People Places Planet Podcast
Welcome to ELI’s People Places Planet Podcast. Here, listeners can gain insight on some of the thinking behind ELI's work. Below you will find our most recent episodes.
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It’s undeniable that we take water access for granted – until we don’t have it or until water quality degrades, anyways. With at least forty states anticipating water shortages this year, using water efficiently is more important than ever. This week, Sarah Backer is joined by Mary Ann Dickinson, Co-Chair of the Water and Planning Network for the American Planning Association, and Adam Schempp, Senior Attorney at ELI, to discuss water conservation strategies, the influence of law, and progress toward achieving reliable and safe water supplies today and in the future.
Associated Blog: Stretching the Water Supply: The Importance of Water Efficiency Measures | Environmental Law Institute (eli.org)
Consumers are seeking out ethically made and climate-friendly apparel to gift this holiday season. But how do they know whether their purchases are truly sustainable or eco-friendly? This week’s podcast episode explores the rise of greenwashing claims and the role of the Federal Trade Commission in guiding the industry and holding companies accountable for deceptive marketing claims. Host Sarah Backer sits down with Carolyn Kennedy, a 2024 JD Candidate at the Georgetown University Law Center, and Derek Sabori, an apparel industry veteran with more than 26 years of experience to discuss legal and industry perspectives on sustainable fashion.
The EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) develops the Agency’s national strategy to enforce compliance with federal environmental statutes. Led by Assistant Administrator, David M. Uhlmann, OECA sets national enforcement priorities, and coordinates with EPA regions and the U.S. Department of Justice to address environmental noncompliance, which can include civil and criminal actions. In this episode, Mr. Uhlmann joins Justin Savage to discuss OECA’s national and enforcement compliance initiatives for fiscal years 2024-2027, environmental justice, PFAS and climate enforcement goals.
The United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 integrated goals that address global challenges, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, the environment, peace, and justice. Advancing the SDGs in the US would help to make the US a better place for all. In this episode, host Sarah Backer is joined by editors John Dernbach and Scott Schang to discuss their ELI Press-published book, Governing for Sustainability. The book provides a detailed set of recommendations for federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local governments, as well as the private sector and civil society organized around the SDGs. Scott and John also discuss how the SDGs offer the US a comprehensive framework to build a more prosperous, equitable, resilient, healthy – in other words, sustainable – society.
Relevant Resources:
John Dernbach and Scott Schang, Governing for Sustainability Introduction
Goldman Sachs, The Us Inflation Reduction Act Is Driving Clean-energy Investment One Year In The Nature Conservancy, Family Forest Carbon Program
The Washington Post, ‘Greenhushing’: Why some companies quietly hide their climate pledges
HarperCollins Publishers, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
Relevant Resources:
John Dernbach and Scott Schang, Governing for Sustainability Introduction