Podcasts about Earthjustice

Randy Woodley preaches about the healing work of God and about the power of God found in vulnerability. Randy Woodley is distinguished professor of faith and culture at Portland Seminary and author of Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision; he and his wife, Edith, operate Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice and Eloheh farm. Recorded at Fuller's All-Seminary Chapel on May 14, 2025.  

In this special archive episode of the Earthkeepers podcast, Forrest engages with Reverend Dr. Randy Woodley, exploring the intersection of indigenous theology, environmental justice, and the need for a paradigm shift in how we relate to the earth. Woodley shares his journey of establishing the Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice, and discusses the transformative experiences offered to those seeking a deeper connection with the land. The conversation delves into the implications of decolonizing evangelicalism, the role of the church in environmental stewardship, and the importance of embracing indigenous wisdom for a sustainable future.Dr. Woodley's booksEloheh SeedsTakeawaysIndigenous worldviews offer transformative experiences for understanding our relationship with the earth.The Western worldview has contributed to environmental destruction.Social media has democratized voices, allowing for new perspectives on environmental issues.Decolonizing evangelicalism can lead to a more just and equitable approach to creation care.The church has often acted as a poor imitation of government rather than a voice for justice.Indigenous wisdom is crucial for healing both the land and communities.Understanding our connection to the land is essential for sustainability.The values of indigenous cultures can guide us toward a more harmonious existence.We must recognize the dignity of all creation and our role within it.KeywordsEarth Keepers, Indigenous Wisdom, Environmental Justice, Decolonization, Spirituality, Community, Land Care, Western Worldview, Transformative Learning, TheologyFind us on our website: Earthkeepers Support the Earthkeepers podcast Check out the Ecological Disciple

In today's episode continuing our eight-part series, we examine how nonprofits are effectively advocating for environmental justice. We'll analyze practical strategies for building awareness and securing advocacy funding while navigating the regulatory frameworks that govern nonprofit activism. Join us for a clear-eyed look at how organizations are making meaningful progress in environmental protection and climate action.    Attorneys for this episode   Tim Mooney  Quyen Tu  Susan Finkle Sourlis    Shownotes   Current Events / Executive Orders:  • Trump Administration Environmental Rollbacks  • Rescinded EPA's Environmental Justice Screening Tool (EJSCREEN)  • Repealed Biden-era executive orders on Justice40, climate equity, and cumulative impacts assessments  • Reinstated NEPA rules from 2019, reducing environmental review for pipelines, highways, and factories  • Revoked protections for sacred Indigenous lands (e.g., Bears Ears downsizing, drilling leases on Chaco Canyon perimeter)  • Impacts on Vulnerable Communities:  • Halted all EPA funding for community air monitoring programs in EJ-designated census tracts  • Suspended grants to community-based climate resilience projects  • Cut FEMA's BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) equity prioritization language  • Reopened refineries and power plants previously closed for Clean Air Act violations, especially in Black and Latino neighborhoods  • EPA DEI cuts:  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced plans to cancel nearly 800 environmental justice grants, totaling over $1.5 billion, which were intended to support projects mitigating climate change impacts in vulnerable communities .  •  Additionally, the EPA is undergoing a reduction in force, affecting employees in its Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, as part of a broader effort to realign the agency's mission    ·      Non-Lobbying Advocacy o   Nonpartisan Advocacy 101: 501(c)(3)s cannot support or oppose candidates for public office, but they can… o   Educate the public about issues of importance to your organization. §  Waterkeeper Alliance is holding EPA Admin Lee Zeldin accountable for cuts to PFAS research. o   Hold a rally §  Memphis Community Against Pollution rallied to celebrate a victory for clean water, while turning its attention to a clean air fight against an Elon Musk-owned company's proposed data center. o   Initiate or participate in litigation §  AFJ member Earthjustice has sued the Trump administration's improper withholding of IRA grant funds for projects that included Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants to install solar panels on small farms. o   Fund Advocacy §  Meyer Memorial Trust funded  41 organizations with EJ awards totaling $6.9 million in 2024 with a focus on frontline and indigenous communities   ·      Lobbying o   501(c)(3) public charities are also allowed to use unrestricted funds to engage in some lobbying activities. o   Tax Code Lobbying 101: Public charities can lobby, but they are limited in how much lobbying they may engage in. §  Insubstantial part test vs. 501(h) expenditure test. §  Under either test, lobbying includes attempts to influence legislation at any level of government. §  Track your local, state, and federal lobbying, and stay within your lobbying limits. o   State/local level lobbyist registration and reporting requirements may also apply when engaging in legislative and executive branch advocacy. o   Ballot measure advocacy (direct lobbying) could also implicate state / local campaign finance and election laws. o   Lobbying wins §  Hawaii just passed a first-of-its-kind climate tax on short-term accommodations to fund defenses against climate change fueled disasters. Sierra Club of Hawaii has been actively lobbying on climate change legislation for years. §  Ballot measure wins (h/t The Nature Conservancy) ·      California: $10 billion climate bond that funds climate resilience, protecting clean drinking water and preventing catastrophic wildfires.  ·      Washington: An effort to roll back the state's Climate Commitment Act was defeated. The CCA provides millions for conservation, climate and wildfire funding, including funding for Tribal nations and at-risk communities. ·      Minnesota: Renewal of the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund for another 25 years. The fund will provide $2 billion ($80 million per year from state lottery proceeds) to protect water, land and wildlife across the state. Resources – ·      Earth & Equity: The Advocacy Playbook for Environmental Justice ·      Public Charities Can Lobby (Factsheet) ·      Practical Guidance: what your nonprofit needs to know about lobbying in your state ·      Investing in Change: A Funder's Guide to Supporting Advocacy ·      What is Advocacy? 2.0  

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expediting permits for the Line 5 oil pipeline project. It's the first project to be put on a fast track under President Donald Trump's executive order declaring a national energy emergency. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is among a number of tribes in at least three states that oppose the project by Canadian energy company Enbridge, saying it posing significant risk to the environment, most notably the Great Lakes. The existing pipeline runs across Bad River land, but the company's new route bypasses the reservation. We'll get a perspective on the new status of the project and the near-term possibilities. GUESTS David Gover (Pawnee and Choctaw), senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund Jennifer Smith, director of U.S. tribal engagement at Enbridge Stefanie Tsosie (Navajo), senior attorney in the Tribal Partnerships Program at Earthjustice

In a sweeping executive order, Donald Trump has taken aim at efforts by states, including California, to set their own environmental policies. At risk are key components of California's fight against climate change including its cap and trade program to control carbon emissions and efforts to promote electrical vehicles. Trump's order is just the latest in his moves to reverse climate change policies, including halting government research funding and gutting environmental agencies. As his head of the Environmental Protection Agency Lee Zeldin has said, the administration is “driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion.” We'll talk about the impact of Trump's approach to the environment and how California could respond. Guests: Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law; podcast host, Climate Break Sonia Aggarwal, CEO, Energy Innovation - a non partisan think tank based in San Francisco that provides research and analysis on energy and climate policy; special assistant, to the President for Climate Policy, Innovation, and Deployment in the Biden administration. Lisa Friedman, reporter on the climate desk, New York Times Abigail Dillen, president, Earthjustice - a public interest law group focused on the environment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They say the wind is driving the whales crazy. BONUS EPISODES available on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/deniersplaybook) SOCIALS & MORE (https://linktr.ee/deniersplaybook) WANT TO ADVERTISE WITH US? Please contact climatetownsponsorships@gmail.comDISCLAIMER: Some media clips have been edited for length and clarity. CREDITS Created by: Rollie Williams, Nicole Conlan & Ben BoultHosts: Rollie Williams & Nicole ConlanExecutive Producer: Ben Boult Editors: Ben Boult & Laura ConteProducers: Irene Plagianos, Daniella PhilipsonAssociate Producer: Miranda Manganaro Archival Producer: Margaux SaxAdditional Research and Fact Checking: Carly Rizzuto & Canute HaroldsonMusic: Tony Domenick Art: Jordan Doll Special Thanks: The Civil Liberties Defense CenterSOURCESAnderson, D. (2023, October 23). Fossil fuel money lurks behind anti-offshore wind power political ads in New Jersey. Energy and Policy Institute. Anderson, D. (2024). Fueling the Opposition. Energy and Policy Institute. Axelrod, J. (2024, June 26). Whales Are Dying but Not from Offshore Wind. Scientific American.BGNews. (2023, May 3). JFarage: The Trump Interview | Wednesday 3rd May. YouTube. Berger, I. (2025, February 4). Years of falsehoods from Fox News helped solidify offshore wind as a prime target for Trump. Media Matters for America. Berke, B. (2025, January 22). Prysmian abandons plans for offshore wind cable factory in Somerset. The Public's Radio; Rhode Island PBS. Chapman, M. (2025, January 8). Are Offshore Wind Farms Actually Harming Whales? IFLScience. Choma, R. (2020, August 4). The biggest Trump financial mystery? Where he came up with the cash for his Scottish resorts. Mother Jones. Daly, M. (2018, November 30). Trump admin approves seismic surveys for Atlantic drilling. AP News. Farrell, R. (2024, December 11). Too hot for humpbacks: The race to protect Pacific whales. BBC. Fox News. (2023, February 1). Tucker examines what's behind the deaths of humpback whales. YouTube. Fox Business. (2023, February 23). Are wind turbines killing whales? YouTubeFrequent Questions—Offshore Wind and Whales. (2024, March 14). NOAA Fisheries. Griffiths, B. (2016, November 22). Trump tweeted about Scottish wind farm 60 times. POLITICO. Hardach, S. (2025, January 30). Which is worse for wildlife, wind farms or oil drilling? BBC. Lewis, A. S. (2023, March 8). The East Coast Whale Die-Offs: Unraveling the Causes. Yale E360; Yale School of the Environment. Lutz, M., & Rowland-Shea, J. (2023, December 11). The Oil and Gas Industry Is Behind Offshore Wind Misinformation. Center for American Progress. Machette, T. L., & Lemonick, M. D. (2020, October 4). When Whales Stop Calling. Scientific American. Mathis, W., & Ferman, M. (2025, January 30). Shell Takes $1 Billion Hit on Wind Farm Trump Wants ‘Dead.' Bloomberg. PowerfulJRE. (2024, October 25). Joe Rogan Experience #2219 - Donald Trump. YouTube. Roadmap and Implementation. (2017). Ocean Noise Strategy; NOAA. Seismic Airgun Blasting in the Atlantic Ocean. (2021, May 21). Earthjustice. Slevin, I., Kattrup, W., & Roberts, T. (2023). Against the Wind: A Map of the Anti-Offshore Wind Network in the Eastern United States. Brown University Climate and Development Lab. Silva, M., & Horton, J. (2023, September 26). Fact-checking Donald Trump's claim that wind turbines kill whales. BBC. Spring, J. (2025, February 16). Trump's war on wind seems to be winning, experts say. The Washington Post. Stevens, A. P. (2024, May 9). Are offshore wind farms harming right whales? Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The White House. (2025, January 2). Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government's Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects. Understanding Sound in the Ocean | NOAA Fisheries. (n.d.). NOAA Fisheries. White, S. (2024, March 1). Fossil Fuel Interests and Dark Money Donors Are Behind Opposition to Offshore Wind. Conservation Law Foundation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

April 8, 2025 - The Hochul Administration is now slow playing the release of rules intended to restrict emissions and charge the largest polluters in New York, so they're facing a lawsuit from environmentalists. We explore the case for a faster deployment of the "cap-and-invest" program with Hillary Aidun, a senior associate attorney in the Northeast Regional Office of Earthjustice, which brought the legal challenge.

Send us a textDr. Nina Sabarre, founder and CEO of Intention to Impact, takes us deep into the urgent challenges philanthropy faces in our current political climate. With federal programs under attack and DEI initiatives being dismantled, foundations stand at a pivotal crossroads – will they retreat or boldly step forward?Dr. Sabarre reveals how foundations aren't responding uniformly to these challenges. While some double down on equity commitments, others conduct closed-door strategy sessions, fearing repercussions from a hostile administration. This tension highlights a fundamental question: How can philanthropy effectively support communities when macro-level systems are shifting dramatically?The conversation explores how traditional philanthropic models might be fundamentally misaligned. Most foundations distribute just 5% of their assets, while the remaining 95% remains invested in markets that often perpetuate the very problems their grants aim to solve. Dr. Sabarre unpacks impact investing as a powerful alternative, enabling foundations to generate both financial returns and positive social outcomes while deploying a greater portion of their capital toward their mission.Perhaps most compelling is Nina's analysis of systems change strategies. Using the "Waters of Systems Change" framework, she demonstrates how conservative movements have masterfully funded long-term influence through strategic investments in media, churches, and educational institutions. At the same time, progressive philanthropy often focuses on immediate community needs rather than building lasting power.For those working in evaluation, nonprofit leadership, or community organizing, Dr. Sabarre offers practical wisdom for navigating these turbulent waters – from maintaining commitment to community-centered approaches despite funding pressures to building stronger coalitions and drawing lessons from successful social movements of the past.Subscribe to Community Possibilities wherever you get your podcasts to continue exploring what's possible when people come together to create lasting change in our communities. Be sure to connect with Nina and sign up for Intention 2 Impact's newsletter.BioNina is passionate about gender, racial, and social equity, and using #evalpreneurship to dismantle the status quo. She has consulted for a wide variety of cross-sector institutions ranging from Earthjustice, WK Kellogg Foundation, The California Endowment, TED's Audacious Project, Elevate Prize Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Colorado Health Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Omidyar Network, and USAID to name a few. Her work focuses on equitable evaluation for strategic grantmaking and syLike what you heard? Please like and share wherever you get your podcasts! Connect with Ann: Community Evaluation Solutions How Ann can help: · Support the evaluation capacity of your coalition or community-based organization. · Help you create a strategic plan that doesn't stress you and your group out, doesn't take all year to design, and is actionable. · Engage your group in equitable discussions about difficult conversations. · Facilitate a workshop to plan for action and get your group moving. · Create a workshop that energizes and excites your group for action. · Speak at your conference or event. Have a question or want to know more? Book a call with Ann .Be sure and check out our updated resource page! Let us know what was helpful. Music by Zach Price: Zachpricet@gmail.com

Today, on the Hudson Mohawk Magazine, Mark Dunlea covers the March 19th rally for NY Heat at the capital, with speakers Liz Moran of Earth Justice followed by the two main legislative sponsors of the bill” Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember JoAnn Simon. Then, we have an interview about The International Symposium on Assistive Technology for Music and Art and their work with EMPAC. Later on, Marsha Lazarus sat down with Entrepreneur and founder of Meezan Kitchen LAYLA KHAFAGA to learn more about her own business. After that, Juan Pantaleon talks with Local comedian Tyler Artis about his upcoming Dark Comedy show. Finally, Thom Francis Highlights the poetry of Kathleen Anne Smith at the Honest weight food co-op. Co-hosts: Caelan McPherson & Vinny DamaPoleto Engineer: Jalaya Reid

