Greening the Apocalypse

What's the environmental impact of your favourite illicit drug? We dig deep, and the answers are sometimes a bit of a buzz kill. Although there's some happy high news too. Which team member was microdosing during this episode? You be the judge.

We talk climate change, humanitarian crises and conflict with David Spratt, Research Coordinator for the Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration. He blogs and publishes reports at ClimateCodeRed.org a site named after his co-authored 2008 book. His latest publication is Disaster Alley: Climate Change, Conflict & Risk featuring a foreword by former Pentagon official Sherri Goodman.

We talk to the eloquent Dr Saamdu Chetri, who leads the country of Bhutan's efforts to measure Gross National Happiness (GNP). Dr Chetri holds PhD in Commerce, Master in Commerce and Post-Graduation Certificate in HRM, and was a founder of the Bhutan Peoples United Party. He now runs the kingdom's Gross National Happiness Centre which has made this small landlocked Himalayan country capture attention all around the world.

Dr Chetri is in town for some School of Life events.

This is the second and final part of our conversation with Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow with the Post Carbon Institute and regarded as one of the world's foremost advocates for a shift away from our current reliance on fossil fuels. Listen to the first part on Triple R on demand or on our podcast.

Heinberg is the author of 13 books, including some seminal works with titles like The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality, and Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World. His latest book is Our Renewable Future: Laying the Path to One Hundred Percent Clean Energy (available for free online!) co-authored with Berkeley energy expert David Fridley. If you want to do an online course with Richard, check out Think Resilience.

Also. Sarah reviews pot noodles.

We talk peak oil with Richard Heinberg, Senior (and very fine) Fellow with the Post Carbon Institute. Richard is regarded as one of the world's foremost advocates for a shift away from our current reliance on fossil fuels. He's the author of 13 books, including some seminal works with titles like The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality, and Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World. His latest book is Our Renewable Future: Laying the Path to One Hundred Percent Clean Energy (available for free online!) co-authored with Berkeley energy expert David Fridley. If you want to do an online course with Richard checkout Think Resilience. This is the first of a two part interview.

Later in the show we talk about the concept of 'energy slaves'. Check out this video an Olympic cyclist vs. a toaster.

We talk with the fascinating Pamela Morgan about her life, which includes being a driving force behind the first two decades the Collingwood Childrens' Farm, and later one of the people to bring permaculture to Cuba during their devastating loss of food and oil imports after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

We speak with Chido Govera, a 31 year old Zimbabwean farmer, activist, educator and founder of The Future of Hope Foundation, a group that is committed to ending poverty, abuse and victimhood at grassroots level in Africa through food security.

Chido's background is one of the toughest childhoods imaginable, one that saw her orphaned at the age of 7, with her remaining relatives offering more abuse than support, while she was responsible for feeding and caring for her very elderly grandmother, and her malnourished younger brother. Her long road out of this situation came via the unlikely path of mushroom cultivation, and she now teaches thousands of people across the world - and in particular other vulnerable young women in Zimbabwe - how to grow mushrooms, as a way of gaining some autonomy in their lives.

Later we talk about growing mushrooms at home with keen mushroom grower, forager and educator Nick Ritar of Milkwood.

Our friends, be warned, this is a something of a dark episode. We share (over-share?) about our deepest darkest fears for the future, and ponder the value of fear and anxiety as motivators for change.

Claire Dunn is a former environmental campaigner who had a transformative year living in the bush without technology, or even matches, practicing nature awareness and rewilding skills. She wrote about her experiences in My Year Without Matches.

She now facilitates nature based reconnection retreats and wilderness rites of passage. Find out more at Nature's Apprentice.

Author of The Wondrous World of Weeds, Pat Collins, drops us a line to talk all things edible, medicinal and growing for free. And Bushy's offspring, the bird enthusiast Shrubby -- pictured getting instruction in flipping the bird -- gives listeners advice on getting started with chickens.