In Our Backyard Podcast

Kathy Andrews is an advocate, real estate agent, and property owner. She and others are fighting Dominion Energy, a private company, who wants to build a huge pipeline through her and her neighbor’s land. Some of the land Dominion wants to go through is heirs property, the land of working class residents, and rural property bordering the Great Pee Dee River in Florence County- Pamplico, South Caro...

Kevin Kamps is the Radioactive Waste Specialist with Beyond Nuclear. He specializes in high-level waste management and transportation; new and existing reactors; decommissioning; Congress watch; climate change; and federal subsidies. Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our f...

Dr. Andrew George, is a Community Engagement Scientist and professor at UNC Chapel Hill, his professional focus is community engagement in environmental problem-solving, democratic decision-making, environmental justice, and well-water resources. Citizen Science (CS), also known as "crowdsourcing" or "crowd-sourced science," is the growing practice of public involvement in the gathering, analyzing...

Don Shafer is with the Tennessee Environmental Council and resident SMR expert. SMR or SMNR stand for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors,they are nuclear fission reactors that are slated to be built at a smaller size but in larger numbers than most of the world’s current nuclear fleet. “small” because they generate a maximum of about 30 percent as much power as typical current reactors, and “modular”...

Debbie Hall, Donna Strickland, and Keely Wood, they are all members of EnvironmentaLEE or ELEE for short which is a chapter of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. ELEE is dedicated to preventing fracking and to protecting the environment and educating the public about environmental issues where they live in Lee County, NC. Mineral rights which are property rights to exploit an area for th...

Jamie Satterfield is an investigative journalist specializing in law and crime with the Knoxville News Sentinel. She’s been a journalist for 28 years and has been crucial in exposing the truth with everything involving the Kingston Coal Ash Spill. The Kingston Coal Ash spill, it is the worst coal ash disaster in U.S. history. In 2008, a levee ruptured at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Coal...

Sharon Ponton is the Stop the Pipelines Campaign Coordinator with us at BREDL and then George Jones is a student at Paine College studying History and is an intern with BREDL. Heird Properties are when, deeds were written where entire families, including children, owned properties and then the owner(s) died without a will, therefore, hundreds of their descendants today could own the property in co...

David Lamfrom is the Southeast Regional Director of the National Parks Conservation Association, he uses his passion and knowledge of our natural, cultural and historical resources to inspire others to learn about and protect our national parks. We talk about some of the various campaigns he’s worked on and now is overseeing in the Southeast, bedrock environmental laws, inclusion and diversity wit...

Garry Morgan is one of the founding members of Bellefonte Efficiency & Sustainability Team or BEST for short and local expert of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). We talk about the background and structure of the TVA, who provide electricity for 10 million people in parts of 7 southeastern states. We discuss TVA’s relationship with nuclear and then specifically their Bellefonte Nuclear Pla...

Gustavo Andrade is the Organizing Director with Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ). He is a community organizer, trainer, strategist and advocate for full rights for all people. And previously, Gusatvo worked as a labor organizer with UNITE HERE! and the Change To Win coalition, leading successful campaigns in Northern Virginia, Los Angeles and Toronto.  We discuss why communit...

David Nimer is a Masters student at Duke University studying Environmental Economic Policy and was the Pipeline and Finance Researcher intern with us at BREDL. He is researching the regulations surrounding how pipelines are approved and specifically regarding how rates of return on equity (ROE) are guaranteed to pipeline developers. We discuss David’s research,  how economics of pipelines pla...

In this episode I talk with Ian Zabarte who is the Principle Man of the Western Bands of the Shoshone Nation of Indians and works with the Native Community Action Council. He lives in Las Vegas, NV and has worked on nuclear issues for 30+ years. We specifically talk about Yucca Mountain so before we go further I wanted to give you some background information, the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repos...

This episode I have a conversation with Lisa Sorg who is an Environmental Reporter for N.C. Policy Watch. She covers environmental issues, including social justice, pollution, climate change and energy policy. Lisa has been a journalist for 22 years, working at magazines, daily newspapers, digital media outlets and alternative newsweeklies. We talk about her experience as an environmental reporter...

This episode I talk with Al and Debbie who are co-chairs of Northampton County Citizens Against Coal Ash Chapter. We start by talking about the current coal ash dumps and their effects in their rural community and then how they fought a proposed 850+ acre coal ash dump from coming in by an investor called Vista Green. We talk about the dangers of coal ash, the significance of county-wide zoning, e...

This episode I talk with Ralph Hutchinson who is the coordinator of The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance. OREPA is committed to nonviolence and believes in using every tool in the toolbox. Their main focus is stopping nuclear weapons production at the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and protecting the environment threatened by legacy and ongoing activities at the Oak Rid...

This episode I talk with Greg Barnes, who is an investigative journalist with NC Health News. Greg has been instrumental in exposing problems with regulating PFAS and 1,4 dioxane. He breaks down the importance / dangers of PFAS, and how industries have been using them since the 40's but there are now increasingly high levels in North Carolina water systems causing adverse health effects. We also t...

This episode I have a conversation with Cherie and Tom who are founding members of the Rabun Gap Chapter in Rabun Gap, GA. We discuss the multitude of environmental justice issues that are happening in the Appalachian community. The main issue we discuss is Rabun Apparel which is a textile mill containing heavy contamination. We also talk about a biomass plant and improper agricultural practices a...

This episode I have a conversation with Elizabeth O’Nan, chair of Chapel Hill Organization for Clean Energy (CHOCE). We talk about The University of North Carolina’s reliance on coal as an energy source, what ‘clean’ energy means, how CHOCE is taking action, and what sets CHOCE apart from other organizations fighting this coal plant. Links to all the articles we referenced :    https://w...

This episode will explain what Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) does and how we operate as an organization. For more information and see if there is a chapter near you check out BREDL.org   Background Music Credits: https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Welcome to In Our Backyard Podcast this is Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League's new podcast where we will be discussing environmental concerns and topics that are right in our backyards.  I’ll dive deep into these environmental issues that communities all over the Southeast and nationally are fighting such as coal plants, pipelines, nuclear waste, fracking and more. I’ll be bringing you...