Climate Front Lines

The war in Ukraine is causing shortages in the global food supply. Climate change was already creating widespread food insecurity before Russia invaded Ukraine, and the number of people facing famine or a food crisis globally is growing faster than any other time in the 21st century. Gernot Laganda, director of the Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction Service at the World Food Program, explains how it’s all connected in this episode of Climate Front Lines.

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s far right president, is launching a reelection bid and currently trailing in the polls behind former president and liberal rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro and conservative lawmakers have worked to slash environmental protections and promote development of the Amazon rainforest, where deforestation appears to be accelerating as Brazil prepares for elections in October. Deforestation is a major cause of climate change and a threat to Indigenous people who are organizing to resist land grabs and toxic pollution from illegal mines. To learn more, Truthout’s Mike Ludwig interviewed Romulo Batista, a Brazilian environmental activist based in Manaus, a Brazilian city nestled in the Amazon rainforest. Music by Dan Mason.

Sharon Wilson, an activist documenting the latest fracking boom in Texas, recently returned from the United Nations climate summit and was “devastated” when the final agreement did not mention any reduction in oil and gas drilling. Wilson uses a thermographic camera to capture pollution spewing from fossil fuel infrastructure in the Permian Basin, where oil production is projected to increase by 50 percent over the next decade. Mike Ludwig asks Wilson what the Permian “climate bomb” looks like up close and personal. Music by Dan Mason.

Recovery from Hurricane Ida is still underway in southeast Louisiana, where the climate crisis hangs a question mark over the future. People in Louisiana are already preparing for rising seas and intensifying storms, offering models for the rest of us. So, will New Orleans be under water someday? Mike Ludwig speaks to Jessica Dandridge, Executive Director of the Greater New Orleans Water Collaborative, to find out. Music by Dan Mason.

As President Biden haggles with Republicans on infrastructure, youth climate activists continue pushing for the bold vision of a Green New Deal. Sunrise Movement activist Lily Gardner says Biden should forget the GOP and listen to young people, who are fired up about the prospect of a Civilian Climate Corps that would create thousands of jobs combating the climate crisis and building a sustainable future. Music by Dan Mason.

Mike Ludwig speaks with journalists Melissa Troutman and Joshua Pribanic about their new documentary, Invisible Hand, which covers the Indigenous-led Rights of Nature movement on the front lines of the climate emergency. Music by Dan Mason.

The multi-year direct action ended last week after two protesters were arrested and jailed without bond. Music: Dan Mason

Fueled by warming temperatures in the Arctic, the deadly winter storm that froze much of the country last week collided with a housing crisis that has exploded during the pandemic. Despite a federal “moratorium” on evictions, activists in Dallas, Texas were already fighting to keep people in their homes before the storm hit. To learn about how people came together to survive as temperatures plunged amid deadly power outages, Truthout’s Mike Ludwig spoke with Cooper Feste, an organizer with a local tenants’ union called Dallas Stops Evictions. Music by Dan Mason.

Indigenous activists emerged as leaders of a climate movement that put increasing pressure on Joe Biden, who revoked a key permit for the Keystone XL pipeline shortly after becoming president. So, what happens next? Mike Ludwig speaks with Jade Begay, the Climate Justice Director of NDN Collective, an Indigenous led-organization building Indigenous power by working with front line activists. Music: Dan Mason

Mike Ludwig talks to Whitney Gravelle, an attorney for the Bay Mills Indian Community, about the fight against Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline. Music: Dan Mason