What UnEarth

What UnEarth

By Maitreya GhorpadeScienceNature
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What UnEarth episodes

  • EP 05: The Road Less Polluted | Understanding Sustainable Tourism with Aishwarya Phadke
    Travel and tourism represented approximately 10% of total global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016. That’s an estimated US $7 trillion; The global travel and tourism industry, directly or indirectly, creates approximately 11% of the world’s employment and creates 8% of the Global Green House Gas Emissions.  To help us understand more about the industry, its importance and impacts, and sustainable alternatives to the increasingly polluting industry, we have Aishwarya Phadke, the founder of Travel Dirty, a venture that makes travel more experiential and sustainable. 
    How important is travel to our species, how polluting are vacations really, how do we try to be sustainable every time we decide to step out the door, and indeed, what it even means to be a tourist, are questions I attempt to unearth in this weeks episode of what unearth.
    40 min
  • EP01: What is the #1 Solution to Climate Change?
    I have often asked myself, What is the number 1 solution to climate change? What is the single most effective use of the limited time that humanity has to effect any kind of tangible change on the single greatest threat to our peaceful existence? Within the grander scheme of things, In what way can I best help fight against this seemingly apocalyptical future that we’re steadfastly marching towards? Well it turns out I’m not the only one to ask that question. Although there exist a multitude of answers to these questions.
    I now realize that the only real way we can help to restore nature to its former glory is by unequivocally and wholly extracting ourselves from certain spaces and thereby allow nature to operate its highly sophisticated and finely tuned technology. It is our hubris that makes us believe that we have it in us to “save the planet”.
    That being said, There are however, some things that individuals can do to facilitate this transit back to the state of nature. Join me as I talk to Mr. Prithwiraj Ghorpade, an organic farmer, as we attempt to unearth man's relationship with land, nature, and the eluding dream of sustainability.
    51 min
  • EP04: The Unnatural Effects of Living Unnatural | Understanding Spiritual Ecology with Pooja Bhale
    The denaturalized life is the dehumanized life.
    Modern society is, in many ways, increasingly lived in unnatural ways. Our homes are concretized, many stories above mother earth, our food is either shipped from chemical farms across the world, or much worse, produced in factories and stored in warehouses. The air we breathe is more increasingly more conditioned, and I’m sure the day isn’t far when companies start selling us packaged bottles of ‘fresh air’. Our relations are increasingly superficial, and social media often has an effect contrary to its name, by making us increasingly more self conscious, increasingly more lonely, increasingly more anti social.
    Our species, in many ways, is now leading sub-optimal, sub-human lives, because of the increasing distance between us and nature. Our quest to create civilizations is quite often at the cost of all the things that made us human, that made our species what it is. Studies have shown that there is a decrease in our sensory perception only because we spend less time engaging all our sense simultaneously. Studies have shown a direct correlation between a denaturalized life and intelligence, problem solving ability, attention, motivation towards learning and creativity. Lack of exposure to nature is shown to increase likelihood of depression, disease, cause problems in interpersonal relations. In fact, a simple nature walk was shown to lead to 92% of the people surveyed feeling less depressed, 86% feeling less tense, 81% less angry, 80% less fatigued, 79% less confused, 56% more vigourous.
    In the time when pharmaceuticals seem to be the only industry immune to any form of economic recession, and attention stimulants like Ritalin and adderall being increasingly used, perhaps we’ve lost touch of the greatest low cost medicine we could ever hope for. Although corona has hijacked most of our headlines, there are several epidemics of depression, loneliness, and ill health, which are just as damaging, but far more insidious. It would seem then perhaps that, humanity is suffering from a severe case of Nature Deficit Disorder.
    Joining me today, is Pooja Bhale, a trained wildlife biologist and conservationist, who among many things, operates a incredible organization called the Protecterra Ecological Foundation, with the mission of educating, spreading awareness, and conserving nature. Pooja also runs The Farm, a refurbished patch of land which is home to over 1800 trees, plants, and saplings, 40 animals, 3 human families, and countless other ecosystems. Since the lockdown, the Farm is currently facing a slight financial crunch, which is why I’m going to do something I’ve never asked any of you to do, which is donate an amount of your choosing to this incredible venture. You can find the payment details in the show notes, or simply check out @thefarmandlove on instagram.
    No, Pooja didn’t ask me to promote the Farm, I’m doing so because I recognize the role that organizations like hers are going to have in an increasingly unhealthy world, with toxic food and unbreathable air. We need the Farm, hers and the many more out there to survive, if WE want to survive.
    What is the nature deficit disorder, how is man inextricably linked to nature, is the answer to our current myriad of problems spiritual ecology, and indeed, what does it even mean to be spiritual, are answers I attempt to unearth, in this week’s episode of What UnEarth.
    Gpay/PayTM details: Pooja Bhale - 9960100550
    48 min
  • EP03: How the Covid Crisis and the Climate Crisis are one.

