Transcript:  Well, I’ll answer the first part, first.  No.  I definitely do not think we should be boycotting the China Olympics.  I think it would be a good idea if President Bush did not show up at opening ceremonies.  But no.  The athletes have every right, and they’ve been working all their lives for this, and they should do that.  And God bless them.  But you know, being honest, I didn’t have any long-standing involvement, you know, with the pro-Tibet movement.  But given what I learned, you know, about what they were going through, it seemed to me an appropriate thing for me, as a civil rights activist, to do to show support at that level.  And I didn’t expect to be thrown off the route by Chinese Military Guards.  But I truly didn’t, because I thought I was in America, and I thought I had the right, you know, to freedom of expression and freedom of speech.  But apparently, they didn’t think so.  But I’m glad that I was able to use my platform of being an environmental leader to show support for my brothers and sisters in Tibet.

Recorded on: 3/17/08

Transcript: I think, we need to be realistic with ourselves.  And we need to be supportive, you know, of developing countries, so they can do that.  Like, I don’t blame them for looking dead at America, and everybody else is saying, “Excuse me?  You had the right to pollute all your lives and, suddenly, you’re saying, no, we can’t?”  No.  But we do need to be really supportive of them, so that they’re not making the same foolish mistakes that we made.   So I think that that’s really going to be the way out of it.

 Recorded on: 3/17/08

Transcript:  I’d like to see a difference, sometimes, in the way media covers me, frankly, you know, as an environmentalist.  I think, it’s real easy to, sort of, peg me as a person who is just planting trees and doing parks.  You know, which is great, and I love it, and I will, you know, “Look at some of the things I’m most proud of.”  But there’s, also, a real economic agenda associated with it.  And I think that the media is not so hip to really say, “Hey, oh, this is like a strategy to move people out of poverty.  This is a real strategy, you know, that’s designed to, like, do poverty alleviation and remediate the environment.”  And those are the kind of things that, you know, me and Van, in particular, are really interested in pushing.  But again, I think that-- so on a whole, I think, we’ve gotten some tremendous support, you know, from really, really smart folks in the media.  But at the same time, I think it’s, kind of, like, they don’t quite know what to do with us.  I really believe that.  But hopefully that will change, because I’m seeing signs of it.

Recorded on: 3/17/08

Transcript:  The biggest challenge, you know, is-- it’s interesting being a really-- what’s considered a local group, but with a national profile.  Because we’re not supposed to be doing some of the things that we’re doing.  And I think, on some level, it’s-- you know, and actually being a black female leader isn’t always the easiest thing to be.  Because we’ve gotten some really tremendous, beautiful attention.  But the biggest thing is that the work that we’ve done in the South Bronx, actually, should be replicated all over the place.  And, you know, what we are dealing with sometimes is that, because it only could work in the South Bronx.  I’m, like, “No. that’s not true.  If it can work in the South Bronx, it could work anywhere else, frankly.”  But making sure that you know, understand that poor people, you know, really should and could be a part of their own future development.  It’s, kind of, a crazy, kind of, thing for people to recognize.  I think, people, like, I’m from one of these communities, and I don't have a great environment-- I don't have an environmental background, at all.  I simply saw a problem and wanted to help fix it.  But I think I’ve got enough street credentials and enough experience right now, but it is difficult, you know, being in the situation sometimes.

Recorded on: 3/17/08

Transcript:  The biggest challenge, you know, is-- it’s interesting being a really-- what’s considered a local group, but with a national profile.  Because we’re not supposed to be doing some of the things that we’re doing.  And I think, on some level, it’s-- you know, and actually being a black female leader isn’t always the easiest thing to be.  Because we’ve gotten some really tremendous, beautiful attention.  But the biggest thing is that the work that we’ve done in the South Bronx, actually, should be replicated all over the place.  And, you know, what we are dealing with sometimes is that, because it only could work in the South Bronx.  I’m, like, “No. that’s not true.  If it can work in the South Bronx, it could work anywhere else, frankly.”  But making sure that you know, understand that poor people, you know, really should and could be a part of their own future development.  It’s, kind of, a crazy, kind of, thing for people to recognize.  I think, people, like, I’m from one of these communities, and I don't have a great environment-- I don't have an environmental background, at all.  I simply saw a problem and wanted to help fix it.  But I think I’ve got enough street credentials and enough experience right now, but it is difficult, you know, being in the situation sometimes.

