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SLAP the Power
SLAP the Power - a dynamic new show from SLAP the Network that aims to weave artistry into advocacy through the raw power of music, comedy, movies, visual arts, and beyond.
Hosted by world touring musicians Rick Barrio Dill (@rickbarriodill @vintagetrouble) and Aja Nikiya (@compassioncurator), join them as team with musicians, comedians, actors and artists of all angles and try to chop up some of todays most troubling topics, but with a fat side of chocolate cake and incredible silliness.
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SLAP the Power
Youth Climate Warriors - Earth Talk'ers
Uncover the inspiring stories of young trailblazers like Matt DeSantos, Ava Lighthizer, and Pahonu Coleman as they share their fight for climate justice. Learn how these youth activists are using the power of litigation to hold governments accountable and secure a sustainable future. Their passionate involvement in groundbreaking cases such as Held v. Montana showcases the critical role of the courts in protecting our planet and the unique challenges faced by children in the climate crisis.
Explore the pressing issues surrounding global climate action, from the limitations of international agreements to the struggles of vulnerable nations like Tuvalu in accessing climate funding. Discover how Our Children's Trust, led by Julia Olson, is pioneering systemic legal changes to safeguard environmental rights for future generations. With a focus on youth-powered litigation and science-driven solutions, this episode highlights the organization's commitment to protecting the rights of children against the devastating impacts of climate change.
Join us as we celebrate the triumphs of youth activism and the importance of community in fostering change. From the heartening stories of animal welfare in our "Pause for Progress" segment to the intriguing game of "Two Scams and a Slap," there's no shortage of inspiration and engagement. Together, we'll explore the pathways for meaningful climate action and the enduring influence of young voices in advocating for a livable world.
AMAZON
Compassion Kind
PATREON
SLAP the Power is written and produced by Rick Barrio Dill (@rickbarriodill) and Aja Nikiya (@compassioncurator). Associate Producer Bri Coorey (@bri_beats). Audio and Video engineering and studio facilities provided by SLAP Studios LA (@SLAPStudiosLA) with distribution through our collective home for progress in art and media, SLAP the Network (@SLAPtheNetwork).
If you have ideas for a show you want to hear or see, or you would like to be a featured guest artist on our show, please email us at info@slapthepower.com
I'm one of 16 youth plaintiffs in Heldby Montana. Seeing the wildfires, the flooding, the drought, countless other inconsistencies, has always been something that's kind of on my mind, even from a very young age. So when the opportunity to become a part of the Heldby Montana case presented itself to me, I was incredibly invigorated and excited to join something and use my voice in a meaningful way.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes. The world may not need another podcast, but it can definitely use a slap. That's right. Welcome to Slap the Power, the show that lifts artists who use their powers for positive progress. I am Rick Barrio-Dill and I'm Asia Nakia On the show today. 2025 is here, and if synthetic life created in a lab wasn't on your bingo card, you are not alone.
Speaker 3:And some exciting news in the Windy City as of January 1st, chicago's municipality buildings are fully renewable. Until our incoming president declares war on the sun. But you know.
Speaker 2:Or Chicago, which I actually probably expect. That one first.
Speaker 3:Also on the show today. Can semi-glutide weight loss programs actually save you money? Our interview today is with the incredible organization Our Children's Trust and our favorite child-led podcast, earth Talk with the myth, the legend, dr Keith Wolf. Keith Wolf, that's right.
Speaker 2:And a little later we catch up with Paws for Progress. Asia has some awesome updates. I can't wait for you all to hear about it.
Speaker 3:And then we do a quick game of two scams and a slap where today you, the listener, find out in real time with me which of these three insanely crazy news stories is actually true.
Speaker 2:That's right. All right, but first a little housekeeping. Are you dipping your toes into the world of online gambling by chance?
Speaker 3:All the time.
Speaker 2:Do you like poker? Or how about sports? Or just about sports, or just silliness. No better color man in the game than Mr Norman Chad. Make sure to check out Gambling Mad with Norman Chad everywhere and anywhere you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3:And speaking of podcasts, have you heard about the Women in the Nude podcast C'est quoi, yes, where they bear all except for their bodies? I see you guys. A runaway hit from Slap the Network and 360 Pod.
Speaker 2:Studios. That's right, it's a hit show coming out the gate.
Speaker 3:Season two Join actress and entrepreneur Sasha Pierca as she brings a host of incredible guests to the couch to bear it all except for their bodies. They leave that up to your imagination. Go subscribe to the Women in the Nude podcast anywhere. You get your podcasts, all right.
Speaker 2:We are back after a killer break. Asia, it is so good to see you and get the updates from you. How are you? How was your break? Tell me, tell me, how are you?
Speaker 3:You know, honestly, I was like pretty sick over the break, so I was mostly in between my bed and the bathroom and making hot tea in my kitchen.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, yeah, that's the wasn't, it wasn't great.
