Green Time TV, Jan 2017: Environmental Obstacles, But Forging Ahead
by Don Fitz
Lots of things stand in the way of environmental sanity – including international trade deals, attacks on local farmers and “food sovereignty,” racist deterioration of inner cities, and irrational war on a potentially beneficial weed. January 2017 Green Time episodes delve into a variety of efforts to overcome these obstacles.
There is a strong connection between the desire local autonomy and opposition to trade treaties. In the first January Green Time, host Don Fitz and guests Karen Wilson and Mark Strothmann of Joining Hands ask whether the US would need to amend its constitution to allow trade deals to be legal. They explore why India’s government pushed hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides onto its farmers. What were India’s farmers doing before this? They look at the relationship between the price of food and profits of corporations as well as how NAFTA has affected both the US and Mexico.
What are “public variety” seeds and why are they getting harder for farmers to find? During the second January Green Time, host Don Fitz and guest Roger Allison of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center (MRCC) discuss how that organization addresses problems faced by Missouri farmers. They look at what “food sovereignty” means for local farmers and people throughout the world. The globalization of food production is strongly linked to the industrialization of agriculture. These processes, as well as international trade policies have hurt farmers in country after country.
Have you gone down Martin Luther King Blvd in St. Louis recently? It does not exactly look like the Delmar Loop, which was also in pretty bad shape a few years back. Did you know that most MLK streets across America look pretty similar to MLK in St. Louis? The mission and vision of Beloved Streets of America (BSA) is to bring MLK streets across the US up to standards that would be fitting for the man whom they honor. In the third January Green Time, host Don Fitz and guests Melvin White (BSA President), Andre Blunt (BSA Vice-President) and Robert A. Powell (BSA Board Member) discuss how the BSA vision started and how it has received support. They focus on how BSA connects with the arts and how viewers can become involved.
Did you ever ask if decriminalizing marijuana for medical use results in more use by teenagers? Or if marijuana is a “bridge drug” leading users to take more dangerous drugs? Research gives an answer of “no” to both questions. During the final January Green Time show, host Don Fitz and guests Dan Viets (Attorney and Missouri NORML Coordinator) and Sheila Dundon (Registered Nurse and Cancer Survivor) ask why states that have legalized marijuana for medical use have less worker absenteeism, less prescription drug use and less opioid overdoses. They discuss patients who have clear medical needs for marijuana but are treated like criminals.
January shows include the movies Greening the Revolution, The MLK Legacy WalkandA NORML Life.
Green Time appears at noon on Saturdays in St. Louis on Channel 24-1 and at 8 pm on Mondays in St. Louis on Channel 24-2, Springfield on Channel 39, Joplin on Channel 36 and Marshfield on Channel 17. Green Time programs air on these dates:
January 7, 9: “Injustice in International Trade,”
January 14, 16: “Challenges to Missouri Agriculture,”
January 21, 23: “The National MLK Streets Initiative,”
January 28, 30: “Looking at Medical Marijuana.”
“Like” Gateway Greens on Facebook and click “Get notifications.” Also see Green Time on greentime.tv. To help produce Green Time TV call 314-727-8554 or email don@greentime.tv
