YouSaid · the spoken record

Leah Thomas

lines on the record: 19
first: 2022-09-14
most recent: 2022-09-14
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Are humongous, and I can walk into a bookstore in the United Kingdom and find so many books on climate organizing from really large environmental organizations. And it's not the same in the United States. I can't walk into a bookstore here and find books by like extinction rebellion or how to be a climate activist, etc. So I thought it was really important in this different market that already has a lot of books, a lot of events, a lot of climate organizing to be able to hear directly from climate organizers of color across Europe. So there are folks from the UK and there's also folks from Germany, New Zealand, and also Australia and beyond. And I think their voice is just really, really need to be uplifted. and amplified just because climate activism looks so different in both places if that makes sense.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Black and brown climate organizers in the United Kingdom that are trying to change things and they're doing incredible work like people like Domi Palmer or Anne Michaela Loach to really try to make climate organizing in the UK more intersectional in nature and to focus on racism and gender justice in the same ways that people focus on classism And in the United Kingdom, it's hard to explain, but conversations about classism, I feel, are more progressive in the United Kingdom than in the United States. However, I would argue, if not to generalize, racism is talked about a lot in the United States in ways that it isn't talked about in the UK. And I think that is negatively impacting a lot of climate organizers of color in the United Kingdom, especially because climate organizing is huge. Organizations like Extinction Rebellion.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I thought it was really important because climate activism in the UK is so, so different than climate activism in the United States in many ways I would say it is more progressive in terms of the amount of people that are mobilized for climate action on a regular basis and there's so much that I think organizers in the US are learning however I would say the United States because they have such a history of environmental justice and kind of connecting it to racial justice, unfortunately there are a lot of climate organizers in the UK where climate justice may center around and take classism into example. Racism is something that isn't I would argue like tackled enough by a lot of climate organizers in the UK. So I've met with a lot of”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But then I would just encourage folks, it's a large brand, they haven't redeemed themselves if they've just released one small collection that, in my opinion, is maybe a step in the right direction, like 0.00, 0.1% step in the right direction, but that isn't redemption. And to try to avoid some of those large corporations that are doing that until they have redeemed themselves. And I think redemption might be possible if there's a lot of significant changes. But in the meantime, support those kind of smaller businesses or even go thrift shopping or things like that.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I did see that announcement and it made me really sad because I feel like that is like you mentioned a perfect example of greenwashing, especially when there are folks that have the power and resources to create a completely like sustainable and ethical brand or maybe that celebrity could have even put the pressure on boo hoo to change their practices as a whole versus just kind of like launching one small brand. And I think there's also a lot of really qualified folks that these large brands could work with if they genuinely wanted to kind of shift their manufacturing processes. So yeah, I think these large corporations are onto the fact that Gen Z's and millennials want to purchase from brands that care a little bit more about people in the planet. So I think it's going to be harder and harder for people to suss out greenwashing, which is really unfortunate.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Also, it's just so hard. We don't know everyone's personal story. Like, maybe social media is the way that that person can participate right now. And if that's kind of an entry point, I don't think we should be discouraging folks in that way. So that's just what I can say for individuals, but my take on corporations is completely different. They need to be doing more if they're just sharing a graphic or something like that and not funneling funds to grassroots climate activism. Then I have a lot harsher words for them. But I do think that in the climate space, people can be very critical in ways that I find to be unproductive. And honestly, mean and self-righteous. And I don't think that that's okay.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“For photos or public disruption, but that's not a privilege that many black and brown folks. So I could go back and forth on that. To answer your question specifically about social media, I would ask them like, how do you know? Like if you know this person personally on like a deep level and you're able to assess that they are doing absolutely nothing other than sharing an infographic or something like that, then maybe if they're a close friend of yours, you can talk to them and kind of encourage that they get involved in organizing. But it's hard for me to understand, I guess, the negatives of awareness, sharing or uplifting a message that is really important and needs to be heard. At least they are sharing. So for me personally, like I don't want to focus my energy on like stressing out whether or not I think someone is morally superior or not. Like if they are taking action. And I think also just leading with.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I would say that this is always tricky. And I think people would be surprised at how many people during the Earth Day movement or the civil rights movement maybe felt some sort of element of peer pressure and like they were down for the cause, but they were like, I don't know if I want to go, but like all my friends are going to the civil rights protests. Like this feels historic. I should be there. And that's something that probably has happened all throughout history. There's probably been some performance element to some activism and even specifically talking about the UK in particular. I think in the US, climate activism is a little different. So there's, I would say a lot of performative elements to even in-person demonstration in the UK that is primarily like white-led. And I could argue like, what are y'all doing for climate justice and racial justice? Like you might be chaining yourself to something.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Apart in a way that acknowledged that, yes, we need representation of celebrities and folks choosing very accessible options because that is relatable, but also knowing that they could afford to buy something that isn't made with child labor and violating a lot of environmental things to me that wasn't something to celebrate. So there's a lot of nuance in this space. And I feel like I'm learning every day.