Forces for Nature

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Have you had wild animal photo opportunities while on vacation? Have you "liked" cute exotic animal videos on social? Are you dying for an opportunity to hold a baby monkey? If so, you may unintentionally be fueling a dark industry and promoting animal abuse. Devan Schowe is the campaigns director for Born Free USA, an...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Driven to near extinction in the eastern United States, the Florida panther was able to escape complete persecution by disappearing into the untamed wilderness of the Everglades. However, for its long-term survival, they need more than just a small pocket of land at the bottom of the State. Carlton Ward Jr., a National Geographi...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! If you're tired of only hearing about environmental destruction and that we're around the corner from doomsday, you're going to want to listen to this episode! Grant Brown is the founder of the website and newsletter, Happy Eco News. He's not naïve to the pressures that the world is facing - we talk about wha...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Nothing could be cuter than baby animals. But, their adorableness can easily distract you from the lifelong responsibility that their care requires. Unfortunately, this reality check can result in animals- especially those that we associate with their wild cousins like ducks and bunnies- being dumped out into the wild after they...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Show Swap! The host of Forces for Nature, Crystal DiMiceli, joined Carly Puch on her podcast, Consciously Clueless, to talk about her own cluelessness on this lifelong journey toward sustainability. Highlights What does she do when she’s not feeling optimistic about the world? What made her almost throw in the towel on this jour...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! The organization, Save Pangolins, is raising awareness and supporting conservation efforts of the world's most trafficked mammal. One of their initiatives is the Pangolin Champions Program which aims to support emerging leaders in the pangolin conservation landscape.  Since its inception in 2020, they have accepted 12 passi...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Are you concerned about the state of our oceans and seas and all the life in them? Do you worry that not enough is being done to help? Come dive in and meet the people doing all they can for these ecosystems - from above and below the waves! The Healthy Seas Podcast is hosted by Forces for Nature creator, Crystal DiMiceli, and,...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! According to the OECD, if fashion were a country, it would be the fourth largest emitter of CO2 in the world*! And a significant percentage of those emissions comes from just the creation of the textiles and leathers that are to be used for clothing and accessories. Unfortunately, too many of these raw materials are left unused...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Did you know that we send about 40-50% of our food scraps and organic material, like fallen leaves, to landfills? Landfills don't allow for proper decomposition so those materials end up releasing harmful methane into the atmosphere as they break down. To avoid this much waste, we can compost instead! Michele and Java Bradl...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Jen Gale is the founder of Sustainable(ish), a podcast and blog that have grown into a myriad of resources meant to help individuals find support and ideas in their efforts of becoming more eco-friendly. She's all about embracing the "-ish" in our actions. We all have different circumstances and, within those, she...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! With everything going on during this time of the year, you may not want to be bothered with trying to change your holiday habits to be more eco-friendly. However, I have a few suggestions on what you can do WITHOUT adding to your to-do list!  With these tweaks, you can end the year on a sustainable note!  Highlights Thanksgiving...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Today's episode is different than usual in that it's actually from another podcast that I guested on a few months back. The podcast is called Casa de Confidence and it's hosted by the incredible Julie Delucca-Collins. Her show highlights people who are confident dreamers. And, although I can't say I've a...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! According to the World Health Organization, the pandemic triggered a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. Today's guest, Beth Allgood, has a suggestion on what could help. She is an expert in well-being but in a very niche way. She looks at the connections that nature and wildlife play toward...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! This summer, it's been hard to ignore the fact that climate change is no longer something we can think of as a future threat. It is here and it is impacting lives and livelihoods on unprecedented scales. But, it's also something that many people are still trying to fully understand. Today's guest is James Lawler,...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Did you know that bats provide you with the services of pest control and plant pollination that directly benefit the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and even the liquor you drink? In fact, for example, the existence of tequila and mezcal is thanks to these mammals. Unfortunately, industrialized farming is endangering bats- a...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! As humans increasingly dominate the landscape through building homes, farms, highways, etc, the territories of wildlife are getting smaller and smaller. Animals are finding themselves in what are now our backyards as they are trying to satisfy their own needs for food, shelter, water, and finding mates. Elephants in Malaysia are...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! James Regulinski is the cofounder of Carbon Collective, the first financial investment advisory firm focused solely on solving climate change. We talk about how we may, unintentionally, be supporting industries that we don't want to see in our world's future (such as fossil fuels and nuclear weapons) and James provides...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! By 1964, there were no successfully nesting peregrine falcons in North America east of the Rockies and south of the Arctic. They were functionally extinct. So, why do we have them now? How did they come back? And why are they loving cities? One of the heroes of their story is Art McMorris. He was the Peregrine Falcon Coordinator...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! It has been found that 70% of wild fish populations are either fully used, overused, or in crisis from overfishing. And with food demand projected to increase by 50% by 2050, there is simply not enough fish in the sea for fishing to be sustainable. Fish farming, otherwise known as aquaculture, is intended to supplement this dema...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Have you seen the images of whales dragging buoys wrapped around their tails? Or turtles entangled in ropes? These are examples of what is called "ghost gear," which are lost or abandoned fishing nets or gear that then aimlessly drift through the ocean, catching whatever comes into their path. Jenny Ioannou is with Hea...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! More often than not, when you hear about the state of the natural world, you hear allllll the bad things. Yes, they are happening and, yes, they suck. But what you might not realize is that there are also soooo many good things happening. People are coming together to make the changes that we wish to see. Emma Illick Frank is a...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! The field of wildlife conservation has some of the most passionate and determined people in the world. To build a career protecting animals requires professionals in this field to have a diverse and complex toolbox of skills and knowledge.  However, as happens in many other careers, academic training is only the beginning of the...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Hey there! We're wrapping up this season with an update on what Crystal's been up to and a call to action. What would you like to see from Forces for Nature? What topics, people, tips, etc? Find me on social media or write to me at crystal@forcesfornature.com. I can't wait to hear from you! Want a free guide to he...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! Despite its protected status, the marine waters surrounding the Caribbean island of Bonaire are not immune to the global effects of climate change, warming waters, and ocean acidification. These dangers, among others, are greatly impacting coral reefs all over the world. Francesca Virdis of Reef Renewal Bonaire is working to pro...

Send Crystal a text letting her know what you thought about the show! If you live in a country with a highly developed garbage collection system, such as the US, you might not be fully aware of the impact that trash and litter have. However, even the US is in the top 20 of all countries generating the greatest amount of ocean-bound trash. These items end up choking the waters we swim in, ingested...