We are living through a time where big positive change seems unachievable, but there are two instances from the recent past that prove change is possible. For over a century, Indigenous people along the Klamath River fought to protect their way of life, and the salmon they depend on. Their persistence helped remove four dams and restore hundreds of miles of river. In Los Angeles, decades of science, activism, and policy turned toxic smog into cleaner air.
Both stories reveal that progress takes persistence, coalition-building, and time. But when communities push and institutions respond, meaningful change is possible.
Guests:
Amy Bowers Cordalis, Yurok Tribe member, Author, The Water Remembers
Ann Carlson, Professor of Environmental Law, UCLA; Author, Smog and Sunshine: The Surprising Story of How Los Angeles Cleaned Up Its Air
For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/podcasts
00:00 – Intro
02:26 – Amy Bowers Cordalis on the river and salmon
06:63 – Amy Bowers Cordalis on Uncle Ray
12:53 – Amy Bowers Cordalis on witnessing the effects of the dams
16:04 – Amy Bowers Cordalis on the lowest salmon run
2218 – Amy Bowers Cordalis on getting to destroy the dams
28:18 – Amy Bowers Cordalis on seeing the river come back to life
34:13 – Ann Carlson on the state of LA air
37:58 – Ann Carlson on the first steps towards cleaning the air
40:14 – Ann Carlson on getting from pineapples to smog
44:27 – Ann Carlson on the Mothers of East LA
52:40 – Ann Carlson on why it the book is important now
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