Reversing Climate Change - podcast cover

Reversing Climate Change

Carbon Removal Strategies LLCwww.linkedin.com
If you love the show, please become a paid subscriber here. Reversing Climate Change is a podcast that bridges science, technology, and policy with the richness of the humanities. From the forefront of carbon removal and climatetech to explorations of literature, history, philosophy, and geopolitics, we dive deep into the people, ideas, and innovations shaping a better future for the planet and its inhabitants.
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Episodes

S2E44: Can permaculture scale?—w/ Mark Shepard, author of Restoration Agriculture

We have destroyed or severely disrupted many of the perennial ecosystems that were here in favor of annual crops. Crops that require the use of herbicide and mulch year after year until, eventually, the soil is depleted and we move on. So, how can we use the design principles of permaculture to restore the ecology of the planet, provide ourselves with all the food, fuels and fibers we need, and make money while we’re at it? And at scale no less! Agroforestry farmer and permaculturist Mark Shepar...

Dec 22, 202057 minSeason 2Ep. 44

S2E43: Salmon, the Earth, & their common fate—w/ Mark Kurlansky, author

There are only 1.5M Atlantic salmon left in the world. And despite putting an end to commercial fishing, their numbers continue to dwindle. As a keystone species, the implications of their loss go far beyond not being able to order salmon for dinner. So, why are Atlantic salmon disappearing at such an alarming rate? What does their loss mean for other species? And how does it impact the rivers where they live? Mark Kurlansky is a New York Times bestselling and James A. Beard award-winning author...

Dec 15, 202046 minSeason 2Ep. 43

S2E42: The national security implications of climate change—w/ Dr. Rod Schoonover

We have explored, at length, the basket of biophysical stressors climate change could produce. And we’ve looked at how floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, ocean acidification, coral degradation (and the list goes on and on) might impact our food security and lead to the displacement of a lot of people. But what does the climate crisis mean for national security? How does the intelligence community think about climate change? Dr. Rod Schoonover is a member of The Center for Climate & Securit...

Dec 08, 202058 minSeason 2Ep. 42

How do you tell a good story about the climate?—w/ Jess Miles, writer

The vast majority of environmental nonfiction follows a predictable pattern: The writer goes out in nature and then tells us why it’s important to preserve the thing they experienced. But what if we could reach more people and maybe even change their point of view with a more experimental, more whimsical approach? Jess Miles is a recent graduate of Chatham University and author of the MFA thesis ‘Midnight Sun,’ a collection of essays about her time on the Arctic island of Svalbard. On this episo...

Dec 04, 202048 min

S2E41: Climeworks & European carbon removal—w/ Christoph Beuttler, CDR Manager at Climeworks

For years now, we have debated the potential moral hazard of carbon removal, the fear being that we will abandon emissions reductions for the quick fix of carbon capture. But the science is clear: we simply can’t achieve our climate goals with mitigation alone. So, how do we design policy that works toward net zero using a binding emissions reduction pathway AND a strategy for scaling up carbon removal? Christoph Beuttler is the CDR Manager at Climeworks , the global leader in direct air capture...

Dec 01, 202051 minSeason 2Ep. 41

S2E40: Much talk of CO2, but what about methane?!—w/ Olya Irzak of Frost Methane

Carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. In fact, methane emissions are responsible for 16% of the warming we experience today. And because methane is more potent than CO2, we can make a big impact in a short period of time by addressing the concentrated, continuous methane seeps that exist around the world. Olya Irzak is the Founder and CEO of Frost Methane , a company working to combat climate change through the deployment of remote methane destruction ...

Nov 24, 202042 minSeason 2Ep. 40

Brian von Herzen returns to chat marine permaculture & the documentary 2040

The feature documentary 2040 poses this question: What would the world look like in 2040 if we embraced the best climate solutions already available to us? One such solution involves restoring ocean ecosystems through marine permaculture, a strategy that leverages kelp forests to drawdown CO2. Dr. Brian von Herzen serves as the Executive Director of the Climate Foundation , the organization using marine permaculture to regenerate life in seas and soils with the goal of reversing climate change i...

