Progressive Commentary Hour – 06.21.16

Guest #1 - Derrick Jensen has become one of the nation’s leading voices of cultural and environmental dissent, who writes about civilization devastating impact upon the environment and the natural world, and our society’s denial of that fact. Utne Reader listed Derrick among the 50 visionaries changing the world. In sharp contrast to environmental optimists who believe working within the corporate system will offset the tenuous planetary balance threatened by climate change, Derrick has advocated for many years a “dismantling of civilization” which can include radical dissent as well as imparting wisdom to our children.  Derrick has written many books influential books. His recently released “The Myth of Human Supremacy” may be perhaps be one of his important that goes to heart of the rapid pace in environmental and ecological degradation. He also hosts a weekly radio program, Resistance Radio, on the Progressive Radio Network every Sunday evening at 6:00 pm Eastern time. His website is  www.DerrickJensen.org

Guest #2 - Diana Beresford-Kroeger is an Irish-Canadian researcher, scientist and nature mystic who perhaps knows more about trees and forests than anyone in North America. She is an expert botanist  and medical biochemist who has written extensively on the molecular biology of trees, their medicinal properties, the social interactions between trees and other life forms in our forests, sustainable forestry, and the traditional wisdom trees hold for healing.  Her scientific work has appeared in The American Heart Journal and the Journal of Microscopy.  In past she has held science posts at the Canadian Department of Agriculture and the University of Ottawa School of Medicine.  Diana’s research gardens outside Ottawa, open to the public, include rare plants from Turkey, Iran, China, and a hundred rare types of trees from the northern forests and other countries, many that are endangered.  Her latest book, “The Sweetness of a Simple Life.” And a documentary on Diana’s work across many nations to restore forests, “The Call of the Forest” is scheduled to be released in Fall. More about her work can be found at StuartBernstein.com/DianaBeresford-Kroeger.html