Climate Changers (Ryan Flahive)

David Fenton is the author of the new book The Activist’s Media Handbook: Lessons from 50 Years as a Progressive Agitator. David earned the moniker “the Robin Hood of Public Relations” from The National Journal for creating the first PR agency for social change organizations to adopt corporate PR tactics to win major victories for freedom, democracy, and the environment. Through his firm, Fenton, he has spear-headed history- making activism, including the campaigns to free Nelson Mandela and end apartheid in the late 1980s, the No-Nukes Concerts in 1979 with Bruce Springsteen, banning fracking, and legalizing mariuana. He's now working exclusively on bipartisan efforts to address the climate crisis, co-founding organizations like Families for a Future and Science Moms.

One of nature's most remarkable and inspiring animals with a long history of both commercial and sports fishing all over the Northern Atlantic and Pacific, salmon are threatened by everything from deforestation, to climate change and dams. If the salmon can survive than there is hope for the planet. In what he says is the most important piece of environmental writing in his long and award-winning career, Mark Kurlansky, best-selling author of Salt and Cod, The Big Oyster, 1968, and Milk, among many others, employs his signature multi-century storytelling and compelling attention to detail to chronicle the harrowing yet awe-inspiring life cycle of salmon. Kurlansky’s research shows that all over the world these fish, uniquely connected to both marine and terrestrial ecology as well as fresh and salt water, are a natural barometer for the health of the planet. He documents that for centuries man’s greatest assaults on nature, from overfishing to dams, from hatcheries to fish farms, from industrial pollution to the ravages of climate change, are evidenced in the sensitive life cycle of salmon. Kurlansky’s insightful conclusion is that the only way to save salmon is to save the planet and, at the same time, the only way to save the planet is to save the mighty, heroic salmon.

Jan Skjoldhammer is the Founder and CEO of Novige AB, a wave energy developer that uses ocean waves to generate electricity. Jan has been an officer, captain, instructor and display pilot with a well-developed technical side, having built a race car in his youth, among many other projects. He is a natural-born entrepreneur with a tireless ambition and an environmental awareness that has led him to make a significant positive impact on the world and mitigate the climate change. Skjoldhammer's entrepreneurial endeavor in property development laid the monetary foundation of NoviOcean in 2016, with early retirement from his long-time career at SAS Airlines. Today, Jan leads a team of like-minded individuals who also strive towards saving the climate with profitable and renewable wave energy technology.

Learn more about MOTE Marine Laboratory & Aquarium: https://mote.org/

Learn more about Enzymedica: https://enzymedica.com/

There’s a Facebook Live tour of the facility in this video: https://www.facebook.com/Enzymedica/videos/535753020661110/UzpfSTQ4Mjg3MTY2NjQ0OjEwMTU3MzU2NDE2OTQ2NjQ1/

Helen Lin has worked across four continents (Asia, Africa, Europe, N. America) merging and investing in companies, leading the digital transformation of multinational banking operations, and designing products to serve base of the pyramid customers (FINCA Impact Finance).

Andrea is back for his second episode of Climate Changers. In this conversation he describes what to expect and why he is optimistic about the potential impact of the upcoming COP 28 in the UAE on climate, gender equality and the global economy.

In this episode, we speak with Sarah Currie-Halpern from Think Zero LLC. Sarah and her team help businesses transform waste into valuable resources, exceeding environmental regulations and driving the circular economy. We'll discuss the challenges of waste management, the importance of strategic planning and implementation, and how Sarah's expertise as a TRUE Zero Waste Advisor guides their work towards a more sustainable future.

Walden (1854) defined American environmentalism. A Sand County Almanac (1949) reinvented the field of conservation. Silent Spring (1962) alerted the world to persistent environmental toxins. The Ecology of Commerce (1994) offered a new vision for sustainable economies. Into this lineage, and at the eleventh hour of global environmental struggle, comes TERRIBLE BEAUTY: Reckoning with Climate Complicity and Rediscovering Our Soul, an expose on the failure of modern environmental movement and a roadmap for a new environmentalism in a world headed towards catastrophe. But TERRIBLE BEAUTY is less a climate polemic or environmental history and more a love letter to the world, an homage to beauty and fun, and a tribute to human aspiration and potential. Harvard Professor Naomi Oreskes called it “weirdly fun and compelling.” Perhaps the world’s leading environmentalist, Bill McKibben, said that “nobody has more credibility” on the topic of sustainable business than author Auden Schendler. Obama’s climate czar and former EPA head said that reading TERRIBLE BEAUTY was like “picking the lock on someone’s personal diary.” This isn’t your standard climate book. It starts with friends in the Utah desert chasing a dust devil, trying to get inside it. The first chapter is partly about the art of wood chopping—though it also covers topics as varied as garden gnomes, Kurt Vonnegut, and the Arab Spring. There are many Springsteen quotes, references to Jack Kerouac, and at least once mention of the band “Florence and the Machine.” Buckle up—this is a wholly different animal than any environmental book you’ve ever read. TERRIBLE BEAUTY posits that the modern environmental movement—which in recent decades has been based in free market ideologies—has failed abjectly. Carbon emissions—and their associated superstorms, fires, and droughts—increase ever year. Yet the environmental community continues to pursue token solutions and half measures— performative actions like setting carbon targets or buying offsets—that don’t come close to a fix. They—and the “green” corporations that pledge climate salvation—are following a playbook that could have been written by the fossil fuel industry. The hard truth is that environmentalists themselves have become complicit with a carbon economy, and unless something changes, our future includes more than 4C warming over preindustrial times. Schendler tells the story of environmentalism’s failure and America’s way out more in stories than in facts, though the book is replete with those. But, as it makes clear, the way to understand what we have to lose, and the opportunity ahead, is to understand what makes us human: teenagers playing baseball above the Lincoln tunnel in the polluted 70s; a “turtle boil” on Hatteras Island with family; or floating down the Green River with a friend twenty years your senior. We’ve badly failed in the climate fight using technical means; our politics have lacked ambition and been co-opted by the enemy. What we need to solve climate change is a movement of people, like revolutions through the ages. The only way to get to massive social change is through the heart. TERRIBLE BEAUTY asks and answers the famous questions posed by French painter Gauguin: “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?” in deeply human, inspiring, and often hilarious ways. Readers will never look at their lives the same again.

