We celebrate our third Anniversary show!  To join us, Mike Brown, The Green Garden Guy, is in the studio and launches his new regular weekly one-minute enviro-segment .  Next, we chat with radio personality and entrepreneur, Nick Federoff, host/founder of Things Green.  Earth Gauge Newscovers Bike To Work Week.    (Thank you, Earth Gauge, for the show promotion on your site!)  Eco-News spans the continuing global temperature debate; the Minnesota ice attack; and cultured meat.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Adaawe’s A Brand New Day.  Eco Activities this weekend in Los Angeles include The 24th Annual Great Los Angeles River CleanUp, this Saturday, May 18, from 9 to noon. Residents will join Friends of the LA River (FoLAR)  to clean the Los Angeles River at 15 locations throughout L.A.   Plus, the L.A. County Museum of Natural History presents its 27th annual Bug Fair this weekend, May 18-19.  Check out the Butterfly Pavilion.  Get tickets in advance.  Download past shows on www.latalkradio.com/Hilldale.php. Twitter@hillanddaleshow Facebook: Hill and Dale Show/Sharon Dale/Lucie Hill.  Email: hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.  Thanks for listening!

How do you make your yard attractive to native wildlife like hummingbirds and butterflies? Naturalist David Mizejewski, Spokesman for the National Wildlife Federation tells us how you can turn your yard, garden or balcony into a Certified Wildlife Habitat. During Garden for Wildlife Month, NWF will plant one native tree for every yard that’s certified in May! Then Avital Andrews, Lifestyle Editor for Sierra Magazine tells us about her interview with famed primatologist Jane Goodall and offers some “green” gift ideas for Mother’s Day.  Earth Gauge offers tips on spotting migratory birds this spring. Eco News includes a report on Navy drones patrolling the Southern California coast, the first solar-powered plane that can fly day and night, giant stucco-munching snails invade Florida, the Great LA River Cleanup and Bug Fest at the L.A. County Museum of Natural History.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features  Eddie Kilgallon’s song “Happy Mother’s Day.” Next week: the Hill & Dale Third Anniversary Show with “Things Green” host Nick Federoff and Mike Brown, the Green Garden Guy!  Stay tuned!

I am Skyping the show from the Milken Institute's Global Conference 2013, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills while Sharon webcasts from Sherman Oaks.  The annual meeting of the minds at the Global Conference is a who's-who of world leaders, scientists, thinkers, philanthropists, business-people, journalists and celebrities coming together to discuss and implement solutions to global issues. During the show, Sharon and I speak to Paul Scott, Plug-In America/a.k.a. the Electric Car Guy, about electric car trends and metrics . Next, we discuss with Kristin Urquiza, Director of Think Outside the Bottle & Public Water Works! with Corporate Accountability International, their campaign to get bottled water out of national parks.  The Earth Gauge topic highlights Air Quality Awareness Week.   Eco-News reveals cleaner California air with a catch; and no certainty for gray wolves.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Carl Rigoli’s, Ken’s Blues.  Download Hill and Daleon iTunes! and Stitcher.  Email: hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.  Friend us on Facebook - Hill and Dale Show - and Tweet@hillanddaleshow.  Thanks for listening!

This week's topic concerns stewardship of our trees and plant-life. Lindsey Allen, Acting Director of Rainforest Action Network (RAN), shares the organization's mission ("Environmentalism With Teeth") and accomplishments, as well as sharing her own distinguished career.    Lynette Kampe, Director, and Lisa Novick, Director of Outreach and Education at the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants  offer key tips when planting a flower or vegetable garden.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery’s, She’s the Earth. Earth Gauge draws attentions to National Arbor Day.    Eco-News covers last weekend's Earth Day; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns California to use its grants for clean water projects; California's low winter rainfall spells looming trouble for firefighters; and April 27's worldwide Save The Frogs Day.  Download on iTunes! and Stitcher. Tweet@hillanddaleshow. Friend us on the Hill and Dale Show Facebook page.  Email: hillanddaleshow@gmail.com. 

Approaching Earth Day, Karen Roth, holistic nutritionist, co-author of "I Married a Nutritionist"  tells us about harsh chemicals in every-day skincare products and what we can do to make our daily grooming choices more earth-friendly and healthy. Next, Sarah Kozicki of the National Environment Education Foundation calls in from D.C. to discuss EE Week - Environmental Education Week; what it is and how people can help!   Linked, Earth Gauge also offers tips about National Environmental Education Week. In Eco-News, a possible California statewide ban on plastic shopping bags; the Sierra Club's "Get Out!" campaign; the chemical BPA added to the growing birth defect danger list; non-profit Ventura County Food Forwardteaming up the David Bohnett Foundation, L.A. DWP, and L.A. Recreation and Parks Department to save a 10-acre orange grove. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ted Vigil's Blessings in the Skies. Download the Hill and Dale Show on iTunes! and Stitcher. Email us at www.hillanddaleshow@gmail.com! Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter. Tweet@hillanddaleshow. Facebook: The Hill and Dale Show. Thanks for listening!

Earth Month is here and we kick it off  with two great guests!  Dr. Brandt Kehoe, President, Friends of the Elephant Seal  tells us about this amazing sea mammal which was thought to be extinct in the 1880s until a small colony of survivors was discovered in  Mexico.  Today, more than 18-thousand Northern Elephant Seals live at Piedras Blancas Rookery, a stretch of beach along California's Central Coast, (near Hearst Castle) attracting hundreds of  human visitors weekly. Then we hear from Mizar Turdiu, owner of Pur2o Water  Filtration and Purification Systems who says “there’s no such thing as pure water from nature.” Earth Gauge covers National Public Health Week and offers easy tips to protect your health and save money. Eco News includes the Exxon Mobile tar sands spill in Arkansas, an EPA plan to require cleaner gasoline, more bad bee news, and the world’s greenest building. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Larry Williams’ new song “My Favorite Color’s Green.”  

As spring arrives in the Northern Hemisphere, the experts advise us to venture outside and enjoy the outdoors!  Our first guest is Avital Andrews, Life Style Editor of Sierra Magazine, who tells about the Sierra Club's current campaign: "Get Out!".

Next, Sara Feldman with the California State Parks Foundation visits the studio in-person, and we learn about California's plethora of parks and volunteering opportunities on their Earth Day celebration, April 13! (Earth Day is April 22.)
Earth Gauge advises us to check the AC unit in preparation for the coming warmer weather.  Eco-News covers the probability of the formation of more devastating hurricanes; plans to work on tsunami reduction in California; locusts on Madagascar; Donald Trump tangling with Scotland, and a seal pup found in a Swedish forest.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Larry Williams' (AKA Wilmon Will) Ice Cream on my Sunday Suit from the CD, Tales of Wilmon Will.  Download Hill and Dale on iTunes! and Stitcher.  Tweet@hillanddaleshow.  Email: hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.  Thanks for listening!

We celebrate the first day of spring on today’s show as Sara Carnochan, cofounder of Heart Beet Gardening joins us to chat about her custom organic vegetable gardening business in Los Angeles. Sara says edible gardens are more popular than ever! Then, physicist/engineer Dr. Charanjit Mahrok calls in from Washington, D.C. area to talk about his new book “The World in 2099.” Amazon.com. Dr. Mahrok presents mounting evidence that unless something is done to slow the world’s booming population growth, mankind will run out of basic minerals, clean water, food and other necessities of life as we know it. He predicts more wars and chaos in the future and he’s urging world leaders to find solutions. Earth Gauge explains how to build a rain container garden. The EPA reminds us that it’s Fix a Leak Week.  Eco News includes a big jump in the U.S. vehicle fuel economy average, the National Wildlife Federation is celebrating National Wildlife Week, more sick sea lions are showing up on SoCal beaches and a Nevada solar energy company is expanding. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Marcus Miller’s song “Spring Has Sprung.” 

How does global population growth impact the environment ? What’s the connection between the baby boom, over consumption and the rapid extinction of plants and animals? And, how is climate change impacting arctic creatures like the polar bear? Today’s guests tackle these tough questions and more! We welcome back Karla Dutton, Defenders of Wildlife’s Alaska Field Director and polar bear expert . She clears up the myths surrounding this threatened species and gives us the facts on how they’re faring as the sea ice melts. Then, Jerry Karnas, Director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Campaign on Human Population Growth  tells us that the Earth’s population has topped 7 billion and is growing fast. One way you can help is by purchasing their unique Endangered Species Condoms.  Earth Gauge offers tips on protecting our groundwater. Eco News includes soaring global temps, a new energy source in Japan, an old energy source in Iceland with new customers, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) wraps up in Thailand and bee venom kills HIV. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery’s song “Solstice Peace.” Thanks for listening!

This week, it's all about the great outdoors! Landscape Designer, Mike Brown, a.k.a "The Green Garden Guy," visits the studios and chats about his work, Costa Rica and native plants.  I Ling Thompson, Vice President of Communications with the Outdoor Industry Associationcalls in to talk about the organization, its affiliation with outdoors companies and a recent study.   Earth Gauge covers National Severe Weather Preparedness Week.  Eco-News highlights the selection of two new Obama Administration cabinet members; Shell withdraws its oil drilling operations from the Arctic; mandatory solar panels in Lancaster, California; a rare butterfly's comeback to L.A.; and the unveiling of a new hybrid Ferrari. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Miranda Rondeau and the LuvAmpProject, This Love.  Download Hill & Dale on iTunes! and Stitcher. Email: hillanddaleshow@gmail.com. Friend us on our Facebook page, Hill and Dale Show! Tweet@hillanddaleshow. Thanks for listening! 

Guest host, Charles, and I talk to Dr. Amber Mace, Associate Director at U.C. Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy, formerly with the Ocean Protection Council and Ocean Science Trust and Transportation Committee. Earth Gauge covers the protection of native plants.  Eco-News examines often mislabeled seafood; malnourished sea lions; tree planting in Long Beach; and the lifting of a Southern Californian lizard from the endangered species list. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Francis Ndoumbe’s, Fatima. Download Hill and Dale on iTunes! and Stitcher.  Friend us on the Hill and Dale Show Facebook page, and Tweet@hillanddaleshow.  Thanks for listening!

We meet Karen Roth, holistic nutritionist and co-author of I Married a Nutritionist for a discussion about men's health and BPA. Next, we find out about the lives, habits and environmental dangers for the walrus from Marine Mammal Scientist Dr. Lori Polasek at the Alaska SeaLife Center, and Assistant Research Professor for the School of Fisheries & Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. .  The Earth Gauge tip  addresses water conservation, and Eco-News covers the XL Pipeline; the punishing meteor over Russia; and more fines for BP contractors. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Michelle Mangione’s, What is a Saint.  Download the Hill & Dale Show on iTunes!  and Stitcher.  Follow  Twitter@hillanddaleshow.  Friend us the Hill & Dale Show Facebook page!  Email at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.  Sign up for the Hill & Dale Show weekly e-newsletter!  Thanks for listening! 

It's the scourge of the modern world: traffic! This week, we tackle some numbers and trends in the 2011 Congested Corridors Report and 2012 Urban Mobility Report with Associate Research Scientist David L. Schrank of the Mobility Analysis Program at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.    Next, in recognition that traffic congestion makes us unhappy, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Director for the International Society for Ecology & Culture (ISEC) calls in from Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, to talk about the concepts behind general happiness, the film and upcoming March conference in Byron Bay,The Economics of Happiness.   The Earth Gauge tip highlights the Great Backyard Bird Count! www,earthgauge.net  In Eco-News, a ban on "puppy mills" at Los Angeles' pet stores; a newly discovered species of snake in Vietnam; and drones on patrol to catch poachers of endangered wildlife.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Chalo Eduardo’s, Beija Flor Suite.  Download Hill and Dale on iTunes! and Stitcher. Tweet@hillanddaleshow. Like our Facebook page, Hill and Dale Show!  Email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com and sign up for our weekly e-newsletter! Thank you for listening! 

We explore links between the health of the environment and our food supply on this week’s Hill & Dale Show. Dick Feely, Senior Fellow with NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory  based in Seattle specializes in the study of how the oceans take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and how that effects marine ecosystems. He’s a member of  Washington State’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification  formed by Governor Chris Gregoire to address the threat of ocean acidification to the state’s $270-million shellfish industry. Then, Grant Lundberg, CEO of Lundberg Family Farms  calls in from Northern California to describe his organic rice farm and why he supports the movement to label foods that contain GMOs. Earth Gauge  offers tips on how to save water by checking for silent plumbing leaks. Eco News includes mining on asteroids, searching for aerosol particles in the atmosphere, and a proposal to ban single use plastic bags in California. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Adaawe’s song “A New Day.”. The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar.  Please go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote!

This week, we enjoy the company of Avital Andrews, Sierra Magazine’s Lifestyle Editor,, and Karla Dutton, Defenders of Wildlife’s Alaska field director and polar bear expert.   Earth Gauge saves us money on utility bills while helping the environment. In Eco-News, we discuss the unusually cold Southern California temperatures; increasing overall evidence of global warming; and two Los Angeles newspaper deliverers who stole hundreds of undelivered papers so that they could recycle them for money. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Rob Blakeslee with Brad Dutz from the Double Yellow CD, Ice Flow.  Download the show on iTunes! and Stitcher. Email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com and sign up for our weekly free e-newsletter! Follow @hillanddaleshow.  The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar.  Please go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote! Thanks for listening! 

From the undersea depths to a high-flying rock ‘n’ roll memoir, Hill & Dale Show guests cover it all! First, Dr. Dan Thornhill, Defenders of Wildlife’s Coral Marine Scientist calls in from Washington, D.C. to tell us about his deep sea research while he was a visiting professor at Bowdoin College in Maine and about his current research on coral reefs. He explains how the world’s corals are threatened by climate change, pollution and over fishing. Then, our friend and fellow L.A. radio personality Anita Gevinson tells us about her new book “You Turn Me On I’m A Radio...My Wild Rock ‘N’ Roll Life.” Anita was very successful DJ at WMMR in Philadelphia during the 1970’s and 80’s and shares her exploits with several major rock stars in her book. From Earth Gauge we learn how to spot early signs of spring wildflowers. Eco News covers the raging wildfires in Australia, the official word that 2012 was the hottest year on record and how Arctic hurricanes effect climate. We are sponsored by Verengo Solar! To cut your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote! The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Carl Rigoli’s song “Sea Samba.”

It's a New Year and, as is a January tradition on the Hill and Dale Show, Julie Miller, keynote speaker and author of Secrets of Self Starters, helps us with new ideas, resolutions and commitments!   And in the spirit of saving our planet, money and energy, Brandon Wickham of American Greenpower reveals the company's various induction lighting products and why we, as consumers, need to care about our light source. www.agp-usa.com  In Earth Gauge News, we find out more about radon gas, why it is dangerous and what we can do about it.   In Eco-News, find out the top five reasons why people are beginning to take the concept of climate change more seriously!  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Jon Bare and the Killer Whales’, Mo’ Money, from the Orcastra CD.  Download the Hill and Dale Show (free) on iTunes! and Stitcher.  Follow us @hillanddaleshow.  Friend us on the Hill and Dale Show Facebook page!  Email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com!   We are sponsored by Verengo Solar! To cut your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote! 

