Shows
Our Road to Walk: Then and NowOur Road: Then -- E28 "The Past is Never Past," Reflections on NPR Throughline PodcastSend us a textPhoto: William Sanjour, Former Branch Chief of EPA's Division of Hazardous Waste Disposal, warned in the late 1970s that reducing the scope of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) industrial hazardous waste disposal regulations would be devastating. He became an EPA whistleblower, speaking out about the dangers of weak and non-existent regulations of chemicals and predicting the horrific chemical age in which we now live. See: From the Files of a Whistleblower: Or how EPA was captured by the industry it regulated, by William Sanjour, 12.25.13https://chej.org/w...2023-10-2745 min
In Our Backyard Podcast32. The Dangers of Dioxins: The Ohio Train DerailmentSteven Lester is a Toxicologist and the Science Director at the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, CHEJ.
We speak about the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment where 38 of its 150 cars derailed while carrying a variety of hazardous chemicals on February 3rd. A few days after the train cars derailed the company, Norfolk Southern, was afraid of a bigger explosion and decided to dump and burn the 5 cars carrying vinyl chloride.
The burning of this leads to dioxins in the air, soil, water, and farm animals there. “Dioxin” is the name given to a group of pe...2023-04-0733 min
The Toxic AvengersInterview with Lois Gibbs, Toxic Avenger at Love Canal and Founder of the Center for Health, Environment & JusticeIn the first episode of the Toxic Avengers podcast, we interview Lois Gibbs, who led the successful fight for community relocation from the poisoned neighborhood of Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York. For the past 40 years, she has been the Director of the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, helping communities facing similar threats to their health from toxic chemicals. www.https://chej.org/The interview, taped in February, begins discussing Lois' sabbatical and how she separates her work and non-work lives. We discuss how the pandemic has affected CHEJ's advocacy. Lois outlines...2021-11-301h 55
Fighting to WinEp. 29: Charles Utley - Blue Ridge Environmental Defense LeagueListen to Charles Utley's inspiring experiences and insights related to Environmental Justice! Utley grew up in Hyde Park, Georgia, a predominantly Black community. Many people worked at Southern Wood Piedmont Co., a company that used creosote and dumped their chemical debris into a stream that bordered Hyde Park. Residents of Hyde Park [are] continually being exposed to contamination; many did not receive enough reimbursement funds to relocate and are still living in the community. Charles Utley is a big proponent of the Polluters Pay Tax. This tax will create an avenue for those harmed by corporate pollution to seek...2021-09-281h 06
In Our Backyard Podcast5. Youth in the Climate Movement : Leija HellingLeija Helling is a Community Organizing Associate with Center for Health Environment and Justice (CHEJ). The campaign that she is working on is called Make Polluters Pay which is making polluting corporations pay for their contamination.
To give some background, there are currently 1,388 toxic waste sites in the United States that are so dangerous they have been designated “Superfund” sites by the federal government. But there’s no money left to clean up the contamination. Originally, big polluting companies paid into a fund that was used to clean up their messes. But in 1995, Congress let the Polluters Pay Ta...2021-09-1721 min
Fighting to WinEp. 28: Jose Franco Garcia- Organizing Director of Environmental Health CoalitionJose Franco Garcia has over 15 years of experience with community organizing in the San Diego area. He currently focuses on environmental justice issues and working to ensure that his community is safe & healthy. After graduating from the University of California at San Diego with a B.A. in Political Science, he spent four years as the Community Building director at the Coalition of Neighborhood Councils in San Diego. In 2010, he began work with the Environmental Health Coalition (EHC), where he now serves as organizing director. Listen to CHEJ's organizing director Gustavo Andrade interview Jose and share personal stories...2021-08-1157 minFighting to WinEp. 27: Georgette Gomez- Rooted in CommunityGeorgette Gomez is a queer, Latina woman rooted in her San Diego community where she grew up with two immigrant parents. She received her degree in Environmental and Natural Resource Geography, and has acquired over 13 years of experience as an environmental organizer at the Environmental Health Coalition. At EHC, she spearheaded a new community plan for Barrio Logan and worked on other important environmental justice campaigns. Georgette left her position as Associate Director for Policy at EHC in 2016 because she was elected as a city council representative. During her time in office, Georgette continued to fight for environmental justice...2021-08-061h 05Fighting to WinEp. 