Three-quarters of the infrastructure expected to exist by 2050 hasn’t even been built yet. That means that the way we build infrastructure – where it goes, what it’s made of, and which energy sources it facilitates – will have a huge impact on the world’s ability to meet global climate and biodiversity goals. In this episode, Kate Newman, WWF’s vice president for sustainable infrastructure, breaks down the challenges and opportunities that infrastructure development will bring in the coming decades (6:10), how the UN’s new Global Biodiversity Framework could help incentivize sustainable infrastructure (19:57), and how the expansion of clean energy intersects with these issues (25:10).

LINKS:

WWF Infrastructure Page

ALIGN Project Page

Infrastructure and Nature Coalition

Last October, Alaskan officials canceled the snow crab harvest for the first time in history, after the population dropped nearly 90% between 2018 and 2021. In this episode, Steve MacLean from WWF’s US Arctic Program explains how warmer ocean conditions likely contributed to the disappearance of these crabs (2:40), and what a changing climate might mean for future crab harvests (6:20). Steve also shares the latest on efforts to block the development of the Pebble Mine, a proposed gold and copper mine that could threaten Alaska’s iconic salmon fishery (11:28). Last, Steve shares how he and his colleagues are working to manage shipping traffic in the Bering Strait as Arctic sea ice melts and opens up new passages (21:40).

LINKS:

WWF US Arctic Page

WEB STORY: The end of the road for Pebble Mine

Whether it’s wild elephants consuming a village’s crops, or a racoon getting into a household’s trash, human-wildlife conflict is present everywhere and can lead to significant challenges. In this episode, Nilanga Jayasinghe talks about the different kinds of human-wildlife conflict that impact different regions (4:45), and explains how climate change can make those conflicts more frequent (13:44). She then shares strategies to help better manage human-wildlife conflict to protect people, animals, and livelihoods (15:20).

LINKS:

REPORT: A Future for All: The need for human-wildlife coexistence

WWF Magazine: Close Quarters

Explainer: What is human-wildlife conflict?

As 2022 draws to a close, this episode features four voices from WWF’s Media & External Affairs team sharing some of their favorite environmental news stories and initiatives from 2022. You’ll hear from Sarah Fogel about efforts to save black-footed ferrets in Montana (1:13), Lorin Hancock about a new way to address both food waste and food scarcity by connecting consumers directly with farmers (7:10), Monica Echeverria about the latest population survey of monarch butterflies (10:40), and Jenna Bonello about how poets are lending their voices to inspire hope for the future of nature (20:41).

LINKS: WWF Black Footed Ferrets Page

Sustainability Works Blog on Farmers Post

WWF Monarch Butterfly Page

WWF en Español (Descubre WWF)

Poetry for the Planet

Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, this episode features a conversation with Alex Nichols-Vinueza, WWF’s program manager for food loss and waste. Alex explains how our food system ends up wasting an estimated 40% of food produced globally (1:20). He then talks about how this problem manifests on Thanksgiving (8:07), and shares some simple steps that people can take to prevent food from going to waste during the holidays (9:04). Last, Alex talks about how schools and businesses can be partners in limiting food waste (11:52), and how changes in federal policies could drive nationwide improvements (15:30).

LINKS:

Blog: Serving Up Tips for a Waste-Free Thanksgiving

Act: Tell Congress to Pass the Zero Food Waste Act

Food Waste Warriors: Help Your Local School Join This WWF Initiative

Further Listening: NPR’s Planet Money on Food Date Labeling

In this wake of this week’s US election, this episode features a conversation with Will Gartshore, WWF’s senior director for policy and government affairs. Will reflects on the progress made on environmental policy over the last two years (2:00), from re-joining the Paris Agreement to the passage of historic new investments to address the climate crisis. Will then outlines what’s left on the to-do list of the current Congress (8:53), and what environmental policies might stand a chance of moving forward over the next two years (15:25).

LINKS: WWF Action Team: Help Support WWF’s Policy Priorities

COP27, the UN’s annual climate summit, begins on November 6 in Egypt. This two-part episode explains everything you need to know before the summit kicks off. In Part 1, Stephanie Roe, WWF’s global climate and energy lead scientist, provides an overview of the latest climate science (1:54) and explains how three recent reports could influence negotiations at COP27 (14:49). Then, Marcene Mitchell, WWF’s senior vice president for climate change, walks through the specific agenda for COP27 (18:25) and explains why the US is poised to drive even bolder climate action at this year’s summit (29:56).

LINKS: IPCC Sixth Assessment Reports

Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) Science Based Target Setting Guidance

WWF’s Climate Page

BONUS EPISODE: Every two years WWF releases its flagship Living Planet Report, which monitors populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish around the world. The latest version of this report was released last week, and found an average decline of 69% in species populations since 1970. To help explain this finding and dive deeper into the report, we’re joined this week by Rebecca Shaw, WWF’s chief scientist. She explains what exactly the report measures and why it matters (2:15), the links between climate change and nature loss (5:51), which ecosystems and regions are fairing the worst (9:10), and how individuals can take action to bend the curve on both the loss of species and climate change (19:15).

LINKS:

Living Planet Report 2022

This year marks the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese Lunar calendar. To mark this occasion, Ginette Hemley, WWF’s senior vice president for wildlife conservation, joins the show to talk about the global effort to protect wild tigers. Ginette touches on the current state of wild tiger populations (1:55), why protecting tigers matters to nature writ-large (4:52), what we’ve learned from a 12-year global initiative to double tiger numbers (9:38), and how people in the US can help make a difference (16:30).

LINKS:

WWF Action Center: Support the Big Cat Public Safety Act

WWF’s Tiger Fact Page

Op-Ed: On Global Tiger Day, Nepal notes milestone (Asia Times)

This year has brought another set of reminders about the risks of flooding in a warming world. Communities from Wyoming to Kentucky to Pakistan have faced the terrible consequences that floods can bring. In this episode, Jeff Opperman, WWF's global lead scientist for freshwater, breaks down the science behind what's driving more frequent and severe floods (2:32), explains how floodplains can play a role in helping communities limit the harm from future floods (4:30), and shares examples of communities that have led the way in embracing floodplains as nature-based solutions (8:15).

LINKS:

WWF's Rivers of Food page: https://rivers-of-food.panda.org/

America Adapts Episode on Flooding (deeper dive featuring Jeff and several other WWF experts): https://www.americaadapts.org/episodes/2018/10/6/flooding-and-natural-and-nature-based-solutions 

Report: Waterways to Resilience: https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/waterways_to_resilience_naturebased_solutions_wwfabinbev.pdf