December 15, 2011: Savory and Sustainable Seed to Table Cuisine at the Seattle Culinary Academy

The art of "seed to plate" cuisine is growing strong at Seattle Culinary Academy. Grow the seed or the plant in a nearby greenhouse. Then put it to mouth watering good use in dishes such as tea smoked duck and micro greens or creamy risotto served with freshly harvested baby red beets. The academy is among the first in the nation to teach sustainability. Martha Baskin has our report.

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December 8, 2011: What’s Ubiquitous but Microscopic, Useful but Harmful and Is Used by 2 Billion in the State & 290 Million in the City?

Despite pride in being the "emerald city," environmentally savvy and beautiful to boot, Seattle is behind the curve when it comes to using plastic bags. Three years ago the city would have been among the first in the nation to ban plastic bags from grocery stores. But the attempt failed when voters were presented with an initiative funded by the American Chemistry Council. This year the city is following the "Bellingham Model" and those in D.C., Portland, Oregon and Edmonds, USA. Martha Baskin brings us this update.

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December 1, 2011: With Global Warming on the Defensive a Federal Lawsuit in Seattle Brings It Front and Center

Once the subject of heated debate, global warming today suffers an uneasy silence, one that's persisted through the end of the hottest decade in recorded history and yet another summer of freak natural disasters and record-breaking heat worldwide. A federal lawsuit filed in Seattle this week brings the subject front and center with a new twist. The case challenges the state's clean air agencies for failing to control greenhouse gas emissions from oil refineries. Martha Baskin paid the courtroom a visit and has our report.

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November 17, 2011: Food Security and the Roots of Migration

When it comes to Mexico, immigration and drug cartels dominate the news. The roots of migration and ways to increase food security rarely enter the conversation. This week Green Acre Radio speaks with a small farmer committed to defending corn and culture in Oaxaca, Mexico’s most southern state. He was on Witness for Peace speaking tour of the Northwest.

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November 10, 2011: Rain Gardens Part Two: An Odd Urban Tale About Things that Run Down the Drain and How to Stop the Flow

This week Green Acre Radio continues to look at the "miasma" that runs into Puget Sound, as storyteller Stokley Towles puts it. Other characters in this odd urban tale include a landscape designer, Seattle Public Utility and you, the public. Martha Baskin has the story.

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More information:
www.tox-ick.org
www.12000raingardens.org
www.seattle.gov/restoreourwaters
www.pugetsoundstartshere.org
www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/stormwater/municipal/2012draftMUNIcom.html
www.seattle.gov/util/rainwise
www.sustainableseattle.org

November 3, 2011: Scary Threats That Haunt Puget Sound and Some Not-So-Scary Solutions

Green Acre Radio starts out with a ghost story this week of Day of the Dead. And then looks at some less well known, but just as haunting threats, facing Puget Sound waterways each and every day.

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More information:
www.tox-ick.org
www.12000raingardens.org
www.seattle.gov/restoreourwaters
www.pugetsoundstartshere.org
www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/stormwater/municipal/2012draftMUNIcom.html

October 27, 2011: State "Flips the Switch" on the First Hydropower Plant in Nearly Twenty Years. Is it a Smart Clean Energy Choice?

Compared to the dominant energy supply produced nationwide - 49% from coal, 20% from nuclear and another 20% from natural gas - hydropower, at 7%, stands out in the clean energy crowd. In Washington State hydropower is the dominant form of energy, supplying 65% of the state’s needs. So does that mean more hydropower is the solution for improving the state’s clean energy portfolio? Martha Baskin visited a "flip-the-switch" ceremony for the state’s first hydropower plant in nearly twenty years and brings us this report.

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