This week's episode Court did a deep dive into the dangers of the Dakota Access Pipeline and Line Three. The Dakota Access Pipeline gained media attention in 2016 when the Sioux tribe sued the government over the construction project, its lack of environmental protections, and broken treaties with indigenous nations. Despite the protests the pipeline was built and all lawsuits were eventually (and unfortunately) dropped. We're seeing very recent news that there are active issues with the DAPL pipeline though, and it's undergoing a full environmental review. Now, the current pipeline project underway is called Line 3. This pipeline would travel across the Mississippi river, over 200 other waterways, and miles of marshlands. This land is crucial not only to the First Nation communities that live there, but also to the millions of people who rely on water that passes through it. Do we never learn? Construction of these oil pipelines permanently affects environment and ecosystems, regardless of if there are spills. If there are any spills, this would have massive environmental and ecological ramifications. Why are we taking such risk and continuing to invest in infrastructure for a dying industry? We must protect our water, not protect the pocketbooks of fossil fuel executives. Sign the petition and make your voice hear here: https://www.stopline3.org/take-action Sources: https://conbio.org/publications/scb-news-blog/scientists-sign-letter-against-dakota-access-pipeline https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/federal-court-closes-dakota-access-case-allows-fresh-challenges-2021-06-22/ https://elpc.org/blog/nothing-suggests-line-3-pipeline-can-comply-with-minnesota-water-quality-standards/ https://www.honorearth.org/ https://www.stopline3.org/

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Water Protectors: The Dakota Access Pipeline & Line 3 | EnvironMental Podcast - Fresh Water

This week on the podcast, we start diving into fresh water access. In the US, having access to fresh water is treated like a privilege, especially for poor communities. The clearest example of that is the Flint Water Crisis. aub did a deep dive into the timeline of what happened in Flint - its not pretty. The problem in Genessee County, Michigan hit national and international news in 2016. But by then it had already been almost two years since the water crisis started. aub shares the timeline of events because every step of the way show how severely mishandled this situation was from the start. It shows the blatant disregard for the Flint community. The Flint water crisis is seen as a political scandal now - but that feels like it doesn't do the situation justice. 100,000 PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE CLEAN DRINKING WATER FOR FOUR YEARS. And the story is still unfolding in the aftermath. Corruption, mismanagement, and poisoning of an entire community of people, done for a pennies on the dollar savings venture. The government ignored and gaslit the citizens of Flint, they sidestepped culpability, and treated their city like it was expendable. Would this happen in a white community? In a rich neighborhood? In a low-crime city? No. Absolutely not. References: Flint Stats and US stats from the US Census Bureau. Timeline from NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/20/465545378/lead-laced-water-in-flint-a-step-by-step-look-at-the-makings-of-a-crisis?t=1628953587723 Associated Press timeline: https://apnews.com/article/us-news-health-michigan-rick-snyder-flint-7295d05da09d7d5b1184b0e349545897   The September 2015 health advisory to the citizens of Flint  http://flintwaterstudy.org/2015/09/public-health-advisory-regarding-lead-in-flint-water-from-the-genesee-county-board-of-commissioners/ The 2017 Michigan Civil Rights Commission statement: The Flint Water Crisis: Systemic Racism through the Lens of Flint https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdcr/VFlintCrisisRep-F-Edited3-13-17_554317_7.pdf Evidence of the cover up found: https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2019/04/millions-of-flint-water-documents-found-in-basement-prosecutors-claim.html The most current info on Rick Snyder charges: https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/michigan/2021/03/18/ex-michigan-gov-rick-snyder-loses-challenge-to-flint-water-charges/

The Flint Water Crisis | EnvironMental Podcast

In this episode of EnvironMental we start our investigation into the fresh water crisis we're facing right now.  The gross misuse of water by the energy, agriculture, and fashion industries are leading to a rapidly approaching end of fresh water availability.  This is a major crisis that needs to be addressed now.  Aub and Court chat about current facts, and some very interesting data points around how much water a hamburger requires. (Guess what, it's over 600 gallons PER burger you're eating.) There's much work to be done on a large scale, but individual action can make a difference! Be conscious of your water usage, especially while on vacations. Here are our references for this episode:  https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/freshwater/when-will-the-world-run-out-of-water/story https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/how-much-water-there-earth?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/freshwater-crisis Water Usage Stats: https://www.motherjones.com/food/2015/04/blue-jeans-cars-microchips-water-use/ Uses of water in industry: https://www.aquatechtrade.com/news/industrial-water/industrial-water-essential-guide/

