How to Save a Planet

Latest Episodes:

Presenting: A Matter of Degrees Mar 04, 2021

Show notes

Presenting: A Matter of Degrees

What happens if your electric utility starts doing things you don’t agree with? What if they start attacking solar and proposing to build more and more fossil gas plants? What if they actively resist clean energy progress? Today we’re sharing an episode of a podcast we love, called “A Matter of Degrees.” Co-hosts Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson detail how Arizona Public Service became the Darth Vader of electric utilities — and how public pressure forced APS to come clean.

Calls to Action

Get involved with your local public utility commission: Figure out what the heck they're doing and how you can support more climate friendly policies.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again! get involved with your local public utility commission, figure out what the heck they're doing and how you can support more climate friendly policies.

Please check out other episodes from A Matter of Degrees: Co-hosts Dr. Katharine Wilkinson and Dr. Leah Stokes have done a bunch of interesting and compelling reporting. You can find their show on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Check out our Calls to Action archive here for all of the actions we've recommended on the show. And if you take any of the actions we recommend, tell us about it! Send us your voice message, ideas or feedback with our Listener Mail Form. We might use it in an upcoming episode. Sign up for our newsletter here. And follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kelp Farming, for the Climate (Part II) Feb 25, 2021

Show notes

So, what do you do with 579 pounds of seaweed? In our last episode, we ventured into the ocean to learn how seaweed farming can help solve climate change. In part II, we ask: What do we do with all that kelp? Plus our team does some seaweed R&D of its own and discovers...green scones?

Calls to action

Check out the New York State Assembly Bill A4213 on seaweed cultivation and for residents of New York, check out the petition.
Encourage innovation with kelp: Whether you work in fertilizers, plastics, cosmetics, or any industry, you can encourage your company to do R&D with kelp. Maybe it could serve as a substitute for less climate-friendly ingredients and materials. And if you need a middleman to source from, check out The Crop Project, founded by Casey Emmett whom we interviewed this episode.
Consider kelp products: If you are interested in making any kelp flour recipes, do a search for online retailers and don’t forget to share what you make! Send photos, video or audio to our Listener Mail Form.

Learn more

Read Dune Lankard’s amazing piece in the GreenWave newsletter, A Native Perspective on Regenerative Ocean Farming. Also check out Dune’s organization, Native Conservancy.
Emily Stengel, Bren Smith’s co-founder and co-executive director of GreenWave, also wrote about regenerative ocean farming in Ayana’s anthology All We Can Save. Go have a read (or listen)!
Watch “The Future of Seafood,” a discussion that Ayana moderated with Bren Smith and Sean Barrett of Dock to Dish.

Special thanks to our guests: Bren Smith and Casey Emmett

This episode of How to Save a Planet was produced by our senior producer Lauren Silverman. The rest of our reporting and producing team includes Kendra Pierre-Louis, Rachel Waldholz and Anna Ladd. Our intern is Ayo Oti. Our editor is Caitlin Kenney. Sound design and mixing by Peter Leonard with original music from Emma Munger.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kelp Farming, for the Climate Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

Seaweed and giant kelp are sometimes called “the sequoias of the sea.” Yet at a time when so many people are talking about climate solutions and reforestation — there aren’t nearly enough people talking about how the ocean can be part of that. In part one of our two-part series, we go out on the water to see how seaweed can play a role in addressing climate change, and how a fisherman named Bren Smith became kelp’s unlikely evangelist.

Calls to action:

Check out Bren Smith's book called “Eat Like a Fish”

Check out Bren’s nonprofit GreenWave: A simple and direct way to help is to support GreenWave’s work, whose team is building 10 reefs and sponsoring 500 farms in the next five years.

Start your own hatchery, farm, or underwater garden: Check out the University of Connecticut and Ocean Approved manuals and GreenWave’s Regenerative Ocean Farming toolkit.

Study ocean agriculture through the Algae Technology Education Consortium (ATEC) at the community college level or through Coursera courses Intro to Algae and Algae Biotechnology.

Special thanks to our guests: Bren Smith and Casey Emmett

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Party Like It's 2035 Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

President Biden has set a goal of reaching 100% clean electricity in the U.S. by 2035. That means cutting all carbon emissions from the entire electricity sector in just 15 years. So... is that even possible? And if so, how do we pull it off? This week, we talk to experts who say that goal just might be in reach – if we act now.

