EcoJustice Radio

What is meant by “Decolonization?” Not only of our institutions, but also of thoughts and behaviors directly influenced by the residuals of colonization. Listen to Marria Evbuoma of [https://racetozerowaste.org/] and Richmond District Rising [https://www.facebook.com/richmonddistrictrising/] as she explores the meaning and importance of decolonizing thoughts, actions, and spaces. How do we recogni...

In 2014, The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that global soils were degrading at an alarming rate and predicted that there might only be 60 harvests left before the world's topsoil and soil fertility was basically eradicated. While there is some disagreement around this assessment, most will concur that continuing soil degradation at current rates will further exac...

“Sustainable Palm Oil” is deceiving and does not ensure ethical ingredients. Palm oil is everywhere – in our foods, cosmetics, cleaning products, and fuels. It’s a source of huge profits for multinational corporations, while at the same time destroying the rich biodiversity of tropical rainforests and the livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and small landholders. Displacement of indigenous Peoples,...

An agreement announced in November 2020 paves the way for demolition of four hydroelectric dams on the Lower Klamath River, the largest dam demolition in U.S. history. This would reopen hundreds of miles of waterway along the Oregon-California border to Chinook and Coho Salmon restoration, critical and sacred to tribes but have dwindled to almost nothing in recent years. In this episode, Regina Ch...

In this episode, hear from emboldened and empowered youth activists, Alexis (Lex) Saenz and Yulu Wek of the International Indigenous Youth Council [http://www.indigenousyouth.org]. Listen to their stories of reclaiming and living into their cultural identities, empowering community, preparing for non-violent direct action, engaging in artivism, fulfilling the 7 Demands for 7 Generations, modeling...

TUNE IN to Part 3 of “The Amazon Defenders.” In this episode, we focus on the Eastern Amazon and the Brazilian Rainforest where the issues of deforestation, road development, forest fires, cattle ranching, land invasion, soy farming, mining, and COVID-19 are integrally impacting the health and viability of the rainforest and its peoples. We hear about the vital stewardship by an Indigenous-led mov...

The urgency of our times is leading a “back to the land” consciousness shift inspired by Indigenous worldviews where urban people once again grow their own food and reconnect to the natural cycles of sun, water and soil. Regenerative agriculture refers to a type of farming that employs a culture of reciprocity, respect, and interrelations with all beings, going beyond organic to actively regenerat...

EcoJustice Radio celebrates the land and water protectors of the Amazon Rainforest in a Four-Part series called Amazon Defenders. In Part Two, we investigate the story of New York based attorney Steven Donziger [http://donzigerdefense.com] who represented Ecuadorian communities demanding justice from Chevron-Texaco for one of the largest-ever oil disasters, where they deliberately dumped more than...

Native peoples have used the tool of fire as medicine. Fire was understood to be a spirit, a healer and sacred in its own right. Traditional Native controlled burning, called cultural fire, utilizes ancient agro-forestry practices, technology developed through time by the Karuk tribe and Indigenous Peoples around the world. Tune in to hear Elizabeth Azzuz, Secretary of Cultural Fire Management Cou...

EcoJustice Radio celebrates the land and water protectors of the Amazon Rainforest in a Four-Part series called Amazon Defenders. We begin Part One in the Western Amazon to understand how activists are confronting the dirty legacy of oil extraction, stopping the expansion of new oil leases, and protecting the rainforest biodiversity. Our guest Paul Paz y Miño, Associate Director of Amazon Watch [h...

Today we seek to gain a broader understanding of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Though a Russia- and Turkey-backed ceasefire agreement was signed, the people of Armenia are unhappy as it cedes a significant portion of the southern part of the Republic of Artsakh (also known as Nagorno-Karabakh). On Sept. 27, 2020 Azerbaijan attacked the disputed territory and a proclaimed independent...

Recently, the City of Los Angeles public utility admitted that its Valley Generating Station had been leaking methane gas into the community for three years. Pacoima Beautiful [https://pacoimabeautiful.org/], a grassroots organization that had been working for decades for environmental justice for the San Fernando Valley, stepped up to organize protests. Gas plant neighbors include Sun Valley and...

This week we speak with Peter McCoy, Founder of Mycologos [https://mycologos.world/pages/founder], the world's first mycology school, and Founder and Creative Director of Radical Mycology, a mushroom and fungi advocacy foundation. He and host Carry Kim discuss the grassroots movement and social philosophy behind using regenerative natural mushroom farming to promote ecological restoration and crea...

