13 - Dante Swinton, Energy Justice in Baltimore

In this episode Dante Swinton, the coordinator of the Divert Baltimore Program talks about organizing and advocating for alternatives to developing a waste incinerator that would cause a public health crisis in Baltimore. By taking leadership and a design thinking approach, Dante is able to show that diverting the waste from incineration has social, environmental, and economic benefits.

Dante advocates for thinking outside of the box, instead of just focusing on what we’re against. He says it’s important to build a solution. With a strong solution we can be effective in our efforts.

As mentioned in this episode

• Energy Justice Network : About
• Baltimore Clean Air Act
• Clean Air Baltimore: A Campaign to Replace Waste Incineration with Zero-Waste Jobs
• Donate to the campaign
• Resources

About Dante Swinton

Dante has had an interest in environmental protection for 20 years, and has worked with Energy Justice Network since summer 2015. He has run for state and local office to raise waste/recycling, energy, transit, and domestic violence issues. He has a Bachelors in Environmental Studies from Winthrop University, and a Masters in Nonprofit Management and Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Baltimore.

Dante is the Divert Baltimore Program Coordinator; Environmental Justice Researcher & Organizer with Clean Air Baltimore. More information at https://www.cleanairbmore.org

Credits

This podcast is a project of halttheharm.net, a website and resource that connects you with leaders, activists, researchers, economists, legal experts, and funders to protect your community from oil & gas industry. Halt the Harm is a network of leaders who are taking action, sharing resources and information, and supporting each other’s campaigns. Find out more at halttheharm.net

The soundtrack Halt the Harm podcast is"One of These Days" by Eilen Jewell from her album Sea of Tears.

Recorded, produced, and published by Ryan Clover in the studios WRFI Watkins Glen, Ithaca

What is Halt the Harm Podcast?

This movement is created by leaders who are inspired to take action. While we are all connecting by our shared goals to fight fracking’s harms, each and every leader brings a different perspective to this fight. And each perspective has a unique story behind it – a story to tell and to inspire.We’ve teamed up with producer Ryan Clover from Eco-Defense Radio to interview leaders in the Halt the Harm Network about everyday life, and what inspires them to action, day in, day out.