We The Children - Kids Talk Climate Solutions – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode, Zach and Clare venture into the Quantum Nexus to explore the fascinating intersection of quantum physics and climate science with Dr. Brad Marston, a physicist from Brown University. Dr. Marston unpacks how quantum mechanics connects to climate systems, from understanding the role of quantum waves in Earth’s atmosphere to the potential of quantum computers for solving complex climate models. The discussion dives into innovative carbon capture methods like enhanced rock weathering, the importance of collaboration among scientists, and the remarkable beauty of our planet’s climate system. Dr. Marston leaves us with an inspiring reminder: while the science is complex, the steps we take to protect our planet can start with appreciation and teamwork.

So, join Zach and Clare for a mind-expanding journey that’s part science, part inspiration, and all about how we can better understand—and care for—our world.

Episode Highlights:

• Stepping into the Quantum Nexus (00:00)
• Meeting Dr. Brad Marston (02:03)
• How quantum physics links to climate science (02:33)
• Understanding quantum matter physics (03:53)
• Waves, energy, and the climate system (07:38)
• Enhanced rock weathering and carbon removal (16:37)
• Collaboration in climate science (20:01)
• The promise of quantum computers (22:10)
• A hopeful vision for the future (26:25)

Links:

• American Physical Society
• The Quantum Physics of Climate Change (video)
• We the Children Educator’s Toolkit

Subscribe to We the Children on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Also, check out our website (wethechildrenpodcast.com). We love to hear form you!

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Zach and Clare venture into the Quantum Nexus to explore the fascinating intersection of quantum physics and climate science with Dr. Brad Marston, a physicist from Brown University. Dr. Marston unpacks how quantum mechanics connects to climate systems, from understanding the role of quantum waves in Earth’s atmosphere to the potential of quantum computers for solving complex climate models.

The discussion dives into innovative carbon capture methods like enhanced rock weathering, the importance of collaboration among scientists, and the remarkable beauty of our planet’s climate system. Dr. Marston leaves us with an inspiring reminder: while the science is complex, the steps we take to protect our planet can start with appreciation and teamwork.

Join Zach and Clare for a mind-expanding journey that’s part science, part inspiration, and all about how we can better understand—and care for—our world.

Highlights:

• Stepping into the Quantum Nexus (00:00)
• Meeting Dr. Brad Marston (02:03)
• How quantum physics links to climate science (02:33)
• Understanding quantum matter physics (03:53)
• Waves, energy, and the climate system (07:38)
• Enhanced rock weathering and carbon removal (16:37)
• Collaboration in climate science (20:01)
• The promise of quantum computers (22:10)
• A hopeful vision for the future (26:25)

Links:

• We the Children Educator’s Toolkit
• Quantum Computing for Climate Science
• Enhanced Rock Weathering Research
• American Physical Society

Subscribe to We the Children on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/wethechildrenpodcast) and Instagram (@we_the_children_podcast). Also, please visit our website (wethechildrenpodcast.com) and leave us a voice message or email if you want to stay in touch or engage with episode questions!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dive into the mesmerizing world beneath the waves with Molly Timmers, a marine ecologist whose lifelong passion for the ocean has taken her on an extraordinary journey all around the globe.

Growing up with a deep appreciation for nature, Molly's fascination with the ocean led her to pursue a career dedicated to marine research and conservation. From her formative experiences as a marine debris removal technician scuba diving in the pristine waters of Hawaii to her current role as a marine ecologist for the National Geographic Society's Pristine Seas program, Molly's commitment to protecting our oceans is evident in every aspect of her work.

In this episode, Molly refelcts on the beauty and fragility of marine life. Drawing from her extensive fieldwork and research, she offers insights into the challenges facing coral reefs, the profound impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems, and the pressing need for innovative conservation strategies to safeguard our oceans for generations to come.

Listen along with your friends, parents, and teachers as Molly delves into the intricacies of marine ecology, illuminating the wonders of the underwater world while underscoring the critical importance of collective action in preserving our planet's most precious resource – the ocean.

