Ep 50 The Climate Stew Finale Extravaganza

Climate Stew

Climate Stew host, Peterson Toscano

The time has come to say goodbye–well and hello. This is the final episode of the Climate Stew podcast, but not the end of our relationship. I am heading over to the Citizens Climate Lobby to create the Citizens Climate Show. But before that we have this final episode–our biggest ever. I interview Dr. Jennifer O’Brien, one of the most creative teachers I have ever met and an expert on all things pop culture. We talk about teaching in a time of climate change, oh, and pop culture.

We also hear from Yuri Ivanovitich Petrov with a report about meat on a warming planet–soooo much meat. AND we finally hear directly from Joe G, the man I always thank at the end of ever single episode. Elizabeth Jeremiah and Marvin Bloom come face to face for an audio celebrity death match. Oh, and we end with a Citizens Climate Puzzler and a chance for you to share your solutions to a dilemma that comes up at a party. Enjoy this final episode and look out for some surprises.

Climate Stew podcast is available on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, SoundCloud, Spreaker Radio, or Listen here on our site. In whatever format you use, please rate and review! It makes a big difference. You can follow us on Twitter. Also check out our Facebook page where can be part of the conversation.

Music Credits

• Over and Over from Five Song Demo by Mark Chadwick
• Chenard Walcker with Stringtroncis and Wizz-Pop in the Lotus Opus album
• Wacky Southern Current with Eaten by Your own Sun on the In the Realm of Uncertain Summer album
• Good to be Alive by Joe Saco (purchased via Premium Beats for Citizens Climate Education)
• La Rose by Chenard Walcker on the Blessed album
• Incendio by Raúl Díaz Palomar on Música Para Poder Contra Verdad (BSO)

Links

• How climate change will Affect What We Eat
• Citizens Climate Lobby
• Climate Stew Ep 12 with Jen O’brien’s report on Ebola and Climate Change
• The Watkinson School

Transcript

Intro

Dr. Jennifer O’Brien

Hello and welcome to Ep 50 of Climate Stew. This show is airing on June 15, 2016. This is the final episode of the Climate Stew show series. It has been such a joy creating this program for you. All 50 episodes will be available at Climate Stew dot com and over at iTunes.

But that doesn’t mean this is the end of our audio relationship. No way! We have a good thing going on here. I will be moving on to begin a brand new podcast that airs on June 27, 2016. I’ll tell you about this new venture in a moment.

But first here is what you can expect from today’s show. Our interview is with Dr. Jennifer O’Brien. Jen did a feature on ebola virus way back in episode 12. Her students from the Watkinson School have also appeared on our show on multiple occasions. Jen is one of my heroes. She is a creative, passionate high school teacher who helps her students wrap their minds and hearts around climate change and environmental science. She is also very funny.

On today’s show we also have a special extra interview with someone I have mentioned every single episode. But you have yet to meet him. If you have listened to more than one show, you know I end each episode by giving thanks. I always include a special thanks to someone named Joe G. Today I will sit down with the elusive and every snarky Joe G so you can meet him for yourself.

Marvin Bloom and Elizabeth Jeremiah will also join us. And our good friend Yuri Ivanovich Petrov will also give us an update about some of our favorite foods.

This final episode of Climate Stew is a celebration and I hope will serve to inspire and encourage you as you seek to find you place on a new planet. That has been the most exciting part of this process—connecting with people to give them tools in the work they are doing. My goal has been to provide recourses to help you become a more informed, effective communicator. I also have consistently nudged you to consider the people behind climate change, the emotional aspects of what is often portrayed as a scientific or political issue. We have also been very committed to justice issues.

