As Americans cast their votes in the midterm elections, they will set the course for American environmental policy for years to come. Van Jones, the founder of three non-profits and author of a book on green jobs entitled “The Green Collar Economy,” served as a green jobs advisor to the Obama administration for six months in 2009. In September, he was forced to resign after criticism from conservative politicians and media outlets. Derek Gideon sat down with him to discuss green jobs and the politics of environmentalism.

On October 6, physicist Harold Lewis, Professor Emertitus of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, stepped down from the American Physical Society (APS) after writing an open letter of resignation criticizing what he sees as a shift in the field of physics in favor of global warming research at the cost of other pursuits. In 2007, the APS issued a statement calling the evidence for man-made global warming “incontrovertible” and advocated policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Producer Aaron Smargon discussed Lewis’ resignation in an interview with William Happer, a Professor of Physics at Princeton University who has expressed support for Lewis’ position.

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This episode featured work by Derek Gideon, Brittany Murphy, Aaron Smargon, and support from Jackie Cremos.

Executive Producer: Nikki Leon.
Senior Producer: Flora Thomson-Deveaux.

CC licensed music from .Tape.