Several hundred New Yorkers rallied at the state Capitol on Wednesday, March 19 as part of the Renewable Heat Now campaign. The lobbyists gathered for a lunch time rally on the Million Dollar Staircase to encourage state lawmakers and the Governor to include the NY Heat in the State Budget which is due April 1. NY Heat would require state agencies – especially the Public Service Commission – to align their actions and policies with the state's climate law (CLCPA) and to cap utility bills for low-income New Yorkers at 6% of their income. The Assembly has not supported the bill while the Governor has balked at the 6% cap though that is already a PSC goal. We hear from Liz Moran of Earth Justice followed by the two main legislative sponsors of the bill” Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember JoAnn Simon, who replaced Pat Fahy as the lead Assembly sponsor when Fahy moved over to the Senate. We also hear from Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, who is also with DSA. We finish up with a short statement from Assemblymemeber Tony Simone. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine. (Part 2)

President/CEO of Faith in Place, Brian Sauder, talks about their recent joining a lawsuit organized by EarthJustice to release funds to allow community forestry projects to continue. The post Faith in Place Joins Lawsuit to Release Grants from the Inflation Redu... appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

The Trump Administration has taken a large whack at the National Environmental Policy Act (often better known by its acronym, NEPA). NEPA is the federal environmental law that requires that the federal government understand and acknowledge the environmental impacts of its actions and provide an opportunity for public engagement on projects. While a bedrock federal environmental law, the law itself is vaguely worded. Thus, implementing regulations (issued by the Council on Environmental Quality in 1978) have been important to its application. Through these regulations, we have NEPA as we know it—"major federal projects" and "cumulative impact analysis" and so on. All that changed on January 20th. Through Executive Order, Trump revoked the authority of the Council on Environmental Quality to issue regulations and the agency has withdrawn the long-standing rules. Now we are in a legal limbo: NEPA still exists (Trump can't veto a law that has already been approved) but the rules implementing NEPA are gone. What are we to do?Jan Hasselman of Earthjustice and Melodie Meyer of EPIC join the program to discuss this major turning point in federal environmental law. Support the show

As I sit here on March 5th, 2025, reflecting on the whirlwind of legal battles surrounding former President Donald Trump, it's hard to believe how much has unfolded in just the past few days. The courtrooms have been buzzing with activity, and the nation's attention remains fixed on these high-stakes trials.Just yesterday, the Supreme Court delivered a blow to the Trump administration by denying their request to block a $2 billion foreign-aid payment. The court's decision came as a surprise to many, with Justice Samuel Alito expressing his shock in a dissenting opinion. This ruling could have far-reaching implications for how the executive branch handles foreign aid in the future.Meanwhile, Trump's attorneys have been working tirelessly to move his New York hush money appeal into federal court. They argue that prosecutors relied on evidence related to Trump's official acts as president, making it a federal matter. It's a bold strategy, and one that could significantly impact the outcome of the case.Speaking of the New York case, it's worth noting that Trump was convicted last year on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Judge Juan Merchan sentenced him to an unconditional discharge, a decision that has sparked debate about the treatment of former presidents in the legal system.But the legal drama doesn't end there. President Trump recently announced his decision to proceed with tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, citing national security concerns related to drug trafficking. This move has sent shockwaves through international trade circles and could potentially strain relationships with our North American neighbors.As if all of this weren't enough, environmental groups are gearing up for a fight against the Trump administration's policies. Earthjustice, a prominent environmental law organization, has already filed its first major lawsuit aimed at protecting millions of acres of public waters.It's a dizzying array of legal challenges, and one can't help but wonder how Trump and his team are managing to keep up. With each passing day, new developments emerge, reshaping the political and legal landscape of our nation.As we move forward, all eyes will remain on the courts, waiting to see how these various cases unfold. Will Trump's legal strategies prove successful? Or will the weight of multiple investigations and trials finally catch up with the former president? Only time will tell, but one thing's for certain – the coming weeks and months promise to be filled with more twists and turns in this ongoing legal saga.

Beacon artist depicts Earth under siege Zac Skinner walks the talk. Concerned about environmental degradation, he takes his young sons to remove trash along the banks of the Hudson River and donates a portion of his art sales to the nonprofit Earthjustice. No surprise then, that his symbolic paintings are saturated with stark reminders that the Earth is under siege. In two of them, oil pipelines guide the eye. In "Pop-up Farm with Vortex," a maelstrom threatens a ziggurat. "I'm going for post-industrial landscape," Skinner says. "They can be dark, but I intend them to be a hopeful dark." Skinner, 43, is one of three artists featured in a group show, Home is Where the Heart Is, on display at the Garrison Art Center through March 9. He will also participate in an artist talk with Amy Cheng, Erik Schoonebeck and Greg Slick at the art center at 2 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 22). A practicing Buddhist whose work reflects his travels in Asia, Skinner enjoys camping and many of his pictures depict structures in the wilderness, like a pyramid, temple, monastery or wooden meditation hut. "For the smaller ones, I like to feature a prominent entryway to make them more inviting and inhabitable," he says. "They provide a sense of hope and a safe space as shelter from the storm." Hailing from the Syracuse area, Skinner earned an MFA from The School at the Art Institute of Chicago. Since moving to Beacon in 2014, he's used the area as a launch pad to show works in Texas, California and Korea. In addition to exhibiting in group shows at Kube Art Center and the former Theo Ganz Studio, he has mounted solo shows at the BAU Gallery and the now-closed Matteawan Gallery, all in Beacon, as well as the Garrison Art Center. A solo show at No. 3 Reading Room in Beacon led to a limited-edition book, Atlas Trap, published by Traffic Street Press. Owner Paulette Myers-Rich paired Skinner's relief prints of endangered species with poetry by Greg Delanty in a 40-copy print run. As a painter, Skinner works with many media, including tempera, egg-based paints used widely until the Renaissance. Some of the bleaker works are created with special charcoal, like "Cliff Shelter No. 1 with Storm Clouds," on view at Garrison Art Center. "Abandoned Hut by Dried Steam Bed" "Atmosphere Bubble and Ruins in a Dead Landscape" "Cliff Dwellers with Aloe Vera Garden" "Cliff Shelter No. 1 with Storm Clouds" "Pop-up Farm with Vortex" "Survival Camp with Water Collector, Kale and Oil Pipeline" His approach also hops around. "The alchemist in me likes to experiment with materials and depictions," he says. "I don't have a style, really, I just keep inventing my way through the images." Some pieces feature charred landscapes, barren trees and lots of stumps. Clouds are often ominous. The ones gathering in "Abandoned Hut by Dried Stream Edge" (on view in Garrison) and "Survival Camp with Water Collectors, Kale and Oil Pipeline," evoke Van Gogh's swirling brush style. The large dabs that make up the majestic purple mountains in "Atmosphere Bubble and Ruins in a Dead Landscape," which hangs in his studio at Kube, also channel the Dutch master. The painting's pillars could represent Stonehenge or the detritus of an abandoned highway overpass. "The goal with the overt message is to prevent indifference over time," he says. "I am compelled to represent myself, and my convictions, to inspire inner strength." The Garrison Art Center, at 23 Garrison's Landing, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Monday.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency, also known as the EPA, is tasked with regulating pesticides to protect people and the environment from their impacts. To test these impacts, the EPA uses honey bees. This might seem reasonable, but the honey bee is not native to North America and its social colony structure is unique and not representative of the thousands of native species of bees in the United States. The reliance on the honey bee for testing has profound implications for the safety of our native bees and other pollinators, given their vastly different life histories.Joining us to cover this topic are Aimee Code from the Xerces Society and Sharmeen Morrison from Earthjustice. Aimee is Xerces's pesticide program director. She and her staff evaluate the risks of pesticides, develop technical guidance, and advocate for actions that reduce reliance on and risks of pesticide use in both urban and agricultural settings. Sharmeen is a senior associate attorney with Earthjustice's Biodiversity Defense Program, which engages in national litigation to confront the major drivers of biodiversity loss. In this role, she has worked to protect manatees in Florida's Indian River Lagoon, golden-cheeked warblers in Texas Hill Country, and insect pollinators nationwide. Together, Aimee and Sharmeen are working to change how the EPA regulates pesticides.Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

What are public utility commissions (PUCs)? In the transition to clean energy, state public utility commissions (PUCs), which regulate electric, gas, telecommunications, water and wastewater utilities, play an increasingly important role in achieving energy efficiency, enabling renewable energy, and implementing policies for greenhouse gas emissions reduction. PUCs  play a pivotal role in determining the energy mix, setting rates, and deciding on investments in infrastructure, such as electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), for example, has to balance  safety, reliable utility service, and reasonable rates through the regulation of various large investor-owned electric, natural gas, and water utilities. Utility commissions like CPUC are given a statutory mandate to ensure reasonable, adequate and efficient service to customers at just and reasonable prices. PUCs can issue regulations that impact electricity generation, the adoption of clean energy, and related emissions of pollutants and GHGs. PUCs can play an important role in shaping energy infrastructure, policy, and clean energy development.The Role PUCs play in shaping energy infrastructurePUCs were first created in the early 20th century to focus on overseeing operations and the utility investment in service while ensuring affordable rates. That role has evolved, and now PUCs often play a transformative role in transitioning towards a greener economy. PUCs have the ability to consider the impacts of GHG emissions, equity, grid reliability, distributed energy resources, and increased consumer choices in their policy decisions. PUCs oversee planning processes that affect a utility's resource portfolio and therefore its environmental profile. A new method of planning amongst PUCs has emerged known as Integrated Resource Planning (IRP), which compares the life cycle costs of different resource choices that factor energy efficiency into their analysis. Portfolio standards have also been added to IRP, which requires certain types of resources to be included in the utilities' mix of power procured, including renewable energy and energy efficiency. PUCs can also incorporate environmental considerations by increasing oversight of utility planning processes, setting prices, determining clean energy targets, and addressing utility incentives related to energy efficiency and distribution. PUCs thus have the ability to promote and shape clean energy adoption and development through their regulatory oversight. The Case for PUCsState PUCs have significant authority, often includingI the ability to accelerate decarbonization of the energy sector, mitigate the impacts of climate change, improve public health, and assist in reaching state energy goals. Updated PUC statutory mandates that reflect state energy priorities can contribute to their success in transforming the energy grid to become more energy efficient. Energy efficiency is a cost-effective mechanism to meet future demand for electricity. Energy efficiency reduces the amount of electricity needed to meet demand thereby benefiting the overall reliability of the electric grid. With more efficient systems, utilities and states will not need to build as much new transmission and generation, which can save money and improve environmental quality. Further, modern regulations to achieve such priorities and framing for the public interest can incorporate climate and environmental justice concerns. The Case Against PUCsOrganizational challenges such as outdated mandates, staff constraints, gaps in technical knowledge, misinformation, and quasi-judicial processes have created barriers to innovation amongst PUCs. Some PUCs still continue to view themselves as purely economic regulators, which does not accurately reflect the current decisions they are being asked to make. Additionally, the authority of PUCs varies widely from state to state. PUCs authority is established by state legislatures, thus their power only extends as far as their statutory authorization. The level of statutory authority delegated to PUCs by legislatures also varies widely. Barriers such as these have made it difficult for some  PUCs to develop more innovative mechanisms consistent with new environmental targets and the effort to achieve a zero-carbon US grid.While transitioning to clean energy promises long-term savings and environmental benefits, the short-term costs can be significant and potentially burdensome for consumers and businesses, posing political and fiscal challenges for PUCs. Stakeholder engagement in this transition will be vital. Labor issues also pose challenges as states transition away from  fossil fuels. In addition, challenges exist around regulatory complexities and the evolving federal and state policies. About Our GuestJill Tauber is the Vice President of Litigation for Climate and Energy at EarthJustice. Jill leads the organization in achieving an equitable shift to clean energy through her litigation and legal advocacy work. Prior to serving as VP of Litigation, Jill worked as the Managing Attorney of Earthjustice's Clean Energy Program, focusing on achieving clean energy solutions across the country.ResourcesRMI: Purpose: Aligning PUC Mandates with a Clean Energy FutureRMI: The Untapped Potential of Public Utility CommissionsEPA: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency State Climate and Energy Technical Forum Background DocumentFurther ReadingColumbia Law: Public Utility Commissions and Energy EfficiencyFor a transcript, please visit https://climatebreak.org/public-utilities-commissions-with-earthjustices-jill-tauber/

The State Legislature has begun their marathon hearings on the state budget, with 12 issue areas spread out over 4 weeks. The Environment and Energy was one of the first hearings on Tuesday Jan. 28. The public had to wait 8 hours before they were allowed to testify for 3 minutes as lawmakers spent hours asking questions - with often vague answers - from state agency heads. Governor Hochul's retreat on climate issues such as cap-and-invest, Build Public Renewables, and NY Heat was a major focus. We hear the testimony of 3 leading environmentalists; Rich Schrader of NRDC; Katherine Nadeau of Environmental Advocates; and Liz Moran of Earth Justice.

