Central America is the world's largest region exposed to climate change. This area is particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change due to high levels of social vulnerability caused by poverty, instability, violence, and inequality. Increased flooding, storms, and droughts continues to endanger Costa Rica's roads, bridges, sewers, and much more of their infrastructure. The rural areas have been left to fend for themselves while having the urban areas continue to dump on them. Organizations like our friends at LaRuta Del Clima are fighting with and supporting communities to take charge of their own destiny as they move from resilience to restoration. The People's Justice Council stands alongside our comrades to demand climate reparations. In other words, pay up for loss and damage! This is a part of our Environmental Justice Toxic Tour Series. Check out our EJ Toxic Tour Playlist!

Rev spent the day in Newbern, Alabama with Mayor Patrick Braxton. Mayor Braxton is the first black mayor of this rural predominantly black town in Alabama. The former mayor and city council had literally locked the elected first black mayor of the town hall. They have also held an illegal "special election" and elected an illegal city council. They have made the former mayor the chair of this illegal council. They have hid the city's mail. The city missed applying for covid relief funds as a result. Residents said that they have never voted for a mayor. Mayor Braxton was elected because he was the only one that filled out the paperwork. In the past, each time someone has no longer wanted to be mayor, they passed it on. The council has been family run. It's seventy five percent black and twenty five percent white. The same white families have always run the town. Since slavery, these white families have run this town, illegally. Almost two years into Mayor Braxton's term, they are fighting to continue that legacy.

This month's featured Panelists are: Dr. Anne Mellinger-Birdsong Dr. Mellinger-Birdsong earned her MD from Eastern Virginia Medical School, completed a pediatrics residency at Hershey Medical Center of the Pennsylvania State University, and earned her MPH from Johns Hopkins University. She has worked in areas as diverse as communicable diseases, vaccine preventable diseases, radiation environmental health, environmental public health, asthma, a county STD clinic, a county tuberculosis clinic, and a Native American Indian Health Service clinic, and air pollution and climate environmental health. Julian Harden Julian Harden joined the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) in 2023 as the Clean Energy Coordinator. Julian’s focus is promoting equitable access to clean energy, energy efficiency, and electric transportation, devoting his time to where the most urgent needs and opportunities exist. Being based in Atlanta, he also adds additional capacity to SACE’s work in the Peach State. More at https://www.cleanenergy.org/staff/julian-harden/