Speaker 3:It was not the holiday break that I was, that I was rooting for.
Speaker 2:Do you find, when you get like really sick like that, when you come out of it I know I do it's like after you go through something like that, when you come out of it you just feel like a new person. I just feel like. I feel like being normal has a new level of like appreciation, like I just appreciate normal. I'm like, oh my God, it feels so good just to be normal.
Speaker 3:Yeah, which you kind of like. It's kind of nice to appreciate that your body just functions normally every other day.
Speaker 3:And you get to it like high five body. Thank you for making me healthy most days. But yeah, it was kind of like I feel almost like an end of year, like purge too. There's something about the new year Like I'm not big on making New Year's resolutions, like on day one, yeah, but I do feel like your body just can't like it can't get away from the fact that mentally you're in this like state of like renew. I was sick and like it brought me into this fresh new start into the new year.
Speaker 2:What I like about that is we can slide into fascism with really fresh immuno yeah you got to be ready, you got to be ready. You got to be prepared.
Speaker 1:Exactly you got to have a head on a swivel, but how about your break?
Speaker 2:I mean. So my break. I worked pretty much the whole entire break, but I worked basically in a really quiet place. Luckily I didn't get sick. Bree and I were doing voiceovers all over the break and sending stuff back and forth. It's just been really fun. Also great about this gig is so we prerecorded our interview that you guys are going to hear with the incredible, incredible organization, our Children's Trust, as well as the kids, our favorite little young podcasters, the Earth Talk kids and, as we mentioned, dr Keith Wolf. It was literally the day after we did the interview. It was they had news. Our Children's Trust had news and we're so super stoked to tell it to you.
Speaker 3:No, it was crazy because we, you know, on the interview we were talking about this case and they were waiting to hear back and they just they were sort of in limbo, they weren't sure how it was going to go.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And then they actually won.
Speaker 2:They won the next day yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean that was insane news and you know, just to give some you know intel on this. It was the high court of Montana and they agreed that children have a fundamental right to a safe and livable climate.
Speaker 1:That is huge.
Speaker 6:I mean this is like insane.
Speaker 3:So it was 16 plaintiffs that were, you know, basically fighting for the health and safety of the climate that they're living in. These are our next generation of teens growing up, and the court agreed, the Supreme Court agreed. This was a resounding six to one victory, and this decision is now embedded into the Montana constitutional law. I mean, it is there. That's amazing, that children deserve to have a clean climate.
Speaker 2:Yes, so you guys are going to hear the interview from the day before this? Yeah, but a lot of incredible stuff in the interview and I look forward to the court case. You know, donald J Trump versus these children, because you're going up against a force, these kids will push back at you. Don't get it twisted. So how about this? For a segue, there's a new project that aims to build synthetic life from scratch for the first time. I was just blown away by this story, but there's a $13 million project funded by the European Research Council. It's working to create simple living systems capable of quote Darwinian evolution end quote Within the next six years. Instead of using nucleotides, dna and RNA bits that are considered the building blocks of life, the many life researchers plan to coax complex growth reactions out of simple chemicals that, to at least two different types of environments, will grow and flourish. Scientists hope that cooking up lab controlled life could shed some light on how natural life began on earth nearly four billion years ago. But what could go wrong?
Speaker 3:I can see like 10 different movie like plots, yeah, that's right, we got claimed to the movie rights here, that's right, that's right, ace it we just claimed the movie, right? I'm gonna type out my ideas right now and put a date and I'm gonna mail it to myself. What could go wrong, you know?
Speaker 2:you could make you know I yeah, it's kind of date and I'm going to mail it to myself?
Speaker 3:No, no, what could go wrong?
Speaker 2:You know you could make you know. Yeah, it's kind of. I mean, you know about cloning and you know about stuff with. You know stem cells and things like that. But I'm interested to you know to see how this goes.
Speaker 3:Well, on that note, moving back to some climate news, so this Chicago, all municipality buildings in Chicago are completely renewable energy. Chi-town, yeah, I mean over 400 buildings. That is absolutely insane, that's incredible and what a monstrosity of an accomplishment for that city. Yeah, so, since January 1st, 400 plus of the buildings in the Windy City, including firehouses, airports, two of the world's biggest water treatment plants, are all on renewable.
Speaker 3:So, 70% of their needs will come from the double black diamond solar projects in Illinois, which is one of the largest solar fields in the US. I mean, this is such big news. I mean props to Chicago. Yeah, it says that they're literally going to take out 62,000 cars worth of pollution. Wow, that's insane.
Speaker 2:That's insane, until the president declares war on Chicago.
Speaker 3:Until that, yeah sure, all right, and as we teased in the beginning.
Speaker 2:How's this? For another segue, can Ozempic really save you money? I saw this story and I was just, you know, around here. It's the start of uh award season, which you know I love, I love, I love the pad, I love the pageantry, I love the kind of um, I don't know, there's just a celebration of achievement. It's the reason for people to get together, it's a reason and people make fun of it and stuff like that. But I really really dig it and so you know a lot of weight loss drugs like the semi-glutide stuff has been really popular, the groundbreaking drugs like Wigovi and ZipBound.
Speaker 2:They might be coming for the lunch of the food companies because people using these drugs for weight loss, they start spending a lot less on food, and the industry is figuring this out, and a new working paper by Cornell University researchers found that households in which at least one person begins taking appetite suppressant drugs, like the semi-glutides, like Ozempic and things, spend 6% less on grocery bills on average in the first six months, and for higher income families the spending pullback was greater at 9%, which is which is. Is that a bad thing? I mean, I don't know.
Speaker 3:I don't know. Yeah, I mean it kind of goes both ways right. Like some. You know, some industries are going to gain a lot from this and some are going to lose. Like I was reading, it was saying you know, some businesses like you know airlines might reduce their fuel costs, clothing companies using less, like I mean it's things that you wouldn't even like. I wasn't even really thinking about it but I was reading through the article and I was like, wow, okay, airlines, food Okay.
Speaker 2:I got it.
Speaker 3:Yeah. But, the big pharma companies are, you know, obviously the ones to gain, I think, the most here, yeah, and food companies, snack companies. I would imagine would be the bottom tier. But yeah, it's very interesting and it's funny because I actually did try to sign myself up for Ozempic, just for shits and giggles.
Speaker 1:You don't need it. And they told me no, no, but I really was like darn.
Speaker 3:I wanted to try it and see if it worked, but they didn't allow me in the party train, so I won't be saving money on my groceries.
Speaker 2:Oh. I am not part of the 6%, not part of the 6% or the 9%. But you know there's the black market at Ozempic. But you know you got to be careful.
Speaker 3:You got to be careful with that. Yeah, you got to be careful with that stuff. Throw in another arm or something crazy, yeah.
Speaker 2:All right. Well, I'm super excited. Coming up after the break you're going to hear our interview with the kids from our children's trust and on the precipice of what we now know to be a winning court case in their whole battle and the big climate change stuff. So stick around.
Speaker 8:Gambling is part of the culture of America Since even before we were America. I'm Norman Chad. I know gambling. I've played blackjack and poker. I've bet sports and horse races. I've even hit the slot machines at a Pahrump, nevada 7-Eleven. You say gambling, I say Gambling Mad. So join me on Gambling Mad with Norman Chad wherever you find your podcasts. Follow us on socials at Gambling Mad Show or at Gambling Mad Norman Chad at YouTube.
Speaker 3:All right, Hello Earth Talkers, Thank you so much for raising your powerful and generational voices. Aj, Dora, Eli and Zaya, thank you so much for hosting this podcast and for all the work you do. And, on behalf of us and to our Children's Trust's guests, Matt, Ava and Pahono, we know that climate change has neither been nor is being solved by the current and past generations, and we know that we must all do a better job, and that job is going to take time and energy. Thank you for what you are doing and we cannot wait to hear your stories.
Speaker 10:Thanks, asia, keith and Rick, and welcome to Earth Talk. Generational voices changing climate change. We're a youth-led podcast raising our voices for all generations, because climate change is the paramount challenge of our time and will be for much longer. That means it demands nothing less than our immediate and resolved best actions now and for many future generations to come. Our mission is for our voices to be heard, for our generation to be seen as a constituency that deserves better action and protection from our leaders. Dora.
Speaker 7:So we're going to break all this down with our friends at SLAP and with our awesome guests, to give all our voices the power they deserve. We're going to talk about the future of climate change, and today we'd like to shed a spotlight on the importance of youth representation in the courts and consequences of the recent US election on youth-led litigation here and on a global scale. To help us do this, we're honored to be bringing you a compelling conversation with our Children's Trust, who are building youth power, telling their climate stories and asserting their climate rights in courts around the world. Joining all of us today is Matt DeSantos, with us here in studio. Matt is the co-executive director at our Children's Trust in Eugene, oregon. Next is Ava, who is a plaintiff in the Held v the State of Montana case and joins us from Livingston, montana. And finally, pahonu, who is a plaintiff in the Navajin versus the Hawaii Department of Transportation case. Welcome Matt, ava and Pahonu, we're so excited to have you with us today.
Speaker 4:So, Matt, let's start with a bit of background on Our Children's Trust. Please tell us about the mission of your organization and the cases you handle.
Speaker 9:Sure Well, thanks everybody, everybody for having us here today.
Speaker 9:It's a real honor to be here at the school and to be working on this podcast with you all.
Speaker 9:So our Children's Trust was founded in 2010, so almost 15 years ago on a couple of basic concepts.
