EcoJustice Radio

From the late 1800s to the early decades of the 1900s, African Americans started to occupy and steward recreational sites and public spaces throughout the United States, and thus challenged racial hierarchies while expressing Black identity on the social landscape.

In her book, ‘Living The California Dream: African American Leisure Sites During The Jim Crow Era’, our guest historian Alison Rose Jefferson [http://www.alisonrosejefferson.com] examines how African American leisure sites were a catalyst for economic individualism, political perspectives, and self confidence and broader sense of community for Black society.

In our discussion, Alison demonstrates how Black communal practices and economic development around leisure confronted the politics of racial exclusion in recreational spaces. She shares with us some unique stories of these leisure sites, their rich history, and the influence they still have today.

Listen to the extended interview - click here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/alison-rose-78372020

Alison Rose Jefferson is a community engaged independent historian and heritage conservation consultant. a third generation Californian, her research interests focus on United States history, the African American experience, historical memory, social justice, and cultural tourism. She is the author of the book, ‘Living The California Dream: African American Leisure Sites During The Jim Crow Era’. in her work she aims to engage broad audiences through applied history projects in the struggle for social justice.

Jessica Aldridge, Co-Host and Producer of EcoJustice Radio, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and 15-year waste industry leader. She is a co-founder of SoCal 350, organizer for ReusableLA, and founded Adventures in Waste. She is a former professor of Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College, and an award recipient of the international 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership and the 2016 inaugural Waste360, 40 Under 40.

More Info/Resources:

Publications: https://alisonrosejefferson.com/about/publications/

Belmar History+Art Project: https://alisonrosejefferson.com/belmar-history-art-a-santa-monica-commemorative-justice-initiative-continues-rolling-out-2020-2021/

Thanks to Penny Elia and her tireless work on coastal access for all for inspiring this interview.

Related Shows:

Civil Rights History Conservation in Alabama: https://wilderutopia.com/ecojustice-radio/conserving-civil-rights-history-and-biological-diversity-in-alabama/

Black-Indigenous History in the US: https://wilderutopia.com/ecojustice-radio/intersection-of-black-and-indigenous-resistance-justice-in-the-united-states-ep-123/

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Guest: Alison Rose Jefferson

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 163

Photo Credit: Alison Rose Jefferson

Glyphosate is one of the most common ingredients in herbicides, and the main ingredient in Bayer/Monsanto's infamous weedkiller: Round Up. The latter is one of the worlds most widely used herbicides with various applications including: weed control in agriculture, vegetation control, as a crop desiccant, in consumer home gardens and lawns, and in massive aerial spraying to control illegal crops. It is also used extensively in home gardens and lawns, landscape, ornamental nursery, forestry, roadside and turf management.

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic in humans"; studies had confirmed it caused cancer in lab animals. However, the EPA maintains that glyphosate is safe for human use, despite multiple studies demonstrating otherwise. RoundUp and glyphosate-based products have had devastating impacts on our food systems, agriculture, public health, and ecosystem in the broadest sense.

Join Kelly Ryerson as she reveals truths about glyphosate, what we need to do about it, and how we can create the better world we seek. While glyphosate continues to be a planetary health emergency, we as a collective, can catalyze change by making informed consumer choices and advocating against chemical products and farming practices that cause irreparable harm. While several plaintiffs have recently succeeded in winning massive verdicts in court, to redress harms they suffered from Roundup, it will take many more of us to fully eradicate not only Glyphosate, but all toxic chemicals for the sake of planetary health.

Kelly Ryerson, Founder of Glyphosate Facts [http://www.glyphosatefacts.com], works at the intersection of agriculture, nutrition and health as a writer, speaker and policy consultant. She started the news site Glyphosate Facts as an educational resource to help spread awareness of the health impacts of chemical agriculture. She has a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/posts/kelly-ryerson-of-77995849

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Carry Kim

Intro By: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 162

Photo credit: Kelly Ryerson

Fueled by influencers, celebrities, and a wellness community, white sage has become a hot commodity from body products to the infamous smudging sticks of bundled dry leaves. However, most people are unaware that most white sage is poached from the wild and sold on the black market. White sage, also known as salvia apiana, only grows naturally from Southern California to Baja Mexico where it is stolen from the wilds and sold all over the world in boutiques, big box stores, and online. But at what cost?

