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It's the final Episode! We speak to Gender Specialist, Kristina Neil and Dr. Dalea Bean, Head of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies, Mona Campus Unit on the connected topics of Gender & Climate. For successful climate adaptation and a just transition, we have to include gender from the planning stage. We can't have success without it- when success looks so different for everyone. We touch on intersectionality and the ever present need for Climate Justice. This may be the end of the podcast season, but not the end of the election season. We have a lot of work to do to see climate more present on the ballot. Follow here the work of the 34 environmental organisations that took leaders to task to emphasize climate issues on the campaign trail. Keep the conversation going - open dialogues within your own communities - Let's keep Climate on the Ballot!

Everyone complains about the traffic. But it's not as simple of an issue as it may seem. It goes to the heart of how we plan our cities, what we prioritize and how we zone- residential vs. commercial, concrete vs. agricultural.  When we think about climate change, specific to these cities, it's clear we need to make changes as well. What do we want our cities to look like? How do we want to travel? We talk to Dorraine Duncan founder of Island City Lab and Monique Lewis, Urban and Regional Planner at the Planning Institute of Jamaica about the intricacies of city planning at the macro and community level. 

Climate Change is not just an environmental issue, it's a public health issue that affects us all. Whether it's airborne/waterborne diseases, industrial contamination, or even access to healthcare during natural disasters, we cannot separate our own well being from the health of our environment. This episode we discuss Health and Environment with Linnees Green-Baker, Public Health Inspector and Climate Change Fellow, as well as Edward Cunningham Environmental Health Engineer and member of the JCCYC. Join the conversation! You can still write in your questions & comments to [email protected] with the subject line: 'Climate on the Ballot' or WhatsApp us at: +1 (876) 545-2044 Your voice and your vote counts!   

If there is one thing we all have in common it's waste. We use it, try to lose it, but we have to find a way to deal with it.  With no sanitary landfills in the country, waste management in Jamaica becomes a huge issue for our homes and communities, even affecting livelihoods and worsening disasters.  We talk to Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, CEO of Jamaica Environment Trust and Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns, Opposition Spokesperson on Environment and Ecological Heritage about the impacts of these systems and our hopes for the future of waste management in Jamaica, beyond this election season. Want to participate in the discussions?  Write in your questions & comments to [email protected] with the subject line: 'Climate on the Ballot' or WhatsApp us at: +1 (876) 545-2044 Your voice and your vote counts! 

With the memory of Hurricane Beryl fresh in our minds and as we are heading into another hurricane season, we can't forget Disaster Readiness & Recovery on the campaign trail.  We have to talk about the support and infrastructure we need to create resilience towards these natural hazards that could prevent disaster. This episode we are joined by Kristinia Doughorty, Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Adaptation specialist and Dainalyn Swaby Development Communication Specialist & creator of the Global Yaadie Podcast. We talk about what community resilience looks like, in the face of these disasters. Want to participate?  write in your questions & comments to [email protected] with the subject line: 'Climate on the Ballot' or WhatsApp us at: +1 (876) 545-2044 Your voice and your vote counts! 

One topic that can turn the tides in an election season: the grocery bill. The cost of food cuts to the very essence of our humanity: can people afford to eat? and to eat healthy?  Right now, not so much. With the Caribbean being one of the most food insecure regions in the world where it is the most expensive to access healthy foods. The grocery bill is a topic that we couldn't afford to miss for Climate on the Ballot. We are joined with Hugh Johnson, President of the Bernard Lodge Farmer’s Group and J'quan Morrison, student of the College of Agriculture, Science and Education and member of the JCCYC to discuss these issues around food insecurity, land tenure and support for farmers and our massive import bill. Tune in for a vital discussion and Join in on our live session (via Zoom) Saturday May 10, 2025 at 11:30 am Ja time to weigh in, or stream Live on Youtube: Ourfootprintja Can't make it? No worries. Write in your questions & comments to [email protected] with the subject line: 'Climate on the Ballot' or WhatsApp us at: +1 (876) 545-2044 Your voice and your vote counts!

