O.K., O.K. … you know why the Gulf oil disaster happened. Most of us pilot our dinosaur-juice powered shiny metal boxes down the road every day. Yours truly included. And our economy is built on the black stuff. Yeah, it’s true that a string of government and corporate Bozos made a series of huge mistakes with the Macondo well, but the well wouldn’t have been there if we weren’t so enamored with our oil.
And everyone knows our health is suffering from our oil addictions. It touches every part of everyone’s lives. So, while no one here’s going to cast the first stone, we gotta handle this. From soup to nuts we’ve got three smart guys to help us with these things on this Monday’s Blue Planet Almanac. Terry Tamminen, Mark Sneller, Ph.D., and Bob Deans.
Bob Deans, Federal Communications Director at NRDC
Bob Deans
For an insider’s view of what’s happening or not with daily climate change policy in Washington, we’ll have the opportunity to hear what Bob Deans of Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) sees from his first-hand experience over recent years. Founded in 1970, NRDC is one of toughest, most battle-seasoned NGOs on Earth. NRDC features a tripartite approach to environmental salvation which employs seasoned attorneys, scientists and policy activists winning their way through United States courts in their pursuit of environmental sanity.
If you’re a reader, Bob’s name should sound a little more than familiar because Bob helped NRDC president Frances Beineke pen the book, “Clean Energy Common Sense: An American Call to Action on Global Climate Change.” If all that’s not enough to move you to read the book, bear in mind that Robert Redford wouldn’t preface just anyone’s book. Redford and Beineke are people you want on your team.
In his heart, I suspect Bob’s an environmental patriot. From his bio he recounts that he, “spent nearly 30 years as a newspaper reporter. That included a four-year stint as the chief Asia correspondent, based in Tokyo, for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other Cox newspapers, and eight years covering the (Bush) White House. I’m a former president of the White House Correspondents’ Association and author of the 2007 book, ‘The River Where America Began: A Journey Along the James.”
"Clean Energy Common Sense" by Frances Beineke with Bob Deans
Bob is currently NRDC’s Director of Federal Communications. In his role with NRDC, he attended Cop15 in Copenhagen, part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was our world’s most recent attempt to sit together and hash out environmental policies which would lead to positive climate policies. Among his activities, Bob also maintains an excellent and interesting blog at NRDC’s Switchboard.
Bob’s blog at NRDC’s Switchboard shows his job covers everything Federal imaginable and then some. Take, for instance, this especially intriguing section from his 2-1-10 entry about the Pentagon and environmental policy, “Climate change, in fact, ‘may act as an accelerant of instability or conflict, placing a burden to respond on civilian institutions and militaries around the world.’ That’s the conclusion laid out in the Quadrennial Defense Review, or QDR, the Defense Department released on Monday.” Let that soak in for a moment or two. The Pentagon is interested in environmental policy because it might affect national security? Yes.
Mark Sneller, Ph.D.
The reason why I’m interested in having you hear what Mark Sneller can tell you about sustainability and health is this: it’s long been known that some of the most polluted environments are inside the doors of your home.
Mark Sneller, Ph.D.
From Mark’s bio, he’s: “a nationally renowned indoor air expert. After spending over thirty years studying mold, pollen and indoor pollutants and inspecting thousands of homes, offices and schools has many findings and ideas to share with you.”
“Sneller was born in Venice, California. After serving for two years in the Peace Corps in India, he went on to earn his Master’s Degree from California State University at Long Beach, and Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma, both in Microbiology/Biochemistry with a specialty in Medical Mycology. In addition, he served two post-doctoral appointments in cancer research and antibiotic research, and also taught graduate studies in Medical Mycology at San Jose State University.”
Greener Cleaner Indoor Air by Mark Sneller, Ph.D.
“In 1979, Dr. Sneller started Aero-Allergen Research, an indoor air quality company in Tucson, Arizona. Since then, he has received two awards from the Arizona Lung Association for work in the field of respiratory health, has been featured in Newsweek Magazine and The New York Times, and on ABC, NBC and CBS national network news. Dr. Sneller has also been under contract with the Department of Justice and Department of Defense for outdoor and indoor air monitoring and served on the State of Arizona Air Pollution Control Hearing Board under appointment from the governor. A bioterrorism consultant for the City of New York Department of Health, he has hosted his own radio talk show and was a weekly newspaper columnist for ten years. Mark currently has a monthly column on Boomer-living.com.
“Dr. Sneller is an approved pollen and mold identification expert by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and is the author of some fifteen scientific papers in the fields of mycology, palynology, organic chemistry, fungal toxins and combination drug therapy.
A resident of Tucson, Dr. Sneller is a Sensei with the Japan Karate Association and is a member of the Society of American Magicians and president of the Society of Southwestern Authors. “
Terry Tamminen
Terry Tamminen, Seventh Generation Advisors
Terry Tamminen’s a sustainability policy advisor with long experience behind him. He founded the sustainability consultancy Seventh Generation Advisors on Los Angeles’ west side, blogs at CNN, Grist and Fast Company and is a frequent media guest in news organizations which include CNBC. You’ll recall his name from his appointment as Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency in November 2003, as well as Cabinet Secretary and Chief Policy Advisor to the Governor in December 2004.
See a news video of Terry discussing BP’s prospective insolvency here on CNBC’s Kudlow Report.
From Terry’s bio: “From his youth in Australia to career experiences in Europe, Africa and all parts of the United States, Terry has developed expertise in business, farming, education, non-profit, the environment, the arts, and government….
“Terry’s latest book, Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction (Island Press), is a timely examination of our dependence on oil and a strategy to evolve to more sustainable energy sources…
Lives Per Gallon by Terry Tamminen
“In 1993, Terry founded the Santa Monica BayKeeper and served as its Executive Director for six years. He co-founded Waterkeeper programs in San Diego, Orange County, Ventura, and Santa Barbara. He also served for five years as Executive Director of the Environment Now Foundation in Santa Monica, CA and co-founded the Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic at the School of Law, University of California Los Angeles.
“In April, 2007, he was named the Cullman Senior Fellow and Director of the Climate Policy Program of The New America Foundation, a non-profit, post-partisan, public policy institute. In September, 2007, he was appointed as an Operating Advisor to Pegasus Capital Advisors. Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P., is a private equity fund manager that provides capital to middle market companies across a wide variety of industries.
“Terry currently travels throughout the United States and the world, lecturing and providing private consulting services to a variety of clients, including several Governors and Canadian Premiers on climate and energy policy.”
Blue Planet Almanac radio airs live with host Mike Austin on HealthyLife.net on the 4th Monday of each month at 8:00 A.M. Pacific Time. Blue Planet Almanac is also re-broadcast later in the week and shows are archived three days after airtime at that same site. HealthyLife.net is an all-positive talk station and has over 3 million listeners monthly in 104 countries and all 50 United States.
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