Out on the plains of western Kansas, you can hear the same sounds from nature that early Americans listened to hundreds and thousands of years ago, but many of the sounds have been lost.  Through machine dependent farming and monocultures of corn, alfalfa, soy and wheat nature’s great seed bank has been robbed and few have acted to save it. One institution that has been a great champion of restoring diversity in ways that are useful and ultimately most economical for humanity is The Land Institute in Salina, KS.  They have been doing research on how to retain and enrich the soil and feed our species for decades. Today, they have teams of scientists and interns that breed tamer versions of wild crops and wilder versions of domesticated varieties as they learn how to live within our respective ecosystems in a regenerative way. Two plants that we hear about on this episode are called Silphium and Kernza. Kernza is a small Kansas wheat grass which is being bred to produce more larger grains in diversified fields. It can be made into flour and used just like the standard wheat grain we have become so dependent on. Silphium integrifolium is a…

Monsignor Stewart Swetland of Donnelly College will be in the house this week talking to Richard about why we should be better stewards for the Earth within our communities.  He has been preaching recently on Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si" on care of our common home.   Swetland says, “Environmental justice is a concern for every person because it is a part of the human vocation to participate responsibly in God’s ongoing creative action.”  Gain some perspective this Monday evening or on our podcast. Msgr. Stuart W. Swetland, S.T.D., was ordained a priest in 1991 for the Diocese of Peoria, IL. He received his undergraduate degree in Physics from the United States Naval Academy. Elected a Rhodes Scholar in 1981, he entered the Catholic Church while studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford. He has a B.A. and M.A. from Oxford; a M.Div. and M.A. from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary; and his S.T.L. and S.T.D. from the Pontifical Lateran University having studied at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC. He has an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Benedictine College in Atchison, KS. He currently serves as the seventh President of Donnelly College…

Man Cave finds the “last man on earth” (coincidentally named “Tim”) burrowed into what is essentially a Hobbit home, somewhere in Canada, broadcasting into a microphone for whomever might yet be out there listening. Realizing that perhaps there may not be anyone out there still listening, Tim faces the inability to have any impact on humanity itself, and turns his attention to warning whatever far corners of the universe may still be out there receiving radio waves. Along with a stirring rallying cry for saving the planet, Man Cave walks the line that drips with both irony and edgy gallows humor. "Tim Mooney is a barnstorming actor, touring the United States with one-man plays. He presents “Man Cave” at high schools and college and conferences and festivals wherever he goes, changing minds… perhaps “blowing minds”… among audiences that are both receptive and not-so-receptive to the climate change message. He would love to share this event with your community. "The Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre is a not-for-profit institution, and available to bring this event to your school, conference and environmental event. You can find his theatre at www.timmooneyrep.com, and check in about booking an event with Tim directly at [email protected]. “Man Cave” is also available in…

Wiki is an Hawaiian word meaning quick. Ward Cunningham heard the word in Hawaii and used it to refer to the efficient and open collaborative projects that he was working on in the early 1990s that went on to inspire many projects like Wikipedia.   The wiki provides a way for different people to share their knowledge, to educate one another and to solve problems.  Ward Cunningham also first used a term, “technical debt” to refer to a failure to fully plan for how computer programs would work over time.  Technical debt is the result of “quick and dirty” methods that are incomplete, leaving a debt to be paid in labor in the future.  Ward has given us words to describe both vital problem-solving techniques and a phenomenon that has plagued the tech world as well as American society for many decades.   For our environment today, we all know we  must collaborate to address those old debts and find the most sustainable solutions … quick. We can see our technical debt wreaking havoc globally through business, government and all kinds of organizations.  In light of this, we feature an interview with a tech author named Quinn Norton who has begun using technical…

16-year old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg recently urged the US Congress to "Unite Behind the Science."  This week, Kenneth Schmitz, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Physical Chemistry and Environmental Studies at UMKC, will join hosts Brent Ragsdale and Dave Bennett in the studio to give an overview of the science of climate change. Topics will include the evolution of Earth's atmosphere, a history of the discoveries about the greenhouse effect, the likely consequences if we don't get a handle on the C02 problem and a response to a couple of common climate denial claims.

“Warheads to Windmills: How to Pay for a Green New Deal” by Timmon Wallis is a plan to solve the climate crisis by using  the resources currently wasted on nuclear weapons.  This would also solve the income inequality problem by creating millions of good-paying permanent jobs to manufacture windmills and solar panels, install and maintain them.  Visit NuclearBan.US to learn more. Kansas City’s Extinction Rebellion is doing Friday’s for the Future and will hold a rally Friday December 13 and 20 from 11am to 1pm at the J.C. Nichols Fountain on the Plaza.

On this episode of EcoRadioKC, we hear from the great storyteller, Wes Jackson.  Wes is the pragmatic visionary who created The Land Institute of Salina, Kansas 43 years ago as a research site to understand the ecosphere combining intellectual rigor with hands on labor. Together they work to develop sustainable food supplies for our species and the ecosystem beyond the foreseeable future.  Hear the excellent and inspiring stories about family,  beginning a new school, softball rules, insulting meat, and the beauty of the small. Wes Jackson established and served as chair of one of the country’s first environmental studies programs at California State University-Sacramento and then returned to his native Kansas to found The Land Institute in 1976. He is the author of several books, including New Roots for Agriculture, Becoming Native to This Place, Consulting the Genius of the Place, and most recently Nature as Measure. Wes is widely recognized as a leader in the international movement for a more sustainable agriculture. He was a Pew Conservation Scholar in 1990, a MacArthur Fellow in 1992, and received the Right Livelihood Award in 2000. Life magazine included him as one of 18 individuals predicted to be among the 100 important Americans of the…