We're Live! Last episode we talked with our expert guests about Jobs- specifically green jobs and the just transition. Our breakdown show where your voice can be heard. Climate on the Ballot is about getting the citizen voice out and the votes in! It's time we see the issues we care about most represented on the ballot. Tun in by joining the live show (Zoom Link can be found in each episode description) you can also stream the live show every other Saturday over on our Youtube channel: Ourfootprintja. Don't forget to leave a review and to write in your questions and comments at: [email protected] with the subject line: 'Climate on the Ballot' or WhatsApp us at: +1 (876) 545-2044

On Today's ballot: jobs.  The climate is changing, and so is the work world. We are joined by Marissa Sheppard,  Just Transition Officer at the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Sean Yates, Entrepreneur and Animal Science Instructor at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), to explore what's missing from the conversation around the job market this election season. It's not just the quantity but the quality of jobs that we want to see represented - ones that reflect the climate we are in now and give us active mechanisms to sustain our lives and livelihoods. Want more? Join in on our live session (via Zoom) next Saturday April 19, 2025 at 11:30 am Ja time to weigh in, or stream Live on Youtube: Ourfootprintja Can't make it? No worries. Write in your questions & comments to [email protected] with the subject line: 'Climate on the Ballot'

We're Live! Last week we talked about education with our expert guests. This week is our breakdown show where your voice can be heard. Climate on the Ballot is about getting the citizen voice out and the votes in! It's time we see the issues we care about most represented on the ballot. You can stream our live shows every other Saturday over on our Youtube channel: Ourfootprintja 

We're back! Season 4 is ‘Climate on the Ballot’. This election season we want to see the issues that affect us most at the forefront of the discussion. That means more meaningful dialogue on climate change through the lens of our everyday struggles and concerns. Episode 1 focusses on education. How does climate change affect the classroom? and how do we create a better future for our students through climate education? We talk to Dr. Sharon Bramwell-Lalor, UWI Lecturer training generations of teachers, and repeat guest Jhada Haughten, science teacher and member of the JCCYC about the realities of the classroom within the context of climate change.

It's just us in the studio! For this, our final episode of Season 3, we take the time to have a frank discussion with each other about climate justice and what it means to us and the marginalized groups of which we form part. We get more personal and local on ‘Justice in Climate: Equity at the intersections of ‘Being’ in the Caribbean’ tying the bow on Temperature Check, a season devoted to the lived experiences of the impacts of the climate as it is now. Tune in next season of Environmentally Speaking!

Sustainability is a hot topic, but it's more than just a buzzword.  It's an absolute necessity for human survival and continuity. We dive into the real crux of what it takes to secure our collective futures.  We speak to guest, Eleanor Terrelonge, our founder and director of the JCCYC on the intricacies of sustainability and the fabric of society.  What are the drivers and setbacks of sustainability in Jamaica and the Caribbean? How do the decisions from COP29 affect small islands, and how do we respond in the current political climate? Find out this and more on this Episode: Sizzling sustainability

How do you see your relationship with energy? What costs are we willing to pay to ensure everyone has access to this life force? For years we have been talking about renewable energy and a just transition to address the climate crisis. But what does it take to get there, what considerations haven’t we yet made? AS COP29 negotiations are going on we thought a conversation about possibilities for our energy sector would be important. On this episode, our guest, Geasean Johnson, former Research, Policy Development, and Advocacy Co-lead joins us for a talk that takes us across the different contexts of the macro and micro scales of energy and life, the social and political imperatives behind energy production, distribution, and consumption. The structures that control power, control the potentials for decarbonization, decentralization, and democratization of our energy sector. This is Power Play.

Water is life, so its scarcity is life-altering. What makes the Caribbean so susceptible to water scarcity? How does it impact our communities? How do water-filled countries in a region surrounded by water struggle to maintain the source of our being; our relationship with water. In this episode, we talk to Environmental Chemist Rashidah Khan, and Activist Jamila Falak about the various aspects of water security. From the technical to the social and community impacts to the creative, spiritual, and Indigenous relationships, we capture the fullness of the importance of understanding why having water everywhere and nowhere all at once is so scary.

Temperature check? Too hot for corals…Episode two of temperature check dives into the ocean where warming waters are killing our corals. After a mass extinction event, coral restoration efforts in Jamaica came to a screeching halt despite the work of environmental experts trying their best to find and preserve survivors. Felix Charnley joins us from Ocho Rios Jamaica where he works to preserve marine ecosystems and Danielle Nembhard joins us from Australia where she is conducting PhD research on Indigenous inclusion in conservation efforts within the Great Barrier Reef (which is the size of Italy). Dive in with us for this vital episode of temperature check where you will learn that ‘when corals die, we know why’.