We celebrate our third annual Hill & Dale Christmas Show with two fantastic guests! Dr. Scott Sillett, wildlife biologist with the Smithsonian Institution’s Migratory Bird Center tells us how natural and man-made changes are influencing migratory birds. He’s the lead author of a new study that concludes the Island Scrub Jay, found only on Santa Cruz Island, is the rarest bird in California. Sillett says only about 2,500 of these birds are left. Then, Joel Kurtzman, Senior Fellow with the Milken Institute and Executive Director of the Center for Accelerating Energy Solutions jkurtzman@milkeninstitute.org explains how the renown Santa Monica think tank works to solve the world’s most challenging problems. He shares good news about America’s energy situation, even though he says, “the U.S. is the only country in the world without an energy policy!”  Earth Gauge offers tips on reducing hot water usage to cut your energy bill.  Eco News includes a pledge from Norway to help preserve a forest in Indonesia, Hollywood stars hope to buy millions of dollars worth of sand to save their Malibu homes from washing away and there’s only one commercial dairy left in Los Angeles County. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Larry Williams version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” We are sponsored by Verengo Solar. To cut your energy bills, please go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com. Merry Christmas!

On this historic day of 12/12/12, we talk to radio morning host Bob Madden with 101.3 KATY in Temecula, California.  We get a progress report on the Madden family's electric Nissan Leaf and Bob's automotive plans for next year. thebusinessblast.com.  Then, from the island of Tasmania, Australia, deep in the Southern Hemisphere, we talk to Dr. Mark Curran, Australia Antarctic Division's Ice Core Chemist and Glaciologist with the Climate Process and Change Program.  Dr. Curran gives us incredible insight into ice core drilling and what climatologists are researching as part of a balanced scientific approach to climate change. .  In Earth Gauge News, we look at the Annual Christmas Bird Count and learn that some well-known birds are moving north.   In Eco-News, U.S. Democrats push for action on climate change after Hurricane Sandy; poop is put to good use; plus, the two-week climate change conference in Doha is over and the world waits for concrete international consensus and results.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute comes from Karie Hillery's, A Christmas Lullaby.  Download Hill and Dale on iTunes! and Stitcher. Follow @hillanddaleshow.  Like us on our Hill and Dale Facebook page! Email: hillanddaleshow@gmail.com and subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter!  We are sponsored by Verengo Solar. To cut your energy bills, please go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com. Thank you for listening! 

We kick off December with two fabulous guests! Susana De Anda is the Co-Director/Cofounder of the Community Water Center in California’s Central Valley. She  says over a million residents in California’s “salad bowl” are exposed to drinking water high in nitrates as a result of agricultural runoff  that contaminates the ground water wells.  Her group successfully lobbied the governor to sign the Human Rights to Water bill this year. Then, Keith Gaby, Environmental Defense Fund’s Communications Director for Climate & Air calls in to explain how climate change is contributing to our recent extreme weather including droughts, heat waves and massive storms like Super Storm Sandy. Earth Gauge looks at the pros and cons of your Christmas tree options: fresh cut, artificial or uncut living trees. Eco News looks at the Doha U.N. Climate Change Conference, a new poll that shows New Yorkers believe Hurricane Sandy was caused by climate change, and a fierce typhoon killed at least 200 people this week in the Philippines. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Larry Williams’ song “Christmas Time is Here.”  We're sponsored by Verengo Solar. To cut your energy bills, please go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com for a free, no-obligation quote!! 

This week, we learn about the different species of sea otter and why they are endangered from Jim Curland, Advocacy Program Director of Friends of the Sea Otter.   Next, the dynamic Mother Love, and host of L.A. Talk Radio's Mother Love Show visits us in-studio to share the potentially lethal facts about diabetes during this month of November, Diabetes Awareness Month. Earth Gauge reminds us about efficient holiday lighting. Eco-News covers greater rising sea levels; the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Doha, Qatar; ocean acidification, and Japan's declining taste for whale meat. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ron Powell’s, Yabu, from his Rhythmic Journey CD.  The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you by award-winning Verengo Solar.  To cut your energy bills, please go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com for a free, no-obligation quote!  Download H and D on iTunes! and Stitcher! Like us on Facebook, and follow us @hillanddaleshow! Email us at: hillanddaleshow@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! 

Our Thanksgiving eve show focuses on food and the global food chain. Sharon Gilberg, research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey calls in from Florida to tell us about her work as a member of the Arctic Ocean Acidification Research team. The USGS says increasing ocean acidification is disturbing the balance of marine life in the world’s oceans, especially in the Arctic. Then, Bonnie Weigel, President/CEO of FOOD Share. joins us with an update on how Ventura County's food bank is helping thousands of hungry families and individuals this holiday season and all year round. Earth Gauge has holiday travel tips from Triple A. Eco News tells us that turkeys originated from southern Mexico in 800 BC and Americans eat more than 45 million turkeys every Thanksgiving! The  Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery's song “Let Us Gather”. The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you by Verengo Solar.  Please go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote!

As the holidays approach, food becomes even more central to every aspect of our lives.  Too many people don't have enough food, as evidenced by the 45-million men, women and children in the U.S. who are now reportedly below the poverty line.  Our first guest, Rick Nahmias, Founder of Food Forward joins us in the studio to talk about the organization's huge and increasingly successful efforts to bring fresh produce to those in need in the Los Angeles area.   Then we talk to Elizabeth Fleming, Florida Representative with Defenders of Wildlife about Florida's rich and diverse fauna and the group's mission to protect sea turtles and other vital wildlife.  
Earth Gaugereminds us that the water we drink probably originated thousands of miles away. In Eco-News, we cover bamboo billboards, Antarctica's increasing ice-cap and the vision of an environmentally-friendly hospital.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Michelle Mangione’s, America the Blue.  The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you by Verengo Solar.  Please go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote!! Download Hill and Dale on iTunes! and Stitcher! Follow us @hillanddaleshow. Friend us on (Hill & Dale Show) Facebook!  Email hillanddaleshow@gmail.com      
Thank you for listening.  Happy Thanksgiving! 

What’s it like to live next to the largest urban oil field in the U.S. where “fracking” (hydraulic fracturing) is underway? We find out from Gary Gless, President of Citizens Coalition for a Safe Community, a homeowner next to the Inglewood Oil Field in Baldwin Hills, California and Brenna Norton with Food and Water Watch. Gary tells us that fracking uses high pressure water and chemicals injected in the ground to release oil and natural gas deposits. He says this technique increases earthquake risks, creates greenhouse gases, uses toxic chemicals and uses huge amounts of drinking water. Gary and other residents are experiencing cracks in their homes, sinking yards and increased health concerns. Then, Kert Davies, Research Director with Greenpeace U.S. joins us from Washington, D.C. with reaction to the presidential election results. He explains how Super Storm Sandy impacted the election and may prompt a wider discussion among elected officials of climate change and other environmental issues. Earth Gauge offers tip on conserving water by using WaterSense labeled showerheads. Eco News includes results of two California ballot measures: Proposition 37 to include labels on genetically modified foods and Proposition F in San Francisco, which would have reformed the water system there and restored Hetch Hetchy Valley. Both were defeated. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Jennifer Freedom’s new song “Lovelution” ottopeace@yahoo.com. The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by  Verengo Solar.  Please go to  www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call  855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote.

On this Halloween, a large portion of the show is focused on Hurricane Sandy and her destruction of parts of the Eastern Seaboard.  Lisa Wood, Executive Director of the Edison Electric Institute joins us by phone from Washington D.C. to talk about its Green Button Initiative and the creation of customer apps to aid in energy efficiency.  Mike Schaadt, Director of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, California, brings us into a wondrous undersea world as we learn about the Aquarium's long history, some of its educational and fun programs, including "Meet the Grunion," and some interesting tidbits about pollution in the Port of Los Angeles. In the Earth Gaugesegment, energy conservation at home is key to helping to save money and the planet. Eco-News covers shuttle Endeavour's eventual home-coming to the California Science Center, and the possible threat of pesticides in the decline of bumblebee populations. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Carl Rigoli’s, Sea Samba.  We're sponsored by Verengo Solar. To cut your energy bills by thousands, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote!  Catch us on iTunes! and Stitcher.  Also @hillanddaleshow and on our Hill and Dale Facebook page! 

We celebrate Halloween and the start of the holiday season on today’s show as we welcome back Avital Andrews, Sierra magazine's Lifestyle Editor. She tells us about the perfect seasonings to spice up your holiday dishes and gives us a sneak peek at some eco-friendly gifts that are not only upcycled, but help artists rise above poverty. Then environmental and energy attorney Greg Trimarche with Greenberg Traurig joins us. He's the Chairman and cofounder of CleanTech OC, which Lucie attended in September. He tells us about California successes in alternative energy development, while stressing that our progress is “incomplete.” Earth Gauge explains why we had a bumper crop of pumpkins this year and offers tips on using them when the holiday is over.  Eco News includes new technology that creates synthetic gasoline using air and electricity, the top 5 green jobs in the U.S., a lobster glut in the Northeast and more. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Jon Bare’s scary song “Monsters.”. The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by  Verengo Solar.  Please go to  www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call  855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote.
Happy Halloween!

As we head deep into autumn, we take a look at the state of our natural world.  First, we talk to fresh-water expert, Jeanette Howard, Associate Director of Science for the Nature Conservancyabout the importance of our California rivers and water sources, the threats to them, and why residents should care.  Then, from New York, we talk to Dr. Howard Latin, U.S. climatologist, environmental scholar, consultant and author of "Climate Change Policy Failures: Why Conventional Mitigation Approaches Cannot Succeed."  Dr. Latin explains why energy and transportation policy should be focused on an effective de-carbonization strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (before it is too late), the case against "putting a price on carbon" as currently debated, and what progress has been made in persuading Americans that climate change is real.  Earth Gauge News centers on tips for energy conservation. In Eco-News, we cover increased (U.S.) belief in climate change, dissolving electronics, and fracking in L.A.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Brad Dutz's seasonal favorite, Another One Pumpkin. We're sponsored by Verengo Solar. To cut your energy bills, please go to www.verengohillanddale.com for a free, no-obligation quote!! Join us on Twitter@hillanddaleshow, email us: hillanddaleshow@gmail.com, friend us on Facebook, and download Hill and Dale free on iTunes! and Stitcher. Thanks!

Climate change is effecting living things great and small, from towering trees to tiny (but sometimes deadly) mosquitos. Our in studio guest, Truc Dever, is the Community Affairs Director for the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District.  She explains how mosquitos are infected with the West Nile virus by feeding on infected birds and they can pass the virus on to humans. Two people have died of West Nile virus in L.A. County this year, and health officials are warning everyone to take precautions.  Dever says mosquitos love our increasingly warm and humid weather! Then Jeremy Weiss, Senior Research Specialist at the University of Arizona Department of Geosciences  calls in to explain how the persistent drought in the Southwest is causing severe stress on trees. That makes them more susceptible to insect damage and to forest fires. Earth Gauge  offers some online resources from drought gardening.  Eco News includes a peek into the commute of the future, why farm raised salmon need to beef up, and why “Mooncakes” create a big trash problem in China. The Noisy Toys Music Minute  features Adaawe’s new song “A New Day.”  The Hill and Dale Show  is brought to you in part by  Verengo Solar.  Please go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call  855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote.

We packed in a lively show with guests Marie Ball-Booyens, CEO and founder of Washdrops, and Otto Martin and Jennifer Freedom of the Conscious Life Expo. Marie joined us by phone from Cleveland, telling us about the latest product developments, the new "Dewey" logo and contest, and worldwide launches!. Otto and Jennifer entertained and informed us about the Conscious Life Expo being held from October 5 - 7  at the LAX Hilton Hotel on Century Boulevard. As part of it, on Saturday, October 6 from 9 am to 1 pm, four eminent scientists discuss the dangers of GMO foods. Join them!  In Earth Gauge News, September 29 is (U.S.) National Public Lands Day in which volunteers - you - can help improve our open space!.  In Eco-News, we marvel at live "bio-reactor facades" (or live buildings), spinach proteins helping to power solar panels, self-driving cars, and the discovery of one million new species of plankton. The Noisy Toys Music Minute  features Jennifer Freedom’s song, Frankenfood.  Plus, at the end of the show, Jennifer strums her guitar live!  The Hill and Dale Show  is brought to you in part by award-winning Verengo Solar.  Please go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call  855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote. Catch us on Twitter@hillanddaleshow and Facebook.  www.hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.  

Spreading a green lifystyle message while entertaining audiences with a high energy blend of  pop music, rock and original songs, percussion and dance. Kelsey Rae, the cofounder/lead singer and choreographer of Vocal Trash tells us that’s the recipe her veteran group of performers uses to “edutertain” across the country. Today’s Noisy Toys Music Minute features two Vocal Trash songs: Think Before You Throw it Away and Harmony. Then, Caryl Levine and Ken Lee, cofounders/co-owners of Lotus Foods join us with an update on their successful company that supports small farmers across the world by marketing their organic and heirloom rices at Whole Foods Markets and online. They explain the “More Crop Per Drop” way of growing rice more sustainably and why their rices have extremely low arsenic levels. Check out their new newsletter, The Rice Scoop!  Lucie talks about the CleanTechOC 2012 Conference & Expo she attended and Sharon updates preparations for the Space Shuttle Endeavor’s arrival in LA.  Earth Gauge looks at the citizen science program, where you can share your observations about nature this fall with science researchers. The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar. Please goto www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call  855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote. 

We celebrate our glorious California state parks on today’s show!  A sudden power failure forced us to shorten this week’s program and to reschedule our first guest , as well as the usual Earth Gauge and Eco News. However, we’re thrilled  to chat with  filmmaker David Vassar, writer/director/producer and with co-producer Sally Kaplan, about their beautiful two-part  PBS documentary "California Forever”presented by Backcountry Pictures and KQED in San Francisco.  This visual feast tells the story of California’s magnificent state parks from Yosemite in 1864 to the present day. David and Sally visited dozens of state parks and historic sites to make this film. Join us on Facebook, Twitter@hillanddaleshow and email at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com. The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar. Please go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call  855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote. 