We don't own the Earth or its resources - Diving into the Fresh Water Crisis | EnvironMental Podcast

In this week's conversation about sustainability, we're wrapping up the discussion about Food and Agriculture. This was the biggest topic we've covered so far - the section was 8 weeks long and we didn't get to talk about everything we wanted. In particular, we didn't get to jump into court cases related to farming, commercial agriculture practices, GMOs, or immigrant worker populations. What we did learn leads us to conclude that the planet, and people, have been treated like an assembly line for far too long. We simply cannot continue to rely on the linear systems that we've been operating for more than a century and expect safe, reliable results for the future. The issues are extremely multifaceted and they show up in myriad ways. From the loss of fertility in our soil to desertification to the intentional creation of food deserts and food insecurity. These problems can only truly be solved with holistic priorities like focusing on regenerative agriculture, paying a living wage, healthy community farming techniques, a paradigm shift towards community subsistence first, and cultural education. We decided to transition at this point because there's another topic that needs a holistic view: fresh water. We want to know about limitations, where the water is, how we can live (and operate our businesses) more sustainably, plus we want to talk about places like Flint, Michigan (aub's hometown) where the infrastructure breakdown is poisoning the water supply. Stay tuned!

This planet cannot be treated like an assembly line | EnvironMental Podcast - Food & Agriculture

This is the second week we're talking about the book, Black Food Matters. A collection of interdisciplinary articles written or compiled by Ashanté M. Reese and Hanna Garth We decided to split this up and talk about it over two episodes because this book is an important set of voices sharing the tangible intersection of systemic racism, power, and food culture. This week Court thoughtfully covers the topics around cultural appropriation and food justice on the restaurant scene. These are the chapters we talk about: 6 - Soul Food Gentrification: Food, Racial Heritage Tourism, and the Redevelopment of Black Space in Miami by Billy Hall 7 - “Preserve and Add Flavor”: Barbecue as Resistance in Memphis by Kimberly Kasper 8 - Sisters of the Soil: Urban Agriculture in Detroit by Monica M. White 9 - Race, Land, and the Law: Black Farmers and the Limits of a Politics of Recognition by Willie J. Wright, Tyler McCreary, Brian Williams, and Adam Bledsoe 10 - The Mango Gang and New World Cuisine: White Privilege in the Commodification of Latin-American and Afro-Caribbean Foods by Judith Williams 11 - Afterword: Problematizing the Problem by Psyche Williams-Forso

Black Food Matters pt 2 | EnvironMental Podcast - Food & Agriculture

This is the first of 2 episodes dedicated to the book, Black Food Matters. A collection of interdisciplinary articles written or compiled by Ashanté M. Reese and Hanna Garth   We decided to split this up and talk about it over two episodes because this book is an important set of voices sharing the tangible intersection of systemic racism, power, and food culture.   For this first week, aub shares a thoughtful overview of the first half of the book's articles:  1 - In the Food Justice World but Not of It: Everyday Black Food Entrepreneurship by Ashanté M. Reese  2 - The Intersection of Politics and Food Security in a South Carolina Town by Gillian Richards-Greaves  3 - Nurturing the Revolution: The Black Panther Party and the Early Seeds of the Food Justice Movement by Analena Hope Hassberg  4 - Blackness and “Justice” in the Los Angeles Food Justice Movement by Hanna Garth  5 - Good Food in a Racist System: Competing Moral Economies in Detroit Andrew Newman and Yuson Jung

Black Food Matters pt 1 | EnvironMental Podcast - Food & Agriculture

This week on EnvironMental, aub did a deep dive into food deserts. More than 10% of people in the US live in a food desert, which is a geographic area where access to affordable, healthy food options are limited. Our ability to create and grow food from a centralized place also allowed for things like urban city sprawl and a decrease in rural farms - and with both of these came food deserts. There is no perfect solution for the food desert because every area is unique and we're so used to being separate from our food system, that it will take TIME to implement actual systems of change. Tune in to hear to learn about the prevalence of food deserts and the potential solutions aub found for food deserts around the country. Here are this week's resources: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-are-food-deserts#other-terms https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-food-deserts https://www.aecf.org/blog/exploring-americas-food-deserts https://mymorningmusings.com/?p=129

Food Deserts are all too common | EnvironMental Podcast – Food & Agriculture

This week on EnvironMental, Courtney did a deep dive into food insecurity.   The long and short is that food insecurity is a trap - it's a cycle that is generationally difficult to escape from.   It is highly correlated with high rates of violence and poverty and while there are solutions like using our food waste more wisely, the only real solution for food insecurity is providing a living wage.    Here are Courtney's resources:  - feedingamerica.org  - Feeding Peace: An Investigation of the Relationship between Food Insecurity and Violence - Illinois state university https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=scced  - National Center for Biotechnology Information - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2805706/  - Frontiers in Sustainable food systems - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00016/full

