The Recovery Act was intended to jump-start demand in the US economy and create American jobs. An innovative feature of the act was its attention to investment in clean energy projects. But if the country wants to return to pre-recession employment levels, it needs to add 127,000 jobs per month to keep up with population growth. The Seattle area has seen some green job creation, but not enough to dig itself out of the hole and also prepare for climate change.
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Green Acre Radio is a weekly radio program focusing on important issues in the environmental and sustainability movement, including wetland restoration, Puget Sound recovery, local food policy and ocean acidification. Produced by Martha Baskin and sponsored by the HumanLinks Foundation in partnership with Jack Straw Cultural Center. E-mail greenacre@jackstraw.org with comments or suggestions.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
December 10, 2009: Blue Marble Energy – Undoing the House that Oil Built
The modern world lives in the house that oil built. Everything around us comes from petroleum. Over 96% of all consumer products, from liquid fuels to plastics, paints, clothes and food are derived from petrochemicals or require oil for their production. Aware of this dependence, Seattle based Blue Marble Energy set out to find a sustainable alternative. Martha Baskin has our story.
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Thursday, December 3, 2009
December 3, 2009: Theo Chocolate, The Fair Trade Food of the Gods
When the WTO came to Seattle ten years ago to negotiate a new trade agreement, they were stuck on a model of trade without labor, environmental or domestic protection standards. The model is called "free trade”. The notion of fair trade was not understood. Today companies that promote fair trade are seeing tremendous growth. Green Acre Radio takes us on a tour of a local fair trade company, Theo Chocolate.
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