What’s the truth about genetically modified crops and their potential health risks?  We find out from Dr. Michael Antoniou, Head of Gene Expression and Therapy Group at King’s College London School of Medicine, Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics and Claire Robinson, writer/researcher with Earth Open Source. Dr. Antoniou says the GMO way of producing new crop varieties is artificial and introduces foreign genes that can bring unexpected results, including toxicity and a reduction of nutritional value. He says GM crops are created to tolerate herbicides, making consumers more exposed to them. Then, adventurer John Davis, founder Willdands Network and Trek East calls in to describe the 16 essential wildlife habitats he discovered during his 7.500 miles trek from Florida to Quebec, Canada last year. He also previews his plans for Trek West in 2013.  Earth Gauge reminds us it’s National Preparedness Month.  Eco News reports on the hundreds of trees being chopped down in Inglewood and South Los Angeles to allow the Space Shuttle Endeavor to travel from LAX to the California Science Center. Plus, palm trees were cut down in Fillmore to attract  more Hollywood film studios to that city, and Associa Green sponsors the first ever National Planting Day on September 8.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery’s song “We Will Honor Them” from her Peace Instead CD.  Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar. To cut your energy bills, go to  www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call  855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote! 

It's all about new horizons this week! We enjoy talking to in-studio guest Courtney Hayden, writer for Sierra Club Green Home, and soon-to-be off on new adventures in Arizona, while still writing for SCGH. Good luck, Courtney!  
Then we learn about Finca Bellavista, an other-worldly, beautiful treehouse community deep in the Costa Rican rain forest, from Communications Director, Thomas Dodson! In Earthgauge News, this week's topic is poor air quality for returning school kids. When getting your children to school, Earthgauge offers tips on ways to cut down on added air pollution.  In Eco-News, we deliver stories on the precipitously shrinking polar caps; U.S. wind power now equivalent to 11 nuclear plants; and the discovery of a new (large) cave-dwelling spider in California. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Jon Bare and the Killer Whales (Tim Bogart and Chet McCracken with Sally Loyola on vocals) with, I’ll Give You More. Happy birthday, Jon!  Catch up with us on Facebook, Twitter@hillanddaleshow and email, hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.  We're sponsored in part by Verengo Solar.  To cut your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote.  Thanks!

What are the "greenest" schools in America? Avital Andrews, Lifestyle Editor for Sierra Magazine reports on the 6th annual Cool Schools Survey. Three California schools made the top 10, with UC Davis on top. The survey is based on improvements made in sustainability efforts including energy sourcing, transportation, infrastructure, recycling, food production and academics. Then  David John Frenkil, an energy attorney based in Washington D.C. and publisher of EfficiencyLaw.com   updates us on the state of renewable energy in the U.S. and the race for power storage technology in the face of  increasing energy demands. Earth Gauge  offers tips on coexisting with wildlife during the drought. Eco News focuses on a new Ocean Health Index and West Hollywood becomes the latest California city to ban single use plastic bags at retail stores. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Larry Williams song John & Paul’s Little Bird from his CD Tales of Wilmon.  Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar.  To cut your energy bills, go to  www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call  855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote! 

“Nature needs our help.”  That’s the core message from Steve Apfelbaum, founder and principal ecologist of Applied Ecological Services, a multimillion dollar ecological restoration company with 10 U.S. offices and two abroad. Apfelbaum tells Sharon and Charles (who’s filling in for Lucie this week) about how he restored  his family’s aging Wisconsin dairy farm back to ecological health and how rural and urban land owners alike can also do it. Apfelbaum’s books “Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land” and “Natures Second Chance”  are available at amazon.com. He says “Restoration is a necessity, not a luxury, if we want to have a supply of food and clean drinking water and an earth rich with biodiversity.” Earth Gauge explains “urban heat islands” and their impact on human health, especially elderly people. Eco News looks at mutant butterflies discovered in the area of last year’s nuclear accident in Japan. And, congratulations to Food Forward, which is about to harvest its one millionth pound of “rescued” produce to donate to local food banks in Southern California.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Adaawe’s song “Ile Logun and Guiro.” . The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar.  To cut your energy bills, go to  www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call  855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote! 

Zach Principe, Eco-Regional Ecologist, with The Nature Conservancy joins us to discuss the "50 Mile Wildlife Linkage Completed in Tehachapi" and the many unspoiled ranches in the area, partnering to preserve native wildlife and plants.  Then, Joy Langford, from consulting firm Mandeville Group of Beverly Hills, battles Los Angeles traffic to visit us in-studio. She and her company are instrumental in matching companies and individuals with "green" projects and innovations, including, for example, the City of Chino, California, which recently installed energy-saving LED lighting throughout its municipality.  Contact Joy at: 310-633-7717, ext. 205.  National Water Quality Month is the Earth Gauge News theme for this week.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Satellite's, What You Need, from the E.P., Ring The Bells.  It rocks!  Purchase  at cdbaby.com.  Download the Hill & Dale Show (free) on iTunes! and Stitcher.com. Follow us on Twitter@hillanddaleshow. Be our friend on our Hill & Dale Show Facebook page!  Email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com. Sign up for the Hill & Dale Show weekly e-newsletter. The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar.  To cut your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call  855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote! 

Even though mortgage rates are at record lows, it’s very difficult for most people to afford to buy a new home. Christian Navar, architect and Cofounder/Director of Operations for Modative specializes in small lot development with the goal of providing attainable and “green” housing for people who have been priced out of  the American dream of home ownership in the city and state where they grew up. We also chat with author and Open University lecturer Nicky Harlow, from her home in Liverpool, England. Nicky tells us about her daughters battle with epilepsy and the torrential rains and flooding in the UK this summer that have been linked to climate change. Earth Gauge explains how to unplug from wasting energy this summer. Eco News covers the massive power failure in India, an update on the accounting scandal that caused the ouster of the California State Parks Director and how mangrove swamps protect the environment. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Nicole Falzone’s song “I Walk Alone.” The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar.  To cut your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote. 

It's great to catch up with Jeff DeQuattro,  Coastal Projects Manager of The Nature Conservancy with his update on the state of the Gulf of Mexico after the devastating B.P. oil spill of 2010. TNC continues to seek to restore the ecological and economic infrastructure of this beautiful area.  Next, we speak to Michael Starkey, Chairman of Save The Frogs Advisory Committee, who updates us on the state of the frog world. Frogs are one of the earth's key indicators of eco-health.  With that in mind, we learn how the battle to restore global amphibian balance is faring.  In Earth Gauge News, adding a plant-laden, green roof to your home can reduce energy costs and help insulate your home from summer heat and winter cold.
In Eco-News, where did the California State Parks money go?, Apple, Inc. gets back on the "Epeat" standard and an alarming four-day surface melt on Greenland. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Michele Mangione’s, The Edge of Madness.  Download Hill and Dale on iTunes! and now on Stitcher.com!  Email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com and @hillanddaleshow.  Join us on Facebook!  The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar.  To cut your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote. 

Summer is sizzling, so settle in with some cool, green conversation! First, Kwei Quartey, author of “Children of the Street,”calls in to tell us about his new Inspector Darko Dawson crime mystery titled “Murder at Cape 3 Points,” based in Ghana. The book raises issues about the threat of oil spills to this pristine area. Then, Nancy Rekow, editor “Minnie Rose Lovgreen’s Recipe for Raising Chickens” calls in from Bainbridge Island, Washington to discuss Minnie Rose and her no-nonsense advice for raising happy chickens. Nancy also tells us about Minnie Rose’s remarkable life story, “Far As I Can Remember: An Immigrant Woman’s Story 1888 - 1975.” www.nwtrilliumpress.com.
Earth Gauge looks at UV safety. Eco News covers the growing U.S. drought, the heat wave that keeps setting temperature records and that lead to high ozone levels in southern New England. Also: posterior power in Stockholm, Sweden and super trees in Singapore. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Brad Dutz’ song “Fowl or Poultry.” The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar. To slash your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com.

We enjoy chatting with two amazing women entrepreneurs who dreamed big and, as a result, are reaping multiple rewards. Nancy Pfund, Founder and Managing Partner of DBL Investors, calls in from San Francisco to share her dedicated journey into the sparsely populated socially-conscious financial world. Her company has invested in companies like Tesla Motors and SolarCity, feats that speak for themselves. Both companies started as dreams, and Nancy also believes, and invests, in dreams. She sits on numerous company boards and is co-author of the 2011 report, What would Jefferson do? The Historic Role of Federal Subsidies in Shaping America's Energy Subsidies. . Another entrepreneur, Babette Davis, co-founder of the Inglewood-based vegan restaurant, Stuff I Eat, joins us live in-studio to tell her inspiring story and keep us laughing!   Like all our guests, both ladies took the time to speak to us about their life's work and meaning. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ame Kora’s song, Happiness.  Download the Hill and Dale Show free at: www.latalkradio.com/Hilldale.php. Email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com. Friend us on our Hill and Dale Facebook page! Tweet us @hillanddaleshow!  The Hill and Dale Show is brought to you in part by Verengo Solar. To slash your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote! Thanks! 

Summer is in full swing and Kristina Ortez , Organizing Manager for the Sierra Club’s Mission Outdoors program tells us about Great Outdoor America Week and Sierra Club programs including Inner City Outings, Military Families and Veterans Initiatives, Local Outings and Building Bridges to the Outdoors.  Then Isella Ramirez, co-director of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice tells us about efforts to improve the quality of life for  tens of thousands of residents in 14 communities in Southeast  Los Angeles who are heavily impacted by pollution from diesel trucks going to and from the massive Ports of L.A. and Long Beach. EYCEJ is currently fighting the expansion of the 710 freeway that would accommodate even more truck traffic. Earth Gauge looks at Lightning Safety Awareness Week.  Eco News covers devastating wildfires in Colorado, Tropical Storm Debby in Florida, a major Federal Appeals Court ruling backing EPA limits on carbon dioxide emissions, cheaper energy options for sale in chain stores and more. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ron Powell’s song “Igaba.”  Hill and Dale is sponsored in part by Verengo Solar.  To cut your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote! 

Things get heated this week when Senior Fellow for the Heartland Institute, James M. Taylor, calls in from Chicago to give us another side of the climate change debate. Email: jtaylor@heartland.org.  In studio, we welcome Karen George and Raphael Quasada of the Urban Farm Project for Westchester Enriched Science Magnet School.  Through the program, high school students are learning to discover, and grow, their own food.  Friend them on Facebook at Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets H.S., The Student Farm ProjectInformation about Raphael's project, The Water's Wheel, at.  Earthgauge points us toward National Rivers Month.  Eco-News covers the G-20 Summit in Mexico, Rio+20 Earth Summit in Rio, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society partnering with the Australian government to help protect and preserve the marine-rich Coral Sea, and the use of rare earth elements as strategic geopolitical and economic weapons.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery’s, Let’s Live as One from her Peace Instead CD.  Download Hill and Dale, free, on iTunes!  Email at: hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.  Twitter@hillanddaleshow.  Friend us on our Facebook page!  Hill and Dale is sponsored in part by Verengo Solar.  To cut your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote! 

Fast food and Father's Day are on the agenda when Avital B. Andrews, Editor of Sierra Magazine, calls in to run down what's on the menu for five environmentally-responsible fast food companies and suggests gift ideas for tough-to-buy-for dad. .  Dutch Merrick is guest host this week, in place of vacationing Sharon.  Check out Dutch's latest award-winning short film, One Minute, at www.anotherwayfilms.net.  The Earthgauge tip highlights landscape shading and the importance of choosing the right trees for your property..  Eco-News covers devastating wildfires in Colorado and New Mexico; the current financial success for outdoor clothiers Patagonia; and an announcement about the upcoming gathering of astronomical minds (and telescopes) in Landers, California, in Joshua Tree National Park, for the August 11 Perseid Meteor Showers.  Tickets at www.mojavedesertlandtrust.org.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Magruder Monktet's, Joy Bop.  Download Hill and Dale on iTunes!  Contact information at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com, Twitter@hillanddaleshow, Hill and Dale Facebook page!  We are sponsored in part by Verengo Solar.  To slash your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com, or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote. 

As we in the Northern Hemisphere launch into summer, the Southern Hemisphere is getting ready to embrace winter. Guest host Charles and I talk to Smoky Cape Lighthouse manager and bed & breakfast owner, Pat Halverson, about life in beautiful South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia, and about its tremendous diversity of wild-and-marine life. For more information about the area, the lighthouse and bed & breakfast, go to . If you would like to book a vacation online - for anytime in the year - Pat has extended a 10 percent discount if you mention the Hill and Dale Show! Thanks, Pat and Wendy!  Also, for more information about Australia's parks, check out the National Parks website, www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au. Meanwhile, in the northern half of the globe, summer means more swimmers in our waters and increased problems from rip currents. Earth Gauge highlights the dangers and advises to check out rip tides in your area by going to www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov.  In the Eco-News, extreme carbon dioxide levels in our atmospheres cause alarm; conservation wins out over development in southwest Riverside County, California; and wind farms test out bird detection radar systems to help prevent more avian deaths. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Magruder Monktet’s, Joy Bop.  Download the Hill & Dale Show (free) on iTunes!  Follow on Twitter@hillanddaleshow. Friend us on the Hill & Dale Show Facebook page! Email hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.  The Hill and Dale Show is sponsored in part by Verengo Solar. To slash your energy bills, go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote!  Have a nice vacation, Sharon! 

Teaching children how to be environmental stewards is the theme of todays show. First, Ruby Roth, author- illustrator of Vegan is Love: Having Heart and Taking Action tells us why she chose a vegan diet and wrote a book to teach kids about the benefits of not eating animals for people, animals and the planet.  Then, we welcome Allison Suffet-Diaz, Founder-Executive Director and Principal of Environmental Charter Schools in Los Angeles.  Lucie toured the Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale and was very impressed with the gardens, fish pond, chickens and other environmental programs at the school. There are also two ECS middle schools.  Earth Gauge provides some interesting climate trivia. Eco News includes an encouraging report on healthier fisheries, a good L.A. Beach Report from Heal the Bay, and Nestle’s commitment to a global no-deforestation policy despite their use of palm oil, which has led to vast areas of deforestation in parts of Africa and southeast Asia. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Adaawe’s new song Waka.  The Hill and Dale Show  is sponsored in part by Verengo Solar.  Go to www.VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote!

The theme of today's show centers on how best to use our vast open spaces.  Nada Culver, Senior Director for Agency and Planning of the Wilderness Society joins us by phone from Denver, Colorado, to talk about several impending U.S. bills that could limit public access to (current) public lands. Next, Gayle Berens, Senior Vice President of the Education and Advisory Group, Urban Land Institute, calls in from Washington D.C. to discuss the five finalists of this year's ULI's Urban Open Space Award, a competition that recognizes examples of regenerative and transformative public open spaces.. In our Earthgauge segment, we learn that May is American Wetlands Month. Our Eco-News covers a lion cub euthanized in Santa Monica, California; reports that recent Midwestern rain storms have doubled in the last 50 years; and the construction of a trial "green" zipline in Venice, California's beach area. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Larry Williams' (AKA Wilmon Will), Don’t Know Why, from Tales of Wilmon.  Download the Hill and Dale Show on iTunes!  Follow us on Twitter @hillanddaleshow. Be our friend on the Hill & Dale ShowFacebook page!  Email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com with comments or suggestions. The Hill and Dale Show  is sponsored in part by Verengo Solar.  Go to VerengoHillandDale.com or call 855-204-6519 for a free, no-obligation quote!  Big love and thanks to our veterans this Memorial day, and always...

