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Energy Relapse and Recovery

Alex Smith | 04.04.2012 19:11 | Anti-Nuclear | Ecology | Energy Crisis | Sheffield

In a UN tour of Japan, green city expert Warren Karlenzig reports on recovery attempts after tsunami & nuclear melt-down. Anti-nuke activist Helen Caldicott at Occupy EPA rally (with Gerri Williams). Susanne Moser on "Getting Real About It" (a troubled future, including a damaged climate).

Ecoshock show 120404 - mp3 14M


A fresh update on Japan after the tsunami and nuclear accident with Warren Karlenzig, a sustainable cities expert, and Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute. Warren was part of a United Nations multi-national advisory group.

Is it a chance to build new green cities, or a vision of what we all face as the oil runs out? Did you know reconstruction has not begun because the land has not yet settled enough to build? Some places are still sinking (up to several feet) even as serious earthquakes continue.

Even eating food in Japan is a daily threat. Are the famous rice and mushrooms contaminated with radioactivity? Some local say "yes" even when Tokyo says "not much".

Then a quick interview by Gerri Williams with anti-nuclear campaigner Helen Caldicott, at the Occupy EPA protest in Washington on March 30th. Helen warns the Japanese experience of melt-down is just waiting for America, Canada, or any nuclear power plant.

We also get a short clip from protest organizer and EPA whistle-blower Marsha Coleman-Adebayo (a previous Radio Ecoshock feature guest.) Marsha talks about the undue impact of pollution on people of color.

The show wraps up with an invitation by Susanne Moser to "get real" about our difficult future as we destabilize the climate (among other serious problems). Susanne is a scientist formerly with NOAA and the Union of Concerned Scientists. We discuss her contribution to an upcoming book - an essay which raises the tough questions most of us don't want to talk about.

Download/listen to CD Quality version (1 hour 56 MB) here:
 http://www.ecoshock.net/eshock12/ES_120404_Show.mp3

Alex Smith
- Homepage: http://www.ecoshock.org