Our guest on this week's episode is Lee Ambrose, vice president at Remote Security Solutions. We hear regularly about securing our supply chains from threats, such as products being stolen while they are in transit. But security is more than just theft - it is also securing and protecting facilities and the people who work in them. Our guest discusses the possible threats that face our supply chains and how to keep both workers and products safe from harm. California this week got federal approval to move ahead to the final stages of approval for its 2022 plan to gradually scale back the sale of gas-powered cars within the state. They needed federal approval to have a standard different from broader U.S. rules, and the EPA has now allowed what's called the Advanced Clean Cars II rule. This means that by 2035, all new cars sold in California will have to be zero-emissions models, which includes battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid cars. Congestion on U.S. highways is costing the trucking industry big, according to research from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), which was released this week. The group found that traffic congestion on U.S. roadways added $108.8 billion in costs to the trucking industry in 2022—the latest data available. This is a record high. We look at states with the highest amount of traffic congestion. Supply Chain Xchange  also offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane.  It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. A series of ten episodes is now available on the "State of Logistics." The episodes provide in-depth looks into the current states of key transportation modes, such as trucking, rail, air, and ocean. It also looks at inventory management, 3PLs and more.  All ten episodes are available to stream now. Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe and to listen to past and future episodes. The podcast is also available at www.thescxchange.com.Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:Remote Security SolutionsCalifornia moves a step closer to requiring EV sales only by 2035Trucking industry experiences record high congestion costsVisit Supply Chain XchangeListen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Xchange's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcastSend feedback about this podcast to podcast@agilebme.comPodcast is sponsored by: Werner Premium ServicesOther linksAbout DC VELOCITYSubscribe to DC VELOCITYSign up for our FREE newslettersAdvertise with DC VELOCITYTop 10 Supply

The three day occupation at the Capitol which began on Dec. 10 to urge Governor Hochul to sign the Climate Superfund Act ended by joining a press conference outside the Assembly chambers on Dec. 12 in support of the Renewable Heat Now campaign, one of a dozen regional events across the state. The campaign includes support for the Renewable Capitol Act and the NY HEAT Act. In part 2 of our coverage, we hear from Assemblymember Phil Steck; Liz Moran of Earth Justice; Michael Hernandez of Rewiring America; 3 students from RPI Sunrise, including Kriti Sharma and Hannah Miller; and Alycia Bacon. This has been Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

Last week, we examined the deeply worrying prospect of Kash Patel, FBI director. This week, that possibility became even more worrisome with respect to the future of the FBI, all sparked by current director Christopher Wray's announcement of his intention to step down. To kick off this week's show, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern, who explains why Wray's decision is very bad news for the law and the rule of law.  Next, the planet: Last summer, we tried to absorb the sheer scale of the shift in the constitutional landscape following a run of cases at the end of the last term that gave the courts the power to reshape the administrative state from the bench, and to impede the tools of the environmental protection trade at a time when the climate is in crisis. But the news cycle moved on and the global climate alarm got snoozed again. That alarm was surely ringing again at One, First Street this week, when a case that could reshape the nation's biggest environmental law was argued at the Supreme Court.  Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado comes to the court as a dispute over how much review is due to a railroad plan that will carry waxy, crude oil through environmentally sensitive areas, and send said waxy crude on its way to already polluted and health blighted gulf communities. Sam Sankar of Earth Justice was on hand to explain how this weedy case paints a very clear picture of the Supreme Court conservative majority's fondness for grabbing cases that are vehicles for achieving their preferred policy outcomes, but then finding themselves in a bit of a pickle when its time to craft a new test for an old problem.   Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, we examined the deeply worrying prospect of Kash Patel, FBI director. This week, that possibility became even more worrisome with respect to the future of the FBI, all sparked by current director Christopher Wray's announcement of his intention to step down. To kick off this week's show, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern, who explains why Wray's decision is very bad news for the law and the rule of law.  Next, the planet: Last summer, we tried to absorb the sheer scale of the shift in the constitutional landscape following a run of cases at the end of the last term that gave the courts the power to reshape the administrative state from the bench, and to impede the tools of the environmental protection trade at a time when the climate is in crisis. But the news cycle moved on and the global climate alarm got snoozed again. That alarm was surely ringing again at One, First Street this week, when a case that could reshape the nation's biggest environmental law was argued at the Supreme Court.  Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado comes to the court as a dispute over how much review is due to a railroad plan that will carry waxy, crude oil through environmentally sensitive areas, and send said waxy crude on its way to already polluted and health blighted gulf communities. Sam Sankar of Earth Justice was on hand to explain how this weedy case paints a very clear picture of the Supreme Court conservative majority's fondness for grabbing cases that are vehicles for achieving their preferred policy outcomes, but then finding themselves in a bit of a pickle when its time to craft a new test for an old problem.   Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, we examined the deeply worrying prospect of Kash Patel, FBI director. This week, that possibility became even more worrisome with respect to the future of the FBI, all sparked by current director Christopher Wray's announcement of his intention to step down. To kick off this week's show, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern, who explains why Wray's decision is very bad news for the law and the rule of law.  Next, the planet: Last summer, we tried to absorb the sheer scale of the shift in the constitutional landscape following a run of cases at the end of the last term that gave the courts the power to reshape the administrative state from the bench, and to impede the tools of the environmental protection trade at a time when the climate is in crisis. But the news cycle moved on and the global climate alarm got snoozed again. That alarm was surely ringing again at One, First Street this week, when a case that could reshape the nation's biggest environmental law was argued at the Supreme Court.  Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado comes to the court as a dispute over how much review is due to a railroad plan that will carry waxy, crude oil through environmentally sensitive areas, and send said waxy crude on its way to already polluted and health blighted gulf communities. Sam Sankar of Earth Justice was on hand to explain how this weedy case paints a very clear picture of the Supreme Court conservative majority's fondness for grabbing cases that are vehicles for achieving their preferred policy outcomes, but then finding themselves in a bit of a pickle when its time to craft a new test for an old problem.   Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The week before Thanksgiving, amid what still looks like a boom for window and door makers, local manufacturer PGT Innovations laid off 225 workers in Tampa, and then another 150 in Venice. The layoffs came after PGT was taken over by Miter Brands, a Pennsylvania-based company. Johannes Werner talked to one Venice worker who says he and his wife lost their jobs the same day.The newly constituted Sarasota City Commission went through a test on Monday. That test came about when Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch made a motion to take back a vote the outgoing commission made a month earlier. At issue was a downtown street the city handed over to a developer, before even seeing the developer's site plan. Ahearn-Koch wanted more discussion on how the developer's yet-to-be-known project would benefit the public.On Tuesday, a state panel unanimously approved a $1.2 billion dollar storm recovery package for Florida Power & Light. This allows FP&L, come January, to hike the average monthly electricity bill by 12 dollars. This is pretty much routine, and it will keep the corporation in the black and its investors happy. But one public advocate spoke against approval at the Public Service Commission meeting in Tallahassee. Johannes Werner spoke to Jordan Luebkemann, an attorney representing Florida Rising and Earthjustice.As the national affairs correspondent for the Nation magazine, John Nichols views national politics through a progressive lens. He will put the election in perspective during a presentation and discussion at the Fogartyville Community Center this Saturday, 7 pm. WSLR's Peace and Justice Report host Tom Walker interviewed Nichols this morning.

EELP senior staff attorney Hannah Perls speaks with speaks with Debbie Chizewer and Nick Leonard about environmental justice lawyering, including leveraging Title VI of the Civil Rights Act on behalf of frontline communities. Debbie Chizewer is a managing attorney with Earthjustice based in Chicago, where she leads the organization's Midwest litigation strategy. Nick Leonard is the executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center based in Detroit, which provides legal representation to communities across Michigan. This is the second episode in a 2-part series on Title VI. Transcript at https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CleanLaw_EP99.pdf Links mentioned in episode: Episode I in this series https://soundcloud.com/user-995691545/ep-9860-years-of-title-vi-of-the-civil-rights-act-part-1-la-v-epa Great Lakes Environmental Law Center https://glelc.org/ Earthjustice Midwest Office https://earthjustice.org/office/midwest CARE v. EPA, No. 4:15-03292-SBA (N.D. Cal.) https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/114.20order20032030202018.pdf US Ecology Agreement between Michigan EGLE and Complainants https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/default/files/2024-08/title-vi-use-north-2024-08-29-title-vi-complaint-agreement-complaint-no-20-001-d-use-north-final_.pdf

One of the highlights of 2024 was creating a full video podcast with Kay Sargent of HOK, Geoff Snavely of MilliCare, and Sarah Sims, CWP of Earthjustice to celebrate our 300th episode! Recorded and filmed at the HOK offices in Washington, DC, the panel discusses the evolution of the FM industry, changing cultures and the need for flexibility, all while emphasizing the opportunity listeners have to ensure the sustainability of work and the wellbeing of employees. Revisit this milestone with me! Watch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TTK92bzCKjg?si=8w4luE6Qub5heChp Connect with Kay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kay-sargent-53b2431/ Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-sims-101/ Connect with Geoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffsnavelymillicare/ Discover free resources and explore past interviews at: https://www.workplaceinnovator.com/ Learn more about Eptura™: https://eptura.com/

"We may think that we're just eating our dinner tonight, but when you multiply it by all of that food every day, every day of the year, everyone in the country, everybody in the world, it's a tremendous production. Just to give you a sense, in the US, we slaughter about 18,000 animals every minute for food just in the United States." - Peter Lehner  Agriculture and our food system are responsible for about a third of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet the food system gets left out of too many climate conversations and the industry is rarely held accountable. I asked Peter Lehner to come on the show and explain what agriculture's role is in climate, and how and why they are so often left off the hook. Peter is one of the leading experts on the impact of agriculture and climate change. He directs Earth Justice's Sustainable Food and Farming program, developing litigation, administrative and legislative strategies to promote a more just and environmentally sound agriculture system and to reduce health, environmental and climate harms from the production of our food. He is also the author of farming for Our Future The Science, Law and Policy of Climate Neutral Agriculture. He also teaches at Columbia and Yale Law schools. Please listen and share.    

Christie Hicks, the Managing Attorney overseeing Earthjustice's Clean Energy Program, and Mandy DeRoche, a Deputy Managing Attorney in Earthjustice's Clean Energy Program, join Kevin Frazier, Senior Research Fellow in the Constitutional Studies Program at the University of Texas at Austin and a Tarbell Fellow at Lawfare, to explore the intersection of environmental law and national security as the Biden administration prioritizes AI development. Drawing on the extensive experience of Christie and Mandy in utility regulation and environmental advocacy, they collectively examine the tensions between the push for advances in emerging technologies and existing environmental commitments, grid stability requirements, and clean energy goals.Discussed in the show:Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick's tweet: https://x.com/LtGovTX/status/1800968003636408657The NSM on AI: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/10/24/memorandum-on-advancing-the-united-states-leadership-in-artificial-intelligence-harnessing-artificial-intelligence-to-fulfill-national-security-objectives-and-fostering-the-safety-security/To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/c/trumptrials.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov. 6, 2024 - We consider the current and future impact of state environmental regulators authorizing permits for carbon-based power plants that fuel energy intensive cryptocurrency mining efforts. Our guests are Liz Moran, policy advocate with Earthjustice, and Deb Gondek, chair of the North Tonawanda Climate Smart Task Force.

This week on Talk World Radio we're speaking with portrait painter Robert Shetterly whose website is americanswhotellthetruth.org. Robert's paintings and prints are in collections all over the U.S. and Europe. For more than 20 years he has been painting the series of portraits Americans Who Tell the Truth. These portraits have been traveling around the country since 2003. Venues have included everything from university museums and grade school libraries to sandwich shops, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City, and the Superior Court in San Francisco. To date, the exhibits have visited 35 states. In 2005, Dutton published a book of the portraits by the same name. In 2006, the book won the top award of the International Reading Association for Intermediate non-fiction. New Village Press in New York City is currently publishing a series of themed books on the portraits. Each volume contains 50 portraits. The first two were Portraits of Racial Justice (2021) and Portraits of Earth Justice (2022). The new one is Portraits of Peacemakers: https://nyupress.org/9781613322567/portraits-of-peacemakers

Communities across the country are disproportionately impacted by environmental injustices like water pollution and inadequate infrastructure. The solution requires not only winning court battles but also building long-term, collaborative relationships with those affected on the ground. In this episode, Julian Gonzalez, Senior Legislative Counsel of Earthjustice, shares insights into how the organization uses legal expertise and partnerships to protect vulnerable communities. He highlights Earthjustice's evolution from primarily representing large environmental groups to working closely with local communities, tribal nations, and grassroots organizations. Julian discusses the importance of trust-building, listening without judgment, and ensuring that legal victories translate into real-world change. This episode is part of the Color of Water series, a collaboration between waterloop and the Water Hub.

This episode we are joined by indigenous theologians and practioners, Randy and Edith Woodley, authors of the new book Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Lead Us to Harmony and Wellbeing. Randy and Edith are the founders of the Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice, based in Oregon, which focused on developing, implementing and teaching sustainable and regenerative earth practices. They are also senior consultants with our Freedom Road Consulting group. We invited Randy and Edith to join us on Freedom Road today because our world is writhing right now. We need medicine. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Thread or Insta Lisa @lisasharper or to Freedom Road @freedomroad.us. We're also on Substack! So be sure to subscribe to freedomroad.substack.com. And, keep sharing the podcast with your friends and networks and letting us know what you think! www.threads.net/@lisasharper www.threads.net/@freedomroad.us freedomroad.substack.com https://www.eloheh.org/ https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9781506496979/Journey-to-Eloheh

What steps can you take to deepen your connection with the natural world? In this episode, we're joined by CAC Affiliate Faculty member Rev. Dr. Randy Woodly. Together, we continue our chapter-by-chapter exploration of Eager to Love with Chapter 4: “Home Base: Nature and The Road.” This episode explores the wisdom of St. Francis and Jesus through the lens of Eloheh, emphasizing their connection to nature and their understanding of the kingdom of heaven as a state of harmony in the natural world. Before Mike begins the interview with Randy, Mike and Paul catch up with Richard at his hermitage to hear his reflections on the fourth chapter of Eager to Love. Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley is an activist, scholar, author, teacher, wisdom-keeper, and Cherokee descendant recognized by the Keetoowah Band who speaks on justice, faith, the earth, and Indigenous realities. He is the author of numerous books, including Becoming Rooted and Shalom and the Community of Creation. He and his wife, Edith, co-sustain Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice and Eloheh Farm & Seeds outside Portland, Oregon. Hosted by CAC Staff: Mike Petrow, Paul Swanson, and Drew Jackson Resources: A PDF of the transcript for this episode will be available soon. Grab a copy of Eager to Love here. To learn more about Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley, visit his website here. Check out Randy and Edith Woodley's new book, Journey to Eloheh here.

Project 2025 has been all over the news lately. But what exactly is this conservative playbook for the Federal government? And what does it mean for climate policy?  This week, A Matter of Degrees dives into the Heritage Foundation's plan for the next conservative presidential administration. Just weeks away from a pivotal election, we lay out what Project 2025 would mean for the climate movement and how it threatens to unwind all the progress we've made. This 900+ page document covers a lot of ground and, as we found out, the devil is in the details. In this episode, we walk through the policies that define Project 2025's vision for a Federal government that's fundamentally anti-government, anti-science, and anti-equity and justice. We also take a hard look at just exactly how we got here: who wrote Project 2025, who benefits from it, and what we can learn from it. To discuss all of this, and much more, we spoke to Abbie Dillen, the President of EarthJustice, Zoya Teirstein, a staff writer at GRIST, and Jade Begay, a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. Also referenced in this episode is Zoya's article on Project 2025 and climate policy and The Second Half Of The Decisive Decade: Potential U.S. Pathways On Climate, Jobs, And Health report by Energy Innovation, which models the impact of different climate and energy policy pathways starting in January 2025.

