Patt Morrison for Monday, October 25, 2010

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, October 25, 2010

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:30

OPEN

 

 

1:30 - 1:58:30

America: land of opportunity… and billions of pounds of food waste

If there’s one thing ALL Americans love, it’s food.  That is evident in ads, grocery stores, pop culture, and, as obesity becomes an epidemic, waistlines. According to experts the United States wastes 591 billion pounds of food every year, which amounts to more than twice the amount of calories needed to feed the population. What happens to all of that extra food? You probably know – it’s forgotten in the back corner of the refrigerator or pantry and ultimately tossed in the trash can. From there it makes its way to the landfill where it decomposes and rots.  Along with making your mother gasp at the amount of her good roast that you didn’t touch, food waste costs a lot of money and adds to methane gas emissions (a greenhouse gas at least 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide).  Are billions of pounds in food waste an inevitable part of our dining habits or is there a better way—and even when we do waste food, aren’t there needy recipients who could benefit from another person’s excess?

 

Guests:

Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland

CALL HIM:

 

Michael Flood, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

IN STUDIO

• Our Foodbank has been focusing more on fresh fruits and vegetables because of the nutritional needs of people that seek food assistance (who have to stretch their budgets and often cannot afford fresh produce).
• the new USDA report shows that 49 million Americans now experience food insecurity (i.e. are making difficult choices—seniors who are forced to choose between buying food or buying medicine; parents who might feed their children but not themselves; and working families who must make the difficult decision between paying their utilities or putting food on the table).

 

 

ON TAPE

2:06 – 2:58:30

Proposition 23:  Debating the future of California’s energy & environment

Supporters call Proposition 23 the California Jobs Initiative; opponents label it the Dirty Energy Proposition. Whether it passes or fails Prop 23 promises to shape the future of California's energy & environment policies, for better or for worse. Prop 23 would suspend California's landmark carbon emissions regulation bill, AB32, until the state's unemployment rate drops to 5.5% or below. The implications are wide ranging, from the potential of businesses abandoning California to avoid the onerous restrictions of AB32 or the blossoming of a green energy sector in the state, with the potential to create thousands of new jobs unique to California. Polls indicate a closely contested race as Californians balance the interest of protecting the environment with protecting jobs—but do the two priorities need to be mutually exclusive?  We bring you both sides of a heated debate.

 

Guests:

ARGUING IN FAVOR OF PROP 23

Dorothy Rothrock, senior vice president of the California Manufacturers & Technology Association

• The Manufacturers & Technology Association advocates governments to create a strong business climate for manufacturers; the group represents an estimated 1.3 million employees in California.
• Rothrock serves as the chair of the AB 32 implementation group, a coalition of taxpayer groups, trade associations and businesses to ensure the greenhouse gas emission reductions required by AB 32.

 

ARGUING AGAINST PROP 23

Terry Tamminen, CEO of Seventh Generation Advisors, an environmental & clean technology advocacy group

• Seventh Generation advises and lobbies political leaders to promote transition to a sustainable, low carbon economy.
• Tamminen has served as Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agnecy and played a big role in the passage of AB 32 in 2006.

 

 

Panelists:

Ann Carlson, professor of environmental law & faculty director of the Emmett Center on Climate Change & the Environment at the UCLA School of Law

• Carlson’s teaching and research focuses on climate change law & policy.
• She is currently working on the American Academy of Arts & Sciences study of the future of our energy system.

 

Matthew Kahn, professor of economics at the UCLA Institute of the Environment & Sustainability

• Kahn is the author of “Green Cities:  Urban Growth & the Environment” and “Climatopolis:  How our Cities will Thrive in the Hotter World”

 

Margot Roosevelt, climate reporter for the Los Angeles Times

• Roosevelt had previously reported on climate and environmental issues at TIME magazine and the Washington Post.

 

 

Jonathan Serviss

Producer, Patt Morrison Program

Southern California Public Radio

NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles

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626.583.5171, office

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jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org

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