White Sage is deeply rooted in the cultures and lifeways of Indigenous communities within its native range. Barbara Drake, a Tongva elder who passed away in 2020, called it a sacred grandmother plant, a relative.

Our guest, Deborah Small, along with Rose Ramirez and the California Native Plant Society, have made the award-winning documentary Saging the World [https://www.cnps.org/conservation/white-sage]to raise awareness and call for action around the protection of white sage.

To listen to the extended interview, click here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/77714593

Deborah Small [http://deborahsmall.wordpress.com/] is a gardener, artist, writer, and Professor Emerita in the School of Arts at CalState University San Marcos. She is co-writer of The Ethnobotany Project with Rose Ramirez, and Cooking the Native Way with the Chia Cafe Collective. She is Co-Director and Co-Producer of the Saging the World documentary and campaign.

Jessica Aldridge, Co-Host and Producer of EcoJustice Radio, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and 15-year waste industry leader. She is a co-founder of SoCal 350, organizer for ReusableLA, and founded Adventures in Waste. She is a former professor of Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College, and an award recipient of the international 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership and the 2016 inaugural Waste360, 40 Under 40.

More Info/Resources:

Flora, the White Sage CNPS magazine issue: https://www.cnps.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Flora-v5n3-Spring-LR.pdf

Saging the World Trailer: https://vimeo.com/694109001

“Saging the World” article: https://deborahsmall.wordpress.com/2020/07/30/saging-the-world/

Al Jazeera's 13 minute new video,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_KvbfczDQk

Samantha Morales-Johnson, Gabrielino-Tongva

https://www.instagram.com/native.illustrator/?hl=en

and

How Celebrities Are Causing a Black Market for White Sage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_KvbfczDQk

United Plant Savers Species At-Risk Downloadable List (includes White Sage as one of the at-risk plants)

https://unitedplantsavers.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/22229-UpS-Species-At-Risk-List-2022-rev-7-22.pdf

Related Shows: On Protecting the Joshua Tree and climate change in the desert https://wilderutopia.com/ecojustice-radio/climate-change-in-the-desert-with-ecologist-james-cornett/

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Guest: Deborah Small

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

For over two thousand years we have overlooked the scientific and cultural impact of human feeling. USC neuroscientist Dr. Antonio Damasio argues feelings and emotions are what make up human intelligence, consciousness, and the capacity for cultural creation. Thus when we look to engineering and policy solutions to our ecological collapse based on computational brainpower and artificial intelligence, we get lost along the way. By adopting a biological understanding of feeling, we can create a framework to advance the resilience of living systems.

Threats to democracy, autonomy, diversity, and culture are evident around the globe, amidst a rise in autocratic leaders and the forwarding of globalist, nationalistic, corporate and/or elitist agendas. How to manifest the world of our dreams? How to advance the causes of justice, equality, freedom and true, compassionate regard for all life? How might we create systems of governance that actually support the common good?

Max Henning, Neuroscientist and President of Novus Think Tank [https://www.maxahenning.com/], and former Research Assistant for Dr. Damasio, is here to shed light on why the future of humanity depends upon our reconnection to and biological understanding of feeling and how it serves as the underpinning for a vibrant, resilient democracy and an engaged citizenry that supports it.

For the extended discussion, go here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/77340264?pr=true

Max Henning believes that a new model of human nature, based on recent research on emotion and feeling, is critical for building a flourishing and resilient future. Max began his career as a neuroscientist at USC, where he worked with Dr. Antonio Damasio, studying the molecular and evolutionary basis of feeling, emotion, and social behavior. Inspired by his research, about the potential for cooperative problem-solving, he founded Novus Think Tank, an organization for bottom-up, community-driven positive change. He is now working on bringing this model of bottom-up governance to the public sphere, and is currently a graduate student in Democracy and Governance at Georgetown University.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

More Info: https://maxahenning.medium.com/a-new-social-framework-can-be-based-on-a-biological-feeling-of-feeling-25c8c0d263c5

https://democracyandsocietynet.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/ds-31-henning.pdf

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Carry Kim

Intro By: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 160

Photo credit: Max Henning

The fossil fuel industry has been promoting hydrogen as a reliable, low carbon, next-generation fuel to power cars, heat homes, and generate electricity. However, currently 99% of the annual supply of hydrogen comes from fracked methane gas. So will switching to hydrogen only lock us into continued fossil fuel use and additional investments in fossil fuel infrastructure?

