Wpkn Community Radio

-Tropical storm Debby -Philippines capital flooded from Typhoon -Dragonflies swarm beachgoers in Rhode Island -Oil-well blowout in Kazakhstan spews methane -New rules for methane emissions at landfills -First US solar-covered canal coming -Brazil’s proposal for a 2% wealth tax on billionaires

Chuck Collins of climatecriminals.org is my guest on this "Digging in the Dirt". Chuck is here to talk about why he believes It’s time to name the names of the individuals delaying climate action and financing the climate crisis, so they can be held accountable. Chuck Collins is an American author and a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, where he directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. His latest book is a novel, “Altar to an Erupting Sun,” an eco-fiction exploration of the causes of climate disruption.

* Israel’s High-Level Assassinations Provoke Retaliation and Risks a Wider Middle East War; Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft; Producer: Scott Harris. * Democratic Party Isolation from Working Families Examined in Ralph Nader's New Book; Ralph Nader America’s leading public interest lawyer & four-time independent presidential candidate; Producer: Scott Harris. * Pres. Biden Pressured to Grant Leonard Peltier Clemency, Likely His Last Chance to Gain Freedom; Justin Mazzola, Deputy Director of Research with Amnesty International USA; Producer: Melinda Tuhus.

Sephra Alexandra, The Seed Huntress, is an ethnobotanist on a mission to restore the biodiversity of our environment by finding, saving and replanting our legacy seeds (www.seedhunress.com). Hosted by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella

-Florida prepares for powerful Hurricane -Philippines capital underwater after deadly Typhoon -Thousands of dragonflies swarm Rhode Island Beach. -Kazakhstan record accidental methane leak -New EPA rules for methane emissions from landfills, -America gets its very first solar-covered canal -Brazil’s proposes for a 2% wealth tax on Billionaires

-Earth has warmest two days on record globally since 1940, -US will miss emission reduction goals -Twenty-five states ask Supreme Court to stay coal pollution rules -South Africa enacts Climate Change Bill -Key Largo tree cactus goes extinct in US -Atlantic sturgeon back in Swedish Rivers due to conservation -Federal government to phase out plastics

Organic farmer Kaitlyn Kimball is my guest on this show. Kaitlyn is Owner of Sunset Organic farm in Naugatuck Ct. with her husband Lawrence Passeck. Sunset is a USDA Certified Organic vegetable and flower farm focused on sustainability and community. Kaitlyn is also Director of Agriculture at CitySeed in New Haven. CitySeed has a mission to "create a healthy, sustainable, and just food system for all.”

Trump's Depraved Embrace of Nuclear Weapons Endangers the World; Lawrence S. Wittner, Professor of History Emeritus at the State University of New York at Albany; Producer: Scott Harris. * 'Project 2025' Envisions the Imposition of an Authoritarian Christian Nationalist Theocracy; Andra Watkins, a New York Times bestselling author; Producer: Scott Harris. * Coalition Campaigns to Stop Private Jet Expansion, Asserting it’s a Luxury our Climate Can’t Afford; Alex Chatfield of the Coalition to Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere; Producer: Melinda Tuhus.

I am pleased to have Kaitlyn Kimball as my guest this show, Kaitlyn is Owner of Sunset Organic farm in Naugatuck Ct. with her husband Lawrence Passeck. Sunset is a USDA Certified Organic vegetable and flower farm focused on sustainability and community. She is also Director of Agriculture at CitySeed in New Haven.