Nov 20, 202028 min

S2E39: The cost of climate repair vs. COVID-19—w/ Sir David King & Rick Parnell

Solving the climate crisis is challenging because it requires both dramatic behavioral change and a great deal of capital. And yet, when faced with a global health crisis, governments were willing to enact multitrillion-dollar aid packages and people radically shifted their behavior in a matter of weeks. So, what if we mobilized against climate change similarly to the way we responded to the coronavirus? Sir David King is the former Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government of the United Kingdo...

Nov 17, 202028 minSeason 2Ep. 39

S2E38: Carbon-negative carpet?! How Interface trailblazes—w/ Erin Meezan, VP & Chief Sustainability Officer of Interface, Inc.

The scale of the climate crisis requires that companies change the way they operate. Yes, it would be easier to simply purchase carbon offsets and continue to do business as usual. But if we are going to succeed in reversing climate change, companies must take the next step and transform their processes from cradle to gate (or even grave if they can!) So, how does a business get started on the path to sustainability? Erin Meezan is the Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Interface...

Nov 10, 202052 minSeason 2Ep. 38

S2E37: The New Yorker's new climate anthology, The Fragile Earth—w/ coeditors David Remnick & Henry Finder

People resist reading about climate change because it seems less immediate than other pressing issues. Add to that the fact that the climate crisis doesn’t lend itself to narrative. So, then, how do you tell an ‘untellable story’ in a way that draws readers in and effectively reorients the way they see the world? Henry Finder and David Remnick are the coeditors of The Fragile Earth: Writing from The New Yorker on Climate Change . On this episode of the Reversing Climate Change podcast, Henry and...

Nov 03, 202036 minSeason 2Ep. 37

S2E36: YIMBY for forest fires? Fire tornadoes?!—w/ Daniel Duane, author of November's WIRED cover story

Prior to 2020, the largest number of acres burned by wildfire in California was 1.3M. Compare that to the 4M acres wiped out by fire this year. What’s more, forest fires are spreading much more quickly and releasing more heat—which leads to last-minute evacuations, a dramatic increase of smoke in the air, and the phenomenon of fire tornados. Daniel Duane is the surfer, naturalist, and author behind this month’s WIRED cover story, ‘The West’s Infernos Are Melting Our Sense of How Fire Works.’ On ...

Oct 27, 202044 minSeason 2Ep. 36

On losing everything to the climate crisis except for hope—w/ Diego Saez-Gil of Pachama

“Life does not subtract things; it liberates you from them. It makes you lighter so that you can fly higher and reach the fullness.” --Facundo Cabral Losing your home to a forest fire is a lesson in impermanence and nonattachment. And while Diego Saez-Gil is still processing the loss, he is using the experience as a catalyst, reaffirming his commitment to the pursuit of climate solutions. Diego is the founder and CEO of Pachama , a tech company that leverages AI to drive carbon capture and valid...

Oct 23, 202040 min

S2E35: Matthew Yglesias tells us why climate people should root for One Billion Americans

Can you advocate for climate solutions and dramatic population growth at the same time? Or are the two ideas mutually exclusive? Matthew Yglesias argues that while electoral politics is a zero-sum game, policy is not. And any two priorities can be reconciled to craft a win-win, provided both sides accept the premise that we need to take action on climate change. Matthew Yglesias is the cofounder of Vox , host of The Weeds Podcast , journalist and author of the national bestseller, One Billion Am...

Oct 20, 20201 hr 3 minSeason 2Ep. 35

VERGE 20 is going virtual! See you there!—w/ Jim Giles, Conference Chair of VERGE Food & VERGE Carbon

In the past, conferences addressing market solutions to the climate crisis were attended by professionals with ‘sustainability’ in their titles. But we’ve begun to realize that sustainability is everyone’s responsibility, and the audience has expanded. In fact, this year’s VERGE 20 (register at this link with Nori's 15% off discount code ) is more accessible than ever, welcoming anyone who’s interested to learn more about sustainable food systems and carbon removal. Jim Giles is the Conference C...

Oct 15, 202014 min

S2E33: Sailing in the age of climate change—w/ John Kretschmer, author and sailor

Sailors rely on wind patterns and currents to make decisions about the expeditions they take, tracking weather patterns along the way and adjusting their route as necessary. But climate change has made winds less consistent and weather patterns less predictable. How does that impact sailing? John Kretschmer is the President of John Kretschmer Sailing and the author of several books about his voyages at sea, including his latest release, Sailing to the Edge of Time: The Promise, the Challenges an...

