Locus Focus on 05/13/13

California’s climate law, which relies heavily on a mechanism known as cap and trade, is the most ambitious in the United States and is being touted by environmentalists around the country. But according to a recent article in The Nation magazine, the new law may not force the state's worst polluters to clean up their operations, a disservice that disproportionately affects the state’s poorest. On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with the article's author Madeline Ostrander about why environmental justice advocates in low income communities of color around the state think that the new cap and trade regulations have given California industries leeway to buy their way out of greening their operations.

Madeline Ostrander is a Seattle-based writer and senior editor of YES! Magazine. Her work has also appeared in The Sun Magazine, High Country News, and Alternet.