Michael Terrell is Director of Energy at Google and in this interview he shares how Google is using it's unique capabilities and scale to drive the transformation of the global energy system. Google already offsets it's energy use but is now engaging in a moonshot project to draw clean carbon-free energy from the grid 24/7 every day of the year.

Mike Kuby teaches Geography at Arizona State University.  In this episode we discuss his research into transportation, energy and optimal locations for hydrogen and electric fueling stations as we build a new energy transportation infrastructure.  In a country where petroleum fueling stations are ubiquitous, where will should we place the first alternate fuel refueling stations?  Rather than just following the patterns of the existing infrastructure, Mike has used research into driver behavior to find the locations for battery and fuel cell stations that will build a network that can serve the most vehicles most effectively.

Raviv Turner is a serial big data and AI entrepreneur and the founding member of the Nature Tech Collective, a non-profit coalition of nature tech companies covering satellite imaging, drones, IoT, LIDAR, eDNA, bio-acoustics and other tech that helps financial institutions and corporations measure, report and verify their nature-related impact claims and disclosures, to fight greenwashing and accelerate investment in nature-based solutions. Raviv also sits on the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) nature data working group. He speaks on the topics of biodiversity ESG, natural capital, spatial finance, and digital MRV.

Join us for a powerful conversation with Dr. Jonathan Foley, a scientist whose work is shaping the future of our planet. We discuss his impactful research on climate change, food security, and global sustainability, and how his insights are translated into real-world solutions. Learn from a leading voice who advises governments and organizations worldwide and has dedicated his career to understanding and protecting our natural world. Get ready to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges we face and the hopeful possibilities for a sustainable future.

Over the last decade Chris was instrumental in developing the LSX and GSX Module and Racking System for Lumos Solar, disruptive solar technologies that have changed the way home and business owners perceive solar energy. His innovations in solar product development have married elements of traditional solar with BIPV to create truly unique solar solutions that add architectural benefits to any solar installation. Today he is focused on product development across several industries and strives to help companies develop their products through his consulting business SolMotiv Design. Chris is also deeply involved with integrating the solar and building industries through his work with the Architectural Solar Association (ASA).

Learn more about Rich's "Dirt (soil) Under Your Nails Heuristic"

Learn more about Desert Mountain Grass-Fed Beef and Double Oarlock Ranch

Learn more about Origin Milk: https://www.originmilk.com/sustainability/

Jo is an architect specialized in green home design and passive solar strategies. That means, the things you can do to your house that don't cost money running them (unlike your aircon).

You can find out more about Jo's projects here: 

https://maven.com/jopetroni/climateproof 

https://thecarbonalmanac.org/connect-the-dots 

https://permarchitecture.net/ 

https://jopetroni.substack.com/

 

Learn more about Beetcoin and buy the book: https://beetcoin.org

Calls to Action

Watch Beth's TEDx talk on climate crisis courage: https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_hartman_climate_crisis_courage

Learn more about Project Drawdown: https://www.drawdown.org/

Learn more about the Rocky Mountain Institute: https://rmi.org/

 

Call to Action and Follow-Up

Here are two recent commentaries from Chip:

https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/09/want-to-save-the-planet-eat-more-plants/

https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/09/humanity-has-entered-a-period-of-extraordinary-transformation/

 What was once considered unusual weather is now becoming standard because we have disrupted the jet stream by arctic amplification: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/2019/09/28/historic-snow-storm-in-the-west-plus-a-heat-wave-in-the-east-whats-going-on/#.XZKHIedKg6g

And and in a prelude to next week's interview, where we will get an update on the recent climate action summit at the United Nations: https://unfccc.int/

"The cheapest and most efficient kW of electricity is the one you don't use." -Bob Hinkle Bob established Metrus in 2009 and created the Efficiency Services Agreement (ESA) and Sustainable Energy Services Agreement (SESA) that are the contractual backbone of financing large-scale energy efficiency retrofit and renewable energy projects. Bob helped develop and grow the Energy as a Service market which is currently a $5.4 billion industry. He has developed and implemented over $500 million of large-scale energy efficiency projects and clean energy investment programs in the U.S. and in emerging global markets for utilities, major energy end-users, government agencies, export credit agencies and international donors.

