Episodes

Author, Paul Wheaton has come out with a wonderful book on making a huge, positive, global difference from your own home! Prioritize comfort over sacrifice while saving thousands of dollars. Explore dozens of solutions and their impacts on carbon footprint, petroleum footprint, toxic footprint, and other environmental issues. Tune in as we talk with Paul about his new book, Building a Better World in Your Backyard!

Feeding America is the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization—a powerful and efficient network of 200 food banks across the country. As food insecurity rates hold steady at the highest levels ever, the Feeding America network of food banks has risen to meet the need. They feed 40 million people at risk of hunger, including 12 million children and 7 million seniors. But Feeding America also works to alleviate hunger with a focus on sustainability and environmental justice. Today we ...

The pandemic has put the world in a heightened state of anxiety, but there were already underlying signs of trouble before COVID-19 hit. Suicides are at their highest point in 50 years, record numbers of Americans are taking medication for anxiety and depression, and opioids kill more people in the U.S. than car crashes. Dr. Margaret Klein Salamon’s new book, Facing the Climate Emergency: How to Transform Yourself with Climate Truth, makes the case that climate change inaction is the root cause ...

Nearly 70 percent of the fresh produce sold in the U.S. contains residues of potentially harmful chemical pesticides, according to the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) 2020 Dirty Dozen™. EWG’s newly released consumer guide outlines the produce items with the most amount of pesticide residue, as well as a list of the fruits and vegetables with the least amount. Tune in as we talk with EWG toxicologists, Dr. Alexis Temkin and Dr. Thomas Galligan about the information you need to make the best c...

Tune in as we talk with Janine Benyus about how she has helped some of the world’s top companies design for the future by drawing inspiration from 3.8 billion years of nature’s blueprint. Benyus has worked with companies like Boeing, Colgate-Palmolive, Nike, General Electric, Herman Miller, HOK architects, IDEO, Interface, Natura, Procter and Gamble, Levi’s, Kohler, and General Mills to create sustainable product designs. In 2010, BusinessWeek named Janine one of the World’s Most Influential Des...

Farmland dominates the landscape and watersheds in the Midwest. The way that land is used and managed has profound effects on our health through the water we drink and the food we eat. Farming can actually make water cleaner and the environment healthier. Farms doing exactly that are scattered across the Midwest. Tune in to learn how the Environmental Working Group’s Midwest division is using remote-sensing, big data and landscape analysis to build pressure to change policy to heal the damage do...

Biomimicry is a practice that learns from and mimics the strategies used by species alive today. The goal is to create products, processes, and policies — new ways of living — that solve our greatest design challenges sustainably. The Biomimicry Institute was founded in 2006 by Janine Benyus and Bryony Schwan to share nature’s design lessons with the people who design and make our world, and empower people to create nature-inspired solutions for a healthy planet. Today we’ll talk with the Execut...

Feeding America is the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization—a powerful and efficient network of 200 food banks across the country. As food insecurity rates hold steady at the highest levels ever, the Feeding America network of food banks has risen to meet the need. They feed 40 million people at risk of hunger, including 12 million children and 7 million seniors. But Feeding America also works to alleviate hunger with a focus on sustainability and environmental justice. Today we ...

CR Vasco da Gama (CRVG)—one of Brazil’s top football (soccer) teams—partnered with social impact startup VeganNation to promote sustainability initiatives within the sports industry. In recent months, VeganNation has gathered sports partners across Brazil—including soccer teams Remo, Paysandu, Iranduba, and Nacional Club, which are located near the Amazon rainforest, and legendary soccer player Cafu—to help it bring awareness and solutions to the waste generated by the global sporting industry. ...

California has a compelling need to reduce pollutant emissions to reach health-based ambient air quality goals. The South Coast Air Quality Management District and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District are currently in extreme non-attainment of the eight-hour federal ozone standard, and in non-attainment for the 24-hour PM2.5 standard. A recent study found that converting medium and heavy duty transportation vehicles to electricity would not only dramatically reduce air pollution...

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently released his proposed 2020-21 budget, securing critical ongoing support for schools and farmers to collectively advance local, climate-smart procurement, education, and experiential learning in school gardens. The Governor is advocating for more freshly prepared California-grown meals on students’ plates, more training opportunities for food service staff, and more opportunities to engage and educate students about where their food comes from and how it ...

Today we’ll be joined by Sydney Evans, Science Analyst with the Environmental Working Group, to discuss PFAS, a.k.a. “forever chemicals”, which has been found in municipal water supplies across the U.S. Join us as we discuss the health effects of this family of toxins and steps you can take to protect your family.

