Sustainability Defined

Latest Episodes:

*UPDATED* Ep 21: Water Infrastructure with Will Sarni (Water Foundry) Sep 03, 2021

Show notes

Coming at you this month with a fresh update to one of the most critical topics we've covered on the show - water infrastructure. Press play and remind yourself how important water infrastructure is to our daily lives!

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Sustainability Defined is the podcast that defines sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen.

Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode.

We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors:

Energy

Cities

Natural Environment

Transportation

Business

Policy

Social

Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means.

www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Ep 61: Carbon Pricing with Dr. Marc Hafstead (Resources for the Future) Aug 06, 2021

Show notes

Are we at Sustainability Defined psychic? Well, no… but we do know what you're wondering - what is carbon pricing and can it be a viable solution to mitigate our global GHG emissions? Fear not Definers, we've got you covered. In today's episode, we dive into how different carbon pricing systems, like emissions trading systems (ETS) and carbon taxes, function in global economies. A price on carbon can help address the fact that climate impacts are often endured by people who are neither the producer nor the consumer of an activity that exacerbates climate change – what economists dub "negative externalities." We also discuss existing applications and different design features of carbon pricing policies, leaving you delightfully informed on the topic.

Our expert guest, Dr. Marc Hafstead, a Fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF) and Director of their Carbon Pricing Initiative, joins us to chat about the nuances of carbon pricing policies and the many tools RFF has developed to help progress them. We hope Definers can take away their own perspective of carbon pricing and its role in fighting climate change.

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Sustainability Defined is the podcast that defines sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen.

We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors:

Energy

Cities

Natural Environment

Transportation

Business

Policy

Social

www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Atypical Ep 2: Sustainability Defined Staff (Matt Arends and Amelia Kovacs) Jul 02, 2021

Show notes

It's not just Jay and Scott behind Sustainability Defined. We have volunteers and paid staff that help us with research, social media, etc. Today for an atypical episode we want to highlight a couple staff members, one who has played a critical role for years and is leaving the podcast for an exciting opportunity in market garden farming, and another who is just joining the team after being a devoted listener and studying and working in sustainability. The outgoing staff member is Matt Arends. If you've ever engaged with our social media or been impressed with our graphics on there, the kudos go to Matt. He is leaving his part-time position with the podcast so he can focus on Wild Roots Acres & Farm (@wildrootsacres_mn) on Instagram. We'll hear about his sustainability journey and about his business including the geothermal greenhouses he is building. The incoming staff member is Amelia Kovacs. We needed someone with a lot of energy who knows sustainability so they could help us with research, social media, and a variety of other tasks. Boy did we luck out with Amelia. You'll hear her passion as well as her knowledge in sustainability as she talks about her current work in the field and what she's learned from the podcast. We hope you enjoy hearing from the folks behind the scenes!

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Sustainability Defined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen.

We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors:

Energy

Cities

Natural Environment

Transportation

Business

Policy

Social

Please go to www.sustainabilitydefined.com for more information. Our website has pages for each episode where there is a player to stream the episode, as well as hyperlinked intro notes.

Ep 60: Sustainable Landscaping with Dr. Sharon Hall (Arizona State University) Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

Many Definers may enjoy laying in a lush, green lawn staring up at a blue sky while listening to the latest Sustainability Defined episode. We love that, but it's also important to think about how we got those landscapes and how we can maintain them more sustainably. This episode considers the footprint of all kinds of man-made and maintained landscapes, particularly the around 50 million acres of lawn in the United States. You'll hear about the many impacts of landscaping our environment, including the crazy amount of air pollution that comes from gas powered equipment, as well as techniques you can use to maintain a landscape you enjoy with less impact on the environment. Our expert guest, Dr. Sharon Hall, ecosystem ecologist and professor at the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, provides insights from her research on how humans interact with the residential landscape and from her own landscaping experience. Let's put on some gardening gloves as we get our hands dirty diving into sustainable landscaping.

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Sustainability Defined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen.

We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors:

Energy

Cities

Natural Environment

Transportation

Business

Policy

Social

Please go to www.sustainabilitydefined.com for more information. Our website has pages for each episode where there is a player to stream the episode, as well as hyperlinked intro notes.

Ep 59: Eco-Anxiety with Dr. Lise Van Susteren (Climate Psychiatry Alliance) May 07, 2021

Show notes

Feelings of helplessness toward the ecological crisis, persistent worry about the future of the climate, intense guilt about your own carbon footprint... sound familiar? These are all symptoms of eco-anxiety, the focus of our 59th episode and something we at Sustainability Defined can relate to directly.

Join us as we unpack what exactly eco-anxiety is, why it's so important, and what we can do about it. We're lucky to chat with Dr. Lise Van Susteren in this episode, a licensed psychiatrist and pioneer in the field of eco-anxiety.

Take a deep breath, press play, and come learn with us!

