Broken Ground Podcast Series Unearths Environmental Stories in the South

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – In celebration of Earth Day, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) is launching Broken Ground, a new podcast that amplifies the voices of communities, accidental environmentalists, and conservationists by sharing their stories, unearthing important – yet often overlooked – environmental issues throughout the South.

Through compelling stories from Southerners of all walks of life, Broken Ground shows the real-life impacts of environmental policies for individuals and communities who, when forced to bear the brunt of bad decisions, often become unlikely heroes as a result.

“When you start to chip away and get at what’s behind bad environmental policies, that’s where you often find the real story,” said Claudine Ebeid McElwain, host of Broken Ground. “Understanding why we are making bad environmental choices locally, regionally, and nationally is how we figure out what needs fixing.”

Over the course of four episodes, the first season explores the past, present, and future of energy decisions across the South. From the environmental and personal costs, to the ongoing threat of bad decisions, to our future possibilities, Broken Ground shines a light on the people and stories at the heart of the matter.

The first episode of Broken Ground revisits one of the worst environmental disasters in American history, when a man-made, earthen dike holding back millions of gallons of coal ash sludge broke at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston coal plant in 2008. The horrific event inundated a small community with coal ash that devastated residents’ properties and nearby waterways. However, it took nearly a decade to uncover the full damage of this spill when it became apparent that workers tasked with cleaning up the coal ash were becoming sick and dying.

“We see storytelling as one of the most compelling and important tools to engage people about the important work our attorneys are doing every day and to shed light on how these environmental issues are playing out throughout our region,” said Erin Malec, SELC’s Director of Program Communications. “With the growth of podcasting, we saw an opportunity to share these powerful stories through another lens and elevate the voices of people who are speaking from their own personal experiences.”

Broken Ground can be found on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever listeners consume their podcasts.

Media Kit:
Press Photos
Team Bios
Podcast Logo
Audio Trailers

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Southern Environmental Law Center

For more than 30 years, the Southern Environmental Law Center has used the power of the law to champion the environment of the Southeast. With over 80 attorneys and nine offices across the region, SELC is widely recognized as the Southeast’s foremost environmental organization and regional leader. SELC works on a full range of environmental issues to protect our natural resources and the health and well-being of all the people in our region. www.SouthernEnvironment.org