Brown Girl Green

This episode of Brown Girl Green covers the issue of food waste - which currently contributes to 6% of global green house gas emissions (our world in data). Learn from Maen Mahfoud, an expert who is taking food surplus and using it to redistribute out to the communities who need it the most. Check out this live episode and learn more about his company, Replate - a non-profit tech organization working to address the food surplus crisis.

www.replate.org

Find out more at https://brown-girl-green.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

This episode of Brown Girl Green is focused on sustainable fashion. We discuss if/ why sustainable fashion is the path forward away from throw-away culture and mass over-consumption of clothing in modern society. Despite the benefits of more "sustainable" or environmentally friendly fashion, there are still a lot of gaps around diversity, equity, and inclusion within the movement. A majority of sustainable fashion only caters to a small demographic that excludes many different ethnic groups and body types from partaking in its ethical benefits. Further, some sustainable fashion brands don't necessarily prioritize racial justice or labor rights even if they are all "green" or "zero waste." So in this episode, I examine what some of the gaps exist around sustainable fashion, but also the benefits this framework of going more "green" with your clothing habits can have on society.

The interview features Samata, a British-born Ghanaian fashion designer, author, and journalist who is best known for her role as Global Campaign Director for Red Carpet Green Dress, a campaign that is pushing to showcase ethical fashion on the Oscars red carpet. She is also an award-winning womenswear designer whose work in the fields of fashion and sustainability has received coverage from BBC Radio 1Xtra, Essence, ITV's This Morning, E! Entertainment, Women's Wear Daily, ELLE, InStyle, Essence, Refinery 29, and Red Magazine.

The biggest topics covered in this episode are:

Sustainable Fashion brands/ initiatives mentioned in today's episode:

Some resources for further reading:

What COVID-19 means for sustainable fashion

Ethical Fashion on a budget

Find out more at https://brown-girl-green.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

On Earth Day, I had the pleasure to interview Black Millennials 4 Flint's Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and President LaTricea D. Adams and Sierra Club's community organizer Justin Onwenu. Together, we defined environmental racism and sacrifice zones; discussed their successful coalition practices and how to they take action for their communities; the realities of receiving funding and amplifying their narratives; and how to cultivate joy in a continuously daunting world. This has been one of the most special, important conversations I've had and I am elated to share it with you.

Key takeaways/ moments:

Justin opens the episode discussing the significance of the environmental justice movement and stresses that its recognition means we can’t ignore systemic racism and the forks-in-the-road placed for BIPOC.

The chronic lack of clean water in Flint, Michigan demonstrates how democracy has not served this community. LaTricea names the justice that’s owed to the people of Flint, along with steps to prevent this from happening again.

This goes back to the episode’s theme of choices and creating autonomy without much wiggle room. LaTricea discusses the significance of activists, from Flint who work on the ground there, have control over their narratives and credit for their labor. Their demand and awareness for clean water serves as a model for cities around the nation to shift their infrastructure and meet their community’s needs.

Resources to continue the conversation:

Find out more at https://brown-girl-green.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

In this week's episode of Brown Girl Green, we are talking about racial equity within the outdoors given the current state of the world. A few weeks ago, Christian Cooper, a black birder encountered a white woman, Amy Cooper who felt threatened & called 911 after Christian Cooper asked her to put her dog on a leash. This racist action on a microscale brings us to a point where we must critically analyze systemic racism at a macroscale in our country today. Access to a clean, healthy, and safe environment can be achieved through institutional and cultural change that prioritizes the needs of black lives.

Kristy interviews Deeohn Ferris, Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the National Audubon Society.

Key Takeaways

People of color do not have proper access to the outdoors and we need to actively create the institutional and cultural change necessary to address that

Environmental justice and police brutality are both symptoms of a broken system that does not prioritize black lives. We must not rely on institutions alone to address this, we also need to demand cultural change within our interpersonal relationships/ culture to fight white supremacy and internalized racism.

Nearby nature and backyard birding are key steps to actually providing options for people of color to have greater access to the outdoors. People of color deserve access to green spaces, and should be allowed to reclaim public space as much as necessary.

For organizations to donate to at this time, I am shouting out:

-The Groundswell Fund

-LGBT Racial Justice Fund

-PGMONE

-Brown Girls Climbing

-New York Audubon Society

-Black AF In Stem

Find out more at https://brown-girl-green.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Join Kristy and Ciara Imani May, founder of Rebundle, a company closing the loop on synthetic hair waste one bundle at a time. We will be talking about what it means to generate a circular economy, how to make an environmentally friendly and culturally conscious product, and how to support young entrepreneurs of color working to save the world.

What we cover:

For more information on rebundle. Follow them on Instagram @rebundle.co.