• An underwater world (03:41)
• How Molly’s work with coral reefs began (05:50)
• What are coral reefs exactly? (07:21)
• Understanding organisms through eDNA (08:55)
• The role do coral reefs play in our global ecosystem  (13:52)
• What happens as the ocean's temperature warms? (17:35)
• How no-take zones protect coral reefs (23:37)
• Wrap Up & Quiz! (28:59)

Website: Nat Geo Pristine Sea's Program

Subscribe to We the Children on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/wethechildrenpodcast) and Instagram (@we_the_children_podcast). Also, please visit our website (wethechildrenpodcast.com) and leave us a voice message or email if you want to stay in touch or engage with episode questions!

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Today we revisit my conversation with Dr. Heïdi Severstre! Dr. Sevestre is a glaciologist. She is a top science communicator, educator and leads expeditions to cold places every year. Her studies have taken her around the world, but now she dedicates her time to science policy, outreach and research.

In this interview, Dr. Sevestre explains how glaciers melting directly affects us all in two ways. The first is that glaciers hold 70% of freshwater reservoirs, which is what we use for everyday water usage. Secondly, when glaciers melt, the sea levels around the world rise. If all the glaciers in the world were to disappear, it would increase sea levels globally by 65 meters or 280 feet. This is important because there are 70 million people living between 0 and 30 feet of elevation. When the ice melts, people will have to adapt and move somewhere else. In order to combat this, we need to burn fewer fossil fuels. The more we burn fossil fuels like coal, gas, etc., the more the planet keeps the heat in and prevents it from going back into space. Our planet keeps getting warmer and has increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial revolution. This sounds like a tiny temperature increase, but a 1 degree temperature increase will continually get worse. NASA predicts that if we don’t make changes around the world, the global temperature is on track to rise by 4.5 degrees celsius in 2100.

The key to tackling the climate crisis is to stop using fossil fuels as much as we are today. She suggests educating people on these issues and to calculate your own carbon footprint and water consumption. If everyone makes these slow solutions and shares these solutions with positivity and excitement, we can keep fighting to reduce the carbon footprint and stabilize our planet’s temperature.

Website: Dr. Heïdi Severstre

Instagram: @heidisevestre

Connect with us!

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For the most arid areas of our planet, water conservation and wildfires have always been hot topics. Climate change and a warming planet, however, have escalated this important conversation. It is now more necessary than ever to understand the impacts climate change will have on our water supply and weather, and come up with strategies to address them.

Having grown up in Arizona, one of the driest places in the United States, our guest this episode hasn't just learned about the importance of water conservation—she's lived it! Dr. Faith Kearns is a scientist and science communication practitioner who writes, works on, and talks about water, wildfire, and climate change issues in the southwestern United States. Author of the award-winning book Getting to the Heart of Science Communication, her work has been published in New Republic, On Being, Bay Nature, and more. Dr. Kearns is also co-host of the podcast "Water Talk."

In this episode, we'll learn about the interconnectedness of water conservation and wildfires, and explore the effects climate change is having on both. We'll also explore the concept of "eco emotions" and how to communicate about climate change effectively and compassionately.

Listen along with your friends, parents, and teachers as we share discussion questions and helpful definitions…there’s even a quiz at the end of the episode to practice what you learned. Now, let's all take a deep breath and plunge into the world of water conservation with Dr. Faith Kearns!

• Dr. Kearns' childhood experience with wildfire (03:00)
• How are water conservation, drought, and wildfires connected? (07:12)
• Water's importance for humans and agriculture (09:35)
• What is science communication? (18:21)
• "Eco emotions" and climate-related anxiety in young people (21:15)
• Creative solutions to address drought and water conservation (24:34)
• How can individuals promote water conservation locally? (28:48)
• Wrap Up & Quiz! (30:24)

Website: Dr. Faith Kearns

Book: Getting to the Heart of Science Communication by Faith Kearns

Book: All the Feelings Under the Sun by Leslie Davenport

Podcast: Water Talk

Subscribe to We the Children on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/wethechildrenpodcast) and Instagram (@we_the_children_podcast). Also, please visit our website (wethechildrenpodcast.com) and leave us a voice message or email if you want to stay in touch or engage with episode questions!

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Bees and other pollinators have an important role to play in our planet's ecosystems. As they travel flower to flower collecting pollen, not only are they feeding themselves, but they're feeding us as well. By helping plants reproduce, bees ensure we have an abundance of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts that fuel our food chains. But that's not all...the honey bees make serves as both a sweet treat and a medicine.