    It’s safe to say that 2020 is a year that will go down in history, one that will be discussed for centuries to come, one that will undoubtedly shape the very ways in which we design life.

    I am completely cognizant of the enormity of the spread of the coronavirus as well as the very debilitating condition many individuals and families inflicted with it find themselves in. I am sensitive to all the hardship, turmoil and strife, as well as the other long list of unseen effects that are brought on by mass disease and illness. I understand that short term economic turmoil is far more damaging to the individuals who need a daily income for sustenance and even the most minor of hiccups in the financial machinery can be disastrous for scores of family, each having its own trickle down effect, each leading to an incalculable amount of despair, destruction, and death.

    But this podcast, is a good news podcast. Good news, not because the rate of the virus growth is reducing with every passing day, which is great news don’t get me wrong, but good news because while the world seemingly comes to a stuttering halt, we’re witnessing how even a minute retraction of our deeply polluting activities can lead to an rejuvenation of nature the likes of which haven’t been seen for decades. Good news because the global action we’re witnessing, both from the high towers of government as well as the relentless work of NGOs and other civil society organizations, truly emblematic of the spirit of human solidarity. Good news because together, one day at a time, we’re winning. All of us.

    This episode is unique, much like the times we’re living in, because I do not have a guest on this show. That’s right folks, I am bringing social distancing to podcasting. We’ll find out if the results it has on my podcast are as encouraging as it has had on curbing the spread of the virus. I wouldn’t bet on it though.

    What this episode is about, then, is two crises, Covid and Climate, and how the lessons we’re learning everyday from combating one, can be just as effectively used in combating the other, if not to a greater degree of success. This episode is about how at their core, climate and covid are the same crisis.

    25 min
  • EP02: What Is The Value of 1 Tree? | Understanding Urban Trees with Sathya Natrajan
    What is the value of one tree? When we talk of the worth of a tree, Is it merely the sum total of the market price of each of its components? Do we value a tree because of the wood it gives us, the fruits it bears, the air it clears? Do we value the bark, the roots, the leaves? A tree can be many things, a source of nutrition, health, security, but I now see that much like human society, a tree is made up of countless tiny entities, all doing their job, all continuing the battle of sustenance. Much like human society, a tree will grow, bit by bit, inch by inch, leaf by leaf. There is no secret formula for expedited growth, it is merely principle of persistence. 
    And I’m glad that today I have with me a person who perfectly personifies this persistence Mr Sathya Natrajan, a former VP of Sales and Marketing at a massive MNC, who now spends his time spearheading various social interest campaigns across Pune. He has somehow managed to find to time have a successful corporate career and to do some very cool things like spearhead the Red Dot campaign which aims to provide access to sanitary napkins, he has single handedly managed to clean up an entire lake, and has managed to find time to be actively engaged with over 60 environment and social interest groups and NGOs over the past ten years. It is in fact because of his passion for volunteering that I first had the good fortune of meeting Mr Natarajan at a Fridays For Future meeting, where he very graciously and patiently attempted to explain the intricacies of our country’s bureaucracy to a group of very enthused but equally inexperienced college kids and fresh grads such as myself.  Mr Natarajan has not only managed to find an incredible equilibrium in his work-life balance, but what I admire about him is how he manages to make it look effortless. His story is one of the unique quality of understanding and being sensitive to the ”bigger picture”. With him I had the lovely opportunity to spend some time understanding his passion for volunteering, understanding the provisions of the Tree Act, a law designed to help preserve trees, and his role in furthering the conservation of trees in Pune. 
    how does an individual manage to deal with multiple levels of an overstructured and underpowered bureaucracy to get work done, How do laws help in protecting trees, and indeed, more fundamentally, why do we value a tree at all, are questions I attempt to unearth, in this week’s episode, of What UnEarth. 
    Read more about Mr. Sathya Natarajan
    https://www.thebetterindia.com/184882/pune-engineer-hero-volunteer-ngo-decades-social-impact-inspiring-india/
    https://envalourment.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/the-dichotomy-man-mr-sathya-natarajan/
    https://thelogicalindian.com/my-social-responsibility/sathya-natarajan-social-work/
    https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/maharashtra-it-professional-cleans-mastani-lake-without-any-help-4686567/
    Further reading on the value of a Tree
    https://greenearthappeal.org/what-is-the-value-of-a-tree/
    https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/A-healthy-tree-worth-Rs-24-lakh-per-year-Report/articleshow/21927419.cms
    https://www.holdenarb.org/horticulture/calculate-the-value-of-a-tree/
    https://www.thoughtco.com/how-much-oxygen-does-one-tree-produce-606785
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/04/planting-billions-trees-best-tackle-climate-crisis-scientists-canopy-emissions
    https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2927/examining-the-viability-of-planting-trees-to-help-mitigate-climate-change/
    Desktop volunteering
    https://www.grow-trees.com/
    47 min

About What UnEarth

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Unearth (ʌnˈɜːθ) (verb) - To Discover;