In his book “An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States,” Kyle T. Mays, Assistant Professor of African American Studies, American Indian Studies, and History at UCLA, argues that the foundations of the United States are rooted in Anti-Black racism and settler colonialism, and that these parallel oppressions continue today.

Speaking with EcoJustice Radio in 2021, he explored how Black and Indigenous peoples (sometimes together, sometimes apart) have always sought to disrupt, dismantle, and reimagine US democracy. He uses examples of the Black Power and Red Power movements of the 60s and 70s, as well as collaborations for the Standing Rock Sioux and Black Lives Matter. Dr. Mays’ work seeks to illuminate how we can imagine and put into practice a more just world.

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

Kyle T. Mays [https://www.kyle-mays.com/] is an Afro-Indigenous (Saginaw Chippewa) writer and scholar of US history, urban studies, race relations, and contemporary popular culture at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Mays is an author of 3 books. “An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States” is available from Beacon Press.

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: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Jessica Aldridge

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 123

Photo credit: Kyle T. Mays

On this show, we hear excerpts from a keynote talk from the Bioneers 2024 Conference in Berkeley, California by Taylor Brobry, Activist and Author of Boys and Oil, Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land. We then will hear what is called a climate thinker, Gabrielle Walker from her TED Talk on Carbon Capture. Following that, host Jack Eidt's 2024 interview with energy expert and climate and environmental activist Morey Wolfson.

Most of us understand we are in a global climate emergency. Data confirmed last month was the hottest May on record, putting the Earth on a 12-month streak of record-breaking temperatures. What we need is to immediately transition away from the burning of fossil fuels toward renewable power sources, but also a focus on more efficient energy use, and most importantly, a comprehensive plan for massive conservation and rethinking the way we do business. But global corporations want to continue with their present business model focused on coal, oil, fossil gas, ethanol, and industrial agro-fueled biodiesel. And the way they do it is advancing solutions like Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage.

Taylor Brorby [https://taylorbrorby.com/] grew in the dynamic shortgrass prairie of western North Dakota, a youth that coincided with the brutal physical and psychic scarring of his surroundings by the coal and oil industry, a fate not made any easier by being a young gay boy enthralled by classical music, art, fishing, and poetry. From here, Taylor became a poet, writer and dedicated activist, an eloquent critic of the fossil fuel industry, penning, among other works, the memoir: Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land, the essays in Civil Disobedience, and co-editing: Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America.

Morey Wolfson has spent his career in energy and environmental policy. He is a Former Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulator, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) employee, and governors’ energy policy advisor.

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

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

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

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 224

Photo credit: Kanenori on Pixabay

In this episode, we feature Michael Parenti, a prominent political scientist and cultural critic, as he delivers a powerful lecture at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1986. Parenti discusses the intricacies of US interventionism, the dynamics of capitalism, and the historical exploitation of the developing world. He challenges conventional narratives about poverty in the Global South, asserting that these nations are not poor but rather over-exploited. Join us as we unpack his insightful analysis of imperialism, capitalism, and the ongoing struggles for social justice that our oligarchs and their political class have not seemed to learn the lessons from 40 years ago, as the stature of the U.S. erodes daily on the world stage, supporting endless war in Ukraine and Palestine, disastrous trade policies, and ongoing hegemonic and regime change operations in multiple countries.

Support the Podcast via PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

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

Sources:

Michael Parenti speaks at the University of Colorado, Boulder: "US interventionism, the 3rd world, and the USSR" April 15, 1986

Yellow Lecture:

https://youtu.be/W10QEs-TkhU?si=ZP_D5JNOWpJ_xvuC

Michael Parenti Library:

https://www.youtube.com/@themichaelparentilibrary/videos

Michael Parenti [https://www.michael-parenti.org/] is a U.S. political scientist, academic historian and cultural critic who writes on scholarly and popular subjects. He is the award-winning author of twenty-four books, including The Face of Imperialism (2011) and Democracy for the Few originally written in 1974 with a 9th edition published in 2010: He has taught at universities and has also run for political office. Parenti is well known for his Marxist writings and lectures, and is an intellectual of the U.S. Left.