Learn more about the Ecological Futures Group: https://ecologicalfutures.com/

Learn more about PLNT Burger: https://www.plntburger.com/

Learn more about Eat the Change: https://eatthechange.org/

 

Learn more about Flowater: https://www.drinkflowater.com/

 

Eric Davidson is an ecologist, soil scientist, and biogeochemist whose research career has focused on how human changes to the land affect carbon and nitrogen in the soil, water, and air. He is working as a science advisor to the Bureau of Environmental Quality at the U.S. Department of State, where he is helping scope out the USG position on a new international agreement on plastic waste.

In his new book, Science for a Green New Deal, Davidson explains for a broad audience how to employ exciting technologies, from carbon sequestration to renewable energy, and how scientists, farmers, CEOs, renewable energy advocates, teachers, and investors must work in tandem to tackle humanity’s greatest challenge.

Each chapter ends with science-backed recommendations to meet the stated goals of the Green New Deal. Davidson’s integrated approach to climate solutions explains:

• why neither environmental quality, economic prosperity, nor social justice can be dealt with independently
• how the cost of deep decarbonization of the energy sector is more affordable than you think
• how regenerative agriculture can help us meet the challenges of feeding 10-12 billion people later this century, while minimizing environmental impact
• how the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change share many features, including their global scope, disproportionately high impacts on the poor and people of color, and a proliferation of misinformation that has led to denial by many despite strong scientific evidence

Davidson covers all of this with clarity that makes his book readily approachable to the non-scientist. He weaves in engaging stories, often using his own life experience—from his childhood in Montana, to his days as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, to conducting research on deforestation in Brazil, to undergoing open-heart surgery.

Kristin Ohlson's writing has appeared in NYT, Orion, Discover, Gourmet, Oprah, and many other publications. Her magazine work has been anthologized in Best American Science Writing and Best American Science Writing. Los Angeles Times called The Soil Will Save Us “a hopeful book and a necessary one...a fast-paced and entertaining shot across the bow of mainstream thinking about land use.” Sweet in Tooth and Claw is a deeply hopeful book for the climate crisis, showing real solutions from a wide-ranging set of case studies and interviews. For example, one chapter looks at how changed ranching practices in northeast Nevada are transforming desert into wetlands, showing it's possible to rehydrate the west. In another, Ohlson writes about a community trying to reclaim a river in the Bronx, which was diverted to the sewer. Residents there are working to restore it and the natural environment. Dozens of other examples throughout the book show how changing our thought patterns on nature will also help us become more generous and nurturing with each other.

Thomas Hochman (@thomashochman) is a Fellow at Citizens’ Climate Lobby. His work has been featured in The National Interest, The Washington Examiner, and a number of other outlets.

Recently named one of “Time 100 Most Influential Companies of 2023,” Patagonia has been widely regarded over the years for its ground-breaking environmental and social practices. The company that pioneered corporate responsibility is now in its 50th year and has plans to thrive responsibly for another fifty. The Future of the Responsible Company: What We’ve Learned from Patagonia’s First 50 Years reveals how businesses and nonprofits can (and should) prioritize purpose over profit to restore and protect our home planet. Written by Vincent Stanley, Patagonia's Director of Philosophy (also one of the company's original employees), with Yvon Chouinard, founder and former owner of Patagonia, the book challenges business owners and leaders to rethink their business in a time of cultural and climate chaos. The advice is simple, but powerful: reduce your environmental footprint (and its skyrocketing cost), make legitimate products that last, reclaim deep knowledge of your business and its supply chain to make the most of opportunities in the years to come, and earn the trust you’ll need by treating your workers, customers, and communities with respect.

Tom Cech is an award winning conservationist and Director of the One World One Water Institute at Metropolitan State University in Denver.  He is a prolific author and teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses and creates water-oriented content and curricula for K-12 and lifelong learners.  In this episode we discuss water conservation and activism as well as glacial retreat, cyclical droughts in the west, desalination and the use of new technologies to deliver clean water to refugee camps.

Call to Action

10 ways to conserve water at home

EPA guidelines to protect water resources

Help provide clean water to communities around the globe

Calls to Action

Learn more about Max's newest book, published by Cambridge University Press: Creative (Climate) Communications

Max is a Project Leader for Inside the Greenhouse, a multidisciplinary team that uses creative framing and storytelling of issues surrounding climate change through video, theatre, dance, and writing to connect a wider audience to the deep and pressing need to address climate change.

