Tough Times with Lou Young

THE MAN FROM DOWN UNDER

In this episode of Tough Times, host Lou Young welcomes environmental activist Liam Robb O’Hagan to the studio for a freewheeling romp through climate action in our rapidly changing world. O’Hagan, a Westchester web designer and habitual volunteer, tells us about Climate Smart programs he’s involved in: from pollinator paths to suburban geo-thermal projects, riverside greenways as flood mitigation measures, and the simple thing we can all do to bring butterflies to our backyards. He’s a climate warrior who believes concern over climate change should inform public policy and personal lifestyles. The show begins with the strains of Men at Work’s “Down Under” in a nod to our guest’s obvious Aussie accent except…..He tells us he’s from New Zealand but sometimes SAYS he’s Australian because….Well you’ll have to listen. George Potanovic and Will Hennessey are here as always along with callers who regard Liam as a fellow traveler. Reverend Billy the Stop Shopping Choir, Savitri D and News from the Natural World flesh out the two hours along with some music from our guest’s home turf: Midnight Oil (Australia) and Lorde (New Zealand).

Yes, and some safety tips about those lithium batteries. Whew! Join us!

NYACK ON MY MIND

It’s easy to get down about climate change; that’s one of the things that tends to make our host, Lou Young, into something of a “doomer” about the future. But there is another way to deal with climate anxiety: DO SOMETHING. Nyack, NY a delightful village on the Rockland County side of the Marion Cuomo/Tappan Zee Bridge is on a journey to address climate change and get ready for the coming reality. Marcy Denker and Steve Cea from Nyack’s Climate Smart Committee and contributors to it’s recently adopted Climate Action Plan join Lou, co-host George Potanovic, Will Hennessey, and most importantly Nyack Mayor Joe Rand for a tour of things we regular folk can do to help the planet and ourselves. Electric Vehicles, Clean Energy, Heat Pump Technology and a lot more as the village gets ready to host a Climate Solutions Fair at Nyack Center on February 7, 2024 from 7-9PM. Also—what’s your favorite apocalypse movie? And We’ve got Reverend Billy and the Earth Church, the Stop Shopping Choir, a song from Rick Nelson, and a farewell to Melanie Safka the singer-songwriter who became a legends at Woodstock, just up the road from our studio and passed away days ago at the age of 76. Inspiring talk and music. Join us!

AFTER THE DELUGE

Six Months ago a strange rain tore through the Hudson Valley: 10 week’s worth of water in a matter of hours delivering a gut punch to Highland Falls, NY just outside the gates of the US Military Academy at West Point. This edition of Tough Times with Lou Young features Highland Falls Mayor Joseph D’Onofrio, and NY State Assemblyman Chris Eachus. They’ve got a progress report on repairs, aid, and plans for resiliency for businesses and residents. In an era climate change it’s a work in progress as FEMA adjusts it protocols in the face of the accelerating rate of claims. Activist and co-host George Potanovic joins Lou the studio along with producer Will Hennessey on the controls. Reverend Billy, the Stop Shopping Choir, News from the Natural World with Savitri D. Good music and conversation. Join us!

CLIMATE VOICES 2023

Lou Young, George Potanovic, and Will Hennessey look back at a year of shows as the climate change deepened and the conversation became increasing more urgent. Guests include Riverkeeper’s Tracy Brown, NY Senator Peter Harckham, Rockland Fire Chief Jerry Knapp, Energy expert Susan Shapiro, Geologist Jeff Tolhurst, Sustainability Director Peter McCartt, Wood’s Hole Senior Scientist Christopher Reddy, and OysterFamer Andrew Larkin. Interviews with just a few of our guests from 2023. Can you say eclectic? A fun two hours.

TOUGH TIMES With Lou Young #63    “The Do-ers”

It’s one thing to be a “doomer” as producer Will Hennessey refers to our host Lou Young, and quite another thing to face the changing climate with local action.  Our guests this week are four local climate activists who volunteer, organize, and make real changes in their communities.  Lou calls them “Do-ers” as in folks who actually get something done.

The show’s resident activist George Potanovic joins in helping explain the array of positive actions these folks are taking.  First Ellen Silver, who chairs a Climate Smart Committee in the Westchester Village of Mamaroneck, explains how her group connects homeowners with products and programs to reduce their carbon footprint and make their suburban homes more sustainable.  Dana Harkrider describes the creation of a pollinator pathway through her community, the Rockland County Village of Nyack (turns out if you plant the right stuff, bees, and monarch butterflies WILL COME.  We hear also from Marcy Denker who is spearheading a plan to toughen the “soft infrastructure” of trees in her community.  Finally David Freeman introduces us to a river greenway project that is turning the banks of a flood prone suburban river into a pair of long, linear parks that double as a major flood mitigation measure.  While none of it will stop climate change, ALL of it will help people grapple with the consequences.

As always, there’s music, Savitiri D’s NEWS FROM THE NATURAL WORLD and the fiery oratory of Reverand Billy.  Enduring tough times may not be easy, but no one says we can’t have A LITTLE fun.

SHE WALKED WITH GIANTS: TERRI THAL, THE GREENWICH VILLAGE FOLK SCENE, AND BOB DYLAN!

