KPFA - Terra Verde

Photo by AFGE/Wikimedia. Forty years ago, the Supreme Court established what would become a bedrock principle in administrative law. Known as Chevron deference, the principle required that courts defer to the expertise of federal agencies when interpreting any ambiguities in the laws they were tasked with implementing. In late June, six of the nine supreme court justices joined the majority opinion in a case overturning Chevron deference. Under the decision issued in Loper Bright Enterprises, the Court says it should be judges, not agency experts at, say, the Environmental Protection Agency, who should make the call when interpreting statutory ambiguities. It may seem mundane, but the decision represents a sea change for the United States regulatory system. And it could have far-reaching implications for everything from environmental protection, to food safety, to disability rights. David Doniger, Senior Advisor to the NRDC Action Fund, joins Terra Verde host and Earth Island Journal Managing Editor Zoe Loftus-Farren to discuss the new legal landscape and what it means for efforts to protect the environment. The post Environmental Protection in a Post-Chevron World appeared first on KPFA.

Today’s show is preempted by the second hour of Democracy Now, broadcasting from the RNC in Milwaukee. The first hour can be found here. The post Special Event Programming: Democracy Now at the RNC appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – July 12, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – July 5, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

Bioregional regeneration is a land stewardship approach focused on undoing past harms and reversing environmental degradation, while bringing back biodiversity and cultivating ecological resilience. Solar Punk Farms is a queer-led climate hub dedicated to bioregional regeneration in Guerneville, CA. Through a radically inclusive approach that incorporates science, art, and collaboration, the farm engages queer folks, youth, and local community members to create a more ecologically-minded society — while also creating a safe space designed for queer people to explore farming and cultivate a strong sense of identity in a rural, land-focused environment. Spencer Scott co-founded Solar Punk Farms with his husband, Nick Schwanz. On this episode, Spencer joins Terra Verde host Fiona McLeod to talk about the vision and philosophy behind the climate hub, and about their work to create resilient ecosystems and thriving, sustainable communities. The post Making Sustainable Living Practical (and Irresistible) appeared first on KPFA.

Photo courtesy of Tingey Injury Law Firm/Unsplash Energy Transfer – the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline or DAPL – is suing Greenpeace USA for $300 million, claiming that the environmental group and not the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, organized the resistance against DAPL at Standing Rock in 2016-17. The suit is another Big Oil strategy to shut down opposition to its climate-damaging activities. If successful, it could have far-reaching implications. The brains behind the lawsuit — the international law firm, Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher — has a long history of helping fossil fuel and other polluting industry silence their opponents. Earth Island Journal editor-in-chief Maureen Nandini Mitra and Terra Verde cohost talks with Emily Sanders, a reporter and investigator with Exxon Knews, and Haley Czarnek, National Director of Law Students for Climate Accountability, a student-led organization, about big law firms that are part of an ecosystem of enablers helping fossil fuel companies to keep doing business as usual and the growing effort by activists to hold them accountable. The post The Law Firms Propping Up Big Oil appeared first on KPFA.

California plans to rely in part on carbon capture and storage to meet its climate goals. Environmental groups say it won’t work, and that the strategy will perpetuate environmental injustices. Photo of a oil and gas development in California by John Ciccarelli / BLM. Carbon capture and storage, often referred to by insiders as CCS, isn’t exactly a new concept — the first carbon capture plan was proposed back in the 1930s. But recently, as the stark reality of the climate crisis has set in, interest in the idea has ticked up considerably, particularly among government and industry actors. Many frontline activists, environmental groups, and scientists say that’s a problem, pointing to the ways in which carbon capture and storage throws a lifeline to the fossil fuel industry, perpetuates environmental injustices, and diverts attention and resources from true climate solutions. Maricruz Ramiriz, a Community Organizer with the Center on Race Poverty and the Environment in California’s Central Valley, and Victoria Bogdan Tejeda, a Staff Attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law program, join Terra Verde host and Earth Island Journal Managing Editor Zoe Loftus-Farren to discuss carbon capture and storage in California, and the ways in which its deployment could pose a risk to both people and planet. The post Digging into California’s Carbon Capture Plans appeared first on KPFA.

