The Environmental Justice Lab

Lesley Joseph
  • 4.7 (15)
  • News Commentary
  • Updated Weekly

Since the dawn of human history, the fight for environmental justice has always been a fight. Water wars between the people of Israel and herdsmen of Gerar in the book of Genesis, Chapter 26. The resistance of Native Americans to the pillaging of their land and resources at the founding of the United States of America. The refusal to allow a hazardous landfill to be built in the Warren County, a predominantly Black community in North Carolina, giving birth to the modern-day environmental justice movement. The struggle for clean water in places like Flint, MI and Newark, NJ and Jackson, MS. The struggle is real and the fight is on-going. And I'm here for it. My name is Dr. Lesley Joseph, a professor, an environmental engineer, and a fighter for environmental justice in our present day. Every other Tuesday, on this podcast, I explore issues related to environmental justice and the ways in which communities of color are impacted. Each episode will discuss a important environmental justice issue or situation and what we can do to fight for change. Let's learn, grow, and fight for a better world together! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.

  1. 4d ago

    The Green Transition Has a Cost: Environmental Justice Crisis in the Congo

    What is the true cost of the global transition to clean energy? As the world embraces electric vehicles, renewable energy, batteries, and new technologies, the demand for minerals such as cobalt and other critical resources continues to grow. But behind many of the technologies powering our so-called sustainable future is a story that too often remains invisible: the story of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In this episode, Dr. Lesley Joseph is joined by Sarah Backstrand, an environmental policy researcher, and Father Dr. Toussaint Kafarhire, a Congolese Jesuit priest, theologian, sociologist, and advocate. Together, they explore the Democratic Republic of Congo's long and complicated history of extraction — from colonial exploitation and rubber production to uranium, cobalt, and the minerals now essential to the global energy transition. The conversation examines the environmental and human consequences of mining, including pollution, displacement, dangerous working conditions, and the unequal distribution of the benefits and burdens of resource extraction. The guests also challenge common narratives about the Congo as an inherently unstable or “ungovernable” nation and ask listeners to consider the historical and global forces shaping the country's ongoing conflicts and extractive economy. But this episode is not about despair. It is also about agency, dignity, truth, spirituality, and hope. Father Toussaint and Sarah discuss the importance of listening to artisanal miners and affected communities as experts in their own lives, strengthening democratic accountability, and recognizing Congolese people as partners in shaping their own future, rather than objects of charity or intervention. Most importantly, this conversation asks a difficult question: Can the green transition truly be called sustainable if its benefits are enjoyed in one part of the world while its environmental and human costs are concentrated in another? Join us for a thought-provoking conversation about Congo, cobalt, colonialism, environmental justice, and what it will take to build a future where technological progress does not come at the expense of human dignity. Because a just transition must be just for everyone. Resources:  King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Finn, B., Backstrand, S., and Lukobo, E. (2026). Transformative cohabitation: A new approach to artisanal and small-scale mining interventions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Energy Research and Social Science 135: 104651.  Ahl, N. (July 17, 2026). Blood Batteries and the Green Transition: Energy Justice Lessons from Cobalt Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Consilience: Blog for Journal of Sustainable Development Powering Change or Business as Usual? Forced evictions at industrial cobalt and copper mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – Amnesty International   Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support. Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen! Support our work by joining the Supporters Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:  Instagram: @envjusticelab YouTube: @envjusticelab Email: theenvironmentaljusticelab@gmail.com

  2. Jul 28

    Data Centers, Environmental Racism, and the Fight for Justice with Env. Scientist Kibri Everett

