Sustainability In Your Ear

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Earth911 Podcast, June 24, 2019: Food, Glorious Food! Jun 24, 2019

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It's time to eat sustainably in the sun. The Earth911 team sits down to talk about Summer eating. It is a perfect time to try some new foods and food-related activities. Maybe you have a garden or just a pot of herbs. Maybe you would like to try a new ingredient or make a vegan meal. No matter what your goal might be, we are going to talk about how to find great food, make great food, and avoid food waste. We talk about Earth Day Network's new Foodprints program, which will help you find low-impact alternative ingredients and recipes. We're also looking forward to Earth Day 2020, the 5oth Anniversary of the first Earth Day, when more than a billion people around the world are expected to participate in marches, clean-ups, and ongoing changes in their eating and waste-disposal habits.
If you are thinking about growing your own food, we talk about what we find are the easiest crops to grow, including tomatoes, herbs, and fruit trees. Buying natural foods is another alternative, including joining a CSA (community-supported agriculture) program and buying directly from local farmers at weekly markets or by subscribing to food deliveries. Start with a conversation with the produce manager at a local store, they have a wealth of information to share.
Ready for new foods? Here are 10 delicious vegan slow-cooker meals, 10 sustainable snack recipes, and the many plant-based milk options for baking. Finally, we cover food waste. We discard almost half our food each year before it is spoiled. Finding new ways to distribute food and reducing waste overall can help to feed everyone at lower costs. One of our favorite finds is a list of small-space composting systems.
And this week we answer Earthling questions about how to dump your garbage service, the challenges of a 55-gallon barrel of chlorine pool shock, and best way to move non-friable asbestos.
Join the conversation and share your thoughts with the community in our Earthling Forum.

Earth911 Podcast, June 10, 2019: Here Comes The Sun! Jun 10, 2019

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Earth911 is getting ready for Summer! Join Evelyn, Sarah, and Mitch to talk about preparations for a more sustainable summer. We can all make improvements in how we garden, cook, travel, and make changes in energy use. We start off in the garden with ideas about how to build DIY birdbaths, as well as how to use combinations of feeders and nativar plants to fill your yard with wild birds. While you're enjoying new feathery friends, turn down the air condition with these ideas: window treatments; using fans for real cooling effects (don't leave them on when you leave a room), and lower energy costs. We can also reduce our watering in the yard by embracing vertical gardening and arbors. Keep household and garden pests in check with natural repellents and remedies, including our list of natural oils and herbs that help prevent infestations.
Entertaining is always a big part of Summer and we've got ideas to help. First, take a look at these easy-to-build patio tables with built-in drink coolers. We talk through cooking and sustainable recipes, including solar ovens and solar cooking recipes, and how, when it's too hot to cook outside you can use a crockpot or instapot to keep the temperature down inside. Finally, we look at vacation options and talk about the carbon impact of travel. Choose where you must go and learn to travel safely and naturally to reduce illness and stay full of energy.
The team also answers your Earthling Questions. Can store gift cards be recycled? How can I get a 55-gallon barrel of motor oil hauled away and recycled? Can old coaxial cables and wires be recycled?

Earth911 Podcast, June 7, 2019: Recycling's National Safety Stand Down Day Jun 07, 2019

Show notes

Recycling safety is the topic of Earth911's interview with Scott Wiggins, vice president of Environmental Health & Safety at the Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). On June 12th, most recycling programs and scrap yards will close down for an hour each shift to focus on workplace safety as part of Safety Stand Down Day, and you can help protect recycling workers by making smart choices. Wiggins shares stories about injuries caused by the usual workplace culprits, such as slips, falls, and impacts, as well as how medical sharps and lithium-ion batteries. He shares how to prepare sharps and batteries for recycling, noting that both need special handling and do not belong in your blue bin.
Learn about the busy environment where recycling workers process materials. One surprising fact: A major source of injuries is distracted driving by collection drivers, who have run over scrap yard workers. Progress in recycling must be accompanied by improved safety so that everyone, including the workers who handle your recycling, gets home safe each day.

Earth911 Podcast, June 3, 2019: It Is The Time For Trees at the Arbor Day Foundation Jun 03, 2019

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Dan Lambe, president of The Arbor Day Foundation, joins Earth911 to talk about the organizations The Time For Trees initiative to plant 100 million trees. Lambe and team also want to get five million people to join in the tree-planting and save the atmosphere from CO2 emissions. Established in Nebraska during 1872 by newspaperman J. Sterling Morton and adopted across the country as a national day to plant and cultivate trees by 1882, Arbor Day is typically the last Friday of April. But the organization works year-round to encourage tree-planting in the United States and around the world. Lambe talks about the environmental benefits of trees and forests, explains "afforestation" for those who aren't familiar with the term for starting a forest on abandoned land, and the multi-pronged solution to climate change that starts with the simple act of planting a tree. Get involved, buy or gift a tree through the Arbor Day Foundation.
Join the conversation and share your thoughts with the community in our Earthling Forum.

Earth911 Podcast, May 31, 2019: Salesforce Pioneers Carbon-Neutral Business May 31, 2019

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Sunya Norman, director of sustainability at Salesforce.com, joins Earth911 to talk about the customer relationship management (CRM) company's pursuit of carbon neutral operations. Since its founding, Salesforce has broken new ground in the cloud and ways of doing business. CRM services are used by companies to build deeper interactions with their customers, and Salesforce's leadership in sustainability is permeating its clients' businesses, too. While Salesforce won't reach full carbon neutrality by 2023, but already purchases carbon offsets to eliminate its remaining carbon emissions. It eliminated greenhouse gas emissions in 2017, making its cloud services one of the few carbon-neutral options for online services.

