Podcasts about Energy democracy

 In OVERTIME, we've got Lala Penaranda from Trade Unions for Energy Democracy to talk about how unions from the Global South are fighting climate change and fighting the bosses. We also take your calls, and you can leave us a voicemail at 844-899-TVLR. ✦ ABOUT ✦The Valley Labor Report is the only union talk radio show in Alabama, elevating struggles for justice and fairness on the job, educating folks about how they can do the same, and bringing relevant news to workers in Alabama and beyond.Our single largest source of revenue *is our listeners* so your support really matters and helps us stay on the air!Make a one time donation or become a monthly donor on our website or patreon:TVLR.FMPatreon.com/thevalleylaborreportVisit our official website for more info on the show, membership, our sponsors, merch, and more: https://www.tvlr.fmFollow TVLR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheValleyLab...Follow TVLR on Twitter: @LaborReportersFollow Jacob on Twitter: @JacobM_ALFollow TVLR Co-Creator David Story on Twitter: @RadiclUnionist✦ CONTACT US ✦Our phone number is 844-899-TVLR (8857), call or text us live on air, or leave us a voicemail and we might play it during the show!✦ OUR ADVERTISERS KEEP US ON THE AIR! ✦Support them if you can.The attorneys at MAPLES, TUCKER, AND JACOB fight for working people. Let them represent you in your workplace injury claim. Mtandj.com; (855) 617-9333The MACHINISTS UNION represents workers in several industries including healthcare, the defense industry, woodworking, and more. iamaw44.org (256) 286-3704 / organize@iamaw44.orgDo you need good union laborers on your construction site, or do you want a union construction job? Reach out to the IRONWORKERS LOCAL 477. Ironworkers477.org  256-383-3334 (Jeb Miles) / local477@bellsouth.netThe NORTH ALABAMA DSA is looking for folks to work for a better North Alabama, fighting for liberty and justice for all. Contact / Join: DSANorthAlabama@gmail.comIBEW LOCAL 136 is a group of over 900 electricians and electrical workers providing our area with the finest workforce in the construction industry. You belong here. ibew136.org Contact: (205) 833-0909IFPTE - We are engineers, scientists, nonprofit employees, technicians, lawyers, and many other professions who have joined together to have a greater voice in our careers. With over 80,000 members spread across the U.S. and Canada, we invite you and your colleagues to consider the benefits of engaging in collective bargaining. IFPTE.org Contact: (202) 239-4880THE HUNTSVILLE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD is a union open to any and all working people. Call or email them today to begin organizing your workplace - wherever it is. On the Web: https://hsviww.org/ Contact: (256) 651-6707 / organize@hsviww.orgENERGY ALABAMA is accelerating Alabama's transition to sustainable energy. We are a nonprofit membership-based organization that has advocated for clean energy in Alabama since 2014. Our work is based on three pillars: education, advocacy, and technical assistance. Energy Alabama on the Web: https://alcse.org/ Contact: (256) 812-1431 / dtait@energyalabama.orgThe Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union represents in a wide range of industries, including but not limited to retail, grocery stores, poultry processing, dairy processing, cereal processing, soda bottlers, bakeries, health care, hotels, manufacturing, public sector workers like crossing guards, sanitation, and highway workers, warehouses, building services,  and distribution. Learn more at RWDSU.infoThe American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union proudly representing 700,000 federal and D.C. government workers nationwide and overseas. Learn more at AFGE.orgAre you looking for a better future, a career that can have you set for life, and to be a part of something that's bigger than yourself?   Consider a skilled trades apprenticeship with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. Learn more at IUPAT.orgUnionly is a union-focused company created specifically to support organized labor. We believe that providing online payments should be simple, safe, and secure.  Visit https://unionly.io/ to learn more.Hometown Action envisions inclusive, revitalized, and sustainable communities built through multiracial working class organizing and leadership development at the local and state level to create opportunities for all people to thrive. Learn more at hometownaction.orgMembers of IBEW have some of the best wages and benefits in North Alabama. Find out more and join their team at ibew558.org ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

This event launched 'Dismantling Green Colonialism: Energy and Climate Justice in the Arab Region' edited by Hamza Hamouchene and Katie Sandwell, published by Pluto Press. The Arab region is a focus of world politics, with authoritarian regimes, significant fossil fuel reserves and histories of colonialism and imperialism. It is also the site of potentially immense green energy resources. The writers in this collection explore a region ripe for energy transition, but held back by resource-grabbing and (neo)colonial agendas. They show the importance of fighting for a just energy transition and climate justice - exposing policies and practices that protect global and local political elites, multinational corporations and military regimes. Covering a wide range of countries from Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria and Tunisia to Egypt, Sudan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Palestine, this book challenges Eurocentrism and highlights instead a class-conscious approach to climate justice that is necessary for our survival. Meet the speakers Hamza Hamouchene is Programme Coordinator for North Africa at the Transnational Institute (TNI). He is a London-based Algerian researcher-activist, commentator and a founding member of Algeria Solidarity Campaign (ASC), and Environmental Justice North Africa (EJNA). He is the author/editor of two books: 'The Struggle for Energy Democracy in the Maghreb' (2017) and 'The Coming Revolution to North Africa: The Struggle for Climate Justice' (2015). Katie Sandwell is Programme Coordinator at the Transnational Institute (TNI). She coordinates and supports work at TNI on a range of issues related to climate, environmental and agrarian justice; public alternatives; energy democracy; land and territories; fair trade medicinal plants; agroecology and food sovereignty. Michael Mason is Director of the Middle East Centre. At LSE, he is also Professor of Environmental Geography in the Department of Geography and Environment and an Associate of the Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change and the Environment. He is interested in ecological politics and governance as applied to questions of accountability, security and sovereignty. This research addresses both global environmental politics and regional environmental change in Western Asia/the Middle East.

Electric utility monopolies have captured headlines in recent years by sparking catastrophic wildfires and fomenting public corruption scandals in several states. "There are probably other things like this going on we just haven't found out about," remarks John Farrell, director of the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. We spoke with him about his recent article in the American Prospect, How private monopolies fuel climate disaster and public corruption. Farrell speaks to how the investor-owned utility's interests in earning a return for its shareholders typically don't align with the interests of its customers or the environment. "You have concentrated ownership and power over the system in a way that's not terribly accountable to people," Farrell observes. Farrell advocates municipalization, seeing publicly owned monopolies as an improvement over for-profit utility monopolies, particularly when it comes to cost of capital. But he also advocates for greater competition in electricity, and for adopting measures such as independent distribution system management and quarantining the monopoly from competitive markets. "When you create a competitive market, it really needs to be truly competitive. And the idea of letting the monopoly continue to participate is problematic," he says.Support the show

Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha is a DSA-backed candidate recently elected to represent the 103rd Assembly District in the Dutchess-Ulster County area. In response to a proposed rate hike by the Central Hudson Utility, she is organizing a series of town hall meetings on energy democracy covering the broader topic of Energy Democracy and our statewide challenges with private utilities, energy affordability, and meeting our climate goals. She talks with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine. RSVPs for the Town Halls RSVPs can be submitted by visiting https://bit.ly/ad103energy

n a time when corporate spending is protected as free speech, each of us must wonder how our voices will be heard. Utility companies have deep pockets, and their lobbyists are a fixture at state capitol buildings. Big businesses have big energy budgets and their associations are adept at making their issues a priority. And both of these industry sectors work together to create advocacy groups to advance common interests. So, what about residential energy customers? What about small businesses? Our resources pale in comparison. How are our voices heard and how are our concerns addressed?   Luckily, for most residential and small business ratepayers in the Midwest, we are represented by a state Citizens Utility Board (CUB). These non-profit groups work tirelessly to make sure that our needs are represented at public utility commission and legislative hearings. For decades they have taken a hardnosed approach at keeping electricity costs low while ensuring that expenses aren't shifted to the electric bills of homes and small businesses.  In the context of the energy transition, CUBs advocacy role is critically important if we want an energy system that best serves people. We discuss the energy transition and the benefits of increased citizen involvement with Tom Content, long-time journalist and Executive Director of the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin.  0:20 – Big business energy spending vs residential ratepayers  1:17 – The role of a Citizens Utility Board  4:04 – The energy transition's origins  8:41 – Decisions surrounding utility rates of return  11:13 – Importance of CUB and Energy Democracy  13:35 – CUB funding and activity  18:11 – Evolving energy issues and solar PV  20:45 – Energy poverty issues  28:20 – Impact of recent federal legislation  33:34 - Coordination recommendations to leverage federal funds  39:11 – “Magic wand” solutions  43:21 – Building a movement  " We need people from across the state to get involved. And because it's your energy future, ...it's all of our energy future. And if we don't get involved, it'll be built for us and it'll focus on the supply side like we've been talking about almost way too exclusively. We need the public to say to demand energy efficiency. " - Tom Content, Executive Director, Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin ABOUT OUR GUEST: TOM CONTENT Tom is the Executive Director of the Citizens Utility Board. He joined CUB in 2017 after working for more than 30 years as a journalist. He became interested in energy and what it costs households while sitting in the back seat, waiting for what seemed like forever, during the gas lines of the ‘70s. After graduating from Boston University's College of Communication Tom worked at newspapers in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania before moving to Wisconsin. He reported on utilities and worked as business editor at the Green Bay-Press Gazette in the 1990s and then moved to Milwaukee, where he covered energy, utilities and sustainable business for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. His reporting on energy and climate change won the National Press Club's Stokes Award for Energy Writing in 2007.  

Aaron, Martina, and the Queen of Calling IT OUT, Kimberly, discuss what's going to matter more in the Gov's race, Andy's big checks, or Andy's pics with big drag queens. We share the alarming news about a historic Pride proclamation from HRC, and then Lane Boldman (of the KY Conservation Committee) joins us in the Campaign Corner for an important update on the Kentuckians for Energy Democracy efforts for cleaner, cheaper energy for Kentucky. NEWS OF THE WEAK: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/KYGOV/bulletins/35e9a6f https://www.kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=TAH&prId=199 https://twitter.com/TessaDuvall/status/1666266038273724416?s=20 https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/06/us/hrc-lgbtq-emergency-declared CAMPAIGN CORNER Lane Boldman, KY Conservation Committee https://kyconservation.org/ https://www.lexingtonky.gov/solarize-lexington https://louisvilleky.gov/news/mayor-greenbergs-office-sustainability-launches-solar-over-louisville-campaign-kyses-and-lsc CALL TO ACTION: Take action TODAY to send your comment for cleaner, cheaper, climate-friendly energy to the KY Public Service Commission: https://www.k4ed.org/public-comment.html #ProgressKentucky - #ColonelsOfTruth Join us! http://progressky.org/ Support us! https://secure.actblue.com/donate/progressky Live Wednesdays at 7pm on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/progressky/live/ and on YouTube  http://bit.ly/progress_ky Listen as a podcast right here, or wherever you get your pods: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/progress-ky Facebook   - @progressky Instagram  - @progress_ky Twitter    - @progress_ky Episode 116 was produced by Nate Orshan Theme music from the amazing Nato - hear more at http://www.NatoSongs.com Logo and some graphic design provided by www.couchfiremedia.com

On this week's Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, brings you highlights from the Kentuckians for Energy Democracy 2023 Legislative Review held back on April 17th. That evening, Kentuckians for Energy Democracy shared the results of this year's legislative session - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and what we can do NOW to move towards a democratic, equitable energy system for all Kentuckians! The panel included Lane Boldman (Executive Director of the Kentucky Conservation Committee); Julie Donna (Energy & Climate Justice Organizer with KFTC - Kentuckians For The Commonwealth); and Chris Woolery (Residential Energy Coordinator for the Mountain Association). During the conversation, they discuss what bills were passed in Kentucky's 2023 General Assembly that affect our environment and energy systems and which policies didn't get any traction? Kentuckians for Energy Democracy (K4ED) is a network of organizations working to ensure equitable and resilient utility systems that protect our health, environment and climate. Currently, that work is centered around a campaign to increase transparency, participation and equity in the Public Service Commission by educating and engaging Kentuckians to empower our commissioners to implement policy changes at the PSC to institutionalize our goals. Want to become a member or find out more? Email Kentuckians4EnergyDemocracy@gmail.com Learn more and get involved at https://www.k4ed.org/ Kentucky Conservation Committee: https://kyconservation.org/ KFTC: https://kftc.org/
Mountain Association: https://mtassociation.org/ As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at http://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at http://appalatin.com

The plan is to electrify the economy. Reduce the combustion of fossil fuels for heating and transportation by replacing it with electricity from a grid powered by low-carbon sources like solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear. These are the basics of the energy transition but, there are two competing visions for how we accomplish it. The first vision is to extend the current utility business model to build the new fleet of generation and transmission in the image of the old, using the same ownership structure, regulatory paradigm, and relationship to ratepayers. The competing vision is a grid optimized for distributed energy resources (DERs). Comparing the two development pathways leads to some pretty clear conclusions. The first scenario, business as usual, may be the quickest to implement (it's what we've always done and it's what the utility lobby wants) and it's by far the most expensive. The second scenario, DER optimized, is more affordable, more resilient, and creates more jobs. However, it involves consumers as stakeholders and decision-makers in the energy system. In this episode, Nick Hylla and Katie Kienbaum discuss the promise of DERs in the energy transition and the policy actions needed to ensure that everyone has access to the social and environmental benefits provided by a DER optimized system. Host: Nick Hylla, MREA Executive Director  Guest: Katie Kienbaum, Research Associate - Institute for Local Self-Reliance  -About Katie Kienbaum: Katie is a Senior Researcher with ILSR's Energy Democracy initiative, where she researches and writes about equitable and decentralized clean energy and its impact on communities across the country. Before joining the Energy Democracy initiative, she was a Research Associate with the Community Broadband Networks initiative.     Katie Kienbaum - Live Event at The Energy Fair: Catch Katie at the Rise Up Live Event at The 2023 Energy Fair on Saturday, June 24th at 12p.m. Get your tickets at theenergyfair.org/tickets. 

On this week's show, your host, Justin Mog, gathers friends around the microphones for the first half of a two-part conversation about the threats posed to Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest and its neighbors by the proposed LG&E gas pipeline through Bullitt Co. This week's guests: Deborah Potts Novgorodoff, with PPL Shareholders for Energy Democracy, is part of a broad coalition of Kentucky environmental groups working to stop LG&E's pipeline (http://savebernheimnow.org/); Kimberly Brown is an adjacent landowner and part of a generational farm family that would be impacted by the pipeline; and Mark Wourms is Executive Director of Bernheim (http://bernheim.org/forestunderthreat). The focus of this week's conversation is on the immediate threats posed by the pipeline to Bernheim, ecological habitat, the Cedar Grove corridor, and to surrounding landowners. Next week, we'll address the broader issues and climate change concerns with three different guests. The timing of this conversation is critical. LGE-KU is taking Bernheim to court to condemn their property and the court date is January 10, 2023. Bernheim is using its scarce resources to fight this aggression, but the need your help. Here's what you can do: • Spread the word with a new “Save Bernheim Now!” yard sign available at the All Peoples Justice Center - email justicecenter@allpeoplesuu.com • Sign the new petition at https://bernheim.org/forestunderthreat/pipeline/?id=tog-contain2 • Make a special donation to Bernheim's “Land Protection Fund” to help pay for legal fees at http://bernheim.org • Join weekly protest gatherings – bring your signs, dress in costume, just come! Fridays at noon in front of LG&E, 220 W. Main, coming up on December 23rd and January 6th. • Write a letter to PPL and LG&E: Vsorgi@pplweb.com; john.crockett@lge-ku.com For more, watch the Save Bernheim Now! event held at All People's Church on December 4, 2022 at https://youtu.be/ANi0Kdd_Bts As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at http://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at http://appalatin.com

Host John Farrell is joined by Jesse Gray and David Mendels. They discuss the six provisions in the Municipal Climate Empowerment Plan, state legislation that would enable Massachusetts communities to tackle their clean energy challenges with local solutions and greater local funding.… Read More

Host John Farrell is joined by Jesse Gray and David Mendels. They discuss the six provisions in the Municipal Climate Empowerment Plan, state legislation that would enable Massachusetts communities to tackle their clean energy challenges with local solutions and greater local funding.… Read More

Sean Sweeney, Director of SLU's Trade Unions for Energy Democracy, speaks with journalist Laura Flanders about continued botched efforts by countries around the globe to meet the targets set forth in 2015 Paris Agreement. Pointing to worldwide policies that depend upon private investment, he describes why the profit motive has failed to deliver renewable energy at scale, affordably, or with the urgency demanded by the climate crisis. Much more promising, he suggests, is the Global Public Goods approach increasingly advanced by international unions and their allies.

