Operation Climate

In this episode of Operation Climate , Kendra Rentz speaks with Jim Puckett, founder of the Basel Action Network, about the dangerous and often overlooked world of electronic waste. They examine the toxic components of e-waste and the serious risks it poses to both human health and the environment. From workers exposed to hazardous chemicals in informal recycling operations to the impact on vulner...

From Halloween party costumes to game day outfits, college campuses are hotspots for clothing turnover. But what’s the real environmental cost of one-time wear? In this episode of Operation Climate, we explore the wasteful cycle of clothing consumption habits, from last-minute Amazon ordering to costume drawers, and investigate the impact on our planet. We talk to college students about their clot...

Have you ever wondered how much energy your TikTok scrolling costs? Or what the environmental impacts of ChatGPT are? Today’s technology boom is undoubtedly reshaping our digital landscape, but the vast amount of physical infrastructure that must accompany new tech development often gets lost in the conversation. And now with the rise of AI, large, energy-intensive data centers are becoming Americ...

How many water bottles do you own? Most people would answer more than one. These days, it seems like a new, trendy brand pops up every year, and many of these companies actually market their products as eco-friendly despite having a significant environmental impact. In this episode, Charlotte speaks to Dr. Wren Montgomery, a professor at the Ivey Business School at Western University who researche...

Over recent months, it is known All Too Well that pop star and cultural icon Taylor Swift has attracted widespread criticism for her private jet usage and corresponding surge in CO2 emissions to be one thousand times more than the average person. In this episode of Operation Climate, we delve deep into the environmental repercussions of private air travel and the moral obligations of celebrities t...

In this season opener, hosts Anna and Renee explore the environmental implications of the newly constructed Olympic Surfing Judging Tower in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, the host site for the surfing events of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Joined by Brian Silliman, the Rachel Carson Professor of Marine Conservation Biology at Duke University, they discuss the challenges facing coral reefs and the potential impac...

In this special summer episode of Operation Climate, we journey to Person County, North Carolina, where a proposed liquid natural gas facility has ignited a grassroots movement. Hear from local farmers Oci and Jeff, just a mile from the site, as they share their story. During this episode, we will uncover the environmental concerns, political maneuvering, and community activism surrounding the pro...

Welcome back to Season 9: Green Horizons! In the season finale, we are moving out of the classroom and into the realm of government to continue our exploration of what a climate-conscious future looks like. The Biden administration announced the creation of the American Climate Corps back in September, which aims to train a new generation of workers for jobs in the clean energy economy. The initia...

Welcome to Season 9: Green Horizons! In this series, we are talking about the positive role of big institutions, universities and governments, in the climate movement. As we continue our conversation of climate education and action at Duke University, in this episode, we are sitting down with two esteemed Duke University professors, Dr. Valerie Sabol, a clinical professor in the Duke School of Nur...

Welcome to Season 9: Green Horizons! In this series, we are talking about the positive role of big institutions, universities and governments, in the climate movement. In today's episode, we shift gears from the overarching view to the nitty-gritty details. We're joined by Dr. Emily Bernhardt, a biogeochemist and a professor at Duke as well as Lindsay Batchelor, and Jason Elliott from the...

Welcome to Season 9! In this series, we are talking about the positive role of big institutions, universities and governments, in the climate movement. It’s been a year since the Climate Commitment was announced, but a question still floats in the mind of much of the Duke community: “What exactly is the Climate Commitment?” In this episode, we unravel the layers of the Duke Climate Commitment. Tho...

Get ready for Season 9 of Operation Climate: Green Horizons . This season we’re focusing on big institutions like universities and government… what role do they have in the climate movement? We’ll focus on Duke University and their now one year old Climate Commitment, which aims to tackle the whole spectrum of sustainability from operations to eduction. Then, we’ll zoom out to take a look at an ex...

