Download entire double CD here. A zip file of mp3 63.52MB in total.
Interviews with Helena Norberg-Hodge
Planetary
Voices Radio
Learning from Ladakh - Helena Norberg-Hodge on how the development that
changed "Little Tibet" can shape our thinking.
Michael O'Callaghan’s interviews with
Helena Norberg-Hodge filmed at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development
in 2002, available to watch online at Big Picture TV. On the site you will find the following five clips:
Sustainable
Economics
Helena Norberg-Hodge talks about corporate-led globalization. She explains
how governments across the political spectrum pander to private sector
demands, often at the expense of smaller businesses. Deregulation and
subsidies mean that big business is driving farmers and other small
enterprises into extinction. Many small businesses are forced to merge
in order to survive, thereby creating a stress-ridden corporate culture
based on survival of the biggest. What is needed, Norberg-Hodge says,
is the globalization of an awareness that a sustainable economy ultimately
depends on the health of the world’s natural and social environment.
She notes that this is already happening as diverse interest groups
link up to form an unprecedented united front against the status quo.
Local
Food (Part One)
In the first of this two-part series, Helena Norberg-Hodge talks about
the benefits supporting the local food economy can bring to consumers
and producers. By reducing food miles, consumers can help ease climate
change and support the livelihoods of local farmers. While local farms
struggle to compete with giant agribusinesses, small farmers everywhere
are also having to meet costly regulatory requirements brought about,
in many cases, by the polluting practices of their much larger competitors.
This means spending money they don‚t have. So find and support a local
farmer‚s market and bring the food economy home
Local
Food (Part two)
In the second part of this two-part series, Helena Norberg-Hodge explains
why supporting the local food economy needn‚t mean we stop buying coffee,
tropical fruits and other items flown in from many miles away. Consumers
can be more aware of the origins of their staple foods ˆ that way they
can make conscious choices to support local growers where possible.
This cuts down on pollution and transportation costs and offers a host
of other advantages to consumers and small producers alike.
Why GM
Won't Solve Hunger
Many Bio-tech companies market their GM seeds by claiming that GM is
the answer to world hunger. Here, Norberg-Hodge explains how these profit-driven
behemoths are in reality preventing third-world farmers from planting
native seeds they have used for generations. She also cites the lack
of in depth risk assessment as a reason for putting the technology on
hold.
Roots
of Fundamentalism
Helena Norberg-Hodge looks at the root causes of much of the terrorism
and ethnic violence we have witnessed in recent years. She sees the
problem as being one of economics. Greater and greater competition is
forcing smaller businesses into bankruptcy while others merge in order
to survive. Jobs are being lost all around the world, creating a climate
of stress and instability. The friction that results leads violence
in some countries as national governments often favour specific ethnic
groups. This is exacerbated as exported western values erode local cultural
identity.