    In this episode, I get to talk with Kibri Everett - environmental scientist, GIS specialist, PhD candidate at UNC-Charlotte, and founder of Key Environmental Consulting - to pull back the curtain on the data center boom sweeping the nation. Kibri has been on the front lines of this issue long before it hit the headlines. She recently testified before the Charlotte City Council, helping to secure a unanimous vote for a 150-day moratorium on new data centers - a major grassroots win. In this conversation, she breaks down what that fight looked like and why it matters far beyond Charlotte: How data centers consume staggering amounts of water and energy while gobbling up land in majority-minority communities The xAI/Memphis nightmare, where hundreds of diesel generators are spewing air pollution in a historically Black neighborhood Why the AI revolution is an environmental justice crisis, with hyperscale facilities are targeting the same communities that have always been sacrificed for industrial development What the Charlotte moratorium actually accomplished, and why 150 days is just a start Practical strategy for communities facing a data center proposal: where to organize, who to call, and how to bring data-driven expertise to your fight Kibri also shares how her company helps community groups arm themselves with the technical knowledge they need to stand up to billion-dollar tech companies, and why strength in numbers is the most powerful tool we’ve got. If you’ve ever wondered what’s really powering the AI boom, and whether your community could be next on the list, this episode is essential listening. Follow Kibri Everett: Key Environmental Consulting LinkedIn HBCU Environmental Justice Technical Collaborative Resources:  Charlotte, NC approves data center moratorium - The Charlotte Observer  "Stop Dirty Data Centers" Campaign - NAACP $64 billion of data center projects have been blocked or delayed amid local opposition - Data Center Watch Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support. Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen! Support our work by joining the Supporters Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:  Instagram: @envjusticelab YouTube: @envjusticelab Email: theenvironmentaljusticelab@gmail.com

  3. Jul 14

    From Cages to Community: The Fight for Renewable Rikers

    What happens to a place built on punishment when a movement demands it be rebuilt for life? On this episode, Dr. Lesley Joseph sits down with two frontline fighters in the battle to close Rikers Island and transform it into something radically different: a hub of renewable energy and community sustainability. Manuel Figueroa — Member of Freedom Agenda, and a justice-impacted individual who lived through the system — brings the raw, on-the-ground truth of what it means to be caught between broken promises and political whiplash. He watched the city’s reentry programs get gutted under Mayor Eric Adams, and he knows what happens when people in power decide the “built-in forgetter” kicks in. Michael Higgins Jr. — Land use planner at the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance and coordinator of the Renewable Rikers Coalition — walks us through the legislative machinery: the Renewable Rikers Act, Intro 881, and the decades-long fight to not just close the jails but to reimagine the island — with wastewater treatment, solar energy, and infrastructure that actually serves the communities that have been choked by pollution and incarceration for generations. Together, they talk about the real obstacles — the developers circling, the political amnesia, the competing visions that would rather turn Rikers into a profit center than a public good. And they leave us with a challenge: What does justice actually look like when we stop treating it like an abstraction? This is the fight to turn a site of suffering into a source of renewal. And it’s not just about New York. Tune in and ask yourself: What’s your community’s Rikers? Resources:  Campaign to Close Rikers Website Renewable Rikers: Instagram & Website Freedom Agenda: Instagram & Website  NYC-EJA: Instagram & Website Recent Articles: NYC press release on RIker's Island Closures Rikers’ closure plan moves a step closer after long-awaited land transfers Mamdani transfers vacant Rikers Island facilities, restarting dormant piece of jail’s closure plan Former Rikers Island detainees cautiously optimistic the end of facility is near after jailhouse infirmary closure Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support. Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen! Support our work by joining the Supporters Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:  Instagram: @envjusticelab YouTube: @envjusticelab Email: theenvironmentaljusticelab@gmail.com

  4. Jun 30

    Not in My Neighborhood, Not Anywhere: Unpacking the 6th Principle of Environmental Justice

    Environmental justice isn’t about making sure pollution is evenly distributed. It’s about making sure there is no pollution to distribute. In this episode of the Environmental Justice Lab, I break down the 6th principle of Environmental Justice. The principle demands the cessation of the production of all toxins, hazardous waste, and radioactive materials, and holds producers strictly accountable to the people for detoxification and containment at the point of production. Let's be crystal clear: the burden of pollution doesn’t belong on the backs of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities who are forced to live next to toxic facilities. It belongs on the producers — the corporations and industries who profit from poisoning our air, water, and soil. Think about it this way: If CEOs had to live next to their own plants, how quickly would they find cleaner ways to operate? This episode is a call to stop compromising, stop capitulating, and stop letting polluters shift the blame onto the people they’re harming. Environmental justice demands accountability. It demands detoxification. It demands we stop polluting. Tune in, get educated, and get engaged because we’re not wavering. References:  The Principles of Environmental Justice Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support. Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen! Support our work by joining the Supporters Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:  Instagram: @envjusticelab YouTube: @envjusticelab Email: theenvironmentaljusticelab@gmail.com