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes a column on PBS SoCal called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

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

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

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 263

Photo credit: Michael Parenti

Can we trace where Western Civilization went wrong to the 1400s when Filippo Brunelleschi, known for his brazen duomo designs in Florence, Italy, invented the linear perspective that dominated Art, Architecture, and city planning ever since? This almost-photographic perspective of the world around us translated to cities and their people being separated from nature, and the ecosystems that nourish us all, at least that signifies an auspicious moment in history. Some European painters in the early 20th Century, like Picasso and Matisse, challenged this linear perspective and were called Fauves or wild beasts. But do we need more wild beasts, rather than just bad-boy painters from Europe, to overcome these linear perspective machines and heal our relationship with the Earth?

On this show recorded in 2014, Shana Nys Dambrot [http://sndx.net], art historian and culture writer from Los Angeles’ vibrant art scene, guides us on a romp through these European art movements to trace how we got here and where we are headed. We delve into the question of how environmental and climate activism intertwine with artistic expression. Shana engages in a thought-provoking conversation about the role of art in shaping a better world, exploring the dreams and tangible enactments of new realities. Join us as we confront the big questions: Whose dream? Whose world? What does 'better' truly mean? This episode is not just an exploration of art, but a challenge to the status quo and an invitation to envision a future that includes everyone.

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

Resources/Articles:

https://www.laweekly.com/author/sndambrot/

https://artillerymag.com/byline/shana-nys-dambrot/

Related Interview:

Designing Architecture and Landscapes with Nature’s Ecological Wisdom - Carl Welty https://wilderutopia.com/ecojustice-radio/designing-architecture-and-landscapes-with-natures-ecological-wisdom/

Shana Nys Dambrot [http://sndx.net] is an art critic, curator, and author based in Downtown LA who has been Arts Editor for the L.A. Weekly, and a contributor to the Village Voice, Flaunt, Artillery, and other culture publications. She studied Art History at Vassar College, and is the recipient of the 2022 and 2024 Mozaik Future Art Writers Prize, the 2022 Rabkin Prize for Art Criticism, and the LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Critic of the Year award for 2022. Her surrealist novel Zen Psychosis (Griffith Moon) was published in 2020.

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

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

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

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 212

Join us as we celebrate the wisdom of eco philosopher, author, and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy as she is now in hospice and in her last days with us. We delve into Joanna's groundbreaking work, "The Great Turning," examining the transformative journey from an industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization. With excerpts from a 2002 talk and a 2018 interview, Macy's insights on activism, spirituality, and deep ecology offer a beacon of hope and a call to action for a better world. Tune in to be inspired by Joanna Macy's vision for a sustainable future and her unwavering commitment to peace, justice, and environmentalism.

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

More Info:

Joanna Macy and the Great Turning Talk in British Columbia 2002 https://youtu.be/ZB6YcL0vy74?si=cJgf_YC_NimYH1Bf

Joanna Macy 2018 interview: https://wilderutopia.com/landscape/spiritual/ecojustice-radio-joanna-macy-and-the-great-turning-episode-10/

Joanna Macy is the Founder of the Work That Reconnects, a groundbreaking framework and methodology for personal and social change. She is an international spokesperson for anti-nuclear causes, peace, justice, and environmentalism, most renowned for her book, Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World and the Great Turning initiative, which deals with the transformation from, as she terms it, an industrial growth society to what she considers to be a more sustainable civilization. She has created a theoretical framework for personal and social change, and a workshop methodology for its application. Her work addresses psychological and spiritual issues, Buddhist thought, and contemporary science, and helps people transform despair and apathy into constructive, collaborative action. Learn more at: https://www.joannamacy.net/main

The Work That Reconnects sees the world reality told in three stories: Business As Usual, the Great Unraveling, and the Great Turning. The third story, the Great Turning is the epochal transition from an industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization.

More information: https://workthatreconnects.org/

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

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.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

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

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

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

2018 Interview by Carry Kim from EcoJustice Radio.

Engineer: JP Morris

Executive Producer: Mark Morris

Interview Music: Javier Kadry

Episode 219

Photo credit: Joanna Macy

In this episode, we delve into the controversial and complex world of deep seabed mining. We feature a panel of experts from the Wonderful World Festival in Norway in 2024 [https://www.wonderfulworld.no/] discussing the environmental, economic, and geopolitical implications of extracting minerals from the ocean floor. Marine Scientists, a documentary filmmaker, mining industry officials debate the need for and consequences from extracting rare earth minerals for renewable energy technologies. Discover the unknowns of the deep sea, the ethical considerations, and the potential impact on future generations. Join us as we explore whether the pursuit of these resources is truly necessary and the role of storytelling in shaping our understanding of the ocean's mysteries.

