Earth911 talks with Eric Bjorling, Trek Bicycles' Director of Brand Marketing and Public Relations. He explains the sustainability commitments and business transformation ideas it published in its 2021 sustainability report. We found it one of the clearest and easy-to-understand examples of corporate environmental reporting. That's because it is also being used as an internal learning tool to create awareness of the goals among Trek employees globally. Trek is “just getting started” on “moving f...
Sep 08, 2021•27 min
Author, Business for Good Podcast host and The Better Meat Co. CEO Paul Shapiro joins Earth911 to explain prospects for clean meat made from fungi, animal cell cultures and plant-based proteins. The future of meat will involve far fewer animals raised on inhumane industrial farms, which are known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or “CAFOs.” In a CAFO, animals are packed into small spaces polluted by their own waste; it’s a horrible life that ends in terror. Better Meat has developed fu...
Sep 06, 2021•31 min
Herbicide-Free Campus is a growing student-led movement to eliminate the use of harmful herbicides, pesticides and other toxins on college and public school campuses. We can all learn from the experience of founders Mackenzie Feldman and Bridget Gustafson, who were student-athletes at the University of California, Berkeley when they started the organization. It now has chapters at seven universities, along with communities at 13 other schools. Mackenzie and Bridget began by forging a local commu...
Sep 01, 2021•26 min
Sometimes the recycling setup is harder than getting your daily recycling sorting and cleaning done. Our guest, Harold Sokyrka developed the Kwik BagIt system, which includes reusable cloth bags and collapsible bag holders that keep the bags conveniently upright for easy filling, to make recycling easier and sorting more accurate. After becoming frustrated with available bins and bags, Sokyrka, who is a longtime inventor, worked for three years on the designs of the Kwik BagIt system, which is a...
Aug 30, 2021•25 min
The ChangeIt app for iPhone and Android devices promises to help "busy people that want to fight climate change." Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with ChangeIt creator Tiago Ferreira about how he designed the app, why it avoids calculating the user's total carbon footprint, and how early users are engaging with climate goals and the community. The app is designed to coach users through adopting new habits, including sharing good ideas, and unlike other apps does not first walk the user through ...
Aug 16, 2021•23 min
Earth911 explores the health implications and regulation of a substance that pollutes our food, water, and environment, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, with Lauren Olson, Zero Waste Manager at World Centric. Lauren shares how PFAS are used in food service items, waterproof clothing and other products, as well as the challenges they create when composting products. PFAS have been associated with many health problems, including immune system disorders, high blood pressure, live...
Aug 04, 2021•23 min
Meet Zero Hour movement Youth Ambassadors Lindy Feaster and Lyne Odhiambo. They talk with host Mitch Ratcliffe about the No Youth, No Truth project, a multi-generational project to share stories of underrepresented youth and low-income communities suffering the brunt of climate and environmental disasters. This August, the No Youth, No Truth project will train youth spokespeople to connect with media, pitch stories and address climate policy issues as well as counter misinformation. The climate ...
Aug 02, 2021•21 min
Cooper Wechkin, founder and CEO of Seattle-based RyeStrategy, explains how small businesses can start to reduce their carbon footprint. With about 30 million small businesses in the United States, each of them carrying a significant carbon footprint, the sector could make a big difference in the overall U.S. carbon footprint. But as large companies have made many statements about reducing their carbon emissions and environmental impact, and a few have taken genuine action, most small businesses ...
Jul 28, 2021•28 min
Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with Ideanomics CEO Alf Poor about the evolution of transportation. We need new systems for vehicle charging in public transportation and distribution, more alternatives to cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and scooters, as well as new approaches to paying for mobility. We may soon be paying just for the distance we travel while the vehicles we use become shared assets managed and maintained by companies that specialize in specific types of transportation. Ideanom...
Jul 26, 2021•26 min
Earth911 explores how creative reuse centers turn waste to productive uses through a new business model that turns discarded craft and DIY materials to new uses. We talk with Nicole McGee, founder of the Upcycle Parts Shop, a pioneering creative reuse non-profit in Cleveland. And we're joined by Maureen Wise, a longtime Earth911 contributor, who wrote a story introducing creative reuse centers that we also published today. Let's find out how creative reuse centers collect usable materials, lefto...
