I feel overwhelmed by energy-related issues and questions about energy costs and usage — where the energy in my home comes from, how I could break out of the cycle of relying on non-renewlable energy sources and branch out into using greener options and whether those options are really as green as people say.
Tonight, Monday May 11, Green Hour Radio, which explores environmental issues pertaining the wider Delaware Valley region, will be addressing these issues in this week’s show entitled “Energy Options for the Future.” Host, Gery Juleff, his two co-hosts Kathleen Biggins and John Gattuso, along with special guests will help answer these questions and more. The show will feature expert guests Jeff Tittel, Director of the Sierra Club of New Jersey, Joe Forline, VP for Customer Solutions at PSE&G and Matt Walker, Community Outreach Director at the Clean Air Council in Pennsylvania.
I had the chance to sit down with Gery Juleff, the host of The Green Hour radio show. Juleff, originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland, worked for the British Foreign Service for 25 years, mainly in Africa and Brazil, specializing in law and foreign policy on climate change.
“This got me thinking about climate change and environmental issues more widely,” said Juleff.
While in Brazil, Juleff and his wife even owned a small farm trying to make it sustainable and organic. Juleff has also undertaken consultancy work for Imperial College, London, and worked as a renewable energy representative. In 2012, Juleff moved to New Jersey for family reasons and is currently a trustee with the Sourlands Conservancy and is involved with D&R Greenway.
The idea behind The Green Hour came about when Juleff was at a networking event in Lambertville. The host of the event had just started with internet radio and was searching for valuable content.
“I was to bring to the show a global perspective,” said Juleff. “I know enough about a lot of things to ask the right questions and identify the right speakers. And I am curious because I want to know, myself.”
The vision for The Green Hour, which is sponsored by Duke Farms, is that it would to create a means to educate and inspire people on issues both local and global concerning the environment and sustainability, including energy, the economy and business, technology, food and farming, health and education. Through intelligent and thoughtful balance discussions with leaders and experts from different perspectives, it is also meant to be a resource for the non-profit environmental community. One of the topics the show has tackled is the PennEast pipeline.
“This area already has a rich vibrant environmental community,” said Juleff. “One of the things we want to do is to reach beyond the traditional ‘green community’ including businesses, which are part of the problem but also part of the solution. There are costs and benefits to certain decisions — for climate change for example – the economic cost for climate change in the region.”
You can tune in at 6pm on Monday nights at 6pm on www.panjradio.com or following days at 3 and 6pm. Also, if you want to help out, The Green Hour team could always use some help with social media and is always happy to get ideas for shows.