We're making it easy for you to judge the job performances of your members of Congress! In this episode, Jen tells you about a list of single issue votes that were taken in the House and Senate during the 118th Congress. Most importantly, we gave you all the information you need to find your members' voting records in this episode's show notes. You can find your 2024 Congressional Election Study guide in the episode 301 show notes on www.congressionaldish.com. Happy voting! Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Enacted Laws Congressional Dish Episode: ← find how your Representative voted here ← find how your Senator voted here Effects of H.R. 7888: Expands the number of people allowed to be legally spied on by the U.S. government and the number of people with information stored in the FISA database (which has information about Americans whose data has been collected along with information about foreigners). It does so by… Giving the Department of Justice (DOJ) permission to search the FISA database to vet foreigners who are applying for tourist visas to visit the United States and Expanding the definition of ‘foreign intelligence' to include counter narcotics targets. Expands the number of companies who get legal immunity for turning our information over to the government by expanding the definition of “electronic communications service provider”. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is no longer legally allowed to search the FISA database solely to find evidence of a crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is prohibited from using uncorroborated information from political groups or anonymous sources in press reports to get FISA warrants. Limits the number of people within the government who are allowed to search through the database. Background Sources for H.R. 7888: INTEL.gov. Michael Horowitz. April 27, 2023. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General. Jonathan Turley. December 14, 2019. The Hill. Conor Clarke. February 2014. Stanford Law Review. “The Biggs Amendment” to H.R. 7888 [failed] ← find how your Representative voted here Intended Effect of the Biggs Amendment: Would require U.S. government officials to get a warrant before searching through the FISA database for information about U.S. citizens or companies, with emergency exceptions. Congressional Dish Episode: ← find how your Representative voted here Effects of H.R. 7521: It is now illegal for companies to provide internet hosting services, distribute, and/or update “foreign adversary controlled applications”, websites, or games, which are partially owned by a foreign person and are determined by the President - with no proof required - to pose “a significant threat to the national security of the United States.” Establishes a process that allows companies to host, distribute, and/or update if the app, website, or game changes ownership. If companies host, distribute, and/or update the targeted apps, websites, or games, the companies are subject to fines that - depending on the user base of the targeted app, website, or game - can be hundreds of billions of dollars. ← find how your Representative voted here Intended Effects of H.R. 8034: Provide almost $26 billion to Israel. 64% of the money would be for war expenses 35% of the money would be for humanitarian purposes Less than 1% of the money would be for diplomatic expenses Provide $400 million for FEMA Background Sources for H.R. 8034: April 17, 2024. Al Jazeera. Fatima Al-Kassab. January 26, 2024. NPR. ← find how your Representative voted here Intended Effects of H.R. 8035: Provide over $60 billion for Ukraine (and other neighboring countries) 83% of the money would be for war expenses 16.5% of the money would be for humanitarian expenses Less than 0.5% of the money would be for diplomatic expenses Provide $341 million for production of nuclear weapons materials and nuclear nonproliferation programs House Bills ← find how your Representative voted here Intended Effects of H.R. 7023: Double the length of permits to discharge pollutants in waterways from 5 years to 10 years Removes the EPA administrators ability to prohibit discharges in specific disposal sites if he determines that the discharge of materials will have an unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife, or recreational areas after a disposal permit has been issued. Creates nationwide permits to allow for transmission projects for people, water, wastewater, carbon dioxide, fuel, and oil and gas pipelines that do not result in a “loss greater than 1/2 acre of waters of the United States for each single and complete project” In reissuing these nationwide permits, the EPA would not be required to consult with a state nor any other Federal agency and these permits will get to short cut environmental assessments that are required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Limits judicial review Puts a 60 day time limit after the permit is issued for a judicial review Doesn't allow anyone who didn't file a comment during the public comment period to file a lawsuit. If someone did file a comment, they may not file a lawsuit about anything that they didn't address in their comment. Prohibits the court from vacating, revoking, or limiting the permit unless the court finds that the activities authorized “present an imminent and substantial danger to human health or the environment for which there is not other equitable remedy available under the law' Approves an end-of-Trump administration EPA approval for Florida to administer Clean Water Act permitting. Background Sources for H.R. 7023: Becky Bohrer and Patrick Whittle. January 31, 2023. PBS News. July 19, 2016. Earthjustice. Earthjustice. ← find how your Representative voted here Intended Effects of H.R. 1435: Prohibit states from banning fossil fuel burning internal combustion engines in cars and trucks. Effectively revokes the EPA waiver that allows California to ban the sale of fossil fuel burning cars. Background Sources for H.R. 1435: Jeff St. John. September 23, 2020. Greentech Media. ← find how your Representative voted here Intended effects of H.R. 7176: Give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the “exclusive authority” to approve or deny applications to export natural gas from the United States to a foreign country, which eliminates requirements for Department of Energy approval and provisions to address free trade agreements. Deems exportation or importation of natural gas to be in the public interest. Background Sources for H.R. 7176: September 26, 2024. National Drought Mitigation Center. Zachary-Taylor Wright. September 17, 2024. MySA. Steven Santana. July 23, 2024. MySA. ← find how your Representative voted here Intended Effects of H.R. 6543: Requires providers of short term lodging (hotels and AirBnBs) and Internet platforms that advertise and sell short term lodging to display the total price including all mandatory fees, except for government taxes and fees. ← find how your Representative voted here Intended Effects of H.R. 3950: Requires ticket issuers and secondary market ticket issuers to clearly display the total ticket price, including all fees, at the time the ticket price is first displayed and provides an itemized list of charges before the ticket purchasing process is complete. Prohibits ticket issuers and secondary market ticket issuers from selling tickets that they do not physically possess at the time of sale. Prohibits secondary ticket issuers from using the word ‘official' or similar words implying a partnership in their marketing and search engine wording unless they have the consent of the venue, team, or artist. Requires ticket issuers to provide a refund or a similar ticket to a rescheduled event, with the approval of the customer, if an event is canceled or postponed (except for in case of a natural disaster or other event beyond the ticket issuer's control). ← find how your Representative voted here Intended Effects of H.R. 4639: Prohibits law enforcement or the intelligence community from buying customer or subscriber information directly from companies or from data brokers. Any information “illegitimately obtained” is not allowed to be used against us in court. Has exceptions for FISA surveillance of foreigners. Limits immunity for companies that comply with surveillance orders and do not stop the surveillance when a court order is denied. Background Sources for H.R. 4639: Carly Page. July 18, 2022. TechCrunch. Senior Advisory Group Panel on Commercially Available Information. January 27, 2022. Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Byron Tau. June 19, 2020. The Wall Street Journal. Senate Bills ← find how your Senator voted here Intended Effects of S. 316: Repeal the authorizations for US military operations in Iraq that were passed in 1991 and 2002. Background Sources for S. 316: Meghann Myers. January 25, 2024. Military Times. ← find how your Senator voted here Intended Effects of S. 4072: To prevent the enforcement of the , which would set stricter standards for fossil fuel burning cars and trucks that would be phased in between model year 2027 and 2032. Prohibits enforcement of any similar rule that could be written in the future. The standards could be met via the production of cleaner fossil fuel powered vehicles, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles. EPA estimates the air pollution reductions would provide ~$13 billion in reduced annual health care costs by preventing the emission of thousands of tons of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. EPA estimates the new standards would save Americans $46 billion per year in fuel costs and $16 billion per year due to reduced maintenance and repair costs for drivers, totaling ~$6,000 over the course of a new vehicle's lifetime. ← find how your Senator voted here Intended Effects of S. 4445: Guarantees an individual's rights to receive fertility treatment, make decisions regarding the donation, use, storage, and disposal of oocytes, sperm, fertilized eggs and embryos, and enter contracts with health care providers to enact those decisions. Guarantees a health provider's right to provide fertility treatments and provide for testing, use, storage, shipping, and disposal of genetic material including oocytes, sperm, fertilized eggs, and embryos. Guarantees a health insurance provider's right to cover fertility treatments. Guarantees a manufacturer's right to manufacture, import, market, sell, and distribute drugs and devices that are used for fertility treatments. Allows lawsuits against any State or individual who interferes with the right to fertility treatments by the Attorney General, health care providers, and individuals adversely affected. This would supersede any State law regardless of when it was enacted and prohibits enforcement of any state law that is in conflict with these rights. Requires the Department of Defense to provide fertility treatments (specifically three egg retrievals and unlimited embryo transfers) to active duty military members and their spouses. Requires health plans, Medicaid, and Medicare that cover obstetrical (child birth related) services to also provide coverage for fertility treatments. Background sources for S. 4445: Maya C. Miller. September 17, 2024. The New York Times. Alander Rocha. April 3, 2024. Alabama Reflector. Alander Rocha. February 19, 2024. Alabama Reflector. Audio Sources March 21, 2024 Clips Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA): My colleagues have criticized EPA's use of its Clean Water Act review or veto authority. Yet, the record shows EPA's use of this authority has been consistent with congressional intent. I see no reason for removing this authority. Since enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1972, EPA has only exercised this authority 14 times—most recently in relation to large-scale mining proposals in Alaska and West Virginia. EPA's use of this authority has, in fact, been bipartisan. EPA used it 2 times during Democratic administrations and 12 times during Republican administrations. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): This bill will cut red tape, strengthen the permitting process in favor of those seeking the permits, provide clarity to the EPA to ensure that they are following what the law intends, and, most importantly, fight back against the militant climate agenda. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): Our court system is already being attacked from every angle. Let's not let the environmentalists continue to manipulate the courts to push their climate religion. It should be an efficient and speedy process so businesses can build the infrastructure that our country depends on. Rep. David Rouser (R-NC): Mr. Chairman, in closing, I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill, which provides energy predictability and certainty that our utilities, energy, manufacturing, and agricultural industries need to succeed, which are so critical to American greatness in energy, food production, and the manufacturing necessary to improve the standard of living of every American. That is what this is about, Mr. Chairman. Music by Editing Production Assistance

On June 26, 2024, B&C, along with the Environmental Law Institute and the George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, sponsored the all-day virtual conference, TSCA Reform — Eight Years Later. The quality of the discussion, the caliber of the participants, and the timeliness of the content motivated us to repurpose the substantive sessions. B&C and ELI are pleased to co-sponsor this episode of All Things Chemical® to enable our podcast audience to listen to these sessions. Maria J. Doa, Ph.D., Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), moderated Panel 2: Risk Evaluation and the Supporting Role Sections 4 and 8 Play. The panelists included David B. Fischer, Counsel, Keller and Heckman LLP; Jeffery T. Morris, Ph.D., Director, Existing Chemicals Risk Assessment Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), EPA; Katherine O'Brien, Senior Attorney, Toxic Exposure and Health Program, Earthjustice; Judah Prero, Counsel, Arnold & Porter; and Tracey Woodruff, Ph.D., Professor and Director, University of California, San Francisco, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment. The panel considered EPA's revised chemical prioritization and risk evaluation processes; the role and extent of peer review; and the utility and timing of Section 4 test rules. More information on EPA's final 2024 rule amending the risk evaluation framework rule is available in our May 14, 2024, memorandum. ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2024 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

Sept. 18, 2024 - We discuss the first round of data released from a statewide, localized air monitoring effort with Rachel Spector, a senior attorney at Earthjustice.

Karyn M. Schmidt, Senior Director, Regulatory & Scientific Affairs, American Chemistry Council, moderated Panel 1: Risk Management. The panelists included MaryAnn Hoff, Global Director Advocacy, EHS & Product Stewardship, PPG; Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz, Supervising Senior Attorney, Earthjustice; Eileen Murphy, Ph.D., Director, Existing Chemicals Risk Management Division, EPA; and Meredith Williams, Director, California Department of Toxic Substances Control. The panel discussed how EPA defines the “extent necessary” to control unreasonable risks and under what circumstances EPA will not seek to ban a chemical use, as well as EPA's final asbestos, methylene chloride, and proposed N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) risk management rules. More information on the risk management rules is available in our March 28, 2024, memorandum (asbestos), May 17, 2024, memorandum (methylene chloride), and June 21, 2024, memorandum (NMP). ALL MATERIALS IN THIS PODCAST ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL  AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. THE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE OR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES. ALL LEGAL QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED DIRECTLY BY A LICENSED ATTORNEY PRACTICING IN THE APPLICABLE AREA OF LAW. ©2024 Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.  All Rights Reserved

In this final episode of the Global Climate Change and U.S. Law series, editor Michael Gerrard will talk with Tracy Hester, Instructional Professor of Law at University of Houston Law Center, and Peter Lehner, Managing Attorney for Earthjustice's Sustainable Food & Farming Program, about engineered methods that remove the pollution before it goes out a smokestack, or that draw it down from the atmosphere; and changed farming methods to reduce agricultural emissions and absorb carbon in plants and soil. This episode will be focused on Part 5, "The Next Legal Frontiers," of "Global Climate Change and U.S. Law 3rd Edition." Get your copy of Global Climate Change and U.S. Law, Third Edition here: Global Climate Change and U.S. Law, Third Edition (americanbar.org)

August 1, 2024 - Dror Ladin, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, explains why a 2019 law intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and a recent update to the state constitution are at the root of his organization's lawsuit against the Hochul administration's indefinite pause on congestion pricing in Manhattan, which was supposed to take effect on June 30.

According to the Associated Press, on Friday, June 28 the US Supreme Court overturned the decades old Chevron decision. The Supreme Court overturned the Chevron decision, which allowed federal agencies to interpret unclear laws, thereby empowering them in regulatory matters. The Chevron decision, established in 1984, outlines a principle of judicial deference to administrative agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes that they administer. It holds that courts should defer to these agency interpretations as long as they are reasonable and not contrary to the clear intent of Congress. This doctrine has been pivotal in shaping the balance of power between regulatory agencies and the judiciary in the United States. This decision to overturn Chevron is seen as a major win for business interests, potentially affecting regulations across environment, public health, workplace safety, and consumer protections. It impacts regulatory agencies by diminishing their discretion and authority in interpreting and implementing ambiguous statutes. It shifts more decision-making power to the judiciary, requiring courts to independently assess the legality and scope of agency actions without automatically deferring to agency interpretations from subject matter experts. This change potentially complicates the regulatory process, making it harder for agencies to enact and enforce regulations without facing greater scrutiny and challenges in court. The judiciary or the court now has the ability to veto and edit regulations that typically would be deferred to experts like those at the EPA, FDA, OSHA, and other agencies. Instead, judges are now able to make decisions based on their economic interests and personal beliefs surrounding the proposed and enacted regulations. The court's conservative majority, aligned with Justice John Roberts, reinforced the role of courts over agency experts in interpreting statutes, limiting agency discretion. The ruling could lead to challenges worth billions, impacting regulations like the National Marine Fisheries Service's fee requirements for herring fishermen. It also reflects broader conservative efforts to curtail the regulatory state, aligning with previous rulings under the Trump-appointed justices. Dissenting justices, including Kagan, criticized the decision as undermining agency authority and legislative intent, with implications for future regulatory oversight. Industry groups supported the decision for economic reasons, while advocacy groups warned of threats to public safety and environmental protections. A lawyer from Earthjustice stated after the ruling that: “The Supreme Court is pushing the nation into uncharted waters as it seizes power from our elected branches of government to advance its deregulatory agenda. The conservative justices are aggressively reshaping the foundations of our government so that the President and Congress have less power to protect the public, and corporations have more power to challenge regulations in search of profits. This ruling threatens the legitimacy of hundreds of regulations that keep us safe, protect our homes and environment, and create a level playing field for businesses to compete on.”  The ruling shifts power dynamics away from federal agencies toward courts, potentially influencing future regulatory frameworks and major legal challenges. In short, things will now be decided by 9 bureaucrats in robes rather than the public and subject matter experts. Source: https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-chevron-regulations-environment-5173bc83d3961a7aaabe415ceaf8d665 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/outdoor-minimalist/support

