Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben sat down with David Letterman on the Late Show to discuss climate change and the actions desperately needed to confront it.
McKibben says that the dire environmental problems we face aren’t entirely unmanageable, and we have the capabilities to provide some solutions, but there are certain groups — like the oil and gas industry — that don’t want that kind of progress to be made. “Until we build a movement big enough to challenge them, we won’t solve it,” McKibben tells Letterman.
McKibben describes the environmental grassroots organization he started last year with 7 colleges kids, 350.org, and how it exploded into a worldwide movement when their “International Day Of Climate Action” succeeded with 5,200 demonstrations in 181 countries.
This year, they expect to make an even larger impact on 10/10/10 for what McKibben describes as a “global work party.” The organization is putting pressure on President Obama to restore solar panels to the roof of the White House, and is calling on people across the world do their part in addressing climate change in their local communities. “If I can go to work and do something, then I damn well expect my political leaders to do something,” McKibben says.
HOUSTON
Waste Management, the nation’s largest trash hauler, said Wednesday that it purchased a majority stake in organic lawn and products maker Garick LLC in order to expand its organic recycling business.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Garick’s operations will add over one million tons of processing capacity as well as commercial and consumer organic products to Waste Management’s organics recycling business.
Waste Management Inc., based in Houston, has been working on boosting its organic efforts since last year when it made an investment in Terrabon. The company also made an investment in Harvest Power in January.