Influential Voices

12/19/22 • 58 min

Environmental Voices: The PennFuture Podcast

Since we launched our Environmental Voices podcast in early 2022 we’ve produced 6 podcasts featuring interviews with 22 different people fighting to protect the environment in Pennsylvania and beyond. We’ve heard from artists and activists, authors and attorneys. We’ve been able to interview some pretty well-known voices including climate scientist Michael Mann, Secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Cindy Dunn, and acclaimed activist Bill McKibben, and we’ve brought some new voices to you that you may not have heard from otherwise.

For our last podcast of 2022, we bring you two influential voices, each a leader in advocating for environmental protections in the Commonwealth: PennFuture’s new CEO & President, Patrick McDonnell and author, activist, and Delaware River Keeper Maya van Rossum who will talk about her new book, The Green Amendment.

Maya van Rossum has served as the Delaware Riverkeeper and leader for the Delaware Riverkeeper Network since 1994. She was one of the original petitioners in the landmark Robinson Township v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania case decided by the PA Supreme Court in 2013 which strengthened environmental standing opportunities, declared unconstitutional key sections of the pro-drilling Act 13 legislation, and reinvigorated the strength of Pennsylvania Constitution’s Environmental Rights Amendment. Since then she has created the Green Amendments for the Generations organization. Most recently, Disruption Books has published the second edition of her book The Green Amendment – the people’s fight for a clean, safe, and healthy environment.
Patrick McDonnell, the new CEO & President of PennFuture. Based in Harrisburg, Patrick brings over 20 years of experience on climate, clean energy and environmental issues to PennFuture. Prior to joining the nonprofit, he spent six years as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, leading key initiatives like passage of the state’s first carbon trading regulation, acceleration of the Commonwealth’s cleanup of waterways and a new focus on environmental justice issues. He also served as President of the Environmental Council of the States, the voice of state environmental agencies nationally.

For more information about PennFuture, visit pennfuture.org

For more information about PennFuture, visit pennfuture.org

Previous Episode

The Inflation Reduction Act and the Environment

Environmental Voices: The PennFuture Podcast - Episode 6: The Inflation Reduction Act and the Environment
On August 16, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 also known as the IRA. This landmark 273 page statute includes several important provisions: such as extending Affordable Care Act subsidies, allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, and raising $738 billion in new revenue, $238 billion being used for deficit reduction.
However, for today’s conversation we are going to focus on the IRA’s climate and energy provisions. With an historic $391 billion allocated to address domestic energy and climate change, it is the largest investment in combatting the climate crisis in United States history.

To help us unravel the details of this incredibly important law, we are excited to feature four fantastic guests today.

Jessica Arriens, Program Manager, Climate & Energy Policy at the National Wildlife Federation
Prof. Michael Mann, Director of the Center for Science, Sustainability & the Media at the University of Pennsylvania and as a member of the National Academy of Science
Jeaneen Zappa, Executive Director of the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance
Bishop Marcia Dinkins, Executive Director of Black Women Rising and founder of the the Black Appalachian Coalition

Hosted by Travis DiNicola, PennFuture Director of Development

For more information about PennFuture, visit pennfuture.org

Next Episode

Bonnie Van Alen - A Lifetime of Achievement in Conservation

Last year we aired seven episodes of Environmental Voices – and they all ran roughly an hour long. Today, we’re doing something a bit different. A shorter episode, about 20 minutes, and just one guest.

For this episode we’re featuring a special interview with Jeanne Bonnie Van Alen. Bonnie recently stepped down from the position of Executive Director and President of Willistown Conservation Trust (WCT), a nonprofit land trust and conservation organization she founded over twenty-five years ago in Chester County, outside of Philadelphia.

Bonnie is also being honored this year as one of the women receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award in Conservation from PennFuture’s 2023 Celebrating Women in Conservation Awards presented by Ecosave.

Each year, PennFuture honors the accomplishments of outstanding women conservationists across Pennsylvania. The Ecosave presents 2023 Celebrating Women in Conservation Awards will tell the stories of 11 amazing women from Southeastern PA, and will take place live at the Fitler Club in Philly from 6-9pm on Tuesday, March 21st. Along with the awards, the evening will feature drinks & a dinner with an environmentally conscientious vegetarian menu.

You can visit pennfuture.org to purchase tickets and for more information about all the women being honored at the event.

Unfortunately, Jeanne Bonnie Van Alen will not be able to attend the live event, so we have instead asked her to join this special podcast to learn more about, and to celebrate, her life’s work.

For more information about PennFuture, visit pennfuture.org

Environmental Voices: The PennFuture Podcast - Influential Voices

Transcript

Speaker 100:00:14.349

Welcome back to another episode of Environmental Voices Append Future Podcast.

Speaker 100:00:20.469

My name is Travis Dina Penn Future's Director of Development, and I'm your host. Environmental Voices is sponsored by Penn Future Pennsylvania's watchdog for clean air, clean water, and clean energy. You can find out more and become a [email protected]. Since we've launched our Environmental Voices Podcast in ea