Host: Greg Dalton

Guests:

Nick Mullins, former fifth-generation coal miner, blogger, Thoughts of a Coal Miner
Audrea Lim, Journalist & Editor, The World We Need, Stories and Lessons from America’s Unsung Environmental Movement

James Coleman, City Councilor, South San Francisco

Nick Mullins is a former fifth-generation coal miner from Clintwood, Virginia and creator of the blog, Thoughts of a Coal Miner. Growing up, his father taught him to love the woods that surrounded them.

“He'd take me and my brother to the top of the ridge line, show us the trees. We would play in the streams. I really got really connected to nature that way,” Mullins says.

As a kid, Mullins says he had a lot of pride and respect for his forefathers who supported their family by working in the coal mines. But as he grew older, his views of the industry that employed his family changed. When he was 19 years old, a coal company opened a mine on the mountain above his family home.

“It devastated me,” he said. “They had just obliterated all the oaks and all the poplars and it didn't look like the same place. And then as the months continued, they started stripping away the top soils and it just became, as some people have said, like a moonscape.” 

Mullins became an underground coal miner himself, because he says the “mono-economy of coal” meant there were few other options for a steady paycheck and good benefits. But he says that his experience of losing a natural place special to his family was one factor that drove him to leave the mines and become an activist against mountaintop removal. 

He says he’s been frustrated by the biases on all sides of the issue, from wealthy and privileged outsider environmentalists and academics who presume to understand the working-class life of a coal miner to the same coal miner who responds to such activism with “anti-environmentalism, anti-intellectualism.”

His advice to the larger environmental groups is to provide money, resources and trust to local grassroots activists. 

“Have faith that they can and will make change in their communities if they’re provided the resources,” he says.

Mullins is one of many grassroots activists featured in the book, The World We Need: Stories and Lessons from America's Unsung Environmental Movement. 

The book’s editor, Audrea Lim, says the goal was to push against the tide of coverage focused on large environmental groups. Instead, she sought to highlight people often working in their own communities to combat pollution and build toward a cleaner and more equitable society. Lim says those efforts are diverse, from housing and gentrification to local food systems and sustainable businesses. 

“The thing about grassroots activism, apart from the stereotype, is that it's really just people in a community who sort of see a problem — whether that’s refineries being built in their neighborhood or a community garden because they don't have access to food — and then they get together on their own and tried to find a solution to it,” Lim says. “It’s really as simple as that.”

Four years ago, James Coleman was a high school senior and climate activist in South San Francisco, an industrial city distinct from its more famous neighbor. Now he’s a city council member finishing up a degree in regenerative biology at Harvard. 

He says he continues to see a lot of tension between science and politics, especially during the pandemic.

“I think it's really important that scientists speak out and say that, you know, these are undeniable facts, and these facts need to be taken as facts and not politicized by whatever's happening in the national discourse,” Coleman says. 

Coleman says the combination of the racial justice movement in 2020 and the “dismissive” response from current city council to the concerns of him and other young activists motivated him to run for office. Now, somewhat to his surprise, he’s on the other side of the room.

“Growing up I never saw myself as an elected official. I always saw myself as an activist because that’s what I did in high school, that’s the role that I had as a college student.  I always saw myself as someone who would be holding elected officials accountable, not necessarily being the one in office being held accountable,” he says.

Climate change is a big part of his platform. He says a lot of people are working to get more young activists into office, even though activists and elected officials play fundamentally different roles: 

“A lot of activists can inform elected officials like [me] about the various issues that the community is concerned about,” Coleman says. “It’s their job to be idealistic, to have the vision, and it's my job to implement that vision and make it possible.”

Related Links:

Thoughts of a Coal Miner

The World We Need

This week on Folk Alley join Elena See for some classic folk from 50 years ago by Joan Baez, The Band, Joni Mitchell, plus recently released alternate tracks and demos from Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's, Déjà Vu; new music by Good Lovelies, The Brother Brothers, Sarah Jarosz, Jon Stickley Trio, Forest Sun; plus favorites by Karine Polwart, Milk Carton Kids, and Annie Mack.

