Our New World

John Paul Jose is a climate activist who grew up in one of the most interesting environmental countries right now - India. Join us as we discuss becoming an activist, the climate culture in India, and fighting against wildlife-negative policymaking. 

What do you think about a wealth tax?

Marlene Engelhorn is a millionaire who wants to be taxed more. She isn't alone in this, and when I spoke to her she stressed that she is not alone in having this idea as a wealthy person, nor is she an expert on the issue. That being said, she is very well informed, extremely passionate about the idea that social inequality could be improved with a wealth tax, and she understands the issue from a deeply personal perspective.

This episode was very much a lesson for me. Marlene wonderfully explains what is a somewhat abstract issue to people who, like myself, aren't as financially literate as those who have enough wealth to pay for those lessons. She is a powerful advocate for an issue that affects us all, but from my experience, isn't spoken about perhaps because we feel that we don't understand it. Have a listen, leave a comment, get involved.

Gary's Economics: https://www.youtube.com/c/garyseconomics

Tax Me Now: https://www.taxmenow.eu/

Patriotic Millionaires UK: https://patrioticmillionaires.uk/

Ashely Gore is a young climate activist who decided over lockdown that something needed to be done about the environmental crisis. In school, and now more globally, Ashely has set up movements and organisations that focus on action and collaboration. She is passionate, positive, and determined, and was a pleasure to talk with about her various projects and plans for the future. Her recent book on 'eco-poetry' (a new term for the 21st century!), is titled 'Unsaid', the link for which is below. 

Unsaid Poetry: https://www.amazon.in/Unsaid-Ashely-Gore-ebook/dp/B0BCCKYWW2/ref=sr_1_4?qid=1673868860&refinements=p_27%3AGore&s=books&sr=1-4  

Much of the current climate crisis seems devisive. Youth vs adulthood, wealth vs poverty, global North v global South. In reality, it is a problem that is impacting us all, and one that we all need to band together to tackle. Kevin Patel, of all people, recognises this and is doing something about it. 

His organisation 'One Up Action' gives youth an opportunity to involve themselves in climate action with a focused and guided approach. It bridges the gap between adults and young people by giving youth the confidence to use their voices. Considering the lack of youth representation in politics, his work and ideas bring an interesting question to light; how do we involve more young people in global issues in a productive way? Young people aren't just our future now, they are very much our present, and need to be at the table.

What would be your Ted Talk topic of choice? It's a great ice-breaker question, but I can't imagine many 10 year-olds thinking about it. Well, when Genesis Butler was 10 years old, she didn't even have to question that she was going to discuss healing the planet, when she did her own Ted Talk on climate change.

Starting off with an interest in animal rights, Genesis quickly realized that climate change was a major issue that had to be dealt with as soon as possible. She started with some humble social media postings with the aim of getting discussions among family and friends, but that quickly turned into a big follower base, and the responsibility that came with reaching thousands of people with each post.

Genesis has gone on to do amazing things with her life already; She has spoken at global events, done a TedTalk, and nearly got the pope to go vegan! Genesis is an advocate for self-educating, veganism and being as proactive as possible with your beliefs. To me, amazing success can be any small goal achieved, and the reason Genesis is so successful in my eyes, is simply that she is acting on an important value. She's a force, and may there be many more Genesis' out there.

Growing up in Eastern Uganda, Nyombi Morris' life has been dictated by climate disaster. At the age of 9, awful flooding hit Nyombi's town, and his family was forced to move to Kampala, the capitol of Uganda.  From there, he's gone on a serious journey and overcome a number of obstacles to get to where he is, including going back to school after years out, getting onto the job ladder by managing footballers' social media, and now living the challenges of being a young, Ugandan man trying to speak up. More people are talking about how the effects of climate change are felt unevenly around the world. Nyombi has experienced these effects firsthand and has used that experience as motivation to try and stop what happened to him, happening to others. It is obvious to say that his story is inspiring, but what feels most important about Nyombi's message is that he has the real-life experience of being part of the climate crisis, and those voices need to be represented.  

A pre-warning that Nyombi was in a shared space while recording in Kampala. So, at times, his audio is unclear. But it doesn't take away from his fascinating story into working on climate issues.

Aaron Gekoski, also known as Bertie, is an award winning environmental photojournalist. He began life working a corporate job in the United Kingdom and after some years, Bertie felt dissatisfied with what he was doing and decided to change his work and lifestyle pretty significantly. So I've interviewed a few people who have made massive career changes and what Bertie did was right up there with some of the most extreme. He left his job and went to travel in Africa where he stayed for some years after finding work as a photographer, documenting the shark trade industry. After some pretty hardcore projects and challenges, he now works documenting human wildlife issues around the world.

I think what Bertie has done is inspiring to a lot of us. One of the best parts of his story is his willingness to break the mold of what is expected of everyday people. He traded in a comfortable life to work on something that he saw was a huge issue. After listening, have a look at some of his work on instagram @Aaron_gekoski and you might feel like tackling an issue that you are passionate about. In this episode, we talk about his journey, some of his hardest projects and solutions that he feels could make an impact.

At the age of 7, Lilly Platt learned of the damage that plastic waste does to the environment. Instead of leaving it to the adults, Lilly decided to take matters into her own hands. She began her own movement called Lilly's Plastic Pickup. As the name suggests, she started picking up litter and, piece by piece, has inspired others to do the same. Now 14, Lilly juggles school, public speaking on environmental matters and working alongside several organisations such as 'She Is the Universe'.

Lilly is a testament to the passion and determination of youth. She believes in being kind to each other and ourselves, and doing the little things to make a big difference. For the youth, speaking out is often the most they feel they can do. Lilly, along with many others, is trying to bridge the gap between speaking out and being involved. There is a way to include the youth in a productive way. Listening to them is a start.

I always imagined a conversation between a student of botany and a student of zoology would be filled with nerdy hatred. On the contrary, Ben Goulet-Scott had so many important beliefs and qualities that I think the world needs.

Ben is a young naturalist who has just defended his PhD at Harvard University. What makes Ben such an important voice is his empathetic and gentle approach to leadership. He is humble and has that remarkable quality of wanting to use his platform to give other people opportunities. Leadership qualities are often seen as aggressive and competitive. Ben is a breath of fresh air.

He believes deeply in being a steward of the natural world. Aside form his research on evolution and biodiversity, he has a number of creative projects like his education-focused social media handle @letsbotanize.

What a way to kick start season 2 of Our New World! A Future Leader if there ever was one. 

Hannah Testa is 19. Hannah Testa is already an activist, public speaker, and author. She began her journey at the age of 10, and sheds light on how you can get involved in environmental work from any age.

We talk about how to turn ideas into actions, what gives her the confidence and motivation to keep going despite people looking down on her age, and also how she stays grounded when the environmental work feels heavy and a bit doomsday, as it often does at the moment, and I'm thinking a lot about the more common occurrence of heat waves and drought. Hannah embodies everything brilliant about what youth brings to the table on environmental activism, and with people like her continuing to push in areas like education and policy, it gives a real hope to how we can tackle future global issues.