Environmentally Speaking

Peace, Love and Cleanup!  This week we discuss The Woodstock of cleanups that happen September 9th, 1972 along the Blackstone River.  This was the largest single-day clean-up effort in the nation the nation’s history at that time, pulling out debris in the excess of 10,000 tons!  So why are we talking about it?  This year marks the 50th anniversary and they are going to be doing another clean-up effort along the Blackstone river.  Tune in as we give you more groovy details as to what this clean-up is about, why they are doing it and some of the things that were found in that debris back in 1972.

This week we are changing it up a bit and we are going to talk about… ourselves!  Get to know us.  Tune in and have fun with us this week as we answer some questions that will help you get to know us a little better.  Here’s a fun fact… We share the same birthday August 11 how old are we? Next question!  We have some fun sharing some things we like and don’t like.  Tune in and get to know us!  You’ll be glad you did. 

A reader asks Clarice and Marisa what they do all day at work, among other things. In this episode they talk a lot about Public Utilities. In Rhode Island we have a Public Utilities Commission (PUC); other states call it something else. Every state has both local and federal regulations they must adhere to, they discuss how it is set up and the functions and more.

This week we bring up an article that was recently published (https://www.gloucestertimes.com/opinion/letter-biden-climate-change-plan-forgets-fishing-industry-communities/article_609745be-09f7-11ed-8d11-8f912596b992.html ) and the current administration visiting the Brayton Point  Powerplant.  The President has earmarked that facility as the new hub, and infrastructure to transform offshore wind power into electricity, land side.   We go into detail and share what this means for the National Environmental Protection Act, or NEPA moving forward.  Is it the right thing to do?

Take a listen

This week we are talking with some special guests, Sarah and Monica and we are going to discuss the  Portsmouth AgInnovation.  The Portsmouth AgInnovation has put together a student driven farm project. The program has been a huge success with the youth.  Find out how this came together and what they are doing today. 

This week we had a listener ask us to discuss the problems with electricity in the state of Texas, so, we looked it up!  You may remember we did an episode on the “Strain on the Grid” (Ep: 038 – Listen here), but today we are going to go a little deeper! There seems to be a serious issue with their infrastructure and their grid to support major weather conditions. We discuss how  ERCOT (Energy Reliability Commission of Texas) had recently published an announcement asking for people to voluntarily conserve electricity. And they said it might be because they're running out of electricity. Find out what they were asking people to do and did they ask Commercial business to do this? 

We talk this and more!  Take a listen. 

On this episode we had a request from one of our listeners to discuss conservation restrictions.  So, we must first understand what are the basics for conservation easement versus conservation restriction.  First it’s is a very legally nuanced. It’s important to understand because when you are looking to develop land or if you’re working for government if you’re looking to try to conserve land there are two completely different mechanisms that serve two different legal purposes. We are going to go over the difference between the two and what you should look for.  Take a listen.

How much do you really pay attention to climate change? climate change is not a pie in the sky concept anymore, it’s a real problem.  Today’s guest Bob Brulli is here to educate us about climate change and what we should look for to have a better understanding of it. 

In one of the pervious episodes we discussed solar panels and recently a listener reached out and asked a question.  But before we get into that we celebrate 50 years of the clean water act being passed!   

Now, the question asked was are Solar Panels Hazardous and Toxic? Answer… It depends. 

Take a listen because we break down what the solar panels are made of, can someone break them down themselves, what do they do with the panels once they have expired and more.  WE think you’ll be surprised with the answers!  Take a listen and let us know what you think.

Alisa Richardson is a professional engineer and currently working with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.  She is the acting administrator of the environmental division at that agency.  Prior to being at DOT, Alisa worked for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Take a listen as she shares her story and they discuss what it means being an expert in the field.