Southeast Green - Speaking Of Green

Recently, Terry Hazen was announced as the new head at the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Hazen brings an impressive set of environmentally related credentials with him to the new position. In addition to being the UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair for Environmental Biotechnology, Hazen works with the Center for Environmental Biotechnology; directed investigation and recovery efforts surrounding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; and was a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the Microbial Communities Division, the Center for Environmental Biotechnology, and the Ecology Department. Hazen also holds appointments in three UT departments—Civil and Environmental Engineering, Microbiology, and Earth and Planetary Sciences. He is a faculty fellow at ORNL and works with both the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education and the UT-ORNL Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology.

Terri Paul, a juvenile products innovator and marketing expert, has joined Colgate Mattress as national director of Sales and Marketing, specialty division. Paul is responsible for servicing Colgate’s specialty store customers as well as being instrumental in the creation and development of technologically-advanced crib mattresses. In 2004, Paul founded Moonlight Slumber and introduced the industry to the first medicalgrade crib mattress line. This led to the creation of the company’s own manufacturing facility and presence in 250 specialty stores by the time she sold Moonlight Slumber in 2011. In the same year, Paul because the Chief Operating Officer for Sopora Sleep Products, a division of Munire Furniture.

Sarah Ballantyne, Ph.D. (a.k.a. The Paleo Mom) is the blogger behind the award-winning blog  www.ThePaleoMom.com, cohost of the top-rated and syndicated  The Paleo View podcast, and New York Times Bestselling author of The Paleo Approach and The Paleo Approach Cookbook. Sarah has always had many interests and talents, which is reflected in the diversity of this blog. Here, you will find explanations of the science behind the Paleo diet and lifestyle, along with a strong focus on modifications for autoimmune disease sufferers, articles related to the practical implementation of a Paleo diet and lifestyle, detailed discussions relevant for paleo families and kids’ health, and recipes

Join Southeast Green as we continue our month long series on GMOs and education. We will be interviewing Melinda Hicks, creator and momtrepreneur of Little Me Tea. It all started with a search for a truly healthy kids’ drink for our baby girl, Julia. The 100% juices were loaded with sugar. Flavored waters lacked nutrition. Even so-called “healthy” organic brands added cane sugar. No thanks! So Melinda and Michael Hicks set out to create a better drink for children based on something as pure and wholesome as nature itself — tea. Some call it nature’s wonder drug, and it’s no wonder. From this little green leaf comes a powerhouse of beneficial nutrients like antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Little Me Tea is a delicious blend of caffeine-free tea kicked up with fruit and vegetable juices. It’s rich in nutrients, super-low in sugar, Non-GMO and organic to the core. In today’s polluted, nutrient-deficient world, our children need a true force of nature to keep them healthy and strong. That’s why we created

Join Southeast Green as we speak with Carol Koury, President of Sow True Seed. Carol is a life-long gardener, having spent her childhood summers in the 1940s and 50s in New Hampshire helping her grandma and family grow and preserve all the food she and her family ate.  She had careers in wildlife conservation and the women's health movement, before coming back to her gardening roots.  In 2009 she founded Sow True Seed, an open-pollinated seed company based in Asheville, NC.  Sow True sells 500 varieties of open-pollinated vegetable, herb and flower seed in the Southeast and throughout North America.  Carol’s passion is for helping people understand where their food comes from so they can be informed consumers.   In 2011 STS joined a consortium of family farmers, small seed companies and advocacy groups to challenge Monsanto's patents on genetically engineered seed and seeking relief for farmers who were being sued when their crops were unintentionally contaminated by upwind GE pollen.  We lost at the Federa

Harvest Soul, Inc. creates nutritious USDA organic juices that are exceptionally delicious. Their new line of Harvest Soul Chewable Juices blend superfood organic vegetables and fruits with perfectly-sized, easy-to-chew nuts, seeds and berries.   Created to promote “chewing” which releases nutrient-boosting enzymes, the 12 ounce juices are high in fiber and a good source of protein. Green Fusion, a green blend of 21 nutrient-rich ingredients, and Tropical Fusion, a citrus blend of 15 fiber-rich ingredients are both high pressure processed to promote natural freshness and an extended shelf life. Both juices are Non-GMO Project verified and available through Whole Foods Markets throughout the South. Harvest Soul is participating in the national #1MilNonGMO Social Media March and is asking for listeners to help spread the word about why organics are important. Rani Quirk is a veteran consumer brand marketer, with over 25 years of experience working on major consumer brands like Sara Lee Bakeries, Birds Eye Ve

“At Hartsfield-Jackson, we don’t want to be known as just the world’s busiest and most efficient airport, but also the most sustainable airport,” said Aviation General Manager Miguel Southwell. “Our guiding principles are very clear. We are focused on striking an effective, meaningful balance between environmental sustainability, economic stability and social responsibility. Today’s award winners illustrate our collective and demonstrated commitment to these goals.” Join Southeast Green as we interview leaders at the airport to discuss how they plan to achieve this goal.