Garbage “waste-to-energy” incineration has long been sold to the public as a technologically-advanced solution to the waste crisis and a source of renewable energy. In reality, incineration poses significant environmental, human health, and climate risks, while disproportionately impacting communities of color and low-income communities that already face high pollution burdens. Anti-incineration advocates also point to the high costs needed to keep this declining industry afloat in the U.S., siphoning public money away from more just and sustainable waste management solutions. This week on Terra Verde, host and producer Hannah Wilton invites Denaya Shorter, Senior Director for the US and Canada Region of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), to discuss the anti-incineration movement and zero waste alternatives to burning. Denaya sheds light on the industry’s connections to the plastic and petrochemical complex, the concept of “waste colonialism,” zero waste as a strategy rooted in justice, and the recent closure of California’s second to last waste incinerator, representing a major win for grassroots community activists and environmental groups. The post Starving the Incinerators appeared first on KPFA.

In October, the Teesta III dam in Northeast India was destroyed when torrential rains caused an upstream glacial lake to overflow and burst. Indigenous activists in the region have protested against the Teesta III and other major hydropower projects for decades, warning of the catastrophic impacts that dams, railway tunnels, and industry activities have on the fragile and sacred ecosystem that is especially prone to seismic activity, landslides, and climate change-related events. On this episode of Terra Verde, Mayalmit Lepcha and Minket Lepcha join host Fiona McLeod, to discuss how they have worked to protect their ancestral homelands in Sikkim and Darjeeling, and to advocate for indigenous communities most impacted by disasters like the Teesta III dam break. They share important insights about how the tragedy in Northeast India offers important lessons that decision-makers, community members, and individuals around the world can learn from. To learn more about Minket Lepcha and her film, Voices of Teesta, click here: https://talkingrivers.org/minket-lepcha. To learn more about Mayalmit Lepcha and her work with Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) and International Rivers, click here: https://www.internationalrivers.org/news/women-river-defender-highlight-marmit-lepcha/ The post Voices of the River Teesta appeared first on KPFA.

This week’s episode of Terre Verde is preempted by part 2 of a special edition of Professor Richard Wolff’s Economic Update. The post Special Spring Fund Drive Programming appeared first on KPFA.

This week’s episode of Terre Verde is preempted by part 2 of a special edition of Professor Richard Wolff’s Economic Update. The post Special Spring Fund Drive Programming appeared first on KPFA.

This week’s episode is preempted by part 2 of Professor Richard Wolff’s Economic Update. Click here for part 1. The post Special Spring Fund Drive Programming appeared first on KPFA.

With one of the largest and most diverse agricultural sectors in the United States, California is encouraging its producers to adopt sustainable farming practices to help mitigate climate change. While many state incentive programs have been introduced in recent years, we have a long way to go in order to fully understand the potential benefits of climate smart farming and to implement these regenerative practices on a wider scale. This episode of Terra Verde explores the growing field of climate smart agriculture, shedding light on research gaps, policy barriers and the most pressing challenges confronting California’s producers today as they strive to invest in long-term sustainable land stewardship. Tune in as host and producer Hannah Wilton speaks with Jamie Fanous, Policy Director at Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), and Jessica Chiartas, a Project Scientist at University of California, Davis and Founder of Soil Life, whose research focuses on the long-term impacts of agriculture on soil carbon, soil health and ecosystem services. Together, Jessica and CAFF recently published a scientific literature review titled, Understanding the Science Behind Climate Smart Agriculture in California, which explores key climate smart practices within a California context while identifying knowledge gaps in the field. The post Farming for the Future appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – April 26, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

Not only do restaurant workers comprise at least half of the country’s 22 million food industry workers, they also happen to be among the lowest paid — the minimum wage for tipped workers is still just $2.13 an hour at the federal level. Photo by Andreas Brændhaugen. Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at University of California, Berkeley, speaks with Earth Island Journal editor Maureen Nandini Mitra and Terra Verde cohost about why the environmental movement should work in solidarity with restaurant workers as well how the ongoing restaurant worker revolt in the country could have enormous implications for labor and environmental justice and for our democracy as well. The post Serving Justice All Along the Food Chain appeared first on KPFA.

