Intersectional Environmentalism with Kevin Patel | EP.3 Climate Change Mini Series

Download the episode NOW to have SeaTrees plant 1 SeaTree for the first 100 downloads on each episode!

Welcome to the last episode of the Climate Change Mini Series: Intersectional Environmentalism with Kevin Patel. Kevin Patel is a 21 year old environmental activist who has now been fighting climate change for a decade. Kevin has a profoundly unique story. At the age of 12, he developed heart murmurs due to the air pollution in south central LA where he was living. Kevin describes his work in activism as “a survival tool.” Kevin didn’t just become passionate about helping the environment, he was physically impacted by the harmful effects of climate change. Kevin works tirelessly to solve climate change and help his community survive. Kevin is the founder and executive director of One Up Action, an amazing nonprofit helping the youth and individuals create change around the world by mobilizing at the community level to improve individuals direct living conditions, and at the governmental level. Kevin is also the founder of the Youth Climate Commission LA, which gives the youth an actual seat at the table in drafting and reviewing climate policy. Kevin has worked with National geographic and Patagonia through his activism, and is a Ted X Speaker.

Kevin has 10 years working as a climate activist and has real and personal experience with how climate change affects humans not just the planet. In this episode, Kevin and I discuss what Intersectional Environmentalism is, how climate change, specifically the pollution side of climate change affects people, what sacrifice zones are and how the infrastructures contributing to climate change are disproportionately affecting marginalized communities and BIPOC people. Along with focusing on the physical side of climate change, Kevin and I discuss how to best fight the climate crisis, and we discuss specific tools you can use to join the movement and create positive change.

The Climate Change Mini Series is brought to you by Guayaki Yerba Mate. Guayaki is making delicious Yerba Mate beverages in one of the most sustainable ways possible. Guayaki has over 300 privately owned electric vehicles for their distribution which are driven by ex convicts to give them a positive opportunity in the workforce. Through Guayaki’s regenerative business model, they are able to restore and regenerate ecosystems and communities across the world. Guayaki just in the beginning of December 2020, just achieved their goal of restoring and stewarding 202,836 Acres of the Atlantic rainforest, and through this work of restoring ecosystems, provided over 850 living wage jobs to the communities in the area.

The mission of the climate change mini series is by and large to help solve climate change. One way that we aim to help solve climate change is through the content of the three episodes in the series. The other main way is through highlighting the company and non-profit working with us to support the series. SeaTrees is a California based non-profit that believes the ocean has the power to reverse climate change and has the current goal of planting 1 million sea trees. SeaTrees fosters “blue-carbon” ecosystems such as mangrove trees planted in the ocean, which is 5-10 times more effective than a rainforest at removing carbon from the air. For the first 100 downloads on each episode of the climate change mini series, SeaTrees will plant one sea tree. So go download each episode now, and help sequester carbon from the atmosphere by planting a sea tree.