This lecture explores the intersections of social policy, land use, energy justice and environmental justice from the perspective of some of the most preeminent environmental justice advocates, lawyers, and policy champions in the U.S. Raya Salter founded the Energy Justice Law and Policy Center and is a member of the NY Climate Action Council. She is in conversation with William Barber III, the founder and CEO of the Rural Beacon Initiative, and Angella Dunston, member of the League of Conservation Voters and NC Rural Center. This is a deep-dive conversation with those working at the forefront of environmental justice policy advocacy in North Carolina and the U.S. Access Wilson Lecture Archive: https://sanford.duke.edu/news-events/distinguished-lecture-series/wilson-lecture/ Find out more about the Energy and Environment theme at the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy: https://sanford.duke.edu/faculty-research/key-themes/theme-energy-environment/

Hosted by Raya Salter, members of The Black Hive, including founder, Valencia Gunder, Wes Gobar, and Dr. Dominic Bednar, as well as singer songwriter AY Young shine a light on the need for global energy justice. Energy is power. How can that power, which has grown out of colonialism and slavery, be shifted to benefit everyone? COP 27, filled with big oil, coal and gas interests, failed to reach a deal to transition equitably and rapidly from fossil fuels, while people throughout the world lack affordable, clean energy and suffer environmental and climate injustice. The Black Hive is working to address the needs of people who have been marginalized and to find a pathway, by advocating programs like community solar, to equitable energy distribution. Edited by Glenn Goodwin Music by AY Young For more information, and to join the Black Hive, visit https://theblackhive.org/ For more information on the state of our planet visit the FacingFuture Library at https://facingfuture.earth/library.

#XiyeBastida, the 20-year-old Mexican activist and Dr. Stella Nyambura Mbau, whose work in Sub Saharan Africa fosters climate resilience, give firsthand testimony of the 'Loss and Damage' that has finally been included in the COP agenda. With hosts Raya Salter and Jem Bendell, they focus attention on the need for #ClimateJustice. While delegates give speeches, and industries parade their wares at the side shows of #COP27, people in countries around the world who have contributed the least to the climate crisis, continue to suffer. This year, the drought in East Africa severed food supply for 22 million people, while record monsoons in Pakistan took 1,500 lives and uprooted 33 million people. Mudslides inundated villages in Central America, killing dozens and displacing 560,000 people. Expectations are not high, but the US is signaling a willingness to discuss the issue more seriously. As movements worldwide focus on climate justice, there is an increasing need for climate activism to focus on solidarity among and with those most affected in the global South. Editor, Glenn Goodwin Music, At the Bazaar by David Fesliyan For more on Dr. Nyambura Mbau: https://www.resilience.org/resilience-author/stella-nyambura-mbau-phd/ For more on Xiye Bastida: https://www.xiyebeara.com/ For more information on the state of our planet visit the FacingFuture Library at https://facingfuture.earth/library.

In a contentious Congressional hearing on big oil, #RayaSalter, climate attorney and host of Facing Future, was attacked by Republican climate deniers. She held her ground. Joined by Drs. Cha and Weber, she laid out the inequality and injustice that lie at the heart of the climate crisis. Petrochemical companies have made billions in profits while denying the realities of #ClimateChange. #Greenwashing their campaign of denial, they make inadequate pledges to reduce emissions by 2100 which, as Rep. Raskin points out, would take the world to 4 degrees C, well beyond the 1.5 goal, bringing conditions inconsistent with humanity’s survival. WIth so much at stake, MAGA Republicans, in coordination with big oil and gas companies, continue to block serious action. Let’s vote them out in the next election!

Black Westchester presents The People Before Politics Radio Show Episode 335 - "A Black Environmental Justice Roundtable,"

Most of us have understood the scientific consensus to be that no matter what we do, the damage we have caused the planet is baked in, and that even if we stopped all emissions now, the Earth's temperature would continue to rise for 30-40 years. But does climate science actually say this? It turns out that new climate models have led scientist Michael Mann to dramatically revise that lag time estimate down to as little as 3 to 5 years. This means that the best #ClimateScience you’ve probably never heard of suggests that the temperature will stop rising, although it will take more time to go down to safe levels. Humanity might still be able to limit the damage to a fraction of the worst projections, if we take strong action starting now. This action must include recovering, preserving and protecting carbon sinks. And we need radical transformative change in government policy, redirecting subsidies away from fossil fuels. Host Raya Salter speaks to #MarkHertsgaard, veteran climate reporter, author and Executive Director of #CoveringClimateNow, about this “hidden science” and what it means for the climate movement. For more information on the state of our planet visit the FacingFuture Library at https://facingfuture.earth/library

The new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, released this week, gives a dire warning: we are hitting “hard limits,” damage so extensive and ongoing that soon it will outpace our ability to adapt. We must act within this decade. The report finds that up to 3.6 billion people live in areas highly vulnerable to the most immediate effects of climate change. Once #TippingPoints are reached, no place on Earth will be unaffected. #Mitigation efforts we can take now will not be possible in a few years. The window of opportunity is closing. This is what UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres calls “an atlas for human suffering.” Raya Salter speaks with Dr. Deborah Ley, a Lead Author of the #IPCC Report, which focuses on widespread and irreversible impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Dr. Ley is a climate change specialist and an Officer with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. If there is a bright side, it is that the report finds that societal choices can make all the difference. We have 10 years to stand up and fight for our lives, the natural world and the planet itself. For more information on the state of our planet visit the FacingFuture Library at https://facingfuture.earth/library

On Jan. 31, 2022, Raya Salter joined US Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, queens activists and the Peak Coalition in announcing the Justice in Power Permitting Act, designed to protect communities from environmental injustice.