EcoJustice Radio

The truth about the US Indian boarding school policy has largely been written out of the history books. Started in the 1800s across the US and Canada, Indian Boarding schools were government-funded and often church-run. The goal? Forced assimilation of Native children into white society under the belief of “Kill the Indian, Save the Man,” which still contributes to how we see and treat Indigenous...

Missing from most conversations on the current immigration crisis is the role that racism and climate change play on people rendered unable to subsist and prosper due to the degradation of their lands and waters. We must also consider the history of military dominance and regime change in these hard hit countries as a means to facilitate trade and resource extraction for multinational corporations...

With growing interest in farming and regeneration of the soil using compost, now is the time to get back to the land -- and simultaneously mitigate greenhouse gases by utilizing excess food waste and yard trimmings. Nevertheless, with most people residing in cities, largely disconnected from Nature coupled with the inter-generational loss of ancestral traditions and practices around growing food a...

Many times the needs of non disabled people are prioritized, leaving the disabled community the last to be considered. During times of crisis such as climate change, intensified storms, droughts, and fire or conflict driven migration issues, those with disabilities can lack accessibility and have some of the greatest challenges to evacuation, adaptation, and financial and structural needs. In envi...

If you own something, shouldn’t you be able to take it to a technician of your choice or fix it yourself and be given access to the parts, tools, and service information necessary? Seems like a reasonable ask, but this isn’t always the case. Large corporations, like Apple, have enacted a trillion dollar lobbying campaign against the consumers ability to repair their own devices, fueling the fastes...

The Joshua tree is an icon and ecological keystone of the California deserts. However, climate disruption with hotter, drier summers and more frequent brush fires, threatens that some day soon Joshua Tree National Park will no longer have any Joshua trees. In fact, many other important desert plants and animals face an uncertain future. There exist so many unique symbiotic relationships, from the...

Many witnessed the unprecedented loss of ancient Giant Sequoia groves in the 2020 Castle Fire in Sierra Nevada, California, the only natural habitat for Sequoias on Earth. Coastal Redwoods were also gravely impacted by lightning-induced fires in August 2020. We must act fast to reforest our wild spaces and protect our imperiled old-growth forests. Our guest today, David Milarch, Co-Founder of Arch...

California's most distinctive wildland hosts a wide array of plant and animal life found nowhere else on Earth. It stretches from the coastal foothills to the interior mountains. But these rugged woody shrublands are undervalued and underappreciated, and repeated and ongoing attempts have been made to eradicate chaparral from the landscape. Why? Some believe it not aesthetically pleasing, others f...

Green banking, responsible investing in ecosystem protection and planting projects, provides immense environmental benefits. Moreover, it creates livelihoods and gives communities a chance to move toward economic independence, making it a win-win solution for both people and our planet.

 Listen to the interview with Tom Duncan, CEO & Founder of Earthbanc [https://earthbanc.io/] the world’s first...

Modern conveniences have real consequences. In order to accommodate the massive increase in online shopping, Big Retailers like Target, Amazon, Walmart, Ikea, have necessitated a fossil-fueled goods movement industry, shipping manufactured goods from abroad into ports on the coasts (like Los Angeles and Long Beach). Via diesel-spewing trucks and trains, products are then transferred to sprawling w...

Oceans cover roughly 70% of planet Earth, and they are in rapid decline. Impacted by human-induced climate change, pollution, dredging and overfishing, the world’s oceans are crying out for our attention. On today's show, we consider seaweed and the potential of stewardship-driven, regenerative ocean farming or ocean restoration through marine permaculture. We speak with Leslie Booher, Co-Founder...

Spoken-word poetry can be a powerful art form of personal testimony, of protest, of activating on social and environmental concerns. On this show, we look into poetry artivism, the mixing of art and activism, where words can become catalysts intended to change the way people envision their world and act within it. Awa Ndiaye [https://www.humanitei.art/about] is a spoken word poet whose work explor...

Now more than ever, we need ancestral wisdom and ancient skills to balance our technological lifestyles, and stir up a new way of being human. Our guest Chris Morasky, one of the top Stone Age skills experts in the US and co-founder of the Wisdom Keepers School [https://www.wisdomkeepers.us], works to inspire contemporary humans to create regenerative lifestyles and build communities engaging in b...