Can green enterprise revitalize America’s most distressed communities? Meet entrepreneur Tyrone Mullins and his peers in low-income urban neighborhoods who tell their stories, speak the truth about waste, and mobilize many thousands of residents to recycle and compost for the first time. By showing documentary stories and organizing discussions with property managers, community leaders, public officials and policy makers, our work secures contracts and creates jobs, reducing landfill waste by 50%. Each Green Streets worker recycles approximately 20,000 gallons of waste per month, and becomes a steward of his or her community. In neighborhoods plagued by drugs and turf conflicts, enterprising young men and women who used to think they were unemployable are becoming beacons of hope. Get more details.

Steve Creech has been the Executive Director of the Wyland Foundation since 2007. He is in charge of overseeing the Strategic planning, development, and implementation of programs that support a clean ocean and healthy waterways. Founded by renowned environmental artist Wyland, the Wyland Foundation has helped children and families around the nation to rediscover the importance of healthy oceans and waterways through public art programs, classroom science education, and live events. The foundation gives children the tools they need to become more creative, positive, and solution-oriented. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and has worked directly with more than one million children since its inception in 1993.  

Join host Beth Bond of Southeast Green as she discusses energy efficiency with one of the leading researchers on this topic, Suzanne Shelton. Suzanne is the voice and the vision of Shelton Group. Drawing on her extensive experience in energy and the environment – plus her 25 years in the marketing and advertising industry – Suzanne provides high-level strategic insights for our clients and speaks to audiences around the country about pressing issues related to marketing energy efficiency and sustainability. Suzanne founded Shelton Group as a one-woman copywriting agency in 1991 and turned it into a nationally recognized marketing communications firm, electing in 2001 to focus exclusively on energy, energy efficiency and sustainability. In addition to maintaining her busy speaking and consulting schedule, Suzanne has served as a guest columnist for publications such as Fast Company, Green Builder and GreenBiz.com. Her insights about the consumer mindset on sustainability, the future of utilities and the chan

SFI and the Southeast US has had an interesting interaction. Join us as Southeast Green interviews Jason Metnick, Senior Vice President, Customer Affairs, Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI Inc.) Jason has a third-party forest certification system in North America. The SFI® standard, one of the largest sustainable forestry certification programs in the world, is based on principles and measures that promote sustainability including measures to protect for water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, species at risk and forests of exceptional conservation value. As Senior Vice President, Jason works directly with companies in the wood, paper and packaging supply chain including forest landowners, manufacturers, merchants, wholesalers, converters, printers and end users to promote the SFI program and provide market access to SFI certified organizations. Jason also oversees the Office of Label Use and Licensing. The SFI® Office of Label Use and Licensing encompasses over 280 companies, universities, conse

In writing his new book "Last Stand: Ted Turner's Quest to Save a Troubled Planet," environmental journalist Todd Wilkinson ventured deeper into the inner space of Ted Turner than any other before him. That inner space reveals a Turner who has largely been unknown to most people.  Last Stand has won national critical acclaim and has been widely adopted as an essential reading for conservation organizations, universities, government policy makers, businesses, and book clubs across the country. But as many say, "Last Stand" actually reads like an adventure story.  Todd, who started his career nearly 30 years ago as a violent crime reporter in Chicago, first met Ted in 1992 in Montana where Turner has his flagship ranch, the Flying D, and where Todd lives today.  For the book Todd interviewed a number of noteworthy individuals including four Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Jane Fonda, Sen. Sam Nunn and many other major figures. Todd has been on a national tour promoting Last Stand and he joins us today from the

Upcoming Atlanta movie premiere of Pump. Guests are: Yossie Hollander Yossie is a successful software entrepreneur, philanthropist and co-founder in 2011 of the Fuel Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with his business partner Eyal Aronoff. Yossie has been involved in global energy and geopolitical issues for more than a decade, leading policy research into America’s oil addiction and supporting analysis of the economic forces driving global oil markets. Steve Oppenheimer Steve has been an activist in Atlanta for over 30 years where he practiced family dentistry. He is a Task Force Coordinator for Clean-Cities Georgia, a DOE Program that reduces and replaces petroleum in municipal and corporate fleets by the use of alternative fuels.  He works with Energy +Environment, an Atlanta based energy efficient lighting solutions company.

