Charles Griffith
Bio
Interview with Charles Griffith
July 3, 2019
Conducted by Meghan Clark
Clips
5:43 - 7:42
Charles talks about working with the EC to get a local right to know ordinance passed and how that led to him getting hired at the EC. #EcologyCenter #toxics #righttoknow
8:57 - 11:14
Charles discusses the importance of community toxics awareness and how the EC helped by providing information, but also advocacy assistance. #toxics #community #righttoknow
14:48 - 15:52
Charles talks about the range of strategies the EC used to get companies to reduce their toxics emissions. #toxics #advocacy #EcologyCenter
18:40 - 22:30
Charles talks about the effort surrounding the Johnson Controls plant, working with UAW workers, and how the coalition was helpful, but it also caused issues due to worries about worker jobs. #UAW #toxics #JohnsonControls #automanufacturing #workers #coalition
25:24 - 27:40
Charles discusses the differences between the Johnson Controls and the Gelman Sciences issues and why the Gelman Sciences battle was so much more drawn out. #GelmanSciences #JohnsonControls #toxics #EcologyCenter #advocacy
31:22 - 32:43
Charles talks about how his toxics work turned into the Auto Toxics Project and led to the EC's involvement in a state program with auto manufacturers committed to reducing toxics. #AutoToxicsProject #toxics #automanufacturing
35:15 - 36:35
Charles discusses how working with auto manufacturers in the state toxics program was tense, but created relationships and respect for the EC. #toxics #EcologyCenter #automanufacturing
46:13 - 48:10
Charles talks about how he, the EC, auto companies, the EPA, and steel manufacturers all eventually came to an agreement that created a national mercury switch recovery program. #toxics #mercury #autotoxicsproject #automanufacturing #mercuryswitch #cars
54:42 - 57:20
Charles talks about how the Clean Car Campaign got started to focus on car emissions and how, being a car manufacturing state, they had to take a different angle and work with the UAW on the issue to make sure it was good for workers too. #CleanCarCampaign #emissions #toxics #fuelstandards #UAW #automanufacturing #cars
59:01 - 1:00:46
Charles discusses the Green Machines Tour, the EC's regional effort to educate communities on fuel economy standards that could be good for auto workers too. This work, combined with other advocacy, led to the 2007 Federal Energy Act update including new fuel economy standards. #fueleconomy #GreenMachinesTour #toxics #CleanCarCampaign