Beth Gardiner: What Are The Consequences Of Breathing Dirty Air?

Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode Breathe

Journalist Beth Gardiner and activist Yvette Arellano explain the long-term health effects of air pollution. Yvette lives in a Houston neighborhood near the largest petrochemical complex in the U.S.

About Beth Gardiner

Beth Gardiner is an American journalist based in London. For ten years, she reported for the Associated Press in New York and London.

Now, her reporting primarily focuses on the environment. She has discussed her work on NPR's All Things Considered, WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show, and the BBC's World at One.

Gardiner is the author of Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution, an exploration into the long term health effects of air pollution. Gardiner received grants to support her work on Choked from both the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and the Society of Environmental Journalists.

She graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in history.

About Yvette Arellano

Yvette Arellano is a Gulf Coast organizer from Houston, Texas, dedicated to the causes of environmental and racial justice. Currently, Yvette is leading efforts in Houston, home of the largest petrochemical complex in the nation, to help the city's most vulnerable communities on the petrochemical expansion fueled by plastic production. They also serve as a policy research and grassroots advocate with Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (T.E.J.A.S.).

In 2015, they led the campaign against H.R. 702, which opened the floodgates to U.S. crude oil exports. Yvette represented the Gulf South Delegation and T.e.j.a.s at the United Nations COP21 in Paris. They were instrumental in the joint 2016 publication "Double Jeopardy in Houston" and "Air Toxics and Health in the Houston Community of Manchester" by the Union of Concerned Scientists and T.e.j.a.s. These reports revealed deep environmental injustice in Houston. In 2018, Yvette was recognized with the Green Latinos Emerging Leader Award.

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