Recorded on: 3/18/08

Transcript:  I try to lead happily by example.  I mean, really, I do think that what we’ve got to offer is just such a beautiful message of hope and opportunity.  That, you know, when we don’t wag the finger, you know, of, like, “You better do this, you know, in order to be an environmentalist.” It’s more, like, we’re saying, like, “Look.  There’s hope and possibility out there if we, you know, use this green economy to help move people out of poverty.  That this transitional moment that we’re in right now is, actually, something that’s going to lift all boats.  And if we can think about it that way, then, this is something that, you know, is going to meet the-- or raise the bar for lots of different people and make a lot of people really happy and healthy, from business to government to community groups.  And that’s, I think, the message that we’re trying to put out there.

Recorded on: 4/28/08

Question:  How would you rate the Bloomberg administration on environmental issues?

Transcript:  I think they gave it a good shot.  I definitely have my concerns about Plan NYC.  Specifically, because it doesn’t really, really, you know, support the development of green jobs.  It, sort of, pays lip service to it.  But, you know, the fact that they’re-- seems more interested to build-- and especially, in affected areas, disadvantaged areas-- that they’re much more interested in building jails there, rather than the development of green jobs.  Yeah, I’m a little concerned about it.  And I think some of the things in it are just not going to happen, to be honest.

Question: Would you like to see the congestion tax come back?

Transcript:  I think, congestion pricing, you know, as a model, is incredibly important, and we do need to see it happen.  But our concern is that we want to make sure that the benefits really go to mass transit.  Because that really is going to be the most important thing.  I mean, most people, you know, in the city, actually, are subway users.  And so we want to make sure that the benefits are going to increasing mass transit use and not anywhere else.

Question: Would you like to see more bike lanes?

Transcript:  Yeah, I mean, that-- bike lanes are part-- but again, it’s a part of, like, looking at the whole transportation system.  If we’re not enforcing, you know, the fact that bike lanes are a really important part, then, bike riders will continue to be killed on our streets.  Which is exactly what’s happening right now, and it’s incredibly unfortunate.  But I think that’s where we need, like, more support from the city to recognize that, you know, biking is a form of transportation.  And we need to be really cementing that, you know, in the mind of everybody in New York City.  Like, right now, it’s, kind of, like, we’re not that important as bikers.  And you see it in the way that unfortunately bikers are treated.

Recorded on: 4/28/08

Transcript:  Oh, absolutely.  But I’m not one of the environmentalists that think that technology is going to cure everything.  I really don’t.  Like, I’m a big believer in the development and, actually, support of natural systems.  But yes.  I mean, something as simple as, like, going to a paperless society, incredibly helpful.  You know, really depending on that, you know, to support the fact that, you know, we don't have to do things the way that we’ve been doing.  Technology is going to play enormous role.  But we also have to recognize that, you know, we have done some real damage, you know, to the natural processes of this earth.  And we’ve got to use whatever we can, especially, in our urban areas, to recognize that we can create, you know, a healthy ecosystem.  Human beings are a part of that system.  And we just have to figure out ways to make sure that we are being supportive of it and not constantly using it, as if it’s what we’re meant to do, that we were not born to do that.

Recorded on: 4/28/08

Transcript:  No.  I hardly think so.  I think it’s a-- being green is a conscious lifestyle.  You know, it really is recognizing that there’s something outside of the little bubble that you live in, and that it does have-- everything you do has a consequence.  And does it involve you, you know, recognizing that you can do better?  And that you can, actually, be supportive of another person’s, or another part of society’s, welfare by the purchases you make or what you decide not to make?  Or yes.  Those things are important.  It’s not about-- how do you call it?  It’s not always about just, like-- Yes, I do believe that there are going to be some sacrifices, you know, involved.  Again, the age of, you know, abundant oil and coal, they are coming to an end.  But the Stone Age didn’t end just because they ran out of stones.  You know, people recognized there were different ways that we want to do things.  So again, living consciously is a really important task that we’re going to have to take.  But no.  It’s, like, you can totally do it in style.  I think, I’m very stylish, and you know, I live as green as I possibly can.

Recorded on: 4/28/08

Transcript:  I mean, really, really, basic, honestly.  It’s, like, you know, I mean, this is so stupid, but it’s hard for people to do, I realize.  Reusing things.  I mean, like, I remember growing up, I was, like, yeah, I grew up in a really poor family.  And everything had three uses before it got thrown away.  And it’s just, like, it’s just mind boggling to me, like, how disposable things are right now.  So that’s, like, one way of one thing of looking at it.  You know, we do need to really demand of, like, in our work places that our, you know, carters do recycle.  Many of them don’t, which is atrocious, if you ask me.  And, like, sometimes you ask, like, folks, like, everybody just wants to switch out their light bulbs.  But you ask people, do they?  The answer would be no.  So why don’t you switch out your light bulbs, for the love of God?  But, also, I think, the biggest thing-- and this is, actually, more micro-- or macro, rather.  Is understanding that, you know, in doing what you can in whatever capacity you have, to understand that, you know, especially if you’re living a more privileged lifestyle, that there are more communities out there that aren’t.  So when you flush your toilet, when you throw something away, it doesn’t just go away.  It really does impact somebody else’s community.  And if we thought about that when we did that, and if we use an opportunity to talk about policies and what that means, you know, for folks that, you know, are on the other end of that pipeline.  I think that’s also really helpful and talking about the fact that all of our decisions, actually, have an impact on somebody else.  And usually, they’re poor people, or poor people of color.

