Harriet Shugarman, Founder and Exec. Director of ClimateMama

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hudson River Radio dot Com.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hello, out there and podcast land and beyond. Wherever this
reaches you know, different places in the atmosphere and out
in space. Who knows Maxie Margo Ruben along with my
co host Malcolm Berman, and this is the Many Shades
of Green, a program that adds a dash of green
into your life. As we engage in conversations that move

(00:41):
to inform, educate, activate, and raise your eco and social
consciousness through culture, politics, music, arts, science, community, books and more.
We hope to inspire you to pick a shade of
green and become a stuard of this beautiful, blue green
planet we call Earth. Alcome out in La La Land. Hi, Harriet,

(01:04):
you're out west too, utah uh and usually in New
York City though okay, uh huh. We've got Neil back
in studio and there, so I'll welcome to the Many
Shades of Green, which we start off every week, which
is great now with some music. So I am going

(01:26):
through my head and I figured this one would go
and fit well into what we're talking about. It's Teach
Your Children by Crosby Stills, Nash and Young.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
Road.

Speaker 4 (01:53):
Must have a cho.

Speaker 5 (01:57):
That you can't live.

Speaker 4 (02:00):
And so.

Speaker 5 (02:03):
Become yourself, because the past is just a good bade.
Teach your children well, the fathers have did slowly go by.

Speaker 6 (02:25):
Nthe them on your dream, the.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
One they picked, the one you know that.

Speaker 6 (02:38):
Don't you ever the rest them?

Speaker 7 (02:42):
If they don't, you would die to just look at
them and sun.

Speaker 6 (02:52):
And know they love.

Speaker 4 (02:54):
You, and.

Speaker 6 (03:08):
Unten I can't know the fis see that you elder
is good to ask me, and so please help you
them with your receive the two girls before they can die.

(03:30):
Teach your parents well, the children's help.

Speaker 5 (03:38):
Will slowly go by.

Speaker 6 (03:42):
Emty them on your dream the one they bits, the
one you know by.

Speaker 5 (03:56):
Don't you ever ask them?

Speaker 7 (03:58):
Why?

Speaker 5 (03:59):
If a Damns.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
And Crosby Steels Nation lyrics, gorgeous song, gorgeous lyrics and
it kind of fits in quick just quickly. Story behind

(04:31):
Graham Nashley, who wrote it. It centers on his realization
in nineteen sixty eight that humanity's future was threatened by
messages of violence given to children. The song advocates for
parents to impart wisdom and kindness to their children, while
also encouraging children to remind their parents of these values
as they grow. The hit song became a hit for Crosby, Stills,

(04:54):
Nash and Young and it features Jerry Garcia on pedal
steel guitar. Interesting think in fact, I had to throw
that out. I always have to throw out something to Neil,
he's the music guy. So with that, it cannot be
denied that we are in a difficult period of time
in the US and globally. How do we talk to

(05:16):
children about what is going on without scaring the living
daylights out of them? How do we talk to them
about the state of our nation and about climate change?
We need to start listening to them in order to
understand their feelings by using age appropriate language and connecting
it to their daily lives. With respect to the environment,
a good starting point can be to find ways to

(05:38):
relate climate change their daily lives and explore the basic
facts together. Try to expose your child to nature as
much as possible, get them outside, nurture their enjoyment while
being outside. Focus on positive action, exploring solutions as family,
and pointing out ways people and communities are working to

(05:58):
make a difference. And we have to empower children by
showing them how they can contribute, emphasizing that it's not
their fault. Any of this right now and fostering a
connection to nature and their community. We have to focus on,
as I said, on actions and solutions and examples of
people who are working on ways to address climate change.

(06:19):
So for every problem you discuss, try to show a solution,
Discuss positive inspiring stories you see on wherever it can be.

Speaker 5 (06:28):
Gam do me a favor. Don't only tell your children
tell me this.

