Everyone wants cleaner, cheaper energy. Well, almost everyone. Powerful utility companies like PG&E, Sempra, and Southern California Edison aren’t going down without a fight, and they fight dirty.

In today’s episode, Ken is joined by Bernadette Del Chiaro, the Executive Director of the California Solar & Storage Association, who was instrumental in passing the Million Solar Roofs Initiative into law with then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006.

Since then the solar industry in California has created over 70,000 jobs and has installed over 2 million solar rooftops. But thanks to the monopoly utility giants and the leadership of Governor Gavin Newsom—along with his handpicked regulators—the once-vibrant rooftop solar market has been decimated. Misinformation and deceptive tactics from the utility monopolies, threatened by solar's growth, are systematically dismantling the industry in a bid to protect their profits.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

The California Solar & Storage Association

California Public Utilities Commission

1 Million Solar Roofs InitiativeEnergy Cities & Regions (Climate Action Stories)

Milestones: A million solar roofs (Public Interest Network)

Edison Electric Institute

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

In today’s episode, Ken is deep-diving into the intersection of environmentalism and animal welfare.

First, Ken speaks with veterinarian Crystal Heath who has been bravely raising the alarm of how her profession enables and endorses animal abuse from veterinarian school to factory farms.

In the second part of today’s episode, Ken is joined by longtime friend and founder of Animal Wellness Action, president of the Center for a Humane Economy, and former CEO of the Humane Society, Wayne Pacelle. Wayne, like Crystal, is advocating for animal welfare across many industries.

Crystal and Wayne are great examples of individual integrity and commitment to a cause.

They are also great reminders that, as consumers, what we choose to invest in with our dollars makes a difference.

Want a deeper dive on today’s episode? Check out the links below:

Our Honor (Crystal's organization)

Animal Wellness Action

Center for a Humane Economy

Crystal Heath wants veterinary medicine to live up to its values (Vox)

New Documents Reveal How the Animal Agriculture Industry Surveils and Punishes Critics (The Intercept)

What are gestation crates and are they legal in the U.S.? (Farm Forward)

Supreme Court Upholds California’s Prop 12, Protects Rights of States to Set Humane Treatment, Food Safety Rules (Animal Wellness Action)

The Bond Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them

The Humane Economy How Innovators and Enlightened Consumers Are Transforming the Lives of Animals

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

 Hi, it's Ken Cook from EWG. I'm here in Washington and we're here to get ready to fight. It already feels like Trump's Washington. That feeling reminds us of what we went through during his first term where we saw a massive assault on environmental protection. We haven't always been happy with everything that happened over the last four years with the Biden administration.

And we have called that out. We will always do that.

We don't favor Democrats or Republicans. We favor environmental protection. We favor human health. We favor your health.

But I have to tell you, this is a very, very different situation that we're facing now. Different than we've ever faced before.

We have every reason to think that appointees are, for the most part, here to tear down the ability of the government to do its job, starting with EPA. One of the first announcements was an EPA administrator, and he was instructed to deregulate Environmental protections. So we know that's coming.

And for whatever reason, you may have voted for President Trump. That's your right.

We're not here to suggest who you should vote for. But we will say that when you vote for someone, you get the whole package. There is no such thing as a single-issue politician.

And so what we're seeing now is the consequences of someone coming to power, using that power in ways that we predicted would happen, to deregulate the economy, weaken environmental law, and weaken food safety.

Now, there's plenty that we can do as individuals. EWG has tens of millions of people who come to us every year, seeking information so you can protect your family yourself.

You can protect your health yourself, and that's vitally important to do. But there are some things we can't do for ourselves.

There are some things we can't shop or behave our way out of. Those belong in the realm of policy and politics.

So we're here for the fight. We wake up every morning ready to fight. We have for 31 years.

We're fighting against companies that don't do the right thing when they make their products. We're fighting against polluters. We're fighting against them and won't ever stop.

But now we're facing a really serious challenge that's structural across the entire government at the federal level. We'll be pushing for advances at the state level to make up for what doesn't happen here in Washington.

We'll be giving you advice so you can protect yourself without having to depend on the government, as ever. That's who we are.

But I'll tell you, I'm very concerned about what we're seeing already with this Trump administration. We're not counting on any help with our agenda from the inside.

If we're proven wrong, that would be great. But in the short term, we're preparing for the worst.

I'm asking you for your feedback, for your help, as we do that. Because my feeling is, we're in for a long battle.

On this show, we're going to be your eyes and ears on Trump's Washington. And we're going to be reporting from the front lines of the fight.

So, please keep tuning in.

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup