Green For All: Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
Audio File
Political opponents of the green movement have been depressingly successful not only in attacking the facts that underpin the struggle, but in knocking down some of its most eloquent and powerful figures, relegating to the margins what should be a universal concern: a healthy world that can be sustained into the future.
Our guest today on Sea Change Radio is Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, one of those eloquent and powerful figures. In spite of personal attacks from those who would silence her, Ms. Ellis-Lamkins perseveres in the fight to nurture a green economy that helps to empower traditionally disenfranchised communities.
Picking up where Van Jones left off, Ms. Ellis-Lamkins is the chief executive officer of Green for All, which works to promote the green economy through policy advocacy, networking, engagement of the business community, and by mentoring a new generation of environmentalists of color. She talks about the challenges of breaking into a field dominated by white, middle-class men, how issues of urban poverty and the environment are inextricably tied, and what needs to happen to change the “makers and takers” narrative that pits ideological rhetoric against our shared need for global health.