We celebrate our second anniversary of the Hill & Dale Show on LA Talk Radio today with special guests Rick Nahmias, Founder/Executive Director, Food Forward and Meg Glasser, Food Forward’s Managing Director. Food Forward coordinates thousands of volunteers to harvest excess fruit and sometimes veggies from backyard trees and gardens and donate it to food pantries and other programs that help feed needy families in the Los Angeles area. Following their mission of “fruitanthropy” and food justice, Food Forward has harvested nearly 900,000 pounds of produce in only 3 years! Earth Gauge focuses on efficient watering techniques for your yard by using soaker hoses, drip irrigation and native plants. Eco News includes: the greening of the upcoming Summer Olympics in London, more water battles in California, and the decline of earth observing satellites, many of which are being decommissioned. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Adaawe’s song “Amampondo.”.  Hill and Dale is sponsored in part by  Verengo Solar.  To slash your energy bills, go to or call 855-204-6519 for a free no-obligation quote!! 

Post Earth Day, April 22, 2012, Hill and Dale enjoy the company of Slade Sohmer, Editor-in-Chief of Hypervocal.com.  Slade takes the quickening pulse of the (younger) nation, which makes him well versed in where his audience stands.  We discuss green technology, fuel standards, and how, in his opinion, Gen Y and Millennials feel about environmental issues.  From online journalism to crime detection; our next guest is scientist and former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toxicologist, author and Ph.D, Ted Simon.  His book, A Toxic Assault, while fiction, sheds light on the devastating effects of racism, as well as toxic waste and disposal dilemmas. It is also a love story. To purchase a copy, go to www.amazon.com or books.google.com. Earthgauge News sheds light on invasive little hitchhikers. .  Our Eco coverage spans the ongoing conflict between ancient cultures and green energy, the first criminal charges filed in BP oil spill, clashes between biotechnology giant Monsanto and the Vermont legislature, and National Park Week and Arbor Day.  The Noisy Toys musical interlude comes from L.A. musician,
Jon Bare and the Killer Whales', "Third Planet Funk," from the CD, Shredzilla.  Download Hill and Dale (free) on iTunes!, email us at: hillanddaleshow@gmail.com, check out our Facebook page, Hill and Dale Show, and follow us on Twitter @hillanddaleshow. 

We welcome two great guests for our special Earth Day edition! First Dr. Brad Dibble, cardiologist and author of “Comprehending the Climate Crisis” calls in from near Toronto, Canada to explain why he believes global warming is a very real threat to our health and future. Then Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service calls in from the D.C. area to report on a major  black rhino horn trafficking bust in L.A., New York and several states. He explains how special USFWS agents investigate cases of black market smuggling of exotic and often endangered animals and animal parts. Earth Gauge focuses on National Environmental Education Week and school yard gardens. Eco News looks at e-waste and recycling, Whole Foods stores restricting the types of seafood they sell, and an overview of local Earth Day activities. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ted Vigil’s song “Blessings in the Skies” from his CD “Sing My Songs.”.  Happy Earth Day!

April 22, Earth Day, is rapidly approaching and in celebration, we enjoy two very "green" guests.  Avital B Andrews (formerly Binshtock), Editor of Sierra Magazine tells us about the Sierra Club's history, goals and celebrity partnerships. Plus, make a pledge to spend more time outdoors, and videotape your adventures! Go toand find out more about winning a trip, sharing your video and the contest! (Psst... Congratulations to Avital on her recent marriage!) We then chat with CEO and part-founder of Oakland-based Green For All, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, about the partnership with the League of Young Voters and the soon-to-be-released Green Room Mixtape, Earth Day in Atlanta on April 21 and Let's Retrofit A Million program! . The Noisy Toys Music Minute goes to Australian singer/songwriter Vassy's cover of Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.  www.kissmyvassy.com  Download Hill and Dale on iTunes! and email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com. 

We kick off Earth Month with an in-studio visit from Katya Bozzi, Founder/Executive Director of STAR Education and Corey Adolfus, Assistant Director for Education Outreach, STAR Eco Station in Culver City. In the past 25 years, STAR, Inc. has partnered with over 60 California school districts to provide students  with extended academic, recreation and environmental enrichment programs. Eco Station is an 18,000 square foot environmental science museum and exotic wildlife rescue center that also provides field trips, mobile museums and community events like the 12th  annual Children’s Earth Day April 22. This is the largest Earth Day celebration in So Cal featuring live entertainment, environmental groups, games, food, crafts and tours of the Eco Station. Admission to STAR Eco Station’s Children’s Earth Day is free!  Earth Gauge spotlights the spring migration of wild birds. Eco News looks at new evidence of climate change, dying dolphins off Louisiana, eating chocolate to lose weight and what makes Americans the most embarrassed. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery’s song “Circle of Love.” 

From green, green Ireland, we hear from our friend and community activist Paul McLoughlin about  his testimony before the Irish Parliament recently concerning a new law that requires any suspicion of child abuse by Catholic priests be reported to police. He supports the new law, but lobbied for a balanced approach. Then, Ceiridwen Terrill, author of Part Wild: One Woman’s Journey with a Creature Caught Between the Worlds of Wolves and Dogs www.myurbanwild.com calls in from Oregon to recount her life as the owner of Inyo. a wolfdog. She found out the hard way that owning, breeding or selling wild animals is very dangerous and wolfdogs can not be domesticated. Earth Gauge looks at new plant hardiness maps for gardeners. Eco News includes pink slime for school lunches and Earth Overshoot Day. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery’s piano stylings on ‘Almost Solstice’ from her CD Solstice Peace.

Meet a real life Willie Wonka, only better!  Mott Green, Founder of the Grenada Chocolate Company, calls in from his Caribbean factory to describe his tree-to-bar organic chocolate cooperative. Green teamed up with the shipping company FairTransport to ship 5 tons of  his organic dark chocolate from Grenada to New York City, Portsmouth, England and Amsterdam on the wind-powered Brigantine Tres Hombres boat. This months voyage will be the first ever carbon-neutral transatlantic mass chocolate delivery. Green is also the subject of a new documentary, “Nothing Like Chocolate,” which premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February 2012. Then, another entrepreneur, Rick Kristensen, owner of Green Clean Pressure Washing calls in to explain how his small business uses environmentally-friendly cleaning methods.  In our Eco News, an actress in the cast of The Artist  walked the red carpet at the Academy Awards wearing a “green” dress (it was actually blue) made from organic silk and recycled polyester.  Restore Hetch Hetchy and the Yosemite Restoration Campaign filed papers in San Francisco today to qualify an initiative that requires the city to develop a plan for improved use of water supplies. And there’s a new report from the Institute for Responsible Technology on the health hazards of  GMOs. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features the Magruder Monktet’s “Joy Bop.”

On today's Hill and Dale, Michael Bell, Nature Conservancy’s Central Coast Project Director, talks about the emerging successful partnership between California central coast fishermen and the Conservancy that ensures enough fish in the sea and a living wage for those that depend on it. An old friend, Herbert A. Raffaele with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Director of International Conservation Programs returns to discuss his colorful, informative and entertaining book Birds, Beasts & Bureaucrats: A Naturalist on a Caribbean Island.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Larry Williams’ song "Revelry" from "Tales of Wilmon." Earth Gauge looks forward to this weekend's annual California bird count! Eco-News covers the biominetics of scorpions and airplanes, and how stripes could protect you! You can download the Hill & Dale Show on iTunes! You can also follow us on Twitter at Twitter@hillanddaleshow. Be our friend on our Hill & Dale Show Facebook page! Email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com with comments or suggestions. Or to sign up for the Hill & Dale Show weekly e-newsletter. We also have LA Talk Radio apps for iPhones, Android and other smart phones. Thank you, Earth Gauge, for your donation!

Jessie Camarillo-Wendroth, President/Owner Monarch Investment Properties has a great idea: purchase large, low cost parcels of land using reinvestment techniques and then build “green” home communities called Residence Inns that are self-sustainable. These Monolithic Dome Homes are cost efficient to build, save 50-75% in heating and cooling costs and can withstand a hurricane, flood, earthquake or fire. Jessie is still seeking funds to make his vision a reality. Earth Gauge News spotlights nighttime light pollution and how it effects people and animals. Today’s Eco News includes: a report that finds green jobs in California have been more resilient than other jobs, a huge coal mine in Utah is causing tensions in both Utah and Los Angeles, President Obama’s proposed Veterans Job Corps Initiative gets support from the Outdoor Industry Association and house cats are vulnerable to the same diseases that effect wild cats. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ron Powell’s song “Who Do You Love Tonight?” Happy Valentine’s Day!

Danielle Katz, Founder/Executive Director, Rivers for Change took her first river run when she was only 4 months old, on one of the last runs on California’s Stanislaus River before it was dammed. Danielle tells us about her ambitious “12 Rivers in 2012 Campaign,”  to paddle a dozen critical California rivers from Source to Sea to get communities involved in the stewardship and conservation of  rivers and their watersheds. Then, Kristen Erickson and Kevin Oswald of Kent Displays/Improve Electronics join us to discuss the Boogie Board Paperless LCD eWriters.  These unique battery-operated writing pads were introduced last month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as a paperless replacement  for notebooks, legal pads and sketch books. Earth Gauge celebrates World Wetlands Day. Thanks Earth Gauge for your contribution!  Eco News includes stricter California air standards, Saving the Frogs in Santa Cruz, Southwest Airlines is going green, and a rock quarry quandary in Temecula. And, the Noisy Toys Music Minute features the new CD from Ame Kora called Yanou Yala.  Ame Kora’s CD is available at Motherland Music. 

Our special in-studio guest today is Laura Herzog, Founder/Family Support Coordinator for Honoring Our Fallen, based in Yorba Linda, California. Laura started her mission to support the family members of Fallen Heroes in February 2011, after she was laid off from her job with the Department of Defense.  Honoring our Fallen provides support for families during the Transfer of Dignified Remains for fallen heroes from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Then Avital Binshtock, editor “The Green Life” for Sierra Magazine tells us about her interview with actress Eva Longoria, some healthy eco-grains and the new crop of 2012 Sierra Club adventure outings. Earth Gauge news explains why a rain gauge is a great tool for gardeners. Eco News covers reaction to President Obama’s State of the Union speech, the World Future Energy Summit in Abu-Dhabi and a massive solar storm.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Nicole Falzone’s song “Man Against Man.” 

Sharon is back, and we meet Reverend Mitchell Hescox, President and CEO, Evangelical Environmental Network, responding to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Mercury Rule for protecting the unborn. In tandem with January's Radon Action Month, Bill Long, Chief of the Radon and Air Toxics Branch of the EPA discusses how residents can best protect themselves and their families from the naturally-occurring gas. In this week's Earth Gauge Tip, we learn how winter composting makes huge sense!  In the Eco-News, the Obama Administration refuses (for now) to issue a permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline on procedural grounds; U.S. scientists suggest tradable quotas in the increasingly nasty international whaling debate; the city of San Francisco under fire for failing to modify its water supply from Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley;the charity HelpAge's Cash for Work program andToughStuff's portable solar panel distribution in Haiti, a nation still ravaged by the terrible earthquake of January 12th, 2010. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Michelle Mangione’s, "Cry To Me," from her "What Is A Saint?" CD.  Download the Hill & Dale Show on iTunes! Follow us on Twitter at Twitter@hillanddaleshow. Friend us on the Hill & Dale Show Facebook page!  Thank you, Earth Gauge, for your generous donation to the show!!

It's preservation of bridges and self-start week! Calling in from 6,000 miles away, Tony Hill, Tour Guide for the Menai Bridge Community Heritage Trust in Anglesey, North Wales, tells us about the efforts to preserve this wonderful suspension bridge, celebrated as a special part of history and as part of the modern community.  It is one of only two bridges between mainland Wales and the island of Anglesey, itself a main route through to Ireland via the port of Holyhead.  Next, author Dr. Julie Miller gives us the most positive push possible into 2012! Her book, The Secrets of Self-Starters, explores 48 people's lives and what they did to achieve their dreams and goals. Take the free self-starter test on! In Earth Gauge, we learn that January is National Radon Action Month and why we need to care about this naturally occurring gas. The Eco-News airs front and center the battle by the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) to keep California's parks open; Germany's renewable energies successes and goals; in contrast, seven of California's most expensive renewable energy projects remain unused because of red tape; and, finally, British scientists say that due to the world's increasing carbon dioxide emissions, there may be no coming ice age. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features rocker Jon Bare and the Killer Whales with Orca. Download us on iTunes!, follow us @hillanddaleshow and email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.

In our last show of 2011, we explore the concept of energy; what it means for life on earth and what sources we have available to us. We talk to author, physicist, engineer, Coleman Raphael, about his concise and easy-to-read book, "There is No Energy Problem." His contention is that as long as world leaders tackle the energy issue with serious political resolve, unity and good sense, we have all the clean energy we need - and way more besides - with the mighty power of the sun. colsylr@gmail.com. The Eco-News covers the lonely male gray wolf, (clinically-named) OR7, currently loping from Oregon to California in search of a mate; living clean off the hog with "waste-to-energy" systems; reducing printed catalogues; and the demise of Hollywood star, Cheeta the Chimp, at the ripe old age of 80 years old! The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery’s, "This Gift" from her new CD, "Peace Be With You."  Lucie thanks the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Director General Ms. Janice Lai and comedian Rob Schneider, for an invitation to a holiday banquet celebration of this dynamic tropical island's 2012 tourism goals. Sharon says goodbye to notable personalities, famous and infamous, from 2011, and we clink glasses to next year's success!  Please download Hill and Dale on iTunes, email us on hillanddaleshow@gmail.com, follow us @hillanddaleshow, and friend us on the Hill and Dale Facebook page!  Happy New Year!

This Christmas will be extra special for thousands of military families when the last combat troops in Iraq return home. However, the milestone is bittersweet as our heroes face many challenges, including the high unemployment rate. Stacy Bare,  with the Sierra Club’s Military Families Outdoors program is a veteran who found relief from rock climbing and other outdoors activities after he left military service. He says this Sierra Club program has helped thousands of military vets and their families enjoy the land they sacrificed so much to defend. Then, Jessica Lass, Spokeswoman for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) calls in with good news about the new EPA cap on mercury emissions from U.S. power plants. She says other  NRDC environmental victories in 2011 include the passage of new U.S. vehicle fuel efficiency standards and air quality regulations for trucks and ships at the Port of Los Angeles. Todays Earth Gauge News offers tips for hosting an environmentally-friendly holiday gathering. Eco News includes fewer real cut Christmas trees in California, the EPA’s passage of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Rule, L.A. delays the plastic bag ban and we change our car oil too often! The Noisy Toys Music Minute features holiday music from Larry Williams. Happy holidays from Sharon & Lucie!

