Karen Hill is the President of the Tennessee Native Plant Society. The Tennessee Native Plant Society mission is to conserve and celebrate native plant communities and their habitats through education. From the Appalachian Mountains to the floodplains of the Mississippi, Tennessee’s native plant communities make one of the most botanically diverse and interesting states in the nation. 

With Karen we talk about what plants are native to the TN region, which are endangered, how insects play a vital role, and efforts they make to help bring native plants back.

Connect: TNPS@myripples.org https://www.tnps.org/

Abigail Franks who is the Membership and Policy Manager and Alexander Easdale who is the Executive Director at Southeast Climate and Energy Network. 

The Southeast Climate and Energy Network has a mission to confront the climate crisis by creating strategic alignment, growing capacity, and building power among member organizations and their communities in the Southeast. They have a huge focus on grassroots work that prioritizes and uses the knowledge that southerners already have. They know that there are challenges in the South, but there are people on the ground who have the solutions.

Contact: abigail@scen-us.org and alex@scen-us.org 

All the information we talked about can be found: https://www.scen-us.org/

Lisa Sorg is the Assistant Editor and Environmental Reporter at NC Newsline. She helps manage newsroom operations while covering the environment, climate change, agriculture and energy. She talks with me in two other so listen to episodes 8 and 11 to hear more from her.

Within the episode we mostly reference NC drinking water suppliers, although you can apply this same information to your own area. According to the EPA, there are approximately 150,000 public water systems that provide drinking water to most Americans. Customers that are served by a public water system are able to contact their local water supplier and ask for information on contaminants in their drinking water, and are encouraged to request a copy of their Consumer Confidence Report. This report lists the levels of contaminants that have been detected in the water, including those by EPA, and whether the system meets state and EPA drinking water standards. Then about 10 percent of people in the United States rely on water from private wells. Private wells are not regulated and people who use private wells need to take precautions to ensure their drinking water is safe. 

Contact or connect with Lisa: lsorg@ncnewsline.com 

Consumer Confidence Report: https://www.epa.gov/ccr/ccr-information-consumers

Drinking water info: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-your-drinking-water

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

John Runkle who is a retired Attorney at Law. Over the many years, John shared his legal skills to many BREDL campaigns  – with communities all over North Carolina. Including landfills, coal ash, nuclear plants and more. Some fights were won, others lost, but John was there to make sure folks had legal protection against being trampled by polluters or various government agencies.

Our Executive Director, Lou Zeller has said “John’s the best environmental attorney in the state, bar none,” “What he understands that many attorneys do not is how community organizing campaigns work. He will tell you if that’s a bad idea and won’t work. When we do get into a campaign John is willing to work with us side by side.”

With John we discuss the BREDL campaigns he’s worked on, how to work with attorneys in grassroots campaigns, and challenges he’s seen in his work.

Contact and connect with John: jrunkle@pricecreek.com

Highlighting John’s work:

https://www.ncwarn.org/2018/12/john-runkle-celebrating-a-lifetime/

https://www.coastalreview.org/2014/07/coastal-sketch-john-runkle/

Attorneys in Grassroots Campaigns: https://www.grassrootslaw.org/

This episode we honor Judy Hogan who is retiring as President of Chatham Citizens Against Coal Ash Dump. She has played a critical role in BREDL campaigns with CCAAD which includes victories such as Dec.16, 2020: the Administrative Law Judge Melissa Owens-Lassiter reversed her decision which had allowed coal ash to be disposed of in Chatham and Lee Counties, the communities are announcing another victory. Charah, Inc.- the company that owns the two sites, has dropped their appeal of the 2019 ruling and has agreed that no coal ash will go to Lee and Chatham County.

I also speak with Diana Hales who is a Vice Chair of the Chatham County Commissioners who has worked closely with Judy. And then Debbie Hall who is a member of Environmental Lee or ELEE for short, where she and the two chapters have worked together on past campaigns.

First I talk with Diana Hales about Judy and her work from the County Commissioners perspective. Then I speak with Debbie Hall on her personal experience and organizing with Judy. I then speak with Judy herself, and we discuss her time as President, her victories, and what this work meant to her.

Judy, Diana, and Debbie: judyhogan@mindspring.com, diana.hales@chathamcountync.gov, debhall@windstream.net

Chatham County Commissioners: https://www.chathamcountync.gov/government/board-of-commissioners/commissioner-contacts-bios#hales

Judy’s Books:

Sam Tesh is BREDL’s co-president of the board of directors of BREDL

Sam has been a part of BREDL for several decades and now serves as our Board of Directors Co-President. He has been a critical part of past BREDL campaigns such as fighting ThermalKEM’s hazardous waste incinerator He’s also worked with organizations such as GreenPeace and Sierra Club.

With Sam we discuss his background within the environmental realm, some of the BREDL campaigns he’s worked on, what the biggest problems he sees regarding the environment today, and why he keeps with this work.

Contact and connect with Sam: wtesh@surry.net

See updates and what we're doing: BREDL.org 

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Cathy Cralle Jones is a Senior Litigation Associate at the Law Offices of F. Bryan Brice, Jr. She focuses her practice on environmental litigation and has represented many property owners, business operators, and citizen groups in matters involving mold, groundwater and soil contamination, regulatory compliance, toxic torts, and land use matters. Her experience includes cases involving CERCLA, RCRA, OPHSCA, the Clean Water Act, NEPA, and the Endangered Species Act.

Cathy has been crucial in our environment justice fights in Lee, Chatham County, and surrounding counties in NC. She has written articles regarding the resolution of the challenge to the Coal Ash Fill permits in Chatham and Lee Counties.

With Cathy we discuss her journey to become an environmental attorney, campaigns she’s worked on with BREDL, 2020 victories, patterns she sees, and what keeps her coming back to this work.

Contact and connect with Cathy: http://attybryanbrice.com/our-professionals/attorneys/cathy-cralle-jones/

F Bryan Brice: http://attybryanbrice.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Law-Offices-of-F-Bryan-Brice-Jr-138332119643031/

Michael Arnold was front and center in the campaign to halt ThermalKEM’s incinerator.

On May 22th, 1989, North Carolina Senate Bill 324 (Hazardous Waste Management) was ratified by a bipartisan majority of elected representatives. North Carolina joined a five-state compact that would commit the state to site – and build – a hazardous waste incinerator for ThermalKEM, a private company. This occurred against the backdrop of a notorious incinerator that had been allowed to dangerously operate in Caldwell County with virtually no oversight by the state.

In 1990, the State of North Carolina proposed two sites in Granville County as locations for the incinerator. Residents organized with friends and supporters from around the state and – after eight months of marches, fund-raising, lawsuits, public hearings, civil disobedience, and arrests – succeeded in stopping the incinerator from being built.

Whatever It Takes is a pictorial history of the successful protest campaign. The book’s title comes from the protesters’ pledge to do “whatever it takes” to defeat the incinerator.

With Micheal we discuss his experience in this fight, what impacts a hazardous waste incinerator has, actions they did, and what led to this successful victory.

IAP (Incinerator Archive Project)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDir5d8Yy14AA54YeHHxd2w https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDir5d8Yy14AA54YeHHxd2w 

Website

http://fightoftheirlives.com

Whatever It Takes  (eBook...1,900 + pages. 500MB download)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8YiD_nYU28NMEZ6bFNrRU5kVGs/view?usp=sharing

There's more links/information  at the other video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd-xhinazp0&list=PLbfZIkjeDwoNrDYiBsTZmGA89obAMxG76&pbjreload=101

Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd-xhinazp0&list=PLbfZIkjeDwoNrDYiBsTZmGA89obAMxG76

Doc Ellen Tinsley who is a photojournalist. She is a retired veterinarian of equine medicine (horses), who’s best known for her Jordan Lake bald eagle photos and videos.

The Bald Eagle's recovery is an American success story. Forty years ago, the bald eagle, our national symbol, was in danger of extinction throughout most of its range. Habitat destruction and degradation, illegal shooting, and the contamination of its food source, due to use of the pesticide DDT, decimated the eagle population. Habitat protection afforded by the Endangered Species Act, the federal government’s banning of DDT, and conservation actions taken by the American public helped Bald Eagles make a remarkable recovery. Bald eagles no longer need Endangered Species Act protection because their population is protected, healthy, and growing.  You can find them throughout most of North American and they can be observed and awed by the public.

With Doc Ellen we discuss, what got her into photojournalism, patterns she sees in Bald Eagles through her work, prescribed burning, proper etiquette to observe eagles and what this work means to her.