"Energy Democracy" Hosts: Darren Weeks, Vicky Davis Website for the show: https://governamerica.com Vicky's websites: https://thetechnocratictyranny.com and http://channelingreality.com COMPLETE SHOW NOTES AND CREDITS AT: https://governamerica.com/radio/radio-archives/22477-govern-america-july-23-2022-energy-democracy Listen LIVE every Saturday at 11AM Eastern time at http://live.governamerica.com Steve Bannon found guilty of contempt of Congress, the latest target of Biden's long list of political opponents that have suffered retribution for having an opinion that is unfavorable to Biden. Many have suffered FBI raids and trumped-up legal charges. Biden announces executive action on "climate change", following plans that were laid out for him by political extremist organizations. The role of pseudo-religious organizations in furthering Sustainable Development. After lying to Americans for over a year, telling them they can't get infected with COVID if they get the mRNA clot shots, Joe Biden now has COVID. The maskless and disease-infested Joe Biden has freely spread his COVID droplets all over the Middle East. Similarly, a maskless Kamela Harris was seen embracing unsuspecting victims in her COVID death grip, following her exposure to the hacking, phlegm-thrower in the Oval Office. Inflation, baby formula, property rights, and more.

What are real-life examples of climate solutions that are just, equitable, community-driven, and lead to a “brighter, better world?” They are community-driven solutions that stop harm, undo harm, and heal not only the Earth, but how we are in relationship with one another. In this episode we zoom in on “energy democracy,” a term describing a wide range of solutions that move away from a fossil fuel economy into renewable energies that also ensures energy is community-owned. We look at the work of the following Climate Justice Alliance members: Kentuckians for the Commonwealth as they devise community energy plans, UPROSE's solar park and clean energy development in Brooklyn, New York, and the Oregon Just Transition Alliance's Clean Energy campaign that flips extractive economics on its head. Bonus readings in description. Thanks to our guests, Basav Sen (Climate Change Policy Director at the Institute for Policy Studies), Cassia Heron (Immediate past chair of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, and a co-founder of the Louisville Association for Community Economics and the Louisville Community Grocery), and Elizabeth Yeampierre (Executive Director of UPROSE). Learn more about the grassroots communities and issues featured in this episode: UPROSE: https://www.uprose.org/ Oregon Just Transition Alliance: https://www.ojta.org/ Kentuckians For The Commonwealth: https://kftc.org/ The environmental disaster in Popal, India, that Basav talks about: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/07/the-worlds-worst-industrial-disaster-is-still-unfolding/560726/ UPROSE's proposed clean energy industrial “GRID”: https://www.uprose.org/the-grid Oregon Clean Energy Opportunity Campaign: https://cleanenergyoregon.org/ Portland Clean Energy Fund https://portlandcleanenergyfund.org/about Empower Kentucky, people's energy plan: https://www.empowerkentucky.org/

Voting rights and civic engagement are two of the most pressing issues of our time. How does community engagement intersect with action on climate and justice?Join Fresh Energy's Justin Fay and special guests U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, Carolina Ortiz of COPAL, Dr. Gabe Chan of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and Dominic McQuerry of The McKnight Foundation to discuss this and more.Meet the Panelists:Carolina Ortiz | she/her | COPALCarolina Ortiz has been with COPAL since it's founding in 2018. She led the communications team for two years and is now the associate executive director. Carolina was born in Zacatecas, Mexico and is currently studying communications and women's studies in Minnesota. A DREAMer herself, her passion for social justice stems from her own experiences and those of her community.Gabe Chan | Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of MinnesotaGabe Chan is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs in the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (STEP) area. Gabe's research examines policies to stimulate innovation in energy technologies and mitigate global climate change in the United States, China, and internationally. Gabe's research also blends economic methods and theory with a broader set of social science and technical knowledge.Dominic McQuerry | McKnight FoundationAs a program officer with the Vibrant & Equitable Communities and Midwest Climate & Energy programs, Dominic McQuerry oversees and develops innovative grant portfolios at the intersection of McKnight's climate and equity goals with an emphasis on strengthening democratic participation and civic engagement. McQuerry is a policy and community engagement professional with a passion for supporting people's lives and livelihoods, guiding and supporting powerful coalitions in Minnesota on housing, healthcare, child care, and more.This webinar was recorded on July 7, 2022, and made possible by Great River Energy (Gold Sponsor) and Sunrun (Bronze Sponsor). You can view a video of the webinar here.Thank you to our event's Promotional Partners:CERTsCitizen's Utility Board of MinnesotaClimate GenerationConservation MinnesotaHealth Professionals for a Healthy ClimateImpact Power Solutions (IPS)100 Percent CampaignMidwest Building Decarbonization CoalitionMinnesota Interfaith Power & LightNational Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT)Great Plains InstituteMinnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA)Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA)MN350MnSEIAUnion of Concerned Scientists

Our multi-part series on local climate action continues with an episode dedicated to energy & energy democracy. Guests include Luke Metzger (Environment Texas), Hanna Mitchell and Yesenia Rivera (Solar United Neighbors). Links mentioned in this episode include: **Shining Cities 2022 -https://environmentamericacenter.org/sites/environment/files/Shining_Cities-2022.pdf **Cleaner Cheaper Power For Texas Communities -https://environmenttexas.org/reports/txe/cleaner-cheaper-power-texas-communities ** People's Utility Justice Playbook -https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/download-our-peoples-utility-justice-playbook/ ** Solar Co-ops in Texas -https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/texas/ ** Going solar in Austin -https://austinenergy.com/ae/green-power/solar-solutions/solar-solutions

We discuss green energy and its relationship to colonialism in North Africa with Hamza Hamouchene. Courtesy of Voices of the Middle East & North Africa (VOMENA). --- Hamza Hamouchene is a London-based Algerian researcher-activist, commentator and a founding member of Algeria Solidarity Campaign (ASC), and Environmental Justice North Africa (EJNA). He previously worked for War on Want, Global Justice Now and Platform London on issues of extractivism, resources, land and food sovereignty as well as climate, environmental, and trade justice. He is the author/editor of two books: “The Struggle for Energy Democracy in the Maghreb” (2017) and "The Coming Revolution to North Africa: The Struggle for Climate Justice" (2015). He also contributed book chapters to “Voices of Liberation: Frantz Fanon” (2014) and “The Palgrave Encyclopaedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism” (2016). His other writings have appeared in the Guardian, Middle East Eye, Counterpunch, New Internationalist, Jadaliyya, openDemocracy, ROAR magazine, Pambazuka, Nawaat, El Watan and the Huffington Post.

The World Bank says global energy prices will soar over 50% this year. Low-income households are hit the hardest as they spend three times more of their income on energy costs than non-low-income households. One movement that is working to tackle this energy burden and the climate crisis is energy democracy – taking energy generation … Continued

Host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by several ILSR colleagues: Susan R. Holmberg, Senior Researcher and Editor for the Independent Business initiative; Katie Kienbaum, Senior Researcher for the Energy Democracy initiative; and Sophia Jones, a Fellow with the Composting for Community initiative.… Read More

This week we're excited to welcome our guest, John Farrell, to Suncast. John Farrell is an author, a podcaster, co-director of the Institute of Self Reliance, and leads the Energy Democracy Initiative. He has also been featured in the New York Times and is widely known as a “guru of distributed energy.”  On this week's episode, we were able to get some deeper insights from him specifically focused around:  1.) The Institute of Self Reliance, their mission, and how that fits in to address the needs of marginalized communities 2.) Empowering local energy through his current work and spotlighting additional programs like the “Our Power Maine” campaign 3.) His predictions on the next shift in the market including what he finds to be a “one-in-a-generation” opportunity  From his writing of “Energy Self Reliant States” to his present work and outlook on Energy Democracy, John Farrell is a force and voice that champions local communities and their power to decide and structure their energy future. And while there are always new evolutions happening in the industry, his understanding of the current barriers to solar development, how certain states are addressing it, and its potential impact moving forward was particularly enlightening. This was an excellent opportunity to speak with another leading voice in this field and an illuminating conversation to match. I am sure you will enjoy this episode, so be sure to tune in!   Remember you can always find the resources and learn more about today's guest, recommendations, book links, and more than 440 other founder stories and startup advice athttps://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/401 ( www.mysuncast.com). You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, onhttp://www.twitter.com/nicomeo ( Twitter),http://www.twitter.com/nicomeo ( LinkedIn) or email.

This week we're excited to welcome our guest, John Farrell, to Suncast. John Farrell is an author, a podcaster, co-director of the Institute of Self Reliance, and leads the Energy Democracy Initiative. He has also been featured in the New York Times and is widely known as a “guru of distributed energy.”  On this week's episode, we were able to get some deeper insights from him specifically focused around:  1.) The Institute of Self Reliance, their mission, and how that fits in to address the needs of marginalized communities 2.) Empowering local energy through his current work and spotlighting additional programs like the “Our Power Maine” campaign 3.) His predictions on the next shift in the market including what he finds to be a “one-in-a-generation” opportunity  From his writing of “Energy Self Reliant States” to his present work and outlook on Energy Democracy, John Farrell is a force and voice that champions local communities and their power to decide and structure their energy future. And while there are always new evolutions happening in the industry, his understanding of the current barriers to solar development, how certain states are addressing it, and its potential impact moving forward was particularly enlightening. This was an excellent opportunity to speak with another leading voice in this field and an illuminating conversation to match. I am sure you will enjoy this episode, so be sure to tune in!   Remember you can always find the resources and learn more about today's guest, recommendations, book links, and more than 440 other founder stories and startup advice athttps://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/401 ( www.mysuncast.com). You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, onhttp://www.twitter.com/nicomeo ( Twitter),http://www.twitter.com/nicomeo ( LinkedIn) or email.

A Wallace Stegner Center Green Bag TALK DESCRIPTION: Energy democracy is a social movement and a research area that is focused on the question of how to ensure that ongoing energy transitions are as democratic, just, and equitable as possible. Dr. Endres is the co-editor on the newly released Routledge Handbook of Energy Democracy (Routledge, 2022), a transdisciplinary anthology that uses a social science and humanities lens to explain key concepts, present state-of-the-art research, and highlight key on-the-ground practices of energy democracy. The book addresses the issues of energy access, ownership, and participation at a time when there are expanding social, political, environmental, and economic demands on energy systems. Endres will present a conceptual framework that guides research on energy democracy and offer examples from several of the chapters in the book. ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Danielle Endres (Ph.D., University of Washington) is Professor of Communication at the University of Utah. She is also affiliated faculty in the Environmental Humanities Program and the Global Change and Sustainability Center at the University of Utah. Her research focuses on the rhetoric of science and environmental controversies including nuclear waste siting decisions, climate change, and energy transitions. She is currently working with her graduate student, Nico Hernandez, on a three-year project to better understand practices of energy democracy in Puerto Rico. Endres's research is guided by principles of environmental justice and often focuses on how underrepresented groups and Indigenous Nations engage in science and environmental decision-making. Endres is the co-author of Participatory Critical Rhetoric: Theoretical and Methodological Foundations of Studying Rhetoric In Situ and the co-editor of several books, including the Routledge Handbook of Energy Democracy. She has also published in Quarterly Journal of Speech, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Communication and Critical Cultural Studies, Western Journal of Communication, Environmental Communication, Argumentation, Argumentation & Advocacy, and Local Environment. The National Science Foundation and several fellowships from the University of Utah have funded her research. Outside of work, Endres enjoys walking in the mountains, reading mystery books, seeing live music, and visiting national parks with her partner and two kids. Please contact The King's English Bookshop to order a copy of the Routledge Handbook of Energy Democracy. For questions about this event, contact events@law.utah.edu. This episode was originally recorded and broadcast, Thursday, February 3, 2022 Utah Law Podcast ULAW Podcast U Law Podcast Utah Law ULAW U Law

On this episode of Building Local Power, host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by John Farrell, ILSR Co-Director, and Ron Knox, Senior Researcher with ILSR's Independent Business initiative. They take a look back at ILSR's work in 2021 and share big wins, challenges, and interesting trends from the year. Highlights of their conversation include: ILSR's influence at the federal level, including our 30 Million Solar Homes campaign; our research and organizing around Congressional action to reign in the power of Big Tech; and our role in the development of the COMPOST Act. Progress at the local level, including several legislative wins in Maryland to advance composting, the launch of a New York coalition to hold powerful corporations accountable, and more. How ILSR's impact has grown in recent years. Looking ahead to what 2022 might bring.   “We're seeing some really encouraging signs that things are being taken seriously around the idea of monopoly and market power. Especially at this moment, we have so many awesome ways that we can generate energy and supply services to our electricity system in a way that's cleaner, that can employ people who've been left behind, that can lower their energy bills. You name it.”   “Lawmakers have really started to listen and have really started to understand that this consolidation that's gone on over the past several decades, half century let's say has hurt the economy. And that in order to undo some of the bad policies and the bad legal precedents that have created this issue, the laws themselves ultimately need to change.”   Related Resources ILSR's 2021 Annual Report ILSR 2021: A Year of Building Local Power 4 New Maryland Laws to Spur Local Composting Statement on the House Judiciary Committee's Vote Approving Legislation to Break Up and Rein In Big Tech Fact Sheet: How Amazon Exploits and Undermines Small Businesses, and Why Breaking It Up Would Revive American Entrepreneurship Small Business Rising Rep. Seth Berry on the Movement for Publicly-Owned Power in Maine — Episode 132 of Building Local Power Transcript Jess Del Fiacco: Hello, welcome to Building Local Power, a podcast dedicated to thought provoking conversations about how we can challenge perfect monopolies and expand the power of people to shape their own future. I'm Jess Del Fiacco, the host of Building Local Power and communications here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. For more than 45 years, ILSR has worked to build thriving, equitable communities where power, wealth, and accountability remain in local hands. Jess Del Fiacco: And hi everybody. I am joined today by my colleagues Ron Knox who's a senior researcher with our Independent Business Initiative, as well as John Farrell who directs our Energy Democracy work and is one of ILSR's co-directors. Our other colleague Brenda Platt was going to join us, but she's unfortunately sick. So I am going to be sharing some highlights from our composting team as well as we go through things here. So welcome to the show, Ron and John. Ron Knox: Hey Jess. Good to be here. Thanks. John Farrell: You know, if you welcome us together, it's Ron John. And then we're just a surf shop instead of policy- Ron Knox: Just a Tampa area surf shop. Nothing more. [crosstalk 00:01:09] which is a good, strong, Independent Business by the way, Tampa area surf shop. Jess Del Fiacco: This is also our very last Building Local Power episode of 2021. So that's why we're celebrating it with the Hawaiian shirts. Ron Knox: Right. John Farrell: It's amazing how comfortable this Hawaiian shirt is in my cold basement in Minnesota. Jess Del Fiacco: So we're going to talk about some highlights from our work this year. And I wanted to start by, I'm looking at some of the work that we did at the federal level, which may not be the first thing you think of when you hear the name the Institute for Local Self-Reliance is us working at the federal level,