Aniya Butler is a 18 year old spoken word poet, published author, and youth organizer with Youth Vs. Apocalypse (YVA) from Oakland, California. Within YVA, she leads the Hip Hop & Climate Justice Team, writing workshops, and organizes community events that mobilizes youth throughout the Bay Area to learn creative writing skills and use their creative writing skills to target power holders and demand action. Through her poetry and organizing, she demands immediate and radical action to dismantle the foundational systems of oppression that are responsible for the climate crisis. Aniya believes through unity, resistance, and creativity we can rebuild a world where every living thing is allowed to thrive.

Avery Roslansky is a climate activist from San Francisco, California, studying architecture at UC Berkeley. Her work in climate activism ranges from public policy to aquatic insect research, and she's enthusiastic about doing whatever she can to stop the crisis. Currently, she is working on building mycelium-engineered living materials to replace conventional building materials that are harmful to the environment. When she's not working on school or research, she loves to hike, play guitar, or visit the beach.

Learn more about Sodexo's commitment to responsible sourcing :https://www.sodexo.com/home/positive-impact/sustainability/responsible-sourcing.html

 

 

What is Regenerative Organic: https://www.patagoniaprovisions.com/pages/regenerative-organic-agriculture

Learn more about the ROC certification: https://regenorganic.org/

 

Learn more about Nori:  https://nori.com/

Calls to Action

Learn more about Wunder Capital: https://www.wundercapital.com/about

Listen to an interview with Dave about how to use first principles to build an intentional career in clean energy: https://blog.wundercapital.com/2019/02/26/gtm/

Learn more about the challenges and opportunities for C&I solar projects to have an impact on curbing carbon emissions: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/10/20/the-weekend-read-ci-challenges-and-innovations/

 

 

 

Richard Mori is the Co-Founder and CEO of Xpower, a company that is focused on energy and internet access in the developing world. Xpower is also the parent company to MeshPower, which brings clean electricity to rural villages in Rwanda, using solar microgrids that power homes and empower economic development.

Call to Action

Read more about Auden's philosophy that climate activism is a daily practice: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/06/opinion/sunday/climate-change-global-warming.html

Learn more about POW (Protect Our Winters): https://protectourwinters.org/

Here are Aspen Ski Resort's Guiding Principles: https://www.aspensnowmass.com/we-are-different/guiding-principles

Trey Hill is CEO of Harborview Farms, a grain operation producing corn, wheat, and soybeans with a focus on sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship. Harborview Farms is working to bring some game-changing new ideas, including carbon sequestration, to farming. How? By approaching farming as a creative endeavor, exploring new techniques, and connecting dots in new ways that others aren’t willing to try.

Learn more about Gradable Carbon: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005662/en/Gradable%E2%84%A2-Launches-Gradable-Carbon-to-Give-Farmers-More-Control-of-Credits

 

 

To learn more, visit Zero Foodprint

To learn more about Restore Colorado, visit: https://www.zerofoodprint.org/restorecolorado

See Chef Daniel Asher's video endorsement of Restore Colorado. 

 

Buy In This Together from Amazon HERE

Calls to Action

Read Kelsey's recent editorial in the Daily Camera: https://www.timescall.com/2020/02/15/kelsey-grant-christianity-and-climate-change/

Learn more about the Citizen's Climate Lobby: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/

 

 

Lauren Gropper is tackling the problem of single-use plastic waste by replacing petroleum based plastics with plastic made from plants. Repurpose's products range from disposable plates and cups to garbage bags and straws -- all of which are made entirely from plants using upcycled materials such as eucalyptus, sugarcane pulp, and wood. They are totally non-toxic and fully degradable. Lauren aims to make Repurpose the go-to for disposable tableware in general, taking down brands like Solo and Hefty which are responsible for huge amounts of plastic pollution.

Victoria Brunner is the co-founder of FATTE Bikes, the first ebike company to operate in Denver, and one of just a few ebike companies to actually build their ebikes in the U.S.A. Victoria and her partner Kenny learned early on that if ebikes are built overseas, they just aren't as well put together as when they do it themselves in their factory. By building their ebikes in the U.S.A, they are able offer more color options, better quality paint and assembly, more customization than anyone. This makes FattE-Bikes the most customizable ebike brand in the world. While they use premium globally-sourced ebike components, FATTE strives to source locally, create local jobs, and most importantly, provide industry-leading quality control and customer care.

In this episode, Jane is interviewed by students at Whittier Elementary School in Boulder Colorado.  Jane talks about her early work with Chimpanzees and introduces them to Roots & Shoots a global movement of youth who are empowered to use their voice and actions to make compassionate decisions, influencing and leading change in their communities.  The students at Whittier have selected to research the Red Panda and are going to focus on how to protect this endangered animal and it's habitat.

