environment

Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear views the Iran nuclear agreement in the context of the 70 year history started by the Manhattan Project and the US nuclear bombing of Japanese cities

Nuclear Free Future Host Margaret Harrington interviews Kevin Kamps, Nuclear Waste Watchdog, of Beyond Nuclear on the importance of the Iran Nuclear Deal and the consequences if it is not passed by US Congress. He discusses nuclear power’s direct relation to nuclear weapons and the tangled history of the Atomic Age.

www.beyondnuclear.org

Robert Kennedy, Jr., who is the president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, is the keynote speaker on the second day of the the two-day Leahy Environmental Summit, at ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center on the shores of Lake Champlain, VT. He speaks with eloquence and passion.

Mayor Miro Weinberger and IBM officials Kick-Off the IBM Smarter City designation. Launched in 2010, the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is a 3-year, $50 million philanthropic initiative to contribute the skills and expertise of teams of top-talent IBMers to address the key challenges facing 100 competitively selected cities around the world. Each city participating in the challenge receives a team of five to six IBM experts to work with the City for a three week engagement period on a strategic challenge identified by the Mayor and top City leaders. The Mayor’s Office and the Burlington Electric Department (BED) worked together to submit a strong and ultimately successful application focused on sustainability and energy efficiency, and proposed that IBM send a team to address how we work together to reduce our reliance on greenhouse gases.

The City of Burlington expects to focus its grant on creating a strategic plan to economically reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors, including energy, heating, and transportation, by leveraging: The City’s recent smart grid investments; The long-standing political will of the City, the State, and Burlington institutions; and
Ongoing energy efficiency and renewable energy resource development efforts.
The diverse global team members include: Leonard Hand, Executive Information Technology Architect, from Rochester, New York; Robert Laurim, Vertical Industry Expert, from Munich, Germany; Jorge “Lutt” Luttgardes, CIO Latin America Office Leader, from Sao Paulo, Brazil; Isabelle Murard, Energy & Utility Solution Center Leader, from Nice, France; Gabriela “Gaby” Orwick, Acquisition Integration Executive Consultant, from Portland, Oregon; and Christian Raetzsch, Systems & Technology Group Technical Executive, from Prague, Czech Republic.

This panel discusses on the implications of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” for natural gas in Vermont. VPIRG co-hosts this public forum alongside VNRC, and 350.org bringing International, and local experts tell their stories. The panelist included Bill McKibben – author, environmentalist and Schumann Distinguished Scholar, Middlebury College, Paul Burns – Executive Director, VPIRG, Wes Gillingham – Program Director, Catskill Mountainkeepers, a leading anti-fracking group in NY, Tracy Bach – Professor of Law, Vermont Law School, and Ginny Lyons – Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee. This video is produced by Arthur Hynes.