Speaking of Green will interview this year's Ocean Exchange a couple of this year's honorees.  Dr. Tony Frudakis has a rich history as an emerging business expert and serial entrepreneur, focused on the commercial evolution of basic to applied science and disruptive technology development. He has public-company CEO experience, a background of successful corporate governance and SEC compliance, and is established as a cutting-edge science and technology thought leader.  Dr. Frudakis is a Ph.D. graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (1995), and a Phi-Beta Kappa, Magna Cumme Laude graduate from the University of California, Irvine (1989).  Since 1999, Dr. Frudakis has participated in the founding of four companies with technology innovations for genomics, homeland security, defense and clean energy.  In 2012, he started Okeanos Technologies to develop and market an ultra-energy-efficient desalination technology that might become the next paradigm shift in water treatment systems.  Dr. Frudakis is th

The Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) is an innovative organization working to build public support for climate solutions by investing in the next generation. ACE believes young people have the most to lose when it comes to climate change, and the most to gain by solving it. Since their founding in 2008, ACE has educated over 1.8 million high school students nationwide and inspired over 400,000 youth to take climate action and amplify their voice to tell their climate story. 73% of the schools ACE works with are public and 60% of students in their programs are youth of color. In Atlanta, ACE has educated over 70,000 students and inspired hundreds to take action in schools and communities, from reducing energy, to planting organic gardens, to raising awareness about clean energy solutions. If you are a parent or educator and you would like to learn more about hosting the ACE assembly in your local high school in Atlanta, go to http://www.acespace.org/teachers/book or contact Amber Nave at Amber.Nave@climat

David H. Pope is a 1974 graduate of the University of Florida (BA with High Honors; Phi Beta Kappa) and a 1977 graduate of the University of  North Carolina School of Law (JD). From January 1978 through December 2006, David practiced in Atlanta, Georgia in the firm of Carr, Tabb & Pope and its predecessor firms. Throughout his 29 year career as a private lawyer, David was in the forefront of environmental law in the south, handling cases under many of the federal environmental statutes and well as under state and common law. David’s legal work has been acknowledged by his peers through an AV Rating in Martindale Hubble and inclusion in Best Lawyers In America and Georgia’s Super Lawyers. Following retirement from private practice at the end of 2006, David joined the Southern Environmental Law Center as Director of the Georgia/Alabama office in Atlanta. The Southern Environmental Law Center is a non-profit, public-interest law firm devoted to protecting the environment and special places in the South.

Join hostess Beth Bond, Curator of Sustainable News at Southeast Green, as she gets an update on the proposed Shepherd Bend Mine. The mine is mountain top coal strip mining which poses major threats to Birmingham's drinking water. Nelson Brooke, the Black Warrior Riverkeeper, will join us as we discuss the current status of the proposal, threats to Birmingham and ongoing efforts to prevent the destruction of the land owned by the University of Alabama. Nelson Brooke ~ Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke, a Birmingham native, graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with an anthropology degree. Nelson is an Eagle Scout and outdoor enthusiast who has enjoyed fishing and hunting along the banks of the Black Warrior River since he was seven years old. Nelson has been Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s staff Riverkeeper since January of 2004. He also served as Executive Director from August 2007 through December 2009. Nelson was named “2010 Alabama River Hero” by the Alabama Rivers Alliance. As Riverkeeper, Nelson p

Michael Taylor assumed his role as Director of Autogas Business Development for the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) in April 2012.  In the Director’s role, Michael is charged with developing and maintaining sustainable growth through the development of commercialization practices and support systems for propane autogas technology, systems and vehicles  throughout the United States.   From 2008 through 2012, Michael served as Director of Fleet Management at Heritage Propane.   Recognized as one of the top 50 fleets in the United States with over 5,000 fleet vehicles, Taylor was responsible for establishing corporate standards, programs, and processes for specifying, procuring, maintaining and operating the diverse propane delivery fleet.    Prior to his tenure with Heritage Propane, Michael enjoyed a 22 year career in the school transportation industry which included appointments as:  General Manager and managing partner of Cardinal Bus Sales LLC, a Blue Bird distributor in the state of Indiana

David Reid, is a partner in Sutherland’s timber practice and a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. David counsels timberland investment management organizations and other large timber investors on the full spectrum of timber transactions, including purchases and sales of large-acreage timberland and timber deeds, long-term supply agreements, management agreements and financing. He also has substantial knowledge and experience working with LEED related timber issues.

Unacceptable Levels examines the results of the chemical revolution of the 1940s through the eyes of affable filmmaker Ed Brown, a father seeking to understand the world in which he and his wife are raising their children. To create this debut documentary, one man and his camera traveled extensively to find and interview top minds in the fields of science, advocacy, and law.  Weaving their testimonies into a compelling narrative, Brown presents us with the story of how the chemical revolution brought us to where we are, and of where, if we’re not vigilant, it may take us. Over 80,000 chemicals flow through our system of commerce, and many are going straight into our bodies. Even our unborn children are affected. Due to this constant exposure, we have approximately 200 synthetic industrial chemicals interacting with our cells every single day. Until recently, modern science really didn’t understand what that could mean for all of us in the long run, but that is changing. Globally, disease rates are on the ri