If you like what I have been doing here, than I I have good news for you. I will launch a new podcast later this month. I have been asked by a group called Citizens Climate Education to create a new show. Like Climate Stew it will be friendly, positive, filled with hope, and helpful instruction on how to be effective communicators. It will also be very interactive. Listeners will have lots of opportunities to share some of their best practices, their dilemmas, and their ideas. We will have a weekly Climate puzzler—a scenario where we are called on to speak about our current climate crisis and solutions. The new show is called: Citizens Climate Radio. This 30 minute show will air monthly and will include special guest interviews. These will be luminaries from the climate world—really big names. They will also include folks like you and me trying to find our way in this changing world. In addition to the interview and the puzzler, I will have a creative segment in the show. This will include a comic monologue, a story, and who knows, maybe even a visit from Timothy Meadows with That Day in Climate History.

To listen to the new show, go to iTunes or Podbean or wherever you connect to podcasts and subscribe to Citizens Climate Lobby channel.

So let’s jump right in with the news.

News (Yuri and food)

Joining us today for our news segment is our food correspondent Yuri Ivanovitch Petrov, the owner of Dasha Deli in Brooklyn, NY. Hello Yuri.

Yuri: Priviet, Peterson. It is good to see you. How have you been?

Peterson: Great. I just got back from South Africa. It was awesome

Yuri: What did you eat in South Afric?

Peterson: Meat, oh my goodness, so much meat. South Africans are big on meat. They had a braai of grilled beef steak and pork sausage almost every night. Then there was the biltong, the South African meat jerky. Not just beef, but kudu, and who knows what. I am not much of a meat eater; I was a vegan for over 8 years. That ended when I married a South African.

Yuri: Well, I have heard rumors that the slippery slope of gay marriage leads to a carnivorous lifestyle.

Meat is becoming more and more of a tricky food to produce on a warming planet. From the Outback in Australia to the wide open fields in Texas, cattle producers are suffering from drought. This results in lower yields and much much higher prices. When there is not enough grass for grazing, hay must be shipped in from long distances.

It’s gotten so bad in Australia they are seriously considering moving meat grazing further South where it is cooler. They are doing the same for both Avocado and wine production.

Some experts suggest that the public should turn to alternatives.

Peterson: Amen, Hallelujah. Bring on the tofu!

Yuri, Yes, Peterson, vegetable-based proteins typically do use less water and energy to produce than meat. But you must also consider some alternative meats to beef. Goat meat is full of flavor and a very sustainable animal. They do not pump out nearly as much methane fart bombs like cattle and sheep. And unlike sheep that pull up plants from the roots leading to soil erosion, Goats are nibblers, leaving roots intact.

In Australia that have another plentiful meat source hopping all over the place: The kangaroo. Australian journalist Naomi Russo highlights the ecological benefits of the jumpy marsupial over the lumbering bovine. She says, “kangaroos are less emissions-intensive and better adapted to our landscape than cows. Not only do kangaroos generally require less food and water, on average, they have a faster metabolic rate than cows, which results in less methane emissions per food intake.”

Peterson: Exotic and it just feels wrong eating Kanga and Roo, my favorite Winnie the Poo characters.

Yuri: Well, then how about you grill Big Bird. Of course not the friendly yellow guy from Sesame Street. I am talking about the Ostrich. It is a very lean healthy meat. They grow fast and require much less land than cattle.

Peterson: Perhaps, but I have had enough game and meat for awhile, so I think I will stick with the rice and beans for now.

Yuri: Healthy choice for sure even if you will contribute to more gas in the atmosphere.

Peterson: Thank you Yuri and thank you for all of information you shared with us here at Climate Stew. Perhaps you want to join me on the new program.

Yuri: Spasibo, Peterson. Of course I will be happen to help however I can. Once people see the foods they love are endangered species, they will sit up and take notice. But I must go. Today I am making yoghurt. You can have it with honey or your favorite: Maple syrup.

Peterson: Mmmm, can’t wait.

Main Feature: Interview with Jennifer O’Brien

Interview with Joe G

Your Moment with Marvin and Elizabeth Jeremiah

The only known photo of Marvin Bloom

With that I think it is time to wrap up this 50th and final episode of climate stew. I want to…

Marvin: What a minute, what?!? Peterson, what about Your Moment with Marvin. I want to say goodbye to all of my followers. I feel we really bonded.