Recorded on: 4/28/08

Transcript:  Macro, really encourage, through funding and incentives, the development of green manufacturing and clean tech industries.  We can’t, you know, talk the talk—or we can talk the talk without walking the walk.  That’s what a lot of people do.  That’s called green washing.  But, you know, I find that when, like, in New York City, for example, the kind of subsidies that are going to, you know, the Yankees from Major League, you know, to create stadiums or big box stores, stuff like that, when we know that they’re not really going to do anything to seriously impact the bottom line of our communities.  They’re not going to create great jobs.  They’re not going to mitigate the environment.  So we have to really put our money where our mouth is and support the kind of industries that are going to have the kind of environmental and economic impact.  Because they’re going to create green jobs.  And that’s really important for us to recognize.  So just on a macro level, creating the kind of environment so that green businesses can actually flourish.  That’s one.  You know, another one is making sure that we can, actually, train people in those green collar jobs.  And making sure that there is funding and support to do that as well.  Because we’ve got huge pools, you know, in major cities and otherwise, of unemployed people who want to be a part of something.  I mean, that’s all anybody really wants when you think about it.  You know, to be loved, to contribute to society, and really feel like they’re making a difference.  And you often do that through your own economic bottom line.  If you don’t have the funds to do that and if you have a job, that automatically, I think, makes you feel like you’re a part of something bigger.  So making sure that we are training the folks that have been, traditionally, deprived of a lot of resources in their own communities.  That’s really important to look at, as well.

Recorded on: 4/28/08

Transcript:  Wow.  I feel—let’s see.  Where should I start with that one?  I mean, there’s just such an opportunity to contribute to green washing, now, because it’s green, and everybody’s doing it.  But I do think there’s, also, a general feel, you know, for most folks in the business community that really do want to do the right thing.  I do think they need some support.  And there needs to be the proper environment for these kind of businesses to flourish.  Because right now, there’s—you know, if we really knew what a gallon of oil really costs, you know, in terms of these subsidies that our tax dollars give to it, we might not think about it quite the same way.  But if we, also, thought about “How do we get that kind of subsidy to go to renewables, to support businesses that really want to do this better?”  That I think is a really interesting thing to do.  Because right now, like, we are asking a lot, you know, from business communities.  But at the same time, I think it would—it’s not in their best interest to think that, you know, the days of, you know, abundant oil, you know, and coal are going to be here forever.  They’re not.  And the smarter money out there is, actually, thinking, like, “Well, how do I, you know, contribute?  And how am I going to operate well in an environment that is going to change by necessity, when the price of oil is, actually, going to become what it probably should be?”

Recorded on: 4/28/08

Transcript: Green collar jobs are, to us-- the way we define green collar jobs is that it’s a job that has a net benefit to the environment. So it can be something that a PhD does, in terms of designing a hybrid car. But it can, also, be something as simple, you know, as the guy or the gal that, actually, is working to maintain the urban forests. You know, planting a green roof, you know, installing a solar panel. Those are, also, environment green collar jobs that pay back, you know, not only to the person that does the work, which is great, but also to the environment. Because it’s, actually, reducing, you know, some of the environmental costs that we continuously pay, as a result of global warming.

Recorded on: 4/28/08

Transcript: The biggest problem that we’re having in many urban areas is, actually, asthma.  In the South Bronx, you know, we see about 60,000 diesel truck trips going through our community each and every week.  That definitely adds to asthma, upper respiratory problems.  But if you have a community where people are afraid to go outside because there’s so many trucks running around, or if the air smells because of sewage treatment plants or other kind of issues like that.  People, also, aren’t getting the kind of physical activity that they need, as well.  Which leads to diabetes and, of course, to obesity, as well.  And then, there’s, also, the not so well reported, you know, issue that there’s actually more than conclusive evidence to show that proximity to fossil fuel emissions causes learning disabilities in young kids.  And we now know that poor kids that don’t do well in school, actually, have a much better chance of ending up in jail, rather than going onto higher education.  So, for us, the development of Environmental Services in our community, like, the creation of Urban Forestry, Green Roof Installation, actually, even doing solar panels.  So we’re reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.  So that actually provides a benefit to our communities by, number one, cleaning up the air, because there’s actually green things that are cleaning the air.  Two, providing jobs for people, because they have to do it.  Which, of course, we know now that poverty is, also, a key component in folks actually going to jail.  So creating opportunities for people to do environmental services, which actually have a net benefit to the environment.  And also, all of our infrastructure creates jobs.  They get reinvested in our communities.  It creates healthier communities.

