Soundings is the sandbox for all student work from the Stanford Storytelling Project (SSP). SSP is an arts program at Stanford University that explores how we live in and through stories and how we can use them to change our lives. Our mission is to promote the transformative nature of traditional and modern oral storytelling, from Lakota tales to Radiolab, and empower students to create and perform their own stories. The project sponsors courses, workshops, live events, and grants, along with its radio show State of the Human.
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Soundings is the sandbox for all student work from the Stanford Storytelling Project (SSP). SSP is an arts program at Stanford University that explores how we live in and through stories and how we can use them to change our lives. Our mission is to promote the transformative nature of traditional and modern oral storytelling, from Lakota tales to Radiolab, and empower students to create and perform their own stories. The project sponsors courses, workshops, live events, and grants, along with its radio show State of the Human.
How can supposedly green initiatives, such as battery recycling, still result in dirty outcomes?Community members in Vernon, California, fight to shut down a local battery recycling plantbecause its toxic waste is polluting their air, water, and soil. The company and governmentalagencies that are supposed to be responsible fail to listen and act, forcing the community to takeever more dramatic action. This episode examines their fight for environmental justice andhighlights the distinction between policy-driven environmentalism and the real-worldconsequences that disproportionately harm minority communities.
Episode AuthorsSamuel Desai, Alice Heiman, Ian BriskiInterviews:Rossmery ZayasCommunity organizing since the age of 14, Rossmery Zayas is now a South East Los Angeles(SELA) Youth Organizer at Communities for a Better Environment (CBE). She works extensivelyin grassroots activism, and has participated in several campaigns, including shutting down thetoxic battery recycling plant facility owned by Exide Technologies (one of the world’s largestproducers and distributors of batteries) in Vernon, California. Rossmery Zayas majored inCommunication Studies and studied at Humboldt State University, East Los Angeles College, andCal State LA.Organization link: https://www.cbecal.org/Dr. Jenna ForsythDr. Jenna Forsyth is a research scientist affiliated with the School of Medicine, Woods Institutefor Environment, and King Center for Global Development at Stanford University. Dr. Forsyth’swork addresses the global environmental health problems stemming from contaminants in air,water, soil, and food. Her recent work revolves around lead pollution in South Asia, where shechampioned getting lead out of turmeric in Bangladesh.Website link: https://jennaforsyth.com/Mari Rose TarucMari Rose Taruc is a Filipino-American artist and activist in Oakland, CA. She has been advancinglocal, state, national, and international environmental justice campaigns for clean air, affordablehousing, renewable energy, and climate solutions for over 28 years. Before her role at CaliforniaEnvironmental Justice Alliance (CEJA), she held various environmental justice roles at theSouthwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (SNEEJ) and Asian PacificEnvironmental Network. Inspired by Hurricane Katrina, she founded a neighborhood group inOakland, where she has lived for over two decades, to fight gentrification, promote affordablehousing, redefine community safety, and actively engage in elections.Website link: https://environmental-professionals-of-color.yale.edu/person/taruc-mari-rose
References and Further Reading● Barboza, T. (2015, December 21). Story So Far: How a battery recycler contaminated L.A.-area homes for decades. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-exide-cleanup-story-so-far-20151121-story.html● Barboza, T. (2020, October 16). Court approves abandonment of Exide plant and toxiccleanup. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-16/exide-bankrtuptcy-decision-vernon-cleanup● Briscoe, T. (2024, July 11). Exide site on the verge of getting Superfund designation. LosAngeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-07-11/la-county-battery-recycler-on-the-verge-of-becoming-california-next-superfund-site● CA.gov. (2016, November 4). Governor Brown Issues Statement on Paris ClimateAgreement Milestone | Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Retrieved March 1, 2025 fromhttps://archive.gov.ca.gov/archive/gov39/2016/11/04/news19592/index.html● California Department of Toxic Substances Control. (October, 2020) The State’s PoorManagement of the Exide Cleanup Project Has Left Californians at Continued Risk ofLead Poisoning. https://information.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2020-107.pdf● CDC. (2024, October 31). Exide Contamination Information and Resources. CommunityStress Resource Center. Retrieved March 1, 2025 fromhttps://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/community-stress-resource-
Soundings
Soundings is the sandbox for all student work from the Stanford Storytelling Project (SSP). SSP is an arts program at Stanford University that explores how we live in and through stories and how we can use them to change our lives. Our mission is to promote the transformative nature of traditional and modern oral storytelling, from Lakota tales to Radiolab, and empower students to create and perform their own stories. The project sponsors courses, workshops, live events, and grants, along with its radio show State of the Human.