Welcome to the Season four kick-off! Today, we have our first interview with one of the authors from our anthology on Christianity and American politics, the incredible Dr. Randy Woodley. The episode includes:-        How dualism defines White worldviews, and how it negatively affects White Christians-        How love and vulnerability are central to a life with Jesus-        Why our voting decisions matter to marginalized people-        And after the interview in our new segment, hear Jonathan and Sy talk about the attack on teaching Black history in schools, and the greater responsibility White people need to take for their feelings about historical factsResources Mentioned in the Episode-            Dr. Woodley's essay in our anthology: “The Fullness Thereof.”-            Dr. Woodley's book he wrote with his wife, now available for pre-order: Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Led Us to Harmony and Well-Being-            Dr. Woodley's recent children's books, the Harmony Tree Trilogy-            Our highlight from Which Tab Is Still Open?: The podcast conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Jelani Cobb-            The book A Race Is a Nice Thing to Have: A Guide to Being a White Person or Understanding the White Persons in Your LifeCredits-        Follow KTF Press on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Subscribe to get our newsletter and bonus episodes at KTFPress.com.-        Follow host Jonathan Walton on Facebook Instagram, and Threads.-        Follow host Sy Hoekstra on Mastodon.-        Our theme song is “Citizens” by Jon Guerra – listen to the whole song on Spotify.-        Our podcast art is by Robyn Burgess – follow her and see her other work on Instagram.-        Production by Sy Hoekstra.-        Transcript by Joyce Ambale and Sy HoekstraTranscript[An acoustic guitar softly plays six notes, the first three ascending and the last three descending – F#, B#, E, D#, B – with a keyboard pad playing the note B in the background. Both fade out as Jonathan Walton says “This is a KTF Press podcast.”]Randy Woodley: So the Europeans were so set in this dualistic mindset that they began to kill each other over what they consider to be correct doctrine. So we had the religious wars all throughout Europe, and then they brought them to the United States. And here we fought by denomination, so we're just like, “Well I'm going to start another denomination. And I'm going to start another one from that, because I disagree with you about who gets baptized in what ways and at what time,” and all of those kinds of things. So doctrine then, what we think about, and theology, becomes completely disembodied to the point now where the church is just looked at mostly with disdain.[The song “Citizens” by Jon Guerra fades in. Lyrics: “I need to know there is justice/ That it will roll in abundance/ And that you're building a city/ Where we arrive as immigrants/ And you call us citizens/ And you welcome us as children home.” The song fades out.]Jonathan Walton: Welcome to Shake the Dust, seeking Jesus, confronting injustice. My name is Jonathan Walton.Sy Hoekstra: And I am Sy Hoekstra, we are so excited to be starting our interviews with our writers from our Anthology in 2020 that we published when we [resigned voice] had the same election that we're having this year [Jonathan laughs]. So it's still relevant at least, and we're really excited to bring you Dr. Randy Woodley today. Jonathan, why don't you tell everyone a bit about Dr. Woodley?Jonathan Walton: Yeah. So Dr. Woodley is a distinguished professor emeritus of faith and culture at George Fox Seminary in Portland, Oregon. His PhD is in intercultural studies. He's an activist, a farmer, a scholar, and active in ongoing conversations and concerns about racism, diversity, eco-justice, reconciliation ecumen… that's a good word.Sy Hoekstra: Ecumenism [laughter].Jonathan Walton: Ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, mission, social justice and indigenous peoples. He's a Cherokee Indian descendant recognized by the Keetoowah Band. He is also a former pastor and a founding board member of the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies, or NAIITS, as we call it. Dr. Woodley and his wife Edith are co-founders and co-sustainers of Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice situated on farmland in Oregon. Their Center focuses on developing, implementing and teaching sustainable and regenerative earth practices. Together, they have written a book called Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Led Us to Harmony and Well-Being, which will come out in October. It's available for preorder now, you should definitely check it out. Dr. Woodley also released children's books called Harmony Tree.In our conversation, we talk about what he thinks is the key reason Western Christians have such a hard time following Jesus well, the centrality of love in everything we do as followers of Jesus, the importance of this year's elections to marginalize people, and Dr. Woodley's new books, and just a lot more.Sy Hoekstra: His essay in our book was originally published in Sojourners. It was one of the very few not original essays we had in the book, but it's called “The Fullness Thereof,” and that will be available in the show notes. I'll link to that along with a link to all the books that Jonathan just said and everything else. We're also going to be doing a new segment that we introduced in our bonus episodes, if you were listening to those, called Which Tab Is Still Open?, where we do a little bit of a deeper dive into one of the recommendations from our newsletter. So this week, it will be on The Attack on Black History in schools, a conversation with Jelani Cobb and Nikole Hannah-Jones. It was a really great thing to listen to. That'll be in the show notes to hear our thoughts on it after the interview.Jonathan Walton: Absolutely. And friends, we need your help. We're going into a new phase of KTF, and as you know, this is a listener supported show. So everything we do at KTF to help people leave the idols of America and seek Jesus and confront injustice is only possible because you are supporting us. And in this next phase, we need a lot more supporters. So we've been doing this show, and all of our work in KTF as kind of a side project for a few years, but we want to make it more sustainable. So if you've ever thought about subscribing and you can afford it, please go to and sign up now. And if you can't afford it, all you got to do is email us and we'll give you a free discounted subscription. No questions asked, because we want everyone to have access to our content, bonus episode, and the subscriber community features.So if you can afford it, please do go to www.ktfpress.com, subscribe and make sure these conversations can continue, and more conversations like it can be multiplied. Thanks in advance. Oh, also, because of your support, our newsletter is free right now. So if you can't be a paid subscriber, go and sign up for the free mailing list at www.ktfpress.com and get our media recommendations every week in your inbox, along with things that are helping us stay grounded and hopeful as we engage with such difficult topics at the intersection of church and politics, plus all the news and everything going on with us at KTF. So, thank you so, so much for the subscribers we already have. Thanks in advance for those five-star reviews, they really do help us out, and we hope to see you on www.ktfpress.com as subscribers. Thanks.Sy Hoekstra: Let's get into the interview, I have to issue an apology. I made a rookie podcasting mistake and my audio sucks. Fortunately, I'm not talking that much in this interview [laughter]. Randy Woodley is talking most of the time, and his recording comes to you from his home recording studio. So that's nice. I'll sound bad, but most of the time he's talking and he sounds great [Jonathan laughs]. So let's get right into it. Here's the interview.[the intro piano music from “Citizens” by Jon Guerra plays briefly and then fades out.]What Dualism Is, and How It's Infected the White ChurchJonathan Walton: So, Dr. Woodley, welcome to Shake The Dust. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for contributing to our Anthology in the way that you contributed [laughs].Randy Woodley: I'm glad to be here. Thank you.Jonathan Walton: Yeah. Your essay, I mean, was really, really great. We're going to dive deep into it. But you wrote in the essay, the primary difference in the lens through which Western and indigenous Christians see the world is dualism. And so if you were able to just define what is dualism, and why is it a crucial thing for Western Christians to understand about our faith, that'd be great to kick us off.Randy Woodley: Yeah, except for I think I want to draw the line differently than the question you just asked.Jonathan Walton: Okay.Randy Woodley: When we say indigenous Christians, by and large, Christians who are Native Americans have been assimilated into a Western worldview. It's a battle, and there's lots of gradient, there's a gradient scale, so there's lots of degrees of that. But by and large, because of the assimilation efforts of missionaries and churches and Christianity in general, our Native American Christians would probably veer more towards a Western worldview. But so I want to draw that line at traditional indigenous understandings as opposed to indigenous Christian understandings. Okay. So, yeah, Platonic Dualism is just a sort of… I guess to make it more personal, I started asking the question a long time ago, like what's wrong with White people [Sy laughs]? So that's a really valid question, a lot of people ask it, right? But then I kind of got a little more sophisticated, and I started saying, well, then what is whiteness? What does that mean? And then tracing down whiteness, and a number of deep studies and research, and trying to understand where does whiteness really come from, I really ended up about 3000 years ago with the Platonic Dualism, and Western civilization and the Western worldview. And so Plato of course was the great dualist, and he privileged the ethereal over the material world, and then he taught his student, Aristotle. So just to be clear for anybody who, I don't want to throw people off with language. So the thing itself is not the thing, is what Plato said, it's the idea of what the thing is. And so what he's doing is splitting reality. So we've got a holistic reality of everything physical, everything ethereal, et cetera. So Plato basically split that and said, we privilege and we are mostly about what we think about things, not what actually exists an our physical eyes see, or any senses understand. So that split reality… and then he taught Aristotle, and I'm going to make this the five-minute crash course, or two minutes maybe would be better for this [laughs]. Aristotle actually, once you create hierarchies in reality, then everything becomes hierarchical. So men become over women, White people become over Black people. Humans become over the rest of creation. So now we live in this hierarchical world that continues to be added to by these philosophers.Aristotle is the instructor, the tutor to a young man named Alexander, whose last name was The Great. And Alexander basically spreads this Platonic Dualism, this Greek thinking around the whole world, at that time that he could figure out was the world. It goes as far as North Africa and just all over the known world at that time. Eventually, Rome becomes the inheritor of this, and then we get the Greco-Roman worldview. The Romans try to improve upon it, but basically, they continue to be dualist. It gets passed on, the next great kingdom is Britain, Great Britain. And then of course America is the inheritor of that. So Great Britain produces these movements.In fact, between the 14th and 17th century, they have the Renaissance, which is a revival of all this Greek thinking, Roman, Greco-Roman worldview, architecture, art, poetry, et cetera. And so these become what we call now the classics, classic civilization. When we look at what's the highest form of civilization, we look back to, the Western worldview looks back to Greek and Greece and Rome and all of these, and still that's what's taught today to all the scholars. So, during this 14th to 17th century, there's a couple pretty big movements that happen in terms of the West. One, you have the enlightenment. The enlightenment doubles down on this dualism. You get people like René Descartes, who says, “I am a mind, but I just have a body.” You get Francis Bacon, who basically put human beings over nature. You get all of this sort of doubling down, and then you also have the birth of another, what I would call the second of the evil twins, and that is the Reformation. [exaggerated sarcastic gasp] I'll give the audience time to respond [laughter]. The Reformation also doubles down on this dualism, and it becomes a thing of what we think about theology, instead of what we do about theology. So I think I've said before, Jesus didn't give a damn about doctrine. So it became not what we actually do, but what we think. And so the Europeans were so set in this dualistic mindset that they began to kill each other over what they consider to be correct doctrine. So we had the religious wars all throughout Europe, and then they brought them to the United States. And here we fought by denomination, so just like, “Well, I'm going to start another denomination. And I'm going to start another one from that, because I disagree with you about who gets baptized in what ways, and at what time,” and all of those kinds of things.So doctrine then, what we think about, and theology becomes what we're thinking about. And it becomes completely disembodied, to the point now where the church is just looked at mostly with disdain, because it doesn't backup the premises that it projects. So it talks about Jesus and love and all of these things. And yet it's not a reflection of that, it's all about having the correct beliefs, and we think that's what following Jesus is. So when I'm talking about Platonic Dualism, I'm talking about something deeply embedded in our worldview. Not just a thought, not just a philosophy, but a whole worldview. It's what we see as reality. And so my goal is to convert everyone from a Western worldview, which is not sustainable, and it will not project us into the future in a good way, to a more indigenous worldview.Dr. Woodley's Influences, and How He's Influenced OthersSy Hoekstra: So let's talk about that effort then, because you have spent effectively decades trying to do just that.Randy Woodley: Exactly.Sy Hoekstra: Working with both indigenous and non-indigenous people. So tell us what some of the good fruit that you see as you disciple people out of this dualistic thinking?Randy Woodley: I feel like that question is supposed to be answered by the people I effected at my memorial service, but…Sy Hoekstra: [laughter] Well, you can answer for yourself.Jonathan Walton: Yeah, I mean…Randy Woodley: Yeah, I mean, it's a bit braggadocious if I start naming names and all those kinds of things [Sy laughs]. I would just say that I've had influence in people's lives along with other influences. And now, I mean, first of all when I look back, I look and the most important thing to me is my children know I love them with all my heart and I did the best I could with them. And then secondly, the people who I taught became my friends. And the people I've mentored became my friends and I'm still in relationship with so many of them. That's extremely important to me. That's as important as anything else. And then now I look and I see there's people and they've got podcasts and they've got organizations and they've got denominations and they're... I guess overall, the best thing that I have done to help other people over the years is to help them to ask good questions in this decolonization effort and this indigenous effort. So yeah, I've done a little bit over the years.Sy Hoekstra: [laughs] How about for yourself? Because I don't think, I think one of the reasons you started asking these questions was to figure things out for yourself. What fruit have you seen in your own “walk,” as evangelicals might put it?Randy Woodley: Well, I think as you get older, you get clarity. And you also realize that people who have influenced you, and I think about a lot of people in my life. Some I've met, some I've never met. Some you've probably never heard of. People like Winkie Pratney, and John Mohawk and John Trudell, and public intellectuals like that. And then there's the sort of my some of my professors that helped me along the way like Ron Sider and Tony Campolo, and Samuel Escobar and Manfred Brauch. And just a whole lot of people I can look back, Jean [inaudible], who took the time to build a relationship and helped me sort of even in my ignorance, get out of that. And I think one of the first times this happened was when I was doing my MDiv, and someone said to me, one of my professors said to me, “You need to see this through your indigenous eyes.” And I was challenged. It was like, “Oh! Well then, what eyes am I seeing this through?” And then I began to think about that. The thing about decolonizing, is that once you start pulling on that thread the whole thing comes unraveled. So yeah.Jonathan Walton: Yeah, I think like, just to speak a little bit to your impact, I think something you said to someone that was said to me, was like we're all indigenous to somewhere. And the importance of looking upstream to see how we're influenced to be able to walk into the identity that God has called us to. Including the people who led me to faith being like Ashley Byrd, Native Hawaiian, being able to call me out of a dualist way of thinking and into something more holistic, and now having multi-ethnic children myself being able to speak to them in an indigenous way that connects them to a land and a people has been really transformative for me.Randy Woodley: Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. See? Right there.Love and Vulnerability are Central to Christian LifeJonathan Walton: [laughs] Yeah. And with that, you make a point of saying that you're somebody who works hard to speak difficult truths in a way that is loving and acceptable to everybody. I would say that's like Jesus, right? To be able to speak hard truths and yet people are curious and want to know more even though they're challenged. And so why, I could guess, and I'm sure people would fill in the blanks. But like if you had to say why that's important to you, what would you say?Randy Woodley: Well, I mean, love's the bottom line of everything. If I'm not loving the people I'm with, then I'm a hypocrite. I'm not living up to what I'm speaking about. So the bottom line to all of this shalom, understanding dualism, changing worldviews, is love. And so love means relationship. It means being vulnerable. I always say God is the most vulnerable being who exists. And if I'm going to be the human that the creator made me to be, then I have to be vulnerable. I have to risk and I have to trust and I have to have courage and love, and part of that is building relationships with people. So I think, yeah, if… in the old days, we sort of had a group of Native guys that hung around together, me and Richard Twiss, Terry LeBlanc, Ray Aldred, Adrian Jacobs. We all sort of had a role. Like, we called Richard our talking head. So he was the best communicator and funniest and he was out there doing speaking for all of us. And my role that was put on me was the angry Indian. So I was the one out there shouting it down and speaking truth to power and all that. And over the years, I realized that that's okay. I still do that. And I don't know that I made a conscious decision or if I just got older, but then people start coming up to me and saying things like, “Oh, you say some really hard things, but you say it with love.” And I'm like, “Oh, okay. Well, I'll take that.” So I just became this guy probably because of age, I don't know [laughs] and experience and seeing that people are worth taking the extra time to try and communicate in a way that doesn't necessarily ostracize them and make them feel rejected.Jonathan Walton: Yeah, that definitely makes sense. I think there's all these iterations of the last 50 years of people trying to say, “Hey, love across difference. Hey, love across difference.” And there's these iterations that come up. So I hope a lot of people get older faster to be able, you know [laughter].Randy Woodley: I think we're all getting older faster in this world we're in right now.Jonathan Walton: It's true. Go ahead Sy.The Importance of Voters' Choices to marginalized PeopleSy Hoekstra: Yeah. So we had another interview that we did, kind of about Middle East politics, as we're thinking about the election coming up. And one of the points we hit on that we've talked about before on this show is that to a lot of people in the Middle East or North Africa, whoever gets elected in the US, it doesn't necessarily make the biggest difference in the world. There's going to be drones firing missiles, there's going to be governments being manipulated by the US. America is going to do what America is going to do in the Middle East regardless. And I assume to a certain degree, tell me if I'm wrong, that that might be how a lot of indigenous people think about America. America is going to do what America is going to do regardless of who's in power, broadly speaking at least. What do you think about when you look at the choices in front of us this November? How do you feel about it? Like what is your perspective when you're actually thinking about voting?Randy Woodley: Yeah, that's a really good question. And I understand I think, how people in other countries might feel, because Americans foreign policy is pretty well based on America first and American exceptionalism, and gaining and maintaining power in the world. And I think that makes little difference. But in domestic affairs, I think it makes a whole lot of difference. Native Americans, much like Black Americans are predominantly Democrats and there's a reason for that. And that is because we're much more likely to not have our funding to Indian Health Service cut off in other things that we need, housing grants and those kinds of things. And there's just such a difference right now, especially in the domestic politics. So I mean, the Republicans have basically decided to abandon all morals and follow a narcissistic, masochistic, womanizing… I mean, how many—criminal, et cetera, and they've lost their minds.And not that they have ever had the best interest of the people at the bottom of the social ladder in mind. Because I mean, it was back in the turnaround when things changed a long time ago that there was any way of comparing the two. But ever since Reagan, which I watched, big business wins. And so right now, we live in a corporatocracy. And yes, there are Democrats and the Republicans involved in that corporatocracy, but you will find many more Democrats on the national scale who are for the poor and the disenfranchised. And that's exactly what Shalom is about. It's this Shalom-Sabbath-Jubilee construct that I call, that creates the safety nets. How do you know how sick a society is? How poor its safety nets are. So the better the safety nets, the more Shalom-oriented, Sabbath-Jubilee construct what I call it, which is exactly what Jesus came to teach.And look up four, that's his mission. Luke chapter four. And so, when we think about people who want to call themselves Christians, and they aren't concerned about safety nets, they are not following the life and words of Jesus. So you just have to look and say, yes, they'll always, as long as there's a two-party system, it's going to be the lesser of two evils. That's one of the things that's killing us, of course lobbyists are killing us and everything else. But this two-party system is really killing us. And as long as we have that, we're always going to have to choose the lesser of two evils. It's a very cynical view, I think, for people inside the United States to say, well, there's no difference. In fact, it's a ridiculous view. Because all you have to look at is policy and what's actually happened to understand that there's a large difference, especially if you're poor.And it's also a very privileged position of whiteness, of power, of privilege to be able to say, “Oh, it doesn't matter who you vote for.” No, it matters to the most disenfranchised and the most marginalized people in our country. But I don't have a strong opinion about that. [laughter]Jonathan Walton: I think there's going to be a lot of conversation about that very point. And I'm prayerful, I'm hopeful, like we tried to do with our Anthology like other groups are trying to do, is to make that point and make it as hard as possible that when we vote it matters, particularly for the most disenfranchised people. And so thank you for naming the “survival vote,” as black women in this country call it.Dr. Woodley's new books, and Where to Find His Work OnlineJonathan Walton: And so all of that, like we know you're doing work, we know things are still happening, especially with Eloheh and things like that. But I was doing a little Googling and I saw like you have a new book coming out [laughs]. So I would love to hear about the journey that… Oh, am I saying that right, Eloheh?Randy Woodley: It's Eloheh [pronounced like “ay-luh-hay”], yeah.Jonathan Walton: Eloheh. So I would love to hear more about your new book journey to Eloheh, as well as where you want people to just keep up with your stuff, follow you, because I mean, yes, the people downstream of you are pretty amazing, but the spigot is still running [laughter]. So can you point us to where we can find your stuff, be able to hang out and learn? That would be a wonderful thing for me, and for others listening.Randy Woodley: Well, first of all, I have good news for the children. I have three children's books that just today I posted on my Facebook and Insta, that are first time available. So this is The Harmony Tree Trilogy. So in these books are about not only relationships between host people and settler peoples, but each one is about sort of different aspects of dealing with climate change, clear cutting, wildfires, animal preservation, are the three that I deal with in this trilogy. And then each one has other separate things. Like the second one is more about empowering women. The third one is about children who we would call, autistic is a word that's used. But in the native way we look at people who are different differently than the West does: as they're specially gifted. And this is about a young man who pre-contact and his struggle to find his place in native society. And so yeah, there's a lot to learn in these books. But yeah, so my wife and I…Sy Hoekstra: What's the target age range for these books?Randy Woodley: So that'd be five to 11.Jonathan Walton: Okay, I will buy them, thank you [laughter]Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Randy Woodley: But adults seem to really love them too. So I mean, people have used them in church and sermons and all kinds of things. Then the book that Edith and I wrote is called Journey to Eloheh, how indigenous values bring harmony and well-being. And it's basically our story. The first two chapters really deal, the first chapter deals more in depth of this dualism construct. And the second one really deals with my views on climate change, which are unlike anybody else's I know. And then we get into our stories, but I wanted to set a stage of why it's so important. And then Edith's story, and then my story and then our story together. And then how we have tried to teach these 10 values as we live in the world and teach and mentor and other things and raise our children.So, yeah, the journey to Eloheh, that's all people have to remember. It's going to be out in October, eighth I think.Jonathan Walton: Okay.Randy Woodley: And we're really excited about it. I think it's the best thing I've written up to this date. And I know it's the best thing my wife's written because this is her first book [laughter].Jonathan Walton: Awesome.Sy Hoekstra: That's great.Randy Woodley: Yeah, so we're proud of that. And then yeah, people can go to www.eloheh.org. That's E-L-O-H-E-H.org and sign up for our newsletter. You can follow me on Instagram, both @randywoodley7 and @eloheh/eagleswings. And the same with Facebook. We all have Facebook pages and those kinds of things. So yeah, and then Twitter. I guess I do something on Twitter every now and then [laughter]. And I have some other books, just so you know.Sy Hoekstra: Just a couple.Jonathan Walton: I mean a few. A few pretty great ones. [laughs] Well on behalf of me and Sy, and the folks that we influence. Like I've got students that I've pointed toward you over the years through the different programs that we run,Randy Woodley: Thank you.Jonathan Walton: and one of them is… two of them actually want to start farms and so you'll be hearing from them.Randy Woodley: Oh, wow. That's good.Jonathan Walton: And so I'm just…Randy Woodley: We need more small farms.Jonathan Walton: Yes. Yes, absolutely. Places where stewardship is happening and it is taught. And so, super, super grateful for you. And thanks again for being on Shake the Dust. We are deeply grateful.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Randy Woodley: Yeah, thank you guys. Nice to be with you.[the intro piano music from “Citizens” by Jon Guerra plays briefly and then fades out.]Sy's and Jonathan's Thoughts After the InterviewJonathan Walton: So, wow. That was amazing. Coming out of that time, I feel like I'm caring a lot. So Sy, why don't you go first [laughs], what's coming up for you?Sy Hoekstra: We sound a little starstruck when we were talking to him. It's kind of funny actually.Jonathan Walton: Absolutely.Sy Hoekstra: I don't know. Yeah, I don't know if people know, in our world, he's sort of a big deal [laughter]. And we have, neither of us have met him before so that was a lot of fun.Jonathan Walton: No, that's true.Sy Hoekstra: I think it was incredible how much like in the first five minutes, him summing up so much about Western theology and culture that I have taken like, I don't know, 15 years to learn [laughs]. And he just does it so casually and so naturally. There's just like a depth of wisdom and experience and thinking about this stuff there that I really, really appreciate. And it kind of reminded me of this thing that happened when Gabrielle and I were in law school. Gabrielle is my wife, you've heard her speak before if you listen to the show. She was going through law school, as she's talked about on the show from a Haitian-American, or Haitian-Canadian immigrant family, grew up relatively poor, undocumented.And just the reasons that she's gotten into the law are so different. And she comes from such a different background than anybody who's teaching her, or any of the judges whose cases she's reading. And she's finding people from her background just being like, “What are we doing here? Like how is this relevant to us, how does this make a difference?” And we went to this event one time that had Bryan Stevenson, the Capitol defense attorney who we've talked about before, civil rights attorney. And Sherrilyn Ifill, who at the time was the head of the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund. And they were just, it was the complete opposite experience, like they were talking about all of her concerns. They were really like, I don't know, she was just resonating with everything that they were saying, and she came out of it, and she goes, “It's just so good to feel like we have leaders.” Like it's such a relief to feel like you actually have wiser people who have been doing this and thinking about this for a long time and actually have the same concerns that you do. And that is how I feel coming out of our conversation with Randy Woodley. Like in the church landscape that we face with all the crises and the scandals and the lack of faithfulness and the ridiculous politics and everything, it is just so good to sit down and talk to someone like him, where I feel like somebody went ahead of me. And he's talking about the people who went ahead of him, and it just it's relieving. It is relieving to feel like you're almost sort of part of a tradition [laughter], when you have been alienated from the tradition that you grew up in, which is not the same experience that you've had, but that's how I feel.Jonathan Walton: Yeah. I mean, I think for me, coming out of the interview, one of the things I realized is similar. I don't have very many conversations with people who are older than me, that are more knowledgeable than me, and have been doing this work longer than me all at the same time. I know people who are more knowledgeable, but they're not actively involved in the work. I know people that are actively involved in the work, but they've been in the silos for so long, they haven't stepped out of their box in ten years. But so to be at that intersection of somebody who is more knowledgeable about just the knowledge, like the historical aspects, theological aspect, and then that goes along with the practical applications, like how you do it in your life and in the lives of other people. He's like the spiritual grandfather to people that I follow.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Jonathan Walton: [laughter] So it's like, so I think you said it, like we were a little starstruck. I do think I was very conscious of being respectful, which I think is not new for me, but it is a space that I don't often inhabit. And I think that's something that has been frustrating for me, just honestly like the last few years, is that the pastoral aspect of the work that we do, is severely lacking.Sy Hoekstra: When you say the pastoral aspect of the work that we do, you mean like, in the kind of activist-y Christian space, there just aren't a ton of pastors [laughs]?Jonathan Walton: Yes. And, so for example, like I was in a cohort, and I was trying to be a participant. And so being a participant in the cohort, I expected a certain level of pastoring to happen for me. And that in hindsight was a disappointment. But I only realized that after sitting down with somebody like Randy, where it's like, I'm not translating anything. He knows all the words. He knows more words than me [Sy laughs]. I'm not contextualizing anything. So I think that was a reassuring conversation. I think I felt the same way similarly with Ron Sider, like when I met him. He's somebody who just knows, you know what and I mean? I feel that way talking with Lisa Sharon Harper. I feel that way talking with Brenda Salter McNeil. I feel that way talking with people who are just a little further down the road.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah. Lisa's not that much older than us [laughter].Jonathan Walton: Well, is she?Sy Hoekstra: You compared her to Ron Sider. I'm like, “That's a different age group, Jonathan” [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Well, I don't mean age. I do mean wisdom and experience.Sy Hoekstra: Right. Yeah, totally.Jonathan Walton: Yes, Ron Sider was very old [laughs]. And actually, Ron Sider is actually much older than Randy Woodley [laughs].Sy Hoekstra: That's also true. That's a good point.Jonathan Walton: Yeah, right. Ron Sider is, when the Anthology came out, he was legit 45 years older than us, I think.Sy Hoekstra: And he very kindly, endorsed, and then passed away not that long afterwards.Jonathan Walton: He did, he did.Sy Hoekstra: He was such an interesting giant in a lot of ways to people all over the political spectrum [laughs]…Jonathan Walton: Yes, right.Sy Hoekstra: …who just saw something really compelling in his work.Which Tab Is Still Open? Legislators Restricting Teaching about Race in SchoolsSy Hoekstra: So Jonathan, all right, from our recent newsletter recommendations. Here's the new segment, guys. Jonathan, which tab is still open?Jonathan Walton: Yes. So the tab that's still open is this article and podcast episode from The New Yorker, featuring a conversation with Columbia School of Journalism Dean, Jelani Cobb, and Nikole Hannah-Jones from Howard University and the 1619 project. They talked about the attack on Black history in schools. And so there's just two thoughts that I want to give. And one of them is that there are very few conversations where you can get a broad overview of what an organized, sustained resistance to accurate historical education looks like, and they do that. Like they go all the way back and they come all the way forward, and you're like “expletive, this is not okay.” [Sy laughs] Right? So, I really appreciated that. Like, yes, you could go and read Angela Crenshaw's like Opus work. Yes, you could go…Sy Hoekstra: You mean, Kimberlé Crenshaw [laughs]?Jonathan: Oh, I mixed, Angela Davis and Kimber… Well, if they were one person, that would be a powerful person [Sy laughs]. But I do mean Kimberlé Crenshaw, no offense to Angela Davis. I do mean Kimberlé Crenshaw. You could go get that book. You could go listen to Ta-Nehisi Coates testimony in front of Congress on reparations. Like these long things, but like this conversation pulls a lot of threads together in a really, really helpful, compelling way. And so that's one thing that stood out to me. The second thing is I think I have to acknowledge how fearful and how grateful it made me. I am afraid of what's going to happen in 20 years, when children do not know their history in these states. And I'm grateful that my daughter will know hers because she goes to my wife's school in New York.And so, I did not know that I would feel that sense of fear and anxiety around like, man, there's going to be generations of people. And this is how it continues. There's going to be another generation of people who are indoctrinated into the erasure of black people. And the erasure of native people in the erasure of just narratives that are contrary to race-based, class-based, gender-based environmental hierarchies. And that is something that I'm sad about. And with KTF and other things, just committed to making sure that doesn't happen as best as we possibly can, while also being exceptionally grateful that my children are not counted in that number of people that won't know. So I hold those two things together as I listened to just the wonderful wisdom and knowledge that they shared from. What about you Sy? What stood out for you?White People Should Take Responsibility for Their Feelings Instead of Banning Uncomfortable TruthsSy Hoekstra: Narrowly, I think one really interesting point that Jelani Cobb made was how some of these book bans and curriculum reshaping and everything that's happening are based on the opposite reasoning of the Supreme Court in Brown versus Board of Education [laughs]. So what he meant by that was, basically, we have to ban these books and we have to change this curriculum, because White kids are going to feel bad about being White kids. And what Brown versus Board of Education did was say we're going to end this idea of separate but equal in the segregated schools because there were they actually, Thurgood Marshall and the people who litigated the case brought in all this science or all the psychological research, about how Black children in segregated schools knew at a very young age that they were of lower status, and had already associated a bunch of negative ideas with the idea of blackness.And so this idea that there can be separate but equal doesn't hold any water, right? So he was just saying we're doing what he called the opposite, like the opposite of the thinking from Brown versus Board of Education at this point. But what I was thinking is like the odd similarity is that both these feelings of inferiority come from whiteness, it's just that like, one was imposed by the dominant group on to the minoritized group. Basically, one was imposed by White people on to Black people, and the other is White people kind of imposing something on themselves [laughs]. Like you are told that your country is good and great and the land of the free and the home of the brave. And so when you learn about history that might present a different narrative to you, then you become extremely uncomfortable.And you start to not just become extremely uncomfortable, but also feel bad about yourself as an individual. And White people, there are so many White people who believe that being told that the race to which you belong has done evil things, that means that you as an individual are a bad person, which is actually just a personal emotional reaction that not all white people are going to have. It's not like, it isn't a sure thing. And I know that because I'm a White person who does not have that reaction [laughter]. I know that with 100 percent certainty. So it's just interesting to me, because it really raised this point that Scott Hall talks about a lot. That people need to be responsible for our own feelings. We don't need to legislate a new reality of history for everybody else in order to keep ourselves comfortable.We need to say, “Why did I had that emotional reaction, and how can I reorient my sense of identity to being white?” And that is what I came out of this conversation with, is just White people need to take responsibility for our identity, our psychological identity with our own race. And it comes, it's sort of ironic, I think, that conservative people who do a lot of complaining about identity politics, or identitarianism, or whatever they call it, that's what's happening here. This is a complete inability to separate yourself psychologically from your White identity. That's what makes you feel so uncomfortable in these conversations. And so take responsibility for who you are White people [laughs].Just who you are as an individual, who you are as your feelings, take responsibility for yourself.There's a great book that my dad introduced me to a while back called A Race Is a Nice Thing to Have: A Guide to Being White or Understanding the White Persons in Your Life [laughter]. And it's written by this black, female psychologist named Janet Helms. It's H-E-L-M-S. But it's pronounced “Helmiss.” And she just has dedicated her career to understanding how White people shape their identities. And she has so, like such a wealth of knowledge about different stages of white identity formation, and has all these honestly kind of funny little quizzes in the book that she updates every few, there's like a bunch of editions of this book, that it's like asking you, “What do you think is best for America?” The campaign and ideas of this politician or this one or this one. And she asks you a bunch of questions and from there tells you where you are in your White identity formation [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Wow. That's amazing.Sy Hoekstra: It's really, “how would you feel if somebody said this about White people?” whatever. Tons of different questions, it's kind of like taking a personality test, but it's about you and your race [laughs]. That's just a resource that I would offer to people as a way to do what this conversation reminded me my people all very much need to do.Jonathan Walton: Amen.Sy Hoekstra: I just talked for a long time, Jonathan, we need to end. But do you have any thoughts [laughs]?Jonathan Walton: No. I was just going to say this podcast is a great 101 and a great 301.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Jonathan Walton: Like it spans the spectrum. So please do if you haven't, go listen to the podcast. Yeah, just check it out. It's very, very good.Outro and OuttakeSy Hoekstra: We will have that in the show notes along with all the other links of everything that we had today. Okay, that's our first full episode of season four. We're so glad that you could join us. This was a great one full of a lot of great stuff. Our theme song as always is “Citizens” by Jon Guerra. Our podcast art is by Robyn Burgess. The show is produced by all of you, our lovely subscribers, and our transcripts are by Joyce Ambale. Thank you all so much for listening, we will see you in two weeks with the great Brandi Miller.[The song “Citizens” by Jon Guerra fades in. Lyrics: “I need to know there is justice/ That it will roll in abundance/ And that you're building a city/ Where we arrive as immigrants/ and you call us citizens/ and you welcome us as children home.” The song fades out.]Randy Woodley: You know, I think I've said before Jesus didn't give a damn about doctrine. Excuse me. Jesus didn't give a darn about doctrine. I don't know if that'll go through or not.[laughter]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ktfpress.com/subscribe

