Podcasting since 2004; Conversations, conflicts, adventures and monologues from around the world.
I’ve heard him reffered to as the man who saved the bagel. Al Appleton, who helped save NYC water system in the 1990’s, sat down with me during the TBLI conference in Paris last month. This is his story.
We Discuss:
Whenever I come back to NJ, I expect to see changes. Not so much people, as of course there are always changes there, but I’m speaking more about changes to this place; suburban NJ, the suburbs of New York City and Newark. I expect to see some new buildings, new construction projects, and generally speaking.. signs of a new era… new ideas… the future. Among those changes for the new era, I keep a close eye out for developments related to energy conservation, pollution, and sustainable living.
As is typical for much of the US, this region is especially a hub for car culture. You can hardly do anything without an automobile, so while in Amsterdam it seems that everyone rides a bike, in New Jersey it seems that everyone drives a car.
Every year I return and end up, naturally, in a car on a highway. This year it is no different, but considering the fact that global warming has finally reached the mass audience and seemingly has been accepted as a problem, I expected to see some changes. Smaller cars perhaps. More of those hybrids people talk about. Less people driving or at the very least, less cars with only 1 person in them. In each of these cases, besides the occasional hybrid, I’ve seen almost none of these things. Just like 7 years ago, back when I still lived here and global warming was a myth, there is nothing but cars and traffic jams. If anything they’ve gotten worse, more cars leading to traffic jams all over this state at any given time of day.
As I visit people’s houses and walk the streets, I look for signs of energy conservation. Solar panels? I guess that was wishful thinking; there are none. More people turning off lights and turning down the heat? No one seems to mention it or think about it. Plenty of those little flourenscent bulbs, that is about the extent of the energy saving practices I see adopted.
At any shop you find lots of green labels and references to all-natural, clearly people want to feel better about their choices and actions. But seeing the amount people here consume; whether its goods or energy, despite everything they know about their impact on the planet… none of it has slowed down. If anything, this state, like much of the world, seems to be marching even more quickly towards environmental holocaust.
Now that I have a new computer I have regained the power to edit video and basically from now on I have the tools I need to do videos the way I want to. (as you’ll see, I’m still learning the settings on the new machine)
This one was recorded the night before I left Amsterdam for the US journey. Borrowing a page from the great MacDocMan, I ride through Vondelpark trying to explain Greenwashing. Then I take a little ride down the Kinkerstraat which is all decorated for the holidays.
Once again.. combination of the travel and the baby birth.. I’m now in New Jersey and about to go to sleep for the first time in a while. So citizen reporting will commence ASAP.
Today my niece was born. Amazing, I have a niece. I have a wonderful nephew and now a niece. I can think of no better reason to travel tomorrow to the US and A…. so today there is no post in honor of my brand new niece Riley who was born on this day Nov. 27th, 2007. One day she will read this..years from now.. and smile.
I often listen to my own podcast. Might sound strange, but one of my rituals, besides losing most of my nights sleep preparing a podcast, is to listen to it the next day as I ride my bike through town. I listen to try and hear what others might hear; an idea or an experience that teaches me something, gives me a new idea or leads to deeper questions.
Lately I’ve noticed a common thread; through all the podcasts about work, income, quality of life, and history. That common thread is the question of whether or not things are happening as part of a cycle or have we reached some kind of major confrontation.
I’m referring to the strikes but I’m also referring to the inequality in the world. I’ve read the reports, looked at the statistics, and listened to individuals tell their stories and their evaluations about this moment in history. The strikes around the world, pitting people struggling to make a living against companies or governments who also struggle to do what they think is necessary for the future. Pension cuts, job cuts, contract negotiations collapsing, governments against workers, corporations against workers, public opinion against strikers, the conflicts and alliances go on and on.
Of course I’m too young to make some bold statement that this is some unique moment in history. Whenever I ask more experienced people they give me a mix of reactions, that these things happen in cycles and this is just the return of old stuggles as old as time itself.
In a recent interview for a forthcoming podcast, I asked a very excellent journalist who covers labor, if he thinks we’ve reached some climax in the struggle to make ends-meat. He didn’t see it as a climax, yet he did talk about what a huge boom of interest there is for his work now more than ever before. More and more individuals want to know about their rights as working people, and have a clear idea of their wages and benefits and they’re using the internet to find out about these issues.
Still I’m left wondering… is this truly a unique moment in history? Is this more of the same or the return of some age-old cycle?