Sojourner Truth Radio

Today on Sojourner Truth in partnership with the Global Justice Ecology Project our Earth Watch guest is Anne Petermann, Executive Director of the Global Justice Ecology Project and international coordinator of the campaign STOP GE Trees.

Researchers at the State University of NY College of Enviornmental Science and Forestry are developing genetically engineered (GE)American Chestnut trees that are blight resistant, and hope to win government approval for its unregulated release in the environment. GE trees are being lauded as the biotech solution for forest conservation, however the reality is that should GE trees be approved they would be mass produced and used for commercial production of timber, pulp and bio-fuels, instead of forest conservation.

The GE American Chestnut could be the first GE forest tree species planted specifically to spread freely through forests, and the dangers of this could be catastrophic to existing forest ecosystems. Not only does the US regulatory system have no specific regulations to deal with the release of GE trees into forests, but the highly experimental introduction of GE trees could create new problems and worsen existing pressures on forest ecosystems, already strained from unsustainable logging practices, invasive species, introduced pests and pathogens and the surmounting impacts of climate change.

Anne Petermann has played a key role in the global effort to stop the release of genetically engineered trees into the environment in the last 22 years. In 2008 she led a campaign demanding a global ban on GE trees that won an historic decision on GE trees from the UN Convention on Biological Diversity warning countries of the dangers of GE trees

and urging them to use a precautionary approach.

Today on Sojourner Truth we bring you our weekly Earth Minute in partnership with the Global Justice Ecology Project.

This week's topic the international organization Bio Fuel Watch released a new report titled: Carbon Capture from Bio Mass and Waste Incineration Hype vs Reality.

The report analyses the climate change mitigation strategy known as bio energy with carbon capture and storage (BECC) and its conclusions may surprise you.

Today on Sojourner Truth, we discuss the very real possibility of incorporating genetically engineered American Chestnut trees into wild forests, and the corporate and special interests pushing this forward as a false solution to address forest conservation with our guest, Executive Director of the Global Justice Ecology Project, Anne Peterman.

We will also feature our Global Justice Ecology Project Earth Minute segment.

We conclude the program with our guest, journalist Tina Gerhardt who covered the recent Cop 27 UN conference for The Nation magazine. We will discuss the public comment by the Tuvalu representative in response to the loss and damage funds agreement and its impact on countries in the global south.

Today on Sojourner Truth with guest host Nana Gyamfi, Professor Christopher Gaffney joins us at the top of the hour to talk about the injustices masked behind the mega sports event being hosted by Qatar, the World Cup. From unsafe working conditions to displacement, what is the environmental and economic impact that mainstream media is obscuring?

Dr. Amara Enyia joins us in the second half of the program to discuss the forthcoming UN Permanent Forum on Peoples of African Descent and her role spearheading the permanence of this forum to help continue the legacy of efforts by the Global Black Diaspora to address global anti-Black racism and its vestiges to the world body.

Finally we conclude with the recent announcement by a federal district Court in Washington DC that ordered the Biden administration to end its use of Title 42, an archaic health policy weaponized by President Trump, to prevent asylum-seekers from entering the United States. Over a million migrants have been expelled at the border without an asylum hearing under the policy. The Biden administration set a record, expelling over 26K Haitians in just the past year alone. Joining us to talk about the impact of Title 42 and what we might expect next is Ronald Claude, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI).

Today on Sojourner Truth civil rights icon attorney Barbara Arnwine joins Margaret Prescod at the top of the hour to share the work she and along with a coalition of organizers and organizations continue to do on the ground to ensure voters in Georgia are able to cast their vote despite the hurdles that have been put in place to deter voters, in attempts by the GOP to suppress the Black vote during one of the most contentious races in the nation.

And Sara Hussein, a PhD graduate student worker in the history department at UCLA joins us for the second half of the program to discuss the nation's largest strike of higher education workers in the University of California system.

Today on Sojourner Truth we discuss the UN Climate Summit held in Egypt, or Cop 27, that culminated Sunday November 20th after two weeks of arduous negotiations. This victory is a direct result of mounting pressure from global civil society organizations present in Sharm el-Sheikh and in cities and capitals around the world, combined with strong leadership, 30 years in the making.

A breakthrough deal is the establishment of a loss and damages fund to help poorest countries most impacted by climate change. Rich countries are agreeing to contribute to this fund but what will this actually look like? It will likely still be several years before the fund exists. Major lingering questions include: who would oversee the fund, how the money would be dispersed – and to whom.

Many countries said they felt pressured to give up on tougher commitments for limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in order for the landmark deal on the loss and damage fund to go through. And the richest countries largely contributing to fossil fuel pollution, made no real commitments to curb their use, in fact the loss and damage funds deal also included a reference to "low-emissions energy," raising concern among some that it opened the door to the growing use of natural gas - a fossil fuel that leads to both carbon dioxide and methane emissions.

Joining us to discuss and contextualize the gains and concessions that took place at Cop 27 are, Shereen Talaat is Co-director and one of the founders of The Arab Watch Regional

Coalition for Just Development that covering issues in the Middle East and North Africa, Tina Gerhardt, journalist and Cop 27 correspondent covering the UN conference for The Nation magazine and Luiz Vieira coordinator for the Bretton Woods Project. The Bretton Woods Project is a civil society watchdog of the IMF and World Bank, advocating for a multilateral system that is democratic, inclusive, transparent, accountable, and responsive to people, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.

Today on Sojourner Truth our Friday Panel guests:

historian Dr. Gerald Horne, journalist Laura Carlsen and LAUSD school board member Jackie Goldberg join us for the hour to discuss the G20 conference that just wrapped up and the role of the participating countries in the world contrasted with the Cop 27 conference on climate change where the wealthiest countries in the world made no real resolutions to address the climate crisis.

We also discuss the midterm election winners and the impact these bicameral victories could have on the future of the House and Senate.

Today on Sojourner Truth we bring you our weekly Earth Minute in partnership with the Global Justice Ecology Project:

You'll hear from Nnimmo Bassey, an award winning, storied environmentalist and Global Justice Ecology Project Board Member on his take on the United Nations Cop 27 conference.

Today on Sojourner Truth we speak to Earth Watch guest Dr. Shannon Gibson, Associate Professor at USC, whose research and courses cover global environmental politics, global public health, social movements, social justice and community-based research. Her students are presently accessing Cop 27 conference workshops and content remotely through the Wrigley Institute. We discuss the sentiment her college age students face by engaging with a conference like Cop 27, where with the exception of protesters from around the globe, most international diplomats and participants negotiating do not represent their age range or urgency to take action to mitigate global warming, and what Dr. Gibson is doing to prepare these future leaders facing this climate crisis.

This interview is part of the Earth Watch weekly segment on Sojourner Truth in partnership with the Global Justice Ecology Project.

Today on Sojourner Truth we continue our coverage of the Cop 27 conference with our guest Dr. Shannon Gibson, Associate Professor at USC, whose research and courses cover global environmental politics, global public health, social movements, social justice and community-based research. Her students are accessing Cop 27 conference workshops and content remotely through the Wrigley Institute. We discuss the sentiment her college age students face by engaging with a conference like Cop 27, where with the exception of activists from around the globe, most international diplomats and participants negotiating do not represent their age range or urgency to take action to mitigate global warming, and what Dr. Gibson is doing to prepare these future leaders facing this climate crisis.

We conclude with journalist and The Nation correspondent Tina Gerhardt who is covering Cop 27 and her take on what to expect in the last leg of Cop 27.