Find out more about Roots and Shoots: https://www.rootsandshoots.org/about-us/

 

Learn more about Clean Energy for Biden: https://www.cleanenergyforbiden.com/

 

Call to Action:

Learn more about POW: https://protectourwinters.org/

Climate Activist's Roadmap: https://protectourwinters.org/climate-activists-roadmap/

POW's guide to discussing climate change during the holidays: https://protectourwinters.org/how-to-talk-climate-with-your-uncle-at-thanksgiving/

Calls To Action

Find your local chapter of the Citizens' Climate Lobby: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/about-ccl/chapters/

Learn more about the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/energy-innovation-and-carbon-dividend-act/

 

Heres the link to the 24 Hours of Reality

Link for Climate Reality Project's Statement on Racial Justice

Learn More about Renewwest: https://www.renewwest.com/

Learn More about Aclymate: https://aclymate.com/

Call to Action

Visit the Akimbo Workshops: https://akimbo.com/

Calls to Action

Learn more about 350.org

Read Bill's books: http://billmckibben.com/books.html

Aishani Garg is a senior in high school and the co-chair of environmental youth organization BAYCS. She is passionate about youth organizing and bringing people together to fight for a common cause. Aishani is also the host of an environmental career podcast and launched a green career curriculum at her school, and hopes to encourage more high school students to pursue green careers after college. Listen to her podcast here: https://www.theclimatecareerkit.com

Brad Liski is a social entrepreneur and the CEO of British Columbia-based Tru Earth, a global household cleaning product company focused on biodegradability and the elimination of waste. The company is one of several founded in his lifetime, but the first that inspires him to wake up every morning excited to make a difference. Liski is a member of the Board of the Salish Sea Research & Education Society and is passionate about the environment and causing disruption for the betterment of the planet. He has also built a strong partnership between Tru Earth and the global conservation organization, Ocean Wise. Together, the two organizations have founded the American Shoreline Clean-up Program to encourage others to get involved in the fight to save the oceans and the planet. In addition, Liski is a leader in positioning companies and brands for dynamic growth and profitable expansion; he has a long and verifiable record of success leading start-up, high growth, acquisition, merger and receivership operations. Liski believes that the best thing we can do to save the planet is to educate young people. He lives out this passion as a mentor at Entrepreneurship @ University of British Columbia focusing on climate solutions. Liski was recently named a Sustainability Leader by Canada’s Clean50 for 2022. As the leader in the Retail Product category, he has been recognized for making the most significant impact in helping Canada reach our climate targets. Other awards Liski and Tru Earth have received include B.C.’s CEO of the year, B.C.’s Top Exporter of the Year, and Best Eco-Friendly Household Product Company 2022.

Andrew Reagan is the Executive Director of Clean Energy for America, a 501c(4) organization that leverages their unique industry-spanning network to amplify the voice of the clean energy workforce to advocate for just, equitable and rapid decarbonization. CE4A is historic. The clean energy industry has never before been unified in a grassroots effort like this. To lay the groundwork for a stronger clean energy workforce voice in public policy, they engage in: #1 Policy Advocacy & Accountability Supporting clean energy and equitable transition goals while holding Members of Congress accountable for their votes. #2 Public Education Hosting events—both in person and virtual—to educate the public, connect the industry, and elevate the voice of the clean energy sector. #3 Electoral Engagement Through their connected political action committee (CE4A PAC), they mobilize the clean energy workforce to support pro-clean energy federal candidates. Additionally, candidates at all levels can sign our Clean Energy Candidate Pledge and be spotlighted to their network.

Learn more about Solomon's book and events: https://www.solomongr.com/

Follow Solomon on Twitter: @SolomonG_R

 

Calls to Action

Learn more about the Center for the New Energy Economy: https://cnee.colostate.edu/

Learn more about Bill's work with Mesh Power to create sustainable energy resources in Africa that bypass carbon: https://cnee.colostate.edu/bill-ritter-visits-rwanda-microgrid-project-development/

 

Call to Action

Thanksgiving is tomorrow so this week's call to action is more lighthearted than usual.  Given that this episode is all about beer, here are some great resources to help you use beer to make Thanksgiving more tasty and more fun.  Grab a six-pack of Upslope Craft Lager and give these a try:

Thanksgiving Recipes that Incorporate Beer: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/news/cooking-beer-thanksgiving/

More Beer-Infused Recipes for Thanksgiving: https://draftmag.com/thanksgiving-recipes-made-with-beer/

Even MORE Recipes: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/beer-recipes

Beer Pairings for Thanksgiving Dinner: https://justbeerapp.com/article/beer-pairings-for-thanksgiving

More Beer Pairings: https://www.craftbeer.com/beer-and-food/thanksgiving-beer-pairings-first-course-final-bite

 

 

 

 

Marios is passionate about finding innovative ways to preserve the planet's wild spaces. As part of the AMES foundation, he is the founder of the AMES-habitatfund which aims to scale the conservation of protected areas through nature-positive investment models. Previously he founded several Nature based initiatives, such as the ecolodge consulting company called Fjällbos in Sweden. Marios believes in finding ways to revalue biodiversity for its natural capital, which remains integral as we build resilient ecosystems in the face of climate change.