Contact and connect with Doc Ellen:

https://www.facebook.com/docellen/

https://docellentinsley.smugmug.com

dreamingsongsphotos@icloud.com

http://community-sports-news.com/who-is-doc-ellen/

Prescribed Burning: https://www.nps.gov/articles/what-is-a-prescribed-fire.htm https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/prescribed-fire

Eagle Etiquette: https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/viewing.html https://www.nationaleaglecenter.org/eagle-viewing/

Bald Eagle history: https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/history/index.html

Laura Olah is Executive Director of Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger. The mission of the group is to support, unify and strengthen citizens concerned for the safety of water resources in and around the Badger Army Ammunition Plant; to effect expedient cleanup of any contamination caused by negligent handling of toxic waste; and to exercise means as necessary to guarantee water resources are totally free of toxic contamination for us and the generations to follow.

Virtually every day, the Department of Defense and its contractors burn and detonate unused munitions and raw explosives in the open air with no environmental emissions controls, often releasing toxins near water sources and schools. The facilities operate under legal permits, but their potentially harmful effects for human health aren’t well researched, and EPA records obtained by ProPublica show that these sites have violated their hazardous waste permits thousands of times.

Most active sites, which currently burn or detonate waste into open air, are run by the military and its contractors, according to the EPA and the Pentagon. The Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Virginia, for example, supplies explosives for almost every American bullet fired overseas and is allowed to burn up to 2.9 million pounds of waste every year.

Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger’s challenge is to assure that the Pentagon fulfills its commitment to the complete cleanup of toxins that have placed ecological and human health at risk – has been no small task.

With Laura we discuss the negatives of open air burning, PFAS and alternatives, actions they’ve taken on a local, state, and federal level, other communities who are polluting through open air burning

Contact and connect with Laura: info@cswab.org

Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger: https://cswab.org/

Open air burning: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-burn-pits-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-may-have-put-veterans-at-risk/#x

https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/burn-sites

Bio accumulation of PFAS: https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_Report.cfm?dirEntryId=349938&Lab=CCTE https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749106006038

Alternatives - supercritical water oxidation: https://www.waterworld.com/environmental/article/16204253/supercritical-water-oxidation-presented-as-alternative-to-incineration https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128104996000103

EPA rules to open air burning: https://www.epa.gov/burnwise/backyard-recreational-fires https://www.epa.gov/hwpermitting/list-example-hazardous-waste-permits-open-burning-and-open-detonation

Jane Williams is Executive Director with California Communities Against Toxics who are inspiring and building a sustainable, healthy, and just future for the East Bay, California, and beyond.

We discuss California’s economy in relation to polluting industries and their GDP last year was $3.2T, representing 14.6% of the total U.S. economy. California's economy is so big that if it were a country, it would be the 5th largest economy in the world, more productive than India and the United Kingdom.

Hexavalent Chromium compounds are common in California and are given off by industry. They have been shown to cause lung cancer in humans when inhaled. The Report on Carcinogens lists hexavalent chromium compounds as known human carcinogens. Studies have consistently shown increased lung cancer rates in workers who were exposed to high levels of chromium in workroom air.

We also talk about new laws in place with California, set to ban all heavy diesel trucks and vans by 2045. And these heavy-duty trucks are responsible for 70% of vehicle air pollution in the state.

With Jane, we discuss California’s economy, what kind of toxins that are common in California, new laws coming in place, and how you can support this work. 

Contact and connect with Jane: dcapjane@aol.com

California Communities Against Toxics: https://ecologycenter.org/directory/directory-entries/california-communities-against-toxics-ccat/

Heavy Duty truck ban: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/06/california-set-to-ban-all-heavy-diesel-trucks-and-vans-by-2045/

Prop 65: https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65

CEASE fire campaign: https://cswab.org/cease-fire-campaign/about-the-campaign/

Charles Utley is Associate Director of BREDL. The Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, also known as Plant Vogtle is a two-unit nuclear power plant located in Burke County, near Waynesboro, Georgia.

Southern Nuclear Company of Georgia, who owns Plant Vogtle wants to build additional nuclear power plants near Waynesboro, GA. This would increase the negative health impacts on nearby residents and increase the cost of electric power.

In Burke County, Georgia, environmental samples contained tritium, cesium-137, strontium-90, plutonium, iodine 129, cobalt-60, according to a recent report by Georgia WAND on “Community Impacts at the Crossroads of Nuclear and Climate Injustices in the U.S. South.”

Of each of these radioactive isotopes, tritium is the element contributing the highest levels of contamination, showing up in air, rain, groundwater, river water, drinking water, fish, milk, crops, leafy vegetation, and deer.

All nuclear power plants routinely release doses of tritium, which can cause birth defects and cancer. Cancer rates rose sharply for all cancers in Burke County while U.S. rates have declined.

CNN television news also aired a report from Shell Bluff in Burke County, discussing how cancer rates in that area are 51 percent higher than the national average.

With Charles we discuss the work he’s done surrounding Plant Vogtle, what’s happening now with the plant and in the future, how they pay for and fund the plant, and what they’re future plans are.

Contact and connect with Charles: bredlutley@gmail.com

More on Plant Vogtle: http://www.bredl.org/nuclear/Vogtle.htm

Health Impacts of living near a nuclear site: https://gawand.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/GA-WAND_Climate_Nuclear_Report_Dec_2017.pdf

https://georgiawatch.org/health-environmental-harms-ignored-at-plant-vogtle-vcm-18-hearings/

Ben Tettlebaum is the Director & Senior Staff Attorney at The Wilderness Society. Across the U.S. there are 618 million acres of federal public lands, including national parks and forests, wildlife refuges and federally managed desert and prairie lands. Many of these special places are threatened by climate change and poor management decisions that favor development over conservation. And they are important to protect as they are a key piece of our natural heritage. 

Within the episode we talk about the Western Arctic, in regards to federal land laws and to give some more background, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Arctic Refuge) is a place of spectacular beauty as well as ecological and cultural significance, but right now it's vulnerable to oil and gas development. These industries threaten to pollute our air and water, degrade public lands, and ruin an Indigenous way of life. So we talk about what the Wilderness Society is doing to help there.

BREDL has had a past working relationship with The Wilderness Society. In 1992, the Virginia Dept. of Transportation (VDOT) wanted to relocate U.S. 58 and make it a four-lane highway, bisecting the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area in S.W. Virginia. Citizens formed a BREDL chapter Mountain Heritage Alliance (MHA) and worked with another BREDL chapter Graysonites for Progressive Change to fight the VDOT proposal. The Wilderness Society (TWS) was instrumental in this fight and continues to do great work for public lands to stay public. 

Contact or connect with Ben: Ben_Tettlebaum@tws.org  

How to protect the Arctic: https://www.wilderness.org/articles/blog/5-questions-how-protect-arctic-oil-drilling 

Here’s a brief press release for the victory: https://archive.bredl.org/MHA/may96pr.html

Emily Strasser is a writer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her work has appeared in Catapult, Ploughshares, Guernica, Colorado Review, The New York Times, The Bitter Southerner, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, and Tricycle, among others, and she was the presenter of the BBC podcast “The Bomb.” She is also working on a book about the intersection of family and national secrets in the nuclear city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

To give some background, Oak Ridge was established in 1942 as a production site for the Manhattan Project—the massive American, British, and Canadian operation that developed the atomic bomb. It’s the site of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, scientific and technological development and still plays a crucial role in the city's economy and culture in general. The location and low population also helped keep the town a secret, though the settlement's population grew from about 3,000-3,750 in 1942 to about 75,000 by 1945.

At the same time, the government is still cleaning up from the sites’ historic roles. In 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency designated the Oak Ridge Reservation as a Superfund site.

With Emily, we discuss the history of the nuclear age with Leo Szilard and her grandfather who worked at Y-12, what secrecy means to her within the nuclear industry, how Oak Ridge became a Superfund site and what their clean up process, and what motivated her to write her book.

Contact and connect with Emily: http://emilystrasser.com

BBC podcast The Bomb: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-bomb/id1524778767

Oak Ridge History and Clean Up: https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/oak-ridge-a-look-into-the-superfund-sites-environmental-cleanup/51-552401280

Leo Szilard: https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/leo-szilard https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/biographies/szilard.html

Claire Miller is the Movement Building Director at UU Mass Action in Boston, Massachusetts.

Since 2006 UU Mass Action has been organizing and mobilizing the 20,000 Unitarian Universalists and 142 congregations in Massachusetts to confront oppression. Their pathways to justice are selected by identifying the priorities in which their congregations are engaged, engaging in our coalition partners shared priorities, assessing legislative momentum and identifying who are the most vulnerable people in the Commonwealth.

UU Mass Action is committed to the abolition of fossil fuels and the just transition to 100% renewable clean energy. They believe that the technology is available to make this change, all that is lacking is the political will. They believe that they cannot wait for elected officials to take action – the people must take action.  A change of this magnitude requires a shared vision and effective organizing.  In the words of Naomi Klein, “It’s going to take everyone to change everything.”