Speaker 9:One is that children are the most impacted people by climate change. So they're most impacted in a couple of ways. Right, our bodies and our brains are forming from ages zero, when we're in the womb, all the way up through age 26, when our brain stops forming, and the consequences of climate change and climate pollution on forming brains can last well into adulthood, when our brain stops forming and the consequences of climate change and climate pollution on forming brains can last well into adulthood. So the experiences of climate pollution today can be carried on for the rest of lives, and that's why not only do children born today live with climate consequences longer than, say, someone who you know I'm 45 will live with them, but because they also have these lasting consequences, depending on the kind of climate pollution that they're exposed to. So that's one reason. The other reason is that courts have played a central role in the preservation of our democracy here in the United States. What do I mean by that?
Speaker 9:So you know, we have the executive branch, which is the president, we have the legislature, which is, you know, the way that we make rules and laws and then we have the courts who enforce our constitution and our constitutional principles. And so when the executive branch and the legislature are out of balance with like minority rights, right, the courts step in to try balance with like minority rights right.
Speaker 9:The courts step in to try and protect those minority rights, or at least that's what they do in concept, and so we were trying to activate the courts by empowering youth-powered litigation and youth voices, and they're all based in the best available climate science. So that's a little bit about sort of where our children's trust started and kind of the basic principles behind us.
Speaker 5:We'd love to hear from Eva and Pahona. Can you introduce yourselves and tell us what you're doing?
Speaker 1:Hello, my name is Eva Lighthizer. I'm one of 16 youth plaintiffs in Heldby, Montana, and I have grown up for most of my life in rural Montana and there's not a lot of things to do other than go outside, so I spent a lot of my childhood outdoors, gained a lot of foundational experiences outside. I've always been fascinated with the ecosystems and the wildlife, the landscapes, the rivers, the lakes, and seeing those under threat of climate change has always been a great worry of mine. Seeing the wildfires, the flooding, the drought, countless other inconsistencies, has always been something that's kind of on my mind, even from a very young age. So when the opportunity to become a part of the Helvey Montana case presented itself to me, I was incredibly invigorated and excited to join something and use my voice in a meaningful way.
Speaker 6:Aloha mai kakou. My name is Pahonu Coleman. I'm one of the 13 plaintiffs in Navahe University Department of Transportation, hawaii's climate lawsuit and you know kind of my work is within conservation and sustainability efforts here in Hawaii and now, more recently, with climate justice, with Navahine, celebrating a really historic settlement and a win really for Hawaii. I'm excited to be here and share this space and mahalo nui.
Speaker 7:So can you help us understand what is being challenged in the courts?
Speaker 9:At its core, the cases that we bring are about the injuries that children are experiencing because of climate change. So, in Pohonu's case, for example, there are plaintiffs who are losing access to traditional ways of accessing food right, like fishing ponds, and there are also things like that are happening to people's homes. Right, people have lost their homes in flooding or in wildfires. People are also experiencing the consequences of climate pollution through increased rates of asthma or allergies things that are physical harms as well as other harms to people's mental health, to further invest in fossil fuel energy structures, which we know lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions, and that those greenhouse gas emissions lead to those harms. And so, at its core, all of our cases are similar in that sense, but where they're different is that they're in different states often.
Speaker 9:So Ava's case is in Montana, pahona's case is in Hawaii, and they each have laws and constitutions that are different. Right, many of us think about the Constitution here in the United States as sort of being the Constitution, but in each of our states, like here in Oregon, we have a state constitution that protects our rights at the state level, and so these cases in states are challenging state actions by the state of Hawaii and the state of Montana and under their state constitutions, with the hope to have the court find that their actions were unconstitutional and harming children's bodies and mental health, and to then have those actions stopped right. Because that's really what we're trying to do is to stop the state from creating additional climate pollution and to create pathways to decarbonize right, to move towards, you know, maybe an electric vehicle or other ways of transportation, as opposed to further investing in fossil fuel infrastructure.
Speaker 5:What about the Paris Agreement and the COP meetings From your perspective? Do they have a significant enough impact on global scale, and do the policies and actions coming out of the agreement protect children now and in the foreseeable future?
Speaker 9:children, now and in the foreseeable future. So the Paris Agreement and COP it may not surprise anybody who is on this podcast with me that I have little faith in the Paris Agreement or COP's ability to fix this problem for us. And let me say a little bit more for folks who are in the room. You know the Paris Agreement is an important agreement. It was a multinational agreement where most of the countries in the world got together and agreed on certain targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This happened a while ago. It's happened in 2015. It's sort of a gathering of nations to talk about climate change and to try and create targets for the reduction of emissions.
Speaker 9:Ok, so what's the problem with that?
Speaker 9:There's no problem with the idea of getting them together is in the global visibility that climate change garnered, because all of the countries in the world or almost all of the countries in the world got together and said this is a problem and this is how we're going to address it.
