drinking water has grown steadily...

Prior to the pandemic (and hopefully soon thereafter), most kids spend the majority of their waking hours at school. Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) has a significant impact on a student's ability to learn. Classrooms with polluted air, high CO2 levels, and poor lighting can make it difficult for students to learn even if they have the best teachers, most current technology, and a positive atti...

Our guest today is Cory Long, founder and Executive Director of the Making a Change Group in Chester, PA, a community just outside Philadelphia. If you look at Chester from the USDA's Food Access Research Atlas (formerly the Food Desert Locator), you will see it is objectively a Food Desert. If you look at Chester from the EPA's environmental justice screening and mapping tool, you will see it is...

Author, Paul Wheaton has come out with a wonderful book on making a huge, positive, global difference from your own home! Prioritize comfort over sacrifice while saving thousands of dollars. Explore dozens of solutions and their impacts on carbon footprint, petroleum footprint, toxic footprint, and other environmental issues. Tune in as we talk with Paul about his new book, Building a Better World...

Feeding America is the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization—a powerful and efficient network of 200 food banks across the country. As food insecurity rates hold steady at the highest levels ever, the Feeding America network of food banks has risen to meet the need. They feed 40 million people at risk of hunger, including 12 million children and 7 million seniors. But Feeding Americ...

The pandemic has put the world in a heightened state of anxiety, but there were already underlying signs of trouble before COVID-19 hit. Suicides are at their highest point in 50 years, record numbers of Americans are taking medication for anxiety and depression, and opioids kill more people in the U.S. than car crashes. Dr. Margaret Klein Salamon's new book, Facing the Climate Emergency: How to T...

Nearly 70 percent of the fresh produce sold in the U.S. contains residues of potentially harmful chemical pesticides, according to the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) 2020 Dirty Dozen™. EWG's newly released consumer guide outlines the produce items with the most amount of pesticide residue, as well as a list of the fruits and vegetables with the least amount. Tune in as we talk with EWG toxico...

Tune in as we talk with Janine Benyus about how she has helped some of the world's top companies design for the future by drawing inspiration from 3.8 billion years of nature's blueprint. Benyus has worked with companies like Boeing, Colgate-Palmolive, Nike, General Electric, Herman Miller, HOK architects, IDEO, Interface, Natura, Procter and Gamble, Levi's, Kohler, and General Mills to create sus...

Farmland dominates the landscape and watersheds in the Midwest. The way that land is used and managed has profound effects on our health through the water we drink and the food we eat. Farming can actually make water cleaner and the environment healthier. Farms doing exactly that are scattered across the Midwest. Tune in to learn how the Environmental Working Group's Midwest division is using remo...

Biomimicry is a practice that learns from and mimics the strategies used by species alive today. The goal is to create products, processes, and policies — new ways of living — that solve our greatest design challenges sustainably. The Biomimicry Institute was founded in 2006 by Janine Benyus and Bryony Schwan to share nature's design lessons with the people who design and make our world, and empow...

Feeding America is the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization—a powerful and efficient network of 200 food banks across the country. As food insecurity rates hold steady at the highest levels ever, the Feeding America network of food banks has risen to meet the need. They feed 40 million people at risk of hunger, including 12 million children and 7 million seniors. But Feeding Americ...

CR Vasco da Gama (CRVG)—one of Brazil's top football (soccer) teams—partnered with social impact startup VeganNation to promote sustainability initiatives within the sports industry. In recent months, VeganNation has gathered sports partners across Brazil—including soccer teams Remo, Paysandu, Iranduba, and Nacional Club, which are located near the Amazon rainforest, and legendary soccer player Ca...

California has a compelling need to reduce pollutant emissions to reach health-based ambient air quality goals. The South Coast Air Quality Management District and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District are currently in extreme non-attainment of the eight-hour federal ozone standard, and in non-attainment for the 24-hour PM2.5 standard. A recent study found that converting medium an...

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently released his proposed 2020-21 budget, securing critical ongoing support for schools and farmers to collectively advance local, climate-smart procurement, education, and experiential learning in school gardens. The Governor is advocating for more freshly prepared California-grown meals on students' plates, more training opportunities for food service staff,...

Today we'll be joined by Sydney Evans, Science Analyst with the Environmental Working Group, to discuss PFAS, a.k.a. "forever chemicals", which has been found in municipal water supplies across the U.S. Join us as we discuss the health effects of this family of toxins and steps you can take to protect your family.

Our guest today is Seth Terry, Ph. D, head of Customer Experience at Emporia Energy, and we'll be talking about their new residential energy monitoring device, Vue. The Vue is a low-cost solution that helps consumers track home energy use at the individual appliance level. The user-friendly app helps you see what appliances are contributing most to your monthly energy bill, and helps you take real...

Our guest today is Gamal Sherif, Program Manager for Texas-based nonprofit, EcoRise. We will discuss a new program to help high school students attain LEED, Green Associate credential through the U.S. Green Building Council. This credential is recognized as an international standard of green building concept knowledge on topics such as indoor air quality, water efficiency, energy efficiency and mu...

Never worry about a power outage again. Panasonic Solar has a new solution for consumers who want an eco-friendly, energy independent home: EverVolt™. This new residential energy storage system can be tailored to a homeowner's individual needs, offering both AC and DC coupled options, as well as options to scale down to as little as 5.7kWh of energy storage or expanded to 34.2kWh. Tune in as we ta...

In the upcoming motion picture, Dark Waters, actor Mark Ruffalo plays the character inspired by Robert Bilott, a lawyer specializing in helping big corporations stay on the right side of environmental laws and regulations. His life took an unexpected turn when a West Virginia farmer named Earl Tennant called. He was convinced his cattle were being poisoned by runoff from a neighboring DuPont landf...

Energy efficiency is the fastest-growing segment of U.S. energy-sector employment, now employing more than 2.3 million Americans, according to a new analysis from E4TheFuture and the national, nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs). Energy efficiency workers now account for 28% of all U.S. energy jobs. The new report, Energy Efficiency Jobs in America, finds energy efficiency...