- Just ahead on "This American Land," why should your address dictate how clean your air is or what gets dumped in your front yard?

- And we find sofas and refrigerators, all in one pile.

It's overwhelming.

- We'll see how the father of environmental justice is inspiring a new generation for the hard work still ahead.

- This is a 10-degree angle.

- These young people spend their weekends with wind tunnels and turbine blades on a fast track toward renewable energy.

Getting the big picture from above can help scientists focus their conservation efforts.

We are in high gear and ready for takeoff for "This American Land."

[dynamic music] ♪ ♪ - Hey, everybody.

Welcome to "This American Land."

I'm your host, Ed Arnett.

And on many of our shows, you'll see public lands and wide-open spaces and meet dedicated people working to conserve our natural resources and abundant green spaces.

America's big cities also have priceless lands, but many residents do not have equal access to safe and welcoming places for their families.

Marsha Walton takes us to Houston to meet some of the people working for environmental justice.

It's a fairness that benefits all of us, wherever we call home.

[truck beeping] - Clearing out an illegal dump site in Houston, Texas.

Trash is one of those things that you don't think about it until it's not picked up.

- And sometimes we find 200 tires on the side of the road.

And you find sofas and refrigerators, all in one pile.

It's overwhelming to your senses because-- not just the smell but the fact that they have reckless disregard for their community.

- Huey Wilson has been forced to think about trash a lot, pile after pile, year after year.

So have many people in the city's Black, brown, and poorer neighborhoods.

It's not just trash.

America's fourth largest city has hundreds of oil, gas, and petrochemical plants and toxic air from traffic and trains.

- We have a lack of enforcement, which causes not only grief and heartache for me, but certainly for my neighbors.

And one of the problems that we have is illegal dumping.

- Environmental justice embraces the principle that all people and communities are entitled to equal protection of environmental laws, housing, transportation, food, and water, health.

- Texas Southern University is home to sociologist Robert Bullard.

He's recognized globally as the father of environmental justice.

- Environmental justice really is about having communities that are much cleaner, sustainable, and healthier.

And what we see is, having facts, data, the science, and information that's irrefutable, it's still not enough to convince some people.

- How did this justice movement start?

In the 1970s, Houston decided to build a landfill in a Black, middle class suburb.

Bullard shared with his current students how the fight to stop that dump unfolded in 1979.

- And I told my students, we have a research project.

And it was about locating all the landfills and incinerators and garbage dumps in Houston and put it on a map.

And what we found is that five out of five of the city-owned landfills, six out of eight of the city-owned incinerators, and three out of four of the privately-owned landfills were in Black neighborhoods.

So from the 1930s up until 1978, 82% of all the garbage was dumped in Black Houston.

Now, that's not random.

Blacks only made up 25% of the population.

There were very few people who believed the data, but most people in the community understood it.

We lost in court, but we basically set a course for environmental justice research.

- Bullard and hundreds of community warriors have been fighting back ever since.

Wilson worked with the nonprofit Lone Star Legal to make illegal dumping a civil rights case.

They won.

- And we saw over and over again in communities that look like ours, these communities, that illegal dumping sits for months.

- The remedy, a new effort called One Clean Houston.

Mark Wilfalk is Houston's director of solid waste.

- When I first arrived to Houston, it would take us 40 days, you know, to respond to a typical complaint.

Now we've gotten that down to 14.

- There's now more money, equipment, surveillance cameras, and mobile apps-- in short, some clout.

- We actually added code enforcement officers to our department.

So now that gives us the opportunity to go out and investigate where some of these illegal dumping occurrences are happening.

It turned out to be a very good deterrent.

[light music] - This is the actual monitor, which is just this little box here.

- A powerful tool for groups like Air Alliance Houston, a network of air monitors to measure toxins.

- We're getting our own data because the problem has always been, in the past, it's always been our word against theirs.

I don't want to move because I grew up here, and I love my city.

But at the same time, for my health's sake and for my daughter's-- you know, for her to have me a couple more years, I'm having to make the tough decision that I might have to.

- Maricela Serna became an activist to protect her kids and grandkids.

- I agree to have the monitor because I think that gives us the power to know what's going on.

We can alert people through social media how high the concentration is.

- Your health, the status of your health shouldn't depend on your zip code.

It shouldn't.

- Epidemiologist Inyang Uwak tackles the public health impacts of air pollution, helping residents speak out for clean air.

- For those that are exposed to this on a daily basis, this is long-term exposure we're talking about now, and that would come with more chronic symptoms.

