Sea Change Radio

Developing countries around the world are finding themselves in a vicious cycle. As global emissions rise, climate disasters accelerate, hitting the developing world hardest. These countries then take out high-interest loans, sinking deeper into debt, which forces them to shelve climate change mitigation strategies. This week on Sea Change Radio, we welcome Niranjali Amerasinghe of ActionAid USA to discuss the work of her organization. We look at how debt in the Global South severely hampers the ability of those countries to fight the devastating impacts of climate change, and talk about the harms of the Trump administration’s drastic aid cuts on the earth’s most vulnerable populations.

This week on Sea Change Radio, we circle back with the leaders of two nonprofits trying to make a difference in two very different ways. First, we speak with Shannon Fernando, the founder and CEO of Alabaster International, as she describes her organization’s business model and tells us about the promising African staple crop enset. Then, we hear from the Executive Director of Vote Solar, Sachu Constantine, to learn more about all things energy-related under the sun. We discuss the harm inflicted upon the solar industry by the current administration, look at some encouraging developments in both residential and commercial solar, and examine what we can do to keep lowering costs and get away from fossil fuels.

This week on Sea Change Radio, we revisit two conversations focused on renewable energy technology. First, we speak with Umair Irfan, a Climate Reporter from Vox.com, to examine air conditioning and how some of the planet’s hottest cities are trying to survive in the face of consistent, record-breaking high temperatures. We talk about how breakthroughs in the battery storage sector provide some hope that the renewable energy market will continue to grow. Then, we hear from University of Southern California Business Professor Shon Hiatt to learn more about the lithium industry – how this mineral is mined, its importance to the energy and transportation sectors, and why lithium’s market price has collapsed over the past few years.

As we are reminded by the popular children’s picture book by Taro Gomi, everyone poops. But not everyone disposes of that poop in the same way. In many countries, waste is carried away by potable drinking water, while in other places the scarcity of water has prompted different approaches. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with Nick Kawa, an anthropology professor at Ohio State University and the author of “After the Flush: Rethinking the Future of Human Waste.” We take a look at how modern sewage systems evolved, learn about the potential regenerative effects of incorporating bio-solids into agriculture, and look at some new waste solutions for the estimated 3.5 billion people who lack access to safe sanitation systems.

Copper and steel were pivotal to the industrial revolution. But these days, it’s clear that continued reliance on these substances as our key building materials has devastating environmental implications, including habitat destruction from open-pit mining, water toxification from acid mine drainage, and air pollution from sulfur dioxide emissions. Fortunately there’s an emerging array of cutting-edge materials that hold promise for eco-conscious developers. A company named DexMat has developed a material called Galvorn, which is fantastical stuff right out of Spider-Man. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with Bryan Guido Hassin, the CEO of the Houston-based DexMat, to learn more about Galvorn. Hassin explains how Galvorn is made, what makes it different from conventional materials, and the many exciting potential applications of this futuristic stuff that could get your radioactive blood pumping.

Have you gone to any of the No Kings marches in the last couple of years to connect with fellow American residents who are appalled by the current state of affairs? Or did you stay at home thinking that your participation wouldn’t make a difference anyway? This week on Sea Change Radio, we hear from writer and journalist Vincent Bevins, the author of The Jakarta Method and If We Burn, to try to get a clearer understanding of mass protests in the 21st century. We look at the impact of January 6th (an event that took place after the publication of Bevins’s books) compare protest movements in this country with those that took place around the world in the 2010s, and discuss how the internet and social media have changed the nature of protesting (for better and for worse).

Despite all the damage that this conservative-leaning Supreme Court has wrought on women’s rights, immigration, and the environment while green lighting runaway presidential lawlessness, the longest lasting legacy of the Roberts Court may well be its turning back the clock on voting rights. Recent Supreme Court decisions are throwing us back to the 1950s and putting our very democracy in peril. This week’s ruling, which allowed the Trump administration to move forward with an executive order imposing restrictions on mail-in voting, was yet another stain on the current Court’s record. Today on Sea Change Radio, we are joined by Dr. Carol Anderson, a professor of African American Studies at Emory University, to discuss her 2018 book One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy. We explore the patterns of limiting access to the ballot box and look at how debates over voter ID and “election integrity” are really just dressed up solutions in search of a problem.

When you read political articles these days, do you often find yourself incensed that the author has chosen to speak for “mainstream Dems,” “many Americans” and other wide swaths of the electorate without the slightest bit of data to back it up – or have you become immune to this sort of framing? This week on Sea Change Radio we speak to John Stoehr of The Editorial Board about the reliance that political journalists have on the “voice of God” to carve the narratives they desire. We discuss how the media has created a dynamic where political fictions so easily become reality, look at the impact that the DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America, is actually having on the Democratic party, and examine communication issues within the party’s leadership.

Did you know that the contents of that can of tuna sitting in your cupboard can actually be traced back to the waters and boat where the fish was caught? Organizations like the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (the ISSF) have placed seafood traceability squarely in the 21st century. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with the president of the ISSF, Susan Jackson, to learn more about tuna fishing. We look at her organization’s partnership model, discuss the viability of maintaining healthy global fish stocks, and talk about some of the challenges facing the industry.

If you’ve heard natural gas depicted as a more environmentally friendly fuel alternative as compared to traditional oil and gasoline, you are definitely not alone. Unfortunately, it’s not true. This week on Sea Change Radio, we welcome two researchers from the Center for Climate Integrity, Rebecca Leber and Rebecca John, to discuss their report profiling the natural gas industry’s efforts over the past several decades to mislead the public about its products. We examine the dangers of methane gas emissions that were kept quiet for so many years, talk about the powerful messaging behind the word “natural” gas, and look at how effective the industry has been in positioning natural gas as a bridge fuel to fight climate change.