The Climate Divide: Season 2
Striving Towards Environmental Justice
Season 2 of “The Climate Divide” examines why some neighborhoods have been overburdened by hazards like pollution, extreme heat and flooding and how these disparities came to be. In a time when both the national and D.C. governments are emphasizing environmental justice, this season focuses on the people most affected who’ve voiced their concerns and advocated for greater environmental justice.
Visit the main “The Climate Divide” page to learn more about the podcast and listen to the latest season.
Season 2 cover photo courtesy of Onyinyechi An.
Season 2 Episodes
Episode 6: How one D.C. neighborhood is striving towards environmental justice
Ward 5 is home to roughly half of the industrially zoned land in D.C. Residents of Ivy City, a tiny neighborhood with big pollution problems, have protested for decades about the noise and pollution stemming from this industrial activity.
In the season 2 finale, we report on a chemical plant in Ivy City that’s been operating without an air permit since the 1930s. The episode also features an interview with D.C. Council member Zachary Parker about his Environmental Justice bill.
Episode 5: The State of Climate Action in D.C.
While Mayor Muriel Bowser attended the COP climate summit in Dubai, she released a report that laid out D.C.’s path to achieving carbon neutrality. Episode 5 explains what carbon neutrality means for the District, explores one bill that addresses indoor air pollution from gas stoves and examines the impact the city’s tight budget has had on one key environmental program.
Episode 4: How D.C. Got a Clean Rivers Project
D.C. has made a massive investment in improving the health of our rivers and reducing chronic flooding in historically flood-prone areas. Civic action and collaboration with environmental groups played a huge role in shedding light on the contaminated state of the Anacostia River and neighboring communities.
In episode 4, Frazer Walton Jr. lays out the history of activism in his neighborhood, Kingman Park, and other communities on the banks of the Anacostia River. Their advocacy led to the District’s multi-billion dollar overhaul of the storm sewer system through the DC Water Clean Rivers Project.
Episode 3: Breaking Down Barriers for Latinos in the Climate Space
There’s recently been a large federal investment in environmental justice. But how does that investment play out? And what does this funding mean for climate organizations in the D.C. area?
This episode, we feature an interview with Abel Olivo, the co-founder and executive director of Defensores de la Cuenca, a local organization that received $2 million for their tree-planting program. In this conversation, Abel speaks about the origins of Defensores, the process of acquiring these federal funds and how his organization works to engage the Latino community in their environmental efforts.
Episode 2: Why a golf course renovation plan led to an outpouring of support for trees
In episode 2, we look into a controversial tree-removal proposal for the Rock Creek Park Golf Course. More than 1,200 trees are slated to be removed, and numerous environmental groups have spoken up about finding alternatives to cutting all the trees.
Episode 1: Climate Change’s Impact on Washington D.C.
In the first episode of season 2, we see how climate change may already be affecting D.C. and cover a recently completed tunnel project that is expected to address more intense rain storms. We also set out to explain a climate anomaly that occurred over the summer: smoke from Canadian wildfires that came all the way to the District.
Trailer
In Season 2, we’ll highlight stories of residents coping with various environmental hazards that are disproportionately located in low income neighborhoods and decipher the real-world impact of big construction projects and government funding.