You will see things like increased susceptibility to respiratory infections, pneumonia.

Scientific studies have clearly shown, you know, the correlation with exposure to air pollution and human health effects, adverse human health effects.

- Millennials, Gen Xers, and Zoomers, they have the capacity and the knowledge and the skills and definitely the use of technology to transform a lot of the work that we're doing.

- It kind of changed my trajectory for my career because I'm a computer science major.

So I know for sure, like, the world is shifting towards technology.

And I want to work somewhere in, like, software development or data science.

- But another thing about Dr. Bullard is, he's very passionate about the work that he does.

And him being so passionate, that actually motivated us to continue on with this program to do more to fight for our community like he fights for his.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ - Professor Denae King and her students advise neglected communities.

- So here in Houston, we have a 52-mile petrochemical complex.

And so it takes you from the Houston Ship Channel out into the Gulf of Mexico.

There are at least 100 petrochemical facilities all producing various chemicals such as benzene, toluene, ethylene oxide.

Lots of these contaminants cause cancer.

Yeah, it is a strong smell today, so we won't stay out long.

It gives you a headache.

We recognize here in Houston, we make our money off of oil and gas.

Many of those communities are just asking that we spend time really thinking about cleaner technologies and a way for us to still benefit from oil and gas in a way that it's not so harmful.

- Students help neighborhoods unlock their power with science and data.

The Bullard Center is now overseeing $50 million in EPA grants to fight environmental injustices, money that could help neighborhoods like Houston Gardens improve their property values and let their kids play outside.

- We would definitely take some of that money and try to improve our green space areas and try to make them more inviting.

- The idea of building a center, something that can attract resources, good talent, faculty, students, postdoctoral fellows, I think we can say that this was my dream, and it's reality now.

[light music] - Whether they'll be living in a crowded city or in a colony on the moon, the next generation has got to get renewable energy right.

Across the country, young people are mixing creativity and fun with their math and science.

Let's go to Virginia to pick up on some of the innovations in the KidWind Challenge.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ - Good morning, folks.

Today we're going to pick back up and work on modifying your KidWind blades, right, as we move forward towards the competition.

The students here are grades 11 and 12, and we're preparing for the regional KidWind Challenge next month.

[whirring] Right now, they're working on initial designs of turbine blades, which is everything from the blade shape, blade pitch.

Going the wrong direction.

- Again?

- Yes.

This year with this is, we've been able to add a quantitative element.

They're not only going through the engineering design process, and they're prototyping and building prototypes and then going back and redesigning and testing them again.

We're collecting data.

Now we're getting data.

You want to try to move this curve up.

They're creating power curves, which you would do also for wind turbines in the real world.

Here we go.

- Look at it go.

- It's actually pretty good.

- Yeah, it's-- - Wait, Margaret.

- It's actually really good.

- Look at it, Margaret.

- It actually produces energy?

- Yeah.

- That's crazy.

- And the great thing about it is that it's a lot of introductions to new things related to renewable energy that are difficult to fit into the classroom otherwise.

It's a great project-based learning experience.

- And we're like, OK, let's have a theme.

What screams "sustainable" to you?

And we were like, green.

So we made some green leaves.

- They get to create something, which is so empowering, and then be able to test it and see what energy is being made.

- Mm.

[laughter] - They're having fun, and they don't know they're learning until after the fact.

- The presentation matters at the competition, so have that kind of an explanation ready, right?

I mean, what if turbine blades that you saw along the highway were prettier than they are, right?

- The goal of the KidWind program is really to engage those students with a curious mind in concepts in renewable energy.

My name is Remy Pangle.

I work at James Madison University in the Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Energy.

And I also lead the Virginia KidWind Challenge coordination.

KidWind came about because the founder was a middle school teacher.

And he was trying to teach about wind energy in his classroom and realized that there was nothing good out there.

So he quit his job and then started manufacturing real good, hands-on manipulatives to be able to teach about wind energy.

- There we go.

- The KidWind Challenge is in a lot of classrooms all over the country.

- There's play in the gears, right?

They jiggle a bit.

- We can provide students with an educational base to be more informed as they go forward, be that as a citizen who might have to make a vote on if they want a solar farm in their backyard or if they're making educational decisions about careers going into renewable energy.

And then they host this amazing, culminating experience called the KidWind Challenge.

The KidWind Challenge is a competition for 4th through 12th graders, and they get to apply all those great engineering design skills that they learn in the classroom to something real, like building a wind turbine or powering something with solar.

- This is a makerspace in Leesburg.

- Busy day today.

