Green Root Podcast

J.R.R. Tolkien's Trees

On episode 125 of the Green Root Podcast (the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance), Kollibri terre Sonnenblume, writer at “Speaking for the Trees, No Matter Where They’re From,” guides us through the wild enchanted forests of J.R.R. Tolkien’s (Lord of the Rings) Middle-Earth.

Host Josh Schlossberg talks with Kollibri about:

-Kollibri’s five-part essay series on Substack, “Tolkien & Trees”;

-The factual and fictional forest ecology of The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion;

-The ongoing relevance of Tolkien’s work for taking action against environmental destruction;

-Ents!!!

- Kollibri’s take on a root cause of the ecological crisis.

A Global Vision for Public Lands

On episode 124 of the Green Root Podcast (the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance), host Josh Schlossberg shares Eco-Integrity Alliance’s long-term global vision for public lands.

Josh talks about:

-How public lands are the last best ecosystems in the U.S. with both the legal and cultural frameworks for genuine protection;

-How we can no longer afford to sell off nor “sell out” public lands to corporate extraction;

-How only 4 percent of U.S. “timber” and 2 percent of beef come from public lands anyway;

-The importance of establishing public lands as Biodiversity, Watershed, and Climate Refugia (BWCR) and the new petition to get out the word https://www.change.org/p/protect-u-s-public-lands-as-biodiversity-watershed-climate-refugia

-How BWCR fits into the Global Biodiversity Framework and Half-Earth vision.

The mission of Eco-Integrity Alliance (eco-integrityalliance.org) is to unite U.S. grassroots ecosystem advocates through common campaigns of mutual support.

Nature Therapy

On episode 123 of the Green Root Podcast (the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance), Julie Brams, psychotherapist and author of THE NATURE EMBEDDED MIND, lays out some paths for humanity to reconnect with nature to save the planet and ourselves.

Host Josh Schlossberg talks with Julie about:

-How separation from nature harms mental health;

-What it means to be an Earth-centered psychologist;

-Examples of nature-based therapy;

-The inspiration behind the book, THE NATURE EMBEDDED MIND;

-Julie’s take on a root cause of the ecological crisis.

JUDGE’S RULING: Did Pro-Logging Politician Violate "Open Records" Law?

Green Root Podcast 122: JUDGE’S RULING: DID PRO-LOGGING POLITICIAN VIOLATE “OPEN RECORDS” LAW?

On episode 122 of the Green Root Podcast (the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance), host Josh Schlossberg announces a District Court judge’s final ruling on his lawsuit against Jefferson County, Colorado Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper for allegedly deleting emails about public lands logging in violation of the Colorado Open Records Act.

Josh talks about:

-How Jefferson County perpetrates some of the most aggressive Wildfire Pretense Logging in Colorado while ignoring peer-reviewed science and public opinion;

-Evidence proving Dahlkemper has deleted emails related to logging;

-An email from a fire chief to Dahlkemper with “information you’d asked about” revealing one of Eco-Integrity Alliance’s funders;

-An email from a media editor claiming Dahlkemper had been making (defamatory) attacks against Josh;

-The Jefferson County District Court’s ruling on the lawsuit.

The mission of Eco-Integrity Alliance (eco-integrityalliance.org) is to unite U.S. grassroots ecosystem advocates through common campaigns of mutual support.

Alaska’s Ancient Forests on the Chopping Block

On episode 121 of the Green Root Podcast (the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance), Joshua Wright, Program Director of the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition, urges immediate public action to stop the “Landless” legislation that would privatize 115K acres of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, including 80K acres of old growth forests with trees up to 1,000 years old.

Host Josh Schlossberg talks with Joshua about:

-The awe-inspiring wonders of Alaska’s temperate rainforest;

-The danger of the “Landless” legislation that would privatize ancient forests on public lands;

-The Land Less film (wlfdc.org/land-less-film) featuring Joshua and Tlingit matriarch Wanda Culp;

-The importance of contacting Congress at (202) 224-3121 to urge them to oppose Senate Bill S. 2554 / House Bill HR. 41;

-Joshua’s take on a root cause of the ecological crisis.

The mission of Eco-Integrity Alliance (eco-integrityalliance.org) is to unite U.S. grassroots ecosystem advocates through common campaigns of mutual support.

Master Class in Environmental Filmmaking

On episode 120 of the Green Root Podcast (the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance), Jeff Gibbs, director of Planet of the Humans and producer and composer for Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11, teaches environmental advocates how to make a compelling and hard-hitting documentary film.