Terri Thal comes to "Tough Times with Lou Young" with a story of how music, a revolutionary spirit, and a decade of intense change helped shape our American culture.  Ms Thal recalls her time as confidant and manager for folk greats like Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan and informs us about the roots of some of the tunes that have become the soundtrack of our lives.  For instance, did you know that “Mack The Knife” was a German folk tune with a political edge before it became a a big band-style ode to mob violence?  Did you know that Bob Dylan was a rocker before he ever launched into folk music in the 1960’s?  That the legendary folk trio, “Peter, Paul and Mary” would’ve been “Dave, Paul and Mary” if a certain folk artist hadn’t turned down the gig?  Host Lou Young leads Terri through a tour of the seminal changes that took place in New York’s music scene before Dylan became an icon and Nobel Laureate as folk singers began penning their own popular tunes ushering in the era of the Singer/Songwriter that remains with us deep into the 21st Century.  Co-host George Potanovic and producer Will Hennesey help pilot the show through this two hour journey that includes updates in environmental developments, “News From The Natural World” with Savitri D and a stirring “sermon” from Reverand Billy from the Church of Stop Shopping.  Terri’s new book “My Greenwich Village, Dave Bob and Me” has it all and we help plump the surface.  And what a discovery to find out Lotte Lena, mentioned by Bobby Darin’s version of “Mack the Knife,” was a real person.  And who was Lucy Brown?  Music from Tom Paxton, Bobby Darin, and lots of Bob Dylan.  It’s a blast!

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT FOR CLIMATE SCIENTISTS, AND A VETERAN’S DAY TRIBUTE

Christopher Reddy, a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) on Cape Cod, MA, has written a new book called “Science Communication in a Crisis,” with advice for climate scientists when they are communicating with the public. The author says scientists find themselves hesitant to speak with the public and media out of concern that their work will be trivialized or misunderstood.

Holding a Ph.D in Oceanographic Chemistry, Reddy tells host Lou Young, and co-host George Potanovic and producer Will Hennessey that while scientists are continually searching to view the larger picture of the ocean’s health and their research contains reliable scientific data and facts – it is revealed to us like a puzzle, one piece at a time.

The second hour includes a full Earth Riot episode from Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping and songs that honor warriors on this Veteran’s Day 2023 from Billy Joel, Leonard Cohen, Dire Straits, Steve Earl, and Motorhead.

At the end of the hottest Summer in human history consider that it may also be the coolest Summer of the rest of your live! In this latest episode of “Tough Times” host Lou Young worries that our fatal climate change tipping point may have already been reached. Peter McCartt, Westchester County’s Director of Conservation and Sustainability, tries to offer Lou a measure of optimism and hope. Peter is joined in that effort by Alex Beauchamp, the Northeast Regional Director for Food & Water Watch, Environmental Activist Jacqui Dreschler, and “Reverend” Bill Talen from the Brooklyn-based Church of Stop Shopping. Along with co-host George Potanovic, and producer Will Hennessey they all make plans to attend The March to End Fossil Fuels scheduled for September 17th in New York City near the United Nations. It’s an informative moment as the talk Lou down from his grim fatalism. There is also a great half-hour service from the Church of Stop Shopping and a spirited debrief including a farewell to Jimmy Buffet and a new tune from The Rolling Stones. Yeah, that’s encouraging, join us!

The Heat is On, This is NOT a Drill, Climate Change is Here.

A series of disastrous extreme weather events devastated multiple communities in the Hudson Valley recently and we’ve been told to prepare for more. Hosts Lou Young and George Potanovic discuss the looming problem with NY State Assemblyman Chris Eachus, Clarkstown Town Supervisor George Hoehmann, and Mamaroneck Mayor Tom Murphy. The group discussed tax breaks for homeowners in flood zones who want to raise their homes, and aggressive flood mitigation projects because the climate disasters can now “happen anywhere.” Murphy is proposing dramatic zoning changes for his community, and Hoehmann is spearheading an effort to bring municipal operations in his town of 80 thousand residents completely off the electric grid with power generating solar arrays. Eachus, says small flood ravaged communities like Highland Falls near the US Military Academy at West Point, need the protection of the federal government.

All this makes Lou very reflective and in the second hour he takes us on a musical tour of past cultural touchstones. Will Hennessey, the young producer who also works on the show says he’s a “Doomer.” What do you think? It’s an entertaining and informative two hours.

CONVENIENT DISTRACTIONS

We can’t solve the big complicated stuff, so we concentrate on the small simple stuff. Tough Times Host Lou Young wants us to “get real”

First, Environmentalists are celebrating passage of a NY State Bill to ban release of irradiated water into rivers and streams. Seems like a no brainer until realize its aimed at a one-time event which a million gallons of water contaminated with trace amounts of radioactive Tridium at the Indian Point Nuclear Power Center at Buchanan NY, currently being decommissioned by Holtec International. Lou points out that if Holtec has to keep the water on site it’s be stored along with 70 thousand TONS of spent Uranium fuel which is dangerous radioactive and will remain so essentially forever. How is that a victory, he asks? Michelle Elie from the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition comes on to make her point.

Secondly, Rockland County first responders are up in arms over a plea deal that spares a rabbi and his son jail time in the fatal fire at the 2021 Evergreen Court Adult Home. Lou asks, are these two REALLY responsible for the situation that lead to the death of a resident and a firefighter? Former Rockland County County Director of Emergency Services, Gordan Wren says ‘no.” The blame, he says lies with elected officials who have allowed building and fire codes in the county to go unenforced for decades. George Cich, the father of another firefighter who was seriously injured in the blaze weighs in as well.

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping check in with a half hour of “Rockin’ in the Natural World” and we pause to appreciate an especially beautiful number from the Stop Shopping Chorus called “Vastness.” As always, producer Will Hennessey steps in to keep Lou “on the rails.” Two hours go by in a flash. Join us!