Ubiquitous Energy is the world leader in transparent solar technology working towards a goal of helping solve climate change by creating truly transparent renewable energy for every surface across the globe. Ubiquitous Energy’s patented technology, UE Power™, is the world’s first invisible electricity-generating alternative to traditional windows. UE Power™ harvests solar energy and serves as an invisible, onboard source of electricity for greater energy efficiency. Founded by scientists from MIT, Ubiquitous Energy is now producing its highly transparent, efficient solar cells in a production facility in Silicon Valley. Veeral Hardev is VP of Corporate Strategy at Ubiquitous Energy. Veeral has over a decade of experience commercializing novel nano-materials products for the electronics industry. This includes his time at Nanosys, Inc. where he led materials development, product management, and business development. Hardev holds an MBA from the Berkeley Haas School of Business, and bachelor’s degrees in Materials Science and Economics from UCLA.

Shannon Jahn is the Green Workforce Lead at City and County of Denver, Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency. In this interview Shannon talks about growing a green economy and a climate resilient future while creating a vibrant workforce with well-paying job opportunities for everybody in the community.

Waves and Beaches has been trusted by generations of oceanographers, scientists, sailors, surfers and anyone with an appreciation for the sea. Now fully revised and updated by McCoy for the climate change era, the new editionis full of science on global warming and rising sea levels, providing clear explanations and detailed resources for the constant battle to preserve the shore.

Michael Rucker is the founder and CEO of Scout Clean Energy, a renewable energy development company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. After helping craft some of the earliest global climate change agreements, Michael decided that he could have the greatest impact in the private sector. People thought he was crazy when he began working on wind power, but time has proven him to be prescient, as wind is now the most cost-effective source of power on the grid. The Scout team brings over 60 years of renewable wind and solar energy experience, specializing in leasing, permitting, interconnection, power marketing, finance, and construction.

Call to Action

Learn more about Hunter's work with Natural Capitalism Solutions.

Learn more about Gabe Brown's innovative work to reclaim the natural productivity of his soil.

Order meat, eggs and honey from Gabe Brown's Nourished by Nature online marketplace.

 

Robert Politzer, Founder and CEO of GreenStreet Global, joins us to discuss navigating the complexities of green building and energy efficiency. He shares his expertise on reducing operating expenses and increasing net operating income for commercial real estate, with a focus on decarbonization regulations like NYC Local Law 97. Robert, NYC's first green building contractor, brings decades of experience in clean energy and smart building projects to the conversation.

Peter Schlosser is the vice president and vice provost of the Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University. He is the University Professor of Global Futures and holds joint appointments in the School of Sustainability, the School of Earth and Space Exploration in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. The laboratory has been launched to harness the innovative capacity of academia and develop options for sound management of the planet.  Professor Schlosser is one of the world’s leading earth scientists, with expertise in the Earth’s hydrosphere and how humans affect the planet’s natural state. 

His research interests include studies of water movement and its variability in natural systems (oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater) using natural and anthropogenic trace substances and isotopes as ’dyes’ or as ‘radioactive clocks.’ He also studies ocean/atmosphere gas exchange; reconstruction of continental paleotemperature records using groundwater as archive; anthropogenic impact on natural systems and sustainable development as academic discipline. His research adds to the basic understanding of ocean circulation and the ocean's role in climate. The same principles are used to investigate groundwater flow in shallow and deep aquifers, providing results that are relevant for environmental risk and impact studies. He has published more than 180 articles in leading journals.

Radha Agrawal is an entrepreneurial force. She is the co-Founder, CEO and Chief Community Architect of Daybreaker, the global morning dance, music and wellness movement in five continents with a community of almost half a million people around the globe. She co-founded, sold and invested in multiple nine-figure businesses in the wellness space including THINX underwear, is a best-selling author, speaker, DJ, inventor, and investor in mostly female-owned businesses. She and her Daybreaker team spent the first 3 months of 2020 touring with Oprah and WW on a 9-arena sold-out tour where Radha opened every stop of the tour and led 155,000 people through a motivational movement experience with 30 dancers, musicians and performers behind her. She and her team recently launched a science-backed platform called DOSE by Daybreaker, a first of its kind membership to practice JOY and developed a movement Method connected to the 8 virtues of joy. Her goal is to make "practicing joy" as ubiquitous as practicing yoga and meditation. Her book BELONG peels back the curtain and shares how she and her team built the Daybreaker community around the world with zero ad spend and answers the questions, "how do I find my people?" and "How do I create large and meaningful communities in the real world?". She was named by MTV as "one of 8 women who will change the world" and has won numerous entrepreneurship awards and accolades on disruptive innovation. Radha is currently teaching joy practices on DOSE every week supporting her members on their journey to joy, she is pioneering the field of Functional Happiness and writing her next book, "The Joy Ride". She lives between Brooklyn and her farm in Rhinebeck with her family and her most coveted title is mother.