Speaker 2 (06:31):
Right, well, teach your parents. That's the whole idea. So today,
as our guests, and you are welcoming in our fourteenth season, Harriet, wow,
because it's like you are the guest work. And that's
I was trying to calculate and it came out to fourteen.
It's been a while, so anyway, I guess. Is Harriet Sugarman,

(06:53):
who's one of the leading voices in the global parent
climate movement, the founder of an executive director of Client Mama,
and the award winning author of How To Talk to
Your Kids About Climate, Turning Angst into Action. Harriet is
the chair of the Advisory Council for Our Kids Climate,
an anchor organization connecting national and grassroots groups from more

(07:15):
than fifty countries working on intergenerational organizing and engagement strategies.
I have to read this because you're just so amazing.
So just give me, just you give me another you know,
thirty seconds. She is a core team member with the
Ecocyclopedia Project, and she'll explain that later, a leadership council

(07:35):
member with Dear Tomorrow, which we'll talk about, and a
professor of World sustainability and climate change policy and society.
She's an economist and policy analyst and worked for thirteen
years with the International Monetary Fund, including ten as an
IMF representative at the United Nations. Harriet is a mentor

(07:55):
and leader with the Climate Reality Project and the recipient
of the Prestigio Climate Reality Alfredo Circus Memorial Green Ring Award.
You all get those green rings right or right or
buttons or something. She established the New York City Climate
Reality Chapter and served as its first chair. She's also
a member of the We Can US Women's Climate Justice

(08:18):
Initiative Steering Committee. She lives in the city, although she's
out in Utah right now. Harriet, your motto you live
by the climate, Mama motto tell the truth, Actions speak
louder than words. And don't be afraid of the plant.
Don't be afraid or the planet or of the planet.

Speaker 4 (08:38):
I don't know. Don't be afraid to.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yeah to Yeah, it's a I don't know. I picked
that up wrong, But don't be afraid. That's not one right, Malcolm,
with your knowledge.

Speaker 5 (08:52):
How are you surviving present the climate? I mean, you
know more than you know, say ninety eight percent of
the people, not more, that's true. How are you taking this?

Speaker 3 (09:04):
No, it's devastating. You know, we have to tell the truth.
And I think generational damage is being done by this
administration on the building up. I worked in this field
for thirty years, and the damage and the misinformation, the

(09:25):
lies that are being told about where we're at about
what we need to do, it's mind boggling. But I
get to work with and still work with amazing people
in spite of all of the push to try not
to talk about what needs to be done and what
is being done, are still persevering. Many many people like

(09:48):
your show here right right, We try and so we
need to get that message out.

Speaker 2 (09:54):
But no, I mean, it's it's tough.

Speaker 5 (09:57):
Some data really are worry about. You know a lot
of people say okay, when you know we have another
administration or in a few years, it'll all change. But
when do we get as far as a climate, when
do we get to the point of no return? When
is it irreparable?

Speaker 3 (10:13):
Right, Well, there are things you know science, And again
I think this administration has somehow told us we don't
have to believe in science anymore. But what science is
telling us is that we are moving towards the edge,
that we're coming to tipping points that we won't recover
from in the near term. And we already we're going

(10:34):
to live the climate crisis for the rest of our lives,
our children are. But scientists also tell us still every
tenth of a degree that we can slow down or
stop in terms of global warming is time that we
have and opportunities to adapt, to build resiliency to turn

(10:54):
things around. And scientists are also telling us that if
we actually stopped greenhouse gass the planet, because she's amazing
with level out, she'd find her balance. And and so
it's really important we don't lose sight of that or
just throw up our hands and say nothing that we
do matters, because everything that we do can matter, including

(11:19):
just calling out the misinformation and the mistruths and the
hiding of data and all of the things that are happening. Now.

Speaker 2 (11:26):
Yeah, we had I've had a couple of union union
of concerned scientists on the show, and the last young
lady who was on felt exactly as you have felt,
and seeing what's going on in front of her, she's
everyone's like mortified.

Speaker 5 (11:43):
About we're building for the future, you know, but we.

Speaker 2 (11:47):
Have to keep pushing. I mean, that's the that's the problem.
But you have to have this intercore within you to
do that. I mean, it just comes, you know, from
all sides, and you're trying to figure out how do
we like can save some of this, right, it's not
gonna be all of it because that's like some of
it's just gone already. So so you know, I mean,

(12:10):
we never got to our shade of green question. So
I'm gonna throw that at you anyway right now, and
then we're gonna talk a little bit about the Climate
Week because that's a good place that messaging is coming
out from. So shade of green. Maybe you know what
shade of green today, because I don't want to miss it.

