Earth Day Advocacy Day took place at the State Capitol on April 25. The groups were backing more than 2 dozen bills urging the legislature to pass key environmental bills addressing environmental health and justice, eliminating toxics in consumer products, packaging, and water, lead in paint and pipes, energy efficiency and equity, and land use conservation. We hear from the emcee, Bobbi Wilder of Clean and Healthy NY; Senator Harckman and Assemblymember Deborah Glick, chairs of the environmental committees; Senator Lea Webb; Assemblymember Ken Debrowski; and several members of WEACT, including Briana Carbajal their state legislative manager.

Report On Earth Day Advocacy Day At Capitol

A new report by the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter says New York has failed to regulate the spreading of sewage sludge contaminated with manufacturing chemicals such as PFAS that can harm humans. The group wants the state to ban the land application of sewage sludge such as on farm land. Wayne Miller, Chair of the club's Northern Watersheds Committee and an organic farmer,  discusses the issue with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

Sierra Club Proposes Ban on Spreading of Sewage Sludge

DEC will hold two public hearings on the controversial Dunn construction and demolition debris landfill on Tuesday August 8. The hearings will be at 2 and 6 P in the Rensselaer Junior/Senior High School auditorium. The existing permit has expired. The landfill has drawn widespread criticism from elected officials and local residents over odor, noise, truck traffic and its location next to a school. Bob Welton of the Rensselaer Environmental Coalition talks with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine. Note: the correct address to submit comments is Comment.DunnFacility@dec.ny.gov

DEC Hearing On Dunn Landfill In Rensselaer Aug 8

Neonics devastate the bees, birds, and other pollinators critical to New York’s food security, economy, and environment. Neonics also threaten New Yorkers’ health, especially that of children. The Birds and Bees Protection Act would address worsening neonic contamination by banning the harmful and unnecessary uses accounting for 80-90% of the neonics entering the states’ environment every year. Daniel Raichel of NRDC talks to Mark Dunlea of Hudson Mohawk Magazine as to whether Governor Hochul will sign the bill into law.

Groups Urge Governor To Sign The Bird And Bees Protection Act

The Rensselaer Environmental Coalition and Capital Region Mothers Out Front organized a press conference on Tuesday, August 8, in conjunction with two hearings by the state DEC on the pending permit renewal of the controversial Dunn Landfill in the City of Rensselaer. It is the largest construction and demolition debris landfill in the state. Residents and local governments for several years have been calling for the landfill to be shut down due to its closeness to a public school, noxious odors, and noise and other impacts from a hundred or so large trucks rolling down neighborhood streets daily. In part one of our coverage, we hear first from Alycia Bacon of Mothers Out Front; Rensselaer County Legislator Nina Nichols of Troy; Bob Blackman of the Justice Center; and, East Green Bush Town Supervisor Jack Conway.

Dunn Landfill Opponents Speak Out Before DEC Hearing

Join Host Michael Lerner in a conversation with Gary Cohen, founder of Healthcare without Harm. They will trace the evolution of the modern health and environmental justice movement over the years, starting in 1996, when Gary founded the organization after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified medical waste incineration as the leading source of dioxin, one of the most potent carcinogens. You can hear a past conversation with Gary here, one of the first conversations at The New School.

Gary Cohen
Gary is a co-founder and president of Health Care Without Harm (http://noharm.org ), the international campaign for environmentally responsible healthcare. HCWH is working to prevent disease and illness in society by assisting the healthcare sector to understand the links between a healthy environment and healthy people and helping hospitals become more environmentally sustainable as well as anchors in their communities for resilience, equity and community wellness. He is president of Practice Greenhealth, a U.S. membership affiliate of HCWH with over 1300 hospital members. He is also the co-founder of Greenhealth Exchange, a sustainable purchasing cooperative in the U.S. healthcare sector. Gary is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Sambhavna Clinic in Bhopal, India, which provides free medical care to the survivors of the Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal. Gary was awarded the MacArthur "Genius:" award in 2015, and the Champion for Change for Climate Change and Public Health by the White House in 2013. He was also awarded the Skoll Global Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2006 and the Frank Hatch Award for Enlightened Public Service Award in 2007.

Host Michael Lerner
Michael is the president and co-founder of Commonweal. His principal work at Commonweal is with the Cancer Help Program, CancerChoices.org, the Omega Resilience Projects, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment, and The New School at Commonweal. He was the recipient of a MacArthur Prize Fellowship for contributions to public health in 1983 and is author of Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Therapies (MIT Press).

Find out more about The New School at Commonweal on our website: tns.commonweal.org. And like/follow our Soundcloud channel for more great podcasts.

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New School Conversations

2023:09.08 - Gary Cohen: The Evolution of the Modern Health and Environmental Justice Movement

Todd Ommen is the Director of the PACE Environmental Litigation Clinic, which is representing Lights Out Norlite in its legal efforts to shut down the Norlite hazardous waste incinerator and aggregate production facility in Cohoes. He provides an update on DEC's efforts to amend Norlite's permit to treat the fly ash from the plant as hazardous waste. Norlite recently - at least temporarily - has shut down and laid off workers. With Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

Update On Closing Down Norlite Hazardous Waste Incinerator

Hudson Mohawk Magazine is a local volunteer-produced news hour that provides sanctuary for the discussion of a wide range of topics, scaling from the global to the hyper-local. The show is broadcasted from The Sanctuary for Independent Media on WOOC 105.3 FM.

Thanks to listeners like you, the Sanctuary is able to use art and participatory action to promote social and environmental justice and freedom of creative expression.

The New School presents conversations, book signings, art, and lectures with thought and action leaders of our time. We are a learning community of 4,000 people in the Bay Area and around the world dedicated to learning what matters. 

TNS focuses on the emergent, seeking out the thought and action leaders who are bringing discussion, beauty, and change to the world. We present events and podcast them in many areas: arts and sciences, health and the environment, and inner life. We follow streams of inquiry, including our End-of-Life Conversations, and series on Resilience, Archetypal Psychology, and Healing Circles.

New tracks tagged #toxics