With Claire we talk about what environmental injustices in Massachusetts, what legislation they are working on, what got them into this work, and how you can get involved. 

Contact and connect with Claire: clairebwmiller@gmail.com

UUMass Action:https://www.uumassaction.org/

Environmental Justice: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/environmental-justice-movement https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice https://www.sierraclub.org/environmental-justice/history-environmental-justice

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Tom Clements is Director at Savannah River Site Watch or SRS Watch for short. They are working for the public interest by monitoring activities at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina and other DOE and commercial nuclear projects in the southeastern U.S. region and beyond & striving to halt proliferation of weapons-usable materials.

The Savannah River Site (SRS) is a nuclear reservation in South Carolina, located on land in Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties adjacent to the Savannah River, 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Augusta, Georgia. The site was built during the 1950s to refine nuclear materials for deployment in nuclear weapons.

It is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The management and operating contract is held by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions LLC (SRNS).

Future plans for the site cover a wide range of options, including host to research reactors, a reactor park for power generation, and other possible uses. DOE and its corporate partners are watched by a combination of local, regional and national regulatory agencies and citizen groups.

With Tom, we discuss what projects SRS is working on, who owns the site and what accountability they have, plutonium fuel and the dangers, and how you can get involved.

Contact and connect with Tom: srswatch@gmail.com

Savannah River Site info: https://srswatch.org/

http://www.bredl.org/nuclear/SRS.htm

https://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/savannah-river-site-fact-sheet.aspx

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/deadly-legacy-savannah-river-site-near-aiken-one-of-the-most-contaminated-places-on-earth/article_d325f494-12ff-11e7-9579-6b0721ccae53.html

Joni Arends is Executive Director of Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety in Santa Fe, NM whose mission is to protect all living beings and the environment from the effects of radioactive and other hazardous materials now and in the future.

New Mexico is a hotspot for nuclear activities including: Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory which is the birthplace of atomic age of nuclear weapons design and production nuclear waste dump, the Trinity test site which is the world’s first atomic bomb test site, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), which is a plutomium bomb waste dump, Holtec, Inc, which is a propsed interim storage site for up to 100,000 tons of radioactive high level waste, and much more.

With Joni we talk about the full circle of the nuclear cycle in NM, the DownWinders and the need for the renewal of the RECA bill, what Los Alamos National Lab is doing, and how you can get involved.

Contact and connect with Joni: jarends@nuclearactive.org

Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety: http://nuclearactive.org/

Map of Nuclear Activities: https://nukewatch.org/Nuclear-New-Mexico.html

Renewal of RECA bill: https://www.justice.gov/civil/common/reca https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/947/text

Ralph Hutchinson who is the coordinator of The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance whose main focus is stopping nuclear weapons production at the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and protecting the environment threatened by legacy and ongoing activities at the Oak Ridge Nuclear Reservation.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. It was adopted at the United Nations Conference on July 7, 2017, opened for signatures by the Secretary-General of the United Nations on September 20, 2017,  the 50th country signed the Treaty on October 24th of this year and now will enter into force on January 22, 2021.

For those nations that are party to it, the treaty prohibits the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons. For nuclear armed states joining the treaty, it provides for a time-bound framework for negotiations leading to the verified and irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons programs.

The nuclear-weapon-ban treaty, according to its proponents, will constitute an "unambiguous political commitment" to achieve and maintain a nuclear-weapon-free world.

With Ralph, we talk about background on the treaty, what countries have signed it, what happens now that the 50th ratification happened, and ways to get involved for a nuclear free world.

Contact and connect with Ralph: orep@earthlink.net

FB Group: Nuclear Ban Treaty, nuclearbantreatyeif@gmx.com

RESOURCES FOR JAN 22nd: https://orepa.org/nuclear-ban-treaty-entry-into-force-resources/

More on the Treaty: https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/tpnw/ https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26 https://www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/treaty-on-the-prohibition-of-nuclear-weapons/ https://www.icanw.org/historic_milestone_un_treaty_on_the_prohibition_of_nuclear_weapons_reaches_50_ratifications_needed_for_entry_into_force

Haakon ("Hoken") Williams is the Deputy Director of Committee to Bridge the Gap, a nuclear policy organization that works to improve protections from nuclear risks and assists communities near nuclear facilities and contaminated sites. Haakon has worked with Committee to Bridge the Gap since 2018, including helping produce a series of technical reports on the cleanup of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard that received coverage from the San Francisco Chronicle and NBC Bay Area.

The Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was a United States Navy shipyard in San Francisco, California (USA), located on 638 acres (258 ha) of waterfront at Hunters Point in the southeast corner of the city. The U.S. Navy acquired the site in 1940 and they built, repaired, and did maintenance of ships for the U.S. during World War II.

Later, the U.S. Navy established the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory (NRDL) in 1946 at HPS to study the effects of and to develop counter measures from nuclear weapons. NRDL operated until 1969 and conducted studies related to ship shielding, radioactive waste for deep-sea disposal, animal research, radiation detection instrumentation development, and other laboratory studies. NRDL also decontaminated and disposed of some ships involved in nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands.

The site currently consists of approximately 866 acres, 446 of which are under water. The base was named redundant as part of the Base Realignment and Closure effort in 1991, and was closed permanently in 1994. Since then the site has been part of a superfund cleanup effort to remediate the leftovers of decades of industrial and radiological use. Parcels have been sold off as they were cleaned up, mostly for condominium development.

With Haakon we discuss the history not many people know about, with the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, the effort to try to clean it up, and what they want to do with the area now.

Contact and connect with Haakon: contact.cbg@gmail.com

Committee to Bridge the Gap: https://www.committeetobridgethegap.org

More on HPNS: https://www.committeetobridgethegap.org/category/hunters-point/

https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/complex/hunters-point-naval-shipyard.html

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-francisco-hunters-point-contamination-cleanup-development/175231/

TetraTech Scandal: https://www.courthousenews.com/developer-sues-tetra-tech-and-feds-over-hunters-point-project/ https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/U-S-sues-Tetra-Tech-over-Hunters-Point-shipyard-13536013.php

Lesie, Scott, and Phil, are all members of Protect Caswell, a chapter of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League that is dedicated to help protect and preserve rights in Caswell County, NC.

They are fighting Carolina Sunrock, LLC, a company that plans to run three large hot mix asphalt plants producing over two and a half million tons of asphalt per year, plus three truck mix cement plants, two stone crushers, and three power generators at three separate sites within 10 miles of each other in their community of Caswell County, NC. Asphalt plants are sources of air pollution that may emit significant levels of both particulate matter and gaseous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These pollutants are considered to be dangerous to human health.

One action that the Protect Caswell Chapter has made is a formal request to the Board of Commissioners for a comprehensive review of existing and proposed paving industry permits in the Prospect Hill and Anderson communities. They said "We submit to you this request for a multiple source review. We believe the draft permits are fatally flawed because they fail to protect public health." She concluded, "We just want all these smokestacks looked at together because they all emit toxic air pollution."

With Leslie, Scott, and Phil, we discuss how they got started as a chapter, how they informed their county commissioners about theses industries coming in, actions they are taking, flaws they found in the asphalt plants permits, and how others can help.

Contact and connect with Protect Caswell: https://www.protectcaswell.org/

More information on asphalt plants: https://www.osha.gov/archive/oshinfo/priorities/asphalt.html http://www.bredl.org/air/asphalt_plants.htm

County Wide Zoning: https://www.sog.unc.edu/resources/legal-summaries/county-zoning https://www.naco.org/resources/featured/planning-ahead-county-planning-land-use-zoning-strategies-affordable-housing

Moratorium on Polluting Industries: https://www.caswellmessenger.com/news/article_e95a2712-ab22-11ea-b1a9-f3c766726a1a.html https://insideclimatenews.org/news/27032020/coronavirus-covid-pandemic-agriculture-plastics-airlines-renewables-coal

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Wanda Bodnar, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at UNC Chapel Hill and serving as the Scientist Program Analyst for the NC PFAS Testing Network. Dr. Bodnar’s specialty is the development and application of qualitative and quantitative mass spectrometry-based methods to improve our understanding of the health effects that result from exposure to environmental contaminants. She is focused on quality control and quality assurance of experimental processes and data generation to ensure scientific rigor.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are man-made compounds that are resistant to water and grease. Some PFAS have been linked with a wide range of health effects from thyroid disease to high cholesterol to lower birth weight, as well as some cancers. PFAS chemicals are likely contaminating the source of drinking water for more than a million North Carolina residents by running from the Haw River into the Cape Fear River.