Food Insecurity is a Trap | EnvironMental Podcast – Food & Agriculture

This week on EnvironMental we spoke with Anne Terhorst, Junior Business Developer for Food Tech Brainport, a company that is dedicated to improving food tech to make food production more sustainable.   We talk about the human condition and how even though we can solve a lot of issues with technological advances, we can't make global change without people accepting those advances into their everyday lives.   The reality is that we have big changes to make to our global food system, and those types of changes take time, energy, and intention to implement.   This inspiring conversation left us all with a lot to think about, and if you love it and you have any questions, you can reach out to Anne through LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-terhorst/

We Asked an Expert about the Future of Farming | EnvironMental Podcast - Food & Agriculture

This week on EnvironMental we talk about Farming for the Long Haul by Michael Foley! This book offers a fantastic look at the history of traditional farming and gives actionable advice for how we can transition to growing food within our communities. Would we recommend it? Yes! To anyone who felt like they might want to farm or have a garden that grows food. After reading this, we feel inspired to start growing food and learning more about homesteading techniques that we can share within our communities. Even though we can connect and share information globally, one thing that we notice month over month is that the real solutions to long-term sustainability are based in community -  governance, advocacy, energy, gardening, homesteading, and community living. Over the past 100 years, we have stepped further and further away from our local communities, to the point now where we are losing the hands-on information we will need when fossil fuel energy isn't available to us anymore. So this week, we decided to start trying to think and act in a more community-based way. To take one single step on the journey towards community living - whether that means meeting your neighbors or finding a new homesteading skill to take on - join our little challenge!

Maybe We're Farmers Now? | EnvironMental Podcast | Agriculture

This week on the EnvironMental Podcast, we start talking about food and agriculture. You can tell by the tone of the episode that we’re a little overwhelmed by how big this topic is and how many directions it CAN go in! Here’s the good news: there’s a lot of room for improvement. But the reality we’re living is a little dire. Here are some facts that we want to dive deeper into this month: Food accounts for over a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions Hispanic and African American families are twice as likely to experience food insecurity during the pandemic Food has been losing nutritional value since the 50s And we are wasting 30+% of all the food we grow on a regular basis. Throughout the next months, we also want to talk about the intentional design behind food deserts, get a better understanding of the best ways to balance food growth and consumption (like, how is there so much waste AND so many hungry people?!), and talk about the meat production. This is a huge, huge topic partially because it’s so important for our survival but also because the flaws of the food industry have compounded over time. As big ag has continued to grow, these flaws have become clearer and clearer. Profits over people and planet can’t be the answer on a huge scale anymore! We’re excited to spend this month learning about how broken the system is, and what steps we can take to help improve it! References: https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food https://www.oecd.org/agriculture/topics/agriculture-and-the-environment/ https://civileats.com/2019/08/20/study-finds-farm-level-food-waste-is-much-worse-than-we-thought/ https://moveforhunger.org/the-environmental-impact-of-food-waste https://changeforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Food-Security-vs-Food-Sovereignty.pdf https://bioneers.org/hidden-hunger-does-food-lack-essential-nutrients-zmbz2105/ https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-are-food-deserts

ARE WE FARMING HUNGRY? | EnvironMental Podcast - Food & Agriculture

This week's episode of EnvironMental is a short wrap up of the conversation we have been having around the transition to renewable energy. The long and short of it is that there are so many solutions out there! And the good news is that there are a lot of people are working on them, but the not-so-great truth is that there's no big global plan for the necessary transition to renewable energy. While it is awesome to have a lot of people working on energy solutions, we think this is an important conversation that we should be having more often within our communities in general. Because when it comes to energy usage, there is a lot that we can each do personally to reduce our individual ecological footprint. One of those big energy drains that we can change personally is FOOD WASTE! So we also announced that the next topic we will investigate is food and agriculture! Please subscribe to our channel to stay tuned!