Our guest today is Seth Terry, Ph.D, head of Customer Experience at Emporia Energy, and we’ll be talking about their new residential energy monitoring device, Vue. The Vue is a low-cost solution that helps consumers track home energy use at the individual appliance level. The user-friendly app helps you see what appliances are contributing most to your monthly energy bill, and helps you take real-time action to conserve energy with a click on your smart phone. Tune in to learn more about this si...

Our guest today is Gamal Sherif, Program Manager for Texas-based nonprofit, EcoRise. We will discuss a new program to help high school students attain LEED, Green Associate credential through the U.S. Green Building Council. This credential is recognized as an international standard of green building concept knowledge on topics such as indoor air quality, water efficiency, energy efficiency and much more. EcoRise is working with high school teachers and their students to create a workforce that ...

Never worry about a power outage again. Panasonic Solar has a new solution for consumers who want an eco-friendly, energy independent home: EverVolt™. This new residential energy storage system can be tailored to a homeowner's individual needs, offering both AC and DC coupled options, as well as options to scale down to as little as 5.7kWh of energy storage or expanded to 34.2kWh. Tune in as we talk with Dan Glaser, senior sales engineer for Panasonic!

In the upcoming motion picture, Dark Waters, actor Mark Ruffalo plays the character inspired by Robert Bilott, a lawyer specializing in helping big corporations stay on the right side of environmental laws and regulations. His life took an unexpected turn when a West Virginia farmer named Earl Tennant called. He was convinced his cattle were being poisoned by runoff from a neighboring DuPont landfill. Rob ultimately gains access to hundreds of thousands of pages of DuPont documents that reveal t...

Energy efficiency is the fastest-growing segment of U.S. energy-sector employment, now employing more than 2.3 million Americans, according to a new analysis from E4TheFuture and the national, nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs). Energy efficiency workers now account for 28% of all U.S. energy jobs. The new report, Energy Efficiency Jobs in America, finds energy efficiency jobs grew 3.4 percent in 2018 –more than double the rate of growth for overall jobs nationwide — wit...

Paul Rosolie is a naturalist, explorer, author, and award-winning wildlife filmmaker. For the past decade he has specialized in threatened ecosystems and species in countries like Indonesia, Brazil, India, and Peru.. He has also spent extensive time traveling with poachers documenting the illegal trade in endangered species. Rosolie’s memoir on Amazonian wildlife and exploration, Mother of God, was hailed as “gripping” by Jane Goodall, and the Wall Street Journal applauded Rosolie’s environmenta...

What does it mean to recycle plastic? Where does it go, and what is the process for transforming a recyclable plastic bottle or jug into a new product? The answer may shock you. A Guardian report from 11 countries tracks how US waste makes its way across the world – and overwhelms the poorest nations. Today we will be joined by Erin McCormick, one of the U.S.-based journalists for The Guardian working on a new series of articles entitled, “United States of Plastic.” Tune in as she discusses this...

The Collaborative for High Performance Schools released its highly-anticipated K-12 school-focused CHPS 2019 Core Criteria 3.0. The third edition builds upon the CHPS 2014 Core Criteria.

A new PBS documentary, Inventing Tomorrow, follows six young scientists from Indonesia, Hawaii, India and Mexico as they tackle some of the most complex environmental issues facing humanity today—right in their own backyards. Each student is preparing original scientific research that they will defend at ISEF, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Against the backdrop of today’s most pressing environmental threats, we immerse the audience in a global view of the planetary crisis,...

According to the California Department of Water Resources, about 12 percent of the state’s total energy consumption is related to moving, treating and heating,cooling water.

As climate change continues to progress, droughts and floods are expected to become increasingly common. In many parts of the country, our nation’s water infrastructure is inadequate and antiquated. Comprehensive solutions are daunting, but rainwater harvesting is an action that many residents can take that will have a substantial impact on their community water systems. Harvesting rainwater has multiple benefits – stormwater management, reduced energy costs, and free water for irrigating garden...

Catskill Animal Sanctuary wants the world to go vegan. It’s who they are; it’s what they do. It’s why hundreds of rescued farm animals call this place home, and why the Sanctuary opens its gates to thousands of visitors each year. Written with love and authenticity, Compassionate Cuisine tells—through its food—the story of one of the country’s oldest and most respected animal sanctuaries. In the book, Chef Linda Soper-Kolton and Chef Sara Boan, the Sanctuary’s vegan chefs, bring its culinary pro...