Environmental Justice Now

Elan and Justin cover the disruption caused by permafrost in rural Alaska within their podcast. Throughout the discussion, Elan and Justin view permafrost from the lenses of three different families. The conversation gets in depth as Justin and Elan speak upon how permafrost has collapsed communities as a whole throughout Alaska, more specifically discussing the damaged infrastructure, limited healthcare, and scarce amounts of food supply. Fortunately at the end, Justin and Elan talk about potential solutions for this devastating issue that harms Alaskan families. Ranaweera, Aruni, and Tessa Varvares. “Permafrost Thaw in Alaska: An Overlooked Climate-Health Crisis.” The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, 10 Apr. 2025, www.belfercenter.org/research-analysis/permafrost-thaw-alaska-overlooked-climate-health-crisisLinks to an external site..Kravinsky, Nina. “Thawing Permafrost Threatens Alaska’s Rural Villages. And Time Is Running Out.” NPR, NPR, 3 Apr. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/04/03/1242451927/permafrost-underlying-many-remote-villages-in-alaska-is-thawing-and-thats-a-probLinks to an external site..Christensen, Kelley. “Thawing Permafrost Releases Industrial Contaminants into Arctic Communities.” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 132, no. 3, 1 Mar. 2024, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10971047/, https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp13998Links to an external site..Howard, Jessica. “Adaptation Workshop Brought Together Alaska Native Communities and Federal Agencies - Permafrost Pathways.” Permafrost Pathways, 19 Oct. 2023, permafrost.woodwellclimate.org/adaptation-workshop-brought-together-alaska-native-communities-and-federal-agencies/Links to an external site..Cadotte, Joe. “Tribal Leaders, Federal Agencies Meet on Impacts of Climate Change.” Https://Www.alaskasnewssource.com, 20 Sept. 2023, www.alaskasnewssource.com/2023/09/20/tribal-leaders-federal-agencies-meet-impacts-climate-change/Links to an external site..PBS NewsHour. “Permafrost Thawed by Climate Change Threatens Remote Villages in Alaska.” YouTube, 20 Oct. 2025,www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hQsqVahbnwLinks to an external site..National Congress of American Indians. “Voices from Indian County: Permafrost and Environmental Sustainability in Alaska.” YouTube, 23 Feb. 2022,www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCUoWWGI6hcLinks to an external site.

Winston and Hazel talk about environmental and societal impacts of data centers, xAI and Southwest Memphis and Grok.TIME - Memphis and Colossus, community reactionsAxios - Protest and legal action against data centersBBC - Data centers in rural GeorgiaThe Guardian - Data centers and electricity in GeorgiaPolitico - Local opinions on data centers across communities in Georgia Capital B News - Data centers and black communitiesPews research - Data center locationsEESI - Data centers and water consumptionPolitico - Grok and HitlerVox - Grok programming and censorshipMemphis and colossusTIME - Elon Musk & xAI

Today, Josh and Jaydon will discuss the environmental and social impact of uranium mining in the Black Hills, South Dakota. Situated just south of the Black Hills, Pine Ridge Reservation provides a home to almost 20,000 people, most of whom are of native descent and have received years of neglect from the United States colonial government. The almost 200 uranium mines in the Black Hills leak uranium into the air and drinking water of people on Pine Reservation, making them more susceptible to diagnoses such as cancer. Coupled with the poor support from the United States, which has caused a housing crisis, the quality of life of Pine ridge reservation seems to be decreasing as the United States sacrifices it to mine uranium. Earlier this year, Azarga Metals Corp., a Canadian mining company, requested to reopen a plot of land right next to Pine Ridge Reservation–the Dewey-Burdock site. Even though many native advocacy groups have fought against this new mine, the battle continues. Listen more to hear the history of this conflict, and learn about what it currently stands.

On this episode of the Environmental Movement podcast, we took a deep dive into some of the mining regions in the DCR. Through our conversation, the listener can expect to hear about armed rebel groups affect our environment. These rebel groups are notorious for sex violence and illegal mining operations. Lastly, the podcast ends with a question of morality and if we are encouraging these Militia groups? Sources: https://panzifoundation.org/rape-as-a-weapon-of-war/https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/m23-minerals-and-geopolitics-in-eastern-drc/https://panzifoundation.org/conflict-minerals-and-sexual-violence-in-the-drc/https://cla.umn.edu/chgs/holocaust-genocide-education/resource-guides/rwandahttps://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/countries/rwanda/massacre-of-the-tutsi-minorityhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2020/01/13/are-these-tech-companies-complicit-in-human-rights-abuses-of-child-cobalt-miners-in-congo/https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congohttps://ejatlas.org/conflict/illegal-logging-and-other-types-of-resource-extraction-in-virunga-national-parkhttps://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/poverty-prosperity-and-planethttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26875506https://www.britannica.com/topic/March-23-Movementhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IffpoUQpDchttps://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/March%202024%20Factsheet%20DRC.pdf

