This is an episode from a show we think you might like: The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast.

Holiday shopping season is upon us, but instead of having a wasteful, plastic-heavy Christmas, why not have a green one? Hosts Candice and Caleigh have tips for how to celebrate sustainable holidays, from your wrapping paper to the menu at your holiday dinner.

The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast: Green holidays, without being a Grinch

We get it. You care about the climate crisis—but sometimes thinking about it is just too overwhelming. Well, we’re here to help with that. Host Dan Kwartler unpacks the problems and solutions behind big systemic issues in bite-sized episodes. You’ll find out which bag is best for the planet, imagine our world without humans, and follow the international journey of the very shirt on your back. Yes, we’re going to talk about the bleak stuff—it’s a crisis after all—but we’ll also share little ways you can make changes in your daily life, in your towns and cities, and at your workplaces to help change climate change. Ultimately we’re aiming for some HOPE through a focus on solutions, instead of just, you know, tumbling towards inevitable doom. 

You can also get involved by joining Countdown, TED’s global initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis in collaboration with Future Stewards. Find out more at countdown.ted.com

Science

Nature

Your closet is likely full of all kinds of materials — leather, cotton, nylon and polyester, to name a few — that contribute to fashion's sustainability crisis. Biomaterials investigator Dan Widmaier explains how we could look to nature for sustainable replacements for these much-used materials and introduces a leather alternative made from mushrooms that looks great and doesn't harm the environment. "We can make fashion sustainable, and we're going to do it with science," Widmaier says.

The future of fashion — made from mushrooms | Dan Widmaier

What if you could eat chicken nuggets without harming a chicken? It's possible through "cellular agriculture," says Isha Datar. In a talk about cutting-edge science, she explains how this new means of food production makes it possible to eat meat without the negative consequences of industrial farming — and how it could fundamentally change our food systems for the better. "It's our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get a second chance at agriculture," she says.

How we could eat real meat without harming animals | Isha Datar

From the return of nomadic living to a climate-disrupted world, author and global strategist Parag Khanna has some predictions for humanity. Get a fascinating glimpse at the future as he tackles an urgent question: Where on Earth will eight billion humans live in the uncertain times ahead?

(This conversation, hosted by TED current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. Visit ted.com/membership to become a TED Member.)

Where on Earth will people live in the future? | Parag Khanna

The single most important thing for avoiding a climate disaster is cutting carbon pollution from the current 51 billion tons per year to zero, says philanthropist and technologist Bill Gates. Introducing the concept of the "green premium" — the higher price of zero-emission products like electric cars, artificial meat or sustainable aviation fuel — Gates identifies the breakthroughs and investments we need to reduce the cost of clean tech, decarbonize the economy and create a pathway to a clean and prosperous future for all.

The innovations we need to avoid a climate disaster | Bill Gates

Today's youth have inherited a big, unprecedented climate problem to solve — and the eco-anxiety to go with it. Gen-Zer and activist Clover Hogan knows the struggle firsthand, but she also understands the path to climate action starts with the one thing you can control: your mindset. She explains why challenging the stories that keep you feeling powerless can help you take the first step to protecting the planet for generations to come.

The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast: Green holidays, without being a Grinch

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