* World Court Rules Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Land Violates International Law Michael Lynk, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Western Ontario, Canada Producer: Scott Harris * After Biden Pressured to End Campaign, Vice President Harris Defacto Democratic Party Nominee Aaron Regunberg a member of the group Pass the Torch steering committee Producer: Scott Harris * New Haven City Government Moves to Shutdown Catholic Worker Shelter for Unhoused Joel Nieves, an occupant of a shelter built for the unhoused at the Amistad Catholic Worker House Producer: Melinda Tuhus

-June 2024 was the warmest June since 1850. -Climate change drought affecting worlds crops negatively -Seven out off ten people want to switch to clean energy -Puerto Rico filed suit against fossil fuel companies -EPA is weighing controversial geoengineering ocean experiment -Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative to plant 100 million Mangrove trees

Special guest John Nichols, National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation Magazine, analyzes the current state and fate of our democracy as the 2024 presidential election fast approaches. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill Interview conducted on July 13, 2024

The campaign to clean up dog poop pollution at Johnson Beach in the Short Beach district of Branford, CT. Ann Davis, citizen scientist, and Amy Scholtz, Deputy Director of the East Shore District Health Department, discuss the project to remediate the extremely high bacteria levels measured at this small beach on the Connecticut shoreline. Interview by Richard Hill and Diane Lauricella, July 18, 2024

* GOP Uses Assassination Attempt to Shut Down Condemnation of Trump's Authoritarian Agenda; Michael Podhorzer, former Political Dir. & Assistant to the President of the AFL-CIO for strategic research; Producer: Scott Harris. * Poll Finds Americans Reject and Fear Trump's Rightwing Extremist 'Project 2025' Agenda Bryan Bennett, Senior Director Polling & Analytics at the Hub Project Producer: Scott Harris * Activists Working to Reverse NY Gov. Hochul’s “Pause” on NYC Congestion Pricing Plan Michael Gerrard, an attorney working to see the congestion pricing plan program revived and implemented Producer: Melinda Tuhus

-Over a million homes and businesses remained without power in Texas -California ties or breaks heat records this week - heatwave is forecast to continue across Europe -Melting of North America’s largest icefields has accelerated -Bridgeport’s Seaside Beach closed due to bacteria levels -Shell documents point to company knowledge of Climate change -UK’s new Labour Government increasing solar power deployment.

I want you to welcome back Gloria Frazee of ReWild Long Island. At ReWild, Gloria is co-chair of the Social Media & Web Committee and co-leader of the ReWild/South Fork chapter and now is a regular contributor to this program. Gloria will be joining me every 2nd Thursday of the month during the 12 noon hour.

I'd like to welcome back Dr. Carl Safina from the Safina Center to Digging in the dirt. Carl has taken the story of his previous book "Alfie and Me" to another level and created a picture book for children called "Owls in our yard" ! Carl is a good friend of Digging in the Dirt and WPKN radio. Dr. Safina is the endowed chair for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University. A MacArthur “genius fellowship" winning ecologist and founder of the Safina Center.

I'd like to welcome to Digging in the Dirt, Kaitlyn Kimball Director of agriculture for CitySeed up in New Haven. CitySeed has a mission to create a healthy, sustainable, and just food system for all.” We will be talking about CitySeed's fabulous Farmers Markets. Kaitlyn is also Owner of Sunset Organic farm in Naugatuck Ct. with Lawrence Passeck . Sunset is a USDA Certified Organic vegetable and flower farm focused on sustainability and community.

On the July 2024 episode of Spotlight on Arts and Culture, we discuss arts equity, philanthropy, and community impact. We are joined by Fairfield County's Community Foundation's Julian Pierce, the Director of Economic Opportunity, and Lutonya Russell-Humes, the VP of Grants and Programs. We announce the 2024 Arts in the Service of Equity grantees, the power of arts and culture as an anchor to where we live and how we live, art as a driver of the local economy.

* Shocking Supreme Court Ruling Granting Presidential Immunity Enables Future Autocrats; Marge Baker, Executive VP for Policy and Program with the group People For the American Way; Producer: Scott Harris. * Supreme Court Chevron Doctrine Ruling Jeopardizes Countless Federal Regulations; David Doniger, Senior Attorney, Strategist for Climate & Energy with the Natural Resources Defense Council; Producer: Melinda Tuhus. * Democrats Balk at Going Public with Rising Concern that Joe Biden Unable to Defeat Donald Trump; Stewart Lawrence, a long-time Washington, DC-based policy consultant; Producer: Scott Harris.