Dolores Huerta is a giant within the labor movement. She got her start in the movement early, pivoting from her work as a young teacher in California’s Central Valley community organizing when she saw how her students and their families were struggling. She hasn’t stopped since, and has spent the last seven decades fighting for farmworkers rights, including for fair wages, safer working conditions, and the very right for workers to collectively organize. She’s helped shape the environmental justice movement in the United States, and has proven a tireless advocate for civil rights and women’s rights. She is perhaps best known for co-founding what would become the United Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chavez in 1962s, and currently, she serves as the founder and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, which advocates for social justice by empowering marginalized communities through grassroots organizing, civic engagement, and education initiatives. Journal Managing Editor Zoe Loftus-Farren spoke with Huerta in late March just ahead of the Bioneers conference Berkeley, and ahead of her 94th birthday, which was on April 10. The post In Conversation with Dolores Huerta appeared first on KPFA.

Like many of North America’s top apex predators — wolves, mountain lions, and bears — coyotes have faced a long history of persecution and extermination. Yet, unlike these nearly-disappeared species, coyote populations responded by tripling their range. Found across urban and rural landscapes, this resilient species plays a vital role in maintaining balance and enriching biodiversity in California’s ecosystems. While coyotes have demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt to our human world, we still have a long way to go to coexist with coyotes. Nearly 500,000 coyotes are killed each year through hunting, wildlife killing contests, and other lethal control methods, despite decades of scientific research that shows killing coyotes doesn’t “work” to manage populations nor minimize conflict. Founder and executive director of Project Coyote Camilla Fox joins Terra Verde host and producer Hannah Wilton to discuss the life cycle of coyotes (as we enter spring pup rearing season!) and sustainable solutions to coexist with our wild neighbors. Drawing on Project Coyote’s longtime work to protect North America’s wild carnivores, Camilla offers her perspective on radicalizing compassion for our native Song Dog and respecting the inherent value of coyotes in California’s ecosystems. The post Coexisting with Coyotes appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – March 29, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

After years of struggle, Indigenous activists and allies rejoiced last week, as the Berkeley City Council announced a global settlement to purchase West Berkeley’s historic Ohlone Shellmound village site and pass title of the land to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust. The 2.2-acre parcel is the last undeveloped portion of the first human settlement in the Bay Area where, more than 5,000 years ago, ancestors of today’s Ohlone people created a unique way of life at the mouth of Strawberry Creek. It is believed this deal will be the largest and most expensive urban #LandBack victory in California history — and perhaps in U.S. history. On this episode of Terra Verde, Fiona McLeod speaks with Corrina Gould, Chairperson of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation, and co-founder of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, about what it took to secure this historic victory, and what’s next for the West Berkeley Shellmound village site. The post West Berkeley Shellmound Returns to Lisjan Nation in Historic #LandBack Victory appeared first on KPFA.

A boy plays basketball in front of an oil well that is covered with large colorful flowers and is located next to Beverly Hills High School. Wells like this are hidden throughout Los Angeles. Photo by Sarah Craig / Faces of Fracking. In February, California’s Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM), the agency that manages oil and gas extraction in the state, formally announced its plan to phase out fracking in the state. The move came after years of campaigning by environmental and social justice groups and three years after CalGEM had essentially stopped issuing new fracking permits. While the move is an environmental justice and climate win, as always, there are some devils hiding in the details. To shine a light on those details, Earth Island Journal editor and Terra Verde-cohost Maureen Nandini Mitra speaks with Kobi Naseck, coalition director of VISION (Voices in Solidarity Against Oil in Neighborhoods). Learn more about the Big Oil-sponsored referendum that will allow drilling to continue near homes and schools. To find out if there’s a neighborhood drilling site of any kind near you, visit vision-ca.org A public hearing on the fracking rulemaking will be held at 5:30 p.m. on March 26. To offer your opinion you can register here or join by telephone: 404-443-6397 (English), ​877-336-1831 (English), Conf Code: 148676 888-455-1820 (Español), Código: 3167375 You can also email your comment to CalGEMRegulations@conservation.ca.gov The post Is California Really Ending Fracking? appeared first on KPFA.