Welcome to Season 8! In this miniseries, we will look at different avenues of environmental art. Looking for alternative routes to advocate for the environment, aside from research and policy? Perhaps you should turn to art and engage in the growing phenomenon of environmental artivism. Like the saying goes, a picture (or in this case, a sculpture) can say a thousand words. Art can be an extremely...

In this episode, we had the privilege of talking with Trevor Schoonmaker, the current director and former curator of contemporary art at the Nasher Museum of Art in Durham, North Carolina. Together, we will delve into Trevor's remarkable journey as an art curator and discuss his most recent exhibition, Spirit in the Land. Spirit in the Land is a contemporary art exhibition that examines today&...

What does it take to save a species that is functionally extinct in the wild? Well, it turns out… a lot. Species conservation is not as simple as protecting ecosystems. In this episode, we explore how species and habitat conservation differ, using the story of the American Chestnut tree to illustrate how complex and multi-faceted species conservation can be. We had the pleasure of speaking with Ja...

In North Carolina, there are almost as many pigs as people. With millions of pigs packed into industrial scale facilities, the question of what to do with the waste has become a huge problem and a prime example of environmental racism.  In this episode, we explore the concepts of environmental justice and environmental racism through the lens of hog farming. We talk with Jamie Berger, producer of...

Are schools doing enough to educate the next generation on climate change and the environment? How can we make sure future generations are prepared to handle environmental changes safely and effectively? In this episode, we continue exploring environmental education on a national level and take a deep dive into Durham Public Schools’ environmental education programs. We continue our discussion on...

Is climate misinformation truly prevalent in schools? What barriers do students face in receiving a comprehensive environmental education? What can you do to combat these barriers? In this episode, we will learn about the state of environmental education in US public schools. We will talk to reporter Katie Worth , the author of Miseducation: How Climate Change is Taught in America . Next we will i...

Welcome to Season 7! This season we are looking at a case study for circular economy and climate education. Join us on this much shorter season for bite size glimpses into these sustainability topics! Is the age of mass consumption upon us? Judging from the quantities of overconsumption and consumer waste that the Earth is seeing daily, it may appear so. Yet as products are being produced and disc...

Art is a powerful tool to call people into the climate movement. Science has shown that our brains are wired to respond to stories. When we hear a story, we naturally engage with the characters, and imagine ourselves in their shoes. This creates an emotional connection to the story and the issue it represents. Marte Skaara, a co-founder of Climate Illustrated , couples climate stories with artwork...

Gender equality and women’s empowerment have a lot of ties to climate change. In addition to being leaders of the climate movement, women and girls are often more vulnerable to climate effects. Ilinca Drondoe is a student at Wellesley college who is passionate about the intersection of climate justice and women’s empowerment. Ilinca works with the organization Girl Up and the UN Foundation on proj...

Intersectionality, a term coined by Kimberle Crenshaw, talks about the interconnectedness of different identities, and how the overlapping of them can create disadvantages in society. For example, a white woman can experience gender discrimination, but her experience is entirely different than that of a black woman’s, who also experiences racial discrimination on top of gender discrimination. The...

The climate world is full of new, exciting technologies. The space is booming. Over the past 6 years, venture capital funding in climate tech has increased by more than 500% , reaching $56 billion in the US. One of these technologies, which has the potential to revolutionize both the climate space and many other industries, is quantum computing. Quantum computing – even the term seems difficult to...

These days, the kids are stressed. I mean, how can we not be? We spent some of our most formative years navigating a pandemic, keeping up with controversial supreme court decisions, and literally worrying about world peace. And on top of that, there’s the climate crisis. It’s no wonder why eco-anxiety is a phenomenon affecting people all over the world. With climate effects becoming more intense a...

According to the EPA “Although E-waste represents 2% of America's trash in landfills, it equals 70% of overall toxic waste”.According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, it takes roughly 500 lbs of fossil fuels, 50 lbs of chemicals, and 1.5 tons of water to manufacture one computer and monitor. We have an E-waste problem. But, scientists and engineers are making strides...