Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 07.07.16

INDIAN POINT and DIABLO CANYON are two nuclear reactor names that strike fear in the hearts of anyone who knows about atomic power. We discuss the two reactors north of New York City with MANNA JO GREEN (Clearwater), GARY SHAW (IPSEC) and KEVIN KAMPS (Beyond Nuclear). These long-term activists and experts are dedicated to shutting the two nukes irradiating the Hudson River. They outline the critical deterioration threatening the future of these aging, uneconomical reactors.

We are then joined by ROCHELLE BECKER of California’s Alliance 4 Nuclear Responsibility who describes the landmark new deal cut between PG&E, the unions and environmental groups to shut the two nukes at Diablo Canyon by 2025. This complex multi-faceted agreement calls for a 100% conversion to renewable energy, a “retain and retrain” program for the plant’s workers, and a definitive death date in 9 years. A wide range of issues have arisen amongst those of us demanding an immediate shutdown of these decayed, deteriorating and deadly reactors. Lets figure out how to get them down…

Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 06.30.16

Smart Alec and Diablo Canyon are with us today in Solartopia.

We begin with Matthew Cardinale who has formed a new progressive campaign for human legislation aimed at countering the horrific Koch-funded American Legislative Exchange Council. The Koch’s ALEC has polluted our government since the 1970s with a heavily funded flood of bad bills aimed at enthroning the rich and powerful. They have now issued a “cease and desist” letter to Cardinale demanding his Smart Alec stop trying to pass legislation that might actually serve democracy. This is a fun and informative conversation.

We’re then joined by Linda Seeley and Myla Reson to talk about the horrific decision by California’s State Lands Commission to not require an Environmental Impact Report at Diablo Canyon. The report is required under the California Environmental Quality Act. Myla and Linda are long-time activists devoted to shutting this horrendous atomic reactor complex upwind of Los Angeles. On Tuesday, June 28, the Lands Commission hearing resulted in a unanimous vote taken as a kick in the teeth by those wanting Diablo shut ASAP. Myla and Linda give us the inside story.

Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 06.16.16

SOLARTOPIA is home to two great activists, David Swanson and Linda Seeley who are fighting against war and the Diablo Canyon nuke.

David starts with his World Beyond War perspectives on military madness and the fact that nearly all terror attacks are motivated by people seeking revenge for US attacks on their country.

David’s legendary speeches and writings on peace, disarmament and the need to abolish nuclear weapons have made him one of the world’s leaders in winning us a peaceful planet.

Linda then speaks to us from San Luis Obispo, California, on the June 28 hearing in front of the California Lands Commission. The three members of this commission will determine whether Pacific Gas & Electric, owner of the Diablo Canyon nukes, will be required to meet standards laid out in 1970 by the California Environmental Quality Act. Signed by then-Governor Ronald Reagan, the law requires an Environmental Impact Review to protect the tidewater regions now being abused by Diablo Canyon’s cooling system.

A long-time veteran of the fight for safe energy, Linda gives us the details on a regulatory debate that could finally force shut two of the world’s most dangerous nukes.

Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 06.02.16

The legendary PAUL KRASSNER is the star of this Solartopia Show.

We join Paul in his California home to run through his astonishing lifetime as a “guerilla satirist,” stand-up comedian, author, activist, videographic expert, psychedelic pioneer and much much more.

Paul has been with us in Solartopia before, but his boundless experience and wit make him always an A-List guest.

Today we discuss Ken Kesey, Tim Leary, the CIA, LSD and the Agency’s inadvertent role in introducing psychedelics to the counter-culture.

Since Paul was the founder of “Yippie,” the hippie/left offspring of the 1960s anti-war movement, we also ruminate on what “might have been” had Mayor Richard Daley granted permits to the demonstrators (me among them) at the 1968 Chicago Convention.

We also then plunge into today’s booming world of on-line pornography. Paul was a writer for Hustler when its publisher Larry Flint was shot, and has written extensively about the industry that has become the most-watched phenomenon in all the world of video. The discussion is fascinating but unfinished, so we’ll have to have Paul back with us again soon!

Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 05.19.16

Solartopia celebrates the amazing life & unmatched activism of the legendary MICHAEL MARIOTTE, a truly one-of-a-kind No Nukes activist, pamphleteer, researcher and strategist who recently passed away from pancreatic cancer.

Michael’s legendary career as a nuke-buster, grassroots organizer, writer, speaker, rock drummer and husband/parent/friend has inspired a whole generation. For decades he has been at the core of fighting the nuke industry in general, with particularly powerful impact at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland, the uranium project in Louisiana he helped defeat, and much much more.

Our tributes begin with MARY OLSON from the NUCLEAR INFORMATION & RESOURCE SERVICE, which Michael has helped lead since the 1980s. PAUL GUNTER then joins us, along with KEVIN KAMPS, both from BEYOND NUCLEAR.

ALFRED MEYER chimes in from PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY along with BOB BACKUS from the Seabrook fight, ROCHELLE BECKER from Diablo Canyon, TIM JUDSON (the new Executive Director of NIRS), DIANE D’ARRIGO of NIRS, ALLISON FISHER from PUBLIC CITIZEN, attorney DIANE CURREN, Michael’s band-mate and more.

For those of us who knew him, the hole Michael leaves in our movement and in our hearts will be impossible to fill.

There are few greater things one can do to further our power and wellness than what Michael accomplished in his lifetime.

Thank you, brother. We hope you enjoy the show….

Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 05.12.16

The Prospects & Business of Marijuana Legalization are center stage in Solartopia.

We talk with the great Eric Stirling, legendary long-time pioneer activist and founder of numerous key groups in the struggle to end pot prohibition.

We also speak with David Dinenberg, a founder of KIND Financial, a Los Angeles-based company providing “seed-to-market” services for the marijuana industry.

At the heart of the discussion is the question of how to navigate toward full legalization of an industry that is now illegal federally, legal for medical purposes in a number of states, and fully legal in others. It’s also a schedule one drug where a number of insiders believe it’d be better to stay that way than to downscale to level two.

In other words, we look at a multi-billion-dollar industry with a wide range of unique and very high stakes challenges, ranging from mass incarceration to mass marketing and mass cash flow.

From a hot button political issue to a major financial entity, this is a fascinating case study in cultural transition. Turn on, tune in and join the brave new world of legal pot.

Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 05.05.16

The Trans Pacific Partnership is a catastrophe poised to kill what’s left of our nation, says Dr. Margaret Flowers. Long-time activist and Green Party candidate for Senator from Maryland, Margaret works to FLUSH THE TPP and warns that this proposed trade deal is “NAFTA on steroids”. These terrible trade deals turn every ounce power over to giant corporations who rig our economies to the benefit of the super rich. NAFTA utterly destroyed America’s industrial base, and the TPP will be even worse, says Flowers.

We’re joined 30 minutes in by Bob Fitrakis, who recalls the dynamics of the Democratic campaign of 1992, when NAFTA was downplayed by candidate Bill Clinton, only to have him pass it once in the White House.

The question then becomes: now that Donald Trump has labelled NAFTA “the worst trade deal ever signed,” how will Hillary duck the issue in the upcoming presidential contest. And would she, once in the White House, stick it to the American economy the way she and Bill did in the 1990s.

Sadly, the question answers itself. Is the only answer that Bernie Sanders must now run as a Green with Jill Stein? Stay tuned!!!!

Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 04.28.16

From victim to victorious, we hear the astounding story of Dee McMillan a young Texas student who at age 14 is bullied by her classmates and then turns that into an energy to help save the world. Called a “fat whale” she decides to take it head on. She prints up “fat whale” t-shirts and starts a campaign to—you guessed it—save the whales. It’s an inspiring, energizing story told to us by Maris Stidenstecker of Monterey, California, whose long-standing organization used more than $10,000 raised by Dee to help clean the oceans.

We’re then joined by the great Libbe Halevy, long-time No Nukes activist and radio host who spoke with me at the Uranium Film Festival in Los Angeles, on a panel that included the actress Mimi Kennedy, actors Esai Morales and Lou Gossett, JR. along with actress/organizer Kat Kramer. Among the films we saw were NUCLEAR SAVAGES, THE LAST PICTURE, and THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD. The MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD features Kevin Costner in one of the most interesting and powerful films about the near-avoidance of nuke war one could ever image.

Libbe is a fascinating host discussing a great important topic. Please do join us to save the world…

Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 04.21.16

ATOMIC RADIATION is threatening us all as we hear from a great documentary filmmaker and two of America’s most important health researchers.

Adam Horowitz tells us of his award-winning documentary NUCLEAR SAVAGE focused on the atomic bombing of the Marshall Islands and the horrifying death toll that followed.
When the US tested a nuclear weapon on Bikini atoll in the South Pacific it caused the death and destruction of hundreds of lives of native people it dismissed as “nuclear savages.”
Adams’ devastating film was fined in part by PBS, which then pulled it from a nationwide showing that might have informed millions of Americans of this horrible tragedy. Adam’s film
will show at the Uranium Film Festival at Los Angeles’s Raleigh Theater on April 27.

Legendary health researchers DR. Janette Sherman and Joe Mangano then tell us about the terrifying death toll from the Chernobyl accident, which happened, 30 years ago.
In 2009 three Russian scientists published studies indicating a million people have been killed by this fallout from this 1986 catastrophe. Working through the Radiation and Health Project,
Mangano and Sherman now estimate a similar death toll resulting from the disaster at Fukushima.

They also show that when a nuclear power plant opens, death rates in the area rise; when they shut, death rates go down, especially among children. In the four counties around Indian
Point, near New York City, the thyroid cancer rate is 70% higher than normal, a plague we’re now seeing around Fukushima.

These tragic findings demand our action to shut down ALL reactors. We are in debt to Adam, Janette and Joe for their great work, and for their eloquence on this important Solartopian
show.

Solartopia Green Power and Wellness Hour – 04.14.16

THE URANIUM Film Festival in Los Angeles will feature a number of important full-length movies about atomic power on April 27 at the Raleigh Theater.

We hear all about it from publicist Alexandra Radlovic and from the legendary Kat Kramer, who will be co-hosting (with me) an after-film panel on shutting
the Diablo Canyon nuclear power reactors that will feature Mimi Kennedy, Lou Gosset, Jr., Libbe Halevy and others. Also at the festival will be the deeply moving full-length feature The Last Picture by noted German filmmaker Micael Von Hohenberg who talks to us from Germany about this major anti-nuclear work and all it has to say about the atomic madness.

We’re then joined by Lori Grace, noted election protection organizer and activist from the northern California Sunrise Center. Lori tells us about webinars, public talks and other important contributions she is making to the desperate attempt to stop the theft of yet another presidential election. Without this critical work, we are guaranteed to have another stripped and flipped outcome, driving our nation further down into the corporate sinkhole.