Halt the Harm Podcast

Halt the Harm Podcast

By Ryan Clover with Halt the Harm NetworkSociety & CultureArts
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Halt the Harm Podcast episodes

  • Season 2 - Halt the Harm Podcast

    Welcome to Halt the Harm Podcast, I'm your host Ryan Clover.  The network is to support leaders who are taking action to protect themselves and their communities from the harms of oil and gas industry. The podcast is a way to learn more about the people in the network, how they got involved, what work they're doing.

    If you have a story to share, please visit halttheharm.net/podcast or contact us at [email protected]

    If you have questions about fracking, impacts, zoning, regulations, or organizations to connect with, visit frackingnextdoor.com

    2 min
  • 09 - Karen Edelstein, Mapping the Movement
    In this episode Karen Edelstein helps us understand how maps are used as a powerful tool in protecting our communities.


    Maps gives us a big picture view of the land, industrial activity, and even the various people and organizations working to protect the environment. By comparing maps and data we can discover new trends, even possibilities for our work.

    As mentioned in this episode:

    • FracTracker Alliance
    • FracTracker's Resource Page
    • Map of New York State bans and moratoria on high volume hydraulic fracturing
    • https://saneenergyproject.org/
    • http://www.youareherenymap.org/
    • HHN Episode 04 - Mike Younger, Backwoods Pipeline Surveys

      • Bio:

      Karen Edelstein is the Eastern Program Coordinator for the FracTracker Alliance, a nonprofit organization that uses maps and other interactive media to communicate the risks of oil and gas development. As an environmental cartographer, she has worked for many conservation and government agencies over the past two decades.

      She started working with Fractracker in 2010 before fracking was a common part of the public vocabulary. Throughout this time she's created dozens of maps that document environmental resources and industry behavior – maps on geology, water withdrawal, waste transportation, and even the movements of public opposition to fracking. These maps give us the ability to see the bigger picture of how the oil and gas industry operates, as well as our own efforts to organize to protect our health and environment.

      Core Message:

      Maps are powerful tools for organizing activism, and FracTracker is there to help groups mobilizing against oil and gas development, and FOR renewables.

      Credits:

      This podcast is a project of halttheharm.net, a powerful resource for anyone confronting the fracking industry. Halt the Harm is a network of leaders who are taking action, sharing resources and information, and supporting each other’s campaigns. Find out more at halttheharm.net


      The soundtrack Halt the Harm podcast is"One of These Days" by Eilen Jewell from her album Sea of Tears.


      Recorded, produced, and published by Ryan Clover-Owens in the studios of Eco-Defense Radio and WRFI.
      38 min
    • 08 - Ranjana Bhandari, Holding Strong for a Liveable Arlington
      Ranjana Bhandari is a mother and economics lecture. She bought a house in Arlington Texas in 1993. It’s Texas, so it didn’t shock them when the realtor mentioned mineral rights – but hundreds of fracking wells right in their neighborhood, on school campuses, street corners, and city blocks? It was hard to believe.


      Most of her neighbors signed the gas leases during the recession in 2008. It was hard to turn down the money. But Ranjana and her husband refused.


      Chesapeake called them incessantly, trying just about every angle to get them to sign. Eventually they just said, “too bad, we’re drilling anyway.”


      Listen, or read the story at www.halttheharm.net/raisingresistance

      As Mentioned in This Episode:

      • Raising Resistance, Halt the Harm Network
      • Liveable Arlington on Facebook

        • Credits:

        This podcast is a project of halttheharm.net, a powerful resource for anyone confronting the fracking industry. Halt the Harm is a network of leaders who are taking action, sharing resources and information, and supporting each other’s campaigns. Find out more at halttheharm.net


        Recorded, produced, and published by Ryan Clover-Owens in the studios of Eco-Defense Radio and WRFI.
        1 hr 5 min
      • 08 - Melinda Tuhus, Beyond Extreme Energy
        Melinda Tuhus has been an environmental activist for decades – but throughout the past five years has become focused on the fight to slow climate change. As a reporter she's covered climate stories like mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia and the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.


        In this interview she shares her perspective on climate organizing and working with Beyond Extreme Energy.


        For Melinda, meeting people and visiting communities impacted by extreme energy led to a deeper understanding of the need for climate justice. Even though human-caused climate change is serious, and at times overwhelming, Melinda believes we can do something about it.


        She explains how grassroots campaigns have been able to slow down the development of oil and gas infrastructure and even cancel major projects. Not only can we win campaigns, but working together and building a movement can be rewarding on a personal level. 