Earth911 Podcast, May 27, 2018: Get Ready for World Environment Day May 27, 2019

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June 5th is World Environment Day and the Earth911 team will help you get ready. Join Evelyn Lopez and Mitch Ratcliffe to talk about World Environment Day activities and how to participate in raising air pollution awareness in your community. The Mask Challenge, a global call for citizens to post pictures of themselves wearing face masks to protect against dirty air, began May 24th and runs through June 5th. We share Global Environment Day ideas that you can use to #BeatAirPollution, along with our own suggestions.Reducing air pollution is a constant project that you can start small, by switching off your lights if your home relies on coal power, or go big to help lower carbon emissions. We look at the best solar panels available on the market today and discuss the benefits of an electric vehicle. If you are looking for a Memorial Day meal that won't be a burden to the planet, here are five vegan Mac & Cheese recipes and a tips for hosting a sustainable backyard party.And, as always, your Earthling Questions. How do I recycle or reuse conference lanyards? How do I recycle waterjet sand? Can't pizza boxes be preserved with a sheet of lining paper?

Earth911 Podcast, May 20, 2019: Helmm's Sustainable Antiperspirant For Men May 20, 2019

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Helmm co-founders Zach Groffksy and Taylor Lane discuss sustainable men's care products. They recently launched a subscription antiperspirant/deodorant subscription service for a luxury refillable holder. The elegant Helmm deodorant container is made with recyclable metal and fine leather. With four fragrances available today, Helmm lets customers schedule how frequently their refills arrive. Each refill cuts 60 percent of the plastic used for traditional deoderant containers, and the refill containers are recyclable HDPE plastic.
Groffsky and Lane talk with Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe about the basic requirements customers expect in a modern product, starting with basic environmental responsibility. The company has new products planned that will introduce sustainable practices for other men's care categories.

Earth911 Podcast, May 17, 2019: Moses Filter Parts Debris From The Sea May 17, 2019

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The Moses Filter can separate debris from the sea, an environmental priority for cities and suburbs where dirt, leaves, medical sharps, and cigarette butts, among many other materials clog stormdrains. The replacable, bio-degradable filter invented by Jean-Louis Kamand and his team, is being tested in Vancouver, British Columbia. Kamand joined Earth911's Sustainability In Your Ear podcast to talk about his alternative to the 150-or-more-lb. grates that dominate city street drains today. From preventing hydroplaning, one of the leading causes of auto accidents, to stopping tons of material from reaching local waterways, this storm drain promises quick replacement of clogged drain grates. As more communities take their own environmental impact as their responsibility, products like the Moses Filter offer simple solutions to complex waste capture challenges.

Earth911 Podcast, May 13, 2019: The Changing Recycling Industry May 13, 2019

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2018 was a year of big changes in recycling and in 2019 we're seeing the beginnings of a new era taking shape. The Earth911 team sits down for a conversation about how local recycling programs are changing in the wake of China's ban on contaminated imports and shifts in overseas destinations for U.S. scrap metal and recyclables. While glass recycling is facing cutbacks across the country, U.S. scrap metal exports actually increased in 2018.
Join Evelyn Fielding-Lopez, Sarah Lozanova, and Mitch Ratcliffe for a conversation about the future and safety of recycling. People can also make a big difference to the success of recycling by putting the right materials in their blue bins. One critical issue is worker safety, which can be compromised by wishcycling-- the idea anything can be dropped into the blue bin. We talk about the recent Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries' Conference, where safety and packaging design were in the spotlight. Recycling workers can be injured by medical sharps, broken glass, electrical cords, and even plastic films, which do not belong in the blue bin. At the IRSI event, we heard stories about young workers who, after being stuck by sharps in recycling material, had to give up their plans for family because of infections that resulted.
Sarah Lozanova shares Earth911's recent sustainable smartphones story, and we talk about the growing role of subscription services for advanced technology, which ensures products will be recycled at the end of their useful lives.
And, as always, our Earthling Questions are on tap: How to recycle an air mattress? Can a rubber-backed doormat be recycled? Is paper made from junk mail and turned into art still recyclable?

Earth911 Podcast, May 6, 2019: Dr. Katrina Cornish on the Future of Rubber Production May 06, 2019

Show notes

Dr. Katrina Cornish developed a genetically engineered dandelion to produce natural latex, which is primarily imported from Southeast Asia, in vertical indoor farms in the U.S. As the scientific advisor to American Sustainable Rubber Company, Dr. Cornish is working to commercialize T.K. Dandelion rubber for the sporting goods, medical supplies, and tire industries. She speaks with Earth911 about the potential to displace $1.6 billion in rubber import costs and the improved materials security associated with diversifying natural rubber production beyond the current monoculture-based tapping of rubber trees. Dr. Cornish shares the threats associated with current rubber plantation farming, which is susceptible to blights and droughts because all rubber trees are clones of a few specimens spirited out of Brazil almost a century ago. Rubber is naturally produced by more than 2,600 plants -- and Cornish has labs dedicated to commercializing two important North American sources, T.K. Dandelions, and guayule, a shrub native to Mexico. American Sustainable Rubber is preparing a 190-acre indoor farm to perfect its production of rubber from dandelions. Learn about the rich range of sources humans have for replacing environmentally unsustainable materials, such as rubber.

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