“Forthright but also full of grace”: that could be a mantra for how we should all live our lives. It's also how Jacqui Patterson has described her ideal as she fights for environmental justice in a world that can feel like it's submerged completely in environmental injustice.From the South Side of Chicago, to Jamaica, to South Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, Jacqui has continually asked what deep, transformative change looks like. She grounds her theory of change in community-led advocacy. She envisions a world of eco-communities and works with real communities across the country who have already created elements of these utopian visions.But never does she lose sight of climate change and environmental exploitation as multipliers of injustice.Jacqui Patterson directed the Environmental and Climate Justice Program at NAACP from 2009 to 2021. Most recently, she is Founder and Executive Director of The Chisholm Legacy Project: A Resource Hub for Black Frontline Climate Justice Leadership.I've had the great privilege of knowing Jacqui for the last few years, and she's an advisor on my current documentary film in post production, called Raising Aniya.In our conversation, Jacqui discusses the origins of the environmental justice movement and the importance of community-led activism, and she charts her path to a life devoted to the struggle for environmental justice.This is the first episode of the Chrysalis podcast! You can listen on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.Please rate, review, and share to help us spread the word!Jacqui PattersonJacqui Patterson is the Founder and Executive Director at The Chisholm Legacy Project: A Resource Hub for Black Frontline Climate Justice Leadership. Since 2007, Jacqui has served as coordinator & co-founder of Women of Color United. She directed of the Environmental and Climate Justice Program at NAACP from 2009 to 2021. Jacqui has worked as a researcher, program manager, coordinator, advocate and activist working on women‘s rights, violence against women, HIV&AIDS, racial justice, economic justice, and environmental and climate justice. Jacqui served as a Senior Women's Rights Policy Analyst for ActionAid where she integrated a women's rights lens for the issues of food rights, macroeconomics, and climate change as well as the intersection of violence against women and HIV&AIDS. Previously, she served as Assistant Vice-President of HIV/AIDS Programs for IMA World Health providing management and technical assistance to medical facilities and programs in 23 countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Jacqui served as the Outreach Project Associate for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Research Coordinator for Johns Hopkins University. She also served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica, West Indies.  Jacqui holds a master's degree in social work from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves on the Steering Committee for Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, Advisory Board for Center for Earth Ethics as well as on the Boards of Directors for the Institute of the Black World, The Hive: Gender and Climate Justice Fund, the American Society of Adaptation Professionals, Greenprint Partners, Bill Anderson Fund and the National Black Workers Center.Quotations Read by Jacqui Patterson“If you come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because, you know, and feel that your liberation is bound to mine, let's walk together.” - Lilla Watson“you have to understand, that no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land” - From "Home" by Warsan Shire“If one of us is oppressed, none of us are free.” - Unknown“the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love.” - Che GuevaraRecommended Readings & MediaTranscriptionIntroJohn Fiege “Forthright but also full of grace”: that could be a mantra for how we should all live our lives. It's also how Jacqui Patterson has described her ideal as she fights for environmental justice in a world that can feel like it's submerged completely in environmental injustice.From the South Side of Chicago, to Jamaica, to South Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, Jacqui has continually asked what deep, transformative change looks like. She grounds her theory of change in community-led advocacy. She envisions a world of eco-communities and works with real communities across the country who have already created elements of these utopian visions.But never does she lose sight of climate change and environmental exploitation as multipliers of injustice.Jacqui PattersonFor example, if a child is having a hard time paying attention in school, because lead and manganese are some of the toxins that come out of these, these smokestacks, or if a child is having a heart is not able to go to school on poor air quality days, or if the school that 71% of African Americans live in counties in violation of air pollution standards, and an African American family making $50,000 a year is more likely to live next to a toxic facility than the white American family making $15,000 a year. And we know that. But yeah, then on average, if you're living next to a toxic facility, your property values are significantly lower, and property values go directly into funding our school system. So if you have all of these challenges with being in school in the first place, learning in school, and then the school itself doesn't have the level of quality of other schools, then studies show that if you're not on grade level, by the third grade, you're more likely to enter into the school to prison pipeline.John FiegeI'm John Fiege, and this is Chrysalis.Jacqui Patterson directed the Environmental and Climate Justice Program at NAACP from 2009 to 2021. Most recently, she is founder and executive director of The Chisholm Legacy Project: A Resource Hub for Black Frontline Climate Justice Leadership. I've had the great privilege of knowing Jacqui for the last few years, and she's an advisor on my current documentary film in post production, called Raising Aniya.In our conversation, Jacqui discusses the origins of the environmental justice movement and the importance of community-led activism, and she charts her path to a life devoted to the struggle for environmental justice.Here is Jacqui Patterson.---ConversationJohn Fiege  You grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Could you start by talking a bit about the neighborhood where you grew up how that shaped you and you know, being an urban environment, how you viewed your relationship to the rest of nature?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, growing up on the South Side of Chicago, been an area where it was, there was lots of, of trees, there was lots of I was just talking with someone yesterday about how how we would get excited when we would see a Blue Jay or a Robin in our trees, there were squirrels, there was an occasional rabbit, which was very exciting. And, and there was a lot like summers were all about being outside. Winters were moderately about being outside John Fiege  If there was snowJacqui Patterson  Exactly. Only if there's snow. And otherwise it was being huddled inside and and at the same time, there was the other side's being to being born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, which is that it was a gang land area with the Black P Stone Nation and the El Rukns. As the main gangs and the pressure on boys to to affiliate and the guns, as you hear the challenges you would have. So being outside was also challenged by that as well. I mean, it didn't, I don't remember it being kind of a constant thing, but I don't remember it necessarily meaning that we didn't go outside but I do remember a couple of times where, where, where there were times when they were kind of fights or so forth, it would be inside. So to put my dad was from Jamaica, so we took a trip, we went to the park often and my dad was definitely big on the outdoors. And so we would go to the park frequently, both our local park as well as sometimes going to a national park to hike.John Fiege  Oh, awesome. And, you know, that must impact your view of what the environment is to when you, you know, you see the birds in the trees and those beautiful, tree lined streets of South Side of Chicago. And at the same time, there's this, like, this potentially dangerous environment you're dealing with sometimes as well.Jacqui Patterson  Yes, it definitely, definitely makes it a mixed situation. It reminds me of when I was at a  conference of the Power Shift Network, I was moderating a panel with youth. And, and this person who was on the panel, I mean, it was a real striking and moving moment because the person was on the panel stood up and she said, You know, I would like for me being you know, I would love to be able to have the luxury to go to the park and so forth. But for me just surviving was the objective and and if I can get beyond just focusing on survival to be able to go to the park, you know, that would be a good day. And she actually started crying while she was saying that because I think it was such an emotional moment to be attacked about the very thing that you know, about the very thing that that kind of puts in stark relief, the difference in realities and what's what's kind of normal to other people would be a luxury to her.John Fiege  And survival survival is a prerequisite for enjoying the world  Jacqui Patterson  exactly, exactly.John Fiege  Well, not not only is your father from Jamaica, but you spent time in the Peace Corps in Jamaica. Yeah, which I find really, I find so interesting, because not many Peace Corps volunteers work in a country so close to their roots. Can you can you tell me about the path? This this young girl from the South Side of Chicago took to Jamaica and and how that experience influenced you?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, sure. Um, I grew up I grew up very active in the church, we'd be in the church like five days out of the week, during the summer. And, and during the winter, this at least a couple of times weekly. When during the summer, so I was always a Sunday school teacher and during the summer, I was a vacation Bible school teacher and and as I decided on my career path, I decided I wanted to be a teacher. And so and then I was watching TV one day and saw this commercial about the shortage of special education teachers. Oh, I could do that. And I decided to do that as well. And so after I, long story short, I was in Boston going to school for undergrad at Boston University. And it was. And that was when I first started to really get involved around social justice. I was working in a shelter for homeless people who were unhoused in Boston, and then also at the same time getting involved in the Housing Now movement there. Anyway, then I fast forward to deciding after I graduated to go to Peace Corps, what was interesting there in terms of the time between me going to Peace Corps and a place that I know is that to make us known was the recruiter was telling me that Jamaica was I had actually wanted to go to a place that where I could learn Spanish or French, or some other language, you know. And so she was she really put a hard pressure on me to go to Jamaica, because it has a high rate of attrition of people dropping out. And, and so she also needed like someone who was kind of specialized in special education, and it's a little bit at the back then it was almost rare to be able to do something that's so aligned with your actual career that I'd like there was someone there in my group who was a drama major in school, and she ended up being a bananas extension officer with the Agriculture Department. So it's kind of funny. So anyway, she says, Yeah, so all of that is what led to me being in in Jamaica.John Fiege  What did you see there and experience that you can connect with what you did later, you know, what you're doing now and what you did later with your work?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, so a couple things. One is, as a special education teacher in the parish of St. Thomas one situation arose where there was a whole group of three year olds who had hearing impairments because, you know, a little bit over three years ago, almost four years ago, they had an outbreak of rubella. And I guess when a mom has rubella, then it's more likely for her child to be born with a hearing impairment. And so, so I ended up being because I had taken one sign language class in undergrad, I ended up being a sign language teacher to these, these, these parents and their children, it was like a parent child group, and so helping them to be able to communicate. And so both that in and other kind of situations of people with special needs, there are who are differently abled was just struck me in terms of being a systemic issue, kind of people not having either choices and not having resources to live a thriving life, in those circumstances of being differently abled made me really think about the prevention aspect, you know, and so I, I started to decide I was coming, come back and go into, into public health, and also do a double degree one in public health, on the technical side of things, as well as one in social work, but macro level social work, to learn about community organizing, because at that point, point, it was just clear that important to community voice, community power community leadership, parallel, or, you know, at the same time, I was also kind of in Jamaica, just observing the circumstances in terms of, you know, what led there to be not the resources to have to have the rubella vaccine in a place that is so beautiful, so, so much possibility for people to be able to, to a to have the, the whether it's that natural resources to eat or the natural resources to, to provide energy for the country and all of these different things. And then also the the natural beauty that attracts, you know, millions of tourists there with all of the billions of dollars that are coming with with that. And yet we have communities where the you know, people are living in abject poverty. And so, so, so seeing that, watching films like Life and Debt that talked about structural adjustment programs, and then and then reading books, like How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, I started to really understand some of these systemic issues as well. So that was an important kind of politicization. And then the last thing I'll say is also I was there I was in a community where the water supply was contaminated by Shell Oil and the community had to push for, for justice and that situation, but in that situation, it was definitely a David and Goliath, where the community ended up getting as part of their settlement a series of ventilated improve pit latrines for the community, as well as some money given to the school for three Rs program. So that was the settlementJohn Fiege  in exchange for a billions of dollars worth of oil,Jacqui Patterson  and in exchange for having their water supply contaminated, drinking poison for several, yeah, I mean, whatever long term illnesses that was that was caused. And so these were the so these are the things these are the lessons I learned in my short time in Peace Corps, they really kind of all all contributed to the trajectory of my life since thenJohn Fiege  I find that so interesting, when there's something there's some short period of time when in when you're young, and you can find in that period of time, so many seeds that germinated later in your life. And when you're talking about Jamaican, like, I'm hearing like all of the elements of your later work. It's so interesting. Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, it is fascinating. John Fiege  So I've heard you say that climate change is a multiplier of injustice, which is, which is really beautifully succinct. Can you explain what that means?Jacqui Patterson  Absolutely. So both on the on the the whole climate continuum, we think about in terms of the drivers of climate change, and the impacts of climate change. on the driver side, you have all of the polluting practices that contribute to the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. And so the fact that these facilities are disproportionately located in BIPOC communities, whether it's coal plants, or or oil and gas refineries, or other or fracking, or it's even near roadway, air pollution, and air in the ways that that impacts all of those are disproportionately located in, in in BIPOC communities and also in trash incineration, and landfills and so forth. And I could make more, agricultural, like confined animal feeding operations, etc. So with all of those being disproportionately located communities of color, it's not only that they're emitting greenhouse gases, but they're all also emitting pollutants that that also harm that compound harm to the public health and well being of those communities. And so whether it's the sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, which is tied to asthma rates, and African American children are three to five times more likely to go to the hospital for asthma attack two to three times more likely to die of an asthma attack, or it is the mercury which is known to be an endocrine disruptor. And we know that low birth weights, infant mortality, etc, are much higher, for example, in African American communities and beyond. So there's just so many examples of these negative health impacts. But then on top of it all, we talk about multiplier as well, it's a multiplier of a multiplicity of issues. And so, for example, if a child is having a hard time paying attention in school because lead and manganese are some of the toxins that come out of these, these smokestacks, or if a child is having is not able to go to school on poor air quality days, or if the school, 71% of African Americans live in counties in violation of air pollution standards, and an African American family making $50,000 a year is more likely to live next to a toxic facility than the white American family making $15,000 a year and we know that then on average, if you're living next to a toxic facility, your property values are significantly lower and property values go directly into funding our school system. So if you have all of these challenges with being in school in the first place, learning in school, and then the school itself doesn't have the level of quality of other schools, then studies show that if you're not on grade level by the third grade, you're more likely to enter into the school to prison pipeline. So we see all of these interconnected, you know, multiplier issues, and then a multiplicity of issues that they get exacerbated. And so these are, and that's just one scenario. That is an example when we talk about the gender, gender and justice that already exist, and then on the pipelines, along the lines of the pipeline, there's a high rate of sexual assault of Indigenous women in particular, along those pipelines. Also, around the man camps that are propped up around these oil and gas rigs, there is a high rate of missing and murdered Indigenous women, there's a drug trade that's come up, there's trafficking that that happens in those areas. And, just a known level that you know that you can when googled one can see all the different statistics and stories around this. And so that's just on the driver side of the continuum. And then we go on the other side in terms of the impact. We know that climate change that, for example, when we talk about the increase in frequency and severity of extreme weather events, that women are more likely to experience violence against women after disasters. Whether it's, yeah, so we saw that with the earthquake in Gujarat, the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, for sure. And even the BP oil drilling disaster where I was down there and that the, the police blotters showed a four fold increase in domestic violence in one particular area, I was sitting in Alabama, and we look at place after place, it was the same thing. And they even though the BP oil drilling disaster wasn't caused by climate change, it also was on the other driver's side of the continuum as well. So anyway, so then, then, when we talk about the the shifts in agricultural yield, we know that already, for example, 26% of African American families are food insecure. And when we have shift in agricultural yields that mean that healthy nutritious foods are going to be even more inaccessible and less affordable, than that just exacerbates what's already a bad situation for for African American families who too often live in communities where it's easier to get a Dorito or a Cheeto or Frito than kiwi or quinoa or anything. So when we, when we see that then we also see how these various chronic health conditions that are that are causing premature deaths and shorten our very life expectancy as a people. And then that has made us even more vulnerable to the impacts of of COVID-19 and has contributed to our high rates of mortality. Then when we talk about sea level rise, also communities that are less likely to be homeowners, we know that 44% of African Americans are homeowners versus 75% of white Americans, for example. And so when when you know when you have when you need to move or even impacted by disasters, all of that, being in a homeowner, you know, when you have equity you have in not only do you have equity in your home, conceivably, but you're also also some of the aid from FEMA and so forth is directly tied to being a homeowner and the work of relocation is still emerging and how that's going to be financed and what the mechanisms are going to be. ButJohn Fiege  I wonder who I wonder who wrote those, those rules?