In this episode of the People Places Planet Podcast, former Research Associate Shehla Chowdhury joins host Georgia Ray to reflect on her time as a research associate, which ended in June 2022. She discusses her work in the nascent field of environmental peacebuilding, while also delving into her contributions to the local government environmental assistance network, differences between domestic and international environmental work, and her takeaways from studying non-governmental organizations in the Global North and Global South.

Interest and urgency in advancing environmental justice has gained new momentum in the United States in recent years. In 2021, we spoke to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette to learn about New Jersey’s newly enacted EJ law. In this latest episode, he joins us again to discuss proposed regulations for implementing the law. The episode is part of the Groundtruth series created in partnership with Beveridge & Diamond, one of the nation’s leading environmental law firms.

Interest and urgency in advancing environmental justice has gained new momentum in the United States in recent years. But what about the rest of the world? This episode takes a global look at EJ, including its relationship with human rights and climate justice issues, and shares what companies can do to advance EJ goals more broadly. The episode is part of the Groundtruth series created in partnership with Beveridge & Diamond, one of the nation’s leading environmental law firms.

For more than a decade, ELI and Vanderbilt University Law School have featured some of the year’s best academic thinking on legal and policy solutions to pressing environmental problems via the Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review (ELPAR).  Linda Breggin, a Senior Attorney at ELI and a Lecturer in Law at Vanderbilt University Law School who co-founded ELPAR, and Kritsen Sarna, a Vanderbilt law student who served as editor-in-chief, talk to Howard Learner, President and Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, to find out his thoughts on environmental citizen suits, the subject of one of this year’s featured articles.

The Environmental Law Institute’s Blight Revitalization Initiative for Green, Healthy Towns (BRIGHT) program released The BRIGHT Guide to help communities develop and execute corridor projects in their own neighborhoods to produce positive health, ecological, and economic outcomes. In this episode, ELI Research Associate Georgia Ray speaks with Scott Wilson Badenoch Jr., Founder and Executive Director of ELI’s BRIGHT Program; Alda Yuan, Managing Director and Lead Editor of The BRIGHT Guide; and Noble Smith, Guide Author and Editor. Scott, Alda, and Noble explain what is inside The BRIGHT Guide and how it works, who it benefits, and how listeners can get started using the resource in their own communities. To learn how communities are using the guide, watch this free webinar. 

As the agency responsible for regulating the interstate transmission of natural gas, oil, and electricity, in addition to natural gas and hydropower projects, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) plays an integral role when it comes to U.S. environmental law and policy. In the latest episode of People Places Planet Podcast, Emily Mallen, a partner at Sidley Austin LLP in Washington, D.C, talks to Matt Christiansen, FERC’s General Counsel. Emily and Matt discuss a variety of topics, including climate change, renewable energy, the grid, and energy justice. To listen, visit www.eli.org/podcasts or find us on your favorite podcast app.

The Martín Peña channel is an urban tidal channel connected to the San Juan Bay Estuary, located in Puerto Rico’s capital of San Juan. According to the 2020 Census, nearly 11,000 people live in the Martin Peña channel area. Sadly, flooding is a constant threat. In this episode, Elissa Torres-Soto, a Staff Attorney at ELI, speaks with three young activists from the area: Krystal Géigel, Mayrita Rosario, and Jeymi Benítez. The trio are members of Líderes Jóvenes en Acción (LIJAC), which in English translates to Young Leaders in Action.

El Caño Martín Peña es un canal urbano conectado al estuario de la Bahía de San Juan, ubicado en la ciudad de San Juan, la capital de Puerto Rico. Según el Censo de 2020, existe una densidad poblacional en el área de casi once mil personas. Desafortunadamente, un grave riesgo para los residentes son las constantes inundaciones. En este episodio, Elissa Torres-Soto, abogada de ELI, habla con tres líderes comunitarios jóvenes que viven en el área: Krystal Géigel, Mayrita Rosario y Jeymi Benitez. Los tres son miembros de Líderes Jóvenes en Acción (LIJAC), Young Leaders in Action en inglés.

Since 1989, ELI has honored over 200 champions of wetlands protection through the National Wetlands Awards program, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional effort, innovation, and excellence in protecting these critical ecosystems. In this episode, hear from our five 2022 awardees, who share their perspectives and insight on a variety of wetlands-related matters. 

More than 30 years ago, roughly 1,100 people attended the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., to discuss the environmental injustices they were experiencing in their communities. Considered by many as the birth of the environmental justice movement, the four-day summit concluded with the adoption of the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice, still relevant today. In this episode, ELI’s Arielle King meets with key organizers and leaders of the historical summit: Vernice Miller-Travis and Charles Lee. The episode is part of the Groundtruth series created in partnership with Beveridge & Diamond, one of the nation’s leading environmental law firms.