On the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day, Ralph welcomes environmental historian, Adam Rome, author of “The Genius of Earth Day: How a 1970 Teach- In Unexpectedly Made the First Green Generation.” And the Green Cowboy, S. David Freeman returns to talk about the state of the environment today. Plus, we debut a special song in honor of Earth Day.
Adam Rome is an environmental historian and professor at the University at Buffalo. Dr.Rome has focused his research on the environmental movement in the U.S., Earth Day, sustainable business, and suburban sprawl. He wrote the books, “The Genius of Earth Day: How a 1970 Teach- In Unexpectedly Made the First Green Generation” and “The Bulldozer in the Countryside: Suburban Sprawl and the Rise of American Environmentalism”.
“In 1970 Earth Day was bipartisan; red states, blue states, purple states it was celebrated everywhere. Birmingham Alabama had this incredible week long Right To Live protest that was all about the brown air, the pollution… It got a lot of things done. We need to figure out how to do things like that now. Reach beyond the already committed firmly anti-Trump bastion and find ways to get the people in the Birminghams of today to say these are serious issues.”
Adam Rome, author of “The Genius of Earth Day: How a 1970 Teach- In Unexpectedly Made the First Green Generation”
David Freeman is an engineer, an attorney, and an author, who has been called an“ecopioneer” for his environmentally conscious leadership of both the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. He is a noted anti-nuclear activist and the author of a number of books on energy policy, including “Winning Our Energy Independence” and his latest “All Electric America”.
“We talk about green jobs. The green jobs are in building. Once you’ve built a windmill, a wind farm, or a solar farm you have virtually zero upkeep and zero fuel costs… If we went to public power, we would dramatically reduce the price of energy as well as save our planet.”
David Freeman, author of “All Electric America”
Zander Bleck is a third-generation musician and was discovered by illustrious record CEO & Mogul, Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records, and American Idol fame. Zander has recorded tunes with a variety of top producer’s from Lady Gaga producer RedOne, (quoted in USA Today saying, “Zander’s voice is a mixture of Jim Morrison, Bono, and Freddie Mercury, there is no singer out there like that now”) to the legendary Mutt Lange of Foreigner and ACDC fame.
Tom Bleck (signed with another Jimmy, 40 years earlier, Jimmy Ienner, CEO of RCA/Millenium Records, who produced albums for John Lennon and many others. Tom, a fervent environmentalist was struck by something Ralph Nader said to him years ago when he asked Nader when he thought America would embrace solar energy, and Ralph replied without a smile or hint of sarcasm, “When Exxon owns the Sun”. Tom admits that he wrote the tune in frustration with the lack of progress in 50 years of Earth Days and during this lockdown, when paying attention to real science seems more critical than ever. This was a genuine father son collaboration with Tom & Zander enlisting a few friends in remote locations across the country to come up with “My World”/”Our World.” Please Enjoy!
Earth Day Turns Fifty!