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, as I say, we can pretty much rest assured thatJohn Fiege  they were homeowners at least,Jacqui Patterson  yeah, that's really something. So all of these things. Oh, and then finally, I'll just say to as it relates to sea level rise, combined with, combined with the frequency and severity of extreme weather events is the fact that even after we think we find out that the levee fortification is, like so many other things was tied to property values after Hurricane Katrina, where they decided to to fortify all these levees in Louisiana. they used a formula to decide which levees they were going to be fortifying first. And it was based on what the economic impact would be if the levy was overtaken, which literally legislates or institutionalizes the the disregard for the people who are the most vulnerable, just literally by definition, by design.John Fiege  Early on in the COVID pandemic, you wrote an article for Color Lines, that that connects the pandemic to climate justice, among other things.  So you write:  "Centuries of racist policy and practice have shaped the neighborhoods we live in, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, our access to education and justice, and the health care we receive (or don't). Layers of harm, generation after generation, alter our bodies at the molecular level and even the genes we pass on to our children. Those harms, past and present, render us more vulnerable to the coronavirus—and also to the longer-term crises caused by climate change."  Wow, it's really amazing how you can connect dots and wrap so much into this single paragraph. Can you talk about the importance of seeing whole systems, rather than separating out these interconnected issues in order to envision what you call deep transformative change?Jacqui Patterson  Yes, absolutely. So when we have a system that, as I said before, is doing exactly what it was designed to do by those who, as you said, designed it. And, and when we continue to try to tweak a system, which at its core has a different intention, then then what we should be seeking, which is literally liberty and justice for all, then then we have to think transformation rather than than reform. But we have a system that means that, that certain people are only more likely to live in certain communities when you have a system that says that those communities are, by definition, are the communities that are the asthma clusters, the cancer clusters, the communities where the life expectancy is shorter, too often by decades, sometimes by almost a lifetime, when we talk about infant mortality, and and, and so forth. So when we talk when we have a system where before African Americans were emancipated from slavery, there were policies that enabled white people to be able to access these grants for land for those for schools, or for farming or otherwise. So and when African Americans were emancipated, not only had they put in this in slave labor, that that to build a country that was completely uncompensated, but also didn't even have the legal rights to be able to write legal wills to pass down their property. And so not only do we have white Americans who, for whom, African Americans were part of the, their actual generational wealth, but then on top of it all, they were given all these additional aids by by the government system. And so it's clear why at this point, we have white wealth at $171,000 on average, per household, African American wealth at $17,000 per household. And then yeah, there will be a layer gender on top of it all, we have African American female headed households with the average wealth of $5. And so if we just continue to try to tweak a system that's doing exactly what it was designed to do in the first place, you know, now 400 years after the transatlantic slave trade, this is where we are. So what's going to be the increments of change? And what what, what century will there be equality if we don't actually do something transformational now?John Fiege  Yeah, I, I talk a lot about the problem with how we've set up environmental issues where, you know, if somebody wants to learn about why we have environmental problems, they're often told to go study science or to go study economics. But the best place to start really is American history. You can't separate how the systems were built from the problems they've caused, and to pretend that we can address them without acknowledging and confronting those those things is so delusional.Jacqui Patterson  Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Thank you.John Fiege  So to talk about the NAACP and the roots of the environmental justice movement. Many people consider the birthplace of the environmental justice movement to be in Warren County, North Carolina, in 1982, when 500 people were arrested, protesting the siting of a toxic waste dump for PCB laden soil and a county that was predominantly African American, and one of the poorest counties in the state. Among the coalition of community members of the Civil Rights Organizations, was the NAACP and Reverend Benjamin Chavez, who later became the executive director of NAACP. Can you talk about the importance of this moment, both for the movement and the NAACP?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, thank you. Um, yes. So one thing that is important about that, that the rise The movement in its inception is the power of the people and the importance of frontline community leadership, it was never going to be some organization or some entity that's outside of the community looking at and seeing this is wrong. And then, you know, organizing a plan and in and so forth, it was the power of the people that that really unsurface the situation that that the push for the type of change that they need to have and, and that we all need to have. And really gave rise to this movement. And so it needs to kind of go as it started in terms of the movement. And this is why we're always pushing for frontline community leadership. And so for us, that situation was critical around the the roots of the problem and the depth of the problem. And it was critical around the, in terms of just like the extreme level of contamination and so forth in the health impacts and so forth. And it was also critical in terms of the method and the ethos behind the solution of the problem and addressing it. And so for us, it just means that we, but it also was critical in terms of how long it took. And we often now when I'm doing presentations often show this kind of four image slide of three, of four toxic situations, the Flint water crisis, the Chicago Indiana arsenic and lead crisis and Eight Mile Alabama Mercaptan oil spill and then I show the Porter Ranch gas spill that happened and talk about how you know for each of the other situation it was they were decades, you know, decades and still seeking justice. Before the Porter Ranch gas spill, it was literally within a matter of months there was kept within a matter of less than a year that they were they were given $4 million in damages to this white wealthier white community versus decades and hundreds of 1000s of dollars at best for these other communities. John Fiege  Yeah, well, the coalition is the coalition around that event was, was incredible. And, you know, this kind of genealogy of civil rights within environmental justice, it seems to really be you know, NAACP is a is a huge national organization, just like the big environmental organizations. But do you see that it's kind of history and valuing and ability to work with local groups on the ground changes the way this giant national organization interacts with communities?Jacqui Patterson  I do. So for one thing, one of the things that has that drew me to the work and has kept me at the NAACP is the fact that we are accountable first and foremost to our frontline community leadership and so that that being the marching orders for for us as a program and for the association really does set it apart from from other organizations in that sense, like we do things because our state and local branches think that they are important. And so that's quite different than if you are setting an agenda and then you're deploying all of these, these these chapters to do like some other large national organizations. And so but but when we're when we're working in the environmental climate justice program, for example, we're we're out there in the branches and we're saying, like, let's, let's do a visioning session, what do you want for your community, and then now, well, we can help with political education, we can help developing a strategy. We can walk alongside you once you have your action plan of what you want to do and help connect you to resources and so forth. So that model of like, it's about what you want for your community. And then we kind of see the patterns of what people are interested in and what they're facing. And then we roll that up into a national agenda that we get res ources for on behalf of the units and that we then advocate for at the federal policy level as well. So if a community might be working on, you know, a lead crisis in their backyard, we might be helping them with how to deal with that. Then at the at the federal level, we're working on the lead and copper rule under the Clean Air Act and so forth. So that's always kind of a corresponding national agenda, but it corresponds with the leadership of our state and local units.John Fiege  Oh, that's, that's interesting. And it's such so important. Always going back to that. Yeah, accountability to the communities. So key. So can you talk a bit about your theory of change and the work you're doing, and maybe first describe what a theory of change is? And then how your theory of change has shifted over time as you've engaged ever more deeply in this work?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, thank you. So, first, the theory of change is exactly what the words imply, is the theory of how change happens in our world. So for us, and it's interesting to even when we were kind of like, formally crafting our theory of change, there was kind of the difference between the change that's needed, and how do we get there. And then there's also kind of models and theories of change that were more granular, but our broader theory of change is rooted in the just transition framework that we work with the Climate Justice Alliance, and others facilitated Movement Generation, when we, when we talk about the just transition framework, we are moving from a society that is rooted in exploitation, domination, extraction, and enclosure of wealth and power militarism, as a vehicle to do it. And so moving from that, to what we consider is a living economy, versus an extractive economy, a living economy that's rooted in principles of caring, caring for the sacred cooperation. And really, kind of honoring the earth and honoring each other, as well as really rooting it all in deep democracy. And so, for us, that means that the work that we do, in terms of how we get there is around visioning, starting with a visioning, visioning of our communities and then helping with political education so that if a community has a certain vision, then thinking about how they get there is rooted in understanding how it fits in with this broader context. And then three is then working with the community to develop a strategy to advance change. And then four is then working with communities on developing an action plan based on that strategy and their understanding of the political education, but rooted in their vision, and then we accompany folks through achieving that action plan helping along the way with connecting them to formational, technical, financial resources and so forth. And and so our overarching work as a national program is, is is around, you know, all starts and ends with with that with our community vision. And then we also work on the types of policy changes that need to shift the system. And we also work on narrative shifts, because too often narrative dictates what's happening from the very beginning, in terms of this false narrative of scarcity that has pushed so much of this notion that there's an inverse relationship between my well being and your well being I can only be well if you're not well because there's only so much to go around and so that has pervaded so much of this decision making and actions that we see and even down to, you know, our kind of extremely divided political system it is so based on that people feeling threatened people feeling fear people feeling whether it's the immigration, or it's this notion of Black Lives Matter, kind of meaning that other lives don't. So...so all of this so, so yes, a narrative shift is a critical piece as well as the policy change. And again, all rooted in the vision of our communities.John Fiege  Yeah, awesome. Yeah. And you know, as you can imagine, you know, I'm super interested in narrative and environmental storytelling and how we're telling the stories that matter. And so that really caught my eye when you talked about controlling the narrative. Can you give maybe an example of like, what does controlling the narrative mean? What does that look like?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, I'll give an example on the, the problem up to till now in terms of some of the ways of the narrative has been controlled a wedge resulted in and then on the other side, so we have everything from, you know, at that end, again with African American folks, the ways that the narratives that have been advanced, whether it's the rise of the term super predator, or the ways that the black men have been considered to be an enemy or something to be feared, or someone to be feared, and though, and how that has led to in black folks in general, but definitely black men, and how that that led has led to profiling. And then that led to, to kind of this criminalization as well as police brutality and what has resulted in state sponsored violence. I talk about how, in the context of Hurricane Katrina, how there is this image that I show where it's two white couple, and they're in these floodwaters, and then there's African American, male in floodwaters and it's the same day. Associated Press is the outlet telling the story in both cases, but the caption with the two white people is, you know, "Two residents wade through chesty floodwaters after 'finding' bread and soda in the grocery store." With African American young man it says "A young man waves through testy floodwaters after looting a grocery store." And so that kind of characterization and a difference of it is exactly what leads to this racial profiling. And then leads to that criminalization and then to, for group of families on the Danziger bridge, where they were crossing in again, trying to find food, trying to find relatives, they were going back into New Orleans, and someone called the police on them and said that they wer e, you know, probably looking to loot and so they were unarmed and the police encountered them on the Danziger bridge and killed some of them as a result so that racial profiling that image of those two folks that you know, seemingly just an image in a newspaper but what it contributes to a narrative that certain people are up to no good and so we've seen how these days they're talking about living while black all the ways, I just myself I'm staying at an Airbnb in Florida and I went outside to, anyway there's some construction going on and so they left a package in the front that they're supposed to bring around to the back anyway, so I had to go under the construction tape to get the package and as I'm walking out I hear this voice go, May I help you? And it was this lady across the street who thought that I was stealing the package I mean, so and the irony was that I had met her like a couple days ago and had a conversation with her and she just didn't remember it. So but unfortunately but so the other day there was a whole another situation with another package and I walked around the neighborhood and I saw the packages, it had been delivered to another neighbor but I didn't want to kind of walk up and look at them for sure and didn't even want to knock on the door because, and so I called the person who owns the Airbnb and I'm like, do you know the lady who lives a couple doors down you know, and then there was a whole long two hour long process where she was trying to get Jonathan the real estate age all these different things you know, just so that I could get my my packages there on this door a couple of days back. So this is the kind of difference in life, you know that and reality but that's just you know, but that could have fatal effects or someone saw me skulking around it was they would have characterized it, and, you know, considered themselves to be defending their property, and people have the right to do that. And these, you know, again, with our system, this is what results and so, so all of this go on on the negative side of narrative, but and the importance of why, you know, and then when we talk about environment, this notion of 'job killing regulations' and, and again, that's based on scarcity assuming that like the only way that people will be able to work is that if they work at least jobs that also are fatal for other like people killing pollution, you know, the post job killing regulations and so we as communities are reframing to say it is possible for us to have all the jobs that we want, it is possible for us to have it in the context of clean air, clean water. And what we, what we do often is to do that by saying that it's already happening, here's where it's happening. And it's possible for us to take this to scale. John Fiege  Well, how much of that taking back the narrative is, I mean, there's, you know, your example of Hurricane Katrina and, and the AP captions on the photos, you know, that kind of ties into this, the myth of objective journalism, and kind of these outside folks who are building a narrative that you're trying to counter, but in some ways, I'm wondering how much you have to reformulate the narrative from within your own ranks. You know, I'm thinking about early on environmental justice movement. You know, there were some communities that were pushing back against some environmental regulations, because they were concerned that the jobs in these communities were going to be reduced or or go away. And, you know, even today, we're seeing, you know, pushback from unions around the shift to to electric vehicles, because it's there gonna be fewer jobs involved. So what is that? How do you navigate that of like, people who are on your side, are also buying into some of these narratives?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, I mean, it's kind of what I just said, is really helping people to see how how all of it is possible. So that's true for whoever's on whatever side is the importance of that. And so we have, for example, put together the Black Labor Initiative on Just Transition. And, and for that initiative, we work with folks who stand to be impacted by these job shifts, that will happen and we say, okay, we need to make sure that we're supporting you who is impacted, and that you're in the driver's seat. So it's not, that's not something that's happening to you, but you're saying, here's what's happening, you know, in terms of the the needs of the earth, in our communities, and here's how I'm going to be impacted. If I don't say, Alright, this is what I want, that's going to allow us to have clean air clean water, and allow me to have a livelihood at the standard that I need to support my family. And so then both kind of making sure that people are in the driver's seat, and we're not just trying to tell them that this is better, they're actually determining that for themselves, and we're supporting that, but then also, so they, they will also be the ones who are able to educate and inform their, their peers as well. So, that's definitely what's most important, working with working with people to be able to self actualize whatever enlightenment might come, and what the path is.John Fiege  So that that's what I hear you saying is that's, that's the key element of taking back the narrative and controlling the narrative is, is telling that story within your community and having that spread. Is that accurate?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, making sure that the community themselves kind of generate the story, like really being in dialogue with the community and have having that conversation, which are always always right, always kind of results in, in the truth versus, versus people kind of parroting what's been told to them. And so for us, it's all about an organic process. John Fiege  Ok. That's awesome. Great. So, in in 2013, you released a report, a report called "And the People Shall Lead" which which is a great title. And it has, it has a subtitle, "Centralizing Frontline Community Leadership, and the Movement Towards a Sustainable Planet." So the report addresses working with big national environmental groups or big greens as you call them here.  And you open the report this way: "How often do we hear frontline communities say, “We refuse to work with Big Green A until we hear an apology for past wrongs and a commitment to a fundamental change in how they operate” Or, “Why would I want to work with Big Green B? They will take the credit for the work I do!” Or, “I'll never work with Big Green C again. They have no respect for my culture.” At the same time, we often hear mainstream enviros speak with angst, “We want to work more with grassroots groups but we don't know how to engage them.” Or, “We reached out, and they didn't respond.” Or, “This plant is bad for this community but they just don't get it! We are trying to help them.” So that really cuts to the chase and shines a light on on the history of the kind of rocky relationship between white led and Black and brown led organizations when it comes to environmental justice. What has changed and what hasn't changed since 2013?