Proponents argue that when hydrogen is made using renewable power it can cut climate-warming industrial carbon pollution from the steel, oil, and agricultural industries. However, does hydrogen measure up when compared to powering our cars and homes with alternative renewable energy generated directly from wind and solar?

Our guest, Ashley Kosak, Research and Project Management Fellow with FracTracker Alliance [https://www.fractracker.org/], and CEO of Green Aero [http://greenaero.org], will explain how hydrogen is generated, transported, stored, and burned; the environmental and social impacts; and what it means for the future of clean energy.

For an extended interview, click here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/ashley-kosak-on-77020057

Ashley Kosak is a mechanical engineer who started her career as an engineer at SpaceX. She is an advocate for decarbonization for energy and aerospace, consumption reduction, and social advocacy. She now works with FracTracker Alliance to distill complex emerging technologies into a simple process that can be understood by anyone who wishes to be informed of shifts within the clean energy movement.

Jessica Aldridge, Co-Host and Producer of EcoJustice Radio, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and 15-year waste industry leader. She is a co-founder of SoCal 350, organizer for ReusableLA, and founded Adventures in Waste. She is a former professor of Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College, and an award recipient of the international 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership and the 2016 inaugural Waste360, 40 Under 40.

More Info/Resources:

Greenwashing Hydrogen Webinar with Ashley: https://halttheharm.net/2022/12/greenwashing-hydrogen-understanding-the-climate-risks-of-blue-hydrogen/

Ashley on her time at SpaceX: https://www.lioness.co/post/at-spacex-we-re-told-we-can-change-the-world-just-don-t-try-to-stop-the-sexual-harassment

Related Shows: On Building Decarbonization/Home Electrification: https://wilderutopia.com/ecojustice-radio/zerohouz-ditching-fossil-fuels-for-a-zero-emissions-home/

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Guest: Ashley Kosak

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Devil's urine. That's what Dupont employees called PFAS. These toxic, human made forever chemicals are now in the blood of almost every human on the planet. They are found in drinking water around the world, even Antarctica. And they are used in a broad range of consumer products, like non-stick cookware, stain-resistant clothing, waterproof items, dental floss, and even medical masks. These are only a few examples of many.

This group of toxic chemicals, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), permanently concentrates in your body and the environment. You can't get rid of them. In fact, they bioaccumulate, meaning they get worse and worse. The public awareness from uncovering of the truth behind Dupont’s misdeeds now contaminating much of the planet is tantamount to this generation’s Silent Spring.

Our guest Rob Bilott is very much a Rachel Carson sort of figure who has stood up to the chemical industry as the lead attorney to bring light to the dangers of PFAS and its many variations. He fought and won a 20+ year battle against Dupont for the poisoning of over 70,000 people in West Virginia and Ohio. His work was even captured in the 2019 feature film, Dark Waters where he was portrayed by Mark Ruffalo.

In this interview from Summer 2022, we explore the history of PFAS, what exposure means, where it can be found, and what we can do.

For an extended discussion, click here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/extended-with-on-70223811

Rob Bilott is a partner in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky offices of the law firm, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP [https://www.taftlaw.com/people/robert-a-bilott], where he has practiced in the Environmental and Litigation Groups for over 31 years. During that time, Rob has handled and led some of the most novel and complex cases in the country involving damage from exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), including the first individual, class action, mass tort, and multi-district litigation proceedings concerning the toxic chemical, recovering over $1 billion for impacted clients.

In 2017, Rob received the Right Livelihood Award, known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” for his decades of work on behalf of those injured by PFAS chemical contamination. Rob is the author of the book, “Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle Against DuPont,” [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Exposure/Robert-Bilott/9781501172823]

and his story is the inspiration for the 2019 motion picture, “Dark Waters,” starring Mark Ruffalo. Rob’s story and work is also featured in the documentary, “The Devil We Know.”

Jessica Aldridge, Co-Host and Producer of EcoJustice Radio, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and 15-year waste industry leader. She is a co-founder of SoCal 350, organizer for ReusableLA, and founded Adventures in Waste. She is a former professor of Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College, and an award recipient of the international 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership and the 2016 inaugural Waste360, 40 Under 40.