26: Transforming Struggle into Power - Olinka GreenTune into today's episode to learn valuable lessons in leadership and organizing from formidable activist Olinka Green! To learn more, visit http://chej.org/livingroomleadership/.2021-07-0656 minFighting to WinEp. 25: Mama Bear to Leading Activist - Gillian GraberTune into today's episode for a conversation with Gillian Graber, the cofounder and president of Protect PT, a community organization working for security, safety, and quality of life for people in Penn Township. Today, Protect PT’s most recent focus is a fight against a local Injection Well that is threatening the safety of drinking water in the area. To learn more about Graber's journey, visit http://chej.org/livingroomleadership/.2021-06-1950 minFighting to WinEp. 24: The Woman in the Mirror - Lee Ann SmithTune into today's episode for a conversation with Lee Ann Smith, an elementary school librarian turned environmental activist from Asheville, North Carolina! She began fighting against environmental injustice when her son Gabe was diagnosed with rare thyroid cancer at the age of 11. In addition to her son, many community members were getting sick as a result of a toxic waste site that was emitting Trichloroethylene (TCE). Lee Ann Smith looked in the mirror and decided she was the one who needed to take action. Gabe, now a healthy adult living in Iceland, joins his mom on this podcast as...2021-06-1045 minFighting to WinEp. 23: What is Right in Cancer AlleyTune into today's episode for a conversation with Darryl Malek-Wiley, an environmental activist with over 30 years of experience! He has been fighting alongside the primarily African-American, low income communities affected by “Cancer Alley” for clean water, air, and land, and to prevent more industrial plants from being built. To learn more, visit http://chej.org/livingroomleadership/.2021-06-0444 min
GrassRoot OhioRadioactive Brine Bills - Ohio HB 282 & SB 171 w/ Teresa Mills and Roxanne GroffCarolyn Harding with Teresa Mills and Roxanne Groff, founders of the Ohio Brine Task Force, educating and organizing the people of Ohio regarding Oil & Gas liquid waste or, “Brine”, which is currently spread on our roadways for dust and ice control, sounding the alarm that this Brine is far more than salty water, in fact it’s dangerous - it’s Radioactive.
For almost 30 years Teresa Mills has worked as a grassroots leader to help communities to find their voices, analyze data and develop strategic plans. She began her activism career by shutting down the Columbus trash Incinerator, which was pollutin...2021-05-2427 minFighting to WinEp.22: Champion of the Underdog -- Melissa Mays of Flint, MITune into today's episode for a conversation with Melissa Mays, Water You Fighting For activist, nicknamed “Champion of the Underdog”, to learn more about her fight against the Flint water crisis. Although Mays has had to deal with the trauma from the consequences of speaking up, it does not stop her, because she believes that this is what she is meant to do. To learn more about Mays' journey, visit http://chej.org/livingroomleadership/2021-05-0351 minFighting to WinEp.21: When You Go Alone, You Lose -- Lois Gibbs, Founder of CHEJOn April 6, 1981, 501(c)(3) paperwork was filed marking the beginning of the Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ). Lois Gibbs, Founder of CHEJ, celebrates 40 years of founding the organization, and remembers the role everyone played in making it the organization it is today. Tune into today's episode for a conversation with Gibbs about her victory in Love Canal, as well as her contributions to the Superfund bill. To learn more, visit chej.org/livingroomleadership/.2021-04-1250 minFighting to WinEp.20: Poisoned Without Permission: Andrea AmicoTune into today's episode for a conversation with Andrea Amico, the Co-founder of Testing for Pease in NH. Amico became an activist after reading about high level of PFAS contamination in a well which supplied drinking water to the Pease International Tradeport, and her family were among those who drank the contaminated water every day. To learn more, visit http://chej.org/livingroomleadership/.2021-04-0650 minFighting to WinEp.19: From Shy Young Woman, To Powerful Leader: Penny NewmanPenny Newman, Founder of Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ) held victory after fighting against the Stringfellow Acid Pits in the 1980s. Tune into today's episode for a conversation with Newman about her journey as an activist and her fights against toxic pollution. Newman’s transformation from a shy young woman to a leader that has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people was all as a result of her and her family suffering from the harm of a toxic site. To learn more, visit chej.org/livingroomleadership/.2021-03-2955 min