Find out more about Clearloop: www.clearloop.us

 

Calls to Action

Learn more about Inside the Greenhouse: https://insidethegreenhouse.org/

Learn more about the musical Shine: https://insidethegreenhouse.org/shine/index.html

 

Here is the new book out of Stanford's D School that Dave mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/Sarah-Stein-Greenberg/e/B09455W266%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Here is Dave's website: https://climate-activist.com/

 

Watch Allan's TED Talk:  https://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_fight_desertification_and_reverse_climate_change?language=en

Listen in as Atlantic Packaging President Wes Carter and Cruz Foam Co-Founder and CEO John Felts discuss the continued growth in global plastic packaging and the alternatives available on the market today, including new innovations in recovering, reusing and recapturing materials. Working together to tackle a massive issue – and one that continues to surge due to e-commerce – these companies team up for an inspiring conversation about what’s possible and what’s next.

Steve Pantano is the Head of Market Transformation at Rewiring America, where he leads efforts to build and share comprehensive working knowledge of how to replace more than one billion fossil fuel devices with clean electric alternatives. For the past fifteen years Steve worked with CLASP and ICF International to develop policy, market development programs, research, and technical analysis aimed at maximizing the climate benefits that can be achieved with energy efficient appliances and equipment. He spent years before that tinkering with and testing everything from Hydrogen fuel cells to Space Shuttle hardware. He has a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University.

Rewiring America is the leading electrification nonprofit, focused on electrifying our homes, businesses, and communities. They develop accessible, actionable data and tools, and build coalitions and partnerships to make going electric easier for households and communities. Rewiring America helps Americans save money, tackle nationwide emissions goals, improve health, and build the next generation of the clean energy workforce. They believe in an abundant, flourishing, climate-safe future, and know that, together, we can realize one.

 

 

Learn more about High Plains Biochar: https://www.hpbiochar.com

Wyatt Roberts is Head of Channel Development for Dandelion Energy. He is a builder and a building scientist, and is passionate about reducing the impact of our built world on the global environment. Dandelion Energy is committed to freeing homes from fossil fuels through the adoption of geothermal HVAC systems. Wyatt works with partners across a variety of sectors to better understand, design, and deploy geothermal in all of our buildings. For more information, visit www.dandelionenergy.com.

The Climate Change Garden by Kim Stoddart and Sally Morgan, is a guide to creating a resilient, climate-wise garden, one that adapts to volatile weather extremes and a rapidly changing climate. This is the first book to reveal which types of gardens are better suited to deal with such extremes and which techniques, practices, and equipment can be put to good use to help temper the issues. Kim Stoddart is an expert on this and writes for publications such as The Guardian on climate change gardening and resilient gardening. She has columns in several UK magazines and contributes regularly to a range of publications, such as Gardeners’ World magazine, Bloom, The Telegraph, The Lancet, and The Daily Express, where she regularly provides climate and gardening advice. Sally Morgan is a botanist and gardener and is the editor of Organic Farming Magazine. She’s written articles and books on food, farming, and the environment and owns an organic farm where she teaches courses on small farming (empirefarm.co.uk).

Call to Action:

Given it is the holidays, my only call to action is to let me know how I can make this podcast more useful to you in 2020.  Please share any ideas, insights or criticism with me at: flavorflahive@gmail.com

I hope you all enjoy the holidays.  I look forward to engaging with you again in 2020.

Learn more about Desert Mountain: https://desertmountaingrassfed.com/sustainability

 

Finian Makepeace is the co-founder of Kiss the Ground and a renowned presenter, media creator, and thought leader in the field of regenerative agriculture and soil health. His dedication to Kiss the Ground’s mission of “inspiring participation in global regeneration, starting with soil”, has motivated him to develop training programs, workshops, and talks designed to empower people around the world to become confident advocates for this growing movement.

Eugene Kirpichov left his job at Google to focus on climate solutions and co-founded Work on Climate, a community for people who want to transition into climate jobs. The community offers resources, events, and job listings to help people find work in climate tech, clean energy, and other sustainability-focused fields. Work on Climate aims to make climate jobs more mainstream and connect employers with skilled professionals who are passionate about solving climate change.

Andrea is Founder of Confidente and Empower Capital. With 25 years of entrepreneurship, operations, sustainability and technology experience, Andrea brings a hands-on approach to partnering with investors, corporate boards, management, to create accelerated returns, resilient investment, and market leadership. Andrea Specializes in Resilience, Investment Promotion, and Women Entrepreneurship. Andrea was the Risk Management Coordinator for the World Bank in the Middle East for 8 years. Andrea continues to advise International Financial Institutions, and entrepreneurs on clean tech, sustainability, impact investments. Andrea is a Science and Foreign Policy Graduate from Georgetown University and has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and Foreign Languages from Bologna University.

Catherine Sanderson is the Manwell Family Professor of Life Sciences (Psychology) at Amherst College.  Her research has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health and she has published over 25 journal articles and book chapters in addition to four college textbooks, middle school and high school health textbooks, and trade books on parenting as well as how mindset influences happiness, health, and even how long we live (The Positive Shift). In 2012, she was named one of the country's top 300 professors by the Princeton Review. 

Professor Sanderson speaks regularly for public and corporate audiences on topics such as the science of happiness, the power of emotional intelligence, the mind-body connection, and the psychology of good and evil. These talks have been featured in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, CNN, and CBS Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley. She also writes a blog for Psychology Today - Norms Matter - that examines the power of social influence on virtually all aspects of our lives.

