Nature N8 calculates his carbon footprint and shops for the cheapest offset. But the retail therapy concludes that carbon offsets are very... off. Treating yourself with carbon offsets is apparently soothing for climate anxiety. (With 2020 vision?) 

FOOTNOTE | Carbon Footprint Calculator | The Global Footprint Network | The Gold Standard  

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EPISODE CREDIT | Allison Chan, producer, editor | Nate Maynard (@N8May), host | Yu-Chen Lai (@aGuavaEmoji), assistance | Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), executive producer | a Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) | www.ghostisland.media

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We take another sip from our earlier episode about straws. Since then, Taiwan has introduced its plastic straw ban. But paper straws are still not the solution to our beverage needs. At the end of the episode, we also have our first listener question!  Nate was interviewed about the plastic straw ban.

Support “Waste Not Why Not” on Patreon. Follow us on Twitter @wastenotpod. View show notes. 

EPISODE UPDATE CREDIT | Allison Chan, producer, editor | Nate Maynard (@N8May), host | Yu-Chen Lai (@aGuavaEmoji), assistance |

ORIGINAL EPISODE CREDIT | Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), producer | Nate Maynard (@N8May), producer, host | Emily Cardinali (@emilycardinali), editor | Chris Lo, theme song | a Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot

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Two things happened this week: 1/ COP (Conference of the Parties - ie the only time countries meet to negotiate climate agreements) just wrapped up in Spain. 2/ Youth climate activist Greta Thunberg was named TIME Person of the Year. Today, we discuss something in between.

Every year at COP, young activists continue to be at the front of the conversation. This episode, we meet a climate activist from Taiwan who’s attendance at a previous COP as a 21-year-old created a diplomatic stir. He also found a very unlikely ally, who also took him to Antarctica. Our youth activist is Liang-Yi Chang (張良伊). He co-founded the Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition in 2008/9. Today, he’s Asian Managing Director for the international environmental organization, 350.org. And this is his story.

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EPISODE CREDIT | Allison Chan, producer, editor | Nate Maynard (@N8May), host | Yu-Chen Lai (@aGuavaEmoji) and Thomas Lee, assistance | Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), executive producer | a Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot

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Anyone can say we need radical change to address the climate crisis, but there’s only one Professor Naki (Nebojsa Nakicenovic). He’s even worked with Ban Ki-Moon. Professor Naki is an economist who - for the past 50 years - has been tackling the climate crisis through the lens of technological change and economic development. He’s the former deputy general of IIASA in Vienna (Int’l Institute for Applied Systems Analysis) and was a part of the beginning of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change). 

FOOTNOTE | On Nebojsa Nakicenovic (aka Professor Naki): | On UN Millennium Goals    On SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) | On IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change) | On UNFCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change):

Support “Waste Not Why Not” on Patreon. Follow us on Twitter @wastenotpod. 

EPISODE CREDIT | Allison Chan, producer, editor | Nate Maynard (@N8May), host | Yu-Chen Lai (@aGuavaEmoji), researcher | Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), executive producer, editor | a Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot

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Held in Taipei on August 31st, we talked with Godfrey Ngai, CFO of Xing Mobility - an electric vehicle battery company going after two thirds of the worlds vehicles. Melody Hsu - co-founder of ViaSweat - an active-wear brand trying to use more sustainable textile made from recycled materials. And Hamoun Karami - founder of Lidbot, a startup that wants to transform the way we think about trash collection.

How do you start a “green” company? How do you make it scale? How do you make sure it’s financially and environmentally sustainable? These are some of the questions we covered on WNWN’s first live show!

Support “Waste Not Why Not” on Patreon. Follow us on Twitter @wastenotpod. 

EPISODE CREDIT | Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), producer, editor | Nate Maynard (@N8May), producer, host | Chris Lo, theme song | a Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot

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The US and Europe are dumping trash on developing countries, right? China broke recycling, right? Wrong! Since China stopped taking in foreign recyclable waste, people have been freaking out, but, things are a bit more complicated than you think.In this episode, Nature N8 breaks down the top three myths surrounding the global trash trade and charts a way forward to fix our recycling systems.

Support “Waste Not Why Not” on Patreon. Follow us on Twitter @wastenotpod. 

EPISODE CREDIT | Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), producer, editor | Nate Maynard (@N8May), producer, host | Chris Lo, theme song | a Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot

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Climate Week, some call it the most important week of the year, and best of all, Nature N8 was there this time. Each year NGOs, lobbyists, government officials, spies, flock to NYC to call for greater climate action. In this special bonus episode, hear from N8 on what really went down. Subscribe on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/wastenotwhynot) to hear the full episode.

Support “Waste Not Why Not” on Patreon. Follow us on Twitter @wastenotpod. 

EPISODE CREDIT | Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), producer, editor | Nate Maynard (@N8May), producer, host | Chris Lo, theme song | a Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nature Nate is currently in New York City for Climate Week

Ever wonder why recycling was better when you were a kid in America? Well, it was. This episode, a trash wizard named Alex Danovitch joins N8 to talk trash in the US. The steady corporate growth of trash has tracked Alex’s career closely as he co-founded one of only four non-profit waste management facilities in the US.

Meanwhile, waste haulers went public, and the US’s actual recycling rate went down, and overseas. Alex and N8 talk about sustainable waste management, challenges with incineration, and how the US can adapt to a new world of recycling.

Support “Waste Not Why Not” on Patreon. Follow us on Twitter @wastenotpod.

EPISODE CREDIT | Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), producer, editor | Nate Maynard (@N8May), producer, host | Chris Lo, theme song | a Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) | www.ghostisland.media

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.