Earth Day 2022: 7 Essential Conversations On The Environment
Ted Danson, Jane Goodall, Robert Bullard and more
Happy Earth Day! For 52 years, April 22nd has served as a day to honor the planet and refocus our efforts on preserving our natural environment. Over the course of the last three years, we’ve had some exceptional conversations on The Climate Pod on a wide variety of environmental issues. Here are a few of our favorites you can listen to now:
Jane Goodall on what gives her hope… At 88 years old, the legendary primatologist and anthropologist, continues to dedicate her life to inspire the fight against the destruction of the natural world. Last year, she shared what she’s learned over the course of her life and long career and why she believes hope is critical to inspire people to build a better future. She also delivers the message she thinks world leaders need to hear to address the environmental crisis we face.
Robert Bullard on the history of environmental justice… The Distinguished Professor at Texas Southern University - who is often referred to as the "Father of Environmental Justice" - has helped transform the conversation on environmentalism in America over the course of his career. In this conversation, Bullard explained why he first got involved in the movement, what keeps him motivated decades later, and where he thinks the movement is headed now that more people are making the connection between environmental justice and the climate crisis. During the height of the pandemic, he also talked about the importance of understanding the connection between COVID-19 and air pollution, and why pollution continues to be a justice issue.
Sylvia Earle on saving the oceans… As an internationally renowned oceanographer, Earle is as good as anyone at diving deep (see what I did there?) into conversations on ocean exploration and conservation. In this conversation, she explains how we can rethink and reimagine our relationship with marine life and what concerns her the most about current efforts harming the ocean. What can we do to save the ocean as climate change worsens, overfishing expands, and plastic pollution remains out of control? Earle discusses why a better outcome really is possible.
Thomas Lovejoy on saving the Amazon and biodiversity… Before his passing in late 2021, Thomas Lovejoy was kind enough to join us on the show. "The Godfather of Biodiversity" told us why he first fell in love with studying the Amazon rainforest. In this episode, he also explains why we've hit a tipping point with deforestation and what that means for the carbon cycle and the planet. Finally, he discusses how this can impact biodiversity loss and what we can do about it. We also remembered Dr. Lovejoy weeks after his passing with Carter Roberts, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund in the United States in this episode here.
Leah Thomas on taking an intersectional approach to environmentalism… As an activist and eco-communicator, Leah Thomas has become one of the most prominent leaders in the environmental movement by helping people understand the intersection between environmentalism, racism, and privilege. In this episode, she explains how she first got inspired to study environmentalism and why environmental education is too often inadequate. She also discusses how her activism took off with post championing "Environmentalists for Black Lives Matter” and why the climate and environmental movements desperately need to improve with an intersectional approach to action and justice.
Ted Danson on using his celebrity to promote environmental activism… The legendary actor and long-time environmental activist was inspired decades ago to advocate for action on the environment. Along with explaining his work with Oceana to help protect oceans, Danson also gave his reflections in 2020 on the 10-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill (we also discussed the disaster and how little we’ve done to prevent another disaster in the last 12 years on this week’s episode as well). Danson also discusses what is was like getting arrested protesting climate inaction with Jane Fonda, and much more. He's even cooler than we thought he’d be (and we thought he’d be very cool).
Wawa Gatheru on Black people’s erasure in environmental studies… The environmental justice advocate and Rhodes, Truman, and Udall Scholar has used her platform to expose how environmental scholarship often excludes Black people and why we need to reckon with this history. In this conversation, she explains what a better climate and environmental movement need to make greater progress and be more inclusive and how we should fight against Black criminalization in nature.
Climate Citizen and Waves Of Change
Over the last couple of months, we’ve launched two great limited series with Global Citizen and Oceana. Our first series Climate Citizen included four episodes on these critical issues:
Halting climate change (featuring Carbon Brief’s Simon Evans and Global Citizen’s Azeez Abubakar and Talia Fried)
Funding for adaptation, mitigation, and climate impacts (featuring Climate Action Network International’s Harjeet Singh and Global Citizen’s Mwandwe Chileshe)
Addressing loss and damage (featuring Professor Saleemul Huq)
Preserving biodiversity and restoring nature (featuring IPCC lead author Stephanie Roe, Center For Environmental Peacebuilding’s Max Almeida, and Conservation International’s Will Turner)
And our current series Waves Of Change in partnership with Oceana launched with this week’s episode on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and will feature three more episodes on the dangers of offshore drilling and plastic pollution.
Thank you as always for reading! And be sure to check out our YouTube channel and join our Facebook group!