Calls to action:

Read up on clean electricity standards! It’s the policy approach advocated by some of this week’s guests, including Dr. Leah Stokes, who laid out her vision along with Sam Ricketts of Evergreen Action in a recent Vox article: This popular and proven climate policy should be at the top of Congress’s to-do list: The case for a national clean electricity standard
You can find their full report advocating a national clean electricity standard here: A Roadmap to 100% Clean Electricity by 2035

Want to read up on a zero-carbon grid? You can find the studies mentioned in this week’s episode, here:

The 2035 Report, from The Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, Grid Lab and Energy Innovation
The Net-Zero America Project, from Princeton University

And don’t forget to check out A Matter of Degrees, the climate podcast hosted by Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson.

Special thanks to our guests: Leah Stokes, Sonia Aggarwal, Jesse Jenkins and Chris Greig.

This episode of How to Save a Planet was produced by Rachel Waldholz. The rest of our reporting and producing team includes Kendra Pierre-Louis, Anna Ladd and Felix Poon. Our intern is Ayo Oti. Our senior producer is Lauren Silverman. Our editor is Caitlin Kenney. Sound design and mixing by Peter Leonard with original music from Emma Munger.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Tribe that's Moving Earth (and Water) to Solve the Climate Crisis Feb 04, 2021

Show notes

The Yurok tribe is reversing centuries of ecological damage to their land and making it more resilient to climate change by marrying two systems that might seem contradictory: indigenous land management practices and modern Western economics.

In this episode we talk to Yurok Tribe Vice-Chairman Frankie Myers about how the Tribe recovered stolen land with the help of a carbon offset program, the creative ways they're bringing the salmon back, and the role beavers play in the ecosystem.

Guests: Frankie Myers

Calls to Action

Check out Save California Salmon and their advocacy work for Northern California’s salmon and fish dependent people.
Check out the Klamath River Renewal Corporation to learn more about the dam removals and restoration efforts on the Klamath River.
Look up your address on native-land.ca to find out what land you live on, and learn more about how and why you can use land acknowledgements to insert an awareness of Indigenous presence and land rights into everyday life.
If you own land you can donate, contact a local tribe to find out how you can donate land to them.
Check out and support the work of Indigenous organizations like the NDN Collective and their #landback campaign, the Native American Land Conservancy, Indigenous Environmental Network, and Indigenous Climate Action.
Study the history of Indigenous people – read Custer Died for Your Sins, The Indian Reorganization Act, and other books by Vine Deloria, Jr., and read A Brief History of American Indian Military Service.

This episode of How to Save a Planet was produced by Felix Poon. The rest of our reporting and producing team includes Kendra Pierre-Louis, Rachel Waldholz and Anna Ladd. Our senior producer is Lauren Silverman. Our editor is Caitlin Kenney. Sound design and mixing by Peter Leonard with original music from Emma Munger.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Presenting: Timber Wars Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

When loggers with chainsaws headed into the Willamette National Forest on Easter Sunday in 1989, they found a line of protesters blocking their way. Some buried themselves in front of bulldozers. Others spent months sitting in trees, among the world’s tallest. The ensuing battle would help catapult old-growth forests into a national issue, and become known as the “Easter Massacre.” Today, we’re sharing an episode of the podcast Timber Wars, which tells the story of how this fight over old-growth trees erupted into a national conflict that influenced environmental policy.

You can find Timber Wars, from Oregon Public Broadcasting, wherever you get your podcasts, or at opb.org/timberwars.

Want even more? Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recycling! Is it BS? Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

The recycling bin — many of us have learned to view this humble container as an environmental superhero. It is, after all, the critical first step in turning our trash into… well, not treasure, but at least more stuff. Or is it?

In this episode, we take a look at the science, help you understand whether recycling is an environmental boon or hindrance, and we open up the pandora's box that is plastic. We also dive into what recycling has to do with tackling climate change.