Jul 21, 2021•23 min
It’s Plastic-free July and we’re talking today with journalist, podcaster and author Amy Westervelt about the surprising resurgence of sustainable plastic claims in the media despite growing public concern. Amy’s first Drilled podcast series this season is about plastic and the machinations of one media manipulator, Rick Berman, who launched the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition among many dodgy campaigns backed by tobacco, plastic and oil companies. We also discuss what's coming this season on Dri...
Jul 19, 2021•26 min
Earth911 talks with Jake Felser, Chief Technology Officer at Freight Farms about the company's "complete farming system inside a box.” It’s a very big box that includes climate controls and monitoring systems to make faming easy for anyone to do. Freight Farms builds and delivers shipping containers converted into highly efficient hydroponic farms that use LED lighting to grow and deliver fresh produce year-round. Jake discusses the cost of getting started, how many people are needed to run the ...
Jul 14, 2021•27 min
Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe speaks with Yaron Ben-Nun, Chief Technology Officer at Nostromo, which has introduced a fascinating innovation in commercial building cooling, the IceBrick Thermal-Energy Storage technology. Nostromo is an Israeli startup that recently went public and trades on the Tel Aviv stock exchange under the symbol SMTO. IceBrick can shift the energy demand to prevent spikes in power consumption during the hottest part of the day when air conditioning demand peaks. IceBrick stor...
Jul 12, 2021•40 min
Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe chats with Good Girl Gone Green creator and green living mentor Stephanie Moram, looking at the choices for entertaining sustainably this summer. Stephanie's been exploring the many ways we can reduce our environmental impact with an emphasis on making our lives unique and enjoyable. “There is no right or wrong way to become more green,” she says, and we agree. She offers online learning program, Find Your Green, for women who want to understand the sustainability ques...
Jul 07, 2021•27 min
How can we track our water usage to recognize how to save water? Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with Nelson Pedreiro of Nudge Systems, which makes the Pleco, a smart device that attaches to your water meter to track water usage by category, from toilet flushes and showers to washing the clothes and watering the lawn. It can also identify leaks long before the are visible to the eye. One tech magazine called it a “Fitbit for your water meter.” Nelson explains how to install and connect Pleco to...
Jul 05, 2021•21 min
Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with Jeff Gold, founder and CEO of Altanta-based Nexus Fuels, which processes 50 tons of plastic daily using molecular recycling that breaks the material down into the basic elements of hydrocarbon found in oil so it can be reused in new plastic. It’s the leading edge of chemical technologies for creating a circular economy. Nexus combines waste management and energy production using Plastics #2, #4, #5 and #6 to make feedstock, the raw materials, for new plastic...
Jun 25, 2021•32 min
Earth911 talks with Sarah Dearman, vice president of circular ventures a The Recycling Partnership, about the future of plastic, plastic recycling and the non-profit's new PlasticIQ initiative that provides tools for business to assess and optimize its packaging choices. We discuss the need to simplify our plastic system to make recycling easier and how to make it easy for people to recycle packaging and products made of plastic. The Recycling Partnership is one of the most dynamic and important...
Jun 23, 2021•27 min
Earth911 talks with FreeWater Inc. founder Josh Cliffords, who has a radical idea to make water, juice and, ultimately, a wide range of products available for free using the same business model as online services like YouTube, using advertising. Josh shares a vision that includes building in a recovery system for packaging, using aluminum cans and hemp cartons made and filled near the customer, and 10 cents of each sale to support building water and sanitation systems around the world. Josh says...
Jun 21, 2021•27 min
Caspar Poyck, cofounder and senior director of plant operations at hard kombucha brewer Flying Embers shares how the company works to reduce its environmental footprint, including capturing the CO2 generated by its fermentation processes to add fizz to it fruit-flavored kombucha beverages. After the founders lived through the 2017 Thomas Fires in Ojai, Calif., they renamed the company Flying Embers to commemorate the victims of the tragedy and heroism of first responders who helped save the hist...
Jun 07, 2021•29 min
Earth911 talks with Daniel Eggers, Chief Commercial Officer at Climeworks, a Zurich, Switzerland-based carbon capture company. Climeworks launched one of the first commercial CO2 projects in the world, the geothermal-powered Orca project in Hellisheidi, Iceland, and has 13 other locations under development. Daniel explains the power and geological requirements for storing CO2 in the ground, where it forms carbonate minerals — when turned to rock, the CO2 stays in the ground virtually forever. Th...