Communities of color facing racial prejudice and social injustice are looking to urban farming to solve problems of food insecurity and mass incarceration. Alma Backyard Farms [https://www.almabackyardfarms.com] fosters a connection to the land as a new kind of re-entry restorative justice for formerly incarcerated people, their families, and the communities in which they live. In this episode, Ri...

Urban bee farms of Detroit are not only rebuilding honey bee populations, they are also rebuilding the city and uplifting the community. Since 1950, 61% of Detroit’s population has moved away in hopes for better opportunities. Whole neighborhoods in the inner-city have been abandoned, leaving overgrown lots and social issues for those who chose to stay. Urban beekeeping happens to be one of the so...

The Lakota people are reclaiming and regenerating Indigenous Ecosystems while exercising their sovereignty as the original stewards of the Black Hills region of South Dakota. The Wolakota Buffalo Range [http://www.rosebudbuffalo.org/], a project of the Rosebud Economic Development Corp. (REDCO) [http://www.sicangucorp.com/], is fulfilling the vision of reconnecting buffalo (bison) to their rightfu...

On our 100th episode, we discuss how adopting queer ecology principles can assist in the healing of relations with people and planet, uniting of movements, and solving the climate emergency facing us today. In order to solve social and ecological problems, environmentalists (et al) must disrupt heterosexist notions and reimagine nature, biology, and sexuality. Queering ecology is the act of broade...

Listen to our discussion with Danielle Stevenson, applied mycologist and founder of DIY Fungi [https://diyfungi.blog/] - she teaches and consults on growing mushrooms for food, medicine, and Earth Renewal. In this episode, Danielle discusses the innovative potential of mycoremediation to digest, transform or hyperaccumulate the toxicity of heavy metals, radioactive metals, "forever" chemicals, die...

Can a major metropolitan city offer the blueprint for 100% clean, renewable energy portfolio, all the while ensuring that their climate efforts elevate community demands? Are the solutions affordable to all and ensure worker justice and well-paying jobs? Listen to our discussion on achieving the Los Angeles goal of 100% renewable energy by the year 2045 (or even 2035) and starting the first ever C...

Listen in to our discussion with Greg Reese, co-founder of Sea + Soil [https://www.seaandsoil.org/] and creator of the 1000 Tiny Farms project [http://www.1000tinyfarms.com/]. A program working to cultivate a regional regenerative network of market gardens, share resources between farmers, and encourage people who have a desire to farm but don’t know how to start their own tiny farm. *Greg Reese i...

Have you heard of the Death Cycle of Plastic (vs the life cycle)? Our guests talk solutions and actions from current Congressional legislation and to a new report shining a light on the environmental justice impacts. What about Zero Waste; should it be reclaimed and restructured? And how do we decipher real solutions from false (that just promote more waste and social impacts)? Plastic seems to be...

The 51-mile Los Angeles River, more known for its barren stretches of concrete, is undergoing a long-term Master Planned greening and revitalization. Big questions remain about how to restore biodiversity, provide water resiliency in the face of climate disruption, and protect the local neighborhoods from green gentrification that has already presented problems along sections of the river. On this...

LISTEN to our discussion with the lead architectural designer for the firm Biotonomy [https://www.biotonomy.com/] using a holistic and Nature-based approach for buildings and cities to address the climate and biodiversity emergency. Rather than abandon crowded urban areas for sustainable living, great potential remains in re-envisioning buildings and cities in ways that work with, rather than agai...

We are seeing a burgeoning interest in all things fungi, from consumption to materials-making, mushroom cultivation, fungal ecology and myco-remediation, particularly because fungi bear and represent resiliency, adaptability, and the potential to transform and utilize life as it is. Fungi possess the unique ability to decompose and recompose life itself. This episode reveals interdisciplinary arti...

Given the state of the environment, whether discussing soil health, biodiversity, food production, air quality, the impacts of climate change, or sanity and solace, it is critical now for humanity to embrace trees. Trees are essential to restoration of ourselves and the planet. Many of us are acutely aware of forest degradation and widespread deforestation attributed to commercial agriculture (con...