Stay ConnectedReversing Climate Change is a podcast about carbon removal and climatetech that keeps wandering off into literature, history, philosophy, theology, and geopolitics on the theory that the technical and scientific questions stop making much sense without them. Hosted by Ross Kenyon, who did not go past a year of political philosophy PhD coursework and has visibly not let it go.
Paid subscriptions live on Substack @ https://rosskenyon.com.
© Carbon Removal Strategies LLC
Copyright: © Nori
“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 validate the progress of forest restoration projects for carbon markets, and author of the Medium article, "On Losing Everything to the Climate Crisis, Except for Hope." On this bonus episode of the podcast, Diego joins Ross to discuss how losing his home to a forest fire has given him renewed energy around his work and made him more of a minimalist than ever before.
Diego explains how both climate change and poor forest management practices are to blame for 2020’s devastating forest fires, speaking to the permanence issues surrounding ecological methods of sequestering carbon and how carbon markets can make reforestation for carbon sequestration economically viable. Listen in for insight on the success of Pachama’s recent fundraising efforts and learn how you can help protect our global forests by joining Diego’s team.
Connect with Nori:
Resources:
Diego on Reversing Climate Change EP104
Diego’s Medium Article ‘On Losing Everything to the Climate Crisis, Except for Hope’
Stripe’s Negative Emissions Commitment
Pachama’s Blog Welcoming New Investors
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/on-losing-everything-to-the-climate-2a1
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Matt joins Ross and Paul to discuss the premise of his book, explaining why it’s crucial for the US to grow its population and commit to keeping our #1 status in the world. He shares his liberal approach to this conservative idea, describing how immigration makes us stronger and what we can do to support families with children.
Matthew goes on to offer insight on the dysfunction of American federalism, discussing how a shared goal would create more constructive politics, and why it’s shortsighted to invoke climate change as an argument against population growth. Listen in for Matthew’s take on why we need right of center solutions to climate change and learn how we can prioritize both population growth and climate solutions in a way that moves America forward.
One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger by Matthew Yglesias
The Idea of a European Superstate by Glyn Morgan
Bryan Caplan on Reversing Climate Change S2EP2
Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration by Bryan Caplan
‘Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing’ in PEN America
Brad Plumer at The New York Times
Matthew on Conversations with Tyler EP104
Getting to Yes: How to Negotiate Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher
The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama
David Roberts on Reversing Climate Change S2EP3
Benji Backer on Reversing Climate Change EP074
Bob Inglis on Reversing Climate Change EP086
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/s2e35-matthew-yglesias-tells-us-why-a80
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 Chair of VERGE Food and VERGE Carbon at GreenBiz. On this bonus episode of the podcast, Jim joins Ross to discuss the upcoming GreenBiz conference, VERGE 20, sharing some of the notable sessions and speakers on topics like purchasing carbon offsets and scaling regenerative agriculture.
Jim explains how VERGE will look different this year, describing how his team has pivoted to a virtual format, and what they are doing to recreate 1:1 connections among the 10K projected attendees! Listen in for insight around the growing interest in sustainability and find out how YOU can be a part of the VERGE 20 online conference.
Connect with Nori
Resources
Jim Giles on Carbon Removal Newsroom
Google’s Recent Climate Commitments Announcement
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/verge-20-is-going-virtual-see-you-0ad
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
One of the beauties of regenerative agriculture is that it revisits traditional land stewardship practices and can leverage innovation to apply those principles on a broader scale. To that end, the team at Nori is scaling its efforts to reward farmers for the carbon they sequester in the process.
Rebekah Carlson is the Agriculture Supply Lead here at Nori, where she combines her experience in agronomy, soil science, and crop modeling to effectively enroll farmers into the Nori marketplace. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Rebekah joins Ross to discuss the fundamentals of agronomy, explaining how her experience as a crop consultant informs her work at Nori.
Rebekah describes how Nori leverages feedback from farmers to streamline the enrollment process, adding the Smart Defaults tool and integrating its system with other farm management platforms like Granular.
Resources:
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/how-nori-works-with-farmersw-rebekah
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
Are you a UX Designer? Love what Nori is doing? In this episode, you'll hear more details about the position from Nori cofounder Alexsandra Guerra, as well as the general philosophy of hiring, application design, etc.
The book Ross mentions is Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug.
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/nori-is-hiring-a-ux-designer
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 and the Freedom of Ocean Voyaging. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, John joins Ross to explain how he came to love boats and books, describing how sailing facilitates deep and powerful intellectual discussion.
John weighs in on how climate change has impacted the way he plans and conducts passages, offering insight on how the trade winds and the Gulf Stream have changed in the last 30 years. Listen in to understand how sailors cope with volatile weather and find out how climate change has influenced the expeditions John is planning for 2021 and 2022.
Connect with Nori:
Resources:
John’s Celestial Navigation Workshop
Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum
Voyage of the Liberdade: A Journey from Brazil to America in a Hand-Built Boat by Joshua Slocum
Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
The Long Way by Bernard Moitessier
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/s2e33-sailing-in-the-age-of-climate-320
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
On this bonus episode of Reversing Climate Change, Nori CEO Paul Gambill and Director of Corporate Development Alexsandra Guerra join Ross to talk about the $4M seed round Nori just closed, what that means for the company, and how hiring will proceed. Tune in to learn more about Nori careers and what is happening at the company.
Resources:
Coverage of Nori's round in TechCrunch and GeekWire
The Medium post Paul wrote about Nori's round
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/nori-closes-our-4m-seed-round-and
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 with Purpose’. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Heidi joins Ross to walk us through her process for finding meaningful work, explaining what inspired her to pursue a role in the carbon removal space.
Heidi shares her strategies for figuring out what kind of purposeful work you want to pursue, challenging us to reach out to people on paths we’re interested in and embed ourselves in communities with likeminded individuals. Listen in for Heidi’s insight on turning content creation into career opportunities and learn how to plant the seeds that will lead to your dream role.
Resources:
‘Chasing a Job with Purpose’ by Heidi Lim
‘We Need to Talk About Carbon Removal’ by Heidi Lim
After Geoengineering: Climate Tragedy, Repair, and Restoration by Holly Jean Buck
Holly Jean Buck on Reversing Climate Change EP103
Holly Jean Buck on Reversing Climate Change S2 Bonus Episode
We Are Climate Designers: The Podcast
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/s2e32-chasing-a-job-with-purpose-e0e
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture,and his work is featured in the new Netflix documentary, Kiss the Ground. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Gabe joins Ross and Christophe to explain what inspired his own transition to regenerative agricultural practices and how he works with farmers and ranchers, using the context and tools available to move them down a regenerative path.
Gabe walks us through the six principles of how nature functions, describing how we can work with nature to heal our ecosystem and why we all benefit from a shift from monoculture to polyculture. Listen in for Gabe’s insight on how a farmer or rancher’s profitability depends on carbon and learn how you can vote with your consumer dollars to promote regenerative agricultural practices.
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/s2e31-kiss-the-ground-doc-live-on-da6
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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.
Resources:
The Electric Election 2020 Roadtrip website
American Conservation Coalition's Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, website
The Trump panel with scientists referenced in this episode
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/the-electric-election-2020-roadtrip-9bc
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