Recorded on: 4/28/08

Transcript:  It’s so interesting, because so many of the folks that we work with in our community are, actually, from places where nature was such an important part, you know, of our lives.  You know, from down south or they’re, you know, from Caribbean, where people were naturally drawn to the water, you know, to the forests, et cetera.  And so to see people disconnected from that, you know, I think, is almost as a spiritual disconnect, you know, from their real lives.  And what we were essentially born into the legacy that we were born into.  So when we are missing that, you know, being able to help people reconnect with a natural part of the world that is in their community is such a valuable thing that may, number one, feel better about it.  I mean, there’s studies that are written now.  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, actually, did this huge amount of studies on what are the effects of urban forestry?  You know, it’s, like, a cluster of three trees, what it can do on a block that has not others, in terms of lowering stress rates.  You know, improving girls’ self-esteem.  You know, lowering stress levels in adults.  And recognizing that they, also, play a role, especially, if you have more of them in actually cleaning the air.  You know, creating more opportunities for urban forestry management and creating jobs, as well.  And so it’s a whole slew of things that-- and they’re, actually, called Environmental Services, when you, actually, use the value of nature to, actually, take care of an industrial problem that we have.

Recorded on: 4/28/08

Transcript:  Sustainable South Bronx is an Environmental Justice solutions organization.  And our goal is to create viable alternatives, both, economic as well as environmental that actually provide, sort of, you know, that actually bring life to the visions that people have expressed for their own community.  And things like clean air, things like living wage jobs that don’t destroy and degrade the environment, parks in their own community.  These are, like, simple dreams that people put out there for themselves and their neighborhood.  And I wanted to be someone who, actually, was able to show people that you don't have to move out of your neighborhood to live in a better one. I spearheaded the first waterfront park my community’s had in more than 60 years.  I, actually, got married in it a couple of years ago, which is great.  But that, kind of, led to the development of planning the South Bronx Greenway project, which is an 11-mile network of on water, as well as on street bike paths and waterfront esplanades that actually provide both recreation as well as economic development opportunities for the community.  So we can actually get out and exercise and, actually, provide some opportunities for local entrepreneurial development as well.  And we are also working to create more opportunities to show that you can create green businesses, you know, in our communities.  So we spearheaded the development along with another group called Green Worker Cooperatives, of an ecoindustrial center.  Which is a collection of businesses that use recycled materials as raw materials, so that you can; one, mitigate solid waste and, actually, provide a real value added product.  And two, create hundreds of jobs.  And so we’re trying to create that as, like, a real sustainable model.

Recorded on: 4/28/08

Transcript: I moved back to my neighborhood in the late ‘90s, after spending many years trying to disassociate myself from it.  Because it was, to me, just the epicenter of urban blight.  And you know, it was dirty.  It did smell funny.  There were a lot of problems associated with it.  And then, also, all my formative years were, kind of, watching the disinvestments of the community, from the financial sector, as well, you know, business sector, as well.  And it was a difficult place to be.  So when I got a chance to go away to school, I left, and I swore never to come back.  And it was only because I was so broke that I had to move back home with parents.  But once I got there, you know, what got me there was the fact that, like, there was this burgeoning art community there.  So that was great, and it was, like, I was an artist.  So I wanted to be a part of that.  But what kept me there was, honestly, getting politicized, you know, about recognizing that my poor community was actually being targeted as a place that, for the repository-- you know, for all of the bad things that wealthier and, usually, white communities could avoid.  I came back home to find out that our Mayor Giuliani and Pataki, our Governor, were planning on building this huge waste facility on our waterfront.  That would’ve brought about 40 percent of the city’s municipal waste to the area, even though we were already handling about 40 percent of the city’s commercial waste.  It was an enormous amount of waste that was going to be, again, put upon our backs.  So there were public health issues associated with that.  And I just thought, “Why is this happening?”  You know, I realize it was because it was a poor community and a poor community of color, to boot.  And the whole idea of environmental justice is just-- just simply means that no community should have to bear the brunt of lots of environmental burdens and not enjoy environmental benefits.  And right now, race and class are great indicators as to where you’re going to find good stuff, like park and trees, and really bad stuff, like waste facilities.  And it just really struck me.  It was, like, I wanted to be a part of the solution and not just, you know, pretend that it didn’t exist or just-- yeah.

Recorded on: 4/28/08