The Green Majority
The Green Majority is a weekly environmental news hour on CIUT 89.5 F.M. in Toronto, Canada. It strives to inform listeners about the environmental events that affect them, with emphasis on municipal, provincial and national issues, and to connect listeners to their environmental communities.
August 2, 2013 – No Time For Rafting At Climate Camp
Liz Rice is fresh off the plane from climate camp to talk to us about her experience. But there’s no canoeing and smores at this camp, its 3 straight days of intensive training with former vice president Al Gore and Climate Reality Project CEO Maggie Fox.
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Living on Earth Living on Earth with Steve Curwood is the weekly environmental news and information program distributed by Public Radio International.
September 6, 2013
House Climate Hearings Set for 9/18, Republican Climate Hearing Agenda, US Reactor Safety In Light of Fukushima, Why Fish Have Different Amounts of Mercury, and more
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Pulse of the Planet Each weekday, Pulse of the Planet provides its listeners with a two-minute sound portrait of Planet Earth, tracking the rhythms of nature, culture and science worldwide. The series is presented by the National Science Foundation.
August 30, 2013 – Dead Zone – Solutions
Off the coast of Louisiana there’s a region of ocean the size of the state of New Jersey that’s virtually devoid of life.
August 5, 2013 – Natchez Pow-Wow
At the annual Natchez Pow-Wow, Native Americans are dancing in the footsteps of their ancestors.
Bard CEP’s National Climate Seminarhas begun, with a great line up of speakers scheduled for the fall. Listen in real time to climate and clean energy specialists talk about the latest science, policy, law, and economics of climate change. Assign these half-hour calls to your students for a chance to hear to scientists, analysts and political leaders discuss climate and clean energy solutions. These conference calls are free and held at noon every 1st and 3rd Wednesday. They are also available afterwards on Bard’swebsite.
(Photo: Edie Steiner, Text 2: from the series Material Remains, 2003)
In the second part of CoHearence’s look at the 2011 conference, Green Words/Green Worlds: Environmental Literatures and Politics in Canada, we continue our investigation of the relationship between the cultivation of an environmental reading (and writing) practice and engaged eco-politics. Featuring excerpts from the Green Words/Green Worlds opening public poetry panel which included keynote presenters Brian Bartlett, Armand Garnett Ruffo and Rita Wong, we build on our discussion with conference organizers Catriona Sandilands and Ella Soper about why literature is important for environmental thought and action. We explore how and why Canadian ecocritics and poets are engaging with the challenging environmental questions of our time and provide perspectives for rethinking the way we imagine our environment.
Citation: Di Battista, Amanda and Andrew Mark, “Poetic Nature(s): Literature and Politics at the Green Words/Green Worlds Conference Part 2” CoHearence. 12 June 2012.
(Photo: Edie Steiner, Text 1: from the series Material Remains, 2003)
In the fall of 2011, ecocritics, writers, and poets from across Canada attended a conference at the Gladstone hotel in Toronto. This conference, entitled “Green Words/Green Worlds: Environmental Literatures and Politics in Canada,” focused on the relationship between the cultivation of an environmental reading (and writing) practice and engaged eco-politics. In this CoHearence episode, we’ll use recorded material collected at the conference as well as a follow-up interview with the conference organizers to explore the ways that Canadian ecocritics and poets are engaging with the challenging environmental questions of our time. Featuring conference organizers Catriona Sandilands and Ella Soper as well as keynote presenters Adam Dickinson, Anne, Milne, and Molly Wallace, we’ll ask the question: in a world increasingly characterized by climate change, environmental disasters, and technology, why does literature matter? How can an environmental writing practice be a political act?
Nixon, Rob. Slow violence and the environmentalism of the poor. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2011.
Van Wyck, Peter. Signs of Danger: Waste, Trauma, and Nuclear Threat. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota Press, 2005.
Milne, Anne. “Reading My Skin: Experiential, Academic, and Creative Explorations in Skin Cancer.” English Studies in Canada. Special issue on Skin edited by Julia Emberley. 34.1. March 2008, 29-36.
Citation: Di Battista, Amanda and Andrew Mark, “Poetic Nature(s): Literature and Politics at the Green Words/Green Worlds Conference” CoHearence. 24 May 2012.
(Photo: Edie Steiner, Industrial Ruins at Michipicoten Bay, 2010.)