The holidays can be happy and wonderful, yet they can also be difficult, lonely and financially challenging. Sadly, as the festivities approach, thousands of children are in danger. We talk to the Yvonne Fedderson and Sara O'Meara, the founders of the Arizona-based non-profit group, ChildHelp, about the prevention and treatment of child abuse and their 52-year fight to save children all over the world from cruelty. In the spirit of gift-giving, Jennifer Schwab, Director of Sustainability for Sierra Club Green Home, has a back-to-basics suggestion about how we can celebrate the festive season and leave our pockets intact! The Earth Gauge News reveals figures for the Annual Christmas Bird Count. The Eco-News summarizes an angry Los Angeles Times editorial about electric car company, Coda; the collaboration of Toyota and BMW on an environmentally-friendly project; the conclusion of the Climate Change Summit in Durban, South Africa; and the multiple issues behind supplying more farmed seafood to U.S. consumers. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery’s, "Christmas Lullaby." Download the Hill & Dale Show on iTunes! Follow us at Twitter@hillanddaleshow. Be our friend on our Hill & Dale Show Facebook page! Email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com!  Thank you so much for listening and contributing to Hill and Dale over the past year! We look forward to another great year!

The show is heavily powered by wind this week! Kelly Fuller, Wind Campaign Manager with the American Bird Conservancy, discusses the hundreds of birds killed by wind turbines and what can be done about it. www.abcbirds.org  Herbert Raffaele, Division of International Conservation, with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Wildlife Without Borders programs enthralls us with facts about elephants that can smell water from 20 miles away, but that sadly, along with tigers, rhinos and many primates, are vanishing due to man's burgeoning needs.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is teaming up with the U.S. Postal Service to sell Save Vanishing Species U.S. postage stamps as a means of stemming the world's potential wildlife loss.  www.fws.gov/endangered  This week's Earth Gauge tip advises how to minimize damage around your home and community during strong winds. Our Eco-News blows through the hurricane-force Santa Winds that enveloped Southern California last week and the resulting destruction, the first ever electricity-generating wave machine anchored deep in the Pacific just off the state of Victoria in Australia, the very sad news (for hundreds of exotic, abandoned animals) that Los Angeles' Wildlife Waystation is closing due to lack of funds, thegood news that California's other-worldly Mono Lake State Park is remaining open.  Meanwhile, the Climate Change Conference continues in Durban, South Africa and December 8th is International Human Rights Day.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Larry Williams', "Christmas Time is Here."  Download us on iTunes.  Contact hillanddaleshow@gmail.com for editorial or sponsorship requests.  Thanks for listening!

How can eating more California-grown avocados help protect wild animals like mountain lions? E.J. Remson, Senior Project Manager with The Nature Conservancy explains how efforts to preserve farm land and orchards in the Santa Clara River Valley of Ventura County helps native species by reducing development and urban sprawl. Then, Karl Johnsson with Umami Sustainable Seafood tells us how his company raises wild-caught Northern Bluefin Tuna in large cages in Croatia and Mexico in an effort to decrease the overfishing of this prized culinary delicacy. Umami also hopes to soon breed the fish in captivity and expand it’s seafood sales beyond Japan.  Earth Gauge News spotlights the advantages of using holiday LEd lighting this season.  Eco News covers the Climate Change Conference in South Africa and plans by the U.S. and Canada to pull out of the Carbon Emissions Pledge, too much rain in East Africa and McDonalds bans eggs from Sparboe Farms after animal abuse is filmed there. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery’s song “Let Us Gather” from her new CD “Peace Be With You.” www.karie.com.

It's almost Halloween!! We cannot escape it!! No one is safe!! (Cue Vincent Price laugh.) However, Sasha Gennet, Ecologist with the Nature Conservancy joins us to debunk some myths about a much misunderstood and maligned arachnid in the "5 Best Creepy, Crawl(e)y Halloween Haunts to see Tarantulas!!" www.nature.org or www.socalwild.com. Then, L.A. area radio personality Bob Madden talks about why he loves his Nissan LEAF! Plus, if the whole charging thing is a mystery to you, Bob sheds some light on it with some interesting facts. Check out Bob's business, www.thebusinessblast.com.  Earth Gauge (www.earthgauge.net) gives us tips on pumpkin harvesting, and the Eco-News includes the increasing use of wood as heating and the greening of a section of the Kunshantag desert, Inner Mongolia, as devised by Hyundai and Ecopeace Asia. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Jon Bare’s rocking "Monsters" from Orcastra.  You can download the Hill & Dale Show on iTunes! You can also follow us on Twitter at Twitter@hillanddaleshow.  Be our friend on Facebook page! Email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.

Love homegrown veggies, but don’t have time to tend a garden? “Farmscape” www.farmscapegardens.comto the rescue! Farmscape spokesperson Rachel Balin explains how Farmscape, based in the Los Angeles area, can transform a section of your yard into raised bed gardens brimming with flavorful, organic vegetables. Farmscape gardeners will also take care of  your garden, year round. Shira Lane, filmmaker/producer of the documentary “Got the Facts on Milk?” www.milkdocumentary.com tells us about how her own allergy to dairy products prompted her to research the subject.  Her documentary includes interviews with many medical and scientific experts who expose the link between eating dairy  products and cancer, osteoporosis, weight gain, asthma, acne, hormone imbalance and lactose intolerance. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Chalo Eduardo’s song “Beija Flor Suite.” Eco News includes: the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers’ fall native plant sale, Earth Science Week,  and California’s Governor Brown signs bills  into law to help keep state parks open and ban the harvesting of shark fins.

Ever wondered what happens when an electric vehicle runs out of juice on the road? Steve Mazor, Manager of the Southern California Auto Club’s Auto Research Center has the answer with AAA’s new Mobile Electric Vehicle Charging trucks. www.aaa.com/greenerdriving. Our second guest offers insight into why more and more TV weather people are fast becoming the media's scientists. Sara Epinoza with the National Environmental Education Foundation calls in from Washington DC to tell us about Earth Gauge, a program that provides environmental & climate information to broadcast meteorologists. www.earthgauge.net. In the eco-news, next April's USA Science & Engineering Festival, saving frogs in Ghana, the respiratory dangers of bicycling, and moderate alcohol intake as an antidote to asthma. Our Noisy Toys Music Minute features Kandace Lindsay’s “Crazy Fire.”  You can download the Hill & Dale Show on iTunes! Follow us on Twitter at Twitter@hillanddaleshow. Be our friend on the Hill & Dale Show Facebook page!  Email at  hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.

What is ozone and is it good, or bad? It’s both, according to our first special guest today, Drusilla Hufford, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Stratospheric Ozone Division Director. www.epa.gov/ozone/strathome. She tells us that we need to protect the ozone layer that’s high in the stratosphere because it’s our global sunscreen, blocking out dangerous ultraviolet radiation. However, ozone found in smog, is unhealthy. Hufford says the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer signed in 1987 has been very successful in reducing CFCs that deplete the ozone layer. Then, Brenda Doroski, the EPA’s Acting Director for the Center for Asthma in Schools www.epa.gov/iaq joins us to explain how the EPA is helping schools improve their indoor air quality.  She says 25 million Americans suffer from asthma triggered by poor air quality, and since many people spend 90% of their time indoors, indoor air quality is very important. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features the Magruder Monktet’s song “Wallflower.” And our Eco News covers Public Lands Day activities this weekend,  a new survey that says more people would “go green” with enough incentives, West  Hollywood bans the sale of fur clothing, good fish farm news, and a new Jaguar hybrid sports car. Check out the guests photos on our Hill & Dale Show Facebook page!

We welcome back  Bev May, with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth today, calling from Floyd County, Kentucky. www.ilovemountains.org. She’s also a member of  The Alliance for Appalachia theallianceforappalachia.org and starred in the recent documentary "Deep Down."  deepdownfilm.org. She tells us about her battle with coal companies to stop a Mountain Top Removal coal project that would have devastated the ecology of her Wilson Creek area.  Then, Product Manager Marie Booyens calls in from Ohio to promote an eco-friendly new car wash product called “Wash Drops,” which only requires a single bucket of water. www.washdrops.com. Thanks to our  Eco-News sponsor, Triple-A Flag and Banner, www.aaaflag.com!  Todays Eco News includes Lucie’s trip to Las Vegas to cover  the National Clean Energy Summit and Vice President Joe Biden’s address to the group. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features NovaCriminal’s song “Coffee.” Visit our Hill & Dale Show Facebook page to see photos of our guests!

We revisted California’s state parks for this show. Elizabeth Goldstein, Executive Director of the California State Parks Foundation joins us to to explain why California's beautiful state parks are "on the brink of a funding cliff." She says with 20% of state parks already partially closed due to funding cuts, the Governor's proposal to cut 22-million-dollars more starting next year could force dozens of parks to close! Support your favorite state parks by visiting them and donating to the California State Parks Foundation.  In todays Eco News we update the situation at the stricken nuclear plants in Japan, Caesars Entertainment releases it’s first carbon inventory report, green universities and scientists have created genetically modified cows in an effort to make the milk more like human breast milk. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Justin Smith’s song “Beltway of Boomtown.” Thank you to TNTCOM.com for your support! 

Our special guest this week is Dr. Kwei Quartey, author of the new crime thriller “Children of the Street,” which is set in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, West Africa. Dr. Quartey is a wound care physician in Southern California who was raised in Ghana before moving to the U.S. to attend Howard University. His novel spotlights the 70,000 street kids in Accra who often wind up selling scrap metals stripped from discarded televisions, computers and other electronic junk in highly polluted neighborhoods to stay alive. Eco news includes a record hot summer, falling support for nuclear power in California, renewed support for  solar power in Los Angeles, new fuel economy standards and helicopter noise is driving L.A. residents nuts! We also chat about a new children's book from author Amr Taher called “Jimmy the Squirrel” with an eco message for kids. Thanks to our new Eco-News sponsor, Triple-A Flag and Banner!  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features the band Slow Burning Car’s song “Harum Scarum.” 

Green job training for at-risk L.A. youth in tough economic times? Bruce Saito, Executive Director of Los Angeles Conservation Corps, and Dr. Lotus Vermeer, Santa Cruz Island Project Director of The Nature Conservancy, are doing just that with their unique  partnership!  We also have a new Eco-News sponsor, Triple-A Flag and Banner, Thank you!  The Eco-News burns through the wildfire in Anza Borrego State Park, the 100th birthday of Parks Canada, rooftop gardening in the U.K., and Tisa, the baby zebra, now nine weeks old!  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features singer, songwriter, business woman, comic and actress, Fay Wolf's, "God Knows."  on Lucy Dog Music.  Download the Hill & Dale Show on iTunes!  Email us at hillanddaleshow@gmail.com.  Next week, Amr Taher, with his new children's book, "Jimmy the Squirrel."  When forests are destroyed, what happens to the creatures that call them home?

Today's show belongs to earth's outer atmospheres! Dr. Gary Lagerloef, "Aquarius" Principal Investigator of Earth and Space Research and contractor to NASA/JPL discusses Aquarius' three-year mission to observe and collect data about our oceans' salt content. It should help us better understand how climate change is affecting the earth's water cycles. Check out climate.nasa.gov for some interactive fun! The Eco-News alsobelongs to space with news of spacecraft "Dawn" and planet Neptune's remote, yet mighty presence.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Michelle Mangione’s  “America the Blue” from her CD “Life Beneath the Sun.”  Next week, we talk to Nature Conservancy's Alfredo Gonzales and L.A. Conservation Corps' Brian Saito.  

It's a sign of the times! Craig Furst, Chief Operating Officer of AAA Flag & Banner Company visited the show to talk about the company's green initiatives in its sign and banner business, its rapid growth and star-studded clients, and its partnership with one of L.A.'s most successful high schools. 
In the eco-news, environmental factors could play a part in the development of autism, Riverside County in California agrees to a 30-year deal with First Solar Corporation, and scientists say, with enormous recent strides in gerontology, we could live up to 1,000 years old! (But would we want to?!) The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Adaawe’s, "Amampondo." You can download the Hill & Dale Show on iTunes! Next week, Yi Chao with the Aquarius Project comes in to discuss NASA's recently launched rocket.

Cards that show us a better way forward? Yes! Mary Beth Campbell, cofounder of “Boom Boom! Revolution”  tell us about the company's innovative Boom Boom! Cards that encourage teens, greens and adults to commit random acts of kindness to strangers, family and friends alike by playing the cards!. Our eco-news spans some good news for hybrids in the U.S., Japan's on-going struggle to fund the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant clean-up, China's rare earth legal loss to the WTO and this month's international conference at the University of California Riverside. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Francis Ndoumbe’s song “Fatima” from his Hable de Amour CD.  Join us next week for Craig Furst, Chief Operating Officer of AAA Flag & Banner Company and Jennifer Schwab, Sierra Club Green Home “Jennifer’s Green World!”  You can download the Hill & Dale Show on iTunes! 

What does your garden have to do with the ocean? Everything, according to our guests Paul Herzog,  Surfrider Foundation’s National Coordinator of the “Ocean Friendly Gardens” program and Pamela Berstler, Manager of “G3,The Green Gardens Group."  The Ocean Friendly Gardens program helps people create landscapes that use native plants, permeable groundcover and water retention features to prevent urban runoff that pollutes the ocean while creating beautiful and wildlife-friendly spaces. The next free class taught by  G3, the Green Gardens Group is Saturday, August 6 in Inglewood, California. sbesc.com. Today’s Eco News includes a new report  rom the Natural Resources Defense Council that says 2010 was the second-worse year for health related beach closings in the U.S. in 20 years, an update on the wild fire in New Mexico that’s threatening the Los Alamos nuclear plant, new revelations about the desert tortoise and a promising new natural pain reliever for migraine headaches. The Noisy Toys Music Minute www.noisytoys.com features Larry Williams’ song “Revelry” from his CD Tales of Wilmon.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

What better way to kick off summer than a discussion about planting a million trees? Trees help cool us off, save energy, clean the air, retain water and make our communities more beautiful! Our in studio guests, Julie Prejean, Senior Forestry Manager with Tree People and Ryan Allen, Tree Care Manager with Tree People tell us about their Community Greening Workshops and how to become a Citizen Forester.  The workshops are free and the next one starts July 9 in Inglewood. Today’s Eco News includes an update on the Arizona wild fires, concern about possible flooding as the snow melts in the Sierra Nevada mountains, fire hazards at nuclear power plants in the U.S., ground breaking on a huge solar farm in the California desert and a stranded penguin in New Zealand. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Jon Bare & the Killer Whales’ song “Clambake.”
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What are some of the  newest “green” products hitting the market? In her monthly feature “Jennifer’s Green World,” Jennifer Schwab, Director of Sustainability with Sierra Club Green Home reports on the recent  Sustainable Brands Conference in Monterey last week. She even tells us about “green” motor oil!  Then, Scott Flaherty and Rick Kearney call in from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’ Pacific Southwest Office in Sacramento to discuss their  new “50 Stories in 50 States” series.  The website blogs explore the many ways accelerating climate change is effecting fish and wildlife in California and across America. Today’s  eco news covers green graduation caps and gowns, toy maker Mattel agrees to buy paper from more eco-friendly sources after a Greenpeace protest in El Segundo, California,  Ford plans to triple production of electric vehicles, Nevada lawmakers want  the government to clean up a former nuke testing site and more!  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Kevin Ricard and Sambaguru’s song “Tribo Ghandista.” See all our guests’ photos on our Facebook page!

