Month: April 2021

Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy has been a hot issue for activists, communities, and the people most affected by the climate crisis. While actions like mountain top removal pollute the air, water, and food in neighborhoods surrounding the Appellation region in West Virginia and Kentucky, 68% of Black Americans also reside near coal fire power plants in their communities, making this an issue that affects us all.

Rev Yearwood speaks with Mary Anne Hitt, the Senior Director of Climate Imperative at Energy Innovation. They share their ideas and thoughts on introducing the green energy transition to communities while creating equity in these areas for the people. Mary Anne also spent 12 years with the Sierra Club and describes its growth and understanding of racial justice as the center of the climate movement and launching campaigns to end fossil fuels with grassroots organizers.

The Coolest Show – brought to you by Hip Hop Caucus Think 100% PODCASTS – drops new episodes every Monday on environmental justice and how we solve the climate crisis. Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood on Instagram, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Everything is interdisciplinary and intersectional. As our analysis of the world evolves to include the root of our issues (global racial capitalism and white supremacy), it must inform our work. Naomi Klein is an award-winning journalist, columnist, and author. Naomi discusses with Rev Yearwood the effects of exploiting states of trauma from Climate Gentrification, building public support for fights with fossil fuel companies, and reflections on President Biden’s first 100 days in office.

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Energy Combat requires a hand-to-hand fight with policymakers and interest groups who have persuaded the passing of laws that benefit corporations and disengage communities most affected. Dr. Leah Stokes, Assistant Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, discusses with Rev Yearwood her book “Short-Circuiting Policy”. She shares the tactics that Fossil Fuels companies use over the years, from graduating from Climate Denial to now Climate Delay and even hiring actors to protest in support of the companies taking land from our neighborhoods.  We must realize that both the Green Energy and Fossil Fuels companies cannot both have their way, and Dr. Stokes gives us a game plan to combat these tactics.

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Energy poverty is the lack of access to reliable energy, and energy insecurity stems from the lack of affordability and a higher energy burden due to cost, infrastructure, and more. In the midst of a pandemic disproportionately impacting low income and people of color, a federal mandate on energy shut offs would have averted almost 15% of COVID-19 deaths (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2021). In this episode, Rev Yearwood speaks with Shalanda Baker, the deputy director for energy justice in the Department of Energy. Shalanda shares with us her living journey and what prepared her to lead the fight for energy justice. The impact of allocating resources and including environmental justice communities in the restructuring plans. They also speak about the demand for energy justice being equitable for Black and Brown people as we move from fossil fuels to electrification.

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The climate movement has missed its chance to intersect with other fights for equality since the 1960s. The Environmental Justice movement has been treated like an unwanted stepchild during this time. The stakes are high now, and fossil fuel companies’ business plan leads to a death sentence for our people.  The Coolest Show speaks with Climate Justice writer Mary Annaïse Heglar and journalist Amy Westervelt, host of the Hot Takes Podcast.  We discuss religion in the climate space and the differences of where people draw faith doing this work.

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This Good Friday, The Coolest Show presents a difficult discussion intersecting Climate, Religion, Family, and Race. Rev Yearwood speaks with Anna Jane Joyner, the founder of the Good Energy Project and co-host of the No Place Like Home podcast.  Anna Jane is also the daughter of Rick Joyner, an evangelical preacher who has called for white evangelicals to arm themselves against Liberals. Anna Jane gives us a personal account of who her father is and where she draws the line between family ties and activism for people of color.

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