The six guests who join Jerry Kay for this week’s ENN Radio program offer particularly fascinating points of view on topics ranging from climate to eco-friendly design.
The six guests who join Jerry Kay for this week’s ENN Radio program offer particularly fascinating points of view on topics ranging from climate to eco-friendly design.
Leading off, Dr. Heidi Cullen, The Weather Channel’s Climate Expert brings her unique expertise to bear in offering some common-sense advice: The individual can make a difference in curbing global warming, she says. Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to be perfect. Buy efficient appliances. Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. Get a car that gets good mileage. Just do what you can; every little decision adds up.
Kay’s next guest, Philip Hammer, is Vice President of The Franklin Institute, based in Philadelphia. Founded in 1824, The Institute grants one of science’s highest awards honoring key science disciplines. We may not recognize the names or the faces of the award-winners, Hammer says (although past Franklin Institute Laureates include Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and other household names), but either profoundly or incidentally, we’re all affected by their achievements. If you’ve ever thought about how easy it is to navigate your iPod, for example, you have this year’s computer science award honoree, Donald Norman, to thank for his work in user-centered design.
“High style, low impact” is the approach that Helen Riegle of HER Design takes to creating a beautiful line of eco-friendly handbags with designs that draw from nature. As an integral part of their business model, Helen and her husband Christopher aim to educate consumers about the materials used in the handbags, marry unusual materials like hemp and recycled products, and operate in as low-impact a way as possible by packaging their goods in cornstarch-based bags, for example. With luck, as more consumers opt to buy products in a considered way, the ideals practiced by HER Design will become even more widespread.
May is National Bike Month, and Kay speaks with Deb Hubsmith of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, about the multifaceted benefits of shunning the auto in favor of the bike. Hubsmith says that a lot of a car’s emissions are released within in the first few minutes of a trip. With many of us making numerous short jaunts daily, emissions can really add up. Hopping on a bike instead of firing up an engine whenever possible can go a long way toward sparing the environment. So this May, think about giving bicycle commuting a try! Find out what’s going on in your area during National Bike Month at www.bikeleague.org.
Mother Earth News publisher Bryan Welch tells Jerry Kay that recent advances in media are opening up exciting, new ways in which to communicate with and inspire readers. The Internet affords people direct interaction with each other despite geological boundaries. The result: A trend that resembles the ideal of the 1970s when people shared and profited from each other’s enthusiasm for change.
Jim Motavalli, editor of E, The Environmental Magazine sees another trend. The average person is much more aware of environmental problems than before, he says, and more and more of us are taking steps to incorporate environmental ideas into daily living. Ideas that were formerly “fringe” concepts are moving into the mainstream, and there are numerous avenues consumers can take to enhance their own lives while sparing the environment.
Tune in to ENN Radio for more.
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