The Elephant in the Room
Join program host and 350 member Tom Ellis as he interviews guests about climate issues from a local, state and regional perspective on our 350 Salem OR radio show, The Elephant in the Room. The program airs on KMUZ Community Radio.
Covanta Marion Waste Incinerator
Mike Ewall, Energy Justice Network
July 2023
Creating Resilience in Our Built Environment through Legislation
Becca Phelps, Unite Oregon, and Neil Baungard, The Environmental Center
April 2023
What Oregonians Need to Know about the Inflation Reduction Act
Nora Apter, Oregon Environmental Council
September 2022
Permaculture Farming in Aridified Farmland
Don Tipping, Permaculture Farmer, Siskiyou Seeds
August 2022
Climate Change Curriculum in Salem Keizer Public Schools
Diana Marquez Guerrero and Jadzia Beard, Stand for Children
August 2022
Salem’s Bike Vision
Virginia Stapleton, Salem City Councilor
July 2022
Implementation Strategy for Salem’s Climate Action Plan
Heather Dimke, Manager, Salem’s Climate Action Subcommittee
June 2022
Green Buildings and “Natural” Gas
Greer Ryan, Climate Solutions
May 2022
Farmers Against Foster Farms Coming to Linn County
Kendra Kimbirauskas, Farmers Against Foster Farms
April 2022
“Growing Gardens” Cultivates More than Food
Jason Skipton, Growing Gardens, Portland
February 2022
Permaculture: How Garden Guilds Grow Food and Build Community
Tom Ellis, 350 Salem OR member (interviewed by Melanie Zermer)
November 2021
Helping Gardeners Prepare for Climate Change
Brooke Edmunds, Extension Service, Oregon State University
October 2021
A Different Approach to Managing Forests
Dr. George Wuerthner, Forest Ecologist and Author
September 2021
Update on Salem’s Climate Action Plan
Patricia Farrell, Project Manager, Salem Climate Action Plan Task Force
August 2021
Drought in the Klamath Basin
Becky Hatfield Hyde, Klamath Basin rancher, writer, consultant
July 2021
Permaculture: From Grass Seed to Sustainable Farming at My Brothers’ Farm
Taylor Larson, Co-owner, My Brothers’ Farm, Eugene
July 2021
Making the Case for a “Steady Economy”
Rob Dietz, Director of the Post Carbon Institute and Co-author of Enough is Enough: Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources
June 2021
Climate Change and Gaia Theory
Martin Ogle, Naturalist and Founder of Entrepreneurial Earth
May 2021
The Interface Between Public Policy, Social Attitudes and the Natural Environment
Joe Bowersox, Professor, Director for Willamette Center for Sustainability, Willamette University
April 2021
Permaculture: Creating Food Forests
Marisha Auerbach, Permaculture Editor, Portland State University
March 2021
Public Health as a Climate Change Issue
Oregon Senator Deb Patterson
March 2021
Seeking Environmental Justice through Legislation
Lisa Arkin, Beyond Toxics
Aimee Okotie-Oyekan, Eugene/Springfield NAACP
February 2021
Promising Future for Solar Energy
Rob Del Mar, Oregon Department of Energy
December 2020
Permaculture Practices at Bethel Heights Winery
Mimi Casteel, Holistic Vintner, Bethel Heights Winery
December 2020
Update on Salem’s Climate Action Plan
Vanessa Nordyke, Salem City Councilor
December 2020
How Salem Can Achieve Its Climate Action Plan Goals
Casey Kopcho, Planning Commissioner, City of Salem
November 2020
How Forest Fires Benefit Forests / Insights About the Recent Wildfires
Ralph Bloemers, Crag Law Center
October 2020
Climate Change as a Public Health Issue
Damon Motz-Storey, Physicians for Social Responsibility
September 2020
Public Transit to Curb Climate Change
Ian Davidson, Chair of the Board, Cherriots
August 2020
Will the Pandemic Affect People’s Attitude and Behavior Around Climate Change?
Janet Lorenzen, Sociology Professor, Willamette University
June 2020
Permaculture: Working With Nature as an Adaptive Response to the Pandemic and Climate Change
Andrew Millison, Horticulture Instructor, Oregon State University
June 2020
Monarch Butterfly Preservation in the Willamette Valley
Stephanie Hazen, Retired Veterinarian and Citizen Scientist
May 2020
How Climate Change Affects Forests / How Federal Agencies and the Timber Industry Contribute to Climate Change
Chandra LeGue, Oregon Wild
April 2020
Environmental Impacts of Covanta Marion Waste Incinerator
Hollie Oakes-Miller, Environmental Science Professor, Portland Community College
Susann Kaltwasser, Environmental Activist
March 2020
Salem’s Climate Action Plan
Tom Anderson, Salem City Councilor
February 2020
Update on Local and State Climate Action
Phil Carver, 350 Salem OR
January 2020
Tom Ellis is a retired professor of English and Humanities who moved to Salem from Hampton, Virginia, after retirement in 2017. He is a lifelong environmental activist, a practicing Buddhist and a permaculture enthusiast.