Find out more at https://brown-girl-green.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Given this fiscally-uncertain world for the 99%, how can we put our money where our values are? For the best answers, I made a 2 part episode on the topic. I teamed up with Joelle Sostheim of the Joelle Show. She gives us a step-by-step lesson on personal finance and shows us how we can use this important practice as a tool to make alternative spending and investments through a climate change- and global pandemic-conscious lens. For those able to invest, we’ll have our conversation follow with As You Sow’s Energy Program Manager, Lila Holzman (Part 2 begins at 55:00). Lila tells us how we can place our accrued wealth into environmentally-friendly funding sources in order to stray away from the investor’s status quo, which typically takes company means to contribute towards fossil fuel and greenhouse gas emissions and practices.

*In this podcast episode, you’ll learn:

We haven’t been in a Recession + global pandemic in modern history… how many of us had the means to prepare? The answer -- hardly any -- brings us to problem-solving. Joelle talks us through how to mitigate today’s crisis for the common person and average listener in order to come out of this pandemic with the tools to save and, eventually-speaking, grow wealth in the future.

3.“If you cut out the labor it took to make that… small unit item and you, instead, budgeted out your time… time is just as important as budgeting your money.” Kristy Drutman

We begin thinking about everyday ways to save and follow our budget, the tactic mentioned being one of my favorites-- investing in reusable materials, as opposed to disposable ones. Using the framework, “How can I squeeze the most juice out of an item before I dispose of it?” works as just a starting point for this part of our conversation. We go back-and-forth on how wallet-saving practices ultimately reduces unnecessary labor and the annual amount we waste.

4.“What we’re starting to see too is that this is not just about doing the right because it’s good for people. It’s good for profit as well. We’re starting to get the data, especially now, that the space is getting a little more mature and that companies and investments that prioritize ESG (environmental, social, governance) factors over the long-term end up performing better.” Lila Holzman

Moving forward from Joelle’s personal finance expertise, we meet Lila’s knack for advising large financial institutions to allocate their funds towards sustainable investments that value ESG factors. As mentioned above, the quid pro quo demonstrates that shareholders who follow through with ESG practices will have their companies succeed further than they would have by pushing their money into fossil fuel emissions and infrastructures. Given the data, Lila emphasizes the importance of asking and pushing for sustainable investments.

Places you can consider donating your stimulus check to:

CCAEJ (EJ group in southern CA) https://www.ccaej.org/covid19-fund

CDC Foundation

Feeding America

Asian Pacific Environmental Network Emergency Stablization Fund https://donate.apen4ej.org/covid

Learn more about personal finance and sustainable investing

As You Sow works to empower shareholders to turn their corporations towards sustainable investing. If you want to learn more about this company, where Lila Holzman works, then check out their website. https://www.asyousow.org/

Fossil Banks No Thanks shows what happens when shareholders invest in fossil fuel infrastructures and emissions. On their website, you can find a link to join their campaign and take action. https://www.fossilbanks.org/

If you’re looking to invest, then Fossil Free Funds serves as the space for you. This non-profit, created by As You Sow, can give you the resources for mutual funds and ETFs that avoid fossil fuel investments, in addition to looking at funds from your 401K or retirement plan more closely. https://fossilfreefunds.org/

Continue to learn from Joelle’s financial expertise through “The Joelle Show.” Her most recent content includes more details on how to keep your wallet healthy during COVID-19. https://linktr.ee/the.joelle.show

CC:August Jay, Content Operator of Brown Girl Green

Find out more at https://brown-girl-green.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

We’re not in shape to leap in a boat if there’s a flood, or run from a fire… there’s an attitude I think that’s completely unconscious that we have to be ready to do these kind of things.

Kristy Drutman interviews Marsha Saxton and Alex Ghenis from the World Institute on Disabilities (WID) -- one of the first disability rights organizations working towards creating research and policy that’s equitable and inclusive. Given the global pandemic, Kristy takes the intersection of disability justice and climate change to find its connection to coronavirus. While living in a country low on toilet paper and ventilators, Kristy and guests point out who’s been put behind to receive support. Without the infrastructure necessary to support people with disabilities, communities remain without adaptive technology and disappointingly unfit to support for this group. Marsha and Alex, nonetheless, share their optimism and practical solutions in hopes to build a more inclusive, adaptable climate-changing-world.

In this podcast episode, you’ll learn:

We begin this episode connecting the reality between climate change and people with disabilities. Marsha and Alex say the truth point blank: people with disabilities will die and sometimes first. Much of their work at WID focuses on alerting the climate change impact to the disability community and give them the tools to protect and advocate for themselves. The lessons parallel with finding independence and a living quality of living amidst social distancing, businesses with closed doors, and a new normal.

The modern healthcare system looks to find a cure for whatever doesn’t fit in; Alex Ghenis believes it’d be more helpful to spend that time developing adaptive technology, making the world more accomodating, and therefore reducing the impact of disability on the individual. The adaptation model applies to climate change and today’s global pandemic as well -- let’s adapt to the reality because it’s neither accessible nor available for everyone to put a band-aid on it.

