Green Grid Radio

Engaging and transformative reporting on the environment, energy, and sustainability

Tag Archives: Green Grid Radio


by Leave a comment

S5E1: Coffee: Trouble Brewing?

Coffee is the second most traded global commodity after oil, employing millions of people to produce the 2 billion cups consumed around the world every day. But from production in developing countries, to global trade, to consumption in developed countries, the industry is plagued with some dirty secrets.

In this collaborative piece, Green Grid Radio and Making Contact team up to explore the lesser-known environmental and social justice costs of your morning coffee habit.

Jennifer Dunn reports from Colombia as she learns how Colombia’s small-scale coffee farmers are struggling to protect their crops and salvage their livelihoods. Mallory Smith hears from both sides of an ugly split in the fair trade movement, a movement which was first borne out of the desire to improve the lives of those who grow our coffee, but which some say has been co-opted by people with a different vision. And Laura Flynn decides to find out what happens to our little K-cups – those convenient single-cup brewing pods which seem like a miracle of modernity – once we throw them away.

Hosted by Mallory Smith and George Lavender. Contributing producers: Jennifer Dunn, Laura Flynn, Mallory Smith.

Featuring:

Coffee farmers Jairo Martinez, Mariana Cruz, Suzana Angarita

Jeff Goldman, former executive director of Fairtrade Resource Network

Jeff Chean, Principal and Chief Coffee Guy Groundwork Coffee

John Hazen, single-cup coffee machine owner

Rebecca Jewell, recycling program manager for Davis Street Transfer Station

Music:

Pensacola Twilight, Lee Rosevere

Cafetero, Christian Martinez

Grand Caravan, Blue Dot Sessions

Them Never Love No Bans, Hot Fire

La Boite a Sons – Contest Contributions, various artists

 

For more information:

Fair Trade Lite: Fair Trade USA moves away from worker co-ops

Hijacked Organic, Limited Local, Faulty Fair Trade

Roundup on Fair Trade USA/FLO Split

A Brewing Problem

Your Coffee Pods’ Dirty Secret

Kill the K-cup (video)

 


by Leave a comment

Coming up in S5E1: Green Grid Radio Collaboration with Making Contact

Green Grid Radio will be back on air this Wednesday, March 25 for an episode about coffee, produced in collaboration with Making Contact, a social justice radio program.

This 3-segment episode follows the coffee bean from production to trade to consumption, sharing untold stories that might cast a dark shadow on your cup of dark roast.

Making Contact producer Jennifer Dunn ventures into the interior of Colombia to talk to coffee farmers about the struggles they face as vulnerable actors in an international play. I (Mallory) report on fair trade, discussing the controversial split in the movement that some say has jeopardized the very purpose of fair trade. And finally, Making Contact producer Laura Flynn explores a waste facility to find out what happens to Keurig’s plastic K-cups when we throw them away.

This episode will be played on radio stations at various times this week. Keep an eye out for the link to live stream this special collaboration, which we will post here soon! And as always, the show will be available on our iTunes podcast shortly thereafter.


by Leave a comment

Coming up in S1E9: The Big Season Finale (Dec 11th, 2012 at 1-2PM PST)

On Tuesday December 11 we’re rounding of the first season of Green Grid Radio with a big finale! The show will feature highlights from the first season such as climate change discussions with Rt. Honorable Helen Clark and Philip Duffy, the possibilities stemming from green buildings and solar panels and much more. Some of our favorite guests Rob Best, Andrew Ponec, and Tim Burke are coming back to the studio to provide the voice of the Stanford community. Your hosts, Adam Pearson and Erik Olesund, will tie things together and perhaps give you a sneak peak of what is to come in Season 2. So tune in on Tuesday from 1-2 PM at 90.1FM or kzsulive.stanford.edu for a show filled with goodies!

Season 1 Finale Flyer


by Leave a comment

S1E3: Green Buildings, Oil Hegemony, and “Dodo Sapiens”

Eric Corey Freed, author and organic architect, speaks on green buildings, oil companies, and what he calls “dodo sapiens.” Student panelist Jacob Schaffert discusses his thoughts on energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives in local government.

Presented by Adam Pearson, Nick McIntyre and Sophia Vo.


by Leave a comment

Coming up in S1E3: Green Buildings, Oil Hegemony, and “Dodo Sapiens” (Oct 16th, 2012: 1-2pm PST)

This week on Green Grid Radio architect Eric Corey Freed join us. Freed is a thought leader, writer, and speaker inviting the public to reassess how much we need the millions of barrels of oil we use and why he needs to ask clients if they want carcinogenic chemicals in their home interior. Freed is well-known for best-seller, Green Building & Remodeling for Dummies, among three other well-received books. The Organic Architect sits on the boards for multiple architecture, sustainability, and green buildings organizations, including West Coast Green. He is a founding member and current Chair of the Coachella Valley branch of the US Green Building Council.

Freed will give us the rundown on green buildings, current technology, and low-energy design, in addition to some humor about our generation’s shortcomings. Listen in Tuesday Oct 16th at 1pm PST for the Green Grid Radio season’s third episode! Watch out for us on twitter (@greengridradio) if you want the latest news and info.