Sailor, naval architect and writer, Robert Banks Hull, regales us with seafaring tales, yacht racing, his career as a naval architect and his last two years as author of two thrillers, “The Angel Island Conspiracy,” and "The Street Fighter Conspiracy."  He is working on his third book. The eco-news spans the second-largest wildfire in Arizona's history, flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, a California sanctuary for endangered turtles, tortoises and terrapins (chelions), the California film industry's diminishing backyard lots, more Golden State water wars, the death of golden eagles in San Francisco Bay Area's wind turbines, and a misplaced missile in New Mexico. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Magruder Monktet’s instrumental, “Joy Bop.”  Next Wednesday, June 15, at 4 PM PDT, our monthly guest, Jennifer Schwab from Sierra Club Green Home drops by to talk about the latest in "green" innovations, and we welcome Scott Flaherty from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to discuss how accelerating climate change is affecting fish & wildlife across America.  Download us on iTunes! Plus, L.A. Talk Radio has apps for iPhones and Android!

Thank you to Mr. Trust Lin of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau of Los Angeles for calling in and telling us about this lovely sweet potato-shaped semi-tropical island's quest to step up its (already embedded) green efforts. We learn about the island's many floral expositions, its recycling infrastructure, its wildlife and its hot-water volcanic shrimp!!  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Brad Dutz’ instrumental “Snowy Egret” from his Krin CD. This week's eco-news covers Germany's abandonment of nuclear power, a call from Oxfam International to adjust world food production, L.A.-area water agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service getting ready for a showdown over the little Santa Ana sucker fish, fossil fuel carbon emissions exacerbating deaths, and the birth of a new Grevy's zebra in Palm Desert! Download us on iTunes! Next week, Robert Banks Hull, a boat designer and fiction writer, joins us to tell us about his seafaring adverntures!

The Hill and Dale Show is a year old!! We celebrated with some cookies, a succulent plant and our guest, Paul Scott!! Paul is a lifelong environmental advocate, and founder of Plug-In America (PIA). PlugInAmerica.org. Paul created the non-profit PIA in 2005 to galvanize support for the manufacture of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.  We learn about Paul's role in the new movie, "The Revenge of the Electric Car," the sequel to "Who Killed the Electric Car?," and his tireless efforts to get drivers into the electric-powered Nissan Leaf!! In our eco-news, we discuss the devastating tornadoes in the mid-West, the deadly drought in Texas, the sweetening of life for honeybee producers in California, Google's large investment into a Mojave Desert wind farm and the Save The Turtles campaign. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ron Powell’s song "Yabu" from his "Rhythmic Journey" CD because it was the first song we played on the show a year ago!  You can download the Hill & Dale Show on iTunes!  Next week, we talk to Mr. Trust Lin, Director of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau (TTB) in Los Angeles, to hear about the island's "Go Green" many successes in promoting environmentally sustainable ideas and about its beautiful flower and horticultural shows!

Today's show is a triple play with three great guests! First, Rob Hampton, Director of the National Public Lands Day, with the National Environmental Education Foundation phones in  from Washington, D.C.  Then, Jennifer Tabola, also with the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) calls in to tell us about the NEEF programs “Classroom Earth", Planet Connect, EE Week and “Be Water Wise.”  Finally, Jennifer Schwab, Director of Sustainability with Sierra Club Green Home joins us for “Jennifer’s Green World” to report on the recent FORTUNE Brainstorm Green Conference in Laguna Niguel. Thank you, Dutch Merrick, for guest co-hosting! The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ron Powell’s "After Sunrise," from his "Rhythmic Journey" CD.   Download us on iTunes!

More than 160-thousand acres of the Angeles National Forest burned in the devastating  2009 “Station Fire,” which was the largest fire in L.A. County history. The National Forest Foundation, U.S. Forest Service and South Coast Air Quality Management District are partnering to restore the watersheds and habitats of the Angeles National Forest. Vance Russell, Director of California Programs with the National Forest Foundationdescribes this major restoration project and why it’s so important. It’s all part of the “Treasured Landscapes” program. Then, Sam Atwood, spokesman for the South Coast AQMD tells us about the AQMD’s funding contribution to restore the Angeles National Forest. He also talks about efforts to reduce smog, AQMD Air Alerts and the 9th annual “Mow Down Air Pollution” program that encourages residents to exchange their gas-powered lawnmower for a cordless electric mower at a discounted price. Our Eco News covers a proposed expansion of East Coast oil drilling, a tiny California desert town that’s being turned into a green mecca, a thriving kelp forest near the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant  and a hoax  from a group called Coal is Killing Kids. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Michelle Mangione’s song “Change Your Mind.” Check out our guest photos on Facebook!

We welcome back Dr. Kerry Krieger, Executive Director and Founder, crusader and relentless campaigner for "Save The Frogs," who visited us last August. We talk about the 3rd Annual Save The Frogs Day rally, held in Washington D.C. on April 29, 2011.  We also discuss the wide-spread use of atrazine in U.S. agriculture, a pesticide known to harm frog and wildlife populations, as well as the detrimental effect of diners' increasing appetites for frogs' legs. Our eco-news covers the shearing of locks after bin Laden's death, the delisting of gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act, crows' smarts, and a certain group's distaste for the word "pet," when referring to our animal friends. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Brit composer Alex Thomas' lyrical poem, "15, rue de Grenelle."  Join us next week for a discussion about L.A. County's "Station Fire Restoration" project with Sam Atwood, Air Quality Management District (AQMD), and Vance Russell, the National Forest Foundation. Find us on iTunes!

Did you know that shy and little known forest dwellers including wolverines, lynx and fishers are at risk of disappearing from our shrinking wilderness? David Gaillard, Rocky Mountain Region Representative with Defenders of Wildlife calls in to tell us why these "meso carnivores" are becoming endangered and why we should save them!  David has been working to restore the habitats for these animals in the U.S. Rocky Mountains since 1991. Then, Mike Marshall, Executive Director of Restore Hetch Hetchy calls from San Francisco to discuss efforts to bring back the Hetch Hetchy Valley, which was turned into a reservoir when the O'Shaughnessy Dam was built in Yosemite National Park 88 years ago. He invites you to join the 3rd annual "Muir's March" this summer. Our Eco News includes more awards for the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt, Los Angeles remains the nation's smoggiest city, a green alternative to cremation and are Americans losing interest in "green" products? Eco News is sponsored by TNTCOM.com, where you can save up to 95% on all your international calls! The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery’s “Sacred Land.”

For this special Earth Day edition of the show, we talked to Karen McHale, author of “Economic Meltdown: A Family Preparedness Plan for Disaster," high from her environmentally-friendly Colorado mountain home. We talk about Karen's 10-year history journey to green living, her food growing hints and her book. She has tips on to save energy at home, what to prepare in the event of disaster and how to be more eco-sufficient! We have fun with the origins of Earth Day and find out about Sharon's photo, taken on the very first Earth Day on April 22, 1970! Our eco-news covers the one-year anniversary of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, and the known, and, as-yet unknown, effects of the spill on the Gulf Coast wildlife and plantlife, some better news about the spill, progress made on greenhouse gas emissions last year, a new UCLA study about rapidly melting summertime Arctic Circle ice, Starbuck's generous Earth Day offer and a lethal psyllid that is killing citrus trees in Ventura County, California. Our Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ted Vigil’s, “Blessings in the Sky.”  Thanks to TNTCom for your support!

On this 25th anniversary of  Friends of the Los Angeles River, you’re invited to participate in the effort to restore sections of the the river to its natural riparian habitat, complete with fish, birds and plants. Shelly Backlar, Executive Director, FoLAR and Juan Devis, Director of Production & Program Development with KCET Public Media join us in the studio to discuss the 22nd annual Great Los Angeles River Cleanup and KCET’s "Departure" series. Thousands of volunteers will participate in the cleanup effort on Saturday, April 30th, which is also Mayor Villaraigosa’s “Day of Service on the LA River.”  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Nicole Falzone's song "I Walk Alone." Many thanks to our sponsor TNTCOM.com for your support! 

California’s state parks are in trouble. Elizabeth Goldstein, Executive Director of the California State Parks Foundation joins us to to explain why California's beautiful state parks are "on the brink of a funding cliff." She says with 20% of state parks already partially closed due to funding cuts, the Governor's proposal to cut 22-million-dollars more starting next year could force dozens of parks to close! Support your favorite state parks by visiting them and donating to the California State Parks Foundation.  In todays Eco News we update the situation at the stricken nuclear plants in Japan, Caesars Entertainment releases it’s first carbon inventory report, green universities and scientists have created genetically modified cows in an effort to make the milk more like human breast milk. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Justin Smith’s song “Beltway of Boomtown.” Thank you to TNTCOM.com for your support! 

We welcomed Dr. Julie Miller, author of “The Secrets of Self Starters,” into the studio. We discussed her inspiration for writing the book, her theory of top "traititudes" needed to achieve a dream, examples of amazing self-starters from the book, and how we can all rethink our professional lives to attain greater fulfillment. In our eco-news, Japan's worsening nuclear disaster, President Obama's stance on nuclear power and energy policy, the official end of California's dought, plastic tableware making a return to the Capitol's dining tables in D.C., disease pushing Australia's Tasmanian devil to the point of extinction and Iceland facing greater encroachment on its land from the burgeoning aluminum industry.  Thanks to TNTCOM.com for your support!  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Chalo Eduardo’s fabulous instrumental, Beija Flor Suite!  Download the Hill and Dale Show on iTunes!  Follow us on Twitter @hillanddaleshow. Be our friend on Facebook!  Email us at  hillanddaleshow@gmail.com! We also have LA Talk Radio apps for iPhones, Android and other smart phones.

March showers bring April flowers in Southern California and we expect a bumper crop this year!  Lynnette Kampe, Executive Director and Cassy Aoyagi, President of the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants join us in the studio to explain why it’s so important to protect and preserve California’s native plants. The Theodore Payne Foundation operates the Wildflower Hotline each spring and tells us where the best places are to see wildflowers every year. The Foundation also operate the California Native Plant Nursery and Gardens in the L.A. area. Sign up for the Theodore Payne Foundation's annual Garden Tour on April 9-10!  In todays Eco News we discuss skyrocketing oil prices, the recycling queen of Winnipeg, Canada, and gray wolves losing federal protection in Idaho and Montana. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Jon Bare and the Killer Whales song “Get Funky” from the Orcastra CD.  
Thank you to TNTCOM.com for your support! 

Jennifer Schwab of Sierra Club Green Home, creator and author of the blog, "Jennifer’s Green World" called in for our monthly "Jennifer's Green World" segment.  We talked about the human and nuclear tragedy unfolding in Japan, along with credit card waste and the longterm harm that the cheap plastic and metal components of these credit cards will do.  
Adam Gardner of the band, "Guster," rang in from Maine to discuss his company, Reverb, which advocates the "greening" and environmental awareness of the music business. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Marcus Miller’s song Spring Has Sprungfrom his Quintessential CD.  Next week, Lynnette Campe, Executive Director of the Theodore Payne Foundation comes into the studio for a chat about the preservation of California native plants and their March 26th poppy sale! She'll be joined by Cassy Aoyagi, Foundation President. Thank you to TNTCOM.com for your support! You can download the Hill & Dale Show on iTunes!

If you already recycle your glass, plastic, aluminum cans and newspapers, shop with reusable bags and do your best to save water and energy, are there other “green” lifestyle steps to take? Today’s guest, Susan Hunt Stevens, is the Founder and CEO of Practically Green and she’s developed a website that  offers a 5 minute quiz that  rates where you stand on the green scale.  If you only rate “Sorta Kinda Green,” Practically Green gives dozens of tips on what to do next, including things like signing up for e-versions of bills and banking statements.  In today’s Eco News: millions of dead sardines that washed up in the Redondo Beach King Harbor will be turned into fertilizer, Santa Monica’s ban on single use shopping bags takes effect, the California drought may be over, the city of Los Angeles expands a ban on smoking to include restaurant patios and food trucks and Target settles a 22-million dollar lawsuit for dumping toxic waste in several California counties. Eco News is sponsored by TNTCOM.com, where you can save up to 95% on all your international calls! The Noisy Toys Music Minute features the band Indubious’ song “Cosmic Seed.”

The sound of a wild wolf howling is sweet music to today’s guest, Suzanne Stone with Defenders of Wildlife!
Suzanne has been working to reintroduce and protect wolves in areas like Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho since 1988. She is teaching ranchers and farmers how to use non-lethal tools that allow wolves and livestock to coexist. Suzanne gave us a great lesson on how to howl like a real wolf!  Then, Margo McKnight, the Executive Director of Wildlands Network called in for adventurer/naturalist John Davis about his 45-hundred mile TrekEast  to create awareness for the need for  a “Eastern Wildway” corridor for animals.
In today’s Eco News: Los Angeles city officials approve a new Master Bike Plan, more electric car charging stations are on the way, you’ll soon be able to eat your Coke and ketchup bottles, and the European Commission is banning fish dumping.  Eco News is sponsored by TNTCOM.com, where you can save up to 95% on all your international calls! The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Chalo Eduardo’s song “Samba Nova.”

What does it take to care for hundreds of exotic and wild animals that are not able to be rehabilitated and returned to the wild? Lots of love and millions of dollars a year, according to Martine Collette, Founder/President of the Wildlife Waystation. Martine tells us beautiful 162 acre facility in the Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles is celebrating it’s 35th anniversary and in great need of donations and support from the public to continue operating.Then Jennifer Berry, P.R. Manager for Earth911 calls in to explain how this environmental service company helps consumers and companies with their recycling efforts. Jennifer tells us how we can all be better recyclers and use Earth 911’s Recycling Directory. In today’s Eco News: Global Green USA and students from the Environmental Charter High School unveiled a model carbon pollution index for L.A. at a pre-Oscar party, the world's population is booming, rare earth elements are being mined in California, unusual solar flares, and formula One Motor Racing wants to go green!  Eco News is sponsored by TNTCOM.com, where you can save up to 95% on all your international calls! The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Kevin Ricard and Sambaguru’s song “Tribo Gandhista.”