Peterson: Ugh, Marvin, we are already going over time here. And there is another issue. If I give you airtime, well then I need to let Elizabeth Jeremiah do something too. She’s sitting in the next room and I have been ignoring her.

Marvin: I think she has said enough already.

Peterson: No I need to be fair. Ok I can do this. I can give you some time if you agree to share it with Elizabeth Jeremiah. It’s the only way.

Marvin: I hate that but ok Peterson.

Peterson: (shouting off-stage) Elizabeth Jeremiah. I’m ready for you.

Elizabeth Jeremiah: Why thank you Peterson. Hello Marvin, I was just thinking about and your partner. I’ve been praying for you.

Marvin: Hell no, forget it Peterson I change my mind. I refuse to talk to this woman. I have too much self-respect. No wait, let me get this off my chest. Ok, Elizabeth Jeremiah, what is your problem? You have been picking on me with your anti-gay agenda ever since we met. Personally I am sick and tired of religious people sticking their big self-righteous noses into my business. And with all of the recent crap about bathrooms. Well, as you know my partner, Tristan is out and proud as a femme gay trans male. And I know you don’t understand that but whatever. You can say anything you want about me, but if you say one more thing to tear down Tristan I will shove that Bible right up you….

Peterson: Ok ok, enough Marvin. Forget it. This is not how I want to end this program. Sorry Elizabeth Jeremiah, we are going to have to end here.

Elizabeth Jeremiah: Well, Peterson, wait just a minute. while it may shock Marvin to hear this, he is right. I have been awful to him and his partner. And I’m really sincerely sorry. I thought I was over everything but I guess still have work to do. I really don’t have any trouble with you Marvin for being gay and being with a transgender man. I’ve met Tristan, he is lovely. No I have been fighting my own demons.

Marvin: Wait, what you saying?!? Oh my god, Elizabeth Jeremiah, are you a lesbian.

Elizabeth Jeremiah

Elizabeth Jeremiah: I am not and never have been a lesbian—not even in Bible school, Sunday School camp or the week-long women warriors of God annual conference and spa days. No, its not that. It’s my husband, well my former husband. You see we are no longer together ever since he came out.

Marvin: Ohhhh so your husband a flaming homosexual. Ok, this is starting to make sense.

Elizabeth: He’s well, not gay in the traditional sense. He’s not into men. He definitely likes women. In fact, I guess he would technically identify as a lesbian.

Marvin: Ok I’m confused and intrigued. What are you talking about?

Elizabeth: Ok. Here goes. I married a wonderful man of God. We were missionaries together in Honduras. Our ministry was so rich—reaching many people both in Central America and then back in the US when we were home on furlow. My husband was the kindest, most thoughtful, attentive, and respective man I ever met. We loved each other dearly. But one day he came me to confess a secret. He could not live a lie any longer. He came out to me. No, not gay, He came out as a women and has always felt like a woman and needed to live in the Light or did not know what would happen. He, well no longer he, She said she still loved me and wanted us to be together if I was willing to have her.

Well, as you can imagine. I was blindsided. I had no idea. But then I guess I did. I don’t know. It was a scary, confusing time. I had no one to talk to. All my church friends could not and would not understand. They made everything so ugly and dirty.

In the end I said, no, I cannot be with you any longer. for one that would make me a lesbian, i mean how could I fully embrace you as a women unless I embraced you as woman. And I didn’t want to just be two sisters in the Lord. My heart was too tightly woven into our relationship as a married couple.

So in the end I walked away. And through the ensuing years I found no comfort. The church folks praised me for taking a stand for Jesus as they tore apart someone I love, someone they once revered.

That old wound was a long time ago. I since have built a life for myself the best I could, clawing my way to any pulpit or platform that would let me speak. It is not easy for a women in the church of God, at least in my denomination. I muddled along and was doing just okay until I met you Marvin.

Marvin Bloom, you are so unashamed of yourself. You so fully embrace Tristan for who he is. You two are adorable. You are working together to make the world a better place. And well, I have felt so envious. So spiteful. That you have what I denied myself.