        As Mentioned in This Episode:

        • Mountain Justice
          • Julia "Judy" Bonds
          • Larry Gibson
          • melindatuhus.net
            • Melinda's reporting & blog
            • Defeating the Northeast Energy Direct Pipeline
              • SNYFGP: We won! Kinder Morgan suspends “Northeast Energy Direct Pipeline Project”
              • Beyond Extreme Energy
              • BXE on Facebook
              • Twitter : @melindanewhaven

                • Music:

                Music for this episode by Eilen Jewell – song is "One of These Days" from her album Sea of Tears.

                Credits:

                This podcast is a project of halttheharm.net, a powerful resource for anyone confronting the fracking industry. Halt the Harm is a network of leaders who are taking action, sharing resources and information, and supporting each other’s campaigns. Find out more at halttheharm.net


                The soundtrack Halt the Harm podcast is"One of These Days" by Eilen Jewell from her album Sea of Tears.

                Recorded, produced, and published by Ryan Clover-Owens in the studios of Eco-Defense Radio and WRFI.
                40 min
              • 07 - Sara Rasmussen and Heather Harr – Fracking and Public Health
                On this episode we've got two guests, Heather Harr and Sara Rasmussen – we're talking about the impacts of fracking on public health.
                 


                Heather Harr is the project director for the League of Women Voters in Pennsylvania's Straight Scoop on Shale Drilling. She talks about the upcoming Shale and Public Health Conference, and also shares some valuable resources about public health impacts of fracking. The conference is for health professionals and community members interested in how the fracking industry impacts public health.


                Sara Rasmussen MHS, who you'll hear in the second half of this episode, published new research that shows a clear connection between fracking and asthma.


                She is a PhD candidate in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Environmental Health and Engineering. She has been involved in three studies on unconventional natural gas development and health outcomes. In this interview Sara explains how they collected data to show the impacts of fracking on public health.


                I also learned a new word – epidemiology, which is (noun) "the branch of medicine that deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health". This is why I'm asking the questions here ;-)

                As Mentioned in This Episode:

                • Upcoming Shale and Public Health Conference – November 16th, 2016
                • The Pennsylvania League of Women Voters
                • Shale Info & Resources from the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters
                • Study :
                  • Association Between Unconventional Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale and Asthma Exacerbations
                  • http://skytruth.org/
                    • This podcast is a project of halttheharm.net, a powerful resource for anyone confronting the fracking industry. Halt the Harm is a network of leaders who are taking action, sharing resources and information, and supporting each other’s campaigns. Find out more at halttheharm.net
                    36 min
                  • 06 - Gillian Graber - Protect Our Children From Fracking
                    Gillian moved into a residential suburban neighborhood to raise her children and live a peaceful life – but then she received a letter from an environmental monitoring group warning her about a proposal to frack for shale-gas in her neighborhood. If allowed, it would immediately endanger her family and community – so Gillian took action.


                    In just a few years Gillian became a full time organizer dedicated to protecting her community from the harms of fracking. She talked with neighbors, reached out to organizations who could support her work, and started gaining traction.


                    If you are living in an area affected by fracking and want to learn more about effective community organizing, then you're going to love hearing Gillian's story and checking out the resources she shared with us below.


                    I hope you enjoy this episode of the Halt the Harm Podcast with Gillian Graber.

                    As Mentioned in the Show:

                    • Protect PT (Penn Township)
                      • on Facebook
                      • on Youtube
                      • Mountain Watershed Association
                      • Protect Our Children
                        • Organizing ABCs : A Guide to Protecting Our Schools and Communities from Shale Gas Development
                        • Halt the Harm

                          • Bio:

                          Gillian Graber is a cofounder and now the president of Protect PT, a community organization working to ensure the safety, security, and quality of life for people in Penn Township, Trafford, and surrounding communities. For the past two years they've been organizing to prevent fracking from putting their community at risk.


                          She's also working with Protect Our Children, a statewide coalition working to stop drilling near public schools.

                          What We Talked About:

                          In this interview Gillian shares how she got involved with community organizing. She explains what specific steps she took to grow her organization to what it is today.


                          This podcast is a project of halttheharm.net, a powerful resource for anyone confronting the fracking industry. Halt the Harm is a network of leaders who are taking action, sharing resources and information, and supporting each other’s campaigns. Find out more at halttheharm.net
                          42 min
                        • 05 - Lisa Graves-Marcucci, How to Challenge Industrial Permits
                          If you are concerned with fracking infrastructure you're going to find this interview with Lisa Graves-Marcucci incredibly valuable.