You’ve heard of coal mining, but have you heard of coal blasting? Literally blowing the top off a mountain to reach the coal? In this month’s Jennifer’s Green World, Jennifer Schwab, Director of Sustainability with Sierra Club Green Home tells us about her trip to the Sundance film festival in Park City, Utah to view the new  documentary “The Last Mountain.” This film examines the effects of coal blasting on the environment and the people who live near the Appalachian mining site. Jennifer also discusses the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign. In our second segment, Jennifer reveals wasteful practices in the passenger airline industry and discusses her investigation into which airlines recycle items like used plastic cups and paper napkins. This week’s Eco News includes: a lawsuit to help protect giant sea turtles, a planned solar farm in the California desert, a new report on U.S. oil dependency and why a bill legalizing “bio-cremation” is not such a green idea after all!  Our Eco News is sponsored by TNTCOM.com, where you can save up to 95% on all your international calls!  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ron Powell’s CD Rhythmic Journey ” and the song “Yabu.”

San Francisco journalist Aaron Britt, Senior Editor of “Dwell Magazine,” called in to talk about sustainability, optimum green design, urban development and living in small spaces.  Britt is also a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle; his work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, National Geographic, Print Magazine, on the History Channel and Animal Planet.  Next, online green retailer and recycling company spokesperson Albe Zakes for TerraCycle was our next guest.  This innovative New Jersey-based company recycles thousands of tons of waste from U.S. schools and offices and turns it into bottles, towels, fertilizers and plastic containers!  Its founder and CEO dropped out of school, but is now living his dream. The Noisy Toys Music Minute  featured Eddie Kilgallon & Ted Vigil’s new song “Blessings in the Sky

Don’t throw away those old CD spindles, bottle and jar caps and plastic medicine bottles!  Musician/composer Larry Williams not only plays a variety of instruments including trumpet, guitar, piano and percussion, he also designs and builds unique instruments out of recycled and natural materials like bamboo and seed pods. bagobones.com and lachimes.net.

Check out the Hill & Dale Show Facebook page for photos of Larry’s “Bag O Bones” percussion instruments and wind chimes!  At 4:30, fellow LA Talk Radio host Sheena Metal drops by to chat about her amazing radio career, Internet radio, the supernatural and the Sheena Metal Experience.  It’s not your mother’s talk radio show!  Today’s Eco-News includes: wild weather in the U.S. and Australia, smart solar-powered roads that melt snow and ice, a protest against the Koch billionaire brothers in Rancho Mirage, and the disappearance of conventional 100 watt light bulbs in California.
Thanks to our new Eco-News sponsor TNTCOM.com!   
The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Larry Williams’ new CD “Tales of Wilmon” and the song “Homecoming.”

Shems Jud, Senior Fisheries Specialist with the Environmental Defense Fund explained the launch of "catch share," a simultaneous way to help distribute groundfish evenly among struggling West Coast fishermen, replenish dwindling fish stocks and gently re-adjust the ocean's eco-system. 
Jennifer Schwab, Sierra Club Green Home, called in with her impressions of the recent International Auto Show in Detroit and her tour of the Ford River Rouge plant.  We discussed the lift-off of “Jennifer’s Green World.”   Jennifer's blog: 
In the eco-news, we discussed the recent plastic bag ban in Santa Monica, California, the exponential growth in green jobs in California, U.S. home-builders' green efforts falling short, and cancerous dioxin-tainted eggs in Germany.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute  featured Percussionist Brad Dutz with Kim Richmond on sax & clarinet and John Fumo on trumpet from the CD “The Other Three.”  Next week:
Larry Williams,  musician/producer/writer  of “Bag o’ Bones,” instruments made of recycled materials, plus radio personality Sheena La Talk, LA Talk Radio.

San Francisco journalist Aaron Britt, Senior Editor of “Dwell Magazine,” called in to talk about sustainability, optimum green design, urban development and living in small spaces.  Britt is also a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle; his work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, National Geographic, Print Magazine, on the History Channel and Animal Planet.  Next, online green retailer and recycling company spokesperson Albe Zakes for TerraCycle was our next guest.  This innovative New Jersey-based company recycles thousands of tons of waste from U.S. schools and offices and turns it into bottles, towels, fertilizers, plastic containers; all kinds of things!  Its founder and CEO dropped out of school, had this great idea and is now living his dream.  In the eco-news, we learned that the Arcadia, California, century-old oak trees had been bulldozed after all, about the continued flooding in Brazil, Pakistan and Australia, the possibility of a California superstorm and 200 dead cows in the Midwest, killed by a virus. The Noisy Toys Music Minute  featured Eddie Kilgallon & Ted Vigil’s new song “Blessings in the Sky.”  

Will tigers become extinct in the wild?  There are only about 3,200 left in the world!  World Wildlife Foundation Tiger Program Manager Dr. Barney Long joins us to explain why tigers fetch $50,000 each on the black market from poachers who sell their skins, meat and bones for things like tonic wine!  Dr. Long attended the recent Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia and he says there is hope to save the remaining wild tigers with international support and funding. and SaveTigersNow.org. Todays Eco-News includes the latest in the fight to save a grove of old-growth oak trees in Arcadia, disappearing bumblebees, BP tar balls, cleaner Metro buses in L.A. and the Chevy Volt wins Car of the Year at the International Car Show!  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Hank Daniels and Y.O.U.   

We kicked off 2011 with some controversy!  Glen Owens, a Monrovia city planning commissioner joins us in the studio to discuss his efforts to save a grove of century-old oak and sycamore trees in the San Gabriel Valley north of Los Angeles. They are threatened with destruction by the Department of Public Works to make room for tons of silt dredged from the nearby Santa Anita Reservoir. Glen says there are options that would save this natural habitat.  Then, Dave van Cleve, Senior Project Manager with the Nature Conservancy calls in from San Diego to discuss challenges facing California state parks in 2011. Dave also talks about Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which he managed when he was a state park district superintendent. 
The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ilona’s song “Wonderful Feeling.” Thanks to our sponsor,  Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey.

Our year end show features an interesting interview with Maryam Henein and George Langworthy, the director/producers of "The Vanishing of the Bees.". Their new documentary film delves into what's causing Colony Collapse Disorder in honeybee populations across the U.S. and elsewhere, and why it's such a huge problem.  They also discuss ways to help the bees by not using pesticides, by eating organic foods and by planting a garden. Then, Helen Ortiz-Gilstrap, Communications Manager with Metro tells us about  the L.A.'s transit agency's green initiatives and how the MTA is working to get people out of their cars and into mass transit options.
Lucie reviews two great movies this week: "True Grit" and "The Fighter.  Musician/composer Larry Williams shares his song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" in the Noisy Toys Music Minute.  Thanks to our wonderful sponsor,  Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey.  Happy New Year!

Our pre-Christmas show featured a surprise visit from Ronen Rozner, the LA Talk Radio Chief Engineer, who filled in for our scheduled guests.  They couldn’t join us due to a torrential downpour which jammed the freeways and caused the phone connections to go down, but we look forward to having them on the Hill & Dale Show soon.  Meanwhile, the show must go on!  Lucie reviews Toy Story 3 and The Fighter  and our eco-news includes a wrap-up of  bills passed by the lame duck U.S. legislature, including the START Treaty and the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.  Also, the 2010 U.S. Census confirms California is getting more crowded, and scientists say melting polar ice threatens not only polar bears, but also whales and seals. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Karie Hillery’s song “A Christmas Lullaby.”  The Hill & Dale Show theme music is by Carl Rigoli. Thanks to our sponsor Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey. 

Still trying to find a great holiday gift that’s also eco-friendly? Now, there’s a new place to shop. Jere Harkness and Denise George, cofounders/owners of Wella Verde call in from Tallahassee, Florida to tell us about their new on-line shopping destination.  Wella Verde products feature recycled, reclaimed, handmade, organic and sustainable merchandise.  Every item has a story about where it came from and who made it.  Sharon’s favorite is the Maine Float Rope floor mats, which are made from reclaimed lobster trap float rope, then woven by hand by local crafters in Maine. Yes, they float! 
Lucie reviews the new 3D flick “TRON.”  Our eco news headlines include “A Day Without a Bag,” the U.N. Climate Summit in Cancun and the Obama administration’s lawsuit against BP for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Larry Williams song “Christmas Time is Here.” Thanks to our sponsor Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey.

What are the best eco-gifts for the holidays?  Jennifer Schwab, Director of Sustainability for Sierra Club Green Home calls in from NYC to share ideas on how to be green and save some green this season.  Her eco-gift ideas include donating to a good cause, solar powered  instead of battery powered gadgets, recycled tote bags and items made from bamboo.  Jennifer says e-books are the more eco-friendly gift choice for an avid reader, but otherwise give a real book.  Or better still, a library card!
Pastor Joe Wingo, Founder/CEO of Angel Food Ministries calls in from Monroe, Georgia to tell us how Angel Food Ministries is helping feed hundreds of thousands of needy families in 45 states all year round.
The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Larry Williams and Wilmon Will’s song “John and Paul’s Little Bird” from the CD Tales of Wilmon. Thanks to our sponsor Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey.

With tensions in Korea reaching a boiling point and Russia getting impatient with the U.S. for not ratifying the START treaty yet, the global nuclear threat seems to be ramping up. Tad Daley, author of Apocalypse Never: Forging the Path to a Nuclear-Free World” calls in from Washington D.C. to shed some light on these critical issues. We also chat with Tad about the WikiLeaks cables that indicated major concern among Middle Eastern nations about Iran’s nuclear program and global concern about the security of a Pakistani nuclear reactor and materials.
Then, entomologist Dr. Kirk Visscher, Professor at UC Riverside calls in to discuss the importance of honeybees, why they swarm and what’s causing the recent huge drops in honeybee populations worldwide. Lucie reviews the film “The King’s Speech.” The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Francis Ndoumbe's  song “Bailando.” Our wonderful sponsor is Avenue hair Company in Marina del Rey.

Our Thanksgiving eve show featured a delightful visit with Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times writer of the “Realist/Idealist” column. Sue tells us about her two year experiment with eco-living that included gray water, chickens, edible landscaping, rain barrels, solar panels, a composting toilet and a waterwall.  Some things worked well, and others... not so well.
Mike Upp, VP of marketing with Clear Edge Power calls from Oregon to tells us all about residential fuel cells: what they are, how they work, how much they cost and why they’re a good alternative to fossil fuels as well as renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Sambaguru’s song “Pagode do Maracana.”  Thanks to our sponsor Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey.

Does anyone still wear real fur??  If you know someone who does, encourage them to watch the new documentary “Skin Trade.”  Gene Blalock, co-producer, editor and composer of “Skin Trade” tells us about the film, which documents the history of the fur trade, the cruelty involved with animals raised on fur farms and what people can do to change labeling laws that currently allow cat, dog or raccoon fur labeled “faux” to be imported from China. “Skin Trade” is now on DVD. 
Our second guest is Jeni Foreman, VP of marketing of Quadra-Fire and Harman stoves. She tells us about their eco-friendly and efficient pellet stoves and fireplace inserts.  You can get a $1,500 tax  credit if you purchase a pellet stove by the end of the year. hearthnhome.com. 
The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Nicole Falzone’s song “Man Against Man.”  Thanks to our sponsor Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey.

Will Los Angelinos some day go boating, fishing and swimming on the Los Angeles River?  That’s the dream of Lewis MacAdams, Founder/President, Friends of the Los Angeles River, or FoLAR.  Lewis joins us in the studio as FoLAR nears its 25th anniversary. He explains how the 50 mile long river was paved in the 1930s and turned into the world’s largest storm drain.  However, sections of the L.A. River are being restored to its riparian habitat, complete with fish, birds and plants.
Then, Bill Steele, co-owner of Cowhorn Winery calls in from Applegate Valley, Oregon to describe their innovative Biodynamic farming practices for growing grapes and other organic fruits and veggies. The Steeles are also working to close the loop on wine bottle waste. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Ron Powell’s song “After Sunrise.”  Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey is our wonderful sponsor!

What’s the biggest threat to humanity? Some say it’s global warming, but Tad Daley, author of “Apocalypse Never: Forging the Path to a Nuclear Weapon-Free World” tells us that nuclear annihilation is a real possibility in our lifetime.  Tad makes the case that all nations, including the U.S. must abide by the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The NPT stated that not only would countries that don’t have nukes not  acquire them, but that the countries that DO have nukes would get rid of them. This hasn’t happened. Tad’s book spells out the threat and what can be done to abolish nukes.  C.C. Song with the Greenlining Institute calls in from Berkley to explain why the Greenlining Coalition fought hard against California Proposition 23, which would have overturned the state's global warming law.  It was rejected by voters. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Jon Bare and the Killer Whales' CD “Shredzilla.” Thanks to our sponsor Avenue Hair Company.

It’s Guerrilla Gardening season!  Our guest Scott has been a Guerrilla Gardener in Southern California since the 1980’s. He tells us why the Guerrilla Gardener volunteers have to be stealthy as they plant hundreds of drought tolerant plants like succulents in public areas that were ignored by their owners. Sometimes they even do their work to beautify blighted areas at night to avoid possible arrest!.  Also, David Temple, founder/CEO of People Powered Machines calls in from Brooklyn, New York to make his case for why it’s time to return to using push lawnmowers.  He says they’re not only eco-friendly, they’re great exercise.. The Noisy Toys Music Minute features singer Kandace Lindsey’s CD “Acoustic Fire.”  Our sponsor is Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey.  

How do you teach kids about protecting the environment while making it fun and accessible to everyone? Cartoonist Denis Thomopoulos, owner of Hippo Works joins us at LA Talk Radio to explain how he created his animated cartoon characters Simon the Hippo, Peep the Bird and the other creatures in his book “It’s a Jungle Out There” and on his website, hippoworks.  Denis will soon unveil a new DVD, including a poster, to help kids learn about how to fight climate change and protect animals from extinction.  Jay Shafer, owner of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company calls in from Northern California to tell us about living in his custom home, which is smaller than some people’s closets!  To learn more about the home styles and how to order the tiny house plans, go to tumbleweedhouses.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features drummer Hector Torres and Vital Crossing.  And, thanks to our sponsor Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey.

Is Hollywood becoming more eco conscious?  Absolutely, according to the Hollywood execs we invited into the studio today to talk about the greening of the film business! Rhys Ryan, the co-creator of the new “Scenechronize” software, explains how this far-reaching system is transforming the way studios are making movies; saving time, money and trees in the process.  Kathleen Courtney, Chairperson of the Producer’s Guild of America’s Green Committee and Founding Member of the Green Production Alliance explains how they’re introducing sustainability into the film and TV production process. That includes recycling set items on Fred’s List or donating set materials to Habitat for Humanity. They’re also encouraging the use of refillable metal water bottles, composting food leftovers and using alternative energy sources.  PGAGreen.org and greenproductionguide.  
The Noisy Toys Music Minute features drummer Marcus Miller’s new CD “Quintessential”  Thanks to Avenue Hair Company for your sponsorship!

