In the second part of a two part series, we will continue talking about The Whale Child, a book written and illustrated by Indigenous authors Keith and Chenoa Egawa. Keith and Chenoa are siblings and enrolled members of the Lummi Indian Nation and of Japanese heritage. This book is a reminder of why we are here, why I am here, and why I am doing this work and this podcast. In the first part of the episode, we hear more about the role of magic in telling the story and about the inspiration for the book. In the second part of the episode, Keith and Chenoa talk about influences, habits, and advices that helped them in their work and life. Magic is a part of life. It is also the potential that we all have that somehow gets limited through conditioning and socialization, especially in modern world. We are able to connect to that magic – if we wish to – through our dreams. It comes from the heart, not the mind. But now, we do not even know what the heart is saying any more. We want you to remember you’re important; this is who you are. You can be what you want to be. But what is your goal? Is it to make money? And, is it to make money at the cost of life? It does not matter if you’re a good engineer; if your job is destructive, you’re destroying the Earth. It is important to bring this reality to our children now and prepare them to what is happening and what is going to happen. Episode Highlights* We have stories about whales and orcas. They’re akin. It is not just some kind of idea of magic, but these are parts of our wisdom and understanding over thousands of years.* If you want to connect with your magic, you have to open something within yourself to remember what is already in you.* We were inspired to write the story because we saw the power of the birth of our nephew, and what happened during that time. * We want all children to remember that they are this precious and this sacred.* And then the environmental message came too, because of where we are now. We thought of all our children and our nieces and nephew, thinking about all of them and wanting to have that hope for them. That’s how the story came about. It came from a dream that my sister had. * There’s a change of jobs that needs to happen. There’s a change in our conciseness that needs to happen. If you’re doing a job, it needs to have some aspects of caring about the Earth, life, and healing.  Contact information and other Resources:Keith Egawa is a graduate of the University of Washington’s Creative Writing program and author of the novel Madchild Running. Keith’s extensive work experience in the fields of Child and Family Services and Indian Education Reform has provided him with both inspiration and insight into his subject matter.Chenoa Egawa holds a BA in International Business and Spanish from the University of Washington. In addition to being a writer, Chenoa is an activist for Indigenous communities and the environment, a ceremonial leader, medicine woman, singer, storyteller, and artist dedicated to bringing healing to our Mother Earth and people of all origins. Breaking Green Ceilings:Website: https://www.breakinggreenceilings.com/ (https://www.breakinggreenceilings.com/)Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breaking_green_ceilings/ (https://www.instagram.com/breaking_green_ceilings/)Follow Keith and Chenoa Egawa: Instagram: The Whale Child (https://www.instagram.com/thewhalechild/)Facebook: The Whale Child (https://www.facebook.com/whalechildbook/)Website:

In this first episode of a two-part series, we will be talking about The Whale Child, a book written and illustrated by Indigenous authors Keith and Chenoa Egawa. Keith and Chenoa are siblings and enrolled members of the Lummi Indian Nation, and of ...

Grace Anderson (she/her) is a network weaver, strategist, and dreamer working at the intersection of race, healing and the environment. While working in the outdoor and environmental sector, she recognized a lack of people of color in that sp...

Dr. Sri has a really interesting story about how he found himself on a path into environmental conservation and eventually water equity after starting as a construction engineer. When I reached out to Sri he was the leader of the water program at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center. Since then, he took a new and exciting opportunity at the Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc., as the Director of Water Equity and Climate Resilience. Over the past several years, Sri’s work has addressed national water issues such as affordability, aging water infrastructure, extreme weather impacts, financing, and non-point source pollution. In this episode, Dr. Sri talks about water equity challenges in the United States.Episode Highlights* In the US, we have almost two million people who do not have access to clean drinking water and indoor plumbing services. The majority of them are indigenous communities and communities of color. * In its simplest form, water equity means that everyone has access to safe, reliable, and affordable water services. But sometimes, what is safe and reliable is not affordable, or what is reliable and affordable is not safe. * There are many forms of water inequity in the US - accidents, contamination with water pollutants, too expensive water for low-income community, or mistrust toward the public service.  * Inequities in communities of color include housing issues, capitalistic ways of doing things, some version of private industry, or lobbying. * We try to work with EPA because certain things have to be done at the federal level. * Water infrastructure investments. Smaller systems are more resource restricted, but they are also in most need of these funds. * Six million people in the country do not drink tap water. In many cases these are unjustified fears of mistrust. * There are certain uses for bottle water. But making that a predominant way of consumption is problematic because there is huge difference in the pricing of bottle water per unit of volume compared to tap water. Contact information and other Resources:Dr. Sridhar Vedachalam leads the water program at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center. His work has addressed national water issues such as affordability, aging infrastructure, extreme weather impacts, financing, and non-point source pollution. He currently serves on the advisory board for Water Hub and is a member of the Source Water Initiative led by the Great Lakes Commission and the Water Equity Task Force led by Virginia Health Catalyst. Dr. Vedachalam is also the Editor for Urban Water at the Global Water Forum, a resource for evidence-based, accessible, and open-access articles on freshwater governance. He brings water policy experience from his years in academia, government, and the non-profit sector. He holds a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.Breaking Green Ceilings:Website: https://www.breakinggreenceilings.com/ (https://www.breakinggreenceilings.com/)Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breaking_green_ceilings/ (https://www.instagram.com/breaking_green_ceilings/)Follow Dr. Sri Vedachlam: Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/drvedachalam (https://mobile.twitter.com/drvedachalam)LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srivedachalam/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/srivedachalam/)

This is the second episode of a two-part series with Afnan Khairullah and Sofia Gilani. Afnan and Sofia are volunteers with the Green Muslims organization that works to connect Muslims everywhere to nature and environmental activism. In this episode, Afnan and Sofia continue sharing about the role nature played in their life and how they are using their religion, Islam, to educate and connect fellow Muslims to nature. They also give some good examples of how to live responsibly and be good stewards of this planet. According to them, keeping it simple, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, is the way it is supposed to be. Simple life gives you clarity and a better perspective on what is important in life, and helps you prioritize.Episode Highlights* The way Ramadan is practiced nowadays defeats the purpose. We are supposed to spend all our time in worship, yet many people spend their time in the kitchen cooking for a massive feast, and after that massive feast, there is a massive clean-up. * The environmental toll on that is that there is so much food, and a lot of it ends up going to waste. * Our dinner is our iftar (breakfast). We have maybe one big iftar, and then we have leftovers. * In Green Muslims last year we did a Ramadan challenge where we encouraged our followers to do a different theme each week * Get yourself out there and make room for yourself. Not many environmental spaces are Muslim-heavy. Make yourself heard, and start where you’re comfortable. * Pursue your passion. Learn more about what you want to learn and use it to the best of your ability. * Live simply; forget about the stuff and go for the outdoor experiences and quality time with nature. Contact information and other Resources:Afnan is a New Jersey native who moved to Northern Virginia in 2020 to start a career in the federal government. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies and an MS in Sustainability Science with a concentration in sustainability leadership. Throughout her life, she has been drawn to the outdoors and is happiest hiking, bouldering, or exploring Washington, DC. Time and again Afnan has found herself drawing parallels with faith and eco stewardship, so working with Green Muslims was a natural fit to address environmental stewardship in the Muslim community while also promoting environmental awareness. She hopes that more people will one day share the same affinity for the well-being of the Earth. Sofia Gilani (she/hers) is the Climate Action Advocate for Green Muslims. Born and raised in Northern Virginia, Sofia spent much of her youth outdoors with her family & later traveled to her parent’s home countries of Pakistan and Nicaragua. This travel experience shaped her view of an interconnected world that influenced her passion for environmental and social justice. She holds a BS in Environmental Science from George Mason University where she was involved with the Virginia Student Environmental Coalition and Mason Environmental Justice Alliance (MEJA). During her participation with these two organizations she was a collaborator for events to address activist burnout, conflict resolution discussions, prepare for marches, and organize clean-ups. Sofia has a strong passion for education and advocacy that she utilizes in her work with Green Muslims to help involve the Muslim community in environmental advocacy. Professionally, Sofia has worked in environmental compliance for solid waste, as well as construction. In her spare time outside of work and advocacy, Sofia enjoys kayaking, biking, boxing, and hanging out with her cat.Here's a link to a video that created by Peter Toscano of the Citizens Climate Lobby for the “Religious Communities and the Planetary Crisis” hosted by the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network, the Hartford Seminary,

In this first episode of a two part series, we will hear from Afnan Khairullah and Sofia Gilani, who are volunteers with Green Muslims. Green Muslims is an organization that works to connect Muslims everywhere to nature and environmental activism. T...