May 31, 2021•24 min
Earth911 talks with Buck Sleeper, director of innovation consulting at EPAM Continnum, a company that specializes in developing products and services. EPAM's recent NXT 2021 Trends Report points out several important trends that can help pivot the economy toward greater sustainability, including new hybrid of global and local economic activity fueled by digital communities and a new generation of national and global government regulations that emphasize adaptation to climate change. The firm wor...
May 26, 2021•32 min
Earth911 talks with Professor Daniel Lin, associate professor of operations management at the University of San Diego School of Business. He is advising several non-profits — Earthworks, Global Witness, and Greenpeace USA — that have filed a first-of-its kind complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against an energy company. They argue that Chevron makes deceptive, greenwashing advertising claims that “overstate investments in renewable energy and [the company’s] commitment to reducing...
May 24, 2021•33 min
Smart home technology can help save energy, which translates directly into reduced CO2 emissions, especially in the many parts of the country where electricity is generated from fossil fuels. Earth911 talks with Sarah Colvin, senior director of energy partnerships at ecobee, a maker of home monitoring and management devices, including thermostats, cameras and sensors. She explains how smart thermostats can manage energy by reducing the heat when no one is home or factoring in the impact of humid...
May 21, 2021•27 min
Earth911 talks with author and business advisor David Radlo, an early and successful advocate for sustainable practices about building a sustainable business and connecting with customers who share your company's environmental values. He built premium organic egg brands at Born Free, Farmer’s Best, and Egg-Land’s Best and has lectured at Tufts University and New York University’s Stern School of Business. His new book, Principles of Cartel Disruption, explores how to break down the barriers to n...
May 12, 2021•27 min
Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with Doug Heske, CEO of Newday Impact Investing and Philippe Cousteau, founder of EarthEcho International, about the potential to accelerate the transition from the petrochemical economy by investing in sustainable businesses. They have partnered to expand financial literacy in the young and communities of color around the world. They discuss recent criticisms of investments that aim to change the environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices of companies ...
May 10, 2021•31 min
Earth911 talks with Derrick Emsley, CEO of tentree, a a clothing company making a difference. The company plants ten trees for every article of clothing they sell. Tentree has already planted 56.3 million trees and is working to reduce the environmental impact of its clothing production processes by using wood-based TENCEL fiber, hemp, organic cotton and recycled polyester in its clothing. They have audited their supply chain to offset CO2 emissions and reduce water usage compared to traditional...
May 03, 2021•27 min
Earth911 talks with George Leonard, chief scientist for the non-profit Ocean Conservancy about the state of the oceans, plastic pollution and particularly the impact of COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) pollution. The organization recently completed its annual survey of beaches and waterways, during which it found 107,219 PPE items — masks, shields, and gloves among other items. We seem to treat the sea as our dumping ground, but the oceans are a source of food and much of the world’s...
Apr 28, 2021•24 min
Earth911 talks with Dr. Oliver Peoples, president and CEO of Yield10 Bioscience Inc., about the company's development of plant-based bioplastic made from flax (Camelina) seeds. Plastic is the most challenging modern material. It is ubiquitous and a major source of pollution, particularly in our oceans. But only about 8 percent of the 8.3 billion tons of plastics produced annually are recycled. By 2050, the world is expected to need more than 34 billion tons of plastic per year, but we cannot aff...
Apr 26, 2021•24 min
Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with Charles Brennick, director of Business Development and eCommerce at Seattle-based 3R Technology, an electronics recycling company that also refurbishes and resells PCs, laptops, phones and monitors. He explains the two major recycling standards, eStewards and R2, and how devices are handled after people send them. Brennick also outlines the valuable materials in old electronics and how R3 refurbishes and sells PCs, phones, monitors and mother boards, extendi...
Apr 23, 2021•22 min
Stew Lawrence, CEO of CleanWell, a maker of botanical home cleaning products, joins Earth911 to talk about safe and natural Spring cleaning. We’ve been using several CleanWell products; read our review. The company uses a plant-based Thymol disinfectant in its products, which has been recognized to be an antiseptic for centuries. In laboratory tests, it killed 99.99% of germs and viruses, and the EPA certified it for use against the virus that causes COVID-19. CleanWell does not use alcohol, ble...
Apr 21, 2021•22 min
