Meet our hemp expert: Charles Levine. Charles is the Founder and CEO of Hemp Acres, and, for the past seven years, Charles has immersed himself in the world of hemp; learning about hemp’s history, nutritional properties, and sustainable nature. He’s learned how to grow it, how to process it, and its innumerable applications. He is one of the first licensed hemp growers and the first licensed hemp processor in the state of Minnesota.

Charles built Hemp Acres from the ground up on a farm in Waconia, Minnesota. Now, Hemp Acres is the largest wholesale producer of grain, botanical extract, and fiber ingredients in the nation. Hemp Acres is on a mission to widely introduce hemp back into the American market. He discusses the many legal issues of being allowed to produce hemp including what it takes to become a licensed hemp grower, the governmental inspections, and the challenges of getting other farmers on board despite the many stigmas that come with the association to marijuana and CBD oil.

Also please enjoy our first QUARTERLY UPDATE! After a successful first 3 months of episodes, we look back at our episodes on Hemp, Sustainability in Sports, and Marine Conservation and provide updates on some of the items our guests spoke about. We provide insight on how Minnesota's legalization of marijuana has impacted the hemp industry, what it's like to work on a Green Team for the Minnesota United FC, and provide an update on Hawaii's Green Fee!

Hemp. Marijuana. They're the same? They're different? They're a miracle??? You've definitely heard of them but there is certainly a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding when it comes to these multifaceted plants. In this episode, we breakdown hemp piece by piece. We dive into the long and storied history of hemp, define the differences between hemp and marijuana, explain the origins behind the banning of the plant, elaborate on the multitude of uses including fabrics, medicine, protein powder, and more(!) and then discuss where the future of hemp lies.

Meet our marine conservation expert: Carissa Cabrera. Carissa

Listen along as Carissa details her path to becoming a young CEO in Hawaii along which she went for her undergrad and masters while she meandered her way over the many hurdles that comes with finding your way in life. She tells us about pursuing the Whales track in school, supporting herself as a server, working at a zoo, becoming an animal rescuer, and blowing up on social media.

The ocean makes up 70% of our earth's surface containing 50-80% of all life on this planet; yet, when it comes to climate change, we seem to ignore it.

If you have ever heard of topics such as ocean acidification, climate change and changing weather patterns, and ocean plastic pollution and wondered how they truly work to impact our environment, this episode is for you. Taylor and Logan not only talk ABOUT these topics but also breakdown the nuts and bolts of the chemistry and biology involved. Reminiscent of your college intro to chem course, we review how excess carbon dioxide increases the acidity of the ocean and discuss how water high heat capacity (please stop snoring, we promise this is interesting) is important in regards to the ocean being a climate solution and why it impacts weather patterns similar to the recent snowstorms in Texas.

It's not all dense either! We also tell you how climate versus weather is like a kindergarten classroom and talk about the amazing work being done to protect marine wild life in Hawaii and discuss how that can be expanded.

Meet our sustainability in sports expert: Brad Vogel. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sports Management from the University of Minnesota and a Masters Degree in Sustainability Management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. In this episode he discusses how his education and mentors got him started working on a green team with the Minnesota Twins, all the way to a new and exciting role with the leading green sports organization - Green Sports Alliance where he works as the Member Services and Events Senior Manager.

Listen along as he tells us what it's like getting your first job in sports and sustainability to running the sustainability and operations for a major stadium to now coordinating with every major sports organization across the US including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, PGA, MLS, and FIFA. In this episode you will learn how to apply sustainable thinking to all the challenges that large venue events bring when it comes to waste, water and energy management and reduction. On top of that we get inside stories on dealing with the inner workings of Super Bowl 52, arranging a green golf event in a not so secret Augusta golf course, and the challenges of getting staff who don't care about sustainability to buy in.

Sustainability in sports can sound like an oxymoron, but with the seemingly never-ending stream of new stadiums being put up across not just the US but the World, sustainability can no longer be just an idea, it needs to be a standard practice. In this episode, Taylor and Logan showcase your favorite teams' stadiums and discuss how they are reducing waste with materials agreements and endless trash sorts, water by capturing rain and reusing water where possible through innovative technology such as no flush toilets and green ice, and much more. This isn't just one league. This is happening in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA, PGA, FIFA, and more! You will also learn about about how you can make an impact when you are at an event as well as ways you can get involved.

Welcome to our podcast! In this episode Taylor and Logan discuss how the podcast came to be as well as what you can expect to listen to. TLDL??? Sure. This podcast is set up in episode pairs. The first episode of each combo is a introduction to a certain sustainability topic and the next episode is an interview with an industry professional who is working to solve those exact problems. You can expect to hear about sustainability in sports, marine biology, hemp, and more!