Is it possible to decarbonize agriculture and make the food system more resilient to climate change? Today, I'm speaking with agricultural policy expert Peter Lehner about his climate neutral agriculture ideas and the science, law and policy needed to achieve these ambitious goals. Lehner is an environmental lawyer at Earthjustice and directs the organization's Sustainable Food and Farming Program. Transcript How does agriculture impact the climate? And I guess as important as that question is why don't more people know about this? It's unfortunate that more people don't know about it because Congress and other policy makers only really respond to public pressure. And there isn't enough public pressure now to address agriculture's contribution to climate change. Where does it come from? Most people think about climate change as a result of burning fossil fuels, coal and oil, and the release of carbon dioxide. And there's some of that in agriculture. Think about tractors and ventilation fans and electricity used for pumps for irrigation. But most of agriculture's contribution to climate change comes from other processes that are not in the fossil fuel or the power sector. Where are those? The first is nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas about 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. And it comes because most farmers around the world and in the U.S. put about twice as much nitrogen fertilizer on their crops, on the land, as the plants can absorb. That extra nitrogen goes somewhere. Some of it goes off into the water. I'm sure your listeners have heard about harmful algae outbreaks or eutrophication of areas like the Chesapeake Bay and other bays where you just get too many nutrients and too much algae and very sick ecosystem. A lot of that nitrogen, though, also goes into the atmosphere as nitrous oxide. About 80% of nitrous oxide emissions in the U.S. come from agriculture. Excess fertilization of our hundreds of millions of acres of crop land. Quick question. Why would, because the farmers have to pay money for this, why do they apply twice as much as the plants can absorb? Great question. It's because of several different factors. Partly it is essentially technical or mechanical. A farmer may want to have the fertilizer on the land right at the spring when the crops are growing but the land may be a little muddy then. So they may have put it on in the fall, which is unfortunate because in the United States, in our temperate area, no plants are taking up fertilizers in the fall. Also, a plant is like you or me. They want to eat continually but a farmer may not want to apply fertilizer continuous. Every time you apply it, it takes tractor time and effort and it is more difficult. So they'll put a ton of fertilizer on at one point and then hope it lasts for a while, knowing that some of it will run off, but hopeful that some will remain to satisfy the plant. There's a lot of effort now to try to improve fertilizer application. To make sure it's applied in ways just the right amount at the right time. And perhaps with these what's called extended release fertilizers where you put it on and it will continue to release the nutrients to the plant over the next couple of weeks and not run off. But we have a long way to go. Okay, thanks. I appreciate that discussion and I'm sorry I diverted you from the track you were on talking about the overall impact of agriculture on the climate. I think what's so exciting about this area is that everyone cares about our food. We eat it three times a day or more and yet we know very little about where it comes from and its impacts on the world around us. It's wonderful to be talking about this. The second major source of climate change impact in agriculture is methane. Methane is another greenhouse gas much more powerful than carbon dioxide. About 30 times more powerful over a hundred years and about 85 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over 20 years. Which is I think the policy relevant time period that we're looking at because we're all trying to achieve climate stability by 2050. And where does methane come from? A little bit comes from rice, but the vast majority of it comes from cows and from manure. Cows are different than you and me. They can eat grass, and their stomachs are different, and release methane. Every time they breathe out, they are essentially breathing out this potent greenhouse gas methane. This is called enteric methane and it's the largest single source of methane in the United States. Bigger than the gas industry or the oil industry. The other major source of methane is manure. Our animals are raised in what are called concentrated animal feeding operations. They're not grazing bucolically on the pasture, they are crammed into buildings where there may be thousands, or tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of these animals. Those hundreds of thousands of animals produce a vast amount of manure, whether it be say pigs in North Carolina or dairies in many States, or cattle or chicken. All our meat nowadays is grown in these concentrated areas where you get concentrated manure and that is often stored in these lagoons. These big pits of poop basically. And that, as it decomposes in this liquid environment, what's called anaerobically , releases a tremendous amount of methane. That's the second largest source of methane in the country after the cows belching. So you have nitrous oxide and you have methane. And then the third way agriculture contributes to climate change, which is different say than the fossil fuel sector, is by changing the land itself. Agriculture uses a tremendous amount of land. Think about it. When you go around, what do you see? You see agriculture uses about 62% of the contiguous United States; 800 million acres of land for grazing; or almost 400 million acres of land for cropland. Healthy land before it's been used for agriculture has a tremendous amount of carbon in the soil and in the plants. Just think about a forest with all the rich soil and the rich vegetation. When that is cleared to be a cornfield, all that carbon is lost and essentially it goes into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. And that soil after that can't absorb any more carbon. Healthy soil is absorbing carbon all the time and most agricultural soils are not. So that release of carbon when you convert land to agriculture and that continuing inability to sequester carbon is another major way that agriculture contributes to climate change. So these three ways: nitrous oxide, methane and carbon from soil are all important contributors to climate change that don't really fit most people's model of what drives climate change - burning coal or oil and releasing carbon dioxide. But the bottom line is if we don't address agriculture's contribution to climate change, no matter how successful we are in reducing our fossil fuel use, we are very likely to face catastrophic climate change. Agriculture's contribution to climate change is so significant. Far more than the indicated by many figures. We can't achieve climate stability without addressing agriculture as well. Agriculture drives about a quarter or a third total green climate change. Given how important this is, why don't people know more about it? And does industry play a role in that? Industry plays a big role, as does politics. Industry - and by industry we mean the food industry. And you've covered this before. It's very concentrated industry where usually two or three or four firms control the market, whether it be for seeds or retail or beef or chicken or pesticides. It's a very, very concentrated industry with tremendous political power. They have done their best to ensure, first of all, the agriculture industry doesn't even have to report their greenhouse gas emissions. Every other industry has to report their greenhouse gas emissions. The big polluters have to report. On the other hand, agriculture was able to obtain a rider in Congress. That's an extra provision on a budget bill starting about a decade ago that prohibits EPA from requiring agricultural facilities to report greenhouse gas emissions. So unlike most areas, agriculture doesn't even have to report their emissions and industry certainly wants to keep it that way. Also, as I was explaining, agriculture contributes to climate change in a way that is different than what we normally think about. I think that added complexity has just meant it is harder for people to understand. And third, there's a tremendous amount of mythology in agriculture. People think or would like to think that their food comes from this nice family farm with a few animals and a few diversified crops on the hillside. And that in some sense was the reality 50 or 100 years ago, but now it's not the reality. While there's still lots of small farms like that by number, those produce very little of our food. Most of our food is produced in these gigantic animal factories that I mentioned earlier or in gigantic monoculture chemical-dependent agricultural operations. So, we have this disconnect between what is the mythology of agriculture and where our food comes from and the reality of it. People really don't want their myths disrupted. Given the importance of these issues, what are some of the main ways that the impact of agriculture on climate can be changed? That's another exciting part of this. That there's a lot of things that can be done to reduce the impact of agriculture's contribution to climate change. And we know this because there are a lot of producers who have piloted these programs, who've implemented these programs and these practices on their own operations to reduce the climate impact. And they've been successful. So these can be, for example, rotating crops instead of having the same crop year after year after year, which really depletes the soil. You can have different crops in different years and each crop puts a little different in the soil and takes a little different from the soil. As a result, very often you end up needing less artificial pesticide and fertilizer, both of which contribute to climate change. You can manage your animals different. You can manage your manure differently. For example, if manure is treated and handled dry, as opposed to in these wet manure lagoons, it produces very, very little methane. Instead of producing tremendous amounts of methane, it produces almost none. So, if we manage manure differently, we can significantly reduce methane emissions. And of course, there's what we think of as the demand side. In the same way that we think about LED light bulbs or more efficient cars as part of our energy transformation, we can use our land and food more efficiently. We waste a tremendous amount of food. Maybe 30-40% of the food we produce is wasted. That's crazy. It's all the effort and the greenhouse gases from producing the food are wasted if the food is wasted. Even worse, the food is dumped into a landfill for the most part where it releases more methane. And it's inefficient. We have a system that very heavily subsidizes meat production, but meat uses, particularly beef, a tremendous amount of land because cows need a lot of land the way their biology requires land and time. So we have almost 800 million or 700 million acres of land devoted to cattle grazing that could be storing carbon. Then it takes about 15 pounds of grain to get a pound of beef where people can eat the grain directly much more efficiently. So there's a lot of practices that we can do at every stage of the process to reduce the climate impact of agriculture. The challenge is that it's only on a couple percent of American cropland or very little portion of our food is produced that way. So Peter, let me ask you a question about that very point you're on. We've recorded a series of podcasts on regenerative agriculture. Some of the most interesting podcasts we've done from my point of view. And they've included scientists who've studied it, policy people who look into it, but also farmers who have done this. I'm thinking particularly, well, three names pop into mind, but there are more. So Nancy Ranney, who ran a ranch in New Mexico for cattle, Gabe Brown, a regenerative farmer in North Dakota, and Will Harris from Georgia were all people we spoke to. I got the sense in each of those cases that these people were converting to this new model of farming because of what they cared about. It was their own passions that led them to do this and belief that a different system of agriculture was going to be important for the future. They were doing it for that reason, rather than any incentives from the government or policies that were encouraging, things like that. So there will be a small number of such people who would do it because they're passionate about it. I'm assuming that number will grow, but never fast enough to really do anything to scale like we really need it. So I'm ultimately you're going to need policies in place to ensure these things happen in more and more farms. Are there particular policies that are oriented this way that you think might be especially helpful? Kelly, you are spot on. I know Nancy and Gabe and Will, and they're terrific. They are pioneers and they are showing that we know this works. We're not looking at ideas that might work. We are looking at practices that we know work because of what they and others like them have done. As you said, they're doing it because they believe it's the right thing. We'll get some farmers that way, but we need policy to move from 2% of American crop land to 92% of American crop land. So, how do we do that? One is the current farm bill is very important. The farm bill is the most important environmental law nobody's ever heard of. It dates back to the depression. It's renewed every five years. Congress is debating it right now. It was supposed to be renewed last year, but they couldn't get their act together. So they may or may not be able to reauthorize it this year. But the farm bill in one section provides a tremendous amount of money for nutrition assistance. And you've probably talked about that, what we call the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In another part of it, it provides tremendous amounts of subsidies to farmers, about $20 billion a year of subsidies to farmers. Right now, those subsidies really are not designed to encourage farmers to adopt the practices that you talked to Nancy or Gabe or Will about. These practices that I was talking about earlier and that sometimes are called regenerative, sometimes agroecological, organic farming is often a part of that. These $20 billion of subsidies though, could be redirected, reshaped somewhat and not necessarily radically, but reshaped and focused on encouraging farmers to adopt these practices that can help mitigate climate change. And importantly, the same practices, and as I'm sure the folks you've talked to said, also help them be more resilient to climate change. They can better help the producer better withstand floods and droughts and temperature extremes. So there is a tremendous upside from this. We are already spending $20 billion a year on farm subsidies. Let's start spending it more intelligently in a way that really addresses our needs. Do you see signs that things are moving in that direction? I wish I did. There are some signs that we're moving in the right direction. The Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed a couple of years ago, was the first time Congress ever linked agriculture and climate change. In the 2018 Farm Bill, there's no mention of climate change. And when we were working on that with members on the Hill, there was really no overt conversations about climate change. Fortunately, things have changed. So, a step forward is that we're talking about climate change. And in the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress provided $20 billion to go to programs that are established under the Farm Bill. So, 20 extra billion dollars to these Farm Bill conservation programs and required that that money be spent on practices that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, essentially help us mitigate climate change. And that, again, was the first time Congress linked agriculture and climate change. Super important. Part of what's going on now on the Hill is a fight to ensure that money that the Inflation Reduction Act provided stays. There are those in Congress that would like to raid those funds and put them to other purposes, which we think would be a big step backwards. So that was really great opportunity. As to the Farm Bill money itself, there's definitely some conversations, particularly among the Democrats, to ensure that all of the Farm Bill programs are a bit more climate-focused. But we're far from consensus on that. So, we're making a bit of progress, but right now Congress is, I think it's fair to say, not at its most functional. And so the type of policy discussions we need, and an honest discussion of how can we help American farmers shift to practices that are better for them, for the communities, upwind and downwind and around them, better for climate change resilience and climate change mitigation. We're really not yet having that conversation as robustly as we need. Hopefully we'll be able to get to a place where the politics will allow us to have that. And frankly, this podcast and other conversations are really important to educating people so we can have that conversation. When you're trying to make policy advances, having public support for it can be a real asset. Do you see signs that the public is becoming more aware of this, that they're urging their political leaders to move on this front? For sure. The public is very much concerned about climate change. Every poll shows that. And people are concerned about it both as citizens and as consumers. So, if you follow the food marketing world, what you see is that many surveys show that consumers are very interested in the climate impact of their food choices. And far more than was the case a couple of years ago. And they want to know how can I buy food? How can I eat food that is climate friendly, that helps us stabilize the climate? And industry is responding to that. Now, some industry is responding to that by deceptive advertising. You may have seen that the New York Attorney General recently sued JBS, the world's largest beef company, for misleading statements about the climate-friendliness of their beef. So some companies are talking more than they're doing, but others are trying to respond to consumers' interest in more climate-friendly food. You see a growth in plant-based foods, plant-based milks, because plant-based foods have a much, much lower climate impact than meats, particularly beef. And so consumers are interested in that, and that market is responding. And I think you'll see more of that in governmental procurement as well. Governments that are trying to think about how can we, say New York City, reduce our climate footprint while a big part of a city's climate footprint is the food it purchases, say for New York City schools. And a city can take action by trying to buy lower climate impact foods. And that would be foods produced in a way that you've talked about with regenerative practices and also lower climate impact, such as more plant based. So, I think we're seeing a lot of progress on that for sure. So Peter, related to this, what would you think about some kind of labeling system on food products that gives an environmental score, let's say? I personally like the idea of labels. I'm not an expert by any stretch. I do remember that not too long ago, New York City required restaurants to label or have on the menus the calorie content of food. And that provision was later adopted by the Affordable Care Act and now is required of chain restaurants. And Trump tried to roll that back. So we litigated to try to preserve that and get that requirement reinstated in the Affordable Care Act successfully. And during that, I learned that labels really make a difference. Calorie labeling on menus does in fact help people make more informed choices and often better choices. And there's no question, again, I'm not an expert. You probably know much more, but for example, the added sugar labels make a difference and others. So I think as a whole, labels can make a big difference. Now, environmental footprint is a complicated multifaceted issue because something may create harm to water. It may create harm through toxic, say pesticide residue, or it may have a big climate footprint. How do you put all of that into a simple label? It's a complicated question. But I do think there's interest in having particularly climate, the climate impact food be identified on the label. And perhaps we will move in that direction.   Bio Based in New York, Peter Lehner is the managing attorney of Earthjustice's Sustainable Food & Farming Program, developing litigation, administrative, and legislative strategies to promote a more just and environmentally sound agricultural system and to reduce health, environmental, and climate harms from production of our food. Peter is one of the leading experts on the impact of agriculture on climate change and is the author of Farming for Our Future; the Science, Law, and Policy of Climate-Neutral Agriculture. From 2007–2015, Peter was the executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the NRDC Action Fund. Among other new initiatives, Peter shaped a clean food program with food waste, antibiotic-free meat, regional food, and climate mitigation projects. From 1999–2006, Peter served as chief of the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New York State Attorney General's office. He supervised all environmental litigation by and against the state. He developed innovative multi-state strategies targeting global warming and air pollution emissions from the nation's largest electric utilities, spearheaded novel watershed enforcement programs, and led cases addressing invasive species, wildlife protection, and public health. Peter previously served at NRDC for five years directing the clean water program where he brought important attention to stormwater pollution. Before that, he created and led the environmental prosecution unit for New York City. Peter holds an AB in philosophy and mathematics from Harvard College and is an honors graduate of Columbia University Law School. Peter is on the boards of the Rainforest Alliance and Environmental Advocates of New York and a member of the American College of Environmental Lawyers. He helps manage two mid-sized farms and teaches a course on agriculture and environmental law at Columbia Law School.