Speaker 3 (12:29):
My shade of green is forest green.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
Of course, that's always hope that that gives you hope.
You get to see the beautiful greenery. And I know
we're hitting we're still in summer, but we're heading towards
the green turning into beautiful leaves, colors, leaves, so h
and there's beauty in all of that and people have
to recognize it, and we have and the kids have to,
you know, be brought into that more and more and more,

(12:55):
which is what a lot of what you do as well.
So I just I want to touch on climate. It's
a Climate Week in New York City coming up on
September twenty first, of the twenty eighth. I believe there's
a lot of events and a lot of partnerships, especially
with the UN, and you know, and it's pretty much
run in coordination with the UN. Is that still the case?

Speaker 3 (13:16):
You know, you know, it's moving away now and okay
basically as well as in other ways too. But yes,
So the UN General Assembly begins the third Tuesday of
September always and the last number of years the Secretary
General has had a day or half a day on
climate change because the heads of State come in for

(13:39):
the beginning of the General Assembly as well. So that
is still happening. But what's happened in New York and
now has spread to London, to San Francisco to many
many cities actually around the world. There's Climate Weeks. Ours
in New York Cities has stayed around the opening of
the General Assembly, but we've seen a lot of There's

(14:02):
events happening at a place called the Nest, which is
at the Javit Center. The If you look in New
York City Climate or Climate Week NYC, I'll send you
all these links.

Speaker 4 (14:14):
For your show notes.

Speaker 3 (14:16):
Share with everybody, so to Climate Week. Yes, so people
can look at Climate Week NYC. There's many, many listings
of events that are happening all across the city, you know,
like up from every end and in every borough. There's
actually something happening there. As I said, there's big you know,
a number of events happening at the Javit Center. There's

(14:40):
on Peer fifty seven. Colleague of mine Tera Deport who
has the Human Impacts Institute, is running a day long
program called the Creative Climate Forum, and we're going to
talk about deer tomorrow after but we're going to have
a pop up both at the Nest and at at
Peer fifty seven. There are events happening at the Glasshouse,

(15:02):
which is through the Climate Group and they're having Monday
and Tuesday of that week events. The Bill mckibbons Organization
is doing Sunday which is a intergenerational and this is
across the country.

Speaker 2 (15:22):
Interfaith, right, that's what your faith also intergenerational. Yeah, we
had Reverend harper On and he was talking about that great.

Speaker 3 (15:30):
So that's on the twenty first, and we'll be doing
things in New York.

Speaker 5 (15:33):
Around any webinars where you know, if I'm absolutely.

Speaker 4 (15:39):
Malcolm, some of the events.

Speaker 3 (15:42):
You'll see like listed on the Climate Weekend, I see
summer virtual and some are in person. So yes, there
are lots of events.

Speaker 5 (15:51):
And you have that listed on your website.

Speaker 4 (15:52):
Or I'm going to send you link.

Speaker 2 (15:56):
I'll put it on one too. Yeah, all of that, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (16:01):
All of those things. We can what you mentioned, Max,
and you've helped us before. The Women's Earth and Climate
Action Network is organizing event at the UN Church Center,
which is right across from the UN on the afternoon
of Wednesday, the twenty fourth, and we bring in amazing women,

(16:21):
a lot of indigenous women from around the world that
talk they're doing to push back against fossil fuel companies,
what they're doing to protect for us they'll be talk about.
This is in November is the Conference of the Parties,
the cop COP thirty, the annual meeting on climate. It's

(16:44):
in Brazil this year. It's a big year in terms
of coming up from the Paris Agreement with reporting by
every country on what they're doing to address the climate crisis.
And I think we need to remember that too when
we talk about the pull back in the US, it's not.

Speaker 4 (17:02):
Happening in other countries.

Speaker 3 (17:03):
And China is moving forward, you know, full steam ahead
on solar, on wind, as are many many countries, and
so you know, we're going to be left. It's going
to hurt our jobs, it's going to hurt the economy,
it's going to hurt our children, our children's health, and
unfortunately what we do affects.

Speaker 4 (17:24):
The rest of the world too.

Speaker 2 (17:25):
But yeah, it's it's to get into that. We'll be
on the air for seven hours and I'll probably be crying,
crying very shortly about it.

Speaker 4 (17:34):
But make good things happening.

Speaker 2 (17:37):
Are there any kids things in the Climate Week.

Speaker 4 (17:39):
Or there are?

