Roxanne Brown – Blue and Green: Working Together to Secure a Sustainable Future

In this galvanizing talk, Roxanne Brown shows the hallmark of a true coalition builder, connecting her work as a labor leader to the definition of a “bioneer.” Of Jamaican descent and from a line of strong women who made great sacrifices to pursue the American Dream, she understands first-hand that sustainability cannot exist without workplace safety, economic security, and a legacy for future generations.

This speech was given at the 2011 Bioneers National Conference and is part of the Re-Imagining Labor in a Green Economy Vol. 1 Collection.

Omar Freilla – Greening the Inner City: Jobs, Health, Justice and the Environment

Omar Freilla, one of the nation’s most dynamic and creative young environmental justice leaders, is a founding board member of Sustainable South Bronx and launched Green Worker Cooperatives, an inspiring initiative dedicated to the creation of worker-owned, environmentally friendly manufacturing cooperatives in the South Bronx. Freilla describes how his enterprises in skill training, energy-efficient construction, and equitable planning and policy are harnessing the value of both people and materials to regenerate entire neighborhoods.

This speech was given at the 2005 Bioneers National Conference and is part of the Re-Imagining Labor in a Green Economy Vol. 1 Collection.

Find out more about Omar Freilla’s work at the Green Worker’s Cooperative website.

See related videos in our Green New Deal Media Collection.

Lucas Benitez – Fighting for Justice for Farmworkers

In this dramatic depiction from the front lines, farmworker organizer Lucas Benitez sheds light on the most unsung heroes of the food system: exploited farm workers. He portrays the protracted road to victory over Yum Brands, owner of Burger King. This landmark triumph caused a domino effect with other giant food companies to pay farm workers decent wages and provide better working conditions.

This speech was given at the 2008 Bioneers National Conference and is part of the Re-Imagining Labor in a Green Economy Vol. 1 Collection.

 

Ai-Jen Poo – A Caring, Sustainable Economy for the 21st Century

One of the nation’s most effective and dynamic young labor leaders presents the vision of Caring Across Generations, a new national coalition of 200 advocacy organizations working together for a dignified quality of life for all Americans. Its purpose is to transform some of our most fundamental social and economic challenges – jobs, long-term care and immigration – into opportunities for innovation and solutions that benefit everyone.

This speech was given at the 2012 Bioneers National Conference and is part of the Re-Imagining Labor in a Green Economy Vol. 1 Collection.

Brock Dolman – Basins of Relations: A Reverential Rehydration Revolution

In this rousing tour-de-force, ecologist Brock Dolman reveals Planet Earth as Watershed Earth. He illustrates how the future lifeboat we’ll need is shaped exactly like our local watershed. All living things are inextricably linked by water and designed around its flow. With lessons from across the globe, he calls for a “rehydration revolution” – water systems based on good science, respect, and widespread community participation. He spins dazzling poetics to show how water-literate human settlement patterns can regenerate ecological integrity and social resiliency to prepare for the climate changes ahead. It’s a mesmerizing performance that gets a standing ovation.

This speech was given at the 2009 Bioneers National Conference.

Enrique Salmón – Eating the Landscape: American Indian Stories of Food and Resilience

Ethnobotonist and educator, Dr. Enrique Salmón is from the Rarámuri (Tarahumara) tribe of northwestern Mexico. Having dedicated his studies to ethnobotony and traditional ecological knowledge, Salmón feels Indigenous cultural concepts of the natural world are only part of a complex and sophisticated understanding of landscapes and biocultural diversity. Dr. Salmon will present an illuminating journey through the southwestern United States and northern Mexico in his presentation, weaving history and cultural knowledge with stories and experiences he has shared with American Indian farmers, Salmon will illustrate how traditional Indigenous food ways are rooted in a time-honored understanding of environmental stewardship.

This speech was given at the 2012 Indigenous Forum, co-produced with the Cultural Conservatory, at the Bioneers National Conference.

Dune Lankard & Pamela Smith – Traditional Eyak Ecological Salmon Preservation

Dune (Eyak Athabaskan) will portray the ongoing battle to protect the natural salmon ecosystem and indigenous cultural landscape against an onslaught of corporate resource extraction. His mission is to preserve, restore and celebrate wild salmon culture and habitat through awareness, education and the promotion of sustainable livelihoods within the communities of the Copper River and Prince William Sound watersheds of Alaska. His work ensures that the salmon will continue to return to their birthplace and nurture the ecosystems of which they are a fundamentally important species. Essential to local economic sustainability is bioregional conservation, and his little corner of the world is a microcosm baseline model for the planet. This is one of the last wild places on planet earth where we still have a chance to get it right, by leaving it alone- wild and thriving.

This speech took place at the 2012 Indigenous Forum, co-produced with the Cultural Conservatory, at the Bioneers National Conference.

 

Pam Rajput – Voices for Peace and Sustainable Development

Pam Rajput, is an Indian academic turned internationally renowned activist who has been engaged in the women’s movement since the mid-70s both in India and internationally. She helped organize and was the first Speaker of a “Women’s Parliament” that brought together over 500 women leaders from every part of India. A recipient of many academic fellowships, she is a member of several expert committees and bodies in India including the nation’s: Planning Commission, Ministry of Women & Child Development, National Commission for Women, delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and many others. She is also the founder and Director of the Centre for Women’s Studies & Development and the Head of the Department of Political Science at Panjab University. Introduction by Nina Simons, President and Co-Founder of Bioneers.

This speech was given at the 2011 Bioneers National Conference.

 

Paul Stamets – Mushroom Magic

Paul Stamets, visionary mycologist extraordinaire, has discovered several new species of mushrooms and pioneers countless techniques in the field of edible and medicinal mushroom cultivation. He has recently achieved remarkable results cleaning up dangerous toxins using “fungal bioremediation” and radically improving soil fertility with mushrooms.

This speech was given at the 2003 Bioneers National Conference.

Joe Munroe – Indigenous Organic Farming & Healthy Economics

Implementing food safety and food security awareness and practices in contemporary indigenous communities has not always been easy or successful. However, understanding sovereignty and nation building and their relationship to food safety and food security, Joe Munroe’s presentation sheds some light on his work and the importance of connecting Indigenous self-governance to food safety and awareness.

This speech was part of the 2012 Indigenous Forum, co-produced with the Cultural Conservancy, at the Bioneers Conference.

 

Naomi Klein – The Shock Doctrine

Naomi Klein, one of the most important political and economic thinkers of our time, Canadian journalist and author (The Shock Doctrine and No Logo), penetrates the veils of corporate globalization to expose transnational capital’s most ruthless strategies to exploit catastrophe from Baghdad to New Orleans. She portrays her vision of how people’s movements can counter the disaster of disaster capitalism.

Naomi Klein’s talk begins at 4:48 in the video.

Introduction by Kenny Ausubel, Bioneers CEO and Co-Founder.

This speech was given at the 2008 Bioneers National Conference.

Janine Benyus – What Life Knows

Biomimicry seeks to emulate the time-tested adaptive strategies of many species of plants, animals and microorganisms to transform how we live on this planet. Janine Benyus of the Biomimicry Guild celebrates the newest ancient ideas bubbling up in the natural sciences, illuminating how evolution’s wisdom can help us design benign, life-enhancing technologies while inspiring us to protect Earth’s biodiversity. Introduction by Kenny Ausubel, Bioneers CEO and Co-Founder.

This speech was presented at the 2005 Bioneers National Conference.