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TODAY WE’RE TALKING COFFEE with JOHN RIPPO
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Climate crisis, economics, roasting coffee, local roasters and coffee in San Diego and always much more.
John Rippo publishes www.theespresso.com, a site that engages San Diego’s coffee trades and provides daily information to consumers about local coffee roasters.
Jun 24, 2026
| On America’s 250th, CA wildlife refuges honor natural wondersThe United States will turn a quarter of a millennium old next week, a time to celebrate and recognize what makes America truly great. California environmental groups say wildlife refuges are a key piece of the national fabric and should be remembered during America’s anniversary. Comments from Jeff Aardahl, wildlife biologist and a senior representative in California, Defenders of Wildlife. |
As the U.S. prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary next week, conservation groups said national wildlife refuges remain essential to preserving the country’s natural beauty.
California’s 43 refuges span 1.6 million acres. Congress established the National Wildlife Refuge System 60 years ago, and it has grown to more than 570 sites nationwide.
Jeff Aardahl, a wildlife biologist and California senior representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said cuts from the Trump administration’s Department of Governmental Efficiency are hampering the system’s mission.
“Operational budgets have been reduced,” Aardahl pointed out. “The number of wildlife biologists, interpreters and refuge managers have also been reduced. So the National Wildlife Refuge System now is under great stress.”
California’s refuges span every corner of the state from south to north, with protected lands from San Diego Bay to Humboldt Bay, from the Salton Sea to Clear Lake. Several refuges, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley, are struggling because they depend on water allocations from the federal Bureau of Reclamation, which has prioritized water deliveries to farmers and urban areas in Southern California.
Aardahl noted the wildlife refuges, along with 262 protected areas designated by the state, shelter thousands of fragile species.
“These refuges support many imperiled native species like the southern sea otter, checkerspot and monarch butterflies, red-legged frog, San Joaquin kit fox, gray wolf, and California condor, which is endangered,” Aardahl outlined.
Much of the funding for the refuges comes directly through congressional appropriations to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Additional funding comes from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the future of which is tied to the America the Beautiful Act, a bipartisan bill currently before the U.S. Senate.
Suzanne Potter is a journalist with 30 years of experience as a reporter for TV, radio and print news. She spent 15 years as a local TV news reporter in Palm Springs, CA and Providence, RI. She earned a B.A. in Mass Communications from UC Berkeley and spent a year at the Sorbonne in Paris. She lives in Palm Desert, CA, is married with four children and is a longtime leader with the Boy Scouts of America
FRIENDLY FIRE with Don Kimball Wed 7pm, Sat 2pm
A Voice for Veterans
Guest CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON, formerly of Greenpeace
Don and Paul are in conversation about the perils of the latest war in the Middle East to the oceans and to the planet.
About Captain Paul Watson–formerly of Greenpeace, the Sea Shepherd Conversation Society and the star of the reality TV series Whale Wars. Now the head of the Paul Watson Foundation.
TALK OF THE TOWN with Mike Aguirre LIVE Call-In Show Sat 11am
OFF SHORE OIL DRILLING IN SAN DIEGO?
RICHARD CHARTER
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Richard Charter spent much of his early childhood growing up among the tidepools of the Northern California coast. He currently directs the Local Government OCS Coordination Program, a project of the County of Santa Cruz, continuing four decades of professional dedication to protecting fragile marine ecosystems. Richard engaged with four Administrations in Washington and multiple Members of Congress to maintain the bipartisan 27-year annual renewal of the offshore drilling moratorium that long protected the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as Florida’s Gulf Coast and Panhandle from expanded offshore oil and gas leasing.
Richard coordinated the local government support leading to the designation of California’s Greater Farallones, Cordell Bank, Channel Islands, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries and helped secure a declaration of permanent protection from offshore drilling for Alaska’s fishery-rich Bristol Bay in 2015.
Richard is currently working to coordinate local government and public responses to the current Trump Five-Year Offshore Drilling Plan, to protect California’s Marine Sanctuaries, and to address the emerging global threat posed by seabed mining. He is co-producer of the award-winning documentary film on seabed mining, “Defend the Deep”, which can be viewed online at http://TheDeepMovie.org
For those wishing to participate in the current campaign to protect the California Coast from offshore drilling, his project’s website is http://SaveMyCoast.org
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Sunday 10am
Latest science, authors, issues – from climate change, oceans, forests, pollution, solar storms, the economy, and peace. Ready for re-broadcast, computer, iPod, or mp3 player. As heard on over 104 non-profit radio stations in 5 countries.
Alex Smith – photo by Philip Smeltzer
About Alex Smith
Host of syndicated weekly Radio Ecoshock Show – the cutting edge with top scientists, authors and activists. Fourteen years on the air as of 2020. Previously a researcher for global environment group, print journalist, homesteader, world-traveler, and private investigator.
Mo & We 6am, Tues 3:30pm
Sea Change Radio is a nationally syndicated weekly radio show and podcast focused on the shift to environmental and economic sustainability.