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Sustainability Defined is the podcast that defines sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen.

We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors:

Energy

Cities

Natural Environment

Transportation

Business

Policy

Social

www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Ep 58: Biotechnology and Sustainability with John Melo and Beth Bannerman (Amyris) Apr 02, 2021

Show notes

Biotechnology may sound like a futuristic word, but utilizing living organisms and their derivatives to produce products and processes goes back a long time and continues to provide important products today. In this episode, we'll explore why biotech is important and its current applications that advance sustainability. We'll also dive into biotech's potential complications. Our interview is with the CEO and Chief Engagement and Sustainability Officer of a biotech leader, Amyris. John Melo and Beth Bannerman will explain Amyris' biotech platform and products – and how this science and technology contribute to a more sustainable future. We guarantee after this episode you'll be able to impress your friends with your knowledge of squalene (we didn't know what it was either!).

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Sustainability Defined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen.

We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors:

Energy

Cities

Natural Environment

Transportation

Business

Policy

Social

Please go to www.sustainabilitydefined.com for more information. Our website has pages for each episode where there is a player to stream the episode, as well as hyperlinked intro notes.

*UPDATED* Ep 16: Sustainable Beer with Katie Wallace (New Belgium Brewing) Mar 05, 2021

Show notes

Definers, we had to delay our brand spankin new episode to April so this month we're replaying one of our most popular episodes, episode #16 on sustainable beer. But, before we replay that episode, we have an updated interview with one of our favorite people, Katie Wallace of New Belgium Brewing. We ask her for updates on what she talked about in the original episode, the latest sustainability news (Fat Tire is now certified carbon neutral!), and general Katie updates (she has made the wise choice of joining Jay and Scott in getting a pet).

See you next month for a new episode!

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Sustainability Defined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen.

We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors:

Energy

Cities

Natural Environment

Transportation

Business

Policy

Social

www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Ep 57: Energy Storage with Marek Kubik (Fluence) Feb 05, 2021

Show notes

Alas, it's time for us to stop storing this episode and release it to our Definers. This episode focuses on energy storage systems, which – as you might've guessed – store energy until it is needed at a later time. This of course includes lithium-ion batteries that power everything from your car to your TV remote, but as we'll discuss, there are other exciting storage systems on the market. In this episode we talk about the various energy storage systems, explain why storage is important, dissect its downsides, and discuss the exciting future for energy storage. Our guest is Marek Kubik, a man so busy that we're pretty sure he has his own personal energy storage system that powers all his various pursuits. His day job is Managing Director of Fluence, a leading global energy storage technology company. Enjoy!

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Sustainability Defined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen.

We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors:

Energy

Cities

Natural Environment

Transportation

Business

Policy

Social

Please go to www.sustainabilitydefined.com for more information. Our website has pages for each episode where there is a player to stream the episode, as well as hyperlinked intro notes.

*UPDATED* Ep 32: Reversing Global Warming with Paul Hawken (Project Drawdown) Jan 01, 2021

Show notes

Happy 2021, Definers!

This month we have an update to one of our most popular episodes ever. We interviewed Paul Hawken of Project Drawdown back in June 2018. For those unfamiliar, Project Drawdown is a non-profit focused on helping the world reach "Drawdown," which is the future point in time when the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline. The need to reach Drawdown is as important as ever, so we thought it would be a good episode to revisit to start the year. Before playing the original episode, we provide an update on Project Drawdown's many activities since we interviewed Paul, including releasing Drawdown Review 2020 that has a new framework for the most impactful activities to reach Drawdown and starting Drawdown Labs to engage the private sector.

We'll be back next month with fully new episodes of Sustainability Defined. In the meantime, have a wonderful start to the new year and enjoy this episode!

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SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen.

We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors:

Energy

Cities

Natural Environment

Transportation

Business

Policy

Social

www.sustainabilitydefined.com

Ep 56: Sustainability & Spirits with Sophie Kelly (Bulleit Frontier Whiskey) and Eric Sprague (American Forests) Dec 04, 2020

Show notes

Congratulations, definers! You've made it through 2020! We think it's time for a toast… a toast of whiskey, to be precise. Join us as we round out this unparalleled year by exploring sustainability within the spirits category. We begin this episode by unpacking the environmental, economic and social impacts of spirit production. We then distill how and why top spirits brands are diving into sustainability head-first. We're joined by Sophie Kelly, Senior Vice President of Whiskeys at Diageo North America, and Eric Sprague, Vice President of Forest Restoration at American Forests, who help us understand the link between whiskey and stewardship of our beloved oak trees, as well as the actions Bulleit Frontier Whiskey and its parent company Diageo are taking to advance sustainability in their spirit production. Cheers!

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Sustainability Defined is the podcast that defines sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen.

We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors:

Energy

Cities

Natural Environment

Transportation

Business

Policy

Social

www.sustainabilitydefined.com