5. Youth in the Climate Movement : Leija Helling

Leija Helling is a Community Organizing Associate with Center for Health Environment and Justice (CHEJ). The campaign that she is working on is called Make Polluters Pay which is making polluting corporations pay for their contamination. To give some background, there are currently 1,388 toxic waste sites in the United States that are so dangerous they have been designated “Superfund” sites by the federal government. But there’s no money left to clean up the contamination. Originally, big polluting companies paid into a fund that was used to clean up their messes. But in 1995, Congress let the Polluters Pay Tax expire. By 2003, our Superfund was broke. Ever since, cleanup efforts have slowed to a crawl while all of us as taxpayers are left holding the bag. Today, some of the biggest polluting corporations are making billions of dollars per year in profits and paying zero dollars in taxes. As climate change causes more flooding, hurricanes, and other natural disasters, increasing the risk of widespread toxic exposure from these sites, there is no time to waste. With Lejiah we talk about what got her into organizing work, the Make Polluters Pay campaign, why young people should / are involved in the climate movement, and imaging a better future. Contact and connect with Leijah: [email protected] Make Pollutors Pay: http://chej.org/makepolluterspay/