Environmentally Speaking

This week we start the show of on something positive, and share in the news of a company buying back old used furniture that you may have bought from them in the past.  This bit of news is short lived as we get into a serious topic this week the “Tragedy of Commons”.  Ever hear of it?

Tragedy of the Commons is an old theory where the resources of the planet are shared by everyone and once you recognize that everyone shares the same natural resources, we then understand that we need to be taking care of those resources.  Take a listen as we give examples of certain resources we all share and how YOU can make a difference.

What is the Federal Endangered Species Act?  We are going to talk about how this Act works and what it protects.  Have you ever been seen signage or other infostructure that states humans cannot go into a particular area like a sand dune?  Well, that’s because that area is trying to protect something called a critical habitat for a particular species.  We get into more detail what that means and what organizations play a roll into what species falls under who’s jurisdiction and what they do to help.

Take a listen.

This week we sit down with Narragansett Bay River Keeper, Kate McPherson.  We discuss the keeper program and Save the Bay, which is the organization that houses Narragansett Bay, Riverkeeper and it actually has three keepers.  So what does a River Keeper do?  Take a listen as Kate shares her background and how she got into the position of a River Keeper. Tune in and find out!

This week we are talking about Smart Growth. Sounds like something you add to your plants at home. No, not what we’re talking about.  Recently Clarice went to Ohio, and a few month ago Marisa took a trip to Montana. Both states are pretty wide open compared to what we see around Rhode Island.  What happens when all the land is gone?  You can grow outward any more, you have to grow up.  So the idea behind smart growth is that you get developers to start looking at particular areas where they can mix uses, commercial and residential, retail and residential in a setting that already has some infrastructure.  So you’re not necessarily even talking about new development.  You could be talking about redevelopment.

 

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Little different kind of show this episode.  We got an interesting article from a listener and we put Marisa on the spot.

There is a crane-topped vessel that sunk in the Providence River and has been there about four years.  So, some questions arise from this, who’s crane is it? Can it be removed? Who is now responsible for it and will it hurt the surrounding environment? State environmental officials have been trying for years to come up with a proper way to remove this barge without causing more pollution and doing as little additional damage to the environment as possible.

Take a listen as we answer these questions and discuss in more details about parties involved and actions that can be taken.

This week's topic might just shock you a little bit, we are going to discuss renewable energy not necessarily being environmentally friendly.  WHAT!? This topic was sparked by the Super Bowl commercials that were played this year.  There was a clear overarching theme in all of the commercials.  Renewable energy for cars.  American Capitalism is making a huge push in the market for things like electric cars, but why and what does it take to make this happen?  We use an example of whats going on with the wind farm right off the cost of Rhode Island.  We are going to share what's really going on!

Attorney-Client Communication is crucial between parties.  What does that relationship look like?  What are you both getting yourselves into?  On this episode, hosts Marisa and Clarice dive into the context of attorney-client privilege, and the concept that communication between an attorney and their client is so sacrosanct that it requires an extra level of protection. Learn more about Desautel Law at desautelesq.com.

So what is a carbon footprint? Almost every living thing on the planet creates emissions. In case you don’t know, methane and carbon emissions are a big issue for everyone on the planet because they result in greenhouse gas increases which then contribute to warming of the planet.  We are going to learn more about carbon footprints, where they come from and what you can do to reduce it.  Take a listen.

This week is all about Discovery.  No, not the discovery of new land or things on the beach or in your woods, we are talking about things you can bring as evidence into court.

In this episode we are going to discuss, Land Use.  Marissa talks about a recent trip to Montana and how it got her thinking about how unfortunate it is that in this country, our development and land use policies don't seem to have a lot of forward thinking contained in them.  There is a battle between progress and conservation.  Take a listen to find out what we mean.