The PFAS Testing Network is a statewide research collaboration to test for current levels of PFAS chemicals in drinking water and air samples across the state. The Network comprises Principal Investigators from NC State, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Charlotte, ECU, and NC A&T who have received NC General Assembly funding through the NC Policy Collaboratory.

The NC PFAST Network was created in response to a legislative mandate and funding by the North Carolina General Assembly to help answer questions about exposure to PFAS chemicals throughout NC.

With Wanda, we talk about the NC PFAS Testing Network, the research on PFAS that they’ve done and are doing, removal of PFAS in the environment, communicating PFAS to the public, and what you all can do.

Contact and connect with Wanda: ncpfastnetwork@unc.edu

NC PFAS Testing Network: https://ncpfastnetwork.com/about/

Updates on PFAS: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article246663348.html?ac_cid=DM309451&ac_bid=-1644846740#storylink=cpy

Check your utilities for levels of PFAS: https://ncpfastnetwork.com/data-and-tools/

Dark Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvAOuhyunhY

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Dale Feik is the Chair of Washington County Citizen Action Network and Project Director of Hillsboro Air & Water. Located in Washington County in OR.

So far this year, fires in Oregon, Washington, and California have burned some 5 million acres, marking the West Coast’s worst fire season in at least 70 years. The blazes have killed at least 35 people, destroyed hundreds of structures, and caused extreme air pollution that has threatened the health of millions of residents. Millions up and down the coast have spent weeks living under thick clouds of smoke and ash. Ecologists also fear the wildfires could inflict lasting damage on species and ecosystems.

Data from two NASA satellites that can detect heat, shows fire activity in California, Oregon and Washington in 2020 has already eclipsed even the worst previous year.

With Dale we talk about his experience with the wildfires in Portland, OR, what work he’s doing/ done to combat air pollution, how wildfires are linked with climate change, and what his hope for the future is.

Contact and connect with Dale: dfeik33@comcast.net

21 Youth Suing Congress: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/03/kids-sue-us-government-climate-change/

https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/juliana-v-us

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/01/17/federal-appeals-court-tosses-landmark-youth-climate-lawsuit-against-us-government/

Carbon Fee: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/basics-carbon-fee-dividend/ https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07032019/carbon-tax-proposals-compare-baker-shultz-exxon-conocophillips-ccl-congress

Wildfires in the west: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/wildfires-continue-western-united-states-biologists-fear-vulnerable-species

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/14/us/gallery/western-wildfires-2020/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/24/climate/fires-worst-year-california-oregon-washington.html

Oleg Bodrov is the Chairperson for NGO Green World. Oleg is an engineer-physicist and environmentalist. After finishing his studies at the Leningrad Polytechnic University (1976) as an engineer-physicist he has been engaged in testing of nuclear submarines. From 1980 till 1993 he was head of a group of the Regional Ecological Laboratory of the Khlopin Radium Institute, St. Petersburg. After a visit to the contaminated area of the Chernobyl NPP in 1986, he left the nuclear industry and came to the environmental movement. Since 2005 he has been one of the initiators & head of an international NGO project for a promotion of safe decommissioning of the Russian nuclear power plants and final disposal of, spent nuclear fuel on the basis of the best international practice (Germany, Lithuania, USA, Sweden, Finland).

In 1999, Center for Safe Energy, sponsored 3 weeks of People's Hearings on plutonium fuel in Russia. A delegation of US activists and experts went to Russia as participants in this education effort. Delegates included our executive director Lou Zeller and this is where he met and worked with Oleg. A few years later, Oleg along with his other colleagues from Russia came to the U.S. to advocate and educate against nuclear.

Ultimately, with this foundation, plus local community work in NC, SC and GA. Some legal actions challenging NRC permitting (Duke Energy’s Catawba and McGuire power plants were slated to use the fuel), succeeded in stopping the joint Russian-American project to use plutonium in nuclear electric power plants.  The American factory for fuel manufacture would have been at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.  Indeed, the Dept. of Energy spent $4 billion on it before abandoning the project.

With Oleg, we talk about his transition from nuclear into the environment movement, his experience in Russia before and after Chernobyl happened, his time in the U.S. touring nuclear facilities, the Russian version of the NRC, and current issues he’s working on now.

Contact and connect with Oleg: bodrov@greenworld.org.ru

Documentaries: 1. Wasteland  (about Russian nuclear weapons, reprocessing spent nuclear fuel and consequences for the people and environment) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCmcvyctVrU&t=849s

2. Digging our own grave (about nuclear weapon production in Russia and resistance of Russian society) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJftotBfGnU

3. Vermont state against Vermont Yankee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONrpfBOwkDc&t=593s

4. Everything in our power (about Main Yakee NPP decommissioning)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fvs36in2Qo&t=9s

5. Hanhikivi (About Finnish NPP hanhikivi) and about connection of civil and military technologies) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgwKyZ3gSCs&t=60s

Chernobyl: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-chernobyl-like-today/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/what-s-going-on-in-chernobyl-today/

Decommissioning: https://www.nrc.gov/waste/decommissioning.html https://www.nei.org/advocacy/make-regulations-smarter/decommissioning

Serenella Linares is a naturalist at Mt Rainier Nature Center and also on the board of The Mycological Association of Washington, DC. (MAWDC for short) 

This episode we talk about mushrooms. When we think of mushrooms, most of us think of the edible ones we can buy at the grocery store, but really they are everywhere and are vital to our ecosystems. First to give some mushroom terminology , mycelium is the root-like structure of a fungus that has networks underground, then fungi is ​​any of a group of spore-producing organisms feeding on organic matter which includes mushrooms, mushrooms are then what we normally think of as a growth with a domed cap.

They are all critically important in most earthbound ecosystems as they provide life-sustaining mineral nutrients to plants while decomposing their remains, and recycling both organic and inorganic byproducts throughout the biome as they grow and reproduce. Through mycelium, mushrooms help other plants share nutrients and communicate through chemical signals. Fungi make nutrients available to plants either through decomposition and nutrient cycling, or by directly transporting nutrients to the plants, or in some cases, both processes occur.

With Serenella we speak about the history of mushrooms, myco-remediation, fungal DNA sequencing, identification and more.

MAWDC: https://www.mawdc.org/ 

Mushroom articles: https://phys.org/news/2022-08-mushrooms-main-character-ecosystems.html#:~:text=Fungi%2C%20which%20produce%20mushrooms%2C%20are,as%20they%20grow%20and%20reproduce.

Sara El-Amine is a progressive senior strategist who was one of the architects of the Obama grassroots movement, playing key roles outside the US White House to pass and implement health care reform, minimum wage, marriage equality, gun violence prevention, climate protections, and more. She is currently Head of Community Engagement at Lyft, where she oversees driver, passenger, and local non-profit engagement for the company. She is also a mom to 1.5 year old, Julius.

Climate change has been a key factor in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the Western United States. Wildfire risk depends on a number of factors, including temperature, soil moisture, and the presence of trees, shrubs, and other potential fuel. All these factors have strong direct or indirect ties to climate variability and climate change.

Research shows that changes in climate that create warmer, drier conditions, increased drought, and a longer fire season are boosting these increases in wildfire risk. Once a fire starts—more than 80 percent of U.S. wildfires are caused by people—warmer temperatures and drier conditions can help fires spread and make them harder to put out.

With Sara we discuss the wildfires happening in the West, effects it’s had for her and her family, the correlation with the wildfires and climate change, local and state-wide action, and what actions you can take on climate change.

Contact and connect with Sara: elamine.sara@gmail.com Twitter @sara_ela

Actions you can take on climate change: https://www.curbed.com/2017/6/7/15749900/how-to-stop-climate-change-actions https://www.activesustainability.com/climate-change/6-actions-to-fight-climate-change/ http://participate.lwv.org/c/9217/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=3804

Climate Change and Wildfires: https://www.c2es.org/content/wildfires-and-climate-change/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/09/climate-change-increases-risk-fires-western-us/

Wildfire Alerts: http://www.alertwildfire.org/

How you can prevent wildfires in your area: https://smokeybear.com/en/smokey-for-kids/preventing-wildfires https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/wildfire/how-to-prevent-wildfires.html

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Brady Watson is the Civic Engagement Coordinator with Southern Alliance for Clean Energy or SACE for short. Brady is based out of Knoxville and is responsible for organizing around ballot initiatives and utility issues that may impact climate and energy policy. He is in charge of a Tennessee state-wide campaign where they want to see lower utility bills for Tennesseans most in need; increase access to solar energy, and put the “public” back in public power.

A part of this large campaign is a more localized campaign called ACT on KUB - KUB is The Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) - this is the main utility provider in Knoxville. They have been a long-time, trusted community partner, yet the rules governing KUB have facilitated a drift away from the people KUB serves. Here’s what they’ve done lately:

• Increased its mandatory monthly electrical fixed fee from $6 in 2010 to $20.50 in 2020. All utility fixed fees on customers' bills now exceed $85 per month.
  
