"The Goode Family" ABC Show Will Mock Environmentalists

A new ABC animated television series “The Goode Family” pokes fun at a household of environmentalists living in the Midwest who live by the words “What would Al Gore do?” Gerald and Helen Goode want nothing more than to minimize their carbon footprint. They feed their dog, Che, only veggies (much to the pet’s dismay) and Mr. Goode dutifully separates sheets of toilet paper when his wife accidentally buys two-ply. And, of course, the family drives a hybrid.

Director Mike Judge’s “The Goode Family” will air on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. “The Goode Family” is based on the premise of how difficult it is to “be good”—i.e., environmentally responsible. That became the central premise for the Goode Family. Mr. Judge says he was also inspired by the mellow tones of National Public Radio hosts. (WSJ, 5/27/09)

Milt Peterson Bringing Disney To Prince George's County

The National Harbor developer already brought 'village life' to a county with very little. Now he is bringing one of the biggest brand names in the world to the area. Walt Disney Company is going to write a check for $11 million for a 15-acre parcel at National Harbor in Prince George's County. Disney plans to build a 500-room hotel resort on the parcel.

The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, which spots an 18-story glass hall, 2,000 hotel rooms and 470,000 square feet of meeting space, making it the largest center of its kind on the East Coast.

AAEA was the only environmental group in the country to support this project from conception to construction and operation. (Wash Post, 5/19/09)

EnviroBro Discusses Energy/Environment with PGE

Sacramento radio personality Leonard "EnviroBro" Robinson will be joined by Rex Bell , John Bohman and Katie Romans from Pacific Gas and Electric this week. They will discuss combining the message of energy efficiency and environmental protection as they relate to fluorescent lights. Robinson is the Federal Liaison for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

The show will broadcast live on Thursday, May 21, from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. on Sacramento Radio Station KDEE 97.7FM, and stream world-wide on the Internet at: http://www.kdeefm.org/ (click on LISTEN LIVE, upper left). Listeners are invited to call in during the show with questions and comments toll-free at (877) 631-8599 and send e-mail inquiries to: info@kdeefm.org The "Going Green With EnviroBro Radio Show," the first "green" radio show on an urban radio station in the nation, is dedicated to providing its listeners with the environmentally friendly information that will affect them, their families, and their pocketbooks. Sandy Friedman, Public Information Officer, DTSC, Cypresssfriedma@dtsc.ca.gov

Deconstructing Sly Stone Circa 1975-78

"High On You' was a great Sly Stone album but it bombed. Why? It was as good an album as Sly had ever composed. "High on You" should have been a solid Top 40 hit but it wasn't. "Crossword Puzzle" should have been a megahit, patterned after "Higher" or "Stand" but it wasn't. There are at least 6 hits on that album. So if the tunes were artistically solid, why didn't they continue on the tradition of "If You Want Me To Stay" on the Fresh ablum in 1973? Although Sly & the Family Stone had crashed and burned by 1973, Sly still had some hits in him, but they did not take with the business or the public. We have to attribute this to the fact that the wave had washed by Sly because many other groups had adapted his sound and techniques. So Sly was not so 'unique' anymore.

Larry Graham hit it big too for about 4 years after leaving the Family Stone, but his star was over too by 1980 and Prince was blending Sly, Hendrix, James Brown and Funkadelic. So if "High On You" had hit in 1970 right after Woodstock and "Thank You," it would have been a smash hit. But five years down the road, the fascination had run out, even when the artist produced a solid album. Sly hit again artistically with "Back On The Right Track" in 1978, but the public had moved on by then. Sad because "Back" was another artististic breakthrough. This had to be frustrating for Sly because he had to know that he was producing quality product, but the pubic simply was not buying it. And it had nothing to do with missed concerts and band defections. It is just that the vapor of fame and 'being hot' is just that. It is there for a moment and then it is gone. But know that Sly & the Family Stone WAS the vapor for about three years and Sly was the mist for about 2 more. And nobody can take that away from them or him.

We Agree With Oprah on Jets, Homes and Wealth

Oprah has put the conundrum on mitigating global warming and climate change in perspective. Americans want opulence but want to prevent pollution of our environment. At the same time most people will feel glee over the prospect of 'green jobs' and conservation, they are also thinking about running down to Best Buy or Costco and buying the latest electrical gadget. How can these two impulses be reconciled? We believe they can be reconciled through technological innovation combined with appropriate government oversight along with efficient production and consumption of supplies and products. This is America after all...the innovation capital of the world.

Oprah Winfrey's praise of private jet ownership shows how a self-made rich person should be free to express her purchase choices. Of course, she can buy carbon offsets to reduce her carbon footprint just as Al Gore does. And we would be happy to sell them to her. We hate going through airport security vulgarly having to remove our shoes and belts. We prefer to sit in 1st class as opposed to coach. God bless Oprah because it has always angered us when celebrities come out talking about their Prius ownership but do not mention the other 15 cars they own. We have hated it when they show us the energy efficiency items and structures in their home, but do not mention the other 5 homes they own.

Speaking to Duke University graduates during their commencement, Oprah:

“And I will have to say, it is a wonderful thing to have a beautiful home, or homes….and it is really fantastic to have your own jet, and anybody who says it isn’t is lying to you. That jet thing is really good.”

Hooray for Oprah. AAEA promotes the availability of abundant energy supplies at reasonable prices. We also promote the efficient use of natural resources and protection of the environment. As President Obama says, and we agree, the two are not mutually exclusive. But what is insulting is when the rich tell the rest of us to conserve while they consume. We want what they have. Our challenge is for society to provide it to as many people as possible in as environmentally friendly a manner as possible.