Speaker 3 (17:41):
There are things around youth, A lot of things around
young people, middle school and beyond. I'm going to an
event on and there are many things you can bring
your children to. There's a group in New York City
called Climate Families NYC and on their website you can

(18:03):
see some events and programs that will be involved in
Sunday as well that they're organizing for very young children.
There's an event the number of events. There's something at
the American Natural History Museum on Friday the twenty fifth.

(18:23):
That's by a number of groups, including the Climate CREDIF,
which is the Climate Resilience Education Task Force, which I'm
a part of. We are trying to bring climate education
through Kate through twelve public schools across New York State,
and Catherine Haho will be our opening.

Speaker 2 (18:44):
Sure she's a good speaker, Yes, she's wonderful. That's a
good organization. I mean that's good because we really need
climate education. I mean New Jerseys, like the first state
that has put crimate climate crimate see crimes on my mind?
Now climate a curriculum in in their schools, a mandatory,

(19:04):
I believe, exactly.

Speaker 5 (19:07):
Right.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
And this should be everywhere.

Speaker 4 (19:10):
Yeah, how how where New York? Right?

Speaker 2 (19:12):
What come on? Yeah? Man? What about Jersey? What about
New York? New York? What's with it? So? Yeah, that
that's A that's an important program too, which is our
and then is our kids Climate dot Org And uh
that's also something we can we can speak about.

Speaker 4 (19:33):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
So there's so much I know you you you wrote
that incredible book to to try to reduce the ankst
of kids, you know, in climate and uh it's again
now more than ever. It's the importance of that is
is you just have to understand how people are trying

(19:55):
to deal with this, and and to have your kids
deal with this is a whole other, you know area.
And are you getting the word out anymore? You know
about that? So people can you know, get that book
and try to talk to their kids about happen now?

Speaker 3 (20:12):
Absolutely? And you know what, I am working real closely
with another sort of that book came out a few
years ago. We still talk about it and take it places.
I am working more also here in the US on
climate and mental health and climate education as it impacts

(20:34):
young people and children their concerns about it. How do
we address that? How do we help build agency for
young people because we're going to be living with the
climate crisis, all of us for the rest of our lives.
How do we make kids excited about the opportunities that
will be there for them when every job is a
climate job. Right, whatever you're doing, whether you're a musician

(20:56):
or an accountant or an educator, our doctor, you actually
need to understand what's happening in and around climate or
or or you know, in the arts. How do we
how do we share that creative side, the storytelling through song,
through theater, whatever. So, again, whatever your passions are as

(21:17):
a child, how can we help as parents, as educators,
as caregivers give them that agency as opposed to being
shut down? And how do we support because climate change
is uh, you know, it's it's an amplifier in a
negative way of everything. And so if it's negative emotions,
we make it worse of its health, you know, it

(21:37):
makes that worse whatever it is. So how do we
push back against that and prepare our children for the
future and not shut their eyes to what the future
is about, which is again how we started what this
administration is trying to do.

Speaker 2 (21:51):
Yeah, shutting shutting them out will not be helpful, especially
when they see it happening in front of their eyes.
When they see this create, this weather that has changed,
and they see hurricanes and flooding, and they see what's
happening around them, and they don't know from the past
that this wasn't at this point.

Speaker 5 (22:10):
You know, this was a normal you.

Speaker 2 (22:12):
Know, this was right, and so to get them to
understand and of course to get them you know, their
science teachers to tea you know, that's why this curriculum
is very important to bring into New York and other places.
So you know that's something that's crucial now.

Speaker 3 (22:28):
Well, yeah, and on that. So good news in New
York is that the regents, which is like this level
of New York were different. We have different levels of
authority in the public school system, and there's a Department
of Education and then the Board of Regents. And there's
a new portrait of a graduate for New York State

(22:49):
for public schools, and part of it includes climate literacy.
So they've said that directly and that will begin in
two years, in twenty next year, but the year after
twenty seven and what it's going to look like. There's
a lot of people working on that now, so you

(23:10):
know we will in New York good moving in that direction.

Speaker 2 (23:16):
We need to also, I guess, you know, people to
get not just kid adults, have to get in touch
with their elected officials and they have to say I
want this, I want this. I got in touch with
my state assemblement today and I got I sent an
email to Governor Hokel today. We're going on them, not

(23:39):
climate change necessaily, but it was about the vaccine issue,
and I was just, you know, my brain was like,
what is going on? You can't get a vaccine in
New York unless you have a.

