The blog formerly known as   Fake Plastic Fish

Category Archives: Radio

September 27, 2012

Annie Leonard: Don’t Just “Be the Change.” Make Change!

When Annie Leonard (The Story of Stuff Project) admonishes us to “make change,” she’s not talking about dimes and quarters.  She’s one of my personal heroes and someone I was excited to interview back in 2010.  So you can imagine how honored I was this year when asked if she could interview me for her podcast The Good Stuff, a companion piece to her new video,  The Story of Change.  The premise of the video and podcast is that personal changes are great, but they’re not enough.  As Annie puts it, “Conscious consumerism is a great place to start, but it’s a lousy place to stop.” After watching the movie (it’s only 6-1/2 minutes long), do you agree?

In the the companion podcast, Annie interviews me along with people like Ralph Nader and Van Jones about how to go beyond personal lifestyle changes to make change on a more systemic level.  I talk about how making changes in my own life led… Read the rest

March 10, 2011

Does Jon Stewart Follow This Blog?

Jon Stewart The Daily Show

Over a year ago, we ranted here about the idiocy of plastic-wrapped bananas and then posted them to the Plastic Crap Wall of Shame. Now, it seems, Stewart’s got a Pantry of Shame, and guess what’s in there? Plastic-wrapped bananas, which, he says, “are for people who love bananas but hate their biodegradability.”

I love this man and am wondering if I was too quick to cancel my cable. Nah. I can watch The Daily Show online:

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/har4lx/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-intro—pantry-of-shame

In other news, I gave a 30 minute interview on Heather Lounsbury’s Live Well Live Natural radio program yesterday, during which I made a few confessions.  Click above link to listen.

 … Read the rest

March 9, 2011

Speaking for the Voiceless

Three years ago, I saw a photo of a dead albatross chick filled with plastic pieces and knew I had to be the voice for those who couldn’t speak for themselves.

Sometimes I forget and think my purpose is plastic. But it’s not.

Yeah, I collect my plastic waste; blog about plastic-free alternatives; write to companies to get them to change their products and packaging; and give speeches and interviews on plastic, plastic, plastic.  I focus on plastic because so few other activists and organizations do. Because “green” companies still package their products in plastic, and organic foods come wrapped in the stuff.

But my purpose, the reason I speak out on plastic, is for my clients:

When I forget them, I get caught up in the madness of Google Rank, Search Engine Optimization, PR Pitches, Social Media, blog popularity, and the stress gets to me. I focus on checking off items on my “To-Do” list and lose sight of the meaning… Read the rest

September 29, 2007

Weekend radio – Trash Challenge Interview

Wednesday, I had a phone interview with Tess Vigeland of NPR’s Marketplace. You know, Tess from the Trash Challenge. Today, her radio segment on the Trash Challenge included pieces from our interview. You can listen to it or read the transcript here:

Lessons from the trash challenge

The interview was quite a bit longer and included stuff about composting and why I decided to participate in the Trash Challenge to begin with. You can listen to (almost) the full interview here:

Trash Challenge: Into the Dustbin of History

Also, from the Marketplace web site:

“Be sure to tune into all the programs of American Public Media in November for a special project called “Consumed.” We’ll be airing an entire week’s worth of stories and interviews about America’s consumer culture and whether it’s sustainable.

“On Marketplace Money we’ll be devoting our entire show the weekend of November… Read the rest