Cal/EPA Secretary To Be Interviewed by Enviro Bro

Radio personality Leonard "EnviroBro" Robinson will be joined by Secretary Linda Adams, left, from the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA). They will discuss her recent trip to China where she shared California's strategies and policies on climate change, low carbon fuels, green business and more.

The show will broadcast live Thursday, May 14 from 10:00am until 11:00am on Sacramento Radio Station KDEE 97.7FM and stream world-wide on the internet. Listeners are invited to call in during the show with questions and comments toll-free at (877) 631-8599 and email inquiries.

The "Going Green With EnviroBro Radio Show", the first "green" radio show on an urban radio station in the nation, is dedicated to providing its listeners with the "green" information that will affect them; their families and their pocketbook.

Star Trek 2009

By Holly Wood

Okay. Not even we would have thought up Spock getting jungle fever. But clearly it is one of the most interesting things about the new Star Trek movie. Although not shocking for its interracial (interspecies?) component (Captain Kirk shocked 40 years ago with Uhura), it is the fact of Spock having a romantic liaison at all that is interesting. I mean who would have ever hooked up Spock and Uhura in the original television series. Nobody, not even Gene Roddenberry was that creative. Anyway, Spock and Uhura are hot together in the movie. The movie trailer fools people into thinking Uhura will have a romantic liaison with Captain Kirk.

The Romulans looked like East L.A. gangbangers with tattoos and long coats.

The Enterprise crew:

Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood)

Medical Officer Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban)

Chief Engineer, Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (Simon Pegg)

Communications Officer Uhura (Zoë Saldana)

Helmsman Sulu (John Cho) and

Chekov (Anton Yelchin)

Okay. To some technical stuff. The red stuff that induces black holes is interesting. Quite a weapon. The planet Vulcan is destroyed with a small amount of the stuff. What in the world would be the properties of such a red goo? We don't know. We'll just call this one a Hollywood convenience.

Now the Enterprise escaping from the black hole by ejecting the dilithium crystal powered matter/antimatter cores into the black hole to generate an explosion to help generate thrust is plausible. Except then what did they use for power? I guess we could guess that they did not eject all of the cores. Nuclear power to the rescue once again. First global warming and now saving the starship Enterprise.

Enviro Bro Interviews California Toxics Control Director

EnviroBro will be joined by Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Acting Director Maziar Movassaghi to discuss the discovery of lead in children's jewelry that was being sold at retail stores in California. The show will broadcast live Thursday, May 7 from 10:00am until 11:00am on Sacramento Radio Station KDEE 97.7 FM and Kddefm.org (click on listen live). Listeners are invited to call in during the show with questions and comments at (916) 631-8599 and email inquiries

DTSC discovered the jewelry in six locations (mainly distributor/importer warehouses) in southern California. An analysis by the DTSC Environmental Chemistry Lab found that children’s wooden angel pendant necklaces contained 736,000 parts per million (ppm) lead (nearly 74% lead). Another example is an adult turquoise stone pendant necklace that contained 710,000 ppm of lead. The jewelry containing high lead concentrations included items with religious images, such as medallions and crosses, which some people tend to kiss while praying.


On September 22, 2006, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California’s Lead-Containing Jewelry Law (Assembly Bill 1681). It went into effect on September 1, 2007. The law limits the amount of lead in children’s jewelry to either 200 ppm (0.02%) or 660 ppm (0.06%) depending on the component used. The law has since been extended to limit lead in adult and body-piercing jewelry, as well as to include watches and detachable clothing and shoe ornaments. The "Going Green With EnviroBro Radio Show", the first "green" radio show on an urban radio station in the nation, is dedicated to providing its listeners with the "green" information that will affect them; their families and their pocketbook.

The Hip Hop Caucus Wants to 'Green The Block'

Reverend Lennox Yearwood on the National Mall on Earth Day (April 22).

Green the Block is the Hip Hop Caucus' campaign to address urban poverty and climate change, at the same time. Through grassroots activities and celebrity involvement we are working to create a strong green economy, locally and globally.Climate change and poverty in the US and abroad acutely affect our communities and are causing environmental violence that is prematurely ending lives and opportunities for a better tomorrow. More than just planting a tree in the hood, Green the Block is about educating diverse communities on issues surrounding climate change and its relevance to their lives, engaging communities in the climate movement through policy and service, while introducing them to the Green Economy.

Russell Simmons is also sponsoring 'America's Greenest Campus.'

Supreme Court Sends Janet Jackson Rule Back For Review

The Supreme Court has ruled (5/5/09) that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia should consider reinstating the $550,000 fine that the Federal Communications Commission imposed on CBS over Jackson's breast-baring performance at the 2004 Super Bowl. A federal appeals court previously ruled in favor of CBS Corporation and against the fine in a legal fight over entertainer Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction.

The order follows the high court ruling last week that upheld the FCC's policy threatening fines against even one-time uses of curse words on live television.

Last year, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia threw out the fine against CBS, reasoning that the incident lasted nine-sixteenths of one second and should have been regarded as "fleeting." The FCC previously deviated from its nearly 30-year practice of fining indecent broadcast programming only when it was so "pervasive as to amount to 'shock treatment' for the audience," the court said. The FCC appealed to the Supreme Court. The case is FCC v. CBS Corp., 08-653.

On Sunday Feb. 1, 2004 entertainer Janet Jackson, left, exposed her right breast after Justin Timberlake pulled the breast cup during the half time performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas.

(Wash Post, 5/4/09) (Photo: AP)