                          Lisa shares two decades of experience challenging industrial activity such as coal, oil, and gas projects. She helps us understand what questions to ask, where to intervene, and how to identify the tactics used by industry to discourage us from getting involved.


                          I hope you enjoy this episode of the Halt the Harm Podcast with Lisa Graves-Marcucci.

                          As Mentioned in the Show:

                          • Citizens Toolkit (coming soon!)
                          • http://environmentalintegrity.org
                          • @EIPOnline
                          • https://www.facebook.com/EnvIntegrity

                            • Bio:

                            Lisa has been a community advocate for over 20 years. Since joining EIP in 2009, her efforts to protect human health from power plant and oil and gas pollution have grown from the community to the regional and national level. Lisa has conducted extensive reviews of permit files for EIP, helped to identify violations, and organized citizen testimony at numerous public hearings before local, state and national agencies. Lisa was invited to speak before the National Academy of Sciences in October of 2004 in Washington, D.C., advocating for more effective regulation of coal combustion waste disposal.  Ms. Graves-Marcucci is a life-long resident of Pittsburgh’s Monongahela Valley and is a graduate of Duquesne University.

                            Main Message:

                            Industry tries to discourage participation in the local permitting process new industrial activity. But getting involved is critical, and there is a tangible set of tools you can use to challenge industry and start getting results.

                            What We Talked About:

                            In this interview Lisa shares how she began a two-decade career scrutinizing industrial projects and learning how to stand up to industry. She brings strength and determination to her work – and in this interview she shares some of the common forms of intimidation that industry representatives and "experts" use to discourage public participation during the permitting process.


                            In her  experience Lisa has seen patterns emerge, and educates people how to stand up to industry and challenge these permits.


                            Why? Because in her two decades of experience she's never found a permit for an industrial project that didn't have problems or mistakes. She is currently in the process of creating a Citizen's Toolkit, which will be available through the Environmental Integrity Project and help everyday folks like you and me participate in decisions that impact us.


                            This podcast is a project of halttheharm.net, a powerful resource for anyone confronting the fracking industry. Halt the Harm is a network of leaders who are taking action, sharing resources and information, and supporting each other’s campaigns. Find out more at halttheharm.net


                            Halt the Harm Podcast is produced in collaboration with Eco-Defense Radio, which you can learn more about at ecodefenseradio.org
                            47 min
                          • 04 - Mike Younger, Backwoods Pipeline Surveys
                            When Mike Younger learned about a compressor station being built near hear farm he started to ask questions – after hiking out to visit pipelines in rural Tennessee he was spurred into action. He found places where the pipes were exposed, crossing rivers, or in dangerous flood zones. He started taking pictures, gathering data, and compiling a report.


                            Now the pipeline survey is a substantial report which is costing pipeline companies hundreds of thousands of dollars – in fact – if the companies were regulated according to the law their business may not be viable. That’s why Mike is on a mission to show us how we can monitor the industries that impact our lives.


                            If you're ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work, you're going to love this interview.Mike breaks down exactly how he started his survey, and gives us a blueprint for how we can leverage this valuable tactic to defend the land.


                            I hope you enjoy this episode of the Halt the Harm Podcast with Mike Younger.

                            As Mentioned in the Show:

                            • www.mikeyounger.com
                            • Download the 2015 Pipeline Survey
                            • The music video for "Poisoned Rivers" can be viewed at www.mikeyounger.com/clips-and-scraps/
                            • Concerned Citizens for a Safe Environment

                              • Main Message:

                              There comes a point where we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work. The tactic of exposing poor pipeline maintenance and putting it into a formal study to be disseminated at all levels of gov't is a viable tactic. Why? Because it's reproducible – pipelines are everywhere, and we can monitor the places where pipelines run through our communities with tools like google maps and a camera.

                              What We Talked About:

                              • What initially mobilized him to challenge the oil and gas industry
                              • The lack of regulation of the industry – or regulation in favor of the industry
                              • How Mike started the Pipeline Survey
                              • The pipeline survey he conducted and HOW
                              • Just putting together the report wasn’t enough – he needed to get the attention of regulatory agencies and political representatives.


