This Might Just Work - Ideas for a Tired Planet

As more people move to live in cities, the disconnect between where food comes from and our plate seems to be growing all the time. But today's interviewee is hoping to change that by helping design alternative food solutions from the very heart of London. The amazing place that is the focus of today's podcast is called Green Lab. Founded by Andrew Gregson as a maker space with the belief that design is the most effective way to tackle big challenges, they have set out on a mission to radically change the way we produce and consume food Whereas many people might see our ever-expanding cities as concrete jungles devoid of life, they see them as places with opportunity, to experiment and develop food systems that make people and spaces healthier For more information and info on open days and courses head to www.greenlab.org

With approximately 90% of the world's freight moved about by large ships, it's perhaps not surprising the industry has a big impact on the environment. In this episode, I interview someone who is on a mission to change that. Danielle Doggett is one of the founders of SailCargo Inc who are currently building a large sailing vessel called Ceiba in Costa Rica. The idea is that once finished it will not only have a positive impact but act as a model for others to copy around the world as they hope to #seashippingchange To find out more about this amazing project and info about how to invest head to https://www.sailcargo.org and watch some videos of the construction at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-oMwu50sTk 

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There are certain topics amongst environmentalists that seem particularly controversial. One of these is Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). In this episode, we explore the topic of ‘beliefs’ within the environmental community and whether those beliefs are no different to ones of religion such as creationism. So I’m stepping out of the realms of environmental scientists and innovators once again to speak to Stefaan Blanke is a philosophy professor at The University of Tilburg, who has taken his work looking at matters such as creationist beliefs in humans and applied that thinking to look at pseudoscience, particularly around GMOs. 

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Biochar is a product created by applying lots of heat to plant matter in the absence of oxygen. This creates a form of pure carbon, not that dissimilar to what you would put on a bbq, but much purer. This substance that is created can then be stored in soils which locks away this carbon for hundreds, potentially thousands of years. It also has the added benefit of holding moisture and nutrients within its pores, potentially boosting crop growth too. It sounds like an interesting idea but I wanted to speak to someone in the know to find out a bit more. My guest today is Jamie Bakos from Titan Projects. After graduating as an environmental engineer student, Jamie worked his way through jobs where he had to figure out what to do with waste streams. This is what eventually lead him to set up Titan Projects and to focus on biochar as a solution to many organic matter waste streams and also as a solution to climate change. We also chat about some of Titan Projects other projects all trying to find a use for carbon. For more info on TitanProjects check out www.titan-projects.com and for more on carbon-based products go to https://carbon4climate.com/ 

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Shah Selbe is a spacecraft engineer turned conservation technologist and founder of non-profit Conservify, whose mission it is to lower barriers to entry for effective conservation by providing anything from equipment to apps and all with a big push towards open-data. For more info on Conservify head to www.conservify.org You can find Shah on Twitter @shahselbe Conservify @conservify on both Twitter and Instagram Field kit @fieldkitorg also both on Twitter and Instagram 

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We’ve spoken about the issue of plastic waste in a few previous episodes, but the problem of litter extends much beyond that. There are many other materials and items that are used in an increasingly disposable manner and that contribute to this epidemic. Litterati is a mobile app, created by Jeff Kirchner. It started off simply as an Instagram hashtag, but it started to grow into a global movement. Jeff then realised he was collecting lots of useful data and perhaps this data could be leveraged to approach brands who were the main litter offenders. In the interview, Jeff will share some of the stories of how that is working in the real world and how the power of ‘big data’ can be used for good and not evil for a change. We also talk about how even though littering isn’t necessarily the biggest environmental issue of our time that the app can be used as a gateway into other issues and a way to engage people on a relateable issue. Download the app on iTunes or Android and have a go, it's actually really fun! 

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Currently, the equivalent of one garbage truck full of plastic enters the oceans every single minute of every day. So until we cut out this plastic habit completely, we need to find a way to put it to use and stop it harming wildlife and ecosystems. In this episode, we look to the circular economy model once more for a solution and I interview Toby McCartney, the founder of MacRebur, a Scottish based company that takes waste plastic that would otherwise be destined for landfill (or more likely the ocean) and use it to build roads. We chat about where the idea came from, the difficulty of getting from idea to product, the importance of local circular economy thinking and finally the plan to scale and tackle the plastic problem around the world.

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Land-based food production is in crisis - driven by climate change & population increase. We have to grow 70% more food by 2050 to accommodate 2 billion more people on the planet (World Bank 2017). So with the oceans covering over 70% of the earth's surface surely there must be opportunities for food production there? We know fishing with large nets hasn't worked, putting fish stocks under a lot of pressure. And fish aquaculture has many negative impacts too. But today's guest Bren Smith from non-profit GreenWave is pioneering a new technique known as 3D ocean farming which is a no input, ecosystem restoring, carbon-storing innovation that could provide sustainable, affordable food and millions of jobs in the process. For more info head to www.greenwave.org

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Fast fashion focuses on speed and low cost delivering new ‘collections’ of clothing for every season of every year inspired by the latest catwalk looks or celebrity styles. But this low-cost, disposable way of buying clothes is having an impact on the environment. This often includes growing the cotton (land use and chemicals), huge amounts of freshwater use, toxic chemicals in the manufacturing process and the impact of endless clothes filling landfills. Rapanui is a clothing company that has always had the environment at the center of their business, using renewable energy, organic cotton and recycling all the water they use. And their latest idea is a circular economy t-shirt which can be sent back over and over cutting down many of the environmental impacts of disposable fashion. In this interview I speak to one of the two brothers who founded the business Mark Drake-Knight about the company, this product and the exciting idea of Tee-Mill a platform they created which helps anyone set up a circular economy fashion brand.

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