“My name is this and that and I come from here and there and I practice I don’t know what and I am not myself because I am also my government and I am also my economy and I am very much my one-directional totalitarian culture which subdues me and misuses me and uses and misuses my work to the point where I don’t know where my work is itself or where my work is something other than itself or where my work is the opposite of itself and this one-directional culture uses and misuses not only my production but also my protest against these uses and misuses because my protest is part of its pluralistic glory which is part of its world governing economic order which presents itself as a religion and is as fervently believed in as a religion and extracts from its believers the fanaticism of a fervently believed in religion and the chief characteristic of this self-righteous world governing order is that it is marching on and on and on and on and this marching on and on and on and on has no opposition because it eats opposition for breakfast.” – Peter Schumann, Bread and Puppet
The title of this episode, Resistance for Breakfast: Hegemony, Arts, and Environment, is a playful departure from Peter Schumann’s words, and suggests that, perhaps, we could all use a little more resistance in our diet. We will investigate how hegemonic power manifests itself in environmental art and how art practices can also expose and challenge such power. Hegemony is a social condition in which dominant groups exercise power in all aspects of social reality not through militarized violence but rather through implied means (Mayo, 35). The scholars, activists, and educators we speak with call for resistance to hegemonic power that is not only critical and subversive but also beautiful.
Featuring interviews with FES Professor Deborah Barndt, storyteller and FES contract faculty Chris Cavanagh, FES PhD candidate Heather McLean, and artist and FES PhD candidate Edie Steiner, we will discuss the ways ‘the arts’ reinforce common sense understandings of what constitutes ‘good art.’ We’ll also explore the problematic relationship between large art festivals and local arts movements and suggest ways in which critical environmental art practices can facilitate meaningful activism and create change.
Generation Anthropocene, a weekly podcast from Stanford University, provides interviews about the Anthropocene from social, scientific, economic, and moral perspectives. As environmental philosophers have long talked about moral and philosophical issues surrounding the increasing humanization of the globe, ISEE hopes the folks at Stanford will soon invite an environmental philosopher to weigh in on the issues.
The following podcasts are now available.
Introduction to Series
We highly recommend you have a listen to our compilation piece to get acquainted with our contributors and the wide range of topics covered in the more intimate one-on-one interviews.
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Richard White (environmental historian): Richard White addresses the (mis)perceptions of the natural world, the ambiguities surrounding the Anthropocene boundary, and his approach to environmental history.
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Terry Root (biologist): Terry Root talks about her approach to bio-diversity loss, earth science communication, and the far-reaching impacts of humankind in our most emotional interview to date.
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Jon Payne (paleobiologist/geologist): Jon Payne discusses Earth’s previous mass extinctions including his work on the largest extinction in Earth’s history, how geologists define boundaries, our current understanding of deep time, and how geologists view the Anthropocene debate.
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Christopher Gardner (nutritionist): Christopher Gardner discusses the relations of food and society, the modern food movement, and a variety of compelling reasons for rethinking the way we eat in one of our more uplifting conversations.
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Bill Durham (human ecologist): Bill Durham discusses his career trajectory including his work in the Galapagos Islands, issues surrounding the new field of eco-tourism, and how a mishap with a lawn mower started his life’s work.
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Jon Christensen (environmental historian): Jon Christensen discusses the mythos of the American frontier and some of his unique approaches to history. Christensen also gazes to the future and makes an interesting case for a placement of the Anthropocene boundary.
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Rodolfo Dirzo (tropical evolutionary biologist): Rodolfo Dirzo discusses the importance of biological diversity, his connection to the Anthropocene, and his work in Central and South America in one of our most spirited conversations.
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Doug Bird (anthropologist): Doug Bird discusses his work with the native Martu peoples of Australia, their perceptions of environment, the history of landscape modification in the remote and harsh Western dessert, and how the spread of homo sapiens relates to the Anthropocene.
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Sally Benson (director GCEP): Sally Benson talks about the goals and recent accomplishments of Stanford’s Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP), the need to partner with industry, the hopeful signs of alternative energy development, and how her upbringing informed her sense of justice and optimism.
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Gil Masters (environmental engineer): Gil Masters highlights the importance of buildings in shaping our energy demands and explores the potential of energy efficiency while offering fresh and practical solutions to the energy and climate crisis.
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Patrick Archie (agricultural ecologist): Patrick Archie reflects on the social justice of food, the evolution of his profession, and his vision for community development as it relates to food systems.
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Leonard Ortolano (environmental engineer): Leonard Ortolano reflects on his professional trajectory and how environmentalism has guided water resource planning, gives us a brief history of US environmental assessment work, and explores the complexity of water as it relates to climate change.
The Green Majority 
Pulse of the Planet
Sep. 19
Oct. 3
Oct. 17
Nov. 7
Nov. 21
Dec. 5
(Photo: Edie Steiner, Industrial Ruins at Michipicoten Bay, 2010.)
Richard White (environmental historian)
Terry Root (biologist)
Jon Payne (paleobiologist/geologist)
Christopher Gardner (nutritionist)
Jon Christensen (environmental historian)
Rodolfo Dirzo (tropical evolutionary biologist)
Doug Bird (anthropologist)
Sally Benson (director GCEP)
Gil Masters (environmental engineer)
Patrick Archie (agricultural ecologist)
Leonard Ortolano (environmental engineer)
ISEE - International Society for Environmental Ethics 