Speaker 9:But frankly, I think that's really where their success ends, because what we have seen is this big gap in implementation. So the country said we're going to get together and we created these targets, but now the countries aren't actually on track to meet their targets, so they're not reducing their carbon emissions consistent with the Paris Agreement. And we've also seen other things relating to COP right where I think someone recently said that COP has basically turned it into a gathering for fossil fuel lobbyists. And you know they had it in a country recently where there was a. You know they were sort made it so that folks like us in the climate space have lost a little bit of faith in that particular process. And I want to say that I do think it's important that countries still try to come together to talk about this in a unified way.
Speaker 2:Do you think it's because there's just not sufficient penalties for this, and because this is a global problem, fighting it on a local scale almost seems as ridiculous as it was to try and fight COVID state by state. My question is in your experience, there's not really any sort of penalties and so there's no way to hold people accountable, or what do you think is the weak link here? Or what do you think is the weak?
Speaker 9:link here. That is part of the problem, right? I think, really, look, for an international agreement to be effective in law, it has to be binding. And when you have somebody like the United States who refuses to allow international treaties to be binding on them as like a mechanism in law and I don't want to get too wonky, right, but you need to have, like, not only we can go and agree to an international treaty, right, but then unless the Senate goes through and says, and now we agree to be bound by this, there's no binding mechanism in the United States to hold us accountable for that, and that to me seems like a big problem, at least domestically, for us.
Speaker 9:But even in countries like let's get real, in countries where it is binding, they're not meeting targets. And that's where some of those lawsuits that you're seeing generated out of Europe have been focused, which you know, the Clemus and Yorin case, or like I sort of affectionately refer to it as the Swiss grannies case, which is like a bunch of you know grandmothers in Switzerland came together and said like look, this is a big problem, you aren't on target and this is a basic human right that you have agreed to. You're still seeing countries not abiding by that, and so, even with enforcement mechanisms, we're not seeing the kind of results that we would expect to see.
Speaker 3:And Matt, what about the funding that is given to the smaller countries? So from World Bank, you know, through the COP agreements? Do you feel that that funding is sufficient for these small countries?
Speaker 9:So no, I don't think it's sufficient. And I think you know countries. So no, I don't think it's sufficient. And I think you know we can see our brothers and sisters and I'm sure Pono has thoughts about this like from the countries like Tuvalu, who have basically said, like look a lot of the agreements, just leave us out altogether, because all of the targets that you're aiming for are targets that would see our island nations go underwater. And like I think there's like a bigger question there, which is, if you disappear somebody's country, how much money would you have to pay them to reimburse them for that right? Like, how much are those lives, how much is that culture worth? And I don't think that we as, if I'm being completely frank, I don't think that we as Westerners, right, like sort of Western nations, have any role in determining what the value is on, you know, the lives and culture of the nation of Tuvalu.
Speaker 9:But beyond that, just to get into kind of like the nitty gritties about the World Bank, other than sort of like the problems that they have, there's like a real fundamental issue of both whether there's sufficient funding and then whether there is access to those funds. So even if we suddenly had a miracle and someone said we're going to put $100 trillion into supporting mitigation and adaptation efforts into the bank. Then it's like, well, who has the right to that money and how do they get that money and what is that money used for and what we've seen? I think, while there is a lot of good sort of effort to try to get to some of those problems so far, the reason why you're seeing smaller countries and the most vulnerable countries really advocating for better rules around this is because there still isn't equity and access, let alone the type of money that you would need to really kind of right the wrongs that have happened because of, you know, climate emissions since the industrial age.
Speaker 5:Matt, how is our Children's Trust founded, and what would you like to say about the kinds of support needed to meet your objectives and mission?
Speaker 9:Sure. So our Children's Trust was founded by Julia Olson, who is from Eugene Oregon. By Julia Olson, who is from Eugene Oregon, and she was a really incredible pioneering lawyer who wanted to see systemic change in an area where people were attacking the problem through really limited laws. So there was kind of an idea that in order for us to see the kind of systemic change that we want, we have to change the legal system and the assumptions under which we're operating.
Speaker 9:So I'll just take a step back and try to make this as simple as possible, which is our country and the constitutional principle that guarantees a couple of things.
Speaker 9:Right, like things that people will always say. They'll say oh well, I understand that the Constitution protects my right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, these kind of phrases that you've heard all throughout school and in your government classes. My next question would be and I think Julia's question in founding our children's trust is what does the right to life mean, or liberty or property, if you don't have clean air or if that land is constantly on fire or if you can't leave your home because of flooding? So I think the intuitive answer is not much. Right, like those rights don't mean much if we don't have a safe, stable climate. So in states like Montana and Hawaii there are explicit protections in the constitution. But even in like at the federal level, in states like Oregon where there isn't an explicit protection of the constitution, we think that that right has to be read into the constitution here for the constitution to make any sense.
Speaker 9:So that's how it was founded and in terms of supporting our Children's Trust. Our Children's Trust is completely funded by individuals.