In hour two, more new releases by Maria Muldaur with Tuba Skinny, The Accidentals, Carsie Blanton, and Companion; favorites by Cry Cry Cry, Dave Van Ronk, War & Pierce, and much more.

Forests have long occupied a fertile landscape in the human imagination. Places of mystery and magic - of wildness and wisdom - of vision and dreaming. Yet beyond mythic realms of imagination, we’ve largely treated forests as inert physical resources to satisfy human needs and desires. The main operative science behind this commodification has been market science – how to extract maximum resources and profits. Suzanne Simard is one of the revolutionary researchers transforming the science of forest ecology and coming full circle to the wisdom held by First Peoples and traditional land-based cultures from time immemorial. The story Simard is uncovering can change our story for how we live on Earth and with each other – for the long haul.

SHOW 855 (Air Dates: May 17 - 23, 2021) Our guest this week is saxophonist/composer Paul Winter. His musical odyssey has long embraced the traditions of the world’s cultures, as well as the wildlife voices of what he refers to as “the greater symphony of the Earth.” His concert tours and recording expeditions have taken him to 52 countries and to wilderness areas on six continents.

This month on Climate Connections: 

Air Date        Title 

Mon., 5/17 - California’s Climate Action Corps fights climate change: A similar program could soon roll out nationwide.

Tue., 5/18 - Increases in extreme precipitation cost the U.S. $73 billion over three decades: The U.S. is already paying the price of a warmer world, says Stanford researcher Frances Davenport.

Wed., 5/19 - Bladeless wind turbine generates electricity by vibrating: It’s a promising technology still in its infancy.

Thu., 5/20 - The ‘Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest’: A five-day event was designed to connect Jewish values with climate action.

Fri., 5/21 - Renovations put Seattle hockey arena closer to zero-carbon goal: Climate Pledge Arena, home to the Seattle Kraken, is expected to become the first net-zero arena.

Mon., 5/24 - Dominican Catholic sisters help create climate-friendly investment funds: The funds focus on projects that help vulnerable communities around the world.  

Tue., 5/25 - 95% of bull kelp forests have vanished from portion of California coast: The underwater seaweed forests once supported species such as salmon, crabs, and jellyfish.

Wed., 5/26 - Denmark plans massive wind-energy hub on an artificial island: The project is expected to eventually produce enough electricity for 10 million European households.

Thu., 5/27 - Solar panels over California’s canals could save 65 billion gallons of water a year: The panels would shade the water, reducing evaporation.  

Fri., 5/28 - Outer Banks communities see beach renourishment as critical: Rising seas and extreme storms are accelerating coastal erosion, threatening homes, hotels, and roads. 

Mon., 5/31 - New Mexico imposes strict rule to prevent natural gas waste: The rule will help prevent venting and flaring at oil fields and refineries.

Tue., 6/1 - Can fossil-fuel-dependent Wyoming build a more diverse economy? The coal, oil, and gas industries generate about half of the state’s revenue.

Wed., 6/2 - How Swiss utilities got their customers to buy renewable energy: After they made the change, participation in clean energy programs skyrocketed.

Thu., 6/3 - Foresters use fire and goats to care for Mark Twain National Forest: Their work will help reduce the threat of severe wildfires.

Fri., 6/4 - Youth-led Sunrise Movement calls for national job guarantee: Organizer Dejah Powell says such a program would help build the labor force needed to transition the U.S. from fossil fuels to clean energy.

Mon., 6/7 - How extreme heat can ground hot air balloons: A heat wave forced balloonists to cancel flights at a 2019 Michigan festival.

Tue., 6/8 - Virtual reality forest takes users for a walk in the woods of the future: Penn State researchers are experimenting with a prototype modeled after a forest in northern Wisconsin.

Wed., 6/9 - Community solar programs can help low-income people benefit from solar energy: To help expand access, one solar developer is offering subscriptions without credit checks.

Thu., 6/10 - Why warm temperatures at nighttime can be dangerous: Cool nights give your body a break. During a heatwave, you might not get one.

Fri., 6/11 - How one company is building affordable, sustainable homes: Solar Home Factory is working to make climate-friendly housing accessible to more people, including renters.