When the BioMass Hits the Wind Turbine

092 - Thanks for Nothing

For the past decade or so, Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station have observed a three month period of non consumption - their Thanks for Nothing season.  It is a break from our consumer society, where they do not buy anything - and even turn off the electricity.

Find out what motivated this bizarre behavior and what lessons are learned - and how it has enriched their lives.

168 - Urban Food Forests

The concept of a food forests, integrating marketable crops into a woodland environment, managing not just the turf for planting – but every vertical layer of space – is catching on in the world of agriculture innovations.

But can this concept be successful in an urban environment as we seek to provide local and sustainable food sources where we live? Join Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station for a discussion about the promise and perils of urban food forests.

167 - Reclaiming Downtowns

How do you create or recreate a vital and vibrant downtown district? As so many cities and small towns have seen their commercial districts fall into disuse and disrepair, there is a movement to recapture the days of locally-owned, walkable business districts.

Marietta, Ohio is a small town located at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers. They have actually been fairly successful in achieving this goal. Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station are joined by Luke Sulfridge as he talks about his experience in renovating commercial properties in downtown Marietta.

166 - Nukes in Ohio

Ohio is dealing with legacy fallout from a nuclear waste facility that has resulted in widespread contamination and soaring cancer rates. Two nuclear facilities are literally crumbling in Lake Erie and are at the center of a scandal involving bribery and the Speaker of the House and other state officials facing prison time. And power from nuclear energy simply cannot compete with wind and solar without massive infusions of public funds.

So of course the Ohio legislature has decided that now is the time to create an oversight process that is not subject to public scrutiny – designed to manage and promote nuclear energy in the state behind closed doors. Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station are joined by Pat Marida, anti-nuclear activist for a discussion on just what is going on with nukes in Ohio.

165 - Food Forests

Even big agriculture is beginning to look at this ancient process of using our forests as a food production model and venue for crop planting and harvesting. 

So what is this concept, how does it work, and what does it mean for the health and vitality of our planet? 

Join Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station for a discussion of food forests, not only regarding their economic benefits to marginalized populations, but as a restorative practice for our planet.

057 - Raising Naturally Healthy Pets

Like humans, many of the illnesses suffered by your pets are the result of an unhealthy diet and lifestyle.  Yet the medical model - which extends to the world of veterinary medicine - seems fairly clueless in how to use natural remedies to keep your pet healthy and help it regain health when things are out of balance.  

Join Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station for a discussion of the realities of sustainable living.

097 - Resilient Community Development

In the 1950s city planners pretty much all thought that bigger was better.  More growth, more business... all good.

Then sometime in the 1970s folks started worrying about the boom bust cycle of development.  Planners began asking how development could be more sustainable.  Growing with the future in mind.

Now growth must be resilient, able to adapt and weather the certain storms of climate change, changing technologies, energy interruptions. 

Join Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station and their guest, Myra Moss of the OSU Extension Office to discuss resilient and sustainable development within our communities.

053 - Battle of the Currents

The history surrounding the early days of electricity involved backstabbing, double dealing, huge egos battling it out in public – the electrocution of horses, dogs, people, and even elephants.

 

Dubbed “the battle of the currents”, this dis-information campaign pitted Thomas Edison against Tesla (and his boss, Westinghouse).

 

Another in our Dead White Scientists series – find out what happened just over 100 years ago that led us to the electrical system (largely unchanged since then) that we use today.

041 - Opting Out (Everything they ever told you is Wrong)

Society tells us to aspire to certain ideals.  We should own a big house, drive a nice car, go for that next promotion... eat this, drink that. 

What happens when you reject these as goals?  How do you form your own path in a world that judges you against fairly rigid guidelines? 

Join Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station for a discussion of the realities of sustainable living.

 

033 - Living a Net Zero Lifestyle

We have heard of net zero energy.  Net zero construction. But the heart of sustainability is seeking to live a net zero life.  How do you get through this life with as little adverse impact on the generations that follow.  

Join Annie and Jay Warmke of Blue Rock Station for a discussion of the realities of sustainable living.