  5. Jun 16

    When Legislators Won’t Listen, Make Them: Introducing the Digital Democracy Project

    The EPA has been gutted. Scientists are being sent home. NOAA is being dismantled. And in the middle of all this deregulation, our elected officials keep voting against what we actually want. So what do we do about it? On this episode of the Environmental Justice Lab, I sit down with Sadie Holzmeyer, National Organizing Director of the Digital Democracy Project — a nonpartisan nonprofit building a voter-driven system of government from the ground up. Sadie tells us how she went from a random Google search to living out of an RV, crisscrossing the country to build a movement that lets you — the registered voter — weigh in directly on the bills that shape your life, your community, and your environment. Using certified mobile voting technology, the Digital Democracy Project puts real legislation in front of real voters, with plain-language summaries, community-sourced pros and cons, organizational stances, and even an AI-powered VoteBot to help you cut through the legal jargon. The results? Public, transparent, and district-level — so your legislator can’t claim they didn’t know what you wanted. We talk about why this matters for environmental justice, how candidates running for office are vowing to use the platform to dictate their voting patterns, and why any politician who refuses to support this kind of direct voter input might just be telling you they’re anti-democratic. From federal bills to state legislation, from Florida to all 50 states by 2027 — and maybe even beyond U.S. borders — the Digital Democracy Project is proving that democracy doesn’t have to be a spectator sport. Finally, the call to action: Download the app, get verified, and start weighing in at digitaldemocracyproject.org. And if you’re in one of the 43 states that doesn’t yet have a state organizing director — maybe that’s you. Think about it. Resources:  The Digital Democracy Project Website Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support. Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen! Support our work by joining the Supporters Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:  Instagram: @envjusticelab YouTube: @envjusticelab Email: theenvironmentaljusticelab@gmail.com

  6. Jun 5

    SPECIAL EPISODE - Interview on 94.1 KPFA: Dr. Lesley Joseph on War, Ecocide, and the Communities Left Behind

    What happens to the earth when we wage war? Dr. Lesley Joseph - environmental engineer, scholar of environmental justice, and author of the forthcoming book War Crimes Against the Earth - joins Sabrina Jacobs, host of The Rude Awakening on 94.1 KPFA, to answer that question with chilling clarity. A Rude Awakening is an award-winning climate crisis and environmental justice radio show based in Berkeley, CA, and on this episode, Dr. Joseph breaks down how modern warfare has become a deliberate assault on the environments people depend on to live. From Iran’s oil infrastructure bombed into acid rain, to Gaza’s destroyed water systems poisoning the Mediterranean, to the forever chemicals leaking from military bases worldwide, he traces the arc of destruction that doesn’t stop at borders. Drawing on his New Lines magazine piece, “The Toxic Blowback of Israel’s Bombs,” he shows how perchlorates, asbestos, untreated sewage, and carbon emissions from war travel far beyond conflict zones, affecting everyone on the planet. But this isn’t just a scientific accounting. Dr. Joseph centers the communities on the frontlines of this violence - those already vulnerable, already marginalized - and asks a question that cuts through the noise: If we’re serious about climate justice, why aren’t we talking about the military industrial complex? This is an important conversation for anyone who believes that peace and environmental justice are inseparable. References:  Listen to A Rude Awakening on 94.1 KPFA "The Toxic Blowback of Israel's Bombs" - New Lines Magazine Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support. Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen! Support our work by joining the Supporters Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:  Instagram: @envjusticelab YouTube: @envjusticelab Email: theenvironmentaljusticelab@gmail.com