Rich and Zara discuss the cause and effect of a toxic waste dump, Shingle Mountain, in southern Dallas. They explore how historic redlining and current environmental racism played into the deteriorating health of over 100 people living in the area. With lack of city involvement, Shingle Mountain grew up to 60 feet tall. Zhou and Ali dissect the underlying reasons for the rise of Shingle Mountain, and how the build-up of asphalt shingles represented something much greater.If you want to learn more about the residents’ experiences:https://www.texastribune.org/2020/12/09/southeast-dallas-shingle-mountain-environmental-racism/Links to an external site.https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/11/16/environmental-racism-dallas-shingle-mountain/Links to an external site.https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2021/05/it-only-took-three-months-for-industry-to-return-to-the-shingle-mountain-site/Links to an external site.https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2023/08/another-year-another-cleanup-of-the-land-that-once-held-shingle-mountain/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dmagazine&utm_source=facebookLinks to an external site.Sources:https://www.nbcdfw.com/video/local/dallas-rezones-shingle-mountain-site/3769349/Links to an external site.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xEWKkdYnXcLinks to an external site.https://www.the-ies.org/resources/shingle-mountain-one-community%E2%80%99s-fight-against-giant#:~:text=The%20removal%20of%20Shingle%20Mountain%20was%20a%20monumental%20victory%2C%20but,to%20be%20polluted%20with%20leadLinks to an external site..https://www.google.com/maps/place/Choate+Rd,+Dallas,+TX+75241/@32.6823416,-96.7341385,3a,15y,215.87h,88.45t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1slI9GqF5oEM2wlc4lTs-9vg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D1.547305452487592%26panoid%3DlI9GqF5oEM2wlc4lTs-9vg%26yaw%3D215.86732935515508!7i16384!8i8192!4m6!3m5!1s0x864ebd71a47615b5:0x64b4da14373a2949!8m2!3d32.6819004!4d-96.7350905!16s%2Fg%2F1v_ncy1_?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDUxMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3DLinks to an external site.https://www.texastribune.org/2020/12/09/southeast-dallas-shingle-mountain-environmental-racism/Links to an external site.https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/11/16/environmental-racism-dallas-shingle-mountain/Links to an external site.https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2021/05/it-only-took-three-months-for-industry-to-return-to-the-shingle-mountain-site/Links to an external site.https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2023/08/another-year-another-cleanup-of-the-land-that-once-held-shingle-mountain/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dmagazine&utm_source=facebookLinks to an external site.

In this week’s episode, Vivian and Juan discuss the housing and economic crisis of Hong Kong, one of the most densely populated cities on the planet. The city grapples with strict construction laws, inequality, some of the worst air pollution anywhere, and the displacement of one of the area’s last rural villages. What can Hong Kong expect for their future, and how can we relate their struggles to Environmental Justice?To learn more about Hong Kong’s plans of Carbon neutrality, visit: Government Climate PlanTo learn more about land usage and distribution, visit: Land Usage Distribution Info sheetTo learn more about Choi Yuen Tsuen village, visit: South China Morning Post VillageTo learn more about the relationship between EJ and the village, visit: EJ AtlasTo learn more about the trouble with wilderness, visit: WilliamCronon.netTo learn more about air pollution in Hong Kong, visit: Government ReportsTo learn more about the impact of growing infrastructure in Hong Kong, visit: Hong Kong FPTo learn more about LegCo Building Protests, visit: South China Morning Post ProtestTo learn more about Hong Kong’s Housing Crisis, visit: Housing Crisis ReportMusic:Jazz Music (Pixabay)Effects:(Hong Kong Voice Clips)Hong Kong Voice ClipHong Kong Voice ClipHong Kong Voice ClipHong Kong Voice ClipHong Kong Voice ClipHong Kong Voice ClipHong Kong Voice ClipLegCo Storm Protesters in Hong Kong Storm LegCo BuildingCorrection: This clip is from 2020, but captures the gist of a protest outside of the LegCo building in Hong Kong. Disregard the sentence prior to the introduction of it in the episode saying that it was the protest that occurred in November of 2009, as this clip is much more recent.

Show notes:https://bklyner.com/opinion-the-bqe-is-in-a-state-of-total-crisis-and-so-are-the-local-residents-who-literally-need-a-breath-of-fresh-air/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/highway-to-health-problems-locals-will-breathe-in-toxic-air-for-years-if-city-sends-traffic-along-promenade-to-fix-bqe-experts-warn/https://pix11.com/news/local-news/nyc-group-demands-action-on-issues-stemming-from-brooklyn-queens-expressway/https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/08/health/highways-children-cognition-study/index.html#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20children,their%20peers%20living%20farther%20away.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9126644/https://www.brownstoner.com/brooklyn-life/bqe-repair-redesign-environmental-justice-coalition-rally/#:~:text=Quincy%20Phillips%2C%20with%20the%20Red,%2C%E2%80%9D%20Garden%2DLucerna%20said.