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, thank you. Oh, that brings back memories. I haven't. Yeah, so what has changed is that those questions are less happening behind closed doors, particularly on the grassroots side. And also, what has also changed is that there have been formations that have been put together to deal directly with this issue, like the Building Equity and Alignment, no, Building Equity and Alignment for Impact one way, or like the B...Yep, that's exactly the B--Building Equity and Alignment for Impact, which is a combination of kind of these large green organizations, frontline grassroots groups, and philanthropy coming together to talk about to talk about these challenges, and how do we build more alignment recognizing that, yeah, that we know, we need it sorely. And so trying to work through some of those challenges that have been surfaced. But recognizing that, that, that the the power is in the collaboration and saying that we have to do this, we have to, we have to do this. And so that has changed, recognizing that and, and the formations to deal with it. And also certainly, what's also changed is the fact that philanthropy is supporting the need for that shift, and supporting the spaces to help to bridge those challenges. And that philanthropy is also recognizing that continuing to put, you know, millions upon millions of dollars and resources in the hands of only in the hands of big green organizations is actually exacerbating some of those dynamics and challenges. And there's a lot more of an effort to support frontline grassroots groups. So all of those things have changed, as well as the urgency of the climate clock, that it hasn't changed, but it's become much more well known. And, and therefore, as Martin Luther King says, "People are feeling the fierce urgency of now" in terms of the the nature of a critical this of kind of getting it together. So not to say that in some ways, all those things have shifted. And, and, and some and and the very same things are still being said at the same time. You know what I mean? John Fiege  RightJacqui Patterson  Yeah, so the problems persist, but at least there's an acknowledgement of them, which is the first step and some, some steps in the right direction. John Fiege  Right. It's a process. Always a process. Jacqui Patterson  Exactly Yes. John Fiege  So what does antiracism look like in the environmental movement? Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, in the environmental movement, it means that across the board and all the work that we do around the environment, we have to acknowledge and intersectionally address the impacts of racism. I famously talked about when I was doing a talk for a funder, a funder ask me to do a talk to a group of solar, like solar industry, folks. And when I gave my slides, the funder was like, "Yeah, we just want you to focus on solar, you know, and on energy. And so, so I, I said, so after kind of going back and forth with them, I was like, Alright, I'm not gonna use slides, and I'm renaming my talk. Black Lives Matter, Energy Democracy in the NAACP Civil Rights Agenda, and after I gave the talk like people, like it was kind of a well, it was an exponentially better received talk than if I had just I don't know what they what even just talking about this would mean in the context of, you know, the reality of life. But but but, but the folks in the industry really saw a new purpose and what they were seeing doing and political purpose and what they were doing, and they felt brought meaning to the work that they do. And so, so, so in some, it's first of all, kind of understanding that a) how how racism impacts how it impacts environment, environmental work and environment in the environment and b) understanding that, and that the very same systemic underpinnings that are driving climate change, are rooted in racism and so forth, and that we and if we don't kind of address these issues at their roots, we we won't be able to address climate change. And so that that's another piece that people need to understand. John Fiege  Can you talk about your work across the international borders and how it fits into what you're doing here in the US?Jacqui Patterson  Sure. Yeah. When we first went to actually one of the first things that I did, when I joined the NAACP, actually, I was already I was already going to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties in Copenhagen, before I joined the staff and so so I ended up going in kind of this hybrid role of kind of starting to join the end up starting to be a staff member of the NAACP and already planning to go as part of this project I'd started through Women of Color United looking at the intersection of gender and climate. And at that UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties will call it COP that I first encountered the Panafrican Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), and and I had been my work my work leading to working with NAACP had been International, that's the work that I do so I always had that international orientation and seeing how things are connected and so forth. But and in the context of connecting with the PACJA, done other international groups, we now have a memorandum of agreement with PACJA,. And being a part of the US Climate Action Network, which is part of the Global Climate Action Network, we we see the connections between US policies, domestic and quote unquote, foreign policy, and and everything from at those UN climate talks. Historically, no matter what administration the US has played an obstructive role always wanting to kind of commit as little as possible from an national standpoint, but then that also impacts the level of commitment across the board, if you have one group bringing it down, it kind of waters down  the the teeth and the aspirations and the ambition in the in the agreements. And so recognizing that we need to be there as us voters to hold  the delegation that's there to you and climate talks accountable for, for not weighing down because we can't like if we even if we all in the US stopped all of our emissions tomorrow, we're still in a globe. And if we're kind of weighing down the rest of the processes, then other people's a missions like yeah, we are 25% of the global emissions. So it would definitely have a significant impact. But we need to we need everybody to stop emitting in order for us to as a as a world to advance. And so the US has to be there making commitments on its own part, and it has to push for ambition with all the industrialized nations who are driving climate change for us all to be able to survive and thrive. So that's one thing. We in our connection with the Panfrican Climate Justice Alliance, we in our storytelling that we've done since then,we go there for those UN climate talks. We were in Nairobi for those conversations they've come here, and what's emerged as the story of our connections are like the same ways that countries in the Global South and BIPOC communities in the global north are least responsible for climate change. We all share... We all share the fact that we're at least responsible and we all share the fact that we're most impacted. And we all share the fact that we're the least politically powerful in terms of the decision making thats had, so we have our organizing as a bloc to say, you know, we, as global Afro descendant, leaders on environmental and climate justice, want to have a common agenda so that we are, we're pushing in concert and building power of as a global majority, in terms of BIPOC folks. And so with that, that means that we like even as I push for something here, or if our if our communities and movement here push for like stopping the burning of coal, then at the same time, we're pushing to stop global exports of coal. And at the same time, countries in Sub Saharan Africa are pushing to stop the global imports of coal. So we really we deal at all sides of that, that continuum. So those are just some...and then I'll just end with another example of kind of those connections as well. So as we talk about immigration policy, again, US being 4% of the population, but 25% of the emissions that drive climate change. But yet we have these punitive immigration policies so that when people are driven out of their nations because of disaster, or because their breadbasket has dried up as a result of our actions, on climate me on on emissions, but also our kind of imperialist actions, and the ways that the structural adjustment programs that others have made, have made those nations in, you know, uninhabitable, in some cases in some of the communities, then instead of kind of offering refuge in sanctuary, we're putting people in cages. And so while we work on better immigration policies to really so that not just, you know, so we're taking responsibility and being accountable for the actions that are driven people from their nations, but at the very least, but ideally, just because people need need they their need, and we and we have abundance, again, pushing back on that false narrative of scarcity. But then at the same time, we're also pushing for the types of policies that allow countries to be self sufficient, and able to address the impacts of climate change or avoid climate change in the first place. So through the US commitments to the UNFCCC and so forth, and that we're helping the to work with our kind of partners in the Global South, to be able to have nations where we where people don't have to kind of flee in order to survive. And I'll just end with a quote from, Warsan Shire, which is... Somali...a Kenyan, a Somali born Kenyan poet. Anyway, she says, "You have to understand that no one puts their children in a boat. Unless the water is safer than the land."John Fiege  Wow. That's a good punctuation mark. Yeah, it makes me think back to what you were saying earlier about whole systems and the absolutely importance and importance of thinking in terms of whole systems. So how is your work change since the killing of George Floyd and the blossoming of the movement for Black Lives?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, for one is gotten more, we've been just crushed by by demands that so that's one thing. And not only, the full the fulfilling the demands is kind of the least of it in terms of capacity, because we, for the most part, don't even get there. But uh, but just fielding all of their demands, as is so many and trying to filter out which ones are from people who are pushing or  are performative, because you know, they look good, which ones are people who are trying to do something because a funder is saying that they need to do this,John Fiege  What are folks asking of you?Jacqui Patterson  It's everything from just wanting to quote unquote, pick our brains. Like, "Here's what's going on in my company," like sometimes it's corporations sometimes is organizations. "Here's what's going on in my organization. Here's what I'm planning to do. Can you give them feedback on it?" That kind of thing. A lot of times is wanting people wanting us to come and speak, you know, just kind of help to educate folks. So that's another thing. Sometimes it's wanting us to recommend consultants, which is another thing. Giving feedback on on documents. And sometimes it seems like it's just so people want to be able to say that they talk to us, so it's just kind of wanting to have a conversation. Um, and then a lot of people wanting us to join, whether it's advisory groups or boards or steering committees or all these other things, because so various, various things.John Fiege  A lot of things that are asking for a lot of time. Jacqui Patterson  Yes, definitely. So there's that. On the other side, though. Some, some, some groups have come and they've said, Oh, now what you said, we see what you were saying all these years ago, and are kind of pulling, you know, dusting off some memo that I may have written way back way back when say, and actually taking it seriously now. So that's been interesting. And so that, so so on a positive side, there are there are organizations, companies and so forth that are making concrete commitments as a result of what has come. Yes. And so some folks are going beyond the statements and shifted their funding priorities shifting the way that they do the work integrating, at least a more anti racist frame into the work that they do. So that kind of enlightenment and action has definitely moved the ball in an important way. For sure.John Fiege  So social movements often focus on what's wrong and what needs to change. But sometimes, they don't spend enough time imagining what could be, and getting people excited about those dreams of alternative possibilities. I've heard you talk about creating eco communities and locally controlled sustainable food and energy systems, with the potential for communities to become the owners and beneficiaries of local distributed generation and micro grid energy systems. I personally really love this kind of thinking, can you talk about some of these specific regenerative, self reliant eco-community ideas? And in how you think about what might be called utopian visions?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, definitely. So first, as I was talking about before, in terms of the type of societal shifts that we need, we know that the way each and every one of the systems around the commons are designed have been problematic, and not delivering universally what's needed. And, at best, and then at worst, actually causing harm in the generation and the delivery of, of whatever the good is. So we talk about our energy systems, we're saying we need to shift to, to more energy efficiency, to clean energy. And we need to have a distributed system of doing so we know that not only you know, whether we've we've already talked about extensively in terms of the pollution and so forth, but the energy sector, but the other thing that's important to note is the is the the energy companies in the millions...the billions of dollars in profits that they've made and how they've, they've invested that in, and not only anti-regulatory lobbying, and anti clean energy lobbying, but also invested in groups like ALEC, that push on voter suppression, water privatization, school privatization, prison privatization, etc. And so for us, when we talk about the alternative, it is about making sure that there's affordable and accessible energy for all and it's about making sure that that becomes the focus of the energy sector, versus the focus now which is on, again enclosure of wealth and power to the tune of billions of dollars. And so that's why we feel like the whole sector needs to shift. And so that's just a little bit of background there. And so we we've been able to lift up the stories where people are developing, whether it's micro grids, or even larger grids in for example, on Navajo Nation. They're replacing the Navajo Generating Station, which was one of the largest, most polluting coal fired power plants in the country, and now they have a Navajo Nation owned a solar farm. That is creating energy in a way that don't pollute, and it is owned and operated by the Navajo Nation. John Fiege  That's awesome. Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, that's awesome. John Fiege  One thing that's exciting to me about the green new deal and similar ideas that came before it is, is the possibility for labor and sustainability to be on the same side for issues rather than constantly to be pitted against one another. What are your thoughts about how labor and justice and environment can can build solidarity as as we move into this new era?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah, so we put together this Black Labor Initiative on Just Transition for that very reason. So that we are all talking together at the same table with a common agenda, we were speaking at the coalition of Black Trade Union this meeting a couple of years ago. And when someone asked us about the Cold Blooded Report, and we spoke on that, then someone raised their hand in the audience, and they were like, "Well, we're from the United Mine Workers of America. And we kind of take exception to this Cold Blooded framing." And so we really had a chat about that. And understood where they were coming from, and really kind of talk about how we had reached out to them, we put together the Black Labor Initiative on Just Transition a couple of years before. And we would love if they consider coming back to the table there. And so they they did, and we really had a great conversation that resulted in...I was going literally from that meeting, to a meeting of the 100% Building Blocks, which is being put together by this 100% Renewable Network. And so as one of the authors of the Building Blocks, I really pushed hard for us to have a building block that's dedicated  to labor. And it was out of that conversation that I said, we need to have, like, right alongside the renewable portfolio standards and the energy efficiency standards we need to have in just right in tandem demands for high road jobs, for pensions, and for health care for transitioning workers. Like that can be like an afterthought, and "Oh, we need to do this too." It's not like, it's like, these are the things we need to do not like we need to do this too, because that automatically is like, but no, like we like these are the things we need to do. No caveat, no qualifier. Just like these are the things; renewable portfolio, standard energy, local higher provision, disadvantaged business, enterprise division, health, you know, health care, pensions and high road jobs for transitioning workers are inextricably tied prerequisites for this transition.John Fiege  Yeah, and that goes back to what you talked about before of rooting, the work in the dialogue with with multiple groups, multiple people, multiple stakeholders, and finding truth through that negotiation discussion, rather than imposing it in some theoretical way on top of other people.  So when the internet started to roll out in the 1990s, and 2000s, there was this, what was called the digital divide. Well, you know, wealthier, whiter, more urban communities got access to computers and the Internet, poorer communities, more rural communities, communities of color, were often not at the negotiating table and left out of the digital revolution. Some people are concerned that the rapid shift to green energy could cause a similar divide. Maybe you know, you could maybe call it a "green divide." What's your view on, on how this concern is playing out? And what do you see as the key elements to understanding what's going on and what to do about it?Jacqui Patterson  Yeah. So before what I was talking about one of the groups wiping off the dust off of a memo I had written some years ago, it was on that very thing, basically saying that, you know, how we need to have leadership of frontline groups in the new energy economy. And again, similar to what I was just saying about Black labor and labor in general, that it can't be an afterthought, like you can't continue to focus as a sole industry on quote-unquote, the low hanging fruit or this false notion that "a rising tide lifts all boats." And so that's all to say that, uh, that we need to make sure that we're working with with, with the, with the policies to make sure that we have clean energy in terms of universal access, we have to make sure that we're working with communities to make sure that they understand what the routes are to be able to access, we have to work with these regulatory agencies, whether it's for FERC, or, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or the PCs and the PSCs, to make sure that they are, that they're holding these utilities accountable for practices that are pushing us to where we need to go as a society towards clean and efficient energy. So all of that needs to happen in concert to make sure that we don't have those kinds of separations, in terms of who acts who's accessing it, who's paying the price. John Fiege  That your narrative doesn't get co opted by people with a furious intention for using that narrative. That's exactly ridiculous. Yeah. Well, going back to young Jackie, growing up in the south side of Chicago, how has your thinking changed since then, about who you are, and about your relationship to the rest of life on the planet?Jacqui Patterson  Hmm. One is, I see that...for one thing I now understand in a way that I now understand the relationship between whether I turn the light switch on, you know, this, this relationship to this larger world, like this, literally the implications of turning my life switch on and were, like, tracing that back to its roots, and then tracing it out to its impacts. Similarly to, if I "throw something away"  knowing know where that will go and what its impacts will be like. So now just from being that innocent child who, who didn't, who didn't have a sense of that larger world, now I see all of that. And see like my, my, the importance of my individual actions, but then the importance of my actions as a part of a collective, and the and the possibilities of a change as a change agent, and shifting from a person who kind of life happened to me, to someone who is actually able to influence what's happening in in the world in a different way. So that's a major shift. Also, just like the innocence of childhood, I was were aware of racism fairly early on, because it was a constant refrain with my mom, and so forth. My brother, a