Host Josh Schlossberg talks with Jeff about:

-The secret behind why Jeff’s 2019 documentary, PLANET OF THE HUMANS, got over 25 million views;

-How great films ask questions, create discussion, and even piss people off;  

-How to capture gripping, high-quality audio and video;

-The “price” of being a great storyteller;

-Jeff’s take on a root cause of the ecological crisis.

Yin-Yang of the Environmental Movement

On episode 119 of the Green Root Podcast (the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance), host Josh Schlossberg outlines and asks for your feedback on his new article, “Yin-Yang of the Environmental Movement,” which you can read on Substack here.

Josh talks about how:

-The concept of Yin (“being”) and Yang (“doing”) can apply to environmentalism;

-There can be positive (“light”) and negative (“shadow”) aspects to both Yin and Yang;

-The Yin “shadow” that’s overtaken the environmental movement might be behind a lot of its failures;

-Enviros might add a bit more Yang to our advocacy to regain balance and start reversing the eco-crisis.

Beavers, Water, and Wildfire (with Jen Clanahan, Colorado Nature League)

On episode 114 of the Green Root Podcast (the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance), Jen Clanahan, executive director of Colorado Nature League, reveals how Colorado State Legislature caved to pressure from hunters, trappers, government agencies (funded by hunting), and even a former “conservation” NGO to kill a bill that would’ve protected beavers from being slaughtered on public lands.

Host Josh Schlossberg talks with Jen about:

-How beavers retain water on the landscape, which studies show can increase resiliency to wildfire;

-How the Colorado House Agriculture, Water, and Natural Resources Committee includes public lands ranchers such as Rep. Larry Don Suckla (who, during the hearing, claimed the right to destroy beaver dams so he could run his cattle on public lands);

-How the former “conservation” group, Trout Unlimited, testified AGAINST protecting this crucial wildlife species;

-How, on the same day, the Ag Committee axed a bill that would’ve routed a small portion of “wildfire mitigation” taxpayer funding (nearly all of which goes towards counterproductive industrial logging) towards proven home hardening protections through grants to low-income residents, along with seniors and those with disabilities;

-Jen’s take on a root of the eco-crisis.

The mission of Eco-Integrity Alliance (eco-integrityalliance.org) is to unite U.S. grassroots ecosystem advocates through common campaigns of mutual support.

THE MOST ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL “BLUE STATE”

On episode 117 of the Green Root Podcast (the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance), host Josh Schlossberg shares the most recent, most egregious example of how Colorado has become the most anti-environmental Democrat-majority state in the U.S.

Josh talks about how:

-The Colorado House Agriculture, Water, and Natural Resources Committee just shot down two bills that would’ve protected public lands, wildlife, and the state’s most vulnerable citizens;

-The first bill would’ve routed a small portion of the state’s millions in annual “wildfire mitigation” taxpayer funding (nearly all of which goes towards controversial and scientifically-debunked industrial logging) towards proven home hardening protections through grants to low-income residents, along with seniors and those with disabilities;

-That bill was opposed by government agency staff, elected officials, and corporate funded, pro-extraction “working lands” NGOs (i.e. Conservation Colorado, Western Resource Advocates, and The Nature Conservancy) demanding that the Committee not allot a single dollar to save the state’s most vulnerable residents’ homes from wildfire.

-The second bill would’ve protected beavers from hunting and trapping on public lands. Beavers create dams that retain water on the landscape, which studies have proven can reduce fire severity;

-Wildlife and wildland advocates can unite on a positive vision as an alternative to the dystopia of anti-environmental industry, government, NGOs, and media.

GOVERNMENT TIMBER THEFT? (with Jeff Ruch, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility)

On episode 116 of the Green Root Podcast (the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance), Jeff Ruch, Senior Counsel for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, exposes decades of evidence pointing towards collusion between the U.S. Forest Service and the logging industry in stealing—yes, stealing—trees from public lands.

Host Josh Schlossberg talks with Jeff about:

-Government estimates of $10 million to $100 million in annual timber theft from public lands;

-U.S. Forest Service’s formation of the Timber Theft Task Force in 1991;

-Forest Service’s disbanding of the Task Force once its own agency staff were implicated as “co-conspirators” in helping Weyerhaeuser get away with stealing millions of dollars of logs from National Forests;

-How the Forest Service’s expanding “wildfire” logging schemes make timber theft even more difficult to uncover;

-Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility’s current work with agency whistleblowers to hold the Bureau of Land Management accountable for overgrazing public lands.