Speaker 9:I was going to say like you, but it's actually probably like your parents, but I think that it's all individual donations, with very little exception. Our entire budget comes from people making contributions. Like 95% of our budget are from gifts of $500 or less, and all of our work is supported by that. We don't get any legal fees. We don't charge any of the children that we're working with fees for representation, and that's because we believe that no child and no family should have to shoulder the burden of defending their children from climate change.
Speaker 4:Matt, on your website you say the future of 2 billion children is threatened by climate change. Wow, that is shocking, especially since we are those children. Where does this number come from and do you think it is going to increase or decrease over the next 10 years?
Speaker 9:So it is shocking, and part of the reason why we put that number up there is to really quantify the impact of climate change on children's lives worldwide, that number, I think. For me what is really important about that number is the way in which the consequences are getting worse the longer we wait to take immediate action. So it is. It's not necessarily that there will be, obviously like the population of children is growing slowly over time, or at least it is right now. But what is definite is that the impacts of climate change on those two billion or so children are getting worse year over year and we're seeing that extend well into adulthoods for children who were born 20 years ago.
Speaker 3:Also, you point to three areas of emphasis on your website. Number one is science-powered solutions, number two, youth-powered litigation and number three, a democracy-powered future. How did you come up with those as the three main areas of focus for your organization, I mean?
Speaker 9:basically the three areas of youth-powered litigation, science-based solutions and democracy are core principles, I think, to achieving the kinds of results that we want to achieve in our lifetimes and to really make sure that the earth is a more livable place for future generations once we have transitioned off of this earth. But I think that really, we decided that it was important to focus in on youth, because we believe that children are most impacted and they also have some of the most important stories to tell in solving this crisis.
Speaker 7:Could you tell us about the 350 parts per million pathway report? What is it?
Speaker 9:So when we emit greenhouse gases, we create a blanket around the earth.
Speaker 9:It's like an atmospheric blanket and sun comes in and it gets trapped in this warming blanket, because the more greenhouse gases that are in the atmosphere, the thicker the blanket gets and the more heat that's trapped. And that's what's causing, you know, glaciers to melt or sea level to rise. And so by getting that down, you're like changing your blanket out for the season. Right, you're like getting a lighter blanket and you're letting more heat out so that you're more comfortable. And the 350 Pathways report was really to prove, by working with these energy experts, that it is technologically feasible today to transition off of fossil fuels onto clean, renewable energy and that that transition would have a very, very small impact on our economies and in fact, could create economic growth. Because a lot of times you'll hear like, oh, it's too expensive, et cetera. And while it's true that some upfront costs are high in transitioning our energy system, the overall consequences are, you know, tremendous savings on health bills and actually energy becomes a lot more efficient when you have clean, renewable energy.
Speaker 9:Like, for example I don't know if a lot of people know this but like your car, if it's a combustion car, like the truck I own, my partner and I own, those are only about 30% efficient. So of the gas that you put in for every gallon, you're really only getting 30% of that gallon in energy to move your car around Electric vehicles are way, way, way more efficient than gasoline vehicles, so they actually use less energy per sort of mile traveled.
Speaker 10:Another thing that we have heard about is the pathway to climate recovery. Can you tell me more about the mission of that?
Speaker 9:Sure, so the pathway to climate recovery is this basic idea that we all have the right to a stable, livable climate, so all of us in this room have this right, and that we can't effectively demand that right from our institutions unless we know that. So what does that mean? So that means that we develop this, this curriculum, right to, to roll out to teachers and students and health professionals, to teach them that that, you know, everybody has a right to a livable climate.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's great. That's great. This question is for Ava and Luna. Given the global nature of climate change, how do your cases in the US resonate across the states? We're specifically interested in this because you guys are the ones that are doing the work in the courts. You're putting the cases together and you're fighting it where it probably does the most help. So have you seen an impact on your cases beyond the American borders?
Speaker 6:Just this past month, I was fortunate to be able to travel to Bermuda, which is another island nation located in the Atlantic Ocean, coming from the Pacific Ocean. There was really a lot of places where we could find commonality between the two communities, and one of those is that a lot of young people are experiencing sea level rise because we are constantly in those places, in those spaces, spaces, and in Hawaii, we really believe that our aloha, our love for our land, our community and place can really teach something to the world when we're thinking about how our future looks like and how we're going to interact with nature in the future. Of course, gained a lot of international and national coverage through the press, and it's sometimes through the simplest. I refer them as pebbles.
Speaker 10:Ivan Pohonu. Let's talk more about the future. What are some of the next steps in your cases and communities? Do you think the courts are hearing you and are the results what you expected?
Speaker 1:As for Held v Montana, we went to trial last June and we did win, and we received a decision from the judge two months following the trial and then, following that, we were appealed to the Montana Supreme Court, where we had an oral argument this past July. So now we are awaiting a decision from the Montana Supreme Court.
Speaker 2:This is for Matt and Ava and Pahono. It's incredibly awesome to hear about all these initiatives. What can our listeners do to support the efforts of the cases in Hawaii and in Montana and beyond you?
