LWVC Initiative and Referendum Study

Helen Hutchison, League of Women Voters of California Board Liaison with that group’s Initiative and Referendum Study, talks about their grassroots efforts to re-consider the proper form and role of these kinds of citizen involvement in the governance process, recorded from Northern California on February 8, 2013.

 

Dr. Matthew Porteus on genetically editing T-cell DNA to fight HIV/AIDS

Dr. Matthew Porteus, associate professor of pediatrics at Stanford Medical School and a pediatric hematologist/oncologist at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, talks with Etopia News host Marc Strassman about using genetic engineering techniques to modify T-cells so that they will be immune to infection by HIV, recorded from Stanford, California, on January 30, 2013.

 

3 cannabis propositions for the Los Angeles municipal ballot

Sam Humeid, Founding Member, President, and CEO of the Perennial Holistic Wellness Center cannabis dispensary in Studio City, explains the differences among the three municipal ballot measures designed to regulate the establishment and operation of cannabis dispensaries throughout the City of Los Angeles, recorded from Studio City, California, on January 26, 2013.

 

Mark Boling at YCELP on hydraulic fracking’s image problems

Mark Boling, President of V+ Development Solutions, a division of Southwestern Energy Company, told a live webinar audience this afternoon that “industry” needs to do a better job explaining the value of hydraulic fracking to a pubic with a justifiable interest in knowing if it’s safe for them and their communities, or not.

The program was organized by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and broadcast via the gotomeeting.com conferencing service starting at 3:00 pm EST on Wednesday, January 23, 2013  It continued until 4:17 pm EST..

Etopia News submitted a written question that seemed to make it to air.  Asked about the availability of technicians with sufficient competence and conscientiousness to successfully manage the complex mechanical systems required by hydraulic fracking to keep it from despoiling the local ambient air and water, Mr. Boling replied that, in certain circumstances, “There is validity to the concern that you might not have the number of qualified people as you would like to have.”

He also said that the qualifications and numbers of inspectors is also an issue.  Providing the funding for adequate inspectorial oversight was seen by him as a key component of that issue.

Other than that, he was pretty sanguine about the utility and safety of hydraulic fracking, and seemed content to see its further expansion in the U.S. and worldwide.

Etopia News’ question about the use of horizontal drilling technology to open up trillions of dollars’ worth of proven petroleum reserves just off the California coast did not make it to air.

The sound quality of the program was loud and clear throughout and the animated graphics very illustrative.