The Environmental Justice Lab

We have a special episode for you today. In our ongoing commitment to amplify voices, particularly our youth who are doing amazing things, we get to hear from two young ladies, Laina Digeronimo and Eva Ko, who are students at Laurel School, an all-girls high school in Ohio. They just finished their first environmental justice semester in school, and they are sharing a conversation that they had wi...

We’re talking about food justice today. With the holiday season officially here, many of us are planning meals and parties and get-togethers with lots of eating involved. With that in mind, I want to bring to your attention the reality that many people around us struggle to get the food that they need. Not because they can’t afford it. Not because they choose to eat unhealthy food. Simply because...

This episode hits close to home. As we conclude our discussion on prisons, I share how the jails in my home state of South Carolina (in the United States of America) are under federal investigation for the ways that they are operated. These issues are not foreign. They are right here in my backyard. Let’s talk about it! Resources: DOJ opens civil rights probes into South Carolina jails beset by de...

Climate change is causing natural disasters to increase in frequency and severity. At the time of this episode, Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 hurricane, tore through Acapulco, Mexico, killing at least 27 people and destroying everything in its way. And while it’s dangerous for everyone who is in the path of a major hurricane or storm, if you are in prison or jail, it’s exponentially more dangerous....

On this bonus episode, I had the privilege of speaking with Susan Frey, who is the spokesperson for the Thacker Pass Working Group. Her group has been fighting for environmental justice in the face of a large lithium mine being developed in her rural community in Nevada. There are so many issues that she touched on in our conversation: drilling, mineral rights, green energy, environmental injustic...

Water is essential for life. WIthout access to clean drinking water, your life will be filled with sickness and death, guaranteed. And unfortunately for many prisoners around the world, this is what their life is like. Living everyday with no assurances that the water that they will drink will be safe and clean. In Part 4 of our series on “Prisoners'', we are talking about the lack of access to cl...

BONUS EPISODE: Listen to my conversation with John Renourad, Founder of WHOLives. They are providing clean water to people all over the developing world. ABOUT WHOLives WHOlives is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on empowering people with clean water in the developing world and advocating for girls by ending female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriages. The organization’s goal is in the acron...

In Part 3 of our series on “Prisoners'', we are talking about the effect that heat has on people who are incarcerated. We understand the impacts that heatwaves and overall climate change are having in the general population and among certain vulnerable communities. But what is it doing to the people who live in prisons? What is happening to them? We talk about it on this episode. Stay tuned!. Reso...

In Part 2 of our series on “Prisoners”, we are talking about where prisons are located. Prisons are often built in some of the worst areas in the country. Landfills. Toxic waste sites. Abandoned sites. For instance, one-third of federal and state prisons are located near a Superfund site, which is the most severely contaminated areas. The siting of prisons represents a significant environmental in...

We need to talk about prisoners. People who are incarcerated. The living conditions, the environment in which they are surrounded, are often not fit for human beings. In many ways, they are the world’s largest and forgotten environmental justice community, and we need to start talking about them and the environmental hazards and issues that many prisoners deal with on a daily basis. But before we...

For our final installment in our “EJ with EWB” series, we talk to Gerard Dalziel, Chief Engineer, and Eric Lundborg, Senior Program Engineer, both of whom deal extensively with the technical aspects of the design and implementation of the projects performed by EWB-USA. We talked about the realities of climate change and environmental justice need to be incorporated into the design of engineered pr...

I just wanted to take a second and reflect on everything that we've learned about EWB-USA, their Environmental Justice and Climate Resiliency Initiative, and doing development work here and abroad. There is a lot that we can learn from our conversations with EWB! Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community: Instagram: @envjusticelab Facebook: www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalJusticeLab Email...

For our third installment in our “EJ with EWB” series, we talk to Natalie Celmo and Ellie Carley of EWB-USA, both of who lead the Community Engineering Corps (CECorps). CECorps works with communities across the United States that are unable to easily retain or afford traditional engineering services. We were able to discuss the path that Ellie and Natalie both took to get to EWB-USA and the origin...

For our second installment in our “EJ with EWB” series, we talk to Scott Gregory, Program Engineer for EWB-USA, who leads the International Community Program. We talked about his background as a civil engineer, his re-entry into school, his passion for international development, and his life as a humanitarian engineer. (Oh, and the Environmental Justice and Climate Initative!) Enjoy our conversati...

For our first conversation in our “EJ with EWB” series, we meet Kellianne McClain, the Officer of Individual Giving, who is also the brainchild behind the Environmental Justice and Climate Resiliency Initiative. We talked about her background as an activist and fundraiser, the origins of EWB-USA, human rights, and we learned even more about this initiative and how to get involved. Enjoy our conver...

Engineers Without Borders (EWB) has rolled out their new Environmental Justice and Climate Resiliency Initiative, and for the entire month of July, we at the Environmental Justice Lab have been given opportunities to talk to officers, engineers, and program managers at EWB to learn more about this initiative, to ask questions, and to get a better understanding of what it will actually accomplish....

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, or “PFAS”, has been in the news a lot lately. From the EPA’s proposed drinking water regulations to the $10.3 billion settlement to be paid by 3M, PFAS is starting to be recognized as a significant threat to our public health. But what you may not have heard is that the presence of PFAS in our environment is a major environmental justice issue as well. That is...

It is vitally important that, as we fight for environmental justice in our communities, we teach our children and the next generation about these issues and continue to encourage to be a part of the solution. So, for my first interview on the podcast, I talk to my 11-year-old daughter, Jael Joseph. She shared her thoughts on the environment, the state of environmental education in her school, and...

On June 6, large patches of wildfire smoke came down from the Canadian wildfires and covered major cities throughout the northern parts of the United States. Meanwhile, the wildfires in Canada are continuing to rage throughout Canada and the impacts of those wildfires are being felt all across North America. We need to talk about these wildfires. Not just how severe they are, but also how climate...

Sometimes you just need some encouragement. I know I do. This episode is here to provide some encouraging examples of environmental and climate justice wins in the United States and around the world. No matter how difficult it seems, we are making this world a better, healthier place where everyone can flourish. So let this episode encourage you as you fight for environmental justice! Additional R...

We are at the end of Mental Health Awareness Month, and we are going to close out our series with a discussion about the mental health impacts of climate change. Climate change is a major issue throughout the world, and its impacts are felt far and wide. However, not much is said about how the impacts of climate change can affect us mentally. So we are talking about it today. Join us! Learn more:...

Toxic contamination has been shown to have significant, adverse physical health impacts. However, the mental health impacts of exposure to toxic contamination are not often discussed. On this episode, we are discussing the mental health impacts of air pollution. Toxic air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and particulate matter (PM) disproportionately impact people of...

Toxic contamination has been shown to have significant, adverse physical health impacts. However, the mental health impacts of exposure to toxic contamination is not often discussed. On this episode, we are discussing the mental health impacts of lead exposure. Lead is a major issue in the United States and around the world, and there is a large amount of research that connects lead contamination...

While the physical health impacts of living in a highly polluted, industrial zone has been well-documented and the mental health impacts of various contaminants are being researched, little attention has been given to the reality that simply living near industrial activity has negative health impacts. Not the pollution from the facilities. Just the fact that the activity is near you causes mental...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we are going to spend the entire month exploring the mental health implications of experiencing environmental racism and injustice. Mental health is often an overlooked and under-researched outcome when considering the issues associated with living in a disproportionately polluted and toxic environment, even as those negative outcomes are just as pervasive...