Oct 06, 202055 minSeason 2Ep. 33

S2E32: Chasing a Job with Purpose (in carbon removal)—w/ Heidi Lim, Chief of Staff at Opus 12

How are you spending your time? Is it aligned with what you genuinely care about? In 2018, Heidi Lim quit her role in enterprise software to solve climate change full-time. What steps did she take to identify a new, purpose-driven path and then land a role in carbon removal? Heidi is the Chief of Staff at Opus 12 , a company working to recycle CO2 into cost-competitive chemicals and fuels, and the author of two popular Medium articles, ‘We Need to Talk About Carbon Removal’ and ‘Chasing a Job wi...

Sep 29, 202053 minSeason 2Ep. 32

S2E31: Kiss the Ground doc live on Netflix!—w/ Gabe Brown, regenerative farmer and rancher

Nature is self-organizing, self-regulating, and self-healing. And if we follow her patterns, we can heal our ecosystem, produce better quality food, and more profitable farms and ranches. So, what does it look like when we adopt regenerative agricultural practices that work with nature’s principles? And what can we do to support the farmers and ranchers who understand the relationship between carbon and soil health? Farmer, rancher and soil health pioneer Gabe Brown is the bestselling author of ...

Sep 22, 202049 minSeason 2Ep. 31

The Electric Election 2020 Roadtrip w/ Benji Backer of The Conservation Coalition

Reversing Climate Change alumnus and founder and president of the American Conservation Coalition, Benji Backer, returns to the show to tell us about The Conservation Coalition's new multimedia project, The Electric Election Roadtrip 2020 . Benji and his team are traveling the country in a Tesla X to investigate the multiple overlapping climate solutions being developed. You can follow the show and its video on Facebook , TCC's website , or the podcast via audio in your podcast app of choice. Re...

Sep 21, 202016 min

S2E30: How to "think little"—w/ Mary Berry, Executive Director of The Berry Center

“We have not settled America. We have colonized America. Now, we’ve got to figure out … how to actually live here. How are we going to move forward? Everybody needs to be an agrarian now.” — Mary Berry We live in a culture that pushes us to keep moving. Obsessed with upward mobility, we keep searching for something more. But this ‘problem of mobility’ robs us of the opportunity to belong to a place. To develop deep cultural ties with the land and each other. And Mary Berry contends that this dis...

Sep 15, 202050 minSeason 2Ep. 30

S2E29: Jonathan Safran Foer on meat, & his book We Are the Weather

Regardless of where you stand on the ethics of eating meat, the fact is, it’s a big part of the climate math. It provokes strong feelings all around, some of which may be contradictory within one’s self. And so much of the climate analysis is dependent upon how the animals were raised, marketed, and so on. It’s hard to speak (at least for some) with crisp lines. In this episode we wade into these details. Jonathan Safran Foer is the bestselling author of Eating Animals , Everything Is Illuminate...

Sep 08, 202059 minSeason 2Ep. 29

S2E28: How many jobs will a direct air capture industry create?—w/ John Larsen of Rhodium Group

Direct air capture or DAC is one of the many strategies we need to employ to achieve the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. So, how do we scale up the DAC industry to capture the hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 we need to remove from the atmosphere? And what would that kind of growth mean in terms of business opportunities and job creation? John Larsen is a Director at Rhodium Group, an independent research firm that analyzes global disruptive trends. He leads the firm’s US power sec...

Sep 01, 202041 minSeason 2Ep. 28

S2E27: Are grasslands overshadowed by charismatic megaflora?—w/ Chris Kerston of Savory Institute

Ranching has been vilified as a major contributor to climate change. But what if it’s not the cow but the HOW? The fact is, animals have always lived and grazed on grasslands, and when we leverage regenerative grazing to raise livestock, we can rebuild the soil and sequester carbon in the grass and soil, sourcing materials like leather, fiber, and meat in a more responsible way. Chris Kerston is the Chief Commercial Officer of the Land to Market Program at the Savory Institute, a nonprofit worki...

Aug 25, 20201 hr 7 minSeason 2Ep. 27

S2E26: How to Burn a Goat: Farming with the Philosophers—w/ Dr. Scott H. Moore, author

We live in a point-and-click society where labor is seen as something to overcome. But what if we’ve got it wrong? Philosopher turned farmer Dr. Scott H. Moore contends that entertainment doesn’t have to be passive. In fact, activities like reading Dante, growing tomatoes or fixing our own plumbing can bring us a lot of joy and satisfaction—and maybe even transform the way we see the world. Dr. Moore is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Great Texts at Baylor University and the author of H...

Aug 18, 202055 minSeason 2Ep. 26

S2E25: The DAC-up plan for climate change—w/ Dr. Jen Wilcox of Worcester Polytechnic Institute

There is a temptation to believe that science and technology will save us from climate change, while we continue business as usual. But we have already emitted huge levels of CO2 into the atmosphere, and it’s going to take both carbon capture at the source and direct air capture (DAC) from ambient air to make a dent in the record atmospheric concentration of 415ppm we hit in 2019. Dr. Jennifer Wilcox is the James H. Manning Chaired Professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Insti...

Aug 11, 202056 minSeason 2Ep. 25

S2E24: Black Americans Care About Climate Change (But It’s Complicated)—w/ Jared DeWese of Third Way

We know that minority populations bear an unequal burden when it comes to climate change. And yes, Black Americans are concerned about the climate crisis, but they don’t see the environment as a top-tier issue. So, what can advocates and policymakers do to make climate change more relevant to Black communities and ensure their inclusion in a clean energy transition? Jared DeWese is Senior Communications Advisor for the Climate & Energy Program at Third Way , a center-left federal policy thin...

Aug 04, 202049 minSeason 2Ep. 24

How to Decolonize the Atmosphere (with carbon removal)—w/ Dr. Holly Jean Buck

Many indigenous communities see the climate crisis as another form of colonialism. First World countries have colonized the atmosphere with their greenhouse gas emissions. And there is a risk that carbon removal infrastructure reinforces business-as-usual. So, what is the best approach to decolonizing the atmosphere? How can we tackle climate change in a way that fits with broader progressive goals around equity and social justice? Dr. Holly Jean Buck is a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA’s Institute...

Jul 30, 202055 min

S2E23: Can green sand beaches sequester carbon at scale?—w/ Kelly Erhart & Tom Green of Project Vesta

Carbon dioxide levels are double what they were prior the Industrial Revolution. And we know that reducing emissions is simply not going to be enough to avoid widespread ecological collapse. We need strategies for removing CO2 from the atmosphere at scale. So, what if green sand beaches could provide a promising solution to climate change that is nature-based, affordable, and can be deployed around the globe? Kelly Erhart and Tom Green are the Cofounder and Executive Director, respectively, of P...

Jul 28, 202042 minSeason 2Ep. 23

S2E22: The unexpected order in the global "waste" trade—w/ Adam Minter, author of Junkyard Planet & Secondhand

Have you ever wondered what happens to your clothes after you drop them off at Goodwill? Or where your electronics go once you’ve left them at the recycling center? Yes, some of our excess is exported to emerging markets around the world and either resold or harvested for parts. Is that cool? And what can we do to shop in a way that reduces our environmental impact? Adam Minter is a columnist at Bloomberg Opinion and the author of Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade and Se...

Jul 21, 20201 hr 2 minSeason 2Ep. 22

The promise & peril of blockchain governance—w/ Dr. Nick Cowen, University of Lincoln

The American Constitution provides the ‘nuts and bolts of liberty,’ putting constraints on the government and promising equality before the law. But the challenge is that it relies on state officials to enforce the law impartially. What if the blockchain could help us avoid these human-level implementation problems and effectively automate some features of our bureaucracy? Dr. Nick Cowen is a lecturer in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Lincoln and the author of t...

Jul 16, 202055 min

S2E21: Buildings grown by bacteria?! and other frontiers in architecture—w/ Dr. Wil Srubar, CU Boulder

What's the future got in store for architecture? A return to tried and true organic construction methods like adobe or rammed earth? Buildings that are as alive as human bodies? Something in between? How do we create more beautiful and livable spaces while also making the built environment carbon-negative? This week's guest is Dr. Wil Srubar, Assistant Professor of Architectural Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Colorado Boulder, Technical Director of Materials R&D at Ka...

Jul 14, 202044 minSeason 2Ep. 21
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