Nadia Ahmad is an author, attorney, law professor, and environmental justice advocate. She has spent her academic career focusing on frontline communities who are the most vulnerable to energy production.She is a Visiting Associate Professor at Yale Law School and an Associate Professor at Barry University School of Law. She teaches environmental law, property, and business organizations. She has presented her research on the law and policy of advanced biofuels in Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Cambridge, Doha, Denver, New York, and San Francisco. Her over 45 scholarly publications focus on the intersections of energy siting, the environment, and sustainable development and draw on international investment law and corporate social responsibility.Three Exploredt: * Third World vs First World* frontline communities are vulnerable to energy production* climate cages* environmental justice activismBest advice: don't listen to anyone. (meaning if someone has something negative to say to deter you away from doing something you love don't listen to them and do it anyway) Connect with Nadia Ahmad: Website: https://nadiaahmad.org/ (https://nadiaahmad.org/)Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadiabahmad (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadiabahmad)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profnadiaahmad (https://www.facebook.com/profnadiaahmad)Twitter: https://twitter.com/NadiaBAhmad (https://twitter.com/NadiaBAhmad)Additional resources: https://youtu.be/QP39lio396s (https://youtu.be/QP39lio396s)https://law.yale.edu/nadia-b-ahmad (https://law.yale.edu/nadia-b-ahmad)http://www2.law.mercer.edu/elaw/ahmad.html (http://www2.law.mercer.edu/elaw/ahmad.html)https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fm22ArEAAAAJ&hl=en (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fm22ArEAAAAJ&hl=en)

Earl B. Hunter, Jr is an unapologetic business owner of an outdoor recreational and marketing company that is committed to get more Black folks out in nature, and encourage white allies to extend invites on their outdoor excursions. Earl worked in the RV (recreational vehicle) industry as an executive for many years until he realized how people of color and particularly Black folks are rarely to be seen purchasing recreational equipment or even enjoying outdoor spaces like parks. So, he took matters into his own hands and he created Black Folks Camp Too, which is based on one simple slogan, “Treat Everyone Everywhere Equally”. This is depicted in the Black Folks Camp Too Unity Blaze.Follow EarlIG:@blackfolkscamptooFacebook: @blackfolkscamptooYouTube: @Black Folks Camp TooWebsite: blackfolkscamptoo.comFollow Breaking Green CeilingsIG - @breaking_green_ceilings

Ecologist Dr. Rodrigo Medellín is one of the most vocal and well-known advocates for the protection of bats and bat habitats. Rodrigo fell in love with bats when he held one for the first time at the age of 13 and today he is known as the “Bat Man of Mexico”.He is especially known for making significant contributions to taking the lesser long-nosed bat off the endangered list in Mexico and the U.S. The lesser long-nosed bat, found in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, is one of just three bat species in North America that are responsible for pollinating cacti and agave plants across the continent. Follow Rodrigo* IG:@batmanmedellin* YouTube: @Rodrigo Medellin* Researchgate: Dr. Rodrigo MedellinFollow Breaking Green Ceilings* IG - @breaking_green_ceilings

Rocio Villalobos is from Austin, Texas. She's an avid trail runner who promotes mental health, having experienced her own challenges and finding a place to belong in nature. She runs to promote Indigenous values around running to heal the soul and healing one's relationship to the land and to raise awareness on the importance of increasing racial representation in the outdoors. She is also a mentor who helps connect young people to nature and themselves. In addition, she is also an environmental and social justice activist who is fighting to promote a healthy community in her East Austin neighborhood which is predominantly Latinx and a Black community and has experienced environmental injustices. Last but not least, she is currently working with the City of Austin's equity office as an immigrant affairs coordinator. Connect with Rocio* IG: @thexicanaexplorer* Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rociodelrosario (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rociodelrosario)Follow Breaking Green Ceilings* IG - @breaking_green_ceilings