Speaker 9:can go to our website, ourchildrenstrustorg, sign up to be a supporter on our newsletter. On our newsletter, you can go to our social media, which is youthvgov, across all of our platforms, like TikTok, instagram, facebook, et cetera, and you can reach out to volunteer or donate money.
Speaker 1:What I think is so amazing about our Children's Trust as well is the fact that they've provided us with a space and a platform to use our voices and take action for the climate, and I think that's like so invaluable in a time where we're not exactly guaranteed a safe and healthy future. So, yeah, any support that our children's trust can get is really special because that so they can continue providing a space and a platform for us to use our voices.
Speaker 6:Here in Hawaii, oct has now helped us form a lot of more conversations around what more sustainable tourism looks like. So, for Hawaii, I always encourage people to be cautious about when you're visiting our place, especially during a crisis, and that's the climate crisis. So try to get involved with the communities when you come here, volunteer and really be that change. It's very simple If you pick up your trash, you know, educate people and have conversations in your families and share with people about the work that OCT is doing.
Speaker 4:Of course, Before we wrap up, is there any message you'd like to share with the younger generation of kids like us listening to this podcast?
Speaker 1:Never forget the power of your voice. I think the biggest thing that I've learned throughout this experience as a youth plaintiff who was able to testify in court is that my voice does have power and an effect, and they really are kind of our greatest tools. And I think that your voice doesn't necessarily have to be in the most literal sense Maybe it's from the art you create or the way you show up for your community or the activities you do but I think that just using your voice and seeing the power and the effect of your voice is really important, and I know how stressful and hopeless the climate crisis can make me feel sometimes, so I think it's always important to remember that when we feel hopeless and uninspired by the worrisome state of our planet, I think it's especially important that you do the things you love to do and that you try and spend time around the people who are going to lift you up and support you.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I would say it very similarly that it's very important for young people to understand, of course, their right to being here on this earth and continue to learn. I think that's one of the biggest things, as young people, we can do during this climate crisis learn from people like Matt and Dr Keith, also forming our own ideas and how we're going to really make that positive change that is needed. And we have to connect with people, we need to relate with people and we need to find our belonging to this earth.
Speaker 7:Thank you so much for joining us today Rick, asia, keith, matt, ava and Pony. It was such an interesting conversation and I think we all learned so much. And to our listeners, thank you for tuning into Earth Talk Generational Voices, changing Climate Change. Be sure to explore the work of Our Children's Trust at ourchildrenstrustorg and consider supporting their critical efforts. They work tirelessly on behalf of all of us to amplify our voices and ensure that our collective impact is strong and meaningful.
Speaker 4:Until next time, stay engaged, stay informed and keep pushing for the change. We must demand your support and action makes it happen.
Speaker 11:Join me, sasha Peters, on Women in the New Season 2, where we bear it all except for our bodies, leave that to your imagination. In the new season two, where we bear it all except for our bodies, leave that to your imagination. My wish for women is that we strip away the fear of judgment and really embrace the full spectrum of who we are.
Speaker 1:I don't know if you were coming to terms with being pregnant on the show.
Speaker 11:Yeah, I think she was a little depressed. Let's live boldly and openly and change the narratives that define us. I called my doctor. I'm like I want to drive my car through a brick wall.
Speaker 2:We deserve it and there's no better time than now. Let's get out of our comfort zone and get down to the bottom of who we are. I mean, you heard it here, man these kids, they are legit, they're the future, and I'm so proud of them that you know they won. It was a resounding win.
Speaker 3:So I mean it's just huge. It really shows that kids do have a voice and you can make change, and I think that what our Children's Trust is doing and amplifying and giving these kids a platform in the court system to be able to speak up for their whole generation, to have a climate that they can live in I mean, what can be better? I? Mean what can be better? So I mean the interview was amazing, hearing the kids' perspectives and what they were fighting for, and then to come back next day with that win.
Speaker 2:I couldn't be happier. Come on. The only thing better than that is puppies.
Speaker 3:That which takes us to the renowned segment of Pause for Progress.
Speaker 2:Pause for.
Speaker 3:Progress baby Woof, Woof.
Speaker 2:Do we need to add like we need a little?
Speaker 3:sound effect on there but anyways, we had, um, two interesting cases that were both caught on ring cameras. Now these cases are very sad. I won't go into complete details on them. The good news is that we have the dogs all right. But the first case was, you know, with a family member was walking our beautiful baby girl, athena, and kicked her off of a sidewalk and it was caught on camera and you could tell that her demeanor was like she was very scared of this man, like this abuse had been, you know, happening.
Speaker 3:So with the power of social media, we were able to identify the family. We were able to, you know, approach them. They did surrender the dog and I mean it just. It just shows what we can accomplish when we all work together. I mean people were sharing this story all over the place. I mean Long Beach police, animal, you know, animal services, everybody got involved. So that was, that was a great win. And then we had another one same thing caught on ring. So you know what Animal abusers do not fare well with anybody on my team and all of the capabilities with ring cameras, like people check your ring cameras because you have no idea what your neighbors are up to.
