Annie Leonard – The Story of Stuff

The American Dream has come to mean accumulating more and more stuff – and it has been exported worldwide. Yet all the stuff in our lives is taking an enormous toll on the environment, public health, equity, personal happiness and even our sense of citizenship and democracy. Filmmaker-activist Annie Leonard exposes the often hidden costs and provides a hopeful vision for moving beyond the age of stuff. She reframes consumerism and hyper-materialism by encouraging people to jettison their shopping bags without regret, and instead embrace the creation of a livable, joyous, equitable and life-centered world.

This speech was given at the 2009 Bioneers National Conference and is part of the Environmental Justice Vol. 1 Collection.

Jerome Ringo – Color of Green: The Next Inconvenient Truth

Green economy African-American leader Jerome Ringo stands witness to the gravity of the current global environmental crisis and domestic economic decline, and illuminates the path to forge a coalition to deliver policies that will help build a prosperous green economy. It’s an economy that grows on a trellis of social justice and equity, matching the people who most need work with the work that most needs doing. Ringo suggests we build the economy by repairing our damaged world and restoring equity, jobs and justice for all.

This speech was given at the the 2009 Bioneers National Conference.

Maria Elena Durazo – Building Alliances: Labor, Immigration and the Environment

The President of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union’s Local 11 and the first Latina woman to lead a major union in Southern California portrays her work as National Director of the Immigrant Workers’ Freedom Ride. Immigrant workers want nothing less than our immigrant forebears: safe working conditions, basic human rights, and a chance at a better life.

This speech was given at the 2006 Bioneers National Conference and is part of the Re-Imagining Labor in a Green Economy Vol. 1 Collection.

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.