Fighting to WinEp.18: The Wasted Babies of Injection WellsTune into today's episode for a conversation with Phyllis Glazer about the sufferings of her community, and her tactic of using the press to drive the facility out of business. Phyllis Glazer is an activist featured in People Magazine, the Houston Chronicle, CNN/Time News Magazine’s Earth Day 2000 Special, NBC Dateline, and more. She was the founder of Mothers Organized to Stop Environmental Sins (MOSES), and has been fighting against toxic pollution since the 1990s. To learn more, visit chej.org/livingroomleadership/.2021-02-2244 minFighting to WinEp 17: Nina Morgan and GASP Go Above and Beyond to Help Those in Birmingham During The PandemicTune into today's episode to learn about how Nina Morgan and GASP go above and beyond to help those in Birmingham during the pandemic. Morgan is a Climate and Environmental Justice Organizer with GASP, and have recently held victory in reaching a settlement agreement to end ABC's Coke pollution. Interested in learning more? Visit chej.org/livingroomleadership/.2021-02-1543 minFighting to WinEp. 16: "They Were Killing Me Alive"Tune into today's episode to with Charlie Powell of People Against Neighborhood Industrial Contamination (PANIC) in Birmingham, AL to learn about his fight to get his community relocated from toxic facilities and his experience as a former steel mill worker! To learn more, visit http://chej.org/livingroomleadership/2021-01-2944 minFighting to WinEp. 15: A Nuclear FightTune into today's episode for a chat with Pam Kingfisher, an organizer who led the fight in shutting down 23% of the world’s uranium supply and fighting off unwanted poultry CAFO in her community. Interested in learning more? Visit chej.org/livingroomleadership/ .2021-01-2737 minFighting to WinEp. 14: "They Shall Deny"Tune into today's episode with Maria Lopez-Nuñez, Deputy Director, Organizing and Advocacy of Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC), to listen to her experience as one of the leaders that helped pass S232, the strongest environmental justice law in the United States. Interested in learning more? Visit http://chej.org/livingroomleadership/ .2021-01-2142 minFighting to WinEp. 13: Justice for JaneyTune into today's special Veteran's Day episode with U.S. Marine Corps veteran Jerry Ensminger to learn about the contamination and fight for justice at Camp Lejeune, a military base in North Carolina. Interested in learning more? Visit https://chej.org/livingroomleadership/.2021-01-1341 minFighting to WinEp.12: A Lesson in Leadership with Former Athens County Commissioner Roxane GroffTune into today's episode to learn valuable lessons in leadership and organizing from formidable activist and former elected official, Roxanne Groff! To learn more, visit http://chej.org/livingroomleadership/. 2021-01-0636 minFighting to WinEp. 11: Fighting for Environmental Justice in the Inland EmpireTune in to today's episode with Esther Portillo, Interim Executive Director of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ), to learn about how she leads grassroots efforts to bring lasting environmental justice to communities in the Inland Empire. To learn more, visit https://www.facebook.com/CCAEJ. 2020-12-1634 minFighting to WinEp. 10: The Tar Creek KeeperTune in to today's episode to learn about Rebecca Jim's work leading her Native American community’s fight for environmental justice and remediation of the Tar Creek area, one of the largest and most polluted Superfund sites in the United States. Interested in learning more? Visit https://www.facebook.com/leadagencyinc/. 2020-12-0229 minFighting to WinE.9: I Will Fight Until I MeltTune in to today's episode to learn about how Pamela Miller and Vi Waghiyi tackle military toxics, protect health, and achieve justice for Alaskan natives. Interested in learning more? Visit https://www.akaction.org/. 2020-11-1836 minFighting to WinE. 9: Lois Gibbs Talks Labor and Environmental MovementsTune in to today's episode to hear CHEJ's founder, Lois Gibbs, talk about the various connections and collaborations between labor and environmental movements. To learn more about CHEJ's history and the we work we're doing with communities, visit www.chej.org. 2020-11-1135 minFighting to WinEp. 8: A Win Against Fossil Fuels in a Tea-Party Texas TownTune in to today's episode to learn about how Ranjana Bhandari brought residents together to oppose fracking in Arlington, TX. Interested in learning more? Visit https://www.facebook.com/LiveableArlington. 2020-11-0529 minFighting to WinEp. 7: Former Hollywood Star Takes on Texas Oil RefineriesTune in to learn about why Hilton Kelley, Executive Director and Founder of CIDA, Community In-Power & Development Association, gave up his acting career to pursue environmental justice in his hometown of Port Arthur, TX. Interested in learning more? Visit https://www.cidainc.org. 2020-10-2847 minFighting to WinEp. 