What does decentralized ownership of renewable energy really look like and why does it matter? We sat down with John Farrell to find out.

In this episode of Climate Discourse, Kate speaks to Leonie Reins about her career, bridging the gap between academia and practice, her recent publications and the kindness of the climate law community.  

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guest Jean Su discuss how legal advocacy for energy democracy can overcome some of the utility hurdles to a renewable energy economy.… Read More

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guest Jean Su discuss how legal advocacy for energy democracy can overcome some of the utility hurdles to a renewable energy economy.… Read More

On this episode of Building Local Power, John Farrell, Director of ILSR's Energy Democracy initiative, speaks with Representative Seth Berry, House Chair of the Maine Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology. Farrell and Berry discuss how consumer ownership of the electricity system could prioritize service, reliability, and clean power. Their conversation also touches on: Berry's background in energy policy work. Recent developments in Maine, including the legislature passing a bill which would have created a consumer-owned replacement for the private utility Central Maine Power / Versant. The bill was then vetoed by the governor. Why the legislature felt compelled to take action regarding Central Maine Power, including the company's high costs, poor customer service and reliability, lack of accountability, and absentee ownership. How the fight for consumer ownership will continue in the state.   “Important concept here: the utilities profit more when they build more. That is the fundamental truth of the US investor owned regulatory system, the more you build the more you make.”   Related Resources Our Power Maine Maine House Bill 1708 Mainers Consider Putting Electricity, Internet in Local Hands (Episode 103) Is Energy Still a “Natural Monopoly”? (Episode 104) Should Big Utilities Pay for Their Bad Choices? — Episode 124 of Local Energy Rules The Role of Antitrust Law in Creating Energy Justice — Episode 127 of Building Local Power ILSR coverage of Green Mountain Power A summary of the Bluefield and Hope SCOTUS decisions that laid the framework for utility regulation and compensation: Utility Rates: Fair, Just and Reasonable A helpful chart of utility return on equity (ROE): Gearing Up for Grid Modernization Transcript Jess Del Fiacco: Hello, and welcome to Building Local Power, a podcast dedicated to thought provoking conversations about how we can challenge corporate monopolies and expand the power of people to shape their own future. Jess Del Fiacco: I am Jess Del Fiacco, the host of Building Local Power and Communications Manager here at the Institute for Local Self Reliance. For more than 45 years, ILSR has worked to build thriving, equitable communities, more power, wealth and accountability remain in local hands. In this week's episode, ILSR Co-director, John Farrell interviews Representative, Seth Berry of Main. Seth actually joined us on the show a few months ago, and today he'll catch us up on the movement toward public power in Maine. With that, I'm going to hand it off to John and Seth. John Farrell: Well, welcome to another edition of Building Local Power, a podcast of the Institute for Local Self Reliance, where we confront the issues of corporate concentration and the solutions that allow communities to advance and control their future. John Farrell: Joining me today is Representative Seth Berry, he's in the House Chair of the Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Utilities, Energy and Technology in Maine. He's been working on some terrific legislation that we've been following and I'm so glad that he can join me today. Seth, welcome to the program. Seth Berry: It's great to be with you, John. Big fan of all your work. John Farrell: Well, I often ask guests when I start our conversations, what has motivated them to be interested in the energy sector. I feel like the issue that you're working on, which is around this concept of ownership of the transmission grid in Maine, was probably more thrust upon you from what I understand of the different challenges that have come up and the complaints that consumers have had. But did you have an interest or a history of working on energy issues before this became such a central issue in Maine? Seth Berry: I did, actually. I'm 52-years old, grew up in Maine, and came of age during the '70s when energy was very much talked about for somewhat different reasons. Climate change was something that a few people w...

John Farrell, Director of ILSR's Energy Democracy initiative, interviews Representative Seth Berry, House Chair of the Maine Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology. … Read More

Edgardo Sepulveda, a telecoms regulatory economist, returns to the Decouple podcast to discuss energy equity and how it relates to discussions of energy poverty and energy democracy with a deep dive of the June 2 PUblic Power Resolution tabled by Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman.   Electricity is considered a “necessity good” in economics. For a variety of reasons in the industrialized world people will use about the same amount regardless of income. Given, however, that income is not evenly distributed this means that lower income households will spend between 5% to 10% of their income of electricity, compared to just 1% by high-income households.    This results in energy poverty. Edgardo describes the types of programs established to mitigate its depth and incidence. There is broad consensus that such programs have not been sufficient, and together with the climate crisis this has resulted in calls for “energy democracy”, a term first introduced by US activists in the 2000s that has gained traction in Canada and Europe.    Edgardo reviewed a sample of the literature and noted that while there is no accepted definition, it tends to mean greater “energy citizenship” – broader participation in decision-making processes – and also greater individual and community control of energy infrastructure, with a strong preference for localism and renewables. A good conceptual review article is: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629620303431  Nevertheless, the empirical evidence is that energy democracy's gains have been modest and many of the policies to promote greater individual and community control of energy have been regressive – that is have resulted in greater income inequality. Figure 7 of this ex-post review shows that 29 of 37 studies looking at feed-in tariffs or NEM were regressive and 7 neutral; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abc11f  Chris and Edgardo close off the episode discussing the June 2 “Public Power” Resolution tabled in the US House of Representatives (HR) by Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) & Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), two members of the “Squad.”  The Resolution calls for the Federal government to acquire all private electricity assets and transfer them to lower jurisdictional levels and communities, while requiring 100% renewable generation.    In @Dr_Keefer's words the @CoriBush & @JamaalBowmanNY resolution advocates for an "occupy wallstreet grid." Its ideological commitment to small is beautiful localism, 100% renewables & magical thinking about the grid makes a public power bill into a danger to the public.   As such, the resolution appeats to be a good example of how energy democracy is seen by progressives in the US and provided Chris and Edgardo with a concrete proposal to discuss. https://bush.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/bush.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/Bush%20Public%20Power%20Resolution%20FINAL.pdf Edgardo's Twitter handle is @E_R_Sepulveda

This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, speaks some truth to POWER with three guests from PPL Shareholders for Energy Democracy. Wallace McMullen, Deborah Novgarodoff, and Kimberly Brown are all part of a group of concerned citizens and shareholders believes: - LG&E/KU should financially support the community, especially those struggling financially.  - LG&E should fund community development in Louisville’s West end, and - LG&E should provide vigorous residential efficiency programs which target low-income and minority residents. - LG&E/KU should not ask for punishing rate increases on residential and small business customers.  - LG&E should stop asking for mandatory connection fees that are ridiculously high. $1.30 per day (for gas and electricity) is about 4 times too high.*  This charge should only cover the cost of sending the monthly bills. Similar argument for KU wanting $18.50/month for just the mandatory electric connection.   *[They got $1.10 per day in the rate case settlement] - LG&E/KU should stop trying for really high profits that exploit its customers,  i.e., an unusually high guaranteed ‘rate of return’ on it’s operations. (10.0%).  The company should financially support the customers’ communities, and price its services accordingly. - LG&E should stop trying to charge us for ‘smart meters’, both gas and electric.  We customers don’t need and don’t want that $400 million charge for new meters, especially given that the existing meters are expected to work well for another 10 years. - LG&E/KU should accept Net Metering as it currently operates in Kentucky, and stop trying to devalue it. - LG&E/KU should stop spending big dollars lobbying for policies that hurt its customers, e.g., the SB100 attack on net metering. - LG&E should end its Bernheim/Jim Beam pipeline proposal in Bullitt County. Instead, Jim Beam should electrify and operate with large solar installations.  At the least, pipeline should be rerouted to a mutually agree route that lets landowners keep their generational farms, allows the proposed large-scale solar installation, keeps the environmental covenant on the Bernheim Forest land, and does not go through the Bernheim Forest. - LG&E should stop dominating GLI to it’s own benefit. - LG&E’s Solar$hare is a rip-off Together they will be raising some pointed questions at the holding company, PPL’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, May 18th! As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW! Sustainability Now! airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at http://forwardradio.org The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at http://appalatin.com

In this second of a two part series, John Farrell, Director of Energy Democracy at the Institute for Local Self Reliance,  walks us through how the power and influence of investor owned utilities is trampling customers and how necessary changes in that relationship can benefit all parties.

In this first of a special two part interview, John Farrell, Director of Energy Democracy with the Institute of Local Self Reliance, describes the challenges and barriers we face in shifting to clean local energy and the programs his leading think tank believes will move us toward a more equitable energy future. 

Brianna Knisley is TN Field Coordinator for the Energy Democracy Program at Appalachian Voices. Bri's passion for rural solutions was formed through her upbringing in a community struggling with economic, social and environmental issues faced by many rural places across the U.S. In the episode we talk about, “Energy Democracy” which is local people having control of how their electricity is produced and distributed to ensure everyone has access to affordable and clean power. Two decades into the 21st century, advances in solar panels, battery storage, modernized electric grids and other technologies are revolutionizing how our electricity can be produced and distributed. But large utility companies with monopoly control over the market are keeping us locked into using increasingly expensive polluting fuels like coal and fracked gas to generate our electricity. But a movement toward Energy Democracy is growing across Appalachia and throughout the country. Local individuals and groups are standing up to demand a seat at the table with decision makers to ensure we transition to a system that is affordable and fair, provides community wealth and jobs, and is built on clean, renewable energy. With Brianna we discuss what energy democracy is and its importance, what's going on with energy democracy in TN - specifically with Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), actions they do, suggestions to the Biden Administration's transition team, and how you can support their work. Appalachian Voices: https://appvoices.org/energydemocracy/tennessee/ Energy Democracy FB group: Bull Run Plant Closing and next steps: https://www.power-eng.com/coal/tva-offers-qa-on-issues-surrounding-coal-fired-bull-run-closure/#gref https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14022019/tva-coal-power-plants-shut-down-vote-trump-mcconnell-pressure-paradise-kentucky-bull-run-tennessee/ TVA Coal Ash: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/hundreds-workers-who-cleaned-countrys-worst-coal-ash-spill-are-now-sick-and-dying

This week we talked energy co-ops and energy democracy! The co-ops: Co-Energy: http://coenergy.coop Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative: https://www.orec.ca Some academic articles Leslie Anne read: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00139157.2019.1564212 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629617303031 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2018.00043/full Park Slope grocery coop in Brooklyn, New York: https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/25/the-grocery-store-where-produce-meets-politics/amp Lion Sounds from Zapsplat.com

    Listen, support, and interact: https://linktr.ee/theentrylevelleft     The ELL gang talks to friend of the show, PhD student - Management and Sustainability, Luiza Brabo Catala about Energy Democracy, Fuel Poverty, and the union struggle for decentralizing energy systems.       Strategies of Energy Democracy - James Angel: https://bit.ly/3ei8MFx     Resist, Reclaim, Restructure; Unions: https://bit.ly/2TKssII     Political Power & Renewable Energy Futures: https://bit.ly/3212vco       Music produced by @southpointe__ on Instagram Remix by friend of the show, Phil Buck - nematoderecords.com

The “Polluter Elites” have maintained their grip on energy sources, according to Jennie C. Stephens, Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University, and our society needs to change to an “Energy Democracy” to move forward. Her recent book, “Diversifying Power: Why We Need Antiracist Feminist Leadership on Climate and […] The post “Energy Democracy” Bringing energy locally to empower the ... appeared first on WORT 89.9 FM.

What kind of leadership do human societies need right now? What areas of focus are most germaine to addressing climate change?         This Earthworms conversation explores these questions with Jennie C. Stephens, Northeastern University professor and director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, and author of the new book DIVERSIFYING POWER - Why We Need Antiracist, Feminist Leadership on Climate and Energy (Island Press, September 2020). Stephens advocates for - and shares examples of national and local leadership in - an Energy Democracy focused enough to supplant the literal power structure of the fossil fuel Polluter Elite. With an appreciation for compassion and empathy as essential leadership qualities, Stephens recognizes the critical value of a new order to democratize the dynamics of society and the energy empowering us all.                                  THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms engineer, supported by Jon Valley and Andy Coco. Related Earthworms Conversations: Envision Charlotte (North Carolina) Rolls on Circular Economy (March 2020)

On this episode of Building Local Power, John Farrell, ILSR Co-Director and Director of the Energy Democracy initiative, interviews Scott Hempling, a lawyer and professor with decades of experience working on utility regulatory issues. Scott and John talk about why energy utilities were once considered to be “natural monopolies,” and how that assumption is being challenged by new energy technologies and the push for more choice in the energy market. Scott and John discuss: The lengths monopolies will go to retain their control of the energy industry. Scott's monthly essays and upcoming book, Regulating Mergers and Acquisitions of Public Utilities: Industry Concentration and Corporate Complication. The flawed regulatory process that has enabled the decades-long trend of consolidation in the energy industry, and why it is at odds with the current trend toward decentralized, local, customer controlled power sources. Why relying on existing monopoly providers to meet renewable energy goals may be a mistake. Update: As discussed in the podcast, Scott's book — Regulating Mergers and Acquisitions of U.S. Electric Utilities: Industry Concentration and Corporate Complication — is now available. “…when you have a century of control in a particular company, that breeds a culture of entitlement and it breeds a huge self-interest in maintaining that monopoly. So, the first thing is to recognize just the natural human instinct to protect what's yours. And a monopoly will do everything it can legally and sometimes unlawfully to protect that monopoly.” Related Resources Regulating Public Utility Performance by Scott Hempling Scott Hempling's monthly essays Transcript Jess Del Fiacco: Hello and welcome to Building Local Power, a podcast dedicated to thought provoking conversations about how we can challenge corporate monopolies and expand the power of people to shape their own future. I'm Jess Del Fiacco, the host of Building Local Power and communications manager here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. For 45 years, ILSR has worked to build thriving equitable communities where power, wealth and accountability remain in local hands. For today's episode, ILSR co-director John Farrell, interviews Scott Hempling, a lawyer, Professor, expert witness and author, who has worked on utility regulatory issues for almost 40 years. John Farrell: Scott, welcome to Building Local Power. Scott: Thank you for having me. John Farrell: So, as I was saying before, when we talk about monopoly, folks are often using this term figuratively to talk about a corporation or even a government that exercises a lot of market power, but in the electricity in industry it's literal. The entities that manage the electric grid are the only ones allowed to do it in a certain geographic area. And when we establish these monopolies, it was often because we considered them “a natural monopoly,” meaning it made the most sense economically to allow one business to have this government granted monopoly over power generation, transmission and retail sales. In terms of this concept of natural monopoly, it's a term that comes out of economics, have there been things that have changed since the time that we set this up 100 years ago? Scott: Yes, the change is dramatic. Many of us have used the term natural monopoly so often, in so many different contexts that we've forgotten what it means. Technically, a natural monopoly is a service or a product whose per unit cost declines over the entire size of the market. And so when you have a natural monopoly, the way to minimize costs for all customers, is to have only a single company. If you had multiple companies, each one would have a cost structure that was higher than necessary. And so the assumption that was made over a century ago in the electric industry was that the combination of generation, transmission, distribution and customer service, putting that all together into a single company for a single service t...

On this episode of Building Local Power, John Farrell, ILSR Co-Director and Director of the Energy Democracy initiative, interviews Scott Hempling, a lawyer and professor with decades of experience working on utility regulatory issues. Scott and John talk about why energy utilities were once considered to be "natural monopolies," and how that assumption is being challenged by new energy technologies and the push for more choice in the energy market.… Read More

German community energy projects are not just fairy tales. Today, we speak with three German community renewables projects. Frank-Michael Uhle; he's the climate action official in the county of Rhein-Hunsrück, where Europe's largest suspended footbridge, the Geierlay Bridge, was built with revenue from local wind farms. Stefan Bayerlein operates a district heat network fired with renewables in the Bavarian village of Larrieden. And Melanie Ball is a member of the all-women's co-op Windfang. References: “Gender Perspective” by IRENA: https://cms.irena.org//-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2019/Jan/IRENA_Gender_perspective_2019_EN_Summary.pdf "Energy Democracy" by Craig Morris and Arne Jungjohann: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319318905 Tricolor: https://tricolor-web.com/

We start this morning with a chat with Alexander Dunlap about his article End the green delusions: industrial scale -renewable energy is fossil fuel plus.Followup with a critque of his article and the film Planet of the Humans by  a fellow 3cr broadcaster from Friday Breakfast Zane Alcorn.In the final half hour of the program we actually will return to these issues but from a particularly Australian perspective with a word from Kate Lee from Apheda - Union Aid Abroad and Trevor Gaul - National Policy Research Officer for the Electrial Trade Union. They were part of a zoom forum co-hosted by the Search Foundation starring Professor Sean Sweeney called Energy Democracy and Energy Ownership in the context of the Corona Crisis and are part of an international group called Trade Unions for Energy Democracry.