Speaker 3 (23:51):
Doctor, and you know what all those things are related with.
One of the problems with climate change is vector borne diseases, right,
tick born diseases. I was on a call with a
colleague in New Hampshire. Her kids can't go, you know,
outside in the in the forest where you want them
to be unless you're fully covered. Right, we have places
like that in your vaccines. Are you know it's all

(24:11):
connected right, our health or what's happening to our ecosystem
as we put it out of balance? And so yeah,
we need to tell the truth. We need to make
sure our children are protected. So thank you for reaching
out to Governor Okle.

Speaker 2 (24:25):
Yeah, I was I was saying, like, because California and
Oregon and Washington have gotten together to to have you know,
to the CDC is not doing it, so we got
to do it.

Speaker 5 (24:37):
Yeah, I suggest you don't listen to the Senate.

Speaker 4 (24:39):
Committee with r no no, no, no.

Speaker 2 (24:43):
If I watch that, I'll probably be throwing I'll be
throwing things at the TV.

Speaker 5 (24:47):
Unbelievable.

Speaker 2 (24:48):
And since my TV is new, my husband will not
like that. Throw those tomatoes, those beautiful grown heirlooms that
you just know this is airloom tomato. I think we're
at the end. I'm at the end of airloom tomatoes
and I don't know. But anyway, so there's lots more
to talk about with Harry. We'll be back because we're
doing some station identification, So please stay tuned back with

(25:11):
Harry's Sugarman, the Climate Mama, and we'll see you back
after these messages. Hudson River Radio dot com.

Speaker 7 (25:27):
This is Hudson River Radio dot com.

Speaker 1 (25:34):
This is Hudson River Radio dot com, Hudson River Radio
dot com, and we are back talking to Harriet Sugarman.

Speaker 2 (26:06):
She is one amazing person. Uh. We need to be
proactive and protecting Mother Earth, talking to our kids about it,
talking to each other about it, and and keep keep
moving forward and getting word out about the planet and
what we need to do, and there's a lot to do.
And on the current situation, some people are like going,

(26:29):
is this any Is this gonna help at all? You know,
is this gonna help? But yes it is, because that's
if we if we stop, then you know, that's that's worse.
So we got to move forward. And uh So, with that,
please subscribe to our podcast on all major podcasts apps,
follow us on Instagram, threads, Facebook, and Blue Sky at

(26:49):
t M, Shades of Green, all these things out there now.
Uh and uh so we were talking about Malcolm Presents,
dot Com, Hudson River Radio and all these great these
places that we're trying to get messages through and using
them as the platform because that's important. So anyway, we're

(27:10):
talking about in the in the first half, climate education
and about you know, New Jersey is joysy is leading
the way and in New York there's a you know,
something happening here. So Harry, can you explain what's going
on from the New New York's end of it?

Speaker 3 (27:27):
Absolutely, yes. So we I'm working with a policy team
that's part of the c r et F, which is
the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force, and we're funded
by the National Wildlife Federation and it's an intergenerational coalition

(27:48):
working group that is working to bring pre K through
twelve climate education cross curricular, which is what they've done
in New Jersey, which actually is the really important part.
Two is not just in science, math, health, social studies,
in all subject areas that you'd have exemplars, you know,
examples when you're studying something about about climate change, how

(28:13):
does it fit in You're going to learn about the
youth climate movement and its history, and social studies, you're
going to learn about asthma and clean air in health.
And so New York is moving forward following New Jersey's lead.
Connecticut has passed some a state bill where they're teaching

(28:33):
it in social studies and science. New Jerseys is a
funded project through a mandate. They didn't have a bill
our law, but it's been through the governor's office.

Speaker 4 (28:44):
We're trying.

Speaker 3 (28:45):
We've tried the bill and law route the last two years.
We brought many young people to talk to their legislators
in Albany in district. We're working closely now in sync
with the New York State Department of Education and trying
to get for them to positions that's it to roll
this out across the state because we have to provide

(29:09):
professional development for teachers. We have to teachers to be
train them how to do this, right, because everything needs
to be out there. So you know you said you
called Governor Hokeel today or reached out. We want people
to reach out to Governor ho call and ask her
to fund half a million dollars. Is nothing support the

(29:30):
Department of Education teach climate change And already the mandate
for it is come from is coming from the regents.
They've announced it. It's going to roll out in a
couple of years. But we all know unfunded mandates on
anything are just unfunded mandates, right that you need some
money behind it to get it.