                                • This podcast is a project of halttheharm.net, a powerful resource for anyone confronting the fracking industry. Halt the Harm is a network of leaders who are taking action, sharing resources and information, and supporting each other’s campaigns. Find out more at halttheharm.net
                                1 hr 18 min
                              • 03 - Vera Scroggins, Defending Environmental and Human Rights
                                "In this episode, award winning environmental activist Vera Scroggins joins us from Pennsylvania to share her perspective on fighting fossil fuel development – even though it's sometimes uncomfortable or risky."


                                See the complete shownotes at https://www.ecodefenseradio.org/2016/09/15/vera-scroggins/"


                                Vera has been documenting violations of the fracking industry and leading tours to show first hand the impacts fracking is having in Pennsylvania. As a result, she's become a target of industry intimidation, but she remains strong at heart. In this interview Vera shares her background, and what inspires her to take action despite the challenges she's faced.

                                Links to stuff we talked about:

                                • The anti-fracking activist barred from 312.5 sq miles of Pennsylvania
                                • #No DAPL
                                • Vera Scroggins Youtube Channel
                                • Support Standing Rock

                                  • Bio:

                                  Vera Scroggins has documented violations and exposed much of the gas industry malpractice and has been banned from 312.5 square miles of Pennsylvania. This includes the county hospital, local restaurants, supermarkets and drug stores, the animal shelter, the bowling alley, even the lake shore. The ban represents one of the most extreme measures taken by the oil and gas industry against protesters. A Montrose County courthouse granted Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation an injunction barring Scroggins from all property owned or leased by the company. This amounts to two hundred thousand acres of land, and nearly 40% of the county where Scroggins lives.

                                  What we talked about :

                                  In this interview Vera Scroggins talks about where she grew up, and how she became active in environmental issues. For her, it's just as much about defending the land as it is our rights to free speech and basic health.


                                  As mentioned in her biography above, Vera's lost her mobility in public places – she's been banned from nearly 40% of her county. She says this is a corporate takeover – and she's experiencing it first hand. Instead of protecting the people, various parts of the U.S. government are protecting the interests of the gas industry.


                                  Vera challenges us to take action, despite the short-term risks. The greater risk is doing nothing, and facing the impacts of the gas industry – climate change, water contamination,


                                  Click HERE to See the complete shownotes at Eco-Defense Radio


                                  29 min
                                • 02 - Alex Lotorto on Supporting Frontline Communities
                                  In this episode Alex Lotorto joins us from Northeast Pennsylvania to talk about the value of building grassroots support networks to sustain our movement. He shares valuable insight for anyone who cares about the future of the environmental movement and wants to support the people most impacted by the issues we talk about in our work."


                                  Click HERE to see the show notes at Eco-Defense Radio

                                  Links:

                                  • Press Kit for Dimock Families
                                  • Energy Justice Network
                                  • Energy Justice Summer
                                  • Halt the Harm Network
                                  • Shalefield Stories : Friends of the Harmed

                                    • Bio:

                                    Alex has been the Shale Gas Program Coordinator for Energy Justice Network since 2011. Outside of his professional capacity, he has worked extensively as a volunteer organizer fighting for environmental justice in communities facing rural poverty.


                                    Alex also has a labor union background and has been a union activist in both the private and public sectors, is a union delegate for the Industrial Workers of the World, and represents workers in unemployment compensation appeal hearings on a volunteer basis.

                                    Main Message :

                                    Foundations and major environmental groups (Big Greens) aren't situated to help the people most in need and Organizers need to build their own support network if the most difficult and important work is going to get done.

                                    What we talked about :

                                    In this conversation Alex shares his experience working with his friends in Northeastern Pennsylvania. From working in rural communities, and with a history in labor organizing, Alex understands the importance of building support networks of our own – and not relying on large foundations or major environmental groups (Big Greens).


                                    At first I was uncomfortable when Alex started sharing examples of how organizations like the Sierra Club can actually perpetuate the problems of fracking – I didn’t want this episode to come across as cynical. But Alex’s message isn’t cynical, it’s critically important – it’s empowering. He shares some concrete examples about how we can build support networks of our own, and has suggestions for how people working within large environmental organizations can help steer them toward supporting the front lines.


                                    Click HERE to see the show notes at Eco-Defense Radio


                                    This podcast is a project of Halt the Harm Network. Find out how you can leverage your impact by connecting with a network and having access to the many benefits provided at www.halttheharm.net
                                    59 min

                                  About Halt the Harm Podcast

                                  From the publisher's feed

                                  This movement is created by leaders who are inspired to take action. While we are all connecting by our shared goals to fight fracking’s harms, each and every leader brings a different perspective to…