6: Community Organizing to Politics with Hawaii's 23-Year-Old State RepInterested in electoral politics? Tune in to learn about Kaniela Ing's experiences as a community organizer and former representative in the Hawaii State House. 2020-10-2244 minFighting to WinEp. 5: Pushing Back Against Corporate Polluters in Wausau, WisconsinTune in to learn about Tom Kilian's experience pushing back against corporate polluters in Wausau, Wisconsin. Interested in learning more? Visit http://cleanwausau.com. 2020-10-1444 minFighting to WinEp. 4: Cancer Clusters in Houston's 5th WardTune in to learn about Jackie Medcalf's experience leading the fight for full remediation of San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site. Interested in learning more? Visit https://txhea.org. 2020-10-0737 minFighting to WinEp. 3: Tackling TCE-Tainted Water in Tucson's Communities of ColorTune in to learn about the health effects of drinking TCE-tainted water in Tuscon. Interested in learning more? Visit https://www.facebook.com/ejtaskforce. 2020-09-3015 minFighting to WinEp. 2: A Massive Victory Over The Atlantic Coast PipelineTune in to learn about Lou Zeller's successful efforts to cancel the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Interested in learning more? Visit https://www.facebook.com/BlueRidgeEnvironmentalDefenseLeague. 2020-09-2340 minFighting to WinEp. 1: The Manhattan Project's Legacy: Two Moms Battling Radioactive WasteTune in to learn about how two moms brought awareness to a nuclear waste problem in their community and demanded change from the EPA. Interested in learning more? Visit http://www.stlradwastelegacy.com. 2020-09-1638 minFighting to WinIntroducing Fighting to WinWelcome to Fighting to Win, the series where we share real stories from the frontlines of the environmental justice movement. Here at CHEJ, we connect communities to each other, so when COVID-19 hit, we launched a webinar series to bring organizers, activists and community leaders together despite the distance. Tune in to listen to these communities' rich and inspiring stories. We are together in this fight, and we are fighting to win environmental justice for our communities! 2020-09-1501 minIn Our Backyard Podcast11. What Is Community Organizing Anyways?Gustavo Andrade is the Organizing Director with Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ). He is a community organizer, trainer, strategist and advocate for full rights for all people. And previously, Gusatvo worked as a labor organizer with UNITE HERE! and the Change To Win coalition, leading successful campaigns in Northern Virginia, Los Angeles and Toronto.
We discuss why community organizing exists, the power analysis when starting a campaign, some of his successes in community organizing, how when we come together in community we are more powerful, and then what organizing looks like amidst COVID-19.
C...2020-04-2428 min
GrassRoot OhioOil & Gas BRINE w/ Teresa Mills & Greg PaceCarolyn Harding with Greg Pace and Teresa Mills, activists with extensive research, experience and action regarding Oil & Gas BRINE, and why we should not use this on our roads for ice or dust!
Ohio HB 545 - A bill has been introduced that allows Oil and Gas Management to determine the safety of AquaSalina and other "conventional" brine products for use as a de-icer. Meet two intrepid activists raising the science and alarm to this radioactive BRINE - Ohio and many other states spread on our roads!
Greg Pace is co-founder of the Columbus Community Bill of Rights- he’s webmaster, tr...2020-03-1429 min
Strange CountryLove CanalWhat if your home sat on 22,000 tons of buried chemical waste? That was the reality of the roughly 1,000 residents of the Love Canal neighborhood in Niagara Falls, NY. Strange Country co-hosts Beth and Kelly use their chemaginations to take us back to the 1970s, the idyllic time when polluters could just dump whatever wherever. Theme music: Resting Place by A Cast of Thousands. Cite your sources: “Background Information.” University at Buffalo Libraries Love Canal Collections, library.buffalo.edu/archives/lovecanal/about/. Brown, Michael H. “Love Canal and the Poisoning of America.” The Atlan...2019-04-251h 08
What Doesn't Kill YouEpisode 194: What Is Really In That Packaging? Mike Schade Reviews the State of Food Packaging and How It Affects Our Health and the EnvironmentThis week on What Doesn't Kill You, host Katy Keiffer welcomes Mike Schade of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.
Schade spearheads the Mind the Store campaign which aims to work with the nation's leading retailers on creating comprehensive chemicals policy. For the previous eight years, Mike was the Markets Campaign Coordinator with the Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ), a national environmental health organization where he led national campaigns to phase out PVC plastic, phthalates, BPA and dioxin. Prior to CHEJ, he was the Western New York Director of Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. Ethisphere Magazine listed Mike as one of...2016-06-1348 min