Bees take care of us, and in return we need to take care of them. Human activities and climate change are having a negative impact on bee populations globally, so our guest this episode, interdisciplinarian and beekeeper Melanie Kirby, is here to teach us all about bees and what we can do to help them thrive.

Melanie is the co-founder of Zia Queenbees farm, which specializes in breeding regionally-adaptive bees. A Fulbright-NatGeo Storytelling Fellow, and a Grist 50 Climate Fixer with a graduate degree in Entomology, she advocates for broadening the narrative of marginalized farmers and communities as a mestiza of mixed Indigenous ancestry. Melanie collaborates across cultures and landscapes promoting whole system approaches to pollinator conservation with diverse communities and is a writer, researcher, artist, and mom. 

In this episode, we'll learn about different bee species and their habits, the impact of climate change on bees, and what we can do to support the health of local bee populations.

Listen along with your friends, parents, and teachers as we share discussion questions and helpful definitions…there’s even a quiz at the end of the episode to practice what you learned. So, join Zach as We the Children gets the latest buzz on bees from Melanie Kirby!

• Melanie's introduction to beekeeping (03:09)
• The importance of bees and pollinators in ecosystems (03:34)
• How Melanie connects culture and beekeeping (09:00)
• Bee types and traits (10:53)
• How health and habits (16:46)
• Impact of climate change on bees (23:45)
• How we can protect bees (26:01)
• Lessons we can learn from bees (31:22)
• Wrap Up & Quiz! (32:52)

Website: Zia Queenbees Farm & Field Institute

LinkedIn: Melanie Kirby

Instagram: @nectarnomad

Bee City USA

Subscribe to We the Children on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/wethechildrenpodcast) and Instagram (@we_the_children_podcast). Also, please visit our website (wethechildrenpodcast.com) and leave us a voice message or email if you want to stay in touch or engage with episode questions!

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Polar bears have been a symbol of climate change for a long time—and for good reason. Their icy home in the Arctic is warming much faster than the rest of the planet, affecting the habits and lifestyle of polar bears and other Arctic residents in a big way. With these changes come new challenges for both polar bears and people alike.

This week, we meet one of the experts leading the charge to help polar bears, humans, and other Arctic wildlife navigate these changes—World Wildlife Fund's Elisabeth Kruger.

As WWF’s Manager of Arctic Wildlife, Elisabeth Kruger works at the forefront of conservation, mitigating threats to the marine wildlife of Alaska. Over the last 13 years, Elisabeth has worked with WWF to help polar bears and other Arctic marine mammal populations thrive alongside people in what’s becoming an increasingly warmer and ice-free Arctic.

In this episode, we'll learn about the unique characteristics that make polar bears well suited to the extreme climate of the Arctic, find out how climate change is affecting polar bears' habits and creating conflict with their human neighbors, and discover the vital importance of Arctic conservation efforts.

Listen along with your friends, parents, and teachers as we share discussion questions and helpful definitions…there’s even a quiz at the end of the episode where you can show off what you've learned! So, join Zach as We the Children visits the icy Arctic to learn about Arctic conservation and polar bears with Elisabeth Kruger!

• Elisabeth on the challenges and beauty of living in extreme environments (03:17)
• How is climate change uniquely impacting the Arctic and creating challenges for polar bears? (04:24)
• Elisabeth's memorable polar bear encounter (08:33)
• Polar bear adaptations and characteristics (10:47)
• Local Weather Report! (16:23)
• Global polar bear conservation efforts (17:56)
• Why is it difficult to estimate polar bear populations? (22:44)
• How has climate change increased the potential for conflicts between humans and polar bears? (26:11)
• Indigenous knowledge and arctic food security (28:04)
• Wrap Up & Quiz! (31:47)

Guest Bio: WWF Website

LinkedIn: Elisabeth Kruger

WWF Wild Classroom: Polar Bear Curriculum

Subscribe to We the Children on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/wethechildrenpodcast) and Instagram (@we_the_children_podcast). Also, please visit our website (wethechildrenpodcast.com) and leave us a voice message or email if you want to stay in touch or engage with episode questions!

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When we think about protecting our environment for future generations, the job at hand seems really big. Huge, even. But what if the solutions to these problems start with actions that seem kind of small? What if parents and teachers start getting kids engaged with the natural environment in their own communities from a young age?

This week, we meet Laetania Belai Djandam, a 22 year-old Indonesian Indigenous environmental activist. She was raised to care for her local landscape and people, with the understanding that if similar dedication was applied by everyone around the world, the Earth would be in a much better state.

A member of the Dayak tribe, her main focus areas are Indigenous land rights, climate justice, and climate intersectionality. A 2023 University of Sheffield graduate, she earned a Bachelor of Medical Sciences, Health and Human Sciences, and has worked for organizations like Healthcare Without Harm to create a more equitable and sustainable world through planetary health. She believes that young people are creating positive change in the world and that right here, right now, powerful people are listening to what youth are saying about how we use and misuse our natural resources. 

In this episode, we’ll cover all of that, plus lessons about why Indigenous land rights are so significant, how to detect “youth washing,” and why connecting with your own community is crucial in securing support for climate advocacy. Belai shares her own journey with us and offers empowering advice to anyone feeling too small to make a big difference.

Listen along with your friends, parents, and teachers as we share discussion questions and helpful definitions…there’s even a quiz at the end of the episode to practice what you learned.

• Learning about Belai’s homeland and Dayak heritage (2:29)
• How to increase climate curriculum in schools (9:44)
• Local Weather Report: Bogor, Indonesia (12:35)
• Why indigenous land rights are such an important issue (13:43)
• What is climate intersectionality? (20:18)
• Youth empowerment but also “youth washing” (24:57)
• Climate advocacy career advice (29:30)

Belai on LinkedIn

Belai on Instagram

Article: Why This Youth Climate Activist Insists on the Importance of Joy

Subscribe to We the Children on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/wethechildrenpodcast) and Instagram (@we_the_children_podcast). Also, please visit our website (wethechildrenpodcast.com) and leave us a voice message or email if you want to stay in touch or engage with episode questions!

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If farmers update the way they grow food and raise livestock, can we all eat better and also fight climate change? Yes we can! There’s a sustainable farming approach called regenerative agriculture, which argues that by improving soil health, our food would be more nutritious and we’d improve biodiversity, limit air pollution, and literally heal the Earth. 

Gabe Brown is a regenerative agriculture advocate who lives in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he and his family operate Brown's Ranch. He found his way to regenerative agriculture after the family farm he took over from his in-laws began failing. He turned things around by leaving age-old agricultural methods behind, and regenerated the farm using holistic management practices.

Since then, Gabe's become a huge advocate for soil health. He's written a book, he's featured in documentaries, and he travels far and wide to teach people about regenerative agriculture. In this episode we’ll explore soil health, sustainable farming, weather and air pollution’s impact on farming, the need for more eco education and awareness, and how the food choices we make as consumers affect the environment we share on Earth.

Listen along with your friends, parents, and teachers as we share discussion questions and helpful definitions…there’s even a quiz at the end of the episode to practice what you learned. So, join Zach as We the Children digs into soil health and sustainable farming with Gabe Brown!

• How financial disaster led Gabe to more productive and sustainable farming (02:37)
• Six principles of soil health (03:56)
• Why old ways of farming lead to “desertification” (9:38)
• What happens when synthetic fertilizers and pesticides enter the food chain? (12:29)
• Are more farmers embracing regenerative agriculture? (15:40)
• Is eating sustainably more expensive? (23:43)

Brown’s Ranch

Book: Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture

Film: Common Ground

Video: Gabe Brown - Bismarck, ND

Video: Gabe Brown: Keys To Building a Healthy Soil 

Subscribe to We the Children on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/wethechildrenpodcast) and Instagram (@we_the_children_podcast). Also, please visit our website (wethechildrenpodcast.com) and leave us a voice message or email if you want to stay in touch or engage with episode questions!

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Zach Fox-DeVol is a 12 year-old with a lot of questions about our planet, how climate change will impact his generation and, most importantly, what he and other kids can do to help. We the Children is a podcast for young people like Zach to learn about and examine the climate change crisis, and have some fun along the way, too! Through conversations with experts, educators, and activists, each episode is a chance to explore how everyone–adults and kids alike–can work together to save the planet!

Season 2 launches in January 2024.

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