Tony DeFalco joins us to share his experience as a seasoned nonprofit professional with over thirty years of experience in grantmaking and fundraising. He shares his positive experiences with donors (what you all as donors do well) and the trends he notices in the nonprofit field. Tony shares his journey from working in environmental justice advocacy to his current role as Executive Director of Latino Network.Episode Highlights:Highlights and challenges of grantmaking and fundraising. Trends in philanthropy.How to foster meaningful partnerships.Tony DeFalco Bio:Tony DeFalco joined Latino Network as the Executive Director in February 2021, where he and his team work to positively transform the lives of Latinx youth and families in education, leadership, and civic engagement in Oregon. He brings decades of experience in nonprofit management, fundraising, advocacy, and coalition-building across diverse regional and state sectors, coupled with a deep understanding of the issues facing Latinx and communities of color. His past experiences include working with Native American tribes nationwide to re-acquire culturally significant lands and working with a broad coalition of environmental groups, commercial and recreational fishing groups, and scientists to protect ocean health.Prior to his role at Latino Network, DeFalco worked for Verde for ten years, partnering with the community to innovate anti-displacement, environmental protection, and economic development efforts.He holds a bachelor's degree in Ethnic Studies with a minor in Chicano Studies and a master's in Natural Resources Planning from Humboldt State University.Tony currently serves as the board chair of the Coalition of Communities of Color and was appointed by Governor Brown to the Urban Flood Safety & Water Quality District in 2019. Tony has served on numerous boards, including Earthjustice, Audubon Portland, and as a founding board member for the Center for Diversity and the Environment. Tony is a proud member of Cohort V of Latino Network's UNIDOS leadership development program and also an American Leadership Forum of Oregon Fellow (Class 33).Links:Website: https://www.latnet.org If you are a nonprofit leader and you have a best or worst story with your experience raising money for your organization that you'd like to share, please fill out this form for a chance to be on Sybil's podcast - https://forms.gle/buDnkCPcNUKYWh869 If you enjoyed this episode, listen to these as well: https://www.doyourgood.com/blog/156-Supporting-the-Places-that-Rejuvenate-You-with-Dana-Okanohttps://www.doyourgood.com/blog/157-Be-a-Considerate-Thoughtful-Visitor-with-Eric-Cohttps://www.doyourgood.com/blog/153-An-Amazing-Twist-on-Donor-Advised-Funds Crack the Code: Sybil's Successful Guide to PhilanthropyBecome even better at what you do as Sybil teaches you the strategies and tools you'll need to avoid mistakes and make a career out of philanthropy.Sybil offers resources including free mini-course videos, templates, checklists, and words of advice summarized in easy to review pdfs. Check out Sybil's website with all the latest opportunities to learn from Sybil at https://www.doyourgood.comConnect with Do Your Goodhttps://www.facebook.com/doyourgoodhttps://www.instagram.com/doyourgoodWould you like to talk with Sybil directly?Send in your inquiries through her website https://www.doyourgood.com/ or you can email her directly at sybil@doyourgood.com.