This Podcast features Dr Sandeep Pandey who was a speaker for the Sustainable Development e-Talks (#SDGtalks) - a special series, co-hosted by CNS and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore from World Health Day (7 April 2020) to World Environment Day (5 June 2020). He spoke on "Energy democracy is key for sustainable development."Be welcome to listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, aCast, Podtail, BluBrry, and other podcast streaming platforms. Dr Sandeep Pandey is a noted Gandhian activist for almost thirty years now, and Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, who has taught in several Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), NALSAR, and universities in India and other countries. He has led National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), Asha Parivar, and is the Vice President of Socialist Party (India) too. He did his BTech from IIT BHU, MS from Syracuse University and PhD from University of California, Berkeley. He co-founded Asha For Education in US, and Asha Trust in India. He has led several foot marches against use of nuclear energy and in support of a just and social order for all. Follow him on Twitter @Sandeep4JusticeHe was in conversation with CNS Managing Editor and Executive Director Shobha Shukla, who is also the coordinator of Asia Pacific media network to end TB & tobacco, and prevent NCDs (APCAT Media). For more information, be welcome to visit www.bit.ly/sdgtalks ThanksCNS team

We hear a lot about technologies that produce carbon-free energy, but what about actually using less energy to begin with? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned Climate), Harvey Michaels, lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to explore the three ways that energy efficiency can help us reduce carbon emissions.Harvey Michaels, an MIT alumnus now lecturing at the MIT Sloan School of Management, researches energy management and efficiency and smart-grid-related opportunities to mitigate climate change. He is a member of Future of the Grid at the MIT Energy Initiative, Efficiency Forward at the Sloan Sustainability Initiative, and Project Faculty for Energy Democracy at the MIT Media Lab. Prior to joining MIT, Harvey Michaels worked at energy efficiency companies Xenergy and Aclara Software.Season two of TILclimate focuses on our global energy system, its relationship to climate change, and what our options are for keeping the lights on while creating a clean energy future. We're partnering with the MIT Energy Initiative, which will air longer interviews with each guest to take a deeper dive into these topics.For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.eduFor related energy podcasts from the MIT Energy Initiative, visit:http://energy.mit.edu/podcast/For a list of U.S. energy efficiency incentives for by state, visit: https://www.dsireusa.org/Check out this case study on the Bullitt Center in Seattle, which achieved a certification called the Living Building Challenge. The building is so energy efficient, the solar panels on its roof generate more electricity than the building needs:http://www.bullittcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/living-proof-bullitt-center-case-study.pdfWant to know how energy efficient your lightbulbs are?  Check out this comparison: https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/save-electricity-and-fuel/lighting-choices-save-you-money/how-energy-efficient-lightHere is a resource comparing the cost to fuel an electric car versus a gasoline car:https://www.energy.gov/articles/egallon-how-much-cheaper-it-drive-electricityCreditsLaur Hesse Fisher, Host and ProducerDavid Lishansky, Editor and ProducerJessie Hendricks, Graduate Student WriterAaron Krol, Contributing WriterDarya Guettler, Student Production AssistantMusic by Blue Dot SessionsArtwork by Aaron KrolProduced by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“Millions of New Yorkers right now are at risk of overcoming a public health crisis just to enter a debt crisis instead,” says Mohini Sharma, organizer of the Rochester for Energy Democracy campaign. “What the COVID 19 pandemic is really exposing is how woefully and dangerously inadequate so many of our institutions have always been in serving what’s good for people. Our energy system is really ruled by private oil and gas companies and investor-owned utilities,” she says. Sharma spoke with WXIR's Darien Lamen about the campaign's demands and COVID relief efforts. Original air date: 4/24/20

Jess Del Fiacco talks with ILSR Co-Director John Farrell about recent publications from ILSR's Energy Democracy initiative, including the 2020 Community Power Scorecard and a report on community choice energy. … Read More

We’re talking all about the upcoming Census 2020, and the “My Family Matters, My Family Counts" campaign!  In this episode, Maria Dautruche, Vice President for Foundation Partnerships at the National Urban League joins Hiba, Chevon, and Elana Needle, to talk about her work in fundraising, racial equity, civic engagement, and discusses her role in the reproductive justice field as co-founder of New Voices For Reproductive Justice.  Maria describes the framework of the “My Family Matters, My Family Counts” campaign, answers questions about families being accurately counted on Census Day, and talks about the impact of the census on communities of color in the next decade.   We preview “What is Energy Democracy?”, our new video available on YouTube, that uplifts the events of the 2019 Strategic Energy Democracy Convening. Thirty-six energy democracy leaders from across the nation convened to build collective power around the mission of advancing the movement to democratize energy, while placing an important emphasis on the centrality of race to energy issues. *Producer’s note: In this episode there are references to in-person organizing for Census 2020. In the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Emergency, we encourage all organizing to take place by phone or online. Please see our official statement below.  RACE FORWARD STATEMENT ON THE CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY, OFFICIAL RESPONSE AND ITS IMPACTS ON COMMUNITIES OF COLOR Resources (by order of mention)  My Family Votes, My Family Counts https://makemyfamilycount.org Census Website (take the census online) https://my2020census.gov/ What Is Energy Democracy? (Video) https://bit.ly/2IMsGt5 W.K. Kellogg Foundationhttps://www.wkkf.org/who-we-are/overview National Urban Leaguehttps://nul.org New Voices For Reproductive Justice http://www.newvoicespittsburgh.org Racial Equity Anchor Twitterhttps://twitter.com/REAnchors Maria Dautruche Twitter https://twitter.com/MariaDautruche Maria Dautruce Instagram https://twitter.com/MariaDautruche My Black Counts Instagram https://www.instagram.com/myblackcounts About Race Forward:  Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Race Forward imagines a just, multiracial, democratic society, free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose. Follow Race Forward on social media Follow us on Facebook:www.facebook.com/raceforward Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/raceforward Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/raceforward Building Racial Equity (BRE) Trainingshttps://www.raceforward.org/trainings Facing Race 2020:https://facingrace.raceforward.org Subscribe to our newsletter:www.raceforward.org/subscribe Executive Producers: Hendel Leiva and Melissa Franqui 

Featuring the latest news in activist campaigns and struggles against oppression fighting for a better world with anti-capitalist analysis on current affairs and international politics. Australian NewsCoronavirus sparks racism https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/coronavirus-sparks-outbreak-racismInterviews and DiscussionA discussion with presenter Meghan Street about the conclusion of the Gandolfo Gardens campaign which was a campaign to stop the chopping of ancient trees in the suburb of Coburg in Melbourne and what it reveals about the nature of the state government and how they respond to the concerns of the community. Listen to the discussion here.A interview with member of the Democrat Socialists of America (DSA) Issac Silver in the United States about the Democrat primaries currently underway and the Bernie Sanders campaign specifically focusing on the results in Iowa and the politics of the Democrat establishment who are spooked about the potential possibility of a Bernie Sanders victory. Listen to the interview here A interview with the executive director of the United Workers Union Godfrey Moase on a new world-wide initative by the Trade Unions known as Trade Unions for Energy Democracy what it is advocating for and what just transitions means for workers around the world fighting for solutions to the Climate Crisis. Listen to the interview here.

The electric grid are networks that carry electricity from central power plants to our homes. But how exactly is electricity generated and brought to our door? And what needs to change if we’re going to transition to generating “clean” electricity? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), Harvey Michaels, lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to explain the history and perhaps surprising features of the electric grid, and what changes are in store for the future.This episode launches a new season of TILclimate that will explain our global energy system, its relationship to climate change, and what our options are for keeping the lights on while creating a clean energy future. For this season, TILclimate is partnering with the MIT Energy Initiative, which will air longer interviews with each guest to take a deeper dive into these topics.Harvey Michaels, an MIT alumnus now lecturing at the MIT Sloan School of Management, researches energy management and efficiency and smart-grid-related opportunities to mitigate climate change. He is a member of Future of the Grid at the MIT Energy Initiative, Efficiency Forward at the Sloan Sustainability Initiative, and Project Faculty for Energy Democracy at the MIT Media Lab. Prior to joining MIT, Harvey Michaels worked at energy efficiency companies Xenergy and Aclara Software.For more episodes of TILclimate, visit: tilclimate.mit.eduTo listen to the MIT Energy Initiative podcast, visit: energy.mit.edu/podcastFor in-depth analyses on energy technologies, check out the MIT Energy’s “Future of” report series: energy.mit.edu/research-type/future-of/ Credits·     Laur Hesse Fisher, Host and Producer·     David Lishansky, Editor and Producer·     Rachel Fritts, Graduate Student Writer·     Olivia Burek, Student Production Assistant·     Music by Blue Dot Sessions·     Artwork by Aaron KrolProduced by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

On this week's podcast, Paul and Wally discuss the attendance of two of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's top staffers in New York at a radical anti-energy conference sponsored by the Rockefeller Brothers Trust.   Proponents of "Democracy Dollars" which will appear on Albuquerque voters' ballots won't debate with opponents. The supposed proponents of good, open government want to use the muscle of the myriad left-wing "grassroots" groups to push the issue through on ballots.   New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Alicia Keyes makes a bogus case for film subsidies.   And in a special bonus segment, Paul talks with Cindy Glover, a data analyst with Crestline Promotional Products, about her study regarding whether consumers "shop in a manner consistent with their values." You can see the study here.     

Cymene and Dominic wonder whether Brexit or Impeachment will make for better political theater in the months ahead. Then (14:22) we talk to three wonderful folks who are in the process of assembling the Routledge Handbook of Energy Democracy, an interdisciplinary gathering of contributions spanning scholarly and activist engagements. Our three guests are Danielle Endres (https://www.danielleendres.com), Andrea Feldpausch-Parker (https://andreafeldpausch-parker.weebly.com) and Tarla Peterson  (https://www.utep.edu/liberalarts/communication/people/faculty/faculty-pages/tarla-peterson.html). We talk about the distinctive forms that the energy democracy movement is taking both inside and outside the academy, some of the projects that inspire them, strategies for making energy systems more visible and open to citizen intervention, whether renewable energy can renew democracy, the danger of participation fatigue, and much much more!

Building a new Eskom: Fully Public and Serving the People with Daniel Chavez, Sean Sweeney and Brian Ashley The crisis at ESKOM must not be used to further liberalise and privatise the energy sector. The proposal to break-up ESKOM into different companies WILL lead to greater privatisation of the energy sector. Electricity will become more expensive and jobs will be lost. Another strategy is possible and necessary. A “New Eskom” is necessary. Eskom must remain publicly owned, but it must be radically transformed and the process of corporatization and marketization that began in the late 1980s must be reversed. AIDC together with NUMSA, NUM and other trade unions, supported by Trade Unions for Energy Democracy and Transnational Institute are developing proposals for addressing the crisis of ESKOM in ways that enhance energy democracy and a just transition to a low carbon development path. With inputs from Daniel Chavez (TNI), Sean Sweeney(TUED) and Brian Ashley (AIDC)

Known as the guru of distributed energy, John Farrell is the co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and directs its work on energy democracy. John is best known for his vivid illustrations of the economic and environmental benefits of local ownership of decentralized renewable energy.   On this podcast episode, John sheds light on how we came to develop and rely on our current centralized, top-down power grids today that are mostly driven by utility monopolies; why we need to not only shift towards renewable energy but also work towards energy democracy and the decentralization of power sources; why some utility companies may at the same time be supporting solar energy while lobbying against it; and more.   Episode notes: www.greendreamer.com/164   Weekly solutions-based news: www.greendreamer.com    Support the show: www.greendreamer.com/support    Instagram: www.instagram.com/greendreamerpodcast

Show page available: https://ilsr.org/the-environment-the-economy-and-equity-denise-fairchild-ler-83/ | On this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Denise Fairchild, President of the Emerald Cities Collaborative, about Energy Democracy. As co-editor of the book, Fairchild helps explain the concept of energy democracy to Farrell for a recent episode of ILSR's Building Local Power podcast, republished in a slightly shorter version for Local Energy Rules. | Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-rules-podcast-homepage | Don't forget to subscribe, share with your friends, leave a recommendation on our podcast feeds, and join the conversation online using the #LocalEnergyRules hashtag!

Denise Fairchild, Author of Energy Democracy Host John Farrell speaks with Denise Fairchild, President of Emerald Cities Collaborative and author of Energy Democracy. Denise and John delve into the connections between the environment, the economy and equity. They also discuss: The benefits of decentralizing control of and ownership over our energy system. What is energy democracy and what does it look like to achieve energy democracy? Parallels between the abolition movement and the fight for energy democracy How do we undo past harm to communities of color to ensure they have access to the money and resources to transition to clean energy and engage in energy democracy? How a bottom up approach to clean energy can scale rapidly   Energy democracy is a way to reimagine, re-engineer, rebuild our economy. It acknowledges the intersectional relationship between the environment, economy and equity. And recognizes that fixing income inequality, fixing racism, fixing gender inequality, fixing environmental degradation really requires changing an economy that's screwing up everything.   Related Resources Energy Democracy Emerald Cities Collaborative How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality by Matthew Desmond Democratizing the Electricity System How ILSR defines energy democracy and the 4 steps to get there The big picture, ILSR's anti-monopoly and pro-local approach to advancing energy democracy Transcript John Farrell: Welcome to Building Local Power. I'm your host, John Farrell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. For this episode We're talking energy democracy. It's not just a concept, but a wonderful book edited by Denise Fairchild and Al Weinraub and Denise, President of the Emerald Cities Collaborative, joins me today to talk about the book. Welcome, Denise. Denise Fairchild: Well, thank you John. Glad to be on the program and have a conversation about this important topic. John Farrell: Yes. Well I just want to say thank you again for taking time and thank you for putting together this book. It was delightful. I really enjoyed reading it, especially as I work on energy democracy issues through the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and many of the organizations that we collaborate with. I was hoping that we could start with a story of how energy democracy is playing out. You know, is there something happening out in the world that you see sort of embodying this notion of energy democracy that you draw inspiration from? Denise Fairchild: Well, you know the book itself that Al and I put together really is a book of stories. There's stories of all the wonderful efforts that are going on in the grassroots frontline communities, really trying to bring energy into a clean energy future that's owned and controlled by communities. So I mean we, you know, the voices of nontraditional environmentalists, as you might think about it, are, it's just what the book is about, from the young suburban high school students who just wanted to put solar on their roofs and accidentally politicized an entire community that is now fueling a national co-op movement. I mean, I love that story, but then there's, there's a story of immigrant refugees, Chinese immigrants, basically monolingual populations on the west coast that are not only fighting Chevron and in the fossil fuel industry because it's keeping them in the hospital with respiratory and asthma cases. But they are, these are folks that are now at the forefront of California's progressive energy policies. But what's most even compelling about that, is that they're also participating in rallies for black lives matter as an example, because they're seeing the connections between the environment, the economy and equity. That is all sort of rooted in this notion of how our economies is screwing everybody or even the fight of the local clean energy alliance, which is fighting to make community choice a reality are really about community and not...