• Rushed signing a 20-year long-term contract with power provider TVA, with no meaningful opportunity for public comment even though customers’ dollars are on the line, which has put customers at risk.
  
• Spent hundreds of thousands of customers’ dollars on public relations consultants to boost KUB’s image, even though KUB is a public-power monopoly without competition
  

With Brady we talk about KUB and what they have done lately, impacts and where KUB gets their energy from, actions they’ve done to get the public involved, and other energy related campaigns SACE is working on in TN.

Contact and connect with Brady: brady@cleanenergy.org

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE): https://cleanenergy.org/

ACT on KUB: https://www.actonkub.org/

RenewTN: https://www.renewtn.org/

Register to Vote: https://govotetn.gov/ https://vote.gov/

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Shelby Ward a public interest environmental lawyer as well as Director of Sustainable Tennessee and Staff Attorney at the Tennessee Environmental Council (TEC). She is dedicated to serving communities in Tennessee through environmental education and advocacy. She collaborates with stakeholders who share a vision for a sustainable Tennessee and directs the Council’s law and policy program. She is also in charge of the TEC’s Recycle Right, Tennessee program, and it’s goal is to help you understand how to recycle right in your area so we can keep recyclables out of the landfill and in our economy.

And here are some quick facts on recycling:

• A single plastic water bottle saves enough energy to run a laptop for 2.5 hours and and creates 20% air pollution and 50% less water pollution than would be created when making a new bottle
  
• Landfills are one of the biggest contributors to soil pollution and the majority of what’s in the landfill could be avoided or recycled
  
• Clean prescription bottles can be often donated to animal and other shelters, veterinary, and other clinics
  

With Shelby we talk about how to properly recycle, resources to know what not to recycle, economics of recycling, the lifecycle of products and how much goes into landfills, and what’s happening with recycling on a state and local level.

Contact and connect with Shelby: shelby@tectn.org

Tennessee Environmental Council: tectc.org

Learn more about Recycle Right: https://www.tectn.org/recyclerighttennessee.html

Why China is not accepting our recycling: https://e360.yale.edu/features/piling-up-how-chinas-ban-on-importing-waste-has-stalled-global-recycling

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/03/china-has-stopped-accepting-our-trash/584131/

Landfill facts: https://www.usi.edu/recycle/solid-waste-landfill-facts/ https://www.rubicon.com/blog/statistics-trash-recycling/

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Anne is an Environmental Justice Research Assistant intern with us at BREDL and a grad student at Duke University. She is working to help community members learn how to use Zoom and organize digitally and investigate COVID incidence across EJ communities in NC.

Nanda Gupal is a Research Assistant intern with us at BREDL and a graduate student getting his Master of Engineering Management at Duke University and he is studying the health impacts of PM2.5 from the various non-mobile sources in the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. The study includes trend analysis on the various aspects of PM2.5 effects in these states.

Contact and connect with Anne and Nanda: anne.crabill@duke.edu and nandagopal.suresh@duke.edu

PM 2.5: https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/air/pmq_a.htm

https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics

How to find your levels: https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/particulate-matter-pm25-trends

Environmental Justice Communities during COVID: https://www.greenamerica.org/blog/how-environmental-justice-connects-covid-19

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Addyson Rowe is a Research Assistant intern with us at BREDL and graduate student in Environmental Science Policy at Duke University. She has been identifying heired properties that Dominion energy has bought or tried to buy in order to construct the pipeline there. A lot of these properties end up not getting signed off on by the owners because heir properties have so many owners that often don’t even live in the state anymore, so they can’t get in contact with them to sign or they fail to show up to court and Dominion automatically gets the land by default; without having to pay all of the owners. She is calling attention to this as well as identifying the different amounts paid to owners depending on when they agreed to sign.

Gabrielle James is an intern with us a BREDL and a law student at UNC Chapel Hill. She is doing legal research on the Atlantic coast pipelines acquisition of heired property or essentially property that is passed to heirs without a will. This practice significantly disadvantages poor people and communities of color and allows corporations like Dominion who were building the ACP to easily (and often unfairly) acquire property and easements.

Contact and connect with Addyson and Gabrielle: addyson.rowe@duke.edu and gabj23@live.unc.edu

Heired Properties: https://friendsofnelson.com/bredl-releases-report-on-union-hill/

http://www.bredl.org/safeguard_americas_resources/200407_ACP_Invasion_during_Pandemic.htm

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article185036078.html

Cancellation of the ACP: https://atlanticcoastpipeline.com/news/2020/7/5/dominion-energy-and-duke-energy-cancel-the-atlantic-coast-pipeline.aspx

Eminent Domain: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/eminent_domain

https://www.justice.gov/enrd/history-federal-use-eminent-domain

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Brian Terrell is the co-coordinator with Voices for Creative Nonviolence (or Voices for short) located in SW Iowa, they are committed to strategic campaigns and experiments, engaging in active nonviolent resistance such as the electoral and legislative process, protest, and to march and demonstrate. Voices has people and campaigns working in Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Germany and more.

With Brian we talk about his work he does nationally and internationally, what would happen if nuclear weapons are used, why nonviolent direct action is important, drone activism, and how you can take nonviolent action. 

Contact and connect with Brian: brian@vcnv.org

Voices for Creative Nonviolence: http://vcnv.org/

Drone Activism: http://vcnv.org/drone-activism/

Nonviolent action: https://www.usip.org/issue-areas/nonviolent-action

https://peacepresence.org/learn-more/nonviolence/

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

John LaForge is the Co-Director with NukeWatch and is currently working and advocating in Hamburg, Germany. Nukewatch has been working for a nuclear-free future since 1979, they bring critical attention to the locations, movements, dangers, and the politics of nuclear weapons and radioactive wastes.

The US is the only government that deploys nuclear weapons in other countries. US B61 nuclear gravity bombs are deployed in Holland (20), Italy (40), Belgium (20) Turkey (50-90), and Germany (20).

Currently, The United States provides about 60 tactical B61 nuclear bombs for use by Germany under a NATO nuclear weapons sharing agreement. The bombs are stored at Büchel Air Base and in time of war would be delivered by Luftwaffe Panavia Tornado warplanes. Many countries believe this violates Articles I and II of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), where Germany has committed: which states

"... not to receive the transfer from any transferor whatsoever of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or of control over such weapons or explosive devices directly, or indirectly ... or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices ...".

With John we talk about Germany and the US relationship with nuclear weapons, differences in direct actions between the two countries, the goals of the Peace delegation they hold every year, if Germany is making itself a target by having these nuclear weapons, and the relationship Germany has with other NATO countries.

Contact and connect with John: nukewatch1@lakeland.ws

NukeWatch: https://nukewatchinfo.org/category/nuclear-weapons/

US and Germany history/ background: https://nukewatchinfo.org/category/direct-action/us-bombs-out-of-germany/ https://www.dw.com/en/us-set-to-upgrade-controversial-nukes-stationed-in-germany/a-52855886

Nonproliferation Treaty: https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/

Germany’s progessive stances: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2015/11/germany-renewable-energy-revolution/

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=99&nr=24&menu=1449

Germany Peace Delegation: https://nukewatchinfo.org/action-alerts/

Two Plus Four Treaty: https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/politics/germany-europe/two-plus-four-treaty

Francine Stephenson, President of BREDL chapter No Pipeline Johnston County (NPJoCo), Tom Clark, member of BREDL chapter Cumberland County Caring Voices (C3V), Marvin Winstead, President of Nash County Stop the Pipeline (NSTP) and BREDL community organizer, and Lou Zeller, Executive director of Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL). Francine, Tom, and Marvin were all along the 600 mile long proposed pathway of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline where BREDL strategically organized these chapters.

With Francine she speaks on how there should be a place where citizens can go to know what their rights are, Tom talks about how the ACP caused conflicts within his family and when Dominion cut down his grandfather's pine tree, Marvin speaks on the disadvantages and problems with fracked ‘natural’ gas, and then Lou talks about turning points throughout the six year journey against the ACP and what is next, moving forward from the victory.

No Pipeline Johnston County (NPJoCo)

County: Johnston County, NC

Francine Stephenson, president – francine.stephenson@gmail.com

Facebook: No Pipeline Johnston County

Cumberland County Caring Voices (C3V)

County: Cumberland County, NC

Tom Clark, member - 910.322.0664

Facebook: Cumberland County Caring Voices

Nash Stop The Pipeline (NSTP)

County: Nash County, NC

Marvin Winstead, president – 252-478-5442 / marwinstead@gmail.com

Facebook Group: Nash Stop The Pipeline

Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League Office 

Lou Zeller: bredl@bestsky.com or 336.982.2691

More on chapters and campaigns: nopipeline.net 

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Valerie Williams is President of BREDL Chapter Concerned Stewards of Halifax County. Valerie has a family farm that was on the proposed pathway of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP).

