The Green Podcast

In this episode I speak to Rachel Platin, who is an expert on the application of the "Cradle to Cradle" (C2C) concept.  Rachel works as the Projects & Scientific Director at the EPEA where she helps companies and other organizations to apply the C2C methodology to their products & systems.

Cradle to Cradle is method for creating, consuming, and disposing of products that involves no harmful waste or damage to the environment.  Products are developed in such a way that their creation has a positive impact on the environment (if any impact), and at the end of their lives the products become resources for creating new C2C products.

You can also listen to it in iTunes.

In this episode we discuss:

Rachel's background and how she ended up working with C2C

A detailed explanation of what C2C is

How the extent to which we can recycling can be improved and less expensive by changing the design of products (beginning with their end in mind)

The industries in which it's easiest to apply C2C

How the EPEA helped a carpet manufacturer to create carpets that can contain no harmful chemicals, can be recycled almost indefinitely while reducing costs and improving air quality.

How the "biosphere" cycle where waste eventually becomes food can be created in the "technosphere"

How the EPEA helps companies to ensure that their entire supply chain is using environmentally friendly components

How consumers can find C2C certified products

How anyone can help with spreading C2C

Resources to learn more

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA)

Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute

Talk by William McDonough on Cradle to Cradle Design

Michael Braungaart

In this episode I speak to Chris Kerston, a holistic "beyond organic" farmer who now works with The Savory Institute promoting farming methods that can heal the land from the damage done by conventional farming practices.  These practices can help to undo the damage we've done that is leading to climate change.

You can also listen to it in iTunes.

In this episode we discuss:

Chris's background as a holistic farmer, and the techniques he used

How farmers can save fuel costs by using grazing animals to "mow" orchards & remove weeds

What life is like for animals on conventional farms

How conventional farming is turns the land to desert (explained in detail!)

How holistic farming undoes that damage

Difficulties in spreading holistic farming as the new standard

Strategies to overcome those difficulties

How holistic farming can be applied in extreme climates like Canada

Why we need farms to "mimic nature", rather than fully restoring nature itself

Resources to learn more

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

 The Savory Institute

Video: Allan Savory's TED talk

Video: Chris's talk How Grassfed Beef Will Save The World

Movie: Food Inc.

Joel Salatin's farm website

Book: You Can Farm by Joel Salatin

Video: Soil Carbon Cowboys

Book: Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision Making by Allan Savory

Ebook: The Grazing Revolution by Allan Savory with TED

On this episode, I interview Lauren Singer, a 23 year old New Yorker whose passion for sustainability has driven her to lead a trash-free life.  Lauren actively blogs at TrashIsForTossers.com and is launching her company The Simply Co, where she'll sell a line of environmentally friendly cleaning products, starting with laundry detergent.

You can also listen to it in iTunes.

In this episode, we discuss:

How and why Lauren made the switch to a trash-free lifestyle

How Lauren makes most of her own household products, including deodorant, toothpaste, and more

Tips to eliminate trash... even how to get liquid products like olive oil with no packaging

How to find environmentally friendly food and clothes

How The Simply Co got started, and Lauren's plans for it

The easiest lifestyle changes to reduce one's environmental footprint

Lauren’s recommended books & documentaries

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

TrashIsForTossers.com - Lauren Singer’s Blog

The Simply Co (Lauren's Company)

The Simply Co Kickstarter page

Silent Spring - book by Rachel Carson

Eating Animals - book by Jonathan Safran Foer

King Corn – documentary

Fed Up – documentary

Gasland - documentary (Justin comment: I have not watched Gasland, but it's a controversial film & if you'd like to hear the other side of the story, you may like to check out FrackNation - which I have also not watched)

Zero Waste Home - blog by Bea Johnson

Lauren's article on Mind Body Green

In this episode I speak to Simon Lamb who produced the documentary Thin Ice about the science behind climate change.  Simon has a PHD in Geology from Cambridge University, was at Oxford University for 22 years, and currently teaches geophysics at Victoria University of Wellington.  He's been involved in a large number of science documentaries including a few BBC series, and has written the books Devil in the Mountain and Earth Story.

The "Thin Ice" film was released in 2013, and the team is currently running a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter to fund the editing required to broadcast the film on US public television.  You can find that campaign HERE.

You can also listen to it in iTunes.

In this episode we discuss:

Simon's motivation to make a film about climate change

Why the public should hear about climate change science directly from the scientists who are studying it

The various branches of science involved in climate change research.

What is causing climate change

How the "carbon cycle" works

Whether reducing or eliminating our carbon emissions is enough to solve climate change

How the greenhouse effect works (in detail!)

The effects of climate change on people living in the Arctic

How scientists in Antarctica are studying thousands of years of history of the earth's atmosphere

How humans would try to cope with the effects of significant climate change

How we may be able to burn fossil fuels without causing climate change

Why water mills (tidal power) may be a more viable energy source than wind mills

The promise and drawbacks of nuclear power and fusion

What individuals can do to improve the climate change situation

What Simon is doing next and his favorite books.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

"Thin Ice" website

Kickstarter campaign for editing "Thin Ice" for broadcast on US public television

Koyaanisqatsi film on Rotten Tomatoes

"Collapse" book by Jared Diamond

Jared Diamon's TED Tak

Complete works of Jane Austen

Peter Molnar, author

Episode #2!  In this episode I speak to David Lavallee, who is an expert on the environmental impact of the mining of the oil sands in Alberta in Canada.  David has created a documentary on that topic called White Water, Black Gold.

You can also listen to it in iTunes.

In this episode we discuss a wide variety of topics related to the oil sands including...

The relationship between the oil mining in Alberta and the nearby rivers & glaciers

The effect that mining has on the water, and in turn on the surrounding environment

How bitumen is transformed into usable oil

The two types of mining that happen in that oil sands

How the mining affects people living downstream from the oil sands

How tailings ponds work & how they affect the environment

His new documentary that is coming out in early 2015

The economic vs energy viability of the oil sands production

How realistic it is to switch completely to renewable energy sources

How our political processes affect the types of energy we use

How many people are needed to effect change across society

The viability of wind & solar energy

How the economy may need to be restructured to allow it to survive into the future

What action people can take to help move the world towards a sustainable future

David's new documentary coming out next year called "To The Ends Of The Earth"

And here are the resources mentioned in this episode:

White Water, Black Gold

Alpine Club of Canada

An Inconvenient Truth

Dr. Shawn Marshall

David Schindler

Dr. Kevin Timoney

Dr. John O'Connor

This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein

Episide #1 has launched!  For this episode I was fortunate enough to interview Captain Charles Moore of Algalita.org who has been researching and building awareness about the issue of plastic in the oceans for nearly 20 years.

He's appeared on David Letterman, The Colbert Report, Nightline, and has been featured in Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal, and National Geographic.  It was an honor to speak to him on the first episode of The Green Podcast.

You can also listen to it in iTunes.

In this episode we discuss:

How Captain Moore's love of nature began as a toddler

Why nature can't biodegrade plastic naturally

Why so much plastic ends up in the ocean & where it comes from

A description of the garbage patches in the ocean, and what Captain Moore has seen on his visits

The damage done by plastic in the oceans (how it harms wildlife as well as ourselves)

How plastic in the oceans contributes to climate change

Why recycling doesn't cut it as a solution

Captain Moore's top suggestion for people who want to make a difference

Who he admires most in his field

What books he'd convince the world the read, if he could

What he's doing next

Resources mentioned in this podcast include:

Algalita - Captain Moore's non-profit organization

Bag It - Documentary on plastic

Ricoh Copier - Refuses to accept products from manufacturers who won't take back the packaging

International Pellet Watch -  The organization started by Dr. Hideshige Takada

Flotsametrics and the Floating World by Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer

Das Kapital by Karl Marx

Reason and Revolution by Herbert Marcuse

Counterrevolution and Revolt by Herbert Marcuse