Listen to applied mycologist, educator, and ecosystem restoration practitioner Taylor Bright [https://www.instagram.com/symbiiotica/], speak in detail about post-fire remediation and regeneration, particularly mycoremediation, where fungi-based technology is used to decontaminate the environment and heal the water and soil. Since August 2020, hundreds of fires have burned and are still burning in...

Hear Permaculture Designer/Educator & consultant Matthew Trumm of Treetop Permaculture [http://www.facebook.com/ttpermaculture] discuss lessons learned during the Camp Fire which burned through the town of Paradise, California, in November 2018. At the time, it was the most devastating wildfire in California history, burning 240 square miles in its wake. Given current wildfires burning now in Wash...

The events of 2020, from the pandemic to the uprising, have made the upcoming election a pivotal moment in time. In particular, the Black and Brown communities of South Los Angeles, facing generations of systemic racism and growing inequality, demand a new way forward with political leaders having the opportunity to bring forward solutions to police violence, environmental injustice, and social an...

Our guests discuss the history of water upon Tongvalands aka Los Angeles: from free-flowing rivers to concrete-engineered flood control and back again. Hear about the historical impacts of channelization, the formation of dams and the current movement toward dam removal across Turtle Island (aka. the Americas). Once an unbridled, seasonal river wending from the mountains to the ocean, by the 1960s...

TUNE IN! Guests Andrea Leon-Grossmann from AZUL [http://azul.org/en/] and Conner Everts from Southern California Watershed Alliance discuss the proposal by Poseidon Water Company to build a $1 billion desalination plant in Huntington Beach, California. When the price tag is more than 2x the cost of our current water system, is desal necessary? Can existing and future conservation opportunities pro...

Tune in as we welcome Caroline Ward Holland, a Tribal citizen of the Fernandeño Band of Mission Indians or Tataviam Nation, as she speaks on the ongoing movement to topple controversial Mission monuments and mythologies. She recounts with host Carry Kim her Walk for the Ancestors [http://walkfortheancestors.org/] in 2015, a pilgrimage she embarked upon with her son, Kagen Holland, to honor the Anc...

Guest Kwazi Nkrumah from the MLK Coalition for Greater Los Angeles [http://mlkcoalitionforjobsjusticeandpeace.org/] discusses with host Jessica Aldridge how unity and mass mobilization across all movements is necessary for social change and an equitable future. He speaks to how we effectively do this in an inclusive manner across interests and issues that considers priorities, roadblocks, and bett...

Martha Arguello of Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles [https://www.psr-la.org/] discusses with host Jessica Aldridge neighborhood oil drilling, the call for a 2,500 ft. health and safety buffer, and how community mobilization is addressing the climate emergency and ensuring public health and environmental protection. Martha leads the coalition Stand Together Against Neighborhood Dril...

Hear Kumu Mikilani Young from United Pillars of Aloha [http://www.unitedpoa.com/] & her student, Kayla Session, discuss the momentum and ultimate purpose behind the current generation of youth rising up to protect Sacred Places, mountains, waters and indigenous lifeways. A native Hawaiian, born and raised in Hawai'i, Kumu Mikilani has taught Hula and chanting classes for twenty years and is the fo...

Coral Vita’s Sam Teicher discusses the urgent status of the world's coral reefs and how we can restore them by rapidly and effectively growing climate-change resilient coral. The world's first land-based coral farm, Coral Vita [https://coralvita.co/], aims to help scale up reef restoration globally using breakthrough technologies and nature-based solutions, including micro-fragmentation and assist...

Reverend Eddie Anderson discusses the People’s Budget Los Angeles [https://peoplesbudgetla.com/] with our host Jessica Aldridge. He defines what it means to re-imagine policing and public safety, and how to ensure reinvestment back into Black communities. The institutions that run the USA continue to benefit from the repercussions of long-standing, systemic oppression and racism. How do we reinven...

Listen to Rene Mims and Jaijae Kabasa, respected elders, community leaders and musicians coming to us from The World Stage [http://theworldstage.org/] in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park. They share with our host Carry Kim deep ruminations on the past 21 generations of African American enslavement, the seeds of racism, and how it continues unabated today. Rather than perpetuating and reciprocating with h...