So we're, I think, one month out from our regional competition.

- We meet every Sunday down here for three hours.

There's a team of six students.

And we're doing a solar project this year.

- For our project, we were thinking about off-the-grid living and... - The students actually selected it.

This was all their idea, is a solar powered desalinator.

So they want to take solar panels and desalinate water.

It's a problem that they wanted to solve.

- This is a 5 volt, 5 watt solar panel that we have that we're going to be using for the competition.

- So today, we've got some people coding and figuring out how it's going to work.

- We are working towards solving a very important problem for our generation.

- This project aims to use seawater to make clean, usable water... - We've got some people figuring out a presentation because they have to give a presentation to the judges.

- We don't really have that much time in the judging room, so we're going to have to get through it efficiently.

- We got a wooden traditional Hawaiian design.

- We've got some people making it pretty because one of the actual things is aesthetics as well.

It has to work, but it also has to look OK. - I am interested in engineering and solar power.

- Oh, my gosh.

We could use blue.

- OK. - [laughs] - You know, it's super important to me to see students getting into STEM, and I think renewable energy is such a great way to help these learners figure out what their next steps in life are going to be.

I work at NASA headquarters in the science mission directorate.

It's so important for us on Earth that we're focusing on renewable energy, not only for the future of humanity but, you know, when we're looking at expanding space exploration and going to other planets, it's all off-the-grid living, right?

There's no Starbucks on the moon.

For these students, there's no world where we're not focusing on renewable energy.

- This is a very personal topic for me.

My daughter, who's ten now and in fourth grade, has been coming to KidWind Challenges with me since she was months old.

She has found a team, and she's competing for the first time this year.

And she's into it.

[bright music] - All right, so we're going to learn about gears and gear ratios.

As the wind goes across... - Today, we were introducing what would happen if we put a gearbox on our wind turbine.

How would that change the data that we have been seeing thus far?

[light music] ♪ ♪ - This is a 10-degree angle.

- It'll be great.

See?

There it goes.

- Yay!

[clapping] - Everybody else's power was, like, 10 to 20, and hers is, like, at 60.

- Yeah!

- The main point of this is the scientific process, is to design and to make and test out, think about how you change variables.

And then they need to be able to present that information.

- I hope that the judges like our blades and, like, that they perform well.

- I'm looking forward to seeing everybody else's wind turbines and how they do and also eating the lunch.

- I'm going to be collecting data on how fast and how much electricity these will make.

- And so what I see from day one to when we're ready to go to the challenge is a huge confidence.

They get very confident about what they're doing, and they get very excited.

Wow.

- Good job.

- I want to be an engineer because I really like building things.

- You know what?

These kids are our future, OK?

They're the ones that are going to really have to make some dramatic changes in the way that we produce energy.

- Ready?

♪ ♪ - Most environmental efforts happen right here on the ground or on the water, but some conservation is best done with a bird's-eye view.

Brad Hicks takes to the air to show us how scientists, photographers, journalists, and policymakers are getting to see nature from a whole new perspective.

- At 1,500 feet... - What a shot.

- Mississippi River photographer and storyteller Steve Marking might as well be on cloud nine.

- Just giddy with excitement.

[upbeat music] - He's on his first flight with LightHawk, a nonprofit that matches conservation missions with 250 volunteer pilots across North America.

- Ah, this is a dream come true for a storyteller on the river.

[camera shutter clicking] - The flight is helping him document changes along the river by giving him a view he's never had before.

- Up here, we can really see the difference between what the river used to be and what it is.

We're able to see down into these places that even a boat can't get to.

- 157 Delta Foxtrot, LaCrosse tower.

How do you hear?

- Loud and clear now.

Thank you.

- The pilots, like retired 777 captain Susan Schwaab from Wisconsin, are highly vetted and all volunteer.

They donate their time, their skill, their aircraft, and fuel.

- Right before I retired from United, I was looking for ways to do some flying that had a purpose that I believed in.

- Across the board for our pilots, not only obviously do they know aviation extremely well, but they actually know a great deal about the landscapes that they fly over.

So even if you're a conservation professional, you often end up learning things from them that you might not have known.

- We work closely with our conservation partners to make sure that each mission LightHawk partners on has a real impact in moving the conservation needle.

[light music] - OK, let me have my passengers for a minute.

- Volunteer pilot Will Worthington from Arizona is about to help two scientists move that needle over the Colorado River Delta in Mexico.

Gabriela Caloca Michel, a wetlands specialist with the environmental group Pronatura Noroeste, wants to assess how water is flowing through the delta.