We start with an introduction by panel moderator, Anders Dunker.

Next are excerpts from a TED Talk by Sandor Mulsow, Marine Geologist from Chile. Also included is the trailer of the documentary film DEEP Rising, which he is featured in.

Sandor Mulsow TED Talk https://youtu.be/tIg1M0b43jQ?si=_SWZ6pZs-S9lSNA1

Then we feature excerpts from the panel, that can be listened to in its entirety here…

The Deep Sea and the Mining Business: https://youtu.be/qPm1HdyvYaM?si=nw6sSrWN_8DP0A_Y

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

Resources/Articles:

Anders Dunker [https://www.andersdunker.com/] is a Norwegian writer and philosophical journalist based in Los Angeles and an associate professor at Oslo International School of Philosophy. In contributions across a range of publications, including Le Monde Diplomatique, Ny Tid, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, he writes about nature, technology, social change, and the planetary future. He is the editor of the book series 'Futurum' at Existenz Forlag and a regular contributor and board member in the Norwegian Writers’ Climate Campaign, as well as a collaborator in Technophany – A Journal of Philosophy and Technology. In 2019, he published Rediscovering Earth (Spartacus and O/R books). In 2022, his collection of essays, Thinking on the Planet, was published by Existenz Publishers. Unknown Territory is his third book.

Sandor Mulsow, Marine Geologist, long-time member of the International Seabed Authority, the UN's own body for safeguarding the health of the oceans. He is a professor at Universidad Austral de Chile, and was featured in the documentary film DEEP RISING. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandor-mulsow-b98a2214/?originalSubdomain=cl]

Other Members of the panel

Matthieu Rytz, filmmaker, visual anthropologist, director of the documentary DEEP RISING [https://www.deeprising.com/]

Kaja Lønne Fjærtoft, marine biologist and Global Head of Policy at Deep Sea Mining at WWF Norway

Øystein Bruncell Larsen - COO Loke Marine Minerals of Norway

Rune Høyvik Rosnes, Seabed Intervention technologist, economist and business developer, Deep C

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes a column on PBS SoCal called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

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

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

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 239

We sat down in 2024 with James Skeet, Executive Director of Covenant Pathways on his Spirit Farm in New Mexico. In the interview we delved into the concept of Indigenous Regenerative Intelligence from a Navajo - Dine perspective. Discover how ancient Native wisdom and biocosmology can reconnect us with the land, foster soil health, and promote a sustainable future.

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

LINKS

Video Featuring James Skeet from New Mexico Community Capital

https://youtu.be/ZrhK1-DlOZk?si=wIWlwrZYxHQYWGi7

The Six Sacred Stones of Indigenous Regenerative Intelligence

https://youtu.be/QYqjOYygQdU?si=kWfUobfNscpLt1bs

James Skeet and his wife Joyce are the co-founders of Covenant Pathways [https://covenantpathways.org/], a 501c3 non-profit organization, and they operate Spirit Farm [http://spiritfarmnm.org/]. James is passionate about reconnecting all peoples to the land through Indigenous Regenerative Intelligence that integrates the ancient Native wisdom of the bio-cosmology to create a haven where soil health, nutrient rich foods, human health, and free markets can prosper for another 10,000 years. James’ heritage has assisted in grounding him in the work he does as a full-blooded Navajo – also known as Diné – Native American from Vanderwagen, New Mexico.

James’s Diné (Navajo) clan name means “Red Cheek, Born of Leaning Tower.” He is full of energy, life, and wisdom. James worked for NGOs fostering childhood development and then served as a financial watchdog for the tribal government. In all of his systematic work with programs and regulations, he began to seek ways to express his spiritual understanding that “all things are sacred.”