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Know that, but I also want to encourage people to make the best decision for themselves. And that's something that I also try to grapple with because I don't like elitism, but I also don't like people not being accountable. So there has to be a middle ground between finding something that's the most accessible and the most sustainable option for that person, which I think will look different for everyone. So if someone is extremely wealthy, I think, yes, you do have a responsibility if you can to buy clothing that is made as ethically and sustainably as possible if you can afford it. There is a video that came out with a really big celebrity and they were wearing clothing sheen or sheen or something like that. And people were writing all these articles about, oh my God, look how accessible they are. They're wearing something that we all can afford. And I really wanted to break that.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That are upcycled or something like that when you can, definitely supporting like local businesses. So not even those big companies that are telling you that they're sourcing things. As much as you can supporting your local economy or if there's like a little store that's not a really big chain and they are supporting the local community trying to go to that convenient store instead of some like big chain or something like that. And I've lived in a lot of small towns across the United States where there really is an investment in the community and local farmers who are doing things better for the planet and local artisans that are doing things better for the planet. I think that's one of the ways to participate and I don't even want to say consumption because it sounds weird, but we all do consume things. Like if you do need a new t-shirt or something like that and you are able to support local, then.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I always try to be careful when I answer these questions because I don't want to promote elitism. And I think there's a lot of sustainable bloggers who just are not being honest. And I have that Intel because they're getting sent like free, sustainable clothing and like 200, 400 t-shirts and dresses. And I know that that's not accessible to the everyday person. So I have to even recognize my privilege in this space of randomly getting emails from companies that I can barely afford asking to send me things. And I wish there was more transparency from a lot of activists or sustainable educators there. So I do want to acknowledge the inaccessibility when it comes to shopping sustainably. But in my opinion, something that I do try to promote a little bit more is shopping locally when you can. So supporting your local farmers or even if you have like a friend or something that's making really cool like small batch t-shirts.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It is kind of a hard sell because it's something that we'd have to really reimagine the way that we participate in commerce. And I have so many ideas, some that are probably more radical and some that are more realistic. But I do think we need to do away with capitalism and its current state, especially because there's so much money in politics. And that's influencing climate decisions on a global scale in a way that is just horrendous if I do say so myself.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“A really great question. I think this is always a hard question to answer, and I think a lot of it is informed by my time working at Patagonia headquarters, which in many ways I would say Patagonia, they are really excellent when it comes to sustainable manufacturing and fair trade certification and things like that. However, at the end of the day, no matter how sustainable a business practices are, arguably we have enough shirts in the world already. Like we don't need to make new things. There's a phrase that I really love, like if you shoot for the moon, you'll land on a star. And when it comes to rethinking capitalism, I think I would be okay with landing on a star, which might be reimagining what capitalism can look like, where hopefully there's ethical manufacturing and different business practices are more sustainable and less harmful to the earth. But”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Centering the voices of people who are most impacted to make sure that we don't have environmental racism or as much in the future.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Questions that I had. And then I also started finding things like environmental racism and environmental justice and intersectional theory. And it all started to make sense. And I started realizing across my studies that, okay, I don't have to separate my identity from my environmental practice because in large part it influences why I care about the world and the earth the way that I do. So I really wanted to create an introductory textbook for people who are starting their environmental journey or just had questions about how racial justice or the fight for gender justice, like how that has anything to do with environmentalism. And I wanted to break it down for people in a really accessible way. And my hope is that if people read a book like this earlier on in their environmental education, then they wouldn't have to ask those questions about why people on planet should both be considered. And not only that, we should make sure that we are”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“For this question, I feel like in many ways I kind of wrote it for my younger self. I studied environmental science and policy and I was one of the only black students in my classroom. And it was really hard for me to understand why I guess racial justice or women empowerment and so many of these things weren't deeply intertwined in my curriculum. And I think I also kind of had a feminist awakening when I was studying environmental science, especially because the environmental field is dominated by women. So I started asking a lot of questions just like, okay, why, even though women in large part didn't cause the climate crisis, are we being given the task of fixing the earth? And we see so many more women in this field. So I think I just had a lot of different questions when I was a younger environmentalist and I started finding things like ecofeminism that was answering a lot of”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Environmental decisions, we started to see that toxic waste was being diverted away from, say, wealthier and wider neighborhoods, but it was being diverted towards more lower income in black and brown communities. So that's an example of environmental racism where we see more toxic waste sites and landfills and highways in particular communities, especially black and brown communities, those really impacted by racial injustice. You can also describe environmental racism by things like not having enough trees or parks or access to green spaces. Whenever there's a kind of positive environmental benefit that we're not seeing as prevalent in black and brown communities, that's an example of environmental racism.”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“What a lot of people don't know is that the Earth Day movement kind of used a lot of the tactics and were inspired by the civil rights movement. And that's why we see a lot of environmental protests that we have today that are rooted in civil disobedience. We really owe a lot of civil rights and social justice leaders and activists for the way the environmental movement has and currently practices civil disobedience and different forms of activism. So anywho unfortunately the environmental movement of the 60s and 70s wasn't really focused on racial justice, even though a lot of their tactics were born out of the civil rights movement. So we saw a lot of environmental laws being passed around the 70s and we had hippies and environmental activists and things like that. But unfortunately because racism or classism weren't really taken into account with a lot of those”
2022-09-14 · Intelligence Squared · Understanding Environmental Inequality, with Leah Thomas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT