I’m guest hosting Your Call’s One Planet Series this morning. First, we’ll cover a Washington Post-Examination News investigation into how food companies are promoting ultra-processed foods, laden with sweeteners and additives, in order to cash in on the popular “anti-diet” movement. What tactics are they using on unsuspecting consumers?
We’ll be joined by co-authors of the “As obesity rises, Big Food and dietitians push ‘anti-diet’ advice:”
- Sasha Chavkin, senior reporter for The Examination, a nonprofit newsroom covering global public health
- Caitlin Gilbert, a Well+Being data reporter at The Washington Post
Then we’ll talk about a Guardian investigation into an unprecedented deal in which Greenstone Resource Partners, a private company backed by global investors, sold rights to the Colorado River’s water. The deal allows a big suburban expansion 200 miles away near Phoenix to go forward, but it leaves a small agricultural community reeling. Joining us will be Maanvi Singh, west coast reporter for the Guardian.
Tune in at 91.7 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area or stream live at 10am PT. What comments or questions do you have for our guests? Call 866-798-TALK to join the conversation!
I’m guest hosting Your Call’s One Planet Series today, where we’ll discuss the state of the Colorado River under severe drought conditions. 40 million people depend on the river, as one of the most important water sources of freshwater in the country. But its flows have decreased 20 percent in the last 30 years. Joining us to discuss its current conditions and potential future will be Alex Hager, water and environment reporter covering the Colorado River basin for KUNC.
Then later in the program, we’ll cover the mini-art exhibit Kelp! currently running at 836M gallery in North Beach in San Francisco. It brings attention to one of the most beautiful and often overlooked ocean flora in northern California. Joining us will be:
- Josie Iselin, fine art photographer, and author of The Curious World of Seaweed
- Tristin Anoush McHugh, ecologist, kelp forest restoration practitioner, and the Kelp Project Director with The Nature Conservancy
Tune in at 91.7 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area or stream live at 10am PT. What comments or questions do you have for our guests? Call 866-798-TALK to join the conversation!
National Public Radio’s environmental reporter Abrahm Lustgarten investigates the history of the Colorado River water allocations and finds that bad policy is as much to blame as drought and climate change for the current shortages:
Lustgarten says conservation and increased efficiency in farming could reintroduce enormous quantities of water back into the Colorado River system. By Lustgarten’s estimate, if Arizona farmers switched from growing cotton to growing wheat, it would save enough water to supply about 1.4 million people with water each year.
But, Lustgarten adds, “There’s nothing really more politically touchy in the West than water and the prospect of taking away people’s water rights. So what you have when you talk about increasing efficiency or reapportioning water is essentially an argument between those who have it, which are the farmers and the people who have been on that land for generations, and those who don’t, which are the cities who are relative newcomers to the area.”
Notably, the area features one of the country’s largest coal-fired power plant at the Navajo Generating Station, dedicated almost exclusively to moving water around the Colorado River states. So the drought and water situation affects our energy supply and related pollution as much as anything. Re-examination of water rights, coupled with better financing mechanisms and rate structures, could therefore go a long way to solving both the water shortages and pollution from energy generation.