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.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

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

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

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Intro: Jack Eidt

Hosted by Carry Kim

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 223

Photo credit: Sue Hudelson

In this episode, we delve into the historical and contemporary implications of the Monroe Doctrine and U.S. intervention in Latin America. Host Jack Eidt mixes excerpts from Rubén Darío’s poetry (Nicaragua) and Gabriel García Márquez’s fiction (Colombia) with an interview of Yale historian Greg Grandin by journalist Michael Fox. They explore how Simon Bolivar's legacy and the Monroe Doctrine have shaped U.S. imperialism in Central and South America. They trace the origins of Bolivar's fight for independence, the creation and evolution of the Monroe Doctrine, and its lasting effects on U.S. foreign policy. The interview originates from Michael Fox's podcast series "Under the Shadow," [https://therealnews.com/under-the-shadow] produced in collaboration with the Real News Network and NACLA, the North American Congress on Latin America [https://nacla.org/].

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

Resources/Articles:

Under the Shadow Podcast Episode: https://therealnews.com/he-legacy-of-monroe-under-the-shadow-bonus-episode-4

Simon Bolivar History From NBC News https://youtu.be/wxuxFg_8nkI?si=eZAH6W3FmCT6ZGYD

Chilean folk music group, Inti Illimani doing the song Simon Bolivar from 1973

https://youtu.be/AObTf9yOdoQ?si=7iRpeA3u8BQqQLt-

Greg Grandin is the author of his latest, America, América, A New History of the New World [https://greggrandin.com/book/america-america/]. Also Fordlandia, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. A Professor of History at Yale University, Grandin has published a number of other award-winning books, including Empire's Workshop, The Last Colonial Massacre, and The Blood of Guatemala [https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001IQW9VI].

The Blood of Guatemala: A History of Race and Nation (2000, Duke University Press Books)

Empire’s Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Making of an Imperial Republic (Holt, 2006)

The Last Colonial Massacre: Latin America in the Cold War (2011, The University of Chicago)

Kissinger’s Shadow: The Long Reach of America’s Most Controversial Statesman (2016, MacMillan)

You can find more of Greg’s books, here.

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He has a project on PBS SoCal Artbound called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

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

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

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 234

We embark on the first part of a series begun in 2024 by Jack Eidt who joined the artistic residency of Osceola Refetoff, a Canadian-American visual artist and photojournalist, in Antofagasta, Chile. Supported by SACO Cultural Corporation, this residency places a spotlight on the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, and its rich yet troubled history with mining. We delve into the environmental and social impacts of mining in this region, the historical context of Latin American exploitation, and the legacy of colonialism and neoliberal policies. Featuring poignant quotes from local authors and music that reflects Chile's cultural heritage, this episode is a profound exploration of eco-justice, history, and art.

This episode sheds light on the difficult working conditions, pollution, and migratory phenomena that have shaped the Atacama's legacy.

**Historical Context and Colonial Legacy**

We journey through the historical context of mining in the Atacama, from the nitrate boom of the 19th century to the present-day lithium rush. The episode explores the economic motivations and political maneuverings that have led to the region's exploitation, including the devastating impact of colonialism and neoliberal policies.

**Interview with Don Victor Loyola**

One of the highlights of the episode is an interview with Don Victor Loyola, a former miner who has worked at the municipal museum in Maria Elena.

**Indigenous Presence and Geoglyphs**

The Atacama Desert is also home to a rich indigenous history, evidenced by the thousands of geoglyphs that dot the landscape. These ancient works of art, created by the region's early inhabitants, offer a glimpse into the spiritual and practical lives of the people who once thrived in this harsh environment. The episode explores the significance of these geoglyphs and their role in the transportation networks that connected ancient South American civilizations.

Music Featured

Violeta Parra “Gracias a la Vida.”

Victor Jara “The Right to Live in Peace.”

Illapu “Raza Brava”

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

Resources/Articles:

Victor Loyola has a thirty year history working in the mining industry in the Atacama Desert of Chile and recently worked in tourism at the Municipal Museum in Maria Elena, Chile.

Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

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

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

PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url

Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt

Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats

Episode 229

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.

Rob has continued his groundbreaking work and is looking at the potential of a nationwide class action lawsuit as newer versions of PFAS emerge, unregulated and as dangerous as ever.

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.

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.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/

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

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

Created by: Mark and JP Morris