  7. May 26

    The Youth Are Already Leading: Meet Green Silicon Valley

    What happens when a group of high schoolers turns a $5,000 competition win into a global movement? In this episode, Dr. Joseph sits down with Abhi Tenneti and Ayush Garg — the high school founders of Green Silicon Valley — an organization run entirely by students, for students, bringing free STEM and environmental education to elementary and middle school classrooms around the world. We talk about how these young leaders scaled from a single middle school in Santa Clara to over 500 volunteers across seven countries — from Tunisia to Pakistan, China to Nigeria. They share the powerful story of their partnership with an organization in Lagos, Nigeria, where environmental education is being woven into a broader fight against poverty and violence — teaching not just STEM, but real skills to help young people build a future outside of military conscription and gang violence. We get into the nitty-gritty of running a youth-led organization: the fundraising struggles, the cold-emailing strategy that landed them international partnerships, the hands-on kits that turn saltwater into electricity, and their vision for a world where peer-to-peer climate education is embedded in every school system. This episode is a testament to what happens when we trust young people to lead, teach, and organize. The climate movement needs more than seasoned experts — it needs youth power, and Green Silicon Valley is showing us exactly what that looks like. What we talk about: 🌍 Youth-led climate & STEM education 📚 Peer-to-peer teaching models 🌱 Building an international organization from scratch 🌏 Environmental justice in Nigeria & the Global South 🔬 Hands-on STEM kits for environmental learning 💪 The power of intergenerational climate action Visit greensiliconvalley.com or email info@greensiliconvalley.com to volunteer, partner, or bring their programming to your school — anywhere in the world. Volunteer sign-up: https://forms.gle/RuVJVtHcMP6aw2cZ9 Teacher sign-up: https://forms.gle/aB2iHFNVpdK8c8gK9 Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support. Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen! Support our work by joining the Supporters Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:  Instagram: @envjusticelab YouTube: @envjusticelab Email: theenvironmentaljusticelab@gmail.com

  8. May 4

    Introducing "The Corridor": A Podcast Series about Cancer Alley with Journalist Jaha Avery

    In this episode of The Environmental Justice Lab, Dr. Lesley Joseph sits down with journalist and award-winning author, Jaha Avery, creator of the podcast series The Corridor, to dig into the truth about “Cancer Alley” - an 85-mile stretch along the Mississippi River where more than 150 petrochemical plants operate in the shadow of Black communities . But this story is about more than pollution. It’s about history. Jaha traces how the region’s past - from slavery and plantation economies to segregation and industrial expansion - laid the foundation for what is now one of the most toxic corridors in the United States. The same land that once extracted labor from enslaved people is now extracting health, safety, and life from their descendants. Together, they unpack the human cost of petrochemical production: elevated cancer risks, environmental neglect, and a regulatory system that too often fails the communities it is meant to protect. But they also center what mainstream narratives often ignore: resistance. From grassroots organizers to community advocates, residents of Cancer Alley are fighting back against corporate power, demanding accountability, and reclaiming their right to a healthy, thriving future. This episode is a reckoning with the past and a call to action for the present. Because environmental justice isn’t just about pollution.  It’s about power, history, and the right to live. Resources:  "The Corridor - Trailer "We're Dying Here": Report on Cancer Alley - Human Right Watch  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support. Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen! Support our work by joining the Supporters Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:  Instagram: @envjusticelab YouTube: @envjusticelab Email: theenvironmentaljusticelab@gmail.com

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About

Since the dawn of human history, the fight for environmental justice has always been a fight. Water wars between the people of Israel and herdsmen of Gerar in the book of Genesis, Chapter 26. The resistance of Native Americans to the pillaging of their land and resources at the founding of the United States of America. The refusal to allow a hazardous landfill to be built in the Warren County, a predominantly Black community in North Carolina, giving birth to the modern-day environmental justice movement. The struggle for clean water in places like Flint, MI and Newark, NJ and Jackson, MS. The struggle is real and the fight is on-going. And I'm here for it. My name is Dr. Lesley Joseph, a professor, an environmental engineer, and a fighter for environmental justice in our present day. Every other Tuesday, on this podcast, I explore issues related to environmental justice and the ways in which communities of color are impacted. Each episode will discuss a important environmental justice issue or situation and what we can do to fight for change. Let's learn, grow, and fight for a better world together! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.

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