More Info:

Book: Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle Against DuPont https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Exposure/Robert-Bilott/9781501172823

Feature Film: Dark Waters https://www.focusfeatures.com/dark-waters

Documentary: The Devil We Know https://www.amazon.com/Devil-We-Know-Bucky-Bailey/dp/B07J35G3P4

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://wilderutopia.com/ecojustice-radio/exposing-pfas-global-contamination-one-lawyers-battle-for-justice/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Guest: Rob Bilott

Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Episode 145

The proliferation of suburban sprawl, built where wildlife live and thrive, threatens the safety and genetic diversity of wild animals and plant species. Migrating wildlife of all shapes and sizes must contend with humans driving on the 4.8 million miles of roads in the US, facing the danger of colliding with vehicles.

Aside from driving less, one strategy to mitigate these accidents has gained bipartisan acceptance: providing wildlife crossings that facilitate connectivity for a diverse group of species. Not all wildlife crossings are simple bridges or tunnels, and our guest Beth Pratt, California Regional Executive Director of National Wildlife Federation, has been championing for years what will become the world’s largest urban wildlife crossing, planned for suburban Los Angeles. And she worked for years to support the most famous mountain lion ever, P-22, who had to be euthanized this month after he lost his long battle for survival navigating freeways and suburbia in the Los Angeles hills.

Beth Pratt joined us earlier this year to discuss the importance of connectivity and wildlife crossings. She explained why they are an integral strategy in land and habitat conservation and why preserving biodiversity not only protects wildlife, but also all of us humans.

LISTEN TO THE EXTE4NDED VERSION: https://www.patreon.com/posts/room-to-roam-of-62124923

Beth's Website: www.bethpratt.com/

Save LA Cougars: https://savelacougars.org/

Beth Pratt has worked in environmental leadership roles for more than twenty-five years, and in two of the biggest national parks: Yosemite and Yellowstone. As the California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, she leads the #SaveLACougars campaign to build the largest wildlife crossing in North America—and potentially the world—to help save a population of mountain lions from extinction. Her work has been featured by the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, BBC World Service, CBS This Morning, the Los Angeles Times, and NPR. She is the author of three books, the most recent, Yosemite Wildlife, will be released in 2023.

Jessica Aldridge, Co-Host and Producer of EcoJustice Radio, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and 15-year waste industry leader. She is a co-founder of SoCal 350, organizer for ReusableLA, and founded Adventures in Waste. She is a former professor of Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College, and an award recipient of the international 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership and the 2016 inaugural Waste360, 40 Under 40.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Guest: Beth Pratt

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 126

In 1830 the U.S. government implemented the Indian Removal Act, which led to the infamous Trail of Tears (1837-39), the removal or forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation. Thus, roughly 15,000 Cherokees were removed from their homes in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and other states under both U.S. military force and state militias.

Despite these acts of genocide and the resulting criminalization of cultural traditions and lifeways, the Cherokee and so many other Indigenous peoples, have suffered greatly, persevered, thrived against all odds, and actively sought to preserve their lifeways, language and traditions. Today, the revitalization of ancestral ways which includes food, medicine, and the stories around them continues with the spirit of true sovereignty, dignity and pride.

We’re thrilled to have Nico Albert Williams (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), founder and Executive Chef of Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods and Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness joining us to share her personal and collective journey to revitalize culture, Indigenous foods and wellness through sovereignty.

Nico Albert Williams, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a chef, caterer and student of traditional and modern Indigenous cuisines. As the founder and owner of Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods [https://www.burningcedar.com], a catering & consulting company, Chef Nico devotes her time to the revitalization of Indigenous cuisine to promote healing and wellness in the Native American community. She is also the Founder/Board President of Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness [https://www.burningcedar.org/sovereignwellness], a nonprofit organization whose mission is to address socioeconomic disparities, health crises, and cultural disconnection affecting Indigenous communities by re-establishing ancestral foodways, birthing practices, and traditional medicine, while educating future generations of Indigenous cooks. Chef Nico’s work has been featured by Cherokee Nation's OsiyoTV, Smithsonian National Museum, PBS, Gilcrease Museum, Philbrook Museum, BBC, and Food Network, among others.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Carry Kim

Intro By: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 158

Photo credit: Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods Facebook Page

What would it take to transform a 100 year old house sitting near oil fields into the most sustainable clean energy zero-emissions house? That was the challenge our guest, architect Avideh Haghighi, took up with her personal project she named ZeroHouz [http://www.zerohouz.com].

We discuss the dangers of gas appliances inside homes and why people should consider replacing - and how to replace - their “natural” gas (or some people call it fossil gas) stove, furnace, air conditioning and water heater with electric appliances. We also look into why a transition to clean energy in your home or apartment is not a one-size-fits-all question and share tips on how to get started.

Does Net Zero Energy have a Net Benefit for the climate and our personal health? What happens when our homes become a place for climate action and environmental responsibility by promoting energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

For the extended discussion, listen here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/zerohouz-with-75883321

Avideh Haghighi is a Registered Architect with a passion for transforming the built environment towards a net positive impact. She has a decade of experience and a diverse portfolio of work spanning public and private sectors, including the State’s largest Net Zero Carbon building currently under construction. Recently she has turned her attention to the single family housing market, recognizing the need for resources and innovation to decarbonize the existing housing stock. She is applying her knowledge from designing and constructing zero energy commercial buildings to the all-electric deep green retrofit of a 99 year old house dubbed 'Zerohouz'.

Jessica Aldridge, Co-Host and Producer of EcoJustice Radio, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and 15-year waste industry leader. She is a co-founder of SoCal 350, organizer for ReusableLA, and founded Adventures in Waste. She is a former professor of Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College, and an award recipient of the international 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership and the 2016 inaugural Waste360, 40 Under 40.

More Info/Resources: https://switchison.org/

https://www.cleanenergyconnection.org/

https://www.redwoodenergy.net/research/a-pocket-guide-to-all-electric-retrofits-of-single-family-homes

Find Oil Wells near You: https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/doggr/wellfinder/#openModal/-118.21152/33.77232/14

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Guest: Avideh Haghighi

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

The UN has classified at least 40% of the Earth’s land as degraded. That figure is estimated to be somewhere between 1 billion, even up to 6 billion hectares of degraded land. Much if not most of this degradation can be attributed to human activity, particularly that of modern agriculture, its impacts & methodologies. Land degradation affects the physical health of all life, biodiversity, the nutrient cycling of plants, the quality of our air, water and food and our access to them.

World-renowned soil biologist Dr. Elaine Ingham and her Soil Food Web Approach [https://www.soilfoodweb.com/] has successfully been implemented to restore ecological functions of soils on more than five million acres of farmland around the world. She joined us to share deep insights about how to ensure the continuance of life on this planet by turning to Nature and using biological vs. toxic, chemical approaches to heal and balance soil. By working with beneficial microorganisms that inhabit the soil, we can support Nature in transforming inert, degraded dirt into life-giving soil.

Learn how freeing rivers from channelization and using biocomplete compost instead of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides can activate the immune systems of plants and restore balanced nutrient cycling of soil and water. Proper ratios of beneficial microorganisms in the soil improves our own microbiome and ensures vital, disease-free, nutrient-dense plants and crops. The key to regenerating the world's soils begins with feeding microbiology and properly nurturing the Soil Food Web. In this episode, Elaine reviews the ins and outs of thermophilic compost, applications of compost teas and extracts, the functions of beneficial microorganisms, the interrelationship of soil and water, and the genuine potential of restoring soil faster than we are degrading it.

Dr. Elaine Ingham, Founder and President of Soil Food Web Inc. and Director of the Soil Food Web School, has advanced the knowledge about the Soil Food Web for nearly four decades and since has been conducting pioneering research and advocacy empowering ordinary people to bring the soils in their community back to life. Her Soil Food Web Approach has been used to successfully restore and regenerate the ecological functions of soils on six continents. The Soil Food Web School’s curriculum was designed to be accessible to individuals who wish to train and embark on a meaningful and impactful career that will help ensure the survival of all life.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

For an extended version of this interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/posts/soil-food-web-dr-69258576

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

Podcast Blog: https://wilderutopia.com/ecojustice-radio/healing-the-worlds-ecosystems-with-the-soil-food-web/

Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Hosted by Carry Kim

Intro by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Episode 142

Photo credit: Elaine Ingham