This year's observance provided space for learning, restoration, and renewal through a conversation and meditative moment on sustaining action focused particularly on youth organizers working for climate justice and community health. Inspired by the 2023 ruling in the Held v. Montana case on the state's constitutional rights to health, representatives from Our Children's Trust including staff attorney David Schwartz and youth plaintiffs shared the development and success of this case, and how their methods could be applied across the country. A community discussion followed with Texas-based youth and grassroots activists including Chanté Davis (Sunrise Houston) and Armon Alex (Gulf of Mexico Youth Climate Summit) about the links between environmental and climate justice and community health, moderated by Andre Segura, VP of Litigation at Earthjustice. Reflection time was facilitated by Tiffany Jin, Co-Director of Houston Climate Justice Museum. Special thanks to Hershey Foundation for underwriting support

This Earth Week, Liz Moran, policy advocate for Earthjustice's Northeast office, talks about the ways the new New York State budget does, and does not, address climate change.

Kay Sargent of HOK, Geoff Snavely of MilliCare, and Sarah Sims, CWP of Earthjustice are all past guests of the show and inspiring leaders in our world of facility management, corporate real estate, human resources and the workplace. Mike Petrusky hosts a live roundtable discussion to reflect on where we have been and to explore the changing landscape of the workplace, the impact of technology, and the importance of human-centric leadership. Recorded and filmed at the HOK offices in Washington, DC, the panel discusses the evolution of the FM industry, changing cultures and the need for flexibility, all while emphasizing the opportunity listeners have to ensure the sustainability of work and the wellbeing of employees. “DJ Mike P.” leads his guests in trivia games that highlight insightful quotes previously offered on the show and everyone shares their favorite music which results in lots of laughs and a really good time. Listen (or watch!) as these long-time friends of the FM community share the insight, encouragement and inspiration that you will need to be a Workplace Innovator in your organization! Register for the Eptura Product Event on April 16: https://lp.eptura.com/webinar-power-of-one-april-24.html Connect with Kay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kay-sargent-53b2431/ Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-sims-101/ Connect with Geoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffsnavelymillicare/ Watch the full video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Eptura Discover free resources and explore past interviews at: https://www.workplaceinnovator.com/ Learn more about Eptura™: https://eptura.com/  

Homaira Kabir holds Master's degrees in Coaching Psychology and in Positive Psychology—the science of human flourishing and wellbeing—from the University of East London and has over a decade of experience as a life coach. She is the founder and CEO of the Goodbye Perfect Project, which she launched with the mission to bring science-backed, soulful support to help people break free of unhelpful patterns and own their purpose, voice, and impact.She has been featured in Forbes, Happify, Thrive Global, and The Huffington Post, and more. She has presented at TEDx on the topic of Belonging and facilitated workshops at Positive Psychology conferences and in organizations such as Logitech, PwC, Earthjustice, and more.She is the author of Goodbye Perfect: How To Stop Pleasing, Proving and Pushing For Others… and Live For Yourself. Find out more at https://homairakabir.com/goodbye-perfect-book

Dr. Randy Woodley, professor, scholar, farmer, and indigenous American, speaks of indigenous ways of leading that seem, on the surface, to be counter-intuitive, and yet as we sit with them, we see how resonate with Jesus' teachings they are. We are so curious what you think as you listen. What do we have to learn from indigenous cultures about leading in this season? What old patterns do we need to let go of, and new postures embrace? Where are you finding yourself renewed in your leadership and in your spirit? As always, we pray this conversation will spark a new imagination for you and for your ministry and if it does, please share with a colleague and leave us a review.In this conversation, you'll hear:Difficult truths related to eco-justice, diversity, racial justice.The gifts of indigenous spirituality and indigenous worldview.Why becoming rooted in the earth is essential.A decolonized approach to Christianity and church leadership.About Randy WoodleyDr. Randy Woodley addresses a variety of issues concerning American culture, faith, justice, race, our relationship with the earth, and Indigenous realities. He recently retired as Distinguished Professor of Faith and Culture and Director of Intercultural and Indigenous Studies at Portland Seminary, Portland Oregon. His expertise has been sought in national venues as diverse as Time Magazine, The New York Times, Politifact, Christianity Today, The Huffington Post, and Planet Drum: A Voice for Bioregional, Sustainability, Education, and Culture.Dr. Woodley earned a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies and remains active in ongoing discussions in a variety of areas concerning spirituality, earth-care, racial and ethnic identity, diversity, peace, social justice, eco-justice, interreligious dialogue, Indigenous studies, agriculture, and spirituality. Randy and his wife Edith, are the founders of Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice and Eloheh Farm & Seeds. Through Eloheh they invite people to a new relationship with Creation and model sustainable farming practices and Earth justice. You can learn more about their work here. And more about their Cultural Consultant work at Sho-Kee here.Randy's most recent book, Becoming Rooted: One Hundred Days of Reconnecting with Earth is available here.To view videos of podcast episodes, please go to the Igniting Imagination YouTube.Subscribe to our Learning and Innovation emails here. We send emails about each episode and include additional related resources related to the episode's topic. We know your inbox is inundated these days, we aim to send you content that is inspiring, innovative, and impactful for your life and ministry.If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts / iTunes?

New Moon Capricorn begins the prosecution of Israel for Genocide at International Court of Justice, Caroline welcomes Dr Rupa Marya, co- author with Raj Patel of “Inflamed”, “Deep Medicine and the anatomy of injustice.” Medicine and Metaphor…who is especially deft at weaving all the stories together…. Settler Colonialism, all over, crimes against land – brought to accountability… Dr. Marya founded the Deep Medicine Circle, a women of color-led organization committed to healing the wounds of colonialism through food, medicine, story, restoration and learning; Farming is Medicine. The grieving Earth, herself, brings this prosecution… on behalf of Flora Fauna Fungi link to full “Application instituting proceedings” document…. https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf “South Africa … is making the present application to establish Israel's responsibility for violations of the Genocide Convention; to hold it fully accountable under international law for those violations; and — most immediately — to have recourse to this Court to ensure the urgent and fullest possible protection for Palestinians in Gaza who remain at grave and immediate risk of continuing and further acts of genocide.”     Support The Visionary Activist Show on Patreon for weekly Chart & Themes ($4/month) and more… *Woof*Woof*Wanna*Play?!?* The post The Visionary Activist Show – Medicine for the Earth, Justice for the People appeared first on KPFA.