Since 2014, us at BREDL began campaigning to counteract the planning and construction of the Atlantic Coast Natural Gas Pipeline that would stretch 600 miles across West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. After six long years of dedicated work, we all succeeded on July 5, 2020 in cancelling its construction due to ongoing delays and increasing cost uncertainty which threatened the economic viability of the project.

One of the key tactics in leading to BREDL’s massive success was uniting community members against the pipeline from all across the political spectrum. By reaching out to people who are both conservative and liberal and everywhere in between, we were able to create a cohesive and extremely powerful bipartisan movement, one that you don’t see often in today’s political climate.

The success of defeating the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is one that should be greatly celebrated. The idea of never giving up fighting for what you believe in and working together despite differences are important themes that led to this victory.

With Valerie we discuss her story of the six year journey she and others have been fighting against this pipeline, actions they took, and what the cancellation means to her and her family.

Contact and connect with Valerie: valwilliams6@gmail.com

BREDL on the ACP Victory: http://www.bredl.org/safeguard_americas_resources/ACP_Cancelled_BREDL_Statements.htm

ACP Supreme Court Cases: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/whose-land-atlantic-coast-pipeline-appalachian-trail-supreme-court-dominion-energy-duke-energy

http://www.springhopeenterprise.com/stories/pipeline-opponent-wants-appraisers-off-his-property,205899#.Xo8hZt-YzOg.facebook

Dominion and Duke Energy’s Statements: https://atlanticcoastpipeline.com/news/2020/7/5/dominion-energy-and-duke-energy-cancel-the-atlantic-coast-pipeline.aspx

Rachel Coyte is a PhD student at Duke University who is the leading author of the last two papers on the occurrence of hexavalent chromium and other contaminants in groundwater in NC. Rachel and Dr. Avner Vengosh have been researching and working on testing wells in NC for Hexavalent Chromium.

Hexavalent chromium is a carcinogen made famous by the movie Erin Brockovich and is far more abundant in drinking water wells in North Carolina than previously thought, a new Duke University study finds.

“About 90 percent of the wells we sampled had detectable levels of hexavalent chromium, and in many cases the contamination is well above recommended levels for safe drinking water. But our analysis clearly shows it is derived from natural sources”

The current drinking water standard for chromium in the United States is 100 parts per billion. This is based on an assumption that most chromium contained in drinking water is composed of a less toxic form known as trivalent chromium. Only California has set a statewide standard of 10 parts per billion for the much more toxic hexavalent form.

The bottom line is that we need to protect the health of North Carolinians from the naturally occurring threat of hexavalent chromium, while also protecting them from harmful contaminants such as arsenic and selenium, which our previous research has shown do derive from leaking coal ash ponds.

With Rachel we talk about the effects of Hexavalent Chromium, where it’s found, if it’s man made or naturally occurring, if it can be filtered, and how people can protect themselves. 

Contact and connect with Rachel: rachel.coyte@duke.edu

Rachel’s articles on Hex Chrome: https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/hexavalent-chromium-widespread-nc-wells-not-linked-coal-ash

https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/avnervengosh/hexavalent-chromium-in-north-carolina/

Geogenic contaminants: https://www.eawag.ch/en/department/sandec/projects/wst/geogenic-contamination/ https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-81-322-3745-7_8

NC health standards: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/planning/classification-standards/surface-water-standards

https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/water-resources-regulations

Well water testing: https://ehs.ncpublichealth.com/oswp/wells-resources.htm

https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/oee/wellwater/howtotest.html

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Andres Chang is the Senior Research Specialist at Greenpeace. Just last year in 2023, Greenpeace came out with a report that Andres was the lead writer on, called Dollars VS. Democracy. The report talks about how Americans overwhelmingly support government action on the climate crisis. As a result, the fossil fuel industry has expanded its playbook to delay the transition to clean energy and protect its profits through efforts that undermine our right to free speech.

Since the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock in 2016, oil and gas companies have played a key role in the creation and spread of anti-protest laws with provisions specifically intended to stifle protest near fossil fuel facilities. 18 states accounting for roughly 60% of oil and gas production have enacted sweeping versions of such legislation. Another four states have enacted narrower versions of the same legislation, which could be exploited by prosecutors seeking to issue trumped-up charges against peaceful protesters. 

Within the episode we talk about all this report, from the creation of it, key points, its significance, and what their plans for it are. BREDL sent documents to Greenpeace to use in this report, so we discuss that as well. The Anti-Slap petition that Andres mentions in the episode will be linked in the show notes below, so please sign on to that as well as a link to the full report.

FULL REPORT: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/reports/dollars-vs-dissent/  

SIGN THE ANTI-SLAP PETITION: https://engage.us.greenpeace.org/kuCKizua206SG48Bs-kTFg2

Petuuche Gilbert is an environmental and human rights activist as well as a member of the Multicultural Alliance for Safe Environment and President of the Indigenous World Association, a United Nations NGO. He lives in the Grants Mining District in New Mexico and has been working on nuclear and mining issues for 30+ years.

New Mexico has no nuclear power plants, but it does have the nation's second-largest uranium resource equal to nearly one-third of U.S. known uranium reserves. We talk about uranium mining which is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. And uranium from mining is used almost entirely as fuel for nuclear power plants.

The Grants Mining District, where Petuuche lives, it was the primary focus of uranium extraction and production activities in New Mexico from the 1950s until the late 1990s. Nuclear is responsible for infusing about $3 billion a year into New Mexico’s economy, Los Alamos National Laboratory is being held up by lab officials, politicians and others as an example of the kind of high-tech economic drivers.

With Petuuche we talk about the Grants Mining District, nuclear activity and funding in New Mexico, what he and others have done to fight against, and what his hope for the future is. 

Contact and connect with Petuuche: petuuche@aol.com or petuuche@gmail.com

Grants Mining District: https://www.epa.gov/grants-mining-district

https://www.env.nm.gov/gwqb/grants-mining-district/

Trinity Nuclear Testing: https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/trinity-test-1945

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/trinity-test

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP): https://www.wipp.energy.gov/

New Mexico’s income from nuclear: https://apnews.com/b39a6e39d88441099ed2f99017f9fa4a

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/11/709600915/new-mexico-is-divided-over-the-perfect-site-to-store-nation-s-nuclear-waste

https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/region-state/newmexico.html

https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=NM

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Ruth Ann Tesanovich is a retired Medical Laboratory Scientist from UGA, and has been a resident of Madison County, GA for 36 years. She is also secretary and treasurer of the Madison County Clean Power Coalition Chapter (MCCPC) a chapter of BREDL whose mission is to protect the environment and advocate for the communities polluted by the processing and burning of railroad ties.

Biomass includes wood products, agricultural residues or forest waste, and other highly toxic feed stocks such as construction and demolition waste. And in this instance the burning of railroad ties. Burning these materials as fuel for electricity pollutes the air we breathe.

In a powerful new letter signed by the Allergy & Asthma Network, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Lung Association, American Public Health Association, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, National Association of County & City Health Officials, National Environmental Health Association, and Physicians for Social Responsibility, the health community’s message is clear:

“Biomass is far from “clean” – burning biomass creates air pollution that causes a sweeping array of health harms, from asthma attacks to cancer to heart attacks, resulting in emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and premature deaths.”

With Ruth Ann we talk about the biomass plant in their county, the environmental and health impacts, community involvement, HB 857 they got passed, and what their plans for the future are.

Contact and connect with Ruth Ann and MCCPC chapter: rtesanovich@outlook.com https://www.facebook.com/madisoncleanpower/

Learn more about MCCPC and their efforts: https://www.madisoncleanpowercoalition.com/

Learn more about biomass: https://www.leonardodicaprio.org/dangerous-delusions-biomass-is-not-a-renewable-energy-source/ https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sasha-stashwick/health-groups-congress-burning-biomass-bad-health

HB 857: https://www.madisoncleanpowercoalition.com/post/georgia-house-bill-857

Sister Site in Franking Co: https://www.madisoncleanpowercoalition.com/post/visit-our-sister-site

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Biologist Mary Olson's life’s mission is to bring to light to the disproportionate impact of radiation on girls and women. Through her work as a staff biologist and policy analyst at  Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Olson has spent decades working for greater health and greater protection for people in communities impacted by nuclear activities. After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, Olson decided to pursue questions about greater harm to girls and women from ionizing exposures. Mary is now the founder of Gender + Radiation Impact Project, their mission is to catalyze better choices for preventing unintended exposure to low level ionizing radiation and an overall reduction in harm – for everyone, but especially little girls who are most impacted by radiation exposure.