Speaker 3:So I mean, like seriously thank goodness for these ring cams because we would have never caught these abusers. So really I mean like seriously, thank goodness for these ring cams, Cause we would have never caught these abusers. So really, really good stuff. Um, and again, FBI, I am here. If you need a new recruit, just saying.
Speaker 3:Um and then I just wanted to give a quick shout out to Jennifer Aniston. I was put on this group chat with one of the shelter volunteers that I work with and she is posting all of the dogs that are in need of pull you know that need rescue, that are on euthanasia lists from all the county shelters, which I was like. What a great way to use your platform for good. Thank you, jennifer. We need a couple more gens doing that.
Speaker 3:But the group does well, you know people are on it and a lot of these animals get saved.
Speaker 2:So it was yeah, props. Yes, and so you can find out through the links, through our site, as well as Compassion Kind.
Speaker 3:Yes, lots of new babies that are in need of fostering.
Speaker 2:That's right. That's right. Get some four-legged fur goodness up in your life. Yes, yeah, all right. Well, before we get out of here, this segment is always fun because the headlines have gotten so crazy that we don't know what's true or not true anymore. Mark Zuckerberg just said they're pulling truth checking from Facebook, which you know. It's just so gross. But anyway, where do we go? What? What is what is real? And so you, the listener, you're going to find out in real time today, with another episode of two scams and a slap. Uh, today, are you ready? You're going to hear Asia for the first time, she has not heard these. Uh, we've gotten some three headlines together and she's going to try to pick with you, the listener which one is actually legit. The other two are just regular old batshit. Crazy, okay, I'm ready All right here we go.
Speaker 2:All right. Number one local artist paints a mural of a cat riding a unicorn. The city considers it for historic preservation. Number two woman claims to have discovered a new color. Turns out it's just a very bold shade of beige. And number three 104-year-old woman dies before Guinness can confirm her record as the oldest skydiver on record.
Speaker 3:Oh man, these are all like a little I know right, like, like, really um, I think I'm gonna go with the last one, the guinness, you are correct once again.
Speaker 2:I think asia might even be undefeated in this game, whereas I don't think I've ever won yet, but either way, yeah you?
Speaker 2:yeah, you are absolutely correct. A 104-year-old woman has died, a little more than a week after she potentially broke the world record for the oldest skydiver. Dorothy Hoffner jumped 13,500 feet from a plane with Skydive Chicago. Not in Chicago, though In Ottawa. Not in Chicago, though In Ottawa On Monday at Brookdale Senior Living. The associates of Brookdale Lakeview are deeply saddened, of course, by the passing of their resident, but they were thrilled to see her continue to live with passion and purpose, skydiving earlier this month at 104, ultimately proving that age is just a number. Whether you got the record or not, slap the power that props to you.
Speaker 3:I mean, what a life though. What a life 104 and skydiving, Hell yeah, she doesn't need that record. We all know it now and I'm glad she got some props and got a new story out of it.
Speaker 2:Going out with a bang.
Speaker 3:I like it For real. Yeah, for real. That's amazing. I love that one.
Speaker 2:All right, that'll do it for us this week. Before we head out, make sure to like, comment, share, subscribe, hit us up in the comments, ask us any question.
Speaker 3:Who knows, we might even chop it up on the episode next week and if you want to foster or adopt one of our amazing animals we talk about on the show, you can always visit Compassion Kind and we always have our links in the show notes to help find our pups.
Speaker 2:Yes, find them some forever homes yes. And before we get out of here, as we are taping this, it is the evening of January 7th and our hearts go out to everybody in the Pacific Palisades and the fires, and it's a crazy time. I've been getting texts while we've been on air from friends that have had to evacuate, and we also know our partners have already had to evacuate, and so, yeah, our hearts are definitely out to you guys. Take care of each other and stay safe.
Speaker 3:Yeah, definitely Lean on your neighbors, and I'm rooting for all the animals and humans to get out of there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, alright, till next week. Sonics, love, action, progress. That's right. See you guys next week. Bye, slap the Power is a Slap Network production. It's written and produced by Rick Barriodil and Asia Nakia. Our senior producer is Bree Corey, audio and video editing by Asher Freidberg and Brie Corey and studio facilities provided by Slap Studios LA and 360 Pod Studios. If you're into online power scrolling, like we are, don't forget to follow Slap the Power on Instagram, twitter, tiktok, youtube and probably Pinterest soon For access to full episodes, bonus content and more. And if you're as full of hot takes and crazy ideas as we are, please think about dropping us a review to help boost this episode. And you can help blow up the group chat by sharing with friends, family or random shit posters on the internet. You want in on the conversation. And if you're interested in being a guest on the show, please email info at slapthepowercom.
