Life Examined
The history and racist legacy of the environmental movement
As world leaders gather and debate the global climate crisis in Scotland, COPs and conferences are no longer dominated by white, rich nations.
By Jonathan Bastian • • 26m ListenAs world leaders gather and debate the global climate crisis in Scotland, COPs and conferences are no longer dominated by white, rich nations. Over the last 30 years, the environmental movement has evolved, shaped by those at the grass roots level — Indigenous peoples, the poor and underprivileged, and children who suffer the worst because of climate change.
Jonathan Bastian talks with Dorceta Taylor, Professor of Environmental Justice at Yale University and author of “The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection,”
about the history and legacy of the environmental movement and how the discourse has shifted since the murder of George Floyd. Taylor shares her remarkable story of growing up poor in the Jamaican countryside and how she become a leading voice in environmental justice.
The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection.” Photo by Ian Robinson.
Jonathan Bastian
Host, Life Examined
Andrea Brody
Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast
Dorceta Taylor
Senior Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Professor of Environmental Justice, Yale University; author of “The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection"