Kathy Hannun, president and cofounder of Dandelion Energy, introduces an untapped heating and cooling capacity source for homes -- geothermal energy. Typically associated with high temperatures and geologically active areas such as hot springs or locations at the intersections of tectonic plates, geothermal heat pumps tap into the consistent year-round temperature of Earth’s outer crust to maintain a comfortable home environment. Dandelion emerged from Google X Lab and is transforming the heatin...
Feb 19, 2024•36 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Clothing and textile recycling has historically been scarcely available to consumers. It has yet to be successful, with clothing piling up in warehouses or being sent overseas instead of becoming a new generation of apparel. Stacy Flynn, CEO and co-founder of Evrnu, a textile innovations B Corporation, works to reduce the fashion industry's environmental impact with a circular, recycled cotton fiber called Nucycl. In this crucial conversation, Stacy discusses how we can encourage companies to st...
Feb 12, 2024•36 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Chance Cutrano is director of programs at the Resource Renewal Institute in Fairfax, California. He and his team are experimenting with blending two activities, rice and fish farming, to reduce the emissions from rice fields while creating additional income for farmers. It's a practice recovered from antiquity that led to the launch of the Fish in the Fields program, which lowers carbon equivalent emissions created by rice farming by as much as 66% while improving biodiversity. Fish in the Field...
Feb 05, 2024•44 min•Season 4Ep. 4
As we enter 2024, closing the books on 2023's record heat, economic and geopolitical turmoil, and a raft of climate change stories in the mainstream press, we're fortunate to have Project Censored's Andy Lee Roth return to the show to discuss the most under-reported environmental stories of the last year. Andy last visited with us to discuss 2022's under-reported stories. Tune in for a wide-ranging conversation about the hidden environmental stories reported on independent news sites like The Gu...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Despite its other environmental impacts, including toxic waste that requires centuries or millennia of storage in facilities designed to protect future generations from the genetic and acute effects of radiation, nuclear power is considered by some influential environmentalists an essential component of the post-fossil fuel economy. For example, James Hansen, the NASA scientist who raised the alarm about global warming in Congressional testimony in 1987, advocates expanded nuclear energy generat...
Jan 22, 2024•50 min•Season 4Ep. 2
2023 was a challenging year for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, even though more capital continues to flow into ESG-reporting companies. In 2024, as inflation cools, consumers are expected to continue migrating to sustainable products and services, fueling higher returns for ESG-aligned stocks. Explore the first steps you can take to begin with Ben Vivari, cofounder of Till Investors, which helps investors evaluate and invest in green and socially responsible funds. Ben co...
Jan 15, 2024•44 min•Season 4Ep. 1
How do you kickstart an industry? The $100 million XPrize for Carbon Removal recently announced its 15 winners in the first competition stage to achieve gigaton-scale carbon removal. With more than 1300 entrants in the XPrize process, the carbon removal prize may be the largest experiment in innovation in human history. The goal is to lower the cost of carbon removal to well below $100 per ton and ultimately to store atmospheric CO2 for centuries to halt and eventually reverse climate change. Th...
Dec 18, 2023•38 min
Nutritional supplements, which the Centers for Disease Control report that 57.6% of adults consume, have significant environmental impacts. One family of supplements, Omega-3 oils, the healthy fats about 20 million Americans take each month to support brain and circulatory health, is responsible for the decline of krill in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica and overfishing of pelagic fish, such as anchovies and sardines, along the coast of Africa. Meet Corinna Bellizzi, Head of Sales and Marke...
Dec 15, 2023•33 min
Fashion makes us feel elegant and affluent, creating unique looks that allow people living in crowded societies to set themselves apart with unique styles. But fashion also comes at a substantial environmental cost. According to many estimates, 10% of the world's carbon emissions and 20% of wastewater are generated by making, shipping, and selling clothing, much of which ends up in landfills long before the clothing's usefulness is exhausted. Meet Kurt Kipka, Chief Impact Officer at the Apparel ...
Dec 11, 2023•40 min
Drinking water is at risk of becoming scarce in the face of climate change. More than 50% of the nation has experienced drought since 2000. Rich “Raz” Razgaitis, CEO of Bluewater North America, a water purification company, joins the conversation to discuss the rising incidence in the water of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFAS, the forever chemicals used in everything from the lining of fast food containers and firefighting foams to cosmetics and waterproof clothing. A recent Un...
Dec 08, 2023•54 min
The volume of electronic waste doubles about every six years as technology plays a more significant role in daily life. In 2019, the United Nations estimated that only 17.4% of electronics were recycled. The United States recycled only 9.4% of its e-waste that year. But in Europe, the recycling rate was 42.5% in 2019. There are many ways to improve, and one is the growing market for refurbished technology. Meet James Murdock, founder and chief marketing officer of Alchemy Global Solutions, a tra...
Dec 04, 2023•42 min
Electric vehicles are taking market share away from internal combustion competitors, with new plugin vehicle registrations in 2023 growing 45% yearly and accounting for 18% of all vehicle sales worldwide this year. U.S. EV sales hit 7.9% of all new car sales over the past three months. In Silicon Valley-speak, EVs are nearly across the chasm, the point at which a new product category is poised to displace older products rapidly. You're probably asking, "Can I afford one?" Our guest, Peter Glenn,...
Dec 01, 2023•37 min
Business may be the most potent force in the world, perhaps more poweful than government. The largest corporations—only 20 companies— are responsible for one-third of carbon emissions, and some firms carry more economic heft than many nations. For example, Apple earned $99 billion in net income in 2022, and if Apple were a nation, it would rank 67th in the world if compared to the GDP of other countries. The Climate Crisis and its related food, water, and immigration impacts present the most sig...
Nov 27, 2023•50 min
Savannah Seydel, vice president of sustainability and impact at Better Earth, a maker of compostable tableware and food service packaging, is on a mission to remove petroleum-based plastics and PFAS-treated fiber from our food packaging choices. Food packaging and service ware are two of the largest sources of plastic pollution. The rise of compostable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics could change the character of food service materials, making restaurants, cafeterias, and food delivery ...
Nov 24, 2023•34 min
Trek Bicycle has introduced a certified pre-owned bike program, Red Barn Refresh, and recently published its 2023 Sustainability Report. Eric Bjorling, Trek's Director of Brand Marketing and Public Relations, returns to Sustainability In Your Ear to discuss the company's progress and what it has learned on the path to greater sustainability. Two years ago, Eric said Trek was starting to move fast and take real action to reduce its environmental impact. Since then, the company has committed to re...
Nov 20, 2023•41 min
The rise of fast fashion resulted in a tidal wave of clothing in the world’s landfills. Even traditional fashion choices can increase your environmental footprint if not selected using sustainable criteria, cared for and washed correctly, and worn until you donate or recycle it. Meet Erin Houston, cofounder of Wearwell, a woman-owned company that helps customers choose sustainable clothing, accessories, and shoes, as well as resell used items they no longer want to wear. Erin and her team carefu...
Nov 18, 2023•37 min
Measuring greenhouse gas emissions, sometimes known as "carbon accounting," is the hottest topic in business. Regulators now require companies to report their emissions along with other environmental impacts. Consumers have also made clear that they want low-impact products and services. Meet Lucas Fraser, founder of Breeze, a carbon tracking tool for small and medium-sized businesses that measures Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Breeze is an easy-to-use platform that provides locally relevant resu...
Nov 13, 2023•38 min
Reducing the number of solo drivers in and around cities and the emissions associated with commuting and shopping make a positive difference for the environment and human health. Meet Nanci Fitzgerald, President and CEO of The Rideshare Company. This nonprofit organization develops ridesharing services for companies, governments, and residential facilities. Founded in the 1980s, The Rideshare Company has created rideshare programs that, between July 1994 to December 2022, provided more than 20 m...
Nov 10, 2023•33 min
Meet Vivian Tai, Director of Innovation at GS1 US, the American division of GS1, a nonprofit organization you interact with daily and probably do not know by name. Its product, the Universal Product Code, or UPC barcode, is on virtually everything you buy and could power your participation in the circular economy. The original UPC barcode transformed shopping in the 1970s, first providing retail workers the ability for retail checkers to scan into the inventory management and point of sale syste...
Nov 06, 2023•34 min
Water is getting more expensive as drought spreads due to climate change, and in the Western U.S., scarcity continues to drive water prices higher. Meet Shane Dyer, CEO of Irrigreen, a precision irrigation company that recently released its first product for the home. Think of the Irrigreen sprinkler system as inkjet printing applied to putting water exactly where needed to keep a yard green or a garden productive. A smartphone app helps you map your yard to tell the system where and how much wa...
Nov 03, 2023•30 min
The rise of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will require a transformation in battery technology, the charging infrastructure, and the electric grid. Sam Abuelsamid, Principal Analyst for E-Mobility at Guidehouse Insights, joined the conversation to discuss electrification issues, from battery technology and mobility to smart cities and the distributed energy grid evolving around us. Sam explains that recycling will be essential to making enough batteries for the growing electric and hybrid ...
Oct 30, 2023•45 min
For many of us, the Climate Crisis looks like a brick wall, something the internal combustion-driven economy will slam into and total the system we grew up in. John J. Berger, Ph.D., author of Solving the Climate Crisis: Frontline Reports from the Race to Save the Earth, explored the path forward without getting up with the doom-saying that discourages people from taking action. While John warns of the consequences of continued inaction, his travels and research uncovered stories about progress ...
Oct 27, 2023•42 min
Smart homes are commonplace today. Now, the intelligent yard is poised to join the mix. Meet Graham Hine, CEO of ePlant, which recently introduced the TreeTag. This solar-powered monitor is attached to a tree to monitor its health and send updates wirelessly to a phone. TreeTags are placed onto the side of trees using a screw and measure minor size fluctuations in trees. For example, the bark's contraction can indicate stress, such as a lack of water. The TreeTag includes an accelerometer to det...
Oct 23, 2023•37 min
The circular economy is a vision for a world in which the materials used in the products and packaging we purchase flow perpetually through the economy, used over and over instead of being tossed into landfills and replaced with newly mined, refined, and processed stuff. Recycling, an industry with about 50 years of history, is considered an essential feature of the circular economy, but it is just one option. Our guest, Knoxfill founder Michaela Barnett, recently wrote an article for The Conver...
Oct 20, 2023•42 min
Robin Wiener, president of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), joins the conversation to explore the evolution of the circular economy and how the role of recycling will evolve. Today’s recycling infrastructure is closely aligned with the waste management system. There are growing signs that the reuse of products is essential and that recycling services can be built into the product lifecycle as the last step when no more reuse is possible. But the challenge recyclers face, along...
Oct 16, 2023•42 min
Society is moving from sustainability naive to sustainably native, a new era in which the language, practices, and values of sustainable thinking will be taken for granted. When we have a shared language, changes start to happen- a trend we can see emerging now. Solitaire Townsend, author of The Solutionists: How Businesses Can Fix The Future, has written a guide to using the many threads of transformation that are already weaving the circular economy, albeit often behind closed doors and never ...
Oct 13, 2023•47 min
The average American home produces 533 million microfibers annually, according to a 2019 study by Ocean Wise. CiCLO, a new polyester and nylon additive, promises to make those microfibers biodegrade in landfills or water, potentially eliminating these microplastic pollutants. Meet Andrea Ferris, CEO and cofounder at Intrinsic Advanced Materials, maker of CiCLO, a nutrient that attracts microorganisms to the weakest points in a synthetic fiber, where they feed and break down the material. Accordi...
Oct 09, 2023•27 min
Scott Graybeal, CEO of Caelux, sits down to talk about perovskites-based nanotechnology that can improve the performance of silicon solar panels to produce 30% more power from the sun at a 10% lower cost than traditional panels. Caelux recently closed an additional $12 million in funding to build a manufacturing facility that will produce up to 100 MW of generation capacity. The $370 billion Inflation Reduction Act has reportedly been followed by between $213 and $511 billion in private investme...
Oct 06, 2023•44 min
What is the most used material in the world? Cement, the basis for building most of the modern world, was invented during the Roman Empire and remains the most used material worldwide. In 2021, cement accounted for 1.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions globally, about 4.3 % of all greenhouse gas generated that year. Meet Grant Quasha, CEO of Eco Material Technology, a New York-based maker of low-carbon cement and materials for making concrete. Eco Material reengineered the Roman method of...
Oct 02, 2023•36 min
Farmed salmon has been touted as a solution to food scarcity as the world turns to eating more seafood. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that seafood production must increase 29.3% by 2030 to meet demand. Our guest today is Simen Sætre, who coauthored The New Fish: The Truth about Farmed Salmon and the Consequences We Can No Longer Ignore with journalist Kjetil Ostli. The book examines the salmon farming industry in Norway in the 1960s. It is a history of the busine...
Sep 29, 2023•40 min
