Category Environment

These feats of conservation and sustainability hold countless examples of people following their passions for protecting our planet. Let your curiosity guide you as you explore fascinating corners of our environments and discoveries that are moving us toward a greener future.

59 min listen

How 82 Million Minutes of Rainforest Audio Could Save Your Life with Bourhan Yassin (Episode #124)

It is possible to save all the remaining rainforests in the world when we connect three things: technology, imagination, and our love for the world. Our guest today, Bourhan Yassin, is CEO of a nonprofit—the Rainforest Connection (RFCx)—that has been working towards doing exactly that since 2014. Their founder discovered that we could use simple cell phone technology to detect and stop illegal logging, and in less than a decade, the RFCx has expanded into using sound and machine learning to protect biodiversity in all kinds of places.

9 min read

Image: A person washing their hands under running water with hotel soap.

What Happens to Your Half-Used Hotel Soap? Now, It Could Save Lives

What happens to the bars of soap and toiletries that get left behind after you stay at a hotel? Turns out nearly 2 million bars end up in the landfill each day. But now, Clean the World is on the case! Having found a way to recycle used bars into new soap, they are saving millions of lives each year.

Image: One adult bison and two bison calves, roaming in a field of green grass.

The Birth of the First Baby Bison in this Region in Thousands of Years

Bison are ecosystem engineers, making their environments better simply by existing there. Formerly native to England, they slowly disappeared over time. But now, thousands of years later, a bison has given birth in the United Kingdom, marking a true win for rewilding efforts in the region.

Image: A frog on a lilypad in a wildlife pond

Take Your Backyard from Wasteland to Wildlife Wonderland in 365 Days

Many of us count on nature for inspiration, wellness, and wonder. But what are we giving back to it? Meet the nature enthusiast who built an entire living pond in his backyard to attract local wildlife. And in turn, discover for yourself how quickly, and beautifully, things can get wild.

Combing Caves for a Cure to Deadly Bacterial Infections

We've been able to protect ourselves from most bacterial infections for decades now, but that's changing. Deadly bacteria are catching onto our tactics and antibiotic resistance is on the rise. Here's how some scientists are working to stay one step ahead of this problem by exploring the depths of caves and the bacteria that call them home!

Image: A picture of kelp beside a picture of bacon, as a new kind of bacon is being made out of seaweed.

Meet the New Vegan Bacon Made From Seaweed

When it comes to faux bacon, it’s not just about taste. People want the bacon to be as authentic as possible including the sizzling fat. Now a Bay Area California startup has introduced a vegan bacon that is made from seaweed that tastes delicious and has a crispy bacon appearance.

62 min listen

282 Lawyers Defend a Client Without a Voice: Planet Earth with Elspeth Jones (Episode #117)

Today's episode will give you hope and a sense that the tide is actually turning, if just thinking about the state of our planet makes you sad or fearful. Our guest—Elspeth Jones—is the warm, funny, brilliant Deputy CEO of an environmental law charity called ClientEarth whose main client is just what the name implies: their client is our planet! Turns out, there is a group of global lawyers whose only client is The Earth. And with a support team of experts in conservation, they are defending our planet and making real change legally binding.

5 min read

Image: Three Andean children standing next to an alpaca in Cusco, Peru, smiling.

How Indigenous Knowledge Helped Plant Over 3 Million Trees in the Andes

Over 30 years, the work of one man eventually brought together 25,000 families to make an immeasurable difference in the lives of his community for generations to come. Using Indigenous knowledge to save the planet saves lives, and that has never been easier. How, you ask?

88 min listen

Saving Whales to Save Ourselves: Shared Survival through Whale Research with Iain Kerr (Episode #116)

A constant source of wonder in the world is learning about innovators who use technology in wildly novel ways to do tasks that used to be chores or next to impossible. Our guest, Dr. Iain Kerr, is at the center of that kind of wonder with the way he combines drone technology, the science of snot, and the study of whales. (Yes, you read that right.) Even if you are not a science enthusiast, Iain’s take on progress, finding purpose, perseverance, and innovative thinking will simply put a spring in your step.

Image: A waterfall in Iceland sits in the foreground, with a striking sunset in the background. In the middle lies a vast area, once filled with lush forests, that is now a part of Mossy Earth's reforesting initiatives.

Reforesting Iceland: Returning Trees to the Land of Fire and Ice

Iceland is thought of as the land of Ice and Snow, but did you know that it was once almost half-covered in forests? Now with less than 2% of its forests remaining, Mossy Earth is embarking on a massive reforestation project to stop Iceland’s desertification in its tracks.

51 min listen

10,000 Volunteers Fighting the Waste Created by Fast Fashion with Jessica Schreiber (Episode #113)

What fascinates you? If you wonder how your unique skills and interests could combine to put bread on your table, and make the world a little better place, then our guest, Jessica Schreiber, will change your future. She took an observation in her internship, and turned it into an amazing nonprofit in New York City that has 800+ companies as clients, over 10,000 volunteers, and saves NYC tens of millions of dollars every year. It’s a story that any of us could use in our own journeys to discover what we are uniquely built to contribute!

10 min watch

FABSCRAP’s Model for Why and How Manufacturers Can Do Their Part in Reducing Waste

How the biggest burden for recycling should be shifted to manufacturers… right now they have no responsibility for what they produce.

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