The Land I Trust

To Charles Hua, Madison, Wisconsin, is more than dairy. It’s his hometown and the land has shaped who he is as a person, and how he approaches the issues of climate change.

The Michna family has lived near Caledonia, Wisconsin since the 1800s. In fact, there are now 11 Michna siblings living on Michna Road. But they have a bad neighbor now—a coal plan. Frank Michna and two of his sisters, Renee Michna and Maureen Michna-Wolff, sat down to talk about living in the shadow of coal plants…

The 11 siblings of the Michna family grew up on Michna Road in Wisconsin where nearly all of them still live—despite the coal plant that they have as a neighbor. Their story in this episode, plus: how a Madison high school went solar, and…Girl Scouts.

Kate Madigan is the director of the Michigan Climate Action Network, which organizes grassroots climate action. For her, the next steps to address climate change are pretty obvious, it’s just a matter of whether or not we can get it done.

Some call Traverse City, Michigan, the Cherry Capital of the world. It produces nearly 75 percent of the country’s tart cherries, and about a fifth of our sweet cherries. However, in recent years, cherry farmers have been feeling the effects from climate change -- farmers like Jim Nugent.

Theresa Landrum has lived in Southwest Detroit her whole life. Her zip code is 48217, which is infamous for being the most polluted zip code in the state of Michigan. Nearby is an oil refinery from Marathon Petroleum Corporation that sends chemicals up into the air. There’s also a coal-fired power plant just a few miles away. I-75 runs right through the zip code. Right in the center of all this is Theresa’s community. She’s been fighting for environmental justice for a long time. But when she was a kid, she saw her neighborhood much differently.

Season 3 of the Land I Trust brings you storytellers from across the Midwestern US who share their experiences of climate change, the impacts of dirty fuels, the fight for clean energy—and more. Host and narrator Precious Brady-Davis weaves together these stories and shares some of her own perspective as well. The series is a unique window into this important part of the country, at a pivotal time for the nation and the planet. In this episode, series host Precious Brady-Davis shares her unique journey to environmental activism. Then: a visit to one of the most polluted zip codes in the state of Michigan, and a journey to the imperiled cherry groves of Traverse City.

Coming soon: a new podcast from Sierra Club. The Overstory brings listeners some of the most surprising, heartfelt, and provocative stories from across the American landscape. With each episode our reporters go beyond the latest news headlines as they profile the people and places on the front lines of environmental activism. First episode out now! https://simplecast.com/s/ca82d821

Mishka Banuri, a teen activist, talks about working in Utah to fight climate change -- and the interfaith conference that inspired her. In Carbon County, Utah, coal gives the county its name. Gabriel Hunt, a fourth generation coal miner in East Carbon, talks about leaving the industry in the hopes that clean energy will lead to healthier communities and cleaner air. We meet Kayla Molloy, an 8-year-old fighting climate change, and her mother, Rachel, who combat air pollution and climate change in Washington state.

Aaron Cage and Gabriel Hunt share what it was like to work in the oil, gas, and coal industries. Aaron talks about changing to wind energy.