- It's amazing to have this opportunity to see in a different perspective.

- Cornell ornithologist Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta is eager to see how bird habitats he's helped rebuild are looking for the upcoming migration.

- We can see how restoration is working.

We are very thankful to LightHawk.

- LightHawk flights cover a wide range of important missions-- for example, monitoring critical habitats, transporting endangered species, collecting data for climate resilience, and exploring the impact of industry on the environment.

- We're helping just in a small way, but we're helping in a way that seems to be meaningful.

- And one thing that struck me at the end of each flight was, the pilots seemed just as excited as the passengers.

- It's really fun.

And I also love to hear the excitement.

- This is beautiful.

- I'm seeing things that I've never seen before either, so I love it.

- That makes me feel good, when I can tell that they really, really got a kick out of what we did today.

- South Carolina's Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge is growing.

Development and sea level rise are posing threats to these islands near Charleston.

The priceless salt marsh habitat is a critical breeding ground for dozens of migratory shorebirds.

The U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service is adding to this coastal treasure, bringing more wetland habitat for birds and more recreation opportunities for visitors.

The $5 million funding for the new acquisition comes from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.

It's primarily from the sale of duck stamps purchased by hunters and wildlife lovers.

Let's take you to this bird lover's paradise to meet some of the people working so hard to safeguard these wetlands.

[laughter] - We're going to Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, as you see, this orange boundary.

Welcome aboard.

Watch your head getting on.

- This is one of the most amazing places on Earth.

- One of the most important bird nesting grounds on the East Coast of the United States.

- It's a great place for fishing, see tons of wildlife out here, birdwatching, outdoor recreation.

- We'll be having our adventure in the southwestern end of the refuge today, specifically on Bulls Island.

- Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge is a coastal complex where the land meets the sea.

We also have an incredible national forest just west of us, the Francis Marion National Forest.

- Cape Romain is just north of Charleston, South Carolina, and it's a remarkable estuarine system where longleaf pine meets the sound and the ocean.

[upbeat music playing] - [vocalizing] ♪ ♪ - We have one of the only class I wilderness systems on the East Coast.

So we're trying to recognize what we have and to preserve it and make it better amongst the many different development pressures that are saturating our area right now.

My name is Eddie White.

I'm the founder of Awendaw Green.

How's everybody doing out there?

[cheers and applause] Very good.

[bluegrass music] - ♪ Pack it in from the fields ♪ ♪ We take it down to the store ♪ - Awendaw Green is an original music showcase.

We started about ten years ago with help from the guys in Hootie & the Blowfish, and we connect the community through original music.

- I'm definitely concerned about the growth in the Charleston area, and I think everybody who lives here is.

My name is Brooks Geer.

I'm a co-owner of Sewee Outpost in Awendaw, South Carolina.

- Hey, how are you?

[cash register chiming] - Business wise, it's great.

I mean, we're selling more things.

But quality of life wise is definitely lessening each day that 30 people move here.

It makes enjoying the outdoors a little more difficult because they're shrinking.

And then when you actually go to access them, it's a little harder.

- Good morning!

- Good morning.

- A lot of times, people think of land protection as simply protecting something that's not for anybody to use.

And that's certainly not what land and water conservation is about.

I mean, this serves as an amazing place for us to bring thousands of children every year.

I'm Grace Gasper, and I'm executive director of Friends of Coastal South Carolina.

- The phosphate looks like it's about 0.0.

So we have a science learning and environmental stewardship program called Earth Stewards.

It's a way children can bring their science lessons outdoor.

- So, gang, welcome to the Boneyard Beach.

Over a long span of time, what was once maritime forest becomes seashore.

With rising water levels and changing ecosystems and massive habitat changes, the national wildlife refuges are going to need to have the funds to extend their borders inland.

So this is the sabal palmetto tree.

Can take an awful lot of wind, the way they bend and flex.

And one of their sort of the ways they do business is, they hold hands underground.

And when they grow together like that, they are invested in a similar mission statement.

They hold each other up.

Our friends group for the national wildlife refuge, the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Department of the Interior, the Nature Conservancy, any one of them standing alone doesn't really have a chance to make a difference.

But them standing together and holding hands like this, that's the business plan that stands a chance to work.

We could do it.

Together, we could do it.

- Now a look at some stories from our next show.

- Gray wolves are back in Colorado, and there's a genuine attempt at coexistence, not conflict.

- Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time with more stories about our public lands and the people working to conserve them.

- You can always watch us on PBS Passport.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