Graham Hill is one of Fast Company's "100 Most Creative People in Business" and has been featured on the cover of Inc. and Dwell Magazines, is a highly sought-after speaker known for his ability to eloquently explain how we can all create a simpler, wealthier, greener and happier planet. He has presented at many prestigious conferences around the world, including two main-stage TED Talks that have received 11M+ views. Graham is the founder and CEO of The Carbonauts. They help Fortune 1000 companies build climate-literate, sustainability enthusiastic cultures via tools such as live, interactive sustainability workshops. Their clients include giants such as Amazon, Chanel, News Corp, Toyota, AT&T, Warner Brothers, Discovery, Netflix, Dow Jones, and HarperCollins. Many companies have or are developing sustainability strategies. While this is a positive development, it is said that “Culture Eats Strategy” and as such for these strategies to succeed, it’s critical to develop a culture of sustainability. It is for this reason that The Carbonauts focus on cultural transformation. The Carbonauts believe that if companies can find and support internal sustainability change-agents that their ranks will start to grow and once they reach 25% of the company, a rapid transition to a powerful, sustainability-forward culture will take place. Graham has worked in the environmental field for over 22 years. Before Carbonauts, he founded the ground-breaking website TreeHugger, which was the most trafficked green site for years, with billions of page views. In 2007, he sold this website to the Discovery Channel. He also worked on the topic of small living (architecture, possessions, behavior) under LifeEdited for a decade. Additionally, he designed an iconic New York souvenir that has been a best seller at MOMA for over 15 years.

Learn more about Citizens' Climate Lobby: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/

 

Clean Energy for America (CE4A) is a leading network of business leaders, workers, and advocates driven by a common goal: decarbonize our economy and protect our planet. We’re committed to clean energy action by engaging and catalyzing our base, advocating on behalf of the industry, holding elected officials accountable, and amplifying worker stories.

The Blue Plate: A Food Lover's Guide to Climate Chaos is the latest book by ecologist Mark J. Easter. Did you know more than a quarter of the dangerous climate-heating greenhouse gas emissions produced around the world today come from the simple steps of growing, catching, processing, transporting and cooking food—and then dealing with leftovers? This alarming statistic motivated Easter to dramatically change what and how he and his family eat. Easter researches the carbon footprint of food as part of a CSU team of “greenhouse gas accountants” whose mission is to understand how greenhouse gases move into and out of soils and plants on farms and ranches. He has traveled globally to collaborate with farmers, ranchers, foresters, and others to learn how the ways people grow food and fiber make agriculture healthier and less damaging to the climate. Offering an education on how to eat in a way that nourishes both our bodies and the planet, he wrote The Blue Plate, the first book by a scientist to provide a detailed picture of the carbon impact of our favorite foods on the Earth.

Paul Bodnar, currently a Managing Director at Rocky Mountain Institute, discusses a variety of economic, social and environmental issues related to climate change. Paul was in New York for the United Nations Climate Action Summit and shares this experience in the context of prior international conferences he attended while at the State Department and as President Obama's Special Assistant and Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change. This includes his work as a chief architect for the Paris Agreement. We discuss the role of international institutions and central governments in achieving climate mitigation and specifically address how to make this a bipartisan issue in a divided United States.

Call to Action

Participate with the United Nations through their ACTNOW movement: https://www.un.org/en/actnow/index.shtml

Learn more about the Rocky Mountain Institute: https://rmi.org/

Find out how financial leaders can help create a sustainable and inclusive global economy: https://www.bloomberg.com/cfli/

 

Sign up for Joel's Blog!

www.thelunaticfarmer.com

Miki Agrawal, a renowned entrepreneur and social activist, joins us to discuss her journey of challenging societal norms and revolutionizing industries. Known for her bold and provocative approach, Miki has successfully launched companies that tackle taboos head-on, such as feminine hygiene, poop, and diapers. In this episode, Miki shares her insights on: - Breaking barriers: How she has challenged societal taboos and stigma surrounding personal care products. - Building successful businesses: The lessons she has learned through her entrepreneurial ventures. - Social impact: Her commitment to creating products that improve people's lives and contribute to a better world. Join us as Miki shares her inspiring story of turning challenges into opportunities and making a positive impact on society.

Stacy Grace is the pioneering woman behind KENT, the first plastic-free underwear, so natural it’s compostable. Stacy has made it her mission to remove plastics in underwear, and create cleaner clothes for consumers and the planet in an industry plagued with synthetic materials. Made with GOTs certified cotton, KENT’s separates are just as soft and durable as the cotton underwear and shirts in your drawer, but just better for you. The elastic is made with plants, making them so natural they can be composted (and are LA Compost verified).

Call to Action

If you are a resident of Colorado, become part of Jack's Solar Garden and earn Xcel electricity bill credits.

Learn more about Community Solar. 

Learn more about Agrivoltaics.

Learn more about Fridays for Future: https://fridaysforfuture.org/

Learn more about Rise Up: https://www.riseupmovementafrica.org/