What Even is the Energy Transition? | EnvironMental Podcast

This week we're talking with Tom Vocke (THE Tom!) with Lightyear!  He's an electrical engineer who has been part of the transition to solar energy, especially in cars, since 2011.  We spent time asking about the reality of transitioning to renewable energy - he's optimistic about what is possible!  He told us about the limits of solar energy, what a solar cell is made out of, and why solar is getting cheaper!  Right now, the renewable energy industry has its eyes set on increasing efficiency in solar panels and figuring out how to store electricity more effectively, but the reality is there is room for innovation and systemic change everywhere in the energy industry.  We need to put solar panels on everything, and we need to upgrade to smart meters, and we need to ensure that our current power grids can handle the transition.  There's a lot to be done, and a lot of incredible minds, like Tom's, working together to make it possible!  #solarenergy #renewabletransition #renewableenergy #greenenergy #environmentalpodcast

We asked an expert: Is the transition to solar possible? | EnvironMental Podcast - Changemaker Chat

This week we read the Carbon Boycott by Samuel Avery Do we think it's possible to boycott carbon? Yes. Do we think it's going to be easy? No. In his book, Sam gives several examples of times throughout human history that we've made huge societal changes for the betterment of our society - from the  Boston tea party to the civil rights movement to the end of apartheid. We ARE capable of the type of boycott that this book calls for. The carbon boycott is a slow, steady change that we are dedicated to. That we need to work on together individually and in communities. Because the truth is that the availability of fossil fuels is dwindling. That means we need to think about the energy issue as "renewable energy VS. no energy." NOT "renewable energy VS. fossil fuel energy." And the more we transition now, the easier it will be when we don't have fossil fuels anymore. So how can you take part in the boycott? 1 - Eat less meat. This isn't to say that tomorrow you need to be vegan, but meat production is a massive source of carbon in our atmosphere. 2 - Consider how your other meals make it to you - are they locally sourced? Are they coming from far away? How are they packaged? What can you grow yourself? 3 - Look at your investments. Trace them back to their source, are you supporting the fossil fuel giants? Stop those investments and shift them to a renewable source. 4 - Look into the potential energy sources. Can you pay for your house to be supplied by solar or wind energy? Can you buy solar panels for your house? 5 - Join or create a community that is dedicated to helping with policy change or community/city migration to renewable energy. 6 - Make the big transitions when you're making big life changes. When you get a new car, go for electric. When you move or renovate your house, consider heat pumps and solar energy. All of these steps help us to move towards less reliance on fossil fuel energy and will make the transition to renewables more smooth! It can be done!!

Can we Boycott Carbon? | EnvironMental Podcast - Energy Transition

This week we're leaving the topic of dirty energy and fossil fuels behind to start talking about the necessary transition to renewables. We split up and independently answered some questions, and then shared it with each other on this week's podcast. Aub went first and talked about where we are in the transition and what kind of plan we have in place. There's a lot of information out there about this and to make the long story short - we're gaining in renewables for electricity, but buildings (heating and emissions) and travel are still big issues for the transition. While there are a lot of people focused on individual solutions, there's no overarching plan, and no one taking charge of this transition. There are a lot of pieces missing in the political and environmental priorities, like how we need to invest in improving the efficiency of the current infrastructure while we find new, renewable sources of energy. Or how subsidies for fossil fuels are still double (or more) the subsidies given to renewable sources. Courtney picked it up from there, sharing information about energy democracy and a few companies that are dedicated to putting people of color in leadership positions. She said, "We can't expect to have clean energy solutions without having clean election solutions." And this beautifully sums up the discussion. She shared information about "energy cooperatives" and how this feels like something new, but there are actually quite a few already! The heads of the power companies in these regions bank on the fact that people never even know that they have decision power in their community's energy source. Next week we're going to continue this conversation by reading a book called The Carbon Boycott; A Path to Freedom from Fossil Fuels By Samuel Avery. We have moved away from using Amazon to find our audiobook sources because Mr. Bezos, respectfully, doesn't need our dollars (or yours) so here's our link to Libro, a site that makes it possible for you to buy audiobooks through your local bookstore: https://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm282860 Here are our sources for this episode: Transition updates, plans, and efficiency https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/6/18/18681591/renewable-energy-china-solar-pv-jobs https://www.energy.gov/eere/analysis/energy-efficiency-vs-energy-intensity https://www.iea.org/reports/the-critical-role-of-buildings https://www.resilience.org/stories/2020-05-20/nobody-takes-the-renewable-energy-transition-seriously/ Microgrids https://microgridknowledge.com/microgrid-defined/ greentechmedia.com/articles/read/lessons-learned-from-californias-pioneering-microgrids Energy Democracy The webinar Courtney mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Foh7HMthX1w PDF https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/sonst_publikationen/Energy-democracy-in-Europe.pdf Asian Pacific organization working on BIPOC leadership training http://apen4ej.org/

EnvironMental Podcast - Transitioning to Renewable Energy - Research

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