September-December 1997
The Heat Is On:
The Hazards of Global Climate Change
The long-simmering issue of global warming is finally boiling over. In December 1997, leaders of 160 nations gathered in Kyoto, Japan for a landmark conference to draft and sign a global climate treaty. The United States made some commitments to reducing the greenhouse gases generated by the burning of fossil fuels, but did not take the steps that most scientists believe are necessary to avert unprecedented disruptions of the world's climate.
As the world's leading industrial superpower, the U.S is also the world's leading superpolluter. The commitments we made -- and failed to make -- strongly affected the readiness of other nations to take concerted action to meet the threat of global warming. We asked our guests to discuss how cutting our use of fossil fuels would impact our economy and way of life, and how shifting to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources could preserve the planet and our prosperity.
The Mainstream Media Project scheduled and completed 229 radio interviews. A quarter of these were on nationally, internationally, or regionally syndicated networks reaching scores or hundreds of stations at once in every region of the country. The campaign featured many interviews directly from Kyoto during the two-week climate conference.
Guest Speakers by Topic
Climate Scientists
Christopher Flavin, Senior Vice President and Director of Research, Worldwatch Institute
John Harte, Professor, Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley
Thomas Karl, Senior Scientist, National Climatic Data Center
Dan Lashof, Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council
Jane Lubchenco, Marine Biologist, Oregon State University
Michael Oppenheimer, Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund
Sherwood Rowland, Co-Winner of 1995 Nobel Prize; University of California, Irvine
Stephen Schneider, Professor, Environmental Biology and Global Change, Stanford University
Kelly Sims, Science Policy Director, Ozone Action
George Woodwell, Founder and President, Woods Hole Research Center
Economists
Stephen DeCanio, Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara
Peggy Duxbury, Director, Corporate Policy, Redefining Progress
Florentin Krause, Founder and Director, International Project for Sustainable Energy Paths
Renewable Energy Experts
Dan Becker, Sierra Club
Ralph Cavanaugh, Co-Director, Energy Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
Darren Goetze, Staff Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists
Rick Heede, Rocky Mountain Institute
Henry Kendall, 1990 Nobel Prize for Co-Discovery of Quarks
Warren Leon, Deputy Director for Programs, Union of Concerned Scientists
Hunter Lovins, President and Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Institute
Michael Marvin, Executive Director, Business Council for Sustainable Energy
Ann Mesnikoff, Sierra Club
Alden Meyer, Director of Government Relations, Union of Concerned Scientists
David Nemtzow, President, Alliance to Save Energy
Carl Pope, Executive Director, Sierra Club
Karl Rabago, National Energy Program Manager, Environmental Defense Fund
Howard Ris, Executive Director, Union of Concerned Scientists
Health Experts
Eric Chivian, 1985 Nobel Peace Prize Co-Winner; Harvard University Medical School
Paul Epstein, Assistant Clinical Professor, Harvard University Medical School
Industry Representatives
Frank Nutter, President, Reinsurance Association of America
Terry Thorn, Senior Vice-President, Enron Corp
Journalists
Ross Gelbspan, Author, The Heat Is On
+ 34 local experts on Climate Change