Calls to Action

Check out the Break Free from Plastic campaign
Contact your congress people and ask them to push for the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act
If there’s a product or a brand that you love, reach out to that company and ask them to change their packaging
Check out Loop, a store that ships your favorite products to you in refillable containers that they take back, wash, and reuse
Check out Deia Schlossberg’s film, The Story of Plastic

This episode of How to Save a Planet was produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis. The rest of our reporting and producing team includes Rachel Waldholz, Anna Ladd and Felix Poon. Our senior producer is Lauren Silverman. Our editor is Caitlin Kenney. Sound design and mixing by Peter Leonard with original music from Emma Munger.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Your New Climate Czar Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

Gina McCarthy will serve as the first-ever National Climate Advisor, heading up the newly formed White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy. So, who is she? We spent time with her before the nomination and talked about her relentless fight to link environmental policy with public health. From her early days inspecting septic systems, to her time leading the Environmental Protection Agency in the Obama administration. Get to know Gina McCarthy.

Calls to Action

Read up on Joe Biden’s clean energy and environmental justice plans to prepare to push this team to make those promises real
If you want to learn the story of how a bunch of outsiders pushed Joe Biden to adopt the most ambitious climate platform in U.S. history, listen to our episode How 2020 Became a Climate Election
Learn more about the executive climate actions the Biden-Harris administration is committed to pursuing right off the bat, and what experts suggest they prioritize
Check out Gina’s essay, “Public Service for Public Health,” and Maggie’s essay, “The Politics of Policy,” in the climate anthology that Ayana co-edited, All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, at allwecansave.earth

Special thanks to our guest: Gina McCarthy

How to Save a Planet is a Spotify original podcast and Gimlet production hosted by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Alex Blumberg. This episode of How to Save a Planet was produced by Anna Ladd. The rest of our reporting and producing team includes Kendra Pierre-Louis, Rachel Waldholz and Felix Poon. Our senior producer is Lauren Silverman. Our editor is Caitlin Kenney. Sound design and mixing by Peter Leonard with original music by Emma Munger. Our fact checker this episode is Claudia Geib.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Soil: The Dirty Climate Solution Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

On this week's episode, we meet two farmers who, at first glance, seem very different. One is a first-generation farmer in upstate New York raising fruits and vegetables for the local community. The other is a third generation farmer in Minnesota who sells commodity crops—corn and soybeans—to big industrial processors. But they share something in common. They’re both bucking modern conventions on how to farm. And they're paying close attention to something that is frequently overlooked: the soil. We explore how making simple changes in the way we farm can harness the incredible power of soil to help save the planet.

Calls to action

The new US Congress will be considering the Farm Bill at some point soon, and there are lots of subsidies in there that could incentivize adoption of regenerative practices and restore and conserve agricultural lands. So keep your eyes peeled for windows of opportunity to push your elected officials to get on board with this. For now, there’s a helpful blog post from the World Resources Institute that will get you up to speed.
Also, keep your eyes out for the Justice for Black Farmers Act to be reintroduced in this new Congress, which would support training and access to land for Black farmers.
Support farmers of color through the National Black Food and Justice Alliance.

Want to learn more about regenerative farming?

Check out The Soil Health Institute.
Watch these videos from Gabe Brown and Dr. Allen Williams, teachers who helped Grant and Dawn learn about regenerative farming.
Read Leah Penniman’s book Farming While Black, which is brimming with great information on her Afro-Indigenous-inspired approach to farming.
Watch the new film Kiss the Ground, which is all about how agriculture, and the carbon-sequestering power of soil, is a powerful climate solution.
Ayana’s mom, an organic and regenerative farmer, recommends the book Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown. Her review: “Excellent job of demonstrating best regenerative farm practices. Great for gardeners and every food consumer to know.” She also recommends checking out the farming magazine called Acres and the array of great books published by Chelsea Green.

Special thanks to our guests: Leah Penniman and Dawn & Grant Breitkreutz

How to Save a Planet is a Spotify original podcast and Gimlet production hosted by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Alex Blumberg. This episode of How to Save a Planet was produced by our senior producer Lauren Silverman. The rest of our reporting and producing team includes Kendra Pierre-Louis, Rachel Waldholz, Anna Ladd and Felix Poon. Our editor is Caitlin Kenney. Sound design and mixing by Peter Leonard with original music by Emma Munger. Our fact checker this episode is James Gaines.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Presenting: Resistance Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

How do you take a global movement local? What happens when you refuse to accept things as they are? This week, we’re excited to bring you an episode of a new Gimlet show called Resistance. Resistance is a show full of stories from the front lines of the movement for Black lives, told by the generation fighting for change. Warning: this episode of Resistance has some strong language in it.

Also, what do you think Alex and Ayana’s nicknames should be? Send a note or a voice memo to howtosaveaplanet@spotify.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices