The Most Important Question

Are you ready for the next big test?

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Because I am a sap, I have been thinking about my kids a lot lately. And kids in general. They’re going to grow up and live in a world that’s very different from ours, and it’s important to me that they’re all as ready for that as they can be.

So this week: Did you hear about the starfish?

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Over the past few years, more and more voters have cited “action on climate” as a reason for voting the way they do.

But here’s the thing: lots of voters who are registered, and even those who do vote in presidential elections – don’t turn out for midterms.

Much less for state and local races.

Millions of registered voters who list the environment or climate as their most important issue do the same. 

Success might not actually be about identifying and focusing on one specific issue, campaign, or candidate. It might come down to how we want to see ourselves, why we wear those little “I Voted” stickers, how we identify, and our behaviors.

And that’s what the Environmental Voter Project is all about, and why we are rerunning our 2022 conversation with Nathaniel Stinnett.

Nathaniel founded the Environmental Voter Project in 2015 after over a decade of experience as a senior advisor, consultant, and trainer for political campaigns and issue-advocacy nonprofits, and he sits on the Board of Advisors for MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative. 

He’s here to help me understand the EVP’s mission and tactics, and how we can help them achieve their goal of turning out more climate-focused voters this year and in the years to come.

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Voluntary carbon credits are a lot like used cars: You really have no idea what their quality might be. Or maybe they’re more like expensive bottles of wine. Many people (or at least Shayle) can’t tell whether they’re actually buying good-quality wine. If it’s expensive, it must be good, right?

That’s the kind of logic that has plagued voluntary carbon markets for years. 

A carbon credit can work in one of two ways. First, it can avert 1 metric ton of emissions that would have otherwise happened by, for example, preventing deforestation. Alternatively, a credit can directly remove a ton of carbon from the atmosphere through methods such as direct air capture or biochar.

But widespread reporting reveals that most credits don’t do what they say they do. Just this month, the CEO of the world’s leading certifier stepped down after an investigation by The Guardian revealed that over 90% of rainforest carbon credits were worthless. In May, a $1 billion lawsuit filed in California alleges that the credits that Delta Air Lines relies on for its claim of reaching carbon-neutrality are bogus.

Carbon credits have reached a crisis point at the same moment we need to massively scale them up to meet net-zero goals. So what do we do about these quality problems? 

In this episode, Shayle talks to Allister Furey, co-founder and CEO of Sylvera, a company that rates the quality of credits in a manner akin to what agencies like Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s do for bonds.

Shayle and Allister cover topics including:

Recommended resources:

Catalyst is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.

More episodes of Catalyst can be found here.

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Telling better stories is a type of Compound Action.

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How can we provide better mental health support for pregnancy, postpartum, and loss around pregnancy?

That's today's big question, and obviously in America in 2023, it's a loaded one, so I'm so thankful that my guest today is Simmone Taitt. She's the Founder and CEO of Poppy Seed Health.

Simmone experienced the vast gaps in emotional and mental support in American maternal healthcare while navigating her own path to parenthood after suffering multiple miscarriages, which she talks about today, with and without health insurance, like so many Americans.

In 2019, Simmone identified a better way forward for all birthing people, becoming a birth and full spectrum doula, and then launching Poppy Seed Health, a growing network of diverse, very qualified doulas, midwives, and nurses. They provide care within seconds, private care right in the app just when you need it the most.

If you've ever been a part of this journey as a pregnant person intentionally or not, as a partner, or in postpartum, whatever your path, you are probably intimately aware of how much and how often, often in the middle of the night, you just desperately need someone informed who can help answer questions around birth and postpartum planning, lactation support, general comfort, miscarriages, relationships, sleep, and so much more.

And we do it very, very poor job as a country of intentionally providing these essential services, often intentionally not providing it.

And so that's why I am so glad that Poppy Seed exists.

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That's today's big question, and today my guests are Roy Moger-Reischer, and our first three-time guest, Brandon Ogbunu.

Roy Moger-Reischer is a scientist trained in microbiology, evolution and data analysis for his PhD. He's currently a fermentation specialist Arzeda, working to develop new proteins and biochemistry for the production of valuable molecules.

Brandon Ogbunu, described as a radical collaborator, is an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale. His research takes place at the intersection of evolutionary biology, genetics, and epidemiology.

When I first read about the work of Roy and his lab compatriots to take this idea of a cell stripped down to only what is most essential -- a minimal cell -- and then to see if it would or could evolve to survive even basic mutations, my first thought was, "What?"

The answer, it turns out, is profound as hell.

And because I'm a self-aware moron, I also begged past guest, Brandon Ogbunu, to come back on the show to help me understand what the hell is happening here and what it means for our history, for society today, and for future breakthroughs to help answer the question:

What can you do with just 493 genes? And if the answer is not only survive, but thrive, what can we do once we know that about the building blocks of life?

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This week, we’re running an episode of Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers, from our friends at the Environmental Defense Fund.

This episode is part of a new miniseries called “The Year of the Climate Job,” hosted by EDF Innovation Director Daniel Hill.

Each episode provides the best advice from movers and shakers in the green careers landscape. They share creative, practical ways to land a job and build a career in climate work.

In this episode, Drawdown Labs Director Jamie Beck Alexander is pushing for every company on the planet to fight climate change. How? By harnessing the power of employee voices to change systems for the better from the inside.

A new season of Degrees launches in September. Right now, there are new and emerging green job opportunities in nearly every industry.

Degrees is the podcast for climate career inspiration and job advice.

Make sure you check out other Degrees episodes about how the green jobs transformation is shaping the future.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Degrees home

EDF Green Jobs Hub

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How to be excited about the future, explained.

Plus, the news:

Health & Medicine

Climate

Food & Water

Beep Boop

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This week, we want to tell you about Andrea Learned’s podcast: Living Change: A Quest for Climate Leadership. 

In season one, Andrea interviews local leaders living the change they want to see reflected in their communities, from John Bauters and Alex Fisch on the west coast to Barbara Buffaloe in Missouri.

But she also goes beyond city leaders to find corporate and media professionals leading the way – from CFO’s to Emmy award winners. The conversations highlight how their personal values integrate into their work.

There are some really interesting stories here – we enjoyed it so much we’re highlighting her conversation with Mark Gamba in our feed. 

Mark Gamba’s path into local politics in Oregon is uniquely “Living Change.”

As a professional nature photographer seeing climate change on the landscape in real-time, he had all the motivation he needed to run for Mayor of Milwaukie, Oregon.

Biking for transportation around town, and working to make it safer for anyone else who wants to do it, has become part of his brand.

For local political leaders across the country, Mark’s inspiring journey – and the way he shares it in this episode – is an aspirational model.

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• Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club

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