You’re listening to Revolutions Per Minute on WBAI, a socialist radio show and podcast from members of New York City Democratic Socialists of America. NYC-DSA is the biggest chapter of the largest socialist organization in the United States. We are run by our 5,500+ members and organizers who are working together to build democratic socialism in all five boroughs.

In this episode of Local Energy Rules, we revisit an earlier episode from our archives in which ILSR's Director of Energy Democracy, John Farrell speaks with Mariel Nanasi of New Mexico's New Energy Economy about how the citizens of Santa Fe could bene...

In this episode of Local Energy Rules, we revisit an earlier episode from our archives in which ILSR’s Director of Energy Democracy, John Farrell speaks with Mariel Nanasi of New Mexico’s New Energy Economy about how the citizens of Santa Fe could benefit from the economic and environmental benefits of switching to a city-owned utility. … Read More

Sean Sweeneys innledning på Wahl-konferansen 28. november 2018 Fagbevegelsen og klimakrisa – hvor står vi? Historisk utgjør klimakrisa den nyeste, dramatiske trusselen vi står overfor. Her kan vi ikke forhandle og kompromisse. Enten gjør vi det som er nødvendig for å holde den globale temperaturøkningen nede, eller så må vi ta de dramatiske konsekvensene med klimakatastrofe. Er fagbevegelsen i stand til å lede kampen? Hvilke allianser trenger vi – og klarer vi å skape dem? Innledning av Sean Sweeney, koordinator av Trade Unions for Energy Democracy, USA

In 2018, numerous states, utilities, and cities made big resolutions to shift to 100 percent clean energy. In a special New Year's episode of Local Energy Rules, John Farrell and Marie Donahue from ILSR's Energy Democracy team discuss their take on thi...

In 2018, numerous states, utilities, and cities made big resolutions to shift to 100 percent clean energy. In a special New Year’s episode of Local Energy Rules, John Farrell and Marie Donahue from ILSR’s Energy Democracy team discuss their take on this “Year of 100.” The two recap the year’s most notable clean energy commitments and what’s on the horizon for local, renewable energy in 2019.… Read More

Nearly 100 U.S. cities of different sizes have made formal commitments to 100 percent renewable energy. In our sixth episode of Voices of 100%, a multi-part series of Local Energy Rules, we feature the small town of Abita Springs, the first city in Louisiana to set such a goal. LeAnn Magee, who chairs the grassroots, volunteer-led Abita Committee for Energy Sustainability that helped pass the town’s resolution, speaks with co-director of ILSR and Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell about the motivations for and approach to Abita Springs’ commitment — starting with municipal buildings and advocating for community solar.… Read More

In this episode of Building Local Power, host Nick Stumo-Langer sits down with Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell to discuss John's latest report on solar and storage. … Read More

L-R: Christopher Mitchell, Stacy Mitchell, and John Farrell If you've been a fan of our site for any amount of time, you might have noticed that we feature a number of policies and projects from Vermont as paradigms of local self-reliance. That's why we had three of our policy experts sit down and discuss what is going right in the Green Mountain State. How did Vermont come to have more small businesses and fewer big-box stores per capita than any other state? Why does it have a much higher rate of rooftop solar installation than many sunnier regions? And how has Vermont become a leader in developing community-based Internet access solutions? In this episode of the Building Local Power podcast, host and Community Broadband Networks initiative director Christopher Mitchell sits down with co-director and Community-Scaled Economy initiative director Stacy Mitchell and Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell to answer those questions. The three all note the high level of civic engagement in Vermont and the way that it contributes to an environment conducive to strong local economies. “[T]his has been bottom up and it's not that there's something magical about [Vermont's] state government being enlightened so much as it is that citizens have really driven this process… It speaks to the importance of hands-on democracy and the role that we all have in that,” argues Stacy Mitchell of the myriad pro-local economy policies happening in the Green Mountain State. Related Resources Throughout the conversation, Stacy, John, and Chris all mention research and reporting on the exciting ways that Vermont is enabling local self-reliance: Vermont's Act 250 Policy — This policy, which Stacy mentions as enabling responsible economic development, ensures local and regional review for any large-scale development project. Are Lightly Regulated States Really More Friendly to Small Businesses? — Our 2012 takedown of a popular ranking of “business friendliness,” complete with maps! Shining Cities 2018: How Smart Local Policies Are Expanding Solar Power in America, Environment America — The Burlington metropolitan area gets some love in this report from Environment America for how much rooftop solar capacity per capita there is. The 2018 Community Power State Scorecard — In the recent update to our Community Power Map, we pulled the information for all of the states at how best they enable local renewable energy. Vermont's score is referenced in this conversation. Podcast: Why Local Self-Reliance (Episode 22) — David Morris talks with Christopher Mitchell, Director of ILSR's Community Broadband Networks initiative about why the message of local self-reliance is as relevant today as it was when ILSR opened its doors in 1974. This wide-ranging conversation examines the rising concentration of economic power and cities' responses. Local Energy Rules: Mountains Beyond Mountains: How Green Mountain Power Became More Than An Electric Utility — John interviews Green Mountain Power's CEO Mary Powell about why the utility has moved to a benefit corporation structure that ensures that their investments benefit the local economy. MuniNetworks.org Tag: Vermont — As Christopher mentions, MuniNetworks.org's coverage of all the different projects in Vermont are covered very well on our blog including the history of Burlington Telecom, EC Fiber, and a number of small-scale Internet access projects. Reading & Watching Recommendations The group recommend a number of items for our audience, including: Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America by Nancy MacLean, available at your local independent bookstore from IndieBound. Stacy also recommends a talk at the University of Southern Maine regarding Democracy in Chains from the author, Nancy MacLean. Embedded below: Christopher recommends both the book series and Netflix show, Altered Carbon. Book series available at your local independent bookstore from Indie...

In September 2017, energy experts and activists from 20 countries gathered in Spain and explored how clean, renewable energy can remain in people's hands. Listen to Lavinia, Alexa, Dirk and Angel talk about energy efficiency, cooperatives, mobility, remunicipalisation and much more!

Topic:The Connection Between Race and Energy In This Episode:[01:35] Guest Denise Fairchild is introduced. [02:12] Denise explains what energy democracy is and why it’s important. [05:31] How does energy shape our political system? [08:11] Denise talks about the ownership and distribution of energy. [11:03] Denise touches on how a community ownership of energy would work and gives examples of models. [17:01] Denise tells why production decentralization matters and if distributive production meets all of our needs. [21:22] What is the connection between race and energy? [24:30] Denise describes how confronting racial issues will drive a new energy democracy. [28:29] Denise mentions the parallels between fossil fuel interests and the struggle to end slavery. [30:48] Denise shares where people can go to buy her book. Guest and Organization:Denise Fairchild is president and CEO of Emerald Cities Collaborative, a national nonprofit organization of business, labor, and community groups dedicated to climate resilience strategies that produce environmental, economic, and equity outcomes. She is co-editor of the new book “Energy Democracy: Advancing Equity in Clean Energy Solutions”. Take Away Quotes:“It’s interesting that we are really seeing the reason for economic democracy when we look at what’s going on in Puerto Rico right now. It is the prime example about how the burning of fossil fuel is leading to climate crisis, that’s led to the loss of life and property, showing that the fossil fuel economy, the extractive economy, not only impacted our environment but our economy.” “Our current economy, our dirty energy economy, is also impacting issues of equity. Dirty energy lifts up the racial inequality that exists in our current capitalist economy. Those that are most challenged by and vulnerable to the impacts of dirty energy are low-income people.” “Energy democracy’s addressing the challenges of a centralized monopoly over energy where profit matters more than planet and people.” “If you can put the source of energy on your rooftop or in a community, two or three miles from where energy’s going to be used, you’re going to save 20 or 30% more in terms of the cost of transmitting energy.” Resources:http://emeraldcities.org/ (Emerald Cities Collaborative) https://islandpress.org/books/energy-democracy (“Energy Democracy: Advancing Equity in Clean Energy Solutions”) https://islandpress.org/urban-resilience-project (Island Press Urban Resilience Project) Download the Island Press APP! Learn more about the APP https://islandpress.org/get-our-app (here), and find it on https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.islandpress.islandpressdiscoveryapp (Google Play) and https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/island-press/id1251388048?mt=8%10 (Apple App Store)!

Electric vehicles are enabling energy democracy. That's the takeaway from the latest Building Local Power podcast episode, a discussion between guest host and Communications Manager Nick Stumo-Langer, Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell, and Energy Democracy initiative researcher Karlee Weinmann. The conversation features a number of topics, including: the trajectory electric vehicles hold in renewable energy technology, generally; the ways that cities in the wake of recent hurricanes can rebuild to better weather the storms thanks to energy resiliency; and how residents of cities, large and small, can pressure their communities to enact better policies.… Read More

In New York, community choice aggregation is an especially compelling prospect. It dovetails with a wider effort to reorient state energy policy around renewables, distributed generation, and energy efficiency called Reforming the Energy Vision. Expected to take a decade to fully iron out, the regulatory overhaul -- which stands to reconfigure the longstanding monopoly model -- is underway. But community choice aggregation is already available, and the number of cities opting in is on the rise. John Farrell, who heads up the Energy Democracy initiative at ILSR, recently spoke with Glenn Weinberg, who helped launch Westchester Power, a community choice aggregation program for 20 communities just north of New York City.

Welcome to episode fifteen of the Building Local Power podcast. In this episode, Christopher Mitchell, the director of ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks initiative, interviews John Farrell and Karlee Weinmann, researchers for ILSR’s Energy Democracy initiative on the prospects of renewable energy … Read More

In this episode, Christopher Mitchell, the director of ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks initiative, interviews Hannah Trostle and Karlee Weinmann, Research Associates for the Community Broadband Networks and Energy Democracy initiatives, respectively. The three discuss the cooperative model of ownership and how this model can enable investment in gigabit Internet connections for their member-owners, but also how they are subject to a low participation rates in their elections.… Read More

In this podcast, Myanna Dellinger interviews Craig Morris on his experience and views regarding how the German energy sector transitioned from fossil fuels to modern energy sources through grass-roots movements. The lessons learned have been adopted by other countries and maybe there is hope of using this model for an energy transition in more stubborn countries such as the United States. Craig Morris (@PPchef) is currently a Senior Fellow at the IASS. Coauthored with Arne Jungjohann, his book Energy Democracy is the first history of Germany’s energy transition, the Energiewende. He has served as technical editor of IRENA’s REmap and of Greenpeace’s Energy (R)evolution. In 2008, he cofounded Berlin’s PV Magazine; in 2010, Renewables International. In 2012, he became lead author of EnergyTransition.de. In 2014, he won the International Association of Energy Economists’ prize for energy journalism.

In this episode, John Farrell, the director of ILSR's Energy Democracy initiative, interviews Christopher Mitchell (our usual podcast host) and Lisa Gonzalez of our Community Broadband Networks initiative. The three discuss the power of municipal broadband networks, how the power held in cities is integral to these projects, and the barriers put in place by cable monopolies to prevent these networks.… Read More

In this episode, Chris Mitchell, the director of our Community Broadband Networks initiative, interviews a roundtable of ILSR staff members. Participants are: Olivia LaVecchia of the Community-Scaled Economies initiative, Karlee Weinmann of the Energy Democracy initiative, and Nick Stumo-Langer, ILSR's Communication Manager.… Read More

In this episode, Chris Mitchell, the director of our Community Broadband Networks initiative, interviews John Farrell, the director of our Energy Democracy initiative about the concept of energy democracy and about his latest report, Is Bigger Best in Renewable Energy? John specifically outlines some of the key concepts that make up the principles of energy democracy and how locally-owned renewable energy continues to shape our electric grid in new and exciting ways.… Read More

On June 17, John Farrell delivered a keynote address to the annual Midwest Energy Fair in Custer, Wisconsin. In this presentation, John detailed the growth of renewable energy and how new technologies and smart policies can lead to the downfall of the monopoly electric utility. Thank you to the Midwest Renewable Energy Association for the recording of John's talk.

On June 17, John Farrell delivered a keynote address to the annual Midwest Energy Fair in Custer, Wisconsin. In this presentation, John detailed the growth of renewable energy and how new technologies and smart policies can lead to the downfall … Read More

Incentives designed to make rooftop solar feasible for a wider range of consumers are under attack nationwide, threatening new solar development as well as the consumers that already have rooftop panels. The staunchest opponents? Utilities who say, despite a growing body of research to the contrary, that rooftop solar hurts other ratepayers and their bottom lines. In particular, utilities have railed against net metering policies that require them to provide credits to customers that produce energy from their own solar arrays. Those programs, and other key incentives supporting rooftop solar, are at the center of fierce debates in several states -- notably in Arizona, on former U.S. Rep. Barry Goldwater Jr.'s home turf. Arizona's fraught energy policy landscape sprouted the advocacy group Tell Utilities Solar won't be Killed, or TUSK, in 2013. The group is led by Goldwater and now active in more than a dozen states facing similar discord. Goldwater spoke with ILSR's Director of Energy Democracy, John Farrell, in May 2016 about solar energy as a source of freedom and the threat from incumbent monopoly utilities.

What's wrong with the UK's current energy system? How could we make it more democratic? Mika Minio-Paluello from Platform talks about the Switched on London campaign. Weekly Economics Podcast on Twitter: www.twitter.com/weeklyeconpod Kirsty Styles on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kirstystyles1 Produced by James Shield. Programme editor for NEF: Huw Jordan. Brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the independent think tank and charity campaigning for a fairer, sustainable economy. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org. Music by Podington Bear and Johnny Ripper used under Creative Commons licence. www.soundofpicture.com www.freemusicarchive.org/music/johnny_ripper

In this episode of People's World Podcast, Head Editor Terrie Albano interviews Sean Sweeney, coordinator for Trade Unions for Energy Democracy as well as Director at the International Program for Labor, Climate, and the Environment at the Murphy Institute at City University of New York. They discuss opportunities and challenges faced by the labor movement in the face of the looming eco-crisis and the political realities surrounding the COP 21 international climate talks unfolding in Paris.

The Global Labor Institute's Dr. Sean Sweeney joins Sandy LeonVest on tonighit's Political Analysis. Sandy and Sean reflect on Tuesday's election results and the ramifications for the climate. They also discuss Energy Democracy in an increasingly undemocratic world and this November's Labor and Climate Justice Forum in NYC (moderated by  Dr. Sweeney). Other topics include the folly of Obama's "all of the above," methane-powered climate plan; the imperative of organizing a mass, "transformative" movement -- from the ground up; effective coalition building on a divided planet and current strategies for uniting various activist and grassroots groups, in the interest of saving the climate."With the threat of climate change and the likely breach of planetary resource limits, human civilization faces an energy emergency of global proportions." (from the WorldwatchInstitute’s State of the World 2014: Governing for Sustainability, co-authored by Dr. Sean Sweeney, co-director of the Global Labor Institute at Cornell University.) The book highlights the need for economic and political institutions to serve people and preserve and protect our common resources.Resources: www.worldwatch.org/…/state-world-2014-governing-sustainabilitySolarTimes FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/244748076427/www.solartimes.orgwww.solartimesnow.org

We speak with Courtney White, author of “Grass, Soil, Hope” who has traveled the world and experimented on his own ranch to find ways to sequester carbon that are sustainable and also solve other problems related to the climate crisis, water management and food security. Though the evidence for these solutions is very strong, they are not widely known yet. And we speak with Dr. Sean Sweeeney, director and founder of the Global Labor Institute, about the new international coalition Trade Unions for Energy Democracy. This coalition of unions is turning the decades-long narrative of market-based extreme energy extraction on its head. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.