Speaker 5 (29:49):
Yeah, I assume there's no federal help in any of this.

Speaker 3 (29:53):
Uh No, there is not. You know what there has
been well, and that's our Department of Education doesn't mandate
what's taught curriculum in schools, right. That was a mis communication.
Misnomer lies about you know, getting rid of the Department
of Education. Each state sets their own climate not climate
curriculum for students anyways, it's all done at the state level,

(30:15):
but the state the federal government does provide a lot
of funding, you know, to Title I schools, to different
kinds of programs, but they haven't supported climate education.

Speaker 2 (30:25):
Send me more info in it because my state rep
is Pete Harkam.

Speaker 4 (30:29):
Oh, yes, he's on board p and so.

Speaker 2 (30:31):
So yeah, I mean I if I always send stuff
to him too, because yeah, he knows me, I know him.
He's a really good guy. And uh the more, if
you know, they tabulate when you send stuff into their offices,
that's how they exactly you know, And so I'd be
happy to that.

Speaker 4 (30:49):
Would be so awesome.

Speaker 3 (30:50):
And we have so many young people working on this
as well, high school kids that are leading the way,
that are helping to say what's needed, what's missing. So
it's a really intergenerational program. So absolutely send you.

Speaker 2 (31:03):
Get me the stuff and I'll get it.

Speaker 5 (31:06):
What percentage of the parents agree with you, because again,
what's happening in the federal level, everything that we're talking
about is fake news and it's all democratic possibly.

Speaker 3 (31:21):
Yeah, excellent question. Welcome, Thank you for asking that, because
in fact, we have data actually through the Yale Climate
Communications program that's been in you know, going on for
fourteen years. Ever around the country, whatever state parents want
their kids to learn climate education. It's over seventy percent

(31:44):
nationally and hire in New York seventy eight or eighty percent.
And it's hiring different you can, you know, delve down
by county. So parents want their kids to learn this.
That's nonpartisan, non political, what kids should learn.

Speaker 2 (32:04):
So yeah, well you know again you see what's what's
going on just by looking at your windows, you know,
and seeing these storms that you've never seen before, dumping
five inches of water in an hour, and its flooding
all the roads, and and.

Speaker 5 (32:19):
Well, I think the question is is not what it is,
it's what's causing what is right? Well, that's that's where
the big disagreement is.

Speaker 3 (32:28):
Well, and that was what you know, our we went
these students that we took to talk to their legislators
last session in the spring to Albany and they said, hey,
you know what our schools flooded. This was kids from
across the state, you know, two summers ago, our skies
to Orange. We wanted our teachers to explain to us
why that was happening. And nobody told us. Did I

(32:50):
need a mask when it got really smoky out? What
do I do if there's a you know, fires in
the neighborhood. How how do we prepare for these big
storms that flood the subway, that block roads, because when
there's floods in your neighborhood, you don't want your kids
to go out and play in the flooded water after
because that, you know. So there's so many things for

(33:11):
parents to learn and for kids to learn too, And
there is no controversy about what's causing it. It's signed
from from a science perspective. It's greenhouse gases in the
app there, which are produced primarily from oil and gas.
There's other causes as well, but we humans are causing them.
That is not up you know for debate. That's what's happening.

(33:33):
What's happening you know in the data that's out there,
they're trying to take it offline and to hide it.

Speaker 5 (33:39):
I'm going to hate to say that. Everybody agrees with
you for the simple reason our administration is thin baby dig.

Speaker 2 (33:45):
Right, Drill baby drill, Yeah, because yeah.

Speaker 5 (33:52):
They can get clean coll by washing digging up the
coal and washing it off exactly.

Speaker 2 (33:57):
Yeah, I watched the coals, I know, you.

Speaker 5 (34:01):
Know, I was reading those statements and you know, with Facebook,
oh my god.

Speaker 2 (34:07):
It's sometimes you look at it, and I mean, it's
it's south Park is real. It's I mean, I didn't
see the last one was I think yesterday I missed it,
but I taped it. I got to see it. But
it's just when south Park becomes yeah, your your your
your vehicle to see what's going on in front of you.

(34:28):
It's like, what is happening?

Speaker 5 (34:30):
You know? Park is becoming a documentary.

