Media
Peak Moment 162: Innovation Bears Fruit for Family Farm
Yuba Gals Independent Media, Peak Moment Television
Tour the century-old organic Chaffin Family Orchards where even the animals are “farm hands.” Visit chickens in their egg-mobile, scratching for bugs and pooping fertilizer in the heirloom stone-fruit orchards. Goats chomp off low branches from the olive trees, so no fuel or human labor is needed. This certified predator-friendly enterprise includes 200 acres of olive trees plus various fruit and nut trees; sheep, goats, broiler and egg-laying chickens. They distribute only locally through fruit and meat CSAs (community-supported agriculture), growers markets and a farmstand, providing fresh foods that burst with flavor and nuance.
archived February 8, 2010
Deconstructing Dinner - Speerville Flour MIll
Jon Steinman, Deconstructing Dinner
The Speerville Flour Mill is a locally-owned and operated business in New Brunswick that has for over 25 years been supplying the Atlantic Provinces of Canada with local, organically grown grains and foods. The mill supports dozens of organic grain farmers in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. One of those farmers is Andrew Kernohan of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. In September 2009, Deconstructing Dinner visited Speerville and Andrew's farm while touring throughout the provinces.
archived February 8, 2010
Beyond Copenhagen - Now what?
Richard Heinberg, EON - Ecological Options Network
Are current corporate-dominated international institutions inadequate to the task of meeting the multiple planetary survival challenges they themselves have helped create?...Richard Heinberg of the Post Carbon Institute (postcarbon.org), talks about the factors contributing to the stalemate in the Copenhagen climate summit, the other 'game ending' challenges confronting the current economic system, and the bottom-up steps necessary to move to a post-carbon economy.
archived February 8, 2010
In Defense of Food (audio)
Michael Pollan, The Commonwealth Club of California
According to In Defense of Food author Michael Pollan, "...the advent of “nutritionism” has vastly complicated how Americans see food, without doing very much for our health. Nutritionism arose to deal with genuine issues – addressing chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and many cancers – but now seems to be obscuring and perpetuating the real problems of the American diet", says Pollan. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 27, 2010.
archived February 4, 2010
Peak Moment 161: Local Food — By and For the People
Yuba Gals Independent Media, Peak Moment Television
What if the food system benefited local producers, nourished nearby people, and built a stronger community? Krishna Khalsa of Eugene, Oregon wants to turn the food system on its head. He wants it to be run by, and for the benefit of, ordinary people — not corporate profit. He’s exploring models of local cooperative, entreprenuerial organizations where people provide the labor, share and hire resources, caretake the land, use all of nature’s abundance, support farmers and food producers, distribute food so that no one goes hungry, and build strong social bonds. Empower people, not profits!
archived February 1, 2010
Big Ideas at the Commonwealth Club
Chris Martenson, Post Carbon Institute
Last night (Tuesday January 26th, 2010) I gave a talk at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco to a sold-out audience. The crowd was excellent and I was thrilled to have the chance to deliver our message at this venue.
archived January 29, 2010
Agroinnovations Episode #74: The Edible Acre Project
Frank Aragona, Agroinnovations
In this episode we continue with the theme of school gardens and farms. I am joined by Debbie Hillman of the Edible Acre Project, a project in a suburb just outside of Chicago Illinois. Debbie discusses the origins and implementation of the project, the role of a the farm/garden in education, and practical strategies for those looking to develop similar projects in their communities.
archived January 26, 2010
Jeff Rubin at the The Business of Climate Change Conference 2009
Jeff Rubin, wwfcanada
Jeff Rubin, the former Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets and the author of Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller built his reputation as one of Canada's top economists based on a number of successful predictions including the housing bust of the early 90s and the rise of oil prices. In his recent book, Mr. Rubin predicts $225 per barrel oil by 2012 and with it the end of globalization, a movement towards local sourcing and a need for massive scaling up of energy efficiency.
archived January 25, 2010
Peak Moment 154: Bicycling on Three Wheels — Transportation of the Future? (transcript added)
Yuba Gals Independent Media, Peak Moment Television
In Peak Moment's very first field production, bicycle enthusiast Galen Shumacher takes us for a spin on a three-wheeled "tadpole." This human-powered vehicle (HPV), built for competition by the Chico State University HPV club, has two wheels in front and a single in back. Janaia's unrehearsed ride shows that it's easy to learn, comfortable to ride, stable, highly maneuverable, and fun! Galen also shows us the improved model being built for the upcoming competition. (P.S. they won!)
archived November 23, 2009
Agroinnovations Episode #73: Felder School Farm
Frank Aragona, Agroinnovations
This episode we welcome Ragan Sutterfeld of Felder School Farm, a school farm located in Little Rock Arkansas that is pioneering the way to get agriculture into our country’s schools. Topics of discussion include barriers to adoption, the agricultural calendar vs. the educational calendar, and agriculture in education. This idea can be summarized in five words: Turn the Schools into Farms. Now, let’s go out there and make it a reality.
archived January 22, 2010