Ionizing radiation as “radiation with enough energy so that during an interaction with an atom, it can remove tightly bound electrons from the orbit of an atom, causing the atom to become charged or ionized.” Ionizing radiation can be found in many places in our modern world, including residue and waste from the nuclear industry, both electric power and weapon production, medical procedures like x-rays and CT scans, and even air travel. For every two men who develop cancer through exposure to ionizing radiation, three women will get the disease.

With Mary we talk about how radiation impacts girls and women, the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima Nagasaki which led her to this work, impacts of her research, and what she hopes to see for girls and women concerning radiation for the future.

Contact and connect with Mary: gender.radiation@gmail.com

Mary’s work: https://www.nirs.org/mary-olson-nirs-medical-consequences-using-nuclear-weapons-radiation-risks-women-girls/

Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS): https://www.nirs.org/

Gender + Radiation Impact Project: https://www.genderandradiation.org/

UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Hiroshima Nagasaki 75: https://www.hiroshimanagasaki75.org/

Reference Man: https://www.nature.com/articles/ejcn2010125

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Laura Asherman is the Founder of Forage Films LLC and Director of the film Power Lines.

The 30 min documentary follows the construction of an additional two new units at the Plant Vogtle Nuclear Power Plants, which at the time of the documentary was five years behind schedule and more than $13 billion over original cost estimates. These overages directly affect ratepayers across Georgia, who are financing the construction through a fee on their monthly power bills, a process fraught with mismanagement and lacking in transparency. These ratepayer payments significantly enrich Georgia Power's yearly profits, giving them little incentive to ensure the project's timely completion. The film includes interviews with BREDL's Charles Utley and members of our chapter Concerned Citizens of Shell Bluff.

With Laura we discuss her filmmaking process, the issues concerning Plant Vogtle, actions the community is taking, what she learned from the whole process, and new projects she’s working on. There will be excerpts from the film as I talk with Laura.

Contact and connect with Laura: laura@foragefilms.com

Watch the FULL film: https://vimeo.com/300226940

Learn more about Plant Vogtle: http://www.bredl.org/nuclear/Vogtle.htm

http://www.bredl.org/nuclear/200511_BREDL_Petition_to_Intervene_Vogtle_3.htm

https://www.powermag.com/vogtle-project-highly-unlikely-to-meet-deadlines/

AP1000: https://www.powermag.com/now-two-ap1000-reactors-in-commercial-operation-vogtle-makes-progress-too/

Plant Vogtle sinking into the ground: http://www.bredl.org/nuclear/Vogtle.htm

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Kathy Andrews is an advocate, real estate agent, and property owner. She and others are fighting Dominion Energy, a private company, who wants to build a huge pipeline through her and her neighbor’s land. Some of the land Dominion wants to go through is heirs property, the land of working class residents, and rural property bordering the Great Pee Dee River in Florence County- Pamplico, South Carolina. Dominion has representatives offering property owners as low as $345 dollars while paying county officials $10,000.00.  If built, it will devalue  property owners' land, increase health concerns, raise their utility bills, and overall will have no benefit for residents.

Dominion Energy claims to provide affordable, safe, and clean energy, but has a history of predatory rate hikes, accidents, environmental disasters, and insistence on investing in dirty fossil fuels like coal and gas. This proposed pipeline we talk about is not formally a part of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, ACP, which is Dominion Energy’s huge project; they have many smaller projects in several states, including the one we talk about here in SC.

Compressor stations are necessary for pipelines and they are above-ground facilities that are typically located every 50 to 100 miles along natural gas transmission pipelines.

With Kathy we talk about why Dominion Energy wants to build the pipeline, the pressure Dominion is putting on landowners, the negative effects of the pipeline, and how she is showing and educating her neighbors that they have rights and don’t have to sign their land away.

Contact and connect with Kathy: thegreatpeedeefarm@gmail.com FB @KathyAndrews Twitter @KathyAndrews

Petition to Stop The Pipeline: https://www.change.org/p/blue-ridge-environmental-defense-league-tell-dominion-no-to-a-pipeline-in-pamplico-sc

Dominion Energy and Sierra Club: https://www.sierraclub.org/virginia/dominion

https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2019/05/dominion-s-energy-plan-focuses-too-heavily-fossil-fuels

Compressor Stations: https://extension.psu.edu/understanding-natural-gas-compressor-stations

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Kevin Kamps is the Radioactive Waste Specialist with Beyond Nuclear. He specializes in high-level waste management and transportation; new and existing reactors; decommissioning; Congress watch; climate change; and federal subsidies. Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future.

We talk about all things nuclear: how it can’t solve the climate crisis, how likely it is that another accident will happen, breaking down some nuclear jargon and terms, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and how Kevin got into anti-nuclear himself.

Contact and connect with Kevin: kevin@beyondnuclear.org

Beyond Nuclear: http://www.beyondnuclear.org

Institute for Energy and Environmental Research: https://ieer.org/

Insurmountable Risks Book: https://www.amazon.com/Insurmountable-Risks-Dangers-Nuclear-Climate/dp/1571431624

Consolidated Interim Storage Facilities (CISF): https://www.nirs.org/campaigns/dont-waste-america/cis/ https://www.aps.org/policy/reports/popa-reports/consolidated.cfm

Decommissioning: https://www.nei.org/resources/fact-sheets/decommissioning-nuclear-power-plants

Deep Isolation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2019/01/31/can-we-drill-a-hole-deep-enough-for-our-nuclear-waste/#960b74a68a7b

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Dr. Andrew George, is a Community Engagement Scientist and professor at UNC Chapel Hill, his professional focus is community engagement in environmental problem-solving, democratic decision-making, environmental justice, and well-water resources.

Citizen Science (CS), also known as "crowdsourcing" or "crowd-sourced science," is the growing practice of public involvement in the gathering, analyzing, or sorting of scientific data for research purposes. Formally, citizen science refers to "the general public engagement in scientific research activities when citizens actively contribute to science either with their intellectual effort or surrounding knowledge or with their tools and resources"

With Dr. Andrew George, we discuss his citizen science approach to well water testing in North Carolina, the two BREDL chapters that are engaging in this testing, the difference between well water and utility water, the contaminants they’re finding, and how he’s engaging his UNC students in this research.

Contact and connect with Dr. Andrew George: andrewg@unc.edu 

Articles on Dr. Andrew George’s work: https://ie.unc.edu/2018/11/26/unc-scientists-partner-with-virginia-tech-on-national-science-foundation-rapid-grant-to-study-well-contamination-in-aftermath-of-hurricane-florence/

Citizen-Science Approach: https://guides.library.ucla.edu/citizen-science https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210670719317020

Well Water in NC: https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/oee/wellwater/figures.html https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2017/07/24/making-nc-well-water-safer/

Environmental Justice Communities: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-your-community https://www.foresightdesign.org/blog/2017/7/19/xcd8aq95i73fy933hw4ppjappv346t

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Don Shafer is with the Tennessee Environmental Council and resident SMR expert.

SMR or SMNR stand for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors,they are nuclear fission reactors that are slated to be built at a smaller size but in larger numbers than most of the world’s current nuclear fleet. “small” because they generate a maximum of about 30 percent as much power as typical current reactors, and “modular” because they can be assembled in factories and shipped to power plant sites. These are only proposed reactors right now and the nuclear industry ‘claims’ that they are the way of the future.

With Don, we discuss the problems and argue the claims of SMR’s including the economical implications, environmental and public health impacts, and where they are a potential threat. We also talk about how nuclear energy should not be classified as ‘clean’ energy and ultimately that SMR’s and nuclear gets in the way of funding and progressing renewable energy.

Contact and connect with Don: https://www.tectn.org/ or http://www.bredl.org/

Learn more about the nuclear industry: http://www.bredl.org/nuclear/index.htm, https://www.nirs.org/, http://www.beyondnuclear.org/,https://www.fairewinds.org/

SMR resources: https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/small-modular-reactors

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/the-nuclear-retreat/2015/1/20/small-modular-reactors-may-never-be-viable.html

Idaho and UAMPS: https://www.powermag.com/the-quest-for-next-generation-nuclear-fuels/

TVA and SMR news: https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/story/2020/apr/07/tva-work-university-tennessee-small-nuclear-units-oak-ridge/520087/

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Debbie Hall, Donna Strickland, and Keely Wood, they are all members of EnvironmentaLEE or ELEE for short which is a chapter of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. ELEE is dedicated to preventing fracking and to protecting the environment and educating the public about environmental issues where they live in Lee County, NC.

Mineral rights which are property rights to exploit an area for the minerals it harbors. Mineral rights can be separate from property ownership. Mineral rights can refer to sedentary minerals that do not move below the Earth's surface or fluid minerals such as oil or natural gas.