Speaker 2 (34:32):
Now pretty much you know Handmaid's Tales. And that's why
we don't bocracy the movie.

Speaker 3 (34:39):
You know, it's right, and that's why we don't want
to leave it to the parents necessarily right. You want
them to be supported by educators in a non part
and clear way to teach actually what's happening. And you know,
Illinois just passed a lot that requires teaching climate change,
Maine is doing it, California, Oregon, it's really beginning to build.

(35:01):
But you're absolutely right, Malcolm. If you you know, if
that's what you're hearing and you're trusting those sources that
aren't giving you that the information that's coming from scientists.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
Well yeah, so well there's a lot, you know, especially
when you said why the sky orange has been more fires?
We've not seen that. I mean, I don't remember that
growing up as a kid, we had polluted. Yeah it
was polluted, but it was getting it was cleaner. But
now it seems to be going back backwards into what
it was in the seventies, Like we don't want that.

Speaker 5 (35:38):
Both in California and New York it became less polluted
when they started it started using different gas. Yeah, it
wasn't one on one change.

Speaker 2 (35:47):
And and and evs. You know now you know now
that now it's going backwards again. But I think climate
education is crucial and on thank you so much for
being by behind that. It's very important. And I know
there's a couple of other things we want to get
to before we would have to get off, but you'll

(36:07):
have to come back then. But these two things, there's
Ecocyclopedia and dear Tomorrow. I want to just make sure
we cover those two. So thanks Mike, Thanks give us
a little information.

Speaker 3 (36:22):
What we hope Ecocyclopedia and you correctly, you know, how do.

Speaker 4 (36:26):
You spell that right word?

Speaker 3 (36:29):
So what it is though, we hope that it would
become like the Wikipedia of the connections between climate and
mental health, And there's entries on the site that are
written by experts in their field that help make the
connection in seven hundred and fifty to fifteen hundred words.

Speaker 4 (36:49):
It's not a big read.

Speaker 3 (36:50):
It's written in lay language. It gives you resources why
something's happening, what we can do about it, and we're
hoping to grow up. We need we're just in a
launch phase. We need more funding behind it. There's an
umbrella called Climate Junction much easier to spell and pronounce
Climate Junction dot org that has the Ecocyclopedia Climate in

(37:13):
Your Mind, which is a book that has chapters in
a similar vein that's edited by Lee's Van susteren A.
You probably the pre eminent climate psychiatrist in the country.
She's one of the founders of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance
and the Climate Psychology Alliance North America, which are the

(37:36):
sponsors the of Ecocyclopedia. And now and we're just putting
up it'll come up for Climate Week Climate gen podcasts,
which are high school created, high school youth created podcasts
on climate and mental health. So please have a look
at at all of that climate junction.

Speaker 2 (38:00):
How do they get to that?

Speaker 4 (38:01):
I mean, uh, what climate climate junction Junction?

Speaker 2 (38:10):
Yeah, do or dot org.

Speaker 3 (38:11):
Yeah, and there will be and and you'll see Ecopsyclopedia,
which is the primary uh part of part of it,
and then climate in your mind as well. And then
the new part will be the youth podcasts and any
support anyone can provide on that. There's a big donate
button on there.

Speaker 2 (38:32):
Okay, we got, we got. There's so many places we
need to to.

Speaker 5 (38:37):
How do you support yourself, by the way, that's that
was my next question.

Speaker 4 (38:43):
Yeah, I have through.

Speaker 3 (38:45):
Speaking and through consulting projects, and as you well know,
I think about summer paid and summer not. So yeah,
it's going. You know, I'm all for the place it's
not doing this kind of work, and I mentor lots
of young people who are moving into this space and

(39:06):
want to create careers there. You know, it's still underfunded, underpaid,
our organizations are underfunded a lot of I'm at a
different point in my life now, having you know, at
this point in my life where I can do that
and give more of my time freely to something that
I'm passionate about. So it's harder when you're twenty five

(39:28):
or thirty to commit full time. And many young people
that I know, you know, are mixing it all up,
so we need more funding in this.

Speaker 5 (39:35):
Spaceting off their college loans at the same time.

Speaker 2 (39:38):
Yeah, exactly right, that's a that's the thing college. So
there's a lot you guys can check. We'll have all
the information on the web page on my website too.

Speaker 5 (39:49):
I want to have to come back.

Speaker 2 (39:51):
What about Dear Tomorrow?

