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SPECIAL EPISODE - Interview on 94.1 KPFA: Dr. Lesley Joseph on War, Ecocide, and the Communities Left Behind
Season 5
Episode 10
Published 3 weeks, 3 days ago
Description
What happens to the earth when we wage war? Dr. Lesley Joseph - environmental engineer, scholar of environmental justice, and author of the forthcoming book War Crimes Against the Earth - joins Sabrina Jacobs, host of The Rude Awakening on 94.1 KPFA, to answer that question with chilling clarity.
A Rude Awakening is an award-winning climate crisis and environmental justice radio show based in Berkeley, CA, and on this episode, Dr. Joseph breaks down how modern warfare has become a deliberate assault on the environments people depend on to live. From Iran’s oil infrastructure bombed into acid rain, to Gaza’s destroyed water systems poisoning the Mediterranean, to the forever chemicals leaking from military bases worldwide, he traces the arc of destruction that doesn’t stop at borders. Drawing on his New Lines magazine piece, “The Toxic Blowback of Israel’s Bombs,” he shows how perchlorates, asbestos, untreated sewage, and carbon emissions from war travel far beyond conflict zones, affecting everyone on the planet.
But this isn’t just a scientific accounting. Dr. Joseph centers the communities on the frontlines of this violence - those already vulnerable, already marginalized - and asks a question that cuts through the noise: If we’re serious about climate justice, why aren’t we talking about the military industrial complex?
This is an important conversation for anyone who believes that peace and environmental justice are inseparable.
References:
Listen to A Rude Awakening on 94.1 KPFA
"The Toxic Blowback of Israel's Bombs" - New Lines Magazine
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.
Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen! Support our work by joining the Supporters Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support
Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:
Instagram: @envjusticelab
YouTube: @envjusticelab
Email: theenvironmentaljusticelab@gmail.com
A Rude Awakening is an award-winning climate crisis and environmental justice radio show based in Berkeley, CA, and on this episode, Dr. Joseph breaks down how modern warfare has become a deliberate assault on the environments people depend on to live. From Iran’s oil infrastructure bombed into acid rain, to Gaza’s destroyed water systems poisoning the Mediterranean, to the forever chemicals leaking from military bases worldwide, he traces the arc of destruction that doesn’t stop at borders. Drawing on his New Lines magazine piece, “The Toxic Blowback of Israel’s Bombs,” he shows how perchlorates, asbestos, untreated sewage, and carbon emissions from war travel far beyond conflict zones, affecting everyone on the planet.
But this isn’t just a scientific accounting. Dr. Joseph centers the communities on the frontlines of this violence - those already vulnerable, already marginalized - and asks a question that cuts through the noise: If we’re serious about climate justice, why aren’t we talking about the military industrial complex?
This is an important conversation for anyone who believes that peace and environmental justice are inseparable.
References:
Listen to A Rude Awakening on 94.1 KPFA
"The Toxic Blowback of Israel's Bombs" - New Lines Magazine
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support.
Don’t forget to subscribe and rate the podcast wherever you listen! Support our work by joining the Supporters Club: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-environmental-justice-lab--5583745/support
Connect with our Environmental Justice Lab community:
Instagram: @envjusticelab
YouTube: @envjusticelab
Email: theenvironmentaljusticelab@gmail.com