GrowthBusters

To what extremes are we willing to go to fit more and more people and bigger and bigger economies on a finite planet? It seems we're willing to give up many freedoms, conveniences, safety and security, but we're not willing to acknowledge we're overpopulated or overconsuming. Addressing those root causes is not an option. So, get ready to give up that dream home, meat, golf, rock concerts and air travel; and start whipping up a batch of cricket smoothies. The GrowthBusters team discusses the newest footprint-shrinking strategies and whether we'll adopt them before things are "semi-apocalyptic." How far will we go, before we're willing to strongly suggest limiting our offspring and settling for a smaller, stable and sustainable economy? GrowthBusters is a public education project and documentary film. Their mission is to find the cure for growth addiction, so future generations can live decent lives on a planet with healthy life-support systems. Explore these issues, comment on this podcast, and see the film at http://www.growthbusters.org Links mentioned in this episode: Video: Would You Eat Bugs for Protein? https://youtu.be/yAEcuBDsvgU Save the Planet, Eat an Insect by David Suzuki https://davidsuzuki.org/story/save-planet-eat-insect Movie: Soylent Green https://smile.amazon.com/Soylent-Green-Charlton-Heston/dp/B001QUM4IY GrowthBusters Podcast on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GrowthBustersPodcast/ GrowthBusters on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Growthbusters

A new study reveals some men feel environmental stewardship is not manly. Is this just one more reason we should leave the women in charge? Or should we market green behavior the same way we sell pickup trucks? The GrowthBusters team explores the ins and outs of masculinity and femininity in relation to being green. Also: Ben does something shocking with carrots. For links to the study and stories, see the complete show notes at: https://www.growthbusters.org/trashing-the-planet-is-macho/

Are children bad for the health of the planet, and therefore human civilization? Should we stop making them? Or do we need to step it up and make lots more than we're currently making (does anyone have a good recipe)? Or does the intelligent answer lie somewhere in-between? The GrowthBusters podcast team doesn't shy away from tough topics when the fate of human civilization hangs in the balance. In this episode, Ben, Kaitlyn and Dave discuss recent news headlines about fertility rates and offer their opinions on the views of Matt Lewis (The Daily Beast) and Travis Rieder (Berman Institute of Bioethics). Over 15,000 of the world's scientists also weigh in. Here are links promised during the conversation: Travis Rieder piece at NBC News Digital: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/science-proves-kids-are-bad-earth-morality-suggests-we-stop-ncna820781 Matt Lewis piece at The Daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-fertility-rate-is-way-down-and-yes-thats-a-huge-problem World Scientists' Warning to Humanity – A Second Notice: https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/doi/10.1093/biosci/bix125/4605229

Is reducing child-tax credits to encourage smaller families a good idea? Is it "coercive" public policy? Would it be good for your city to be the winner in the Amazon Headquarters Sweepstakes? Do undiscovered joys grace your life when you begin stepping up to trim your footprint on the planet? Special guest Joshua Spodek, author of Leadership Step by Step, shares why he's launching the podcast Leadership and the Environment. Plus: turning down the heat and skipping toilet flushes. Here's the website mentioned to check out Spodek's new podcast: http://joshuaspodek.com/podcast Explore these issues further at http://www.growthbusters.org

One of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., Bend, Oregon has doubled in population over the past two decades. Still, it has at least some intelligent thinking about growth. Tom Hickmann, Bend Oregon's director of engineering and infrastructure planning, shares the fast-growing city's somewhat unique approach to city planning, and discusses Oregon's requirement that cities accommodate growth. According to Tom, cities get challenged if they have a "pattern and practice of rejecting growth." Tom shares the newest infrastructure planning tool, genetic algorithms, explaining how it allows cities to plan better and grow more efficiently. Planners can put the values of the environmental, development, engineering and general residential communities into this planning model to guide a community's decisions. Co-host Dave Gardner wonders if unaffordable housing might ultimately influence couples to limit the number of children they conceive. The GrowthBusters team also shares some of their own methods of shrinking their footprints – related to showers, wardrobe and coffee. Explore these issues at http://www.growthbusters.org

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma highlight the fact that cities have prioritized growth over safety, valued concrete over nature, and bought into the myth of prosperity from growth over sustainability. Dave, Kaitlyn and Ben discuss the civic addiction to growth. What would be more appropriate metrics for success than high rates of population growth? Also: Living with your parents is green. So is patronizing restaurants that source locally, and skipping the plastic bags offered in the produce department. Links of Interest: Does Population Growth Mean a City is Thriving? http://www.governing.com/topics/urban/gov-population-city-growth-thriving.html Conversation Earth interviews: http://www.conversationearth.org/episode-list Learn more and explore the issues at http://www.growthbusters.org Media analysis at http://wwwgrowthbiasbusted.org Movie at http://www.growthbustersmovie.org

Are Prince William and Kate Middleton setting a bad example by having a third child in an overpopulated world? Should we do away with child tax credits and dependent deductions? Plus: Rising numbers of visitors are clogging America's most beautiful natural places. Fees, reservation systems and vehicle bans are among proposed solutions. Are they temporary band-aids when your population is growing? Co-host Dave Gardner has the ultimate solution. Also discussed: recycling plastic grocery bags, cloth napkins, dairy-free ice cream and reusing beer pong cups. Ben Bacher and Kaitlyn Hickmann co-host. Learn more and explore the issues at http://www.growthbusters.org Media analysis at http://wwwgrowthbiasbusted.org Movie at http://www.growthbustersmovie.org

The Colorado River rarely flows all the way to its delta, and the state of Colorado has determined demand for water will far outstrip supply if anticipated population growth continues. Yet the state advertises for people and companies to move to Colorado. The GrowthBusters team discusses this with Gary Wockner, executive director of Save the Colorado. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has been one of the most pro-growth governors the state has had, in Wockner's view. But no one is willing to talk about the population growth issue. Wockner raises the issue of having growth pay its way. He shares how a statewide tax being considered to fund water projects is actually a growth subsidy. Growth addiction and our predilection to dam rivers are also on tap. Also: Global Footprint Network's new footprint calculator. How small does your ecological footprint need to be if you want to use no more than your share of the Earth's biocapacity? Follow GrowthBusters on Facebook and at http://www.growthbusters.org

New study reveals conceiving one fewer child eclipses all other CO2 reduction strategies. Why Japan's birth dearth isn't bad news. What countries are overpopulated? Should the overdeveloped world focus on cutting consumption or reducing births? Could we downshift to a simpler lifestyle? Family planning cuts in the U.S. and how that won't reduce abortions. Reducing our footprint: are the small things worth doing? Kaitlyn's pet peeve about veganism. Does peeing in the shower save water? The GrowthBusters team is Dave Gardner, Kaitlyn Hickmann and Ben Bacher. They bring you the latest thinking on living sustainably in a growth-addicted world. For more information, explore http://www.growthbusters.org.

In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, what keeps us convinced that growth leads to widespread prosperity? It's a never-ending stream of pro-growth propaganda in the media. Dave Gardner finds a wealth of examples of pro-growth media bias in his local paper over less than a month's time. Explore this subject further at http://www.growthbiasbusted.org, and support this podcast with a donation at http://www.growthbusters.org/donate