Speaker 4 (39:52):
Yeah, real quickly, let's.

Speaker 2 (39:53):
Get that in before we have to get thank you.

Speaker 3 (39:55):
So much, so real quickly. Dear Tomorrow is a project
that is about letters to someone in the future, to yourself,
to your child, writing a letter about what you hope
to see tomorrow. And we're doing this science and the
the data, the studies behind it that show actually, you
know that that idea of of uh is what drives

(40:19):
people the love for our children and what's going to
happen to them in the future. That generational hope for
the future drives people to action in in you know
heads you know up way more than anything else does.
And it's an exciting project both. We have a new website,

(40:43):
we have pop ups that we're taking around starting in
New York with Climate Week, and we can trap take
them travel around the world. We've done museum installations in
the UK. We're doing training programs with educators with nonprofits
around the world. In South Africa, we have one going

(41:04):
right now. Check out our website Deer Tomorrow. It's a
wonderful organization that, as with many of these to your point, Malcolm,
are operating with very small.

Speaker 5 (41:17):
Staff and with the kids saying it's talking about it
the dear tomorrow. That can be very affected with like
especially the children. If you see like from five to
ten years old talking about Deer Tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (41:32):
Yeahely, absolutely. And we're doing trainings with educators. I've been
having my students college students write their letters. Many of
them write it to their future self or their future child,
and it just opens up an ability to talk about
what's happening, to have that grief that might be there,
but also this push forward. Washington posted in their Climate

(41:57):
Coach he wrote a letter and then he wrote about
it in the post uh Black back in May. So
that got us some good publicity as well.

Speaker 2 (42:06):
That's good. It's always good to get any kind of
publicity at all, you know, in these days right now,
you know, I just it's important. I always telling people
give money to the Brennan Center. Because right now we
have to lawyers. I mean this is like to me,
it's important that all the climate stuff and that's very important,

(42:28):
but getting to get through what we're going through, it's
uh oh boy a c l U lawyer, you know,
Brennan Center, Earth Justice, you know those folks Earth Justice
is important for us, you know, because they when Earth
needs needs a good lawyer. I think that's the going
or something very good or something like that. And uh yeah,

(42:50):
so I you know, I just want people to know,
we mean, you know that that we need help and
if you can afford it, you know, if you can't,
that's something. But if you can donate, even it doesn't
even amount a matter how much because it just it
just helps. Uh, these people, you know, file actions that
need to be filed right now. But and there's a

(43:10):
lot more we can talk about, but we're kind of
we're hitting the rep here, so we're gonna have to
come back. And that's it. And thank you for opening
my fourteenth season.

Speaker 4 (43:20):
It's thank you inviting me as an honor to do that.

Speaker 2 (43:24):
That's great, it's great. So just quickly, where can again
people get information? Uh and and uh and we'll again
we'll have this all out on the.

Speaker 3 (43:34):
Yes, so we'll send people both to the Deer Tomorrow
website look up Dear Tomorrow, Climate Junction for Ecosyclopedia and
Climate in Your Mind and the new podcast series that'll
be coming out there for Climate Week. I'm going to
send you links on that. But Climate Week NYC has

(43:55):
an events listing on that Human Impacts Institute for where
Dear Tomorrow pop up will be and the wonderful programming
that they're going to be doing on Peer fifty seven.
We can for the weekend event on September twenty fourth,
and yes, it.

Speaker 2 (44:14):
Does a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff you're doing,
you're doing, You've done amazing work. You're doing amazing work,
and you will continue, I know, to get the word
out and to get our kids to know what's happening
and treat them so they're not writing about all of
this because it can easily happen. So we want kids
to go out and enjoy the air and forest forest green.

(44:39):
And that's it. So again, thank you so much for
being on and I hope to have you back and
get some more info and thanks for joining us for
the many shades of green. For more info and shows
go to Hudson River Radio dot com, Malcolm Presents dot
com and the many Shades of Green dot com. Send
us your thoughts at Team Shades of Green on Instagram, Facebook,

(45:00):
Book and all others out there. Subscribe to our podcast
on all major podcast apps. So a big shout out
to Neil, who I could never do this without at all,
To Brian and to Malcolm for their help. Remember to
pick a sette of green and raise your eco consciousness
Maxine Margaret Rubin and we'll see you again next time.

Speaker 7 (45:42):
Hudson River Radio dot com