This podcast covers the environmental justice issue of tourism and ecotourism. We talk about a case study that involves a dolphin tourist attraction in St. Lucia and the harms it would cause to St. Lucia locals. The protests against it eventually led to it not being put in, but the problems of slow violence, environmental privilege, and environmentalism of the poor still apply to this topic. We also talked about another case study of a major resort in St. Lucia and how tourism as a whole can become an environmental justice problem. We used a news source directly from St. Lucia that offered commentary on the island’s continued issue with a dolphin tourist site: St. Lucia StarLinks to an external site.. This source, along with EJ AtlasLinks to an external site., Seaside SustainabilityLinks to an external site., and several other sources, allowed us to understand the depth and nuance behind why this case was an environmental justice issue and how this thinking can be applied across other tourist attractions in major tourist locations. BibliographyAuthor, No. “A Commentary on the Proposed Pigeon Island Dolphin Park: Is Saint Lucia in the Shackles of Fool’s Gold? - the STAR - St Lucia.” THE STAR - St Lucia, March 4, 2017. https://stluciastar.com/commentary-proposed-pigeon-island-dolphin-park-saint-lucia-shackles-fools-gold/.EJOLT. “Christopher Columbus Landing Resort in Playuela, Puerto Rico | EJAtlas.” Environmental Justice Atlas, n.d. https://ejatlas.org/conflict/playuela-christopher-colombus-landing-resort.Elevenlabs.io. “Text to Speech & AI Voice Generator - ElevenLabs.” Accessed May 20, 2025. https://elevenlabs.io/text-to-speech.Lincoln O’Barry. “St. Lucia Proposes New Captive Dolphin Facility | Dolphin Project.” Dolphin Project, March 9, 2017. https://www.dolphinproject.com/blog/st-lucia-proposes-new-captive-dolphin-facility/.Seaside Sustainability. “Rethinking Tourism as an Environmental Justice Issue.” Seaside, April 15, 2024. https://www.seasidesustainability.org/post/rethinking-tourism-as-an-environmental-justice-issueTravel Foundation. “- Travel Foundation,” 2022. https://www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk/climatejustice/.“Slow Digest: Violence.” Center for 21st Century Studies, February 9, 2025. https://uwm.edu/c21/slow-digest-violence/.

Have you ever wanted to learn more about the dark side of green energy? Are you interested in why certain demographics and their lands are targeted over others as sites for wind farms? Have you wondered about the direct impacts that wind turbines have on the environment and the communities in which they are installed? In this documentary-style podcast, two Deerfield Academy students delve into the impacts that wind turbines have on the Quilombola population in the Caetite region of Brazil.  If you’re interested in learning more about how rural Brazilian communities have been impacted by Brazil’s push to convert to green energy, we suggest you check out this site Lastly, we’d like to thank Brian Hamilton for helping us in the production of this podcast. We referenced these sources for the making of our podcast:EJ Atlas: Quilombola communities affected by wind power projects in Caetité region, Brazil Fabiano Maisonnave, André Penner, and Lucas Dumphreys for AP News: Wind power expansion meets grassroots resistance in Brazil's Northeast | AP NewsConectas: How quilombola communities view the projectsUNFPA: Counting every voice: Brazil's census includes quilombola communities for the first timeAlicia Arquetoux for France24: Quilombolas: The Afro Brazilians serving as guardians of the forestsMiguel Pinheiro for Mongabay: In Brazil’s Amazon, Quilombolas fight the erasure of their African heritageM.Sc. Alice Nataraja Garcia Santos: https://d-nb.info/1198121416/34Giovanna Carneiro, Arnaldo Sete, and Marco Zero for Mongabay: In Brazil, rural communities are caught in the eye of the wind farm stormWikipedia: Caetité - Wikipedia Audio materials used for this podcast: Sääsch Bääsch:1 Hour of full Power Sounds inside a Windturbine (call it ASMR or what ever). USE HEADPHONES!Soundridemusic - No Copyright Music:Cinematic Tension NoCopyright Background Music for Video / Tensions Run High by soundridemusicEquipe Disque:Disque QuilombolaAAINJAA PRODUCCIONES:PODEROSA AAINJALA | 150 DRUMMERS 😱 AAINJALA #1Secession Studios:Emotional Background Music - Two SoulsAShamaLuevMusic:Sad and Emotional Cinematic Music | Drawing - by AShamaluevMusicJerrod Reque -Curious Instrumental Song for Creators

With the help of guest Jackson Violich, in this week’s episode we examine a carbon capture site in Kachung, Uganda, owned by the ironically named company “Green Resources”. We discuss how this process, though seemingly beneficial, is much more harmful than it is good. We dive into the ethics and rationale of carbon credits along with exploring how they can be detrimental to the communities their sites are located in. In doing this, we also consider different Environmental Justice trends and themes that arise from this project. To see more details about the issue in Kachung, check out ejatlas.comFor another look at the same issue, explore upstreamjournal.comTo get an overview of carbon credits, check out climateimpact.comTo read a report done by the Oakland Institute, check out The Darker Side of GreenFor more information on Kachung in video format, look atThe Forbidden ForestFor a shocking detail on the efficacy of carbon credits, read this article by theguardian.comFor another report on Kachung, Uganda, check out a Lund University case studyFinally, for a TedTalk on carbon credits, (and why they’re a scam), look at Jaye Connolly’sAre Carbon Credits Legit? To listen to our Jazzy Intro and Outro music, check out Jazz Background Music, by BackgroundMusicForVideos