Adam


by Leave a comment

S1E2: Integrating Wind and Variable Resources in a Renewable Power Future

Mark Z. Jacobson, Stanford Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, stops by Green Grid Radio to discuss his plan for a renewable energy future. Jacobson emphasizes that in order to reach popular consensus in support of a clean energy world, we must push for energy education for the public. Topics of conversation also includes black carbon’s relationship to climate change, “beefing up” transmission lines, and how a wind/water/solar world could reduce global energy consumption by 32%, and emissions by 100%.

Presented by Adam Pearson, Nick McIntyre and Sophia Vo.


by Leave a comment

Coming up in S1E2: Integrating Wind and Variable Resources in a Renewable Power Future (Oct 9th, 2012: 1-2pm PST)

Greetings,

This week on Green Grid Radio we’ll be hosting Professor Mark Z. Jacobson. Jacobson is a major force at Stanford pushing thinkers to reassess how much of the world can be powered by renewable energy (spoiler alert: all of it). Jacobson is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director of the Atmosphere/Energy program, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy, and a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment. Professor Jacobson has published textbooks on air pollution and global warming, as well as atmospheric modeling. Jacobson’s work on energy resources, climate, aerosols, and atmospheric forcing has been published in numerous journals, and recently he worked with activist/actor Mark Ruffalo to publish a Huffington Post column and deliver a google talk in support of his vision for a clean world.

Jacobson’s recent Global Warming and Air Pollution textbook

Jacobson will be speaking a bit about the feasibility of his Wind Water Solar plan, and how variable resources can be effectively incorporated into our grid system. Tune in Tuesday Oct 9th at 1pm PST to listen live to our second episode! As always, keep up with us on twitter (@greengridradio) for show updates and other interesting articles and info.

Adam


by Leave a comment

S1E1: Renewable Energy at Stanford and Beyond

Stanford students speak about their renewable energy projects. Panelists discuss “Is the energy problem a behavioral problem?” and “How do we get Americans to use less energy or produce less waste?”

Guests: Derek Ouyang and Rob Best from Stanford’s Solar Decathlon team and Tim Burke from Engineers for a Sustainable World.

Presented by Adam Pearson, Nick McIntyre and Sophia Vo.


by Leave a comment

Coming up in S1E1: Renewable Energy at Stanford and Beyond (Oct 2nd, 2012: 1-2pm PST)

It is with great pleasure that I announce this update on behalf of the Green Grid Radio team. This Tuesday, Oct 2nd, 2012 from 1-2pm will be the inaugural episode of the show. The topic of the show will be “Renewable Energy at Stanford and Beyond.” We’ll discuss ways that Stanford students are leading projects related to renewable energy and sustainable design. Our guests will be Stanford students Derek Ouyang, Tim Burke, and Rob Best, representing the Stanford Solar Decathlon team and the Stanford chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World. They will certainly bring a unique perspective to the airwaves when they answer questions about their current projects and broader energy concerns.

Perspective drawing of the Stanford Solar Decathlon house

Schematic from Engineers for a Sustainable World’s current Anam City (Nigeria) project

To stream the show live, tune into KZSU Stanford at 90.1 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area. Alternatively you listen on your computer at kzsulive. Remember to keep checking the Green Grid Radio homepage for an archive of the show, available at a later date. And make sure to follow us on twitter (@greengridradio) for show updates and other interesting articles and info. Tweet at us during the show and we may pose your question to our guests!

Green on,

Adam


by 1 Comment

The Show..

Welcome to the Green Grid Radio website.

My name is Adam and I’m the host and creator of the program. I’ve been involved in radio at KZSU Stanford for a long time now – since fall of 2008. As an undergraduate I explored the form of a(n experimental) music show extensively, and I even managed KZSU from 2011-2012. I finally decided it was time to merge my two passions: radio and sustainable energy.

The program is a weekly interview, panel, and news show on the Californian and American transition to renewable electricity sources. This will include discussions of utility-scale wind, solar, and geothermal facilities, energy efficient buildings, and transportation technologies. Guests on the show will run the gamut from Stanford professors to industrial professionals to environmental conservationists.

There’s a lot of programming out there in the same sphere, so how will my show be different?

  • 1) The structure. Each month, we’ll focus on an umbrella subject and broach the topics from many different perspectives. As mentioned, different stakeholders will provide their perspectives on what is coming, what is important, and what is feasible.
  • 2) Current events. The show will incorporate recent policy debates and technological improvements to consider the future of the energy source/field. For example, one could imagine the Production Tax Credit will feature prominently in wind conversations.
  • 3) Guests. We won’t be shy in bringing in faculty, researchers, and other high-level thinkers in these worlds. It’s nice to hear industry spokespeople, but the show will be rooted in science, and not in buzz words and vague jobs projections.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or you’d like to participate on or contribute to the program, feel free to email me: adam [at] kzsu [dot] stanford [dot] edu.