My former husband, who has chosen the name Sarah Jean, moved on and is now married to Margaret, a wonderful, tender hearted woman who feels a call to a pet ministry. And I’m, well, feeling like a sad fool because I messed up. Men and women look on the outside, but God looks at the heart. I rejected the best person I’ve ever known.

So I’m sorry. I have been so dishonest. Will forgiven me, Marvin Bloom?

Marvin: Oh my God, you got me all crying here. Of course Elizabeth Jeremiah, I forgive you. Wow, you been through a lot. And it is amazing! That is exactly what I was going to talk about in Your Moment with Marvin. . I mean not the trans thing and whatever, but that so often we carry with us regrets or negative experiences or fears that get in the way of us moving forward. I mean when we talk about climate change we are not just talking about the weather but about people’s values and how they respond to crisis. It brings up our whole history. This is not our first rodeo. I don’t know I’m not saying it right. It’s just that in every situation we face today we bring our history. This can be distracting. It can obscure our view. But it can also be a source of inspiration or understanding as we reflect on how we faced previous challenges.

Funny, I never thought you and I had anything in common except our wacky interest in climate change, but I now see you in a new way. So this has been Marvin, Marvin Bloom Your Moment with Marvin.

Elizabeth Jeremiah: And I’m Elizabeth Jeremiah from the Elizabeth Jeremiah Global Worldwide Ministries in Jesus. May God Bless you and Keep you and your whole household too.

Closing

Peterson: Well not that we got that over with. Glad those kids can kiss and make up.

So out with the old and in with the new. I have already begun producing the first episode of The Citizens Climate Radio and I want your help! Each show will have a citizens climate puzzler—a scenario or conundrum about climate change or climate communication. Listeners will get to offer solutions to the puzzler that I will share on-air. These puzzlers won’t be about climate science, rather about how to be better communicators during a time of climate change. I set up both an email address: [e-mail] and a voicemail line: 570-483-8194. I’ll tell you those again in a moment.

so I thought I’d share a puzzler for the first episode and see if any of you have some solutions that I could include in the first episode. so you can come along with me!

Puzzler

You are at a party, perhaps a graduation party or something for work or it really doesn’t matter. You are chit-chatting and you let drop that you are concerned about climate change and involved in a group that is trying to do something to address it. The person you are chatting with, let’s call her Claire, smiles and says, “Well, I too am concerned about climate change, but really I think there are much more pressing issues that we need to address.” How might you respond in a way that opens up the conversation? See if you can find away to affirm Claire while drawing her to a deeper understanding of the urgency to act.

So how do you suggest we respond to Claire? Get back to me by June 25th 2016. You can email your answers to radio @ citizens climate.org or call me and leave a voicemail at 570.483.8194 That 570.483.8194. I will read and respond to all of your messages. And the most helpful ones will get on the air.

Closing

So it is time we end this episode and the Climate Stew program. Our opening theme song is over and over by Mark Chadwick. Other music in this program by Chnard Walcker and Wacky southern Current. Thanks to archive.org for being such a great source for music.

I have so many people to thank for their support and help through these past 50 episodes. Here is a partial list of people I want to thank:

Thank you to Lilace Mellin Guignard, Lori Kershner, Rev. Dr. Leah Schade, Andrea McLaren, Dr. Kathy Straub, Dave Raher, Raul Diaz Palomar, Keisha McKenzie, Prescott Allen Hazleton, Christine Bakke, Rev. Nancy Wilson, Dr. Jennifer O’Brien, Joey Hartman-Dow, Jane Brazell, Jan Hambridge, Jen Husinger, Glen Retief, Tyler sit, Amy Kalisher, Shirley McMillan Alex Skitolsky, Marin Toscano, the Citizens Climate Lobby, Yale Climate Connections, the Watkinson School, Oh, and Joe G, for being a delightful, snarky bitter old fairy podmother.

And thank you for listening to Climate Stew!