Citizens’ Climate Radio Ep. 54: Football, justice, and talking trash

Average Rating:
Citizens’ Climate Radio is a monthly podcast hosted by CCLer Peterson Toscano. Browse all our past episode recaps here, or listen to past episodes here, and check out the latest episode in the post below.

Citizens’ Climate Radio is a monthly podcast hosted by CCLer Peterson Toscano. Browse all our past episode recaps here, or listen to past episodes here, and check out the latest episode in the post below.

A recent episode of Lew Blaustein’s Green Sports Pod featured a riveting interview with National Football League player Garry Gilliam. Blaustein writes:

Garry Gilliam experienced this hope-squashing system firsthand during his childhood in the opportunity-deprived section of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Now, the ex-NFL offensive lineman is using his resources and his seemingly boundless energy to try to break that system, replacing it with a more equitable, hopeful one.

His system-breaking tool is The Bridge Eco-Village, an innovative start-up that provides opportunities for African-Americans and other marginalized people to “Work, Eat, Live, Learn and Play” in affordable, high quality mixed-use developments. The pilot is being built in — where else — Harrisburg.

Lew Blaustein has graciously allowed us to rebroadcast an edited version of his interview with Garry Gilliam. You will also hear Citizens’ Climate Radio’s host, Peterson Toscano, check in with Gilliam to find out how things stand with the Bridge Eco-Village today in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Garry Gilliam has good news to share about the progress of the project. 

Then, Toscano talks trash with college student Sharona Shnayder. As the coronavirus pandemic shut everything down, Sharona simply could not stay inside any longer. One Tuesday, she joined a friend at neighborhood park near their university in Portland, Oregon. Together, while maintaining a safe physical distance, they picked up trash. People in her community begin to notice and join in; word quickly spread. Now there are Tuesdays for Trash events happening all over the world. 

Sharona, who grew up in Nigeria, shares how picking up trash is bringing people together, lifting spirits, and getting people engaged in climate work. In fact, this may be a project your own climate group wants to take on in order to connect in a new way with your own community. 

Listen Now!

We always welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, and recommendations for the show. Leave a voicemail at 518.595.9414 (+1 if calling from outside the U.S.). You can email your answers to radio@citizensclimate.org.  

You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher RadioSoundCloudPodbeanNorthern Spirit RadioGoogle PlayPlayerFM, and TuneIn Radio. Also, feel free to connect with other listeners, suggest program ideas, and respond to programs in the Citizens’ Climate Radio Facebook group or on Twitter at @CitizensCRadio.

Posted by Brett Cease on Dec 4, 2020 12:01 PM America/Los_Angeles

Share this

Share:

Recent Posts

CCL volunteers are the best messengers about our unique, effective approach to climate advocacy — and Jennifer Durgin, CCL’s Vermont state coordinator, is no exception! Jen was featured in a wonderful radio interview earlier this year. ( Scroll down the show page to find Jen’s April 3 episode.) “Congress is more polarized than it has ever been in ... more
Posted by Flannery Winchester on CCL Community Bulletin Sep 17, 2025 1:00 AM PDT
September 10, 2025 Did you know America’s forests currently offset 12% of our annual climate pollution? That means healthy forests are a key part of the climate puzzle. But with wildfires getting worse, we need to take action. This month, we’re taking additional steps to support a bipartisan bill that can help: the Fix Our Forests Act. This bill, which ... more
Posted by Flannery Winchester on CCL Community Bulletin Sep 15, 2025 3:13 PM PDT
CCL Fayetteville group leaders Sterling Smith and Joanna Beth Person-Michener recently joined forces with other local climate advocates to plan a multi-faith climate event for Northwest Arkansas. “Joanna had the original vision,” Sterling shared. “She is very people-focused and wanted to put together a community event that would draw people ... more
Posted by Flannery Winchester on CCL Community Bulletin Sep 10, 2025 4:43 PM PDT
September 3, 2025 Members of Congress are back from their August recess, and as we head toward fall, another season of climate advocacy is ahead of us. It’s the perfect time to connect with other climate advocates and get inspired for the work ahead. How? At our 2025 Inclusion Conference coming up Sept. 26-27! This year’s Inclusion Conference, titled ... more
Posted by Flannery Winchester on CCL Community Bulletin Sep 4, 2025 12:57 PM PDT