If we need to adapt, then our solutions start with the basics: know your neighbors. Marsha and Alex dive into the importance of building community and creating disaster recovery policy that includes people with disabilities’ knowledge of their needs and fruition of action plans. Given that we are currently in a worldwide disaster, our guests take us through the lessons in everyone needs to hear and hear again and again in order to adapt, recover, and put the independence and life outcomes of people with disabilities first.

Marsha Saxton continues to work at WID’s New Earth Disability (NED) Initiative. NED addresses how people with disabilities fall extremely vulnerable to climate change. NED seeks to build climate resilience by using research to identify concerns and the best responses, educate the public, ensure that other stakeholders’ climate adaption plans recognize the disability community. Follow Alex Ghenis’ disability and climate change activism on Twitter (@aghenis).

Here’s a list of organizations and brands supporting the disability community during this global pandemic:

Look out for

The Communicator™ is a clear window medical mask brand made to support lip-reading patients and healthcare providers. You can find these in-stock online at safenclear.com.

Contribute today

The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) is a disaster giving program, rated four stars by Charity Navigator. During the coronavirus pandemic, the CDP is working with NGOs to allocate funds towards supporting healthcare workers, quarantined and other vulnerable individuals, in addition to hygiene promotion activities. You can donate to their responses fund on https://disasterphilanthropy.org/donate-to-the-cdp-covid-19-response-fund/; follow them on Twitter

Meals on Wheels delivers nutritious meals, friendly visits, and safety checks to seniors who live in your community. Reach out to your local provider to get started and give more than just a meal. https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/find-meals; follow them on Twitter (@_MealsOnWheels).

Use these resources

The Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) provides a COVID-19 Hotline for the deaf community. Use ASL Now or VP 833-683-7630. Subscribe to the CSD newsletter at https://www.csd.org/subscribe/; follow them on Twitter (@ThisISCSD).

Disability Rights California (DRC) shares COVID-19 information, response, and planning that can apply to those out-of-state as well. Understand your legal rights, household plan of action, and public health guidelines at https://www.disabilityrightsca.org/post/announcement-coronavirus-and-how-disability-rights-california-can-help-you. For further legal information, call 1-800-776-5746 M-F, 9 am-4 pm (PST).

SAGE provides services and advocacy for LGBT Elders. Given that LGBT older people are twice as likely to be single and live alone, plus four times less likely to have children, SAGE connects this group of people to friendly responders on their 24/7 hotline. Call 877-360-LGBT (5428) for community support resources, answers, and non-judgmental responses. Check out their website, sageusa.org.

August Jay, Content Operator of Brown Girl Green

Find out more at https://brown-girl-green.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

In this episode of Brown Girl Green, we are joined with Brittney Enin, Founder and Executive Self-Care Consultant & Radiator of Black Sunshine as we talk about the importance of “self-care.”

It is expected that the climate crisis has and will continue to have a detrimental impact on public health, particularly on society’s mental health. As the news likes to convince us that the world is falling apart (and in some ways it is), how are we going to take care of ourselves and each other? Self-care is a form of deep activism, as we are radically defining what it means to adapt and care for ourselves and others in challenging environmental conditions.

We cover:

Highlights:

“The world needs to see women of color in their full range of emotions”

“Depending on your place on society you internalize certain things as normal../ things that I used to think were ways of communicating [about these things] were actually really oppressive”

“We can hold our oppression and our privilege at the same time, it’s when people don’t do that, that we are in trouble”

You can connect with Brittney at selfcareconsult.com, @slfcareconsult

Or follow her as @nerdqween on Instagram

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

In our current climate crisis, how can we reach the masses through storytelling, connection, and education? In this episode of Brown Girl Green, I meet with Environmental “Eco-Influencer” Go Green Save Green, Ariel Maldonado. Ariel uses Instagram to engage her audience about how to live sustainably and to save money along the way.

Ariel’s content break down that allows her to engage her audience about climate change and sustainably:

Current events/ News that provides summaries around what is being discussed about a wide range of environmental topics

She posts both in-depth content and quicky, witty posts that keep people’s attention. Experimenting/ balancing types of content and figuring out how to find content that is accessible and tangible to the audience is key.

“As i’m learning, i’m sharing.”

It’s very important to share content that allows people to feel like they can make an impact. A core part of this is thinking about companies we invest our money into, and how education is distributed to people to plug in and to feel like they are not alone.

“An Individual is a spark”

Next steps:

In the pilot episode of Brown Girl Green, Kristy, a Filipina American environmental activist discusses the origins of Brown Girl Green. From activist burnout to trying to find diplomacy (or love?) on tinder, this episode lays the groundwork of what you can expect to watch in Season 1.