How do you lose 100 pounds and keep an enormous sense of humor? Fellow LA Talk Radio host Mother Love is our special guest to tell us how she turned her life around after she was diagnosed with diabetes and realized that her life was at stake, unless she focused on living a healthier lifestyle.  Mother Love travels the country making appearances as the Research Ambassador for the American Diabetes Association as well as the Aetna Ambassador for 2010. The “Step Out Walk to Fight Diabetes” is November 13 at the Universal Studios Backlot. stepoutLA and themotherloveshow.   
Diane MacEachern, author “Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World” calls in to offer tips on how to shift our spending to make greener choices.  She says women really DO hold the purse strings, spending 85 cents of every dollar in the marketplace.  For greener living and green gift ideas, go to  www.biggreenpurse.com.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Adaawe’s song “Amampondo.”  Our sponsor is Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey.

What’s a tasty way to get involved with the effort to reduce world hunger and help smallholder farmers around the world? Get on board the SRI rice revolution!  Caryl Levine and Ken Lee, cofounders and co-owners of Lotus Foods explain how this new method of growing rice uses less water, less seed, less chemicals and less land to produce more rice, more community stability and less pollution.  Ken addressed the Clinton Global Initiative Forum in New York last week to spread the word. To learn more or order organic rices from around the world go to lotusfoods. Carrie Thompson with Southern California Edison’s Renewable and Alternative Power group tells us about the utility’s effort to get 20% of their power from renewables by 2010.  sce  and sce.com/solartraining.  
Lucie reviews the new Ben Afleck film “The Town.”  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Carl Rigoli’s song “Carmelo’s Bag.” Our sponsor is Avenue Hair Company in Marina del Rey.

Do you know what toxic chemicals lurk in the cosmetics and other beauty products you use every day?  Stacy Malkan, cofounder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of “Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry” tells us about the dangers and how to avoid them by becoming more informed and by supporting the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010.  safecosmetics  and storyofcosmetics. 
 Tiffany Hsu, alternative energy writer for the Los Angeles Times joins us in the studio to discuss the green revolution in urban neighborhoods, like South L.A.  Tiffany.Hsu@latimes.com.  Lucie reviews the new Australian film “Bran Nue Dae.”  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Chalo Eduardo’s CD “Samba Nova.”  And, our new sponsor is Avenue Hair Company, now located on Lincoln Boulevard in Marina del Rey.

Now that you’ve mastered curbside recycling are you ready for Recycling 202?  If you’re not sure how to dispose of old batteries, computers, cell phones, printer cartridges and appliances, the Sierra Club has a great tool to help you!  Jennifer Schwab, Director of Sustainability for Sierra Club Green Home visits the LA Talk Radio studio to tell us about the Earth 911 Recycling widget on the web site, sierraclubgreenhome. She also offers tips on making your home more energy efficient.  Tom Raftican, President/CEO of the Sportfishing Conservancy calls in to explain why he supports the “Rigs to Reef” bill.  It would allow oil companies to keep the underwater portions of decommissioned oil well platforms off the California coast  in place as reefs for marine life.  sportcon.org.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features Nicole Falzone’s song “Walking Tall” from her Matters of the Heart CD.

“Ribbit” means help, if you’re a frog!  Dr. Kerry Kriger, Founder/Director of Save The Frogs calls in from Santa Cruz to reveal that amphibians are the most endangered group of animals on the planet!  Nearly one third of them are on the brink of extinction due to habitat destruction, diseases, pollution, climate change, invasive species and over harvesting for food.  To learn more about their plight, go to savethefrogs.  Jim Gibbons, President/CEO of Goodwill Industries International calls in from Washington, D.C. to explain their new Donate Movement and how Goodwill not only recycles and reuses your unwanted items, but employs thousands of people at their donation centers and stores nationwide. donate.goodwill.org.  Lucie reviews the new film “The American.”  And, the Noisy Toys Music Minute features Brad Dutz with T.J. Troy and Chris Wabich from the CD “10 Passes.”

Think your school (or alma mater) is cool?  When it comes to the latest Sierra Club list of America’s greenest campuses, Green Mountain College in Vermont is the coolest!  Sierra Magazine “Cool Schools” Editor Avital Binshtock calls in from San Francisco to reveal that Green Mountain College gets its power and heat from cows!  That’s right, from cow poop!  Several California schools are cool too, including Stanford University, UC Irvine and UC Santa Cruz.  Go to sierramagazine to see the complete list.  Evan Gillespie, the Sierra Club’s Regional Representative for the Beyond Coal campaign in L.A. makes the case for why the DWP needs to reduce its reliance on coal power from Arizona and Utah, and switch to local renewable sources like the sun and wind.  For details and a schedule of DWP hearings on its Integrated Resource Plan go to labeyondcoal.org.  Lucie reviews the new movie “Secretariat.”  And, the Noisy Toys Music Minute features Soundscape Pyramids’ song “Semite Inspiration.”

Your electric clothes dryer is the second biggest energy hog in your house! There’s a movement underway to return to the “old days” and dry our laundry with sunlight and fresh air.  Gary Sutterlin, cofounder of Breeze Dryer calls in from Buckingham, Pennsylvania, to tout the many benefits of using Mother Nature to dry our clothes.  Breeze Dryer distributes rotary, retractable and folding frame clotheslines made by Australian manufacturer Hills Industries.  www.breezedryer.com.  Felicia Tomasko, Editor in Chief of “LA YOGA Ayurveda and Health” magazine explains the benefits of yoga to get our minds and bodies in shape.  www.layogamagazine.com.  Lucie reviews the new Julia Roberts film “Eat, Pray Love.” And, the Noisy Toys Music Minute features Hands On’semble’s song “More Like Chutney.”

We  all love potato chips, but are they healthy? Frito-Lay’s Brand Manager Linda Bethea calls in from Dallas, Texas to tell us about Lay’s “natural” classic potato chips and how they’re grown, as well as the Lay’s Mobile Farm Tour that arrives at The Grove in L.A. Tuesday, August 17.  Plants in the traveling greenhouse will be donated to community gardens in South L.A.  And, calling in from Scottsdale, Arizona, Shairon Beale, host of the “Certifiably Organic” talk show discusses her award-winning nontoxic home and how to avoid chemicals in our food and every day personal and household products.  She’s also a vintage race car driver who’s originally from Australia.  The Noisy Toys Music Minute features drummer/vibist Carl Rigoli.

Is it possible to create a Functioning Community Forest in every L.A. neighborhood? Torin Dunnavant, the Community Engagement Manager for Tree People says “yes,” with the help of thousands of Citizen Foresters.  With training and support from Tree People, Citizen Foresters mobilize neighborhood volunteers to plant and care for trees across the L.A. area.
John Simonetta, owner of Proforma Green Marketing called in from Dallas, Texas to share his company’s wide variety of both traditional and eco-friendly promotional solutions, including clothing, promotional items, printing services and more.  Proforma offers solutions for companies and organizations that want to go green.
 The Noisy Toys Music Break features the brand new song “The Edge of Madness” by Michelle Mangione and Grace Slick.  “The Edge of Madness” is sponsored by the GRAMMY Museum, with proceeds going to the Greater New Orleans Foundation Gulf Oil Spill Fund. 

Is it a serious threat to our food supply?  Wood pallets that transport food and other goods to stores from Portland, Maine to Los Angeles have tested positive for bacteria, including E. Coli and Listeria.  Lewis Taffer with iGPS (Intelligent Global Pooling Systems) calls in from Orlando, Florida to explain why his plastic shipping pallet rental service is a safer and “greener” alternative to wood pallets.  Our in-studio guest Deven Upadhyay, Water Resources Manager with the Metropolitan Water District gives us an update on the ongoing drought and how the water shortage is effecting all Californians, from farmers to city dwellers.  He offers some simple ways residents can save water and learn more at bewaterwise.  Today’s music is from Francis Ndoumbe’s new CD “Habame de Amor.”

Belly up to the oyster bar!  It’s also called an oyster reef and it’s one of the many natural treasures in the Gulf of Mexico threatened by the massive BP oil spill.  Jeff DeQuattro with the Nature Conservancy’s “Recovery Act Oyster Breakwater Project”  in Mobile Bay calls us from Alabama to explain the huge importance of the oyster reefs to the ecosystem and the economy.  He also gives us a first hand account of the situation in the Gulf.  And, is it time to trade in your 4 wheels for two?  Abu Yusuf, Bikeway Coordinator for the L.A. County Bicycle Master Plan tells us how the project will encourage more people to peddle themselves around town.  He explains what a “sharrow” is and how bicycle safety concerns are being addressed.  Today’s music is from Karie Hillery’s CD “Solstice Peace.”

Environmental writer and super eco-blogger Siel (pronounced SEE-EL) celebrates the 5th anniversary of her GreenLAGirl web site by sharing a box of organic, vegan, Fair Trade, raspberry chocolate truffles with Lucie and Sharon, insuring an invitation to return to the Hill & Dale Show!  She also talks about why she wrote her first environmental blog, her pink bicycle and why her favorite green issues concern food and transportation.  Neal Desai, Senior Program Director with the National Parks Conservation Association calls in from San Francisco to discuss President Obama’s “America’s Great Outdoors Initiative” and the many threats to our National Parks.  Today’s music, thanks to master percussionist Randy Gloss, is the title track from Hands On’semble’s  CD “Shradhanjali.”

Hate those plastic grocery bags that clog our landfills and choke our sea creatures? California Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (41st District) calls in to update the progress of her bill, AB 1998, which would ban single use plastic bags in grocery stores.  The bill has passed the Assembly, but still faces a tough challenge in the State Senate.  Brownley urges supporters of the bill to urge their lawmakers to approve the ban. Our in studio guest is Pompea Smith, CEO of SEE-LA and Manager of 8 Farmer’s Markets, including the landmark Hollywood Farmer’s Market.  Sustainable Economic Enterprises of L.A. (SEE-LA) connects inner city residents to local farmers who offer a wide variety of the freshest produce. Today’s music is the title track from Sambaguru’s CD “Ginga.”

The sun’s cleansing power is saving the lives of children in East Africa and other developing nations.  Bob Dell, Co-Founder of The Water School calls in from Ontario, Canada to explain how this amazingly simple solar disinfection system (SODIS) works.  We take clean water for granted, but every year millions of people die from waterborne diseases around the world. The Water School works with children who teach their parents the technique.  Independent film maker Dutch Merrick returns to the LA Talk Radio studios to discuss the new documentary “Fuel” and the upcoming KPFK “Peace Awards & Concert” in September. We also chat about the ongoing BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Today’s music is from percussionist Brad Dutz’ CD “Krin.”

What to do with 25-hundred extra wine corks?  Our in studio guest artist Aaron Kramer turned them into a full size easy chair. When the flood comes, he’s all set!  Aaron uses salvaged junk to create art and other useful objects. His motto is “Trash is the failure of imagination,” and his art is on display this summer at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles. Our second in studio guest is Kirsten James, Director of Water Quality with Heal the Bay.  She discusses the latest local Beach Report Card results, the single use plastic bag bill in California, and Heal the Bay’s reaction to the BP oil spill.  Could a similar disaster happen off the California coast?  Today’s music is from percussionist Ron Powell’s new CD “Rhythmic Journey.”

From a Black Panther activist in Chicago to a professional “griot” in Los Angeles, our in studio guest Storyteller Michael McCarty tells his incredible life story as well as promotes the National Storytelling Conference in Woodland Hills July 29 - August 1st.  Michael also discusses his unique car covered with 300 bumper stickers designed to promote literacy. And, in a continuation of the discussion on the trend toward smaller living spaces, Jim Anderson, CEO of NMS Properties made the case that more people are choosing to live in more cost and space efficient spaces as they move back into cities. NMS Properties designs and develops affordable and environmentally friendly apartments in Santa Monica and elsewhere. Today’s featured music is the title track from Michelle Mangione’s new CD “What is a Saint to You.”

Smog season has arrived in Southern California! Our in studio guest Sam Atwood, Spokesman for the South Coast AQMD explains how his agency fights air pollution and how people can stay informed about air quality in their neighborhoods this summer by signing up for Air Alerts.  Professor John McIlwain, Senior Resident Fellow with the Urban Land Institute calls in from New York City to discuss the trend toward smaller, more economical living spaces to create sustainable future environments in urban areas.  Jean Benitez with FOOD Share tells us about Ventura County’s Food Bank and it’s new Garden Share program, as well as creative food programs for kids and seniors. Today’s featured music is Karie Hillery’s new song “She’s the Earth.”

The BP oil spill has become the largest oil environmental disaster in U.S. history and threatens a huge swath of Gulf coast habitat as well as the livelihoods of thousands of Americans. Naturalist David Mizejewski with the National Wildlife Federation explains how millions of rare birds, mammals, turtles and fish are imperiled by the oil spill and how the upcoming hurricane season could make things even worse.  Matthew Dodson, with the California Grocers Association calls in to discuss efforts by retailers to reduce the theft of valuable shopping carts, which are often discarded in urban neighborhoods, adding to blight. He also weighs in on AB 1998, which bans single use plastic bags in grocery stores. California grocers support the measure, which has just been approved by the state Assembly. Music featured on today’s show is from Sambaguru’s CD “Tribo.”

Would you drive a car powered by used cooking oil? Independent film maker Dutch Merrick, in studio guest on the second Hill & Dale Show, describes his Biodeisel car and talks about ways to reduce America’s reliance on oil, foreign or domestic. Ken Lee, cofounder and co-owner of Lotus Foods calls in from the Bay area to discuss his rice importing company and SRI rice. It’s a revolutionary way to grow more rice world wide with less water, less chemicals and less land. And, Sara Wann, co-creator and organizer of the Western Alliance for Nature weighs in on their campaign to “Save the Whales, Again.” She says the 1986 commercial whaling moratorium is threatened by plans by the Obama Administration to reverse it.  Music on today’s Hill & Dale Show is from Christo Pellani’s Soundscape Pyramids CD “The Return.”

The debut Hill & Dale Show featured in studio guest Nick Federoff, America’s Master Natural Gardener and guru of all ThingsGreen.com, talking about everything from “smart” sprinkler heads to easy ways to reduce waste and pollution in our daily lives. Hannah Heineman, writer for the “Santa Monica Mirror” called in to talk about the Alternative Building Expo.  And, Theresa Pierno, Executive Vice President of the National Parks Conservation Association called in from Washington, D.C. to discuss the devastating impacts from the Gulf Coast BP oil spill on national parks and wildlife. She talked about the unique challenges involved with cleaning up coastal wetlands from the Gulf Islands National Seashore to Everglades National Park. The first Hill & Dale Show also featured songs from percussionist Ron Powell’s new CD “Rhythmic Journey.”