We start talking with Debbie to discuss background and history with the ELEE chapter and how they got started, then Keely explains the issues that they are facing now, and we finish with Donna telling us the fundraising methods and events they’ve hosted and how people can support in their efforts.

Contact and connect with Debbie, Donna, or Keely: debhall@windstream.net, dlsart@windstream.net, and keely@bionaturae.com, or elee_directors@environmentalee.org

EnvironmentaLEE chapter: https://www.environmentalee.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/EnvironmentaLEE/

Fracking: https://www.environmentalee.org/fracking-info

Coal ash: https://www.environmentalee.org/coalash-dump-info-2

Fundraising events: https://www.environmentalee.org/fundraiser

Mineral Rights: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mineral-rights.asp

BHARAT Forge: https://www.bharatforge.com/

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Jamie Satterfield is an investigative journalist specializing in law and crime with the Knoxville News Sentinel. She’s been a journalist for 28 years and has been crucial in exposing the truth with everything involving the Kingston Coal Ash Spill.

The Kingston Coal Ash spill, it is the worst coal ash disaster in U.S. history. In 2008, a levee ruptured at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Coal Power Plant releasing 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash smothering some 300 acres and spilling into two rivers. With the clean up more than 40 workers have died and more than 250 are still sick or dying. Jacob’s Engineering, who is the contractor for this coal plant and was in charge of the clean up are being sued by the workers.

With Jamie, we talk about the background on this coal spill, what the clean up processes has been like, ways to properly store coal ash, now over 10 years later what is happening to the workers who are seeking justice, and then what you can do to support the workers.

Contact and connect with Jamie: jamie.satterfield@knoxnews.com or Twitter: @jamiescoop

Read some of Jamie’s articles on Kingston Coal Ash: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2019/02/05/kingston-coal-ash-spill-timeline-lawsuit/2767409002/

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2018/11/07/verdict-reached-favor-sickened-workers-coal-ash-cleanup-lawsuit/1917514002/

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/tennessee/tvacoalash/2019/10/01/kingston-coal-ash-disaster-workers-fight-keep-coal-ash-safety-rules/2435579001/

RECENT NEWS: TN Regulators deleted and altered radiological tests and Duke Study on Coal Ash: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2020/05/17/duke-testing-shows-kingston-coal-ash-uranium-triple-report-levels/5209169002/

https://www.knoxnews.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.knoxnews.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Ftennessee%2Ftvacoalash%2F2020%2F05%2F15%2Ftennessee-regulators-deleted-and-altered-radiological-tests-kingston-coal-ash-spill%2F4928047002%2F

Keep up to date with Jamie and her personal efforts: Twitter: @jamiescoop

Audio clips at beginning of the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGAvO91fDe4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j21U6gTjEZc&t=25s

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Jesse Howe is the Assistant Director of the Coastal Conservation Association, Maryland (CCA) whose purpose is to advise and educate the public on the conservation of our marine resources. They seek to conserve, promote and enhance the present and future availability of coastal resources for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public.

One of the main projects CCA does are living reefs, which are reef balls that they create in the Chesapeake Bay to provide important habitat for oysters and other estuarine critters and they are valued in both fresh and Bay waters. And since the 1700’s oyster populations have seen dramatic decline due to over-harvesting, disease, habitat loss and more and the Bay has really seen the effects of that as oysters are natural filters. Therefore the reef balls offer a place for oysters to come back to the Bay and help maintain healthy waters and the ecosystem. 

With Jesse we talk about why Maryland's coastline is ecologically significant, the goals of the Living Reefs, how they get the community involved, citizen science, and how to support their work.

Contact and connect with Jesse: jhowe@ccamd.org

CCA Maryland: https://www.ccamd.org/ 

https://www.ccamd.org/product/cca-membership/

https://www.ccamd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Vision_Chesapeake_Final.pdf

https://www.instagram.com/cca_md/

https://www.facebook.com/CCAMARYLAND

Sharon Ponton is the Stop the Pipelines Campaign Coordinator with us at BREDL and then George Jones is a student at Paine College studying History and is an intern with BREDL.

Heird Properties are when, deeds were written where entire families, including children, owned properties and then the owner(s) died without a will, therefore, hundreds of their descendants today could own the property in common...meaning no one person has the ability to make decisions regarding the property. This puts all of the owners-in-common at risk of abuse by the industry which wants to condemn the property.

I start by talking with Sharon about her work and courthouse research of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline easement documents recorded in Buckingham County, VA which led them to the heired properties. We also discuss the significance of heird properties and injustices which have led to these them. Then I speak with George about his personal experience learning that he owned heired property and getting to talk with his relatives in Georgia this past summer and also on getting his peers at Paine College involved and aware of heird property

Contact and connect with Sharon and George: ponton913@msn.com and georgejones3rd@icloud.com

Learn more about Heired Properties: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/state_local_government/publications/state_local_law_news/2016-17/fall/restoring_hope_heirs_property_owners_uniform_partition_heirs_property_act/

https://www.thebalance.com/what-does-heir-at-law-mean-3505555

Heired Properties and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline: https://friendsofnelson.com/bredl-releases-report-on-union-hill/

http://www.bredl.org/safeguard_americas_resources/200407_ACP_Invasion_during_Pandemic.htm

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article185036078.html

Heired Property information in Georgia: https://www.gaheirsproperty.org/heirs-property

http://digital.ipcprintservices.com/article/A_Primer_on_Heirs_Property_and_Georgia%E2%80%99s_New_Uniform_Partition_of_Heirs_Property_Act%3A_Protecting_Owners_of_Heirs_Property/1528545/178482/article.html

Keep up to date with what’s happening at BREDL: http://www.bredl.org/safeguard_americas_resources/index.htm

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

David Lamfrom is the Southeast Regional Director of the National Parks Conservation Association, he uses his passion and knowledge of our natural, cultural and historical resources to inspire others to learn about and protect our national parks.

We talk about some of the various campaigns he’s worked on and now is overseeing in the Southeast, bedrock environmental laws, inclusion and diversity within the environmental community, the historical significance of the southeast region, working with legislation to help protect and preserve 3 National Monuments, and the significance of having places being marked as National Monuments.

Contact and connect with David: dlamfrom@npca.org or npca.org

Endangered Species Act: https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/the-us-endangered-species-act

Antiquities Act: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/legal/american-antiquities-act-of-1906.htm

Bedrock Environmental Laws: https://support.nature.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=204

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/09/794857523/trump-administration-proposes-major-changes-to-bedrock-environmental-law

Mojave Trails National Preserve: https://www.nps.gov/moja/index.htm

https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/california/mojave-trails-national-monument

Sand to Snow National Monument: https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/sand-to-snow-national-monument

Castle Mountains National Monument: https://www.nps.gov/camo/index.htm

Bears Ears National Monument: https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/bears-ears-national-monument

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/bears-ears/

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music

Garry Morgan is one of the founding members of Bellefonte Efficiency & Sustainability Team or BEST for short and local expert of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). We talk about the background and structure of the TVA, who provide electricity for 10 million people in parts of 7 southeastern states. We discuss TVA’s relationship with nuclear and then specifically their Bellefonte Nuclear Plant located in Hollywood, AL. It has been named the “Zombie Nuclear Power Plant” because it keeps coming back to life. TVA built this 5 billion dollar nuclear plant, realized economics wouldn't work out, stopped construction, sold parts, and now a couple years later is trying to sell it to Franklin Haney of Nuclear Development LLC who wants to run it as a functioning nuclear plant. We talk about what the BEST chapter did and is still doing to fight against this and what can be done with the plant now.

Contact and connect with Garry: gmorg1@gmail.com

Learn more about the BEST chapter: http://www.matrr.org/

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): https://www.tva.gov/

Bellefonte Nuclear Plant: https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/bellefonte-constr-permits.html

https://whnt.com/news/northeast-alabama/nuclear-regulatory-commission-considering-construction-permits-for-bellefonte-nuclear-plant/

Articles on the Zombie Bellefonte Nuclear Plant: https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2019/dec/03/nrc-considers-license-transfer-new-owner-fini/509729/

https://www.al.com/news/2019/11/nuclear-development-still-pursuing-plan-to-buy-bellefonte.html

Learn more about what’s happening with Bellefonte:

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2019/dec/03/nrc-considers-license-transfer-new-owner-fini/509729/

https://www.al.com/news/2019/11/nuclear-development-still-pursuing-plan-to-buy-bellefonte.html

https://www.powermag.com/judge-tva-deal-for-bellefonte-nuclear-plant-stays-in-place/

Stay up to date on what happens with Bellefonte: BREDL.org 

Background Music Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbbmusic

https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial

https://www.instagram.com/mbb_music