Reversing Climate Change

Should we genetically engineer carbon-hungry trees? Can metal-eating trees clean up abandoned mines? Does seaweed have the potential to save the planet? While these ideas might seem outlandish, they are all examples of actual solutions to our environmental issues people are working on right now. Teresa Carey is a senior staff writer at Freethink , a platform that features the passionate innovators...

For large, established companies to be sustainable long term, they need to consider how a changing climate will impact what they do. CEOs have got to ask how their businesses can be resilient in the face of climate change and what they can do to help mitigate it. Nicole Systrom is the Founder of Sutro Energy Group , a consultancy working to scale high-impact climate solutions. On this bonus episod...

60% of the calories in our food supply are alleged to be ultra-processed junk. So, when did we lose our way? When did we go from growing food to feed our communities to growing food for profit? And how do we find our way back to a just food system—and society? Mark Bittman is a former New York Times columnist and bestselling author of 30-plus books, including the well-known How to Cook Everything...

Since its founding in 2003, Newlight Technologies’ goal has been to create consumer-driven solutions to reducing carbon in the air. And while that intention has not changed, the Newlight team’s approach has evolved as they consider how to achieve the greatest impact. Mark Herrema is the cofounder and CEO of Newlight, an advanced biotechnology company using greenhouse gas to produce sustainable mat...

Since the first levee was built in New Orleans in 1717, we have been trying to manage America’s rivers. But now our infrastructure is failing. And if we don’t compromise on a plan to restore (or strategically remove) our dams, levees, and locks and give our waterways more space, flooding events will continue to devastate entire communities over and over again. Tyler J. Kelley is a journalist whose...

What would happen if businesses were expected or even required to store a tonne of carbon for every tonne of carbon they produce? A Carbon Takeback Obligation is a policy framework that aims to make that the new standard. Today we learn more about how such a system might operate. Margriet Kuijper is a former civil engineer for Shell, where she focused on the development of carbon capture and stora...

Carbon removal tends not to be the most accessible pursuit for the layperson. One can plant a tree or practice regenerative farming in one's garden plot, but there typically isn't a lot else one can do. At least before Cyan! Cyan is an open-source do-it-yourself modular direct air capture machine for hobbyists you can build in an hour or two and start learning about and practicing carbon removal i...

So, you’re interested in carbon removal and curious about working in the climate space. But you’re not sure how your skills might apply, and you don’t know where to begin learning about the different types of carbon sequestration or the major players in the industry. John Sanchez is the Founder and Curriculum Designer at Carbon Removal Academy and the Co-Creator of the AirMiners Boot Up Program an...

Nori has evolved a great deal since its founding in 2017, and today, the team is ready to shift from a build-to-learn prototype to a build-to-scale model. The product team is working to reduce friction in the supply experience, while the sales team develops a repeatable, scalable business model. So, what progress have they made in the last year? And where is there still room for growth? Josh Felse...

The narrative of human exceptionalism posits that there is something unique about being human that makes us more valuable. And we believe that what matters most are the things that seem to separate us from animals—like our ability to reason or the immortal human soul. But what if you can’t separate the animal part of us from our spirit? What if being human IS being animal? Melanie Challenger is a...

Are we out of balance? Some thinkers pose that the scales have tipped toward industry, ego, and individuality, and we’re disconnected from the cycles of nature. We’re all Yang and no Yin. And this imbalance is causing climate change. So, what can we do to restore our sense of interconnectedness among all living things? How can tapping into our spirituality help us heal ourselves and the earth? Dr....

In order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, we can’t just reduce emissions. We have no choice but to add carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to the mix to keep global temperature rise under 2°C. So, what CO2 removal processes are in development? And what are governments and nonprofits doing to advocate for and fund carbon removal? Dr. Jan Mazurek serves as Senior Director at the ClimateWorks Found...

Many corporations, organizations, and governments have made net zero commitments, and most are leaning on voluntary carbon offsetting to achieve these climate goals. But how can we be sure that such carbon offsets demonstrate a real change in the atmosphere? And how can we approach offsetting in a way that gives rise to an actual net zero society? Eli Mitchell-Larson is a climate researcher and Ph...

There’s a lot of advice on how reduce your carbon footprint. But everything seems to come with a caveat. You can stop eating meat, but do synthetic meats require monoculture? You can boycott Bitcoin, but would that make the grid itself any cleaner? You can drive an electric car, but its battery is made with rare minerals. So, how do you make choices that really move the needle? Paul Greenberg is t...

Art has a unique ability to explain complex, oft-emotional topics in an understandable way. And that’s why Carbon Upcycling Technologies (CUT) is engaging with visual artists to educate the general public about carbontech. CUT offers their artist-collaborators free materials and tech support, encouraging the use of CO2-derived materials to create pieces that ‘showcase the carbon capture and utiliz...

According to the NOMINATE Index , the last time the US was this polarized was just before and during the Civil War. So, how did we get here? And what can the philosophy of public reason liberalism teach us about living together—even when we don’t agree on much? Dr. Kevin Vallier is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bowling Green University and author of Trust in a Polarized Age and Must Poli...

Empires rise and fall. And while we understand these cycles conceptually, there’s a bizarre notion that we are somehow immune. That we can continue to evolve toward greater ease and material abundance generation after generation. That our potential for growth is somehow unlimited. But natural resources are finite. So, what happens when we run out? Dr. Jason Bradford is the Cofounder of Farmland LP...

Few of us live at sea, so the ocean doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves in the climate conversation. But Kim McCoy contends that phytoplankton deserve just as much consideration as polar bears, and it’s time for us to understand how rising temperatures impact the water, the wind, the waves, and the weather. After all, we all live downstream of climate change. Kim is the oceanographer who...

Regenerative agriculture is sometimes branded as a new idea. But the tradition of maintaining soil carbon and honoring the earth, of leaving the land better than we found it, has been part of indigenous traditions for thousands of years. So, what can we do to re-center the stories of Black and Native American growers and give credit where credit is due? Leah Penniman is the Co-Director and Farm Ma...

The Passover story is one of intense grief and loss as well as redemption and freedom. And while the Jews fled Egypt 3,000 years ago, many aspects of the story seem particularly relevant in a world plagued by extreme climate events and COVID-19. So, how might the events of Passover inform the way we think about climate change? Can we customize our Passover observances in a way that considers our r...

There is a growing movement among Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, cultural, and political identities. And restoring indigenous food practices is central to this work. The new documentary Gather follows several indigenous leaders as they work toward food sovereignty, demonstrating the hope and healing power of traditional food. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change , three of the...

Extreme weather can cause desperate situations. So, what can survival experts teach us about navigating wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, and severe winter storms? Can we prepare for these natural events without turning into full-fledged preppers or giving into the assumption of doom? How do we adapt to a changing climate? Les Stroud is a filmmaker, musician, and author best known for Survivorman ,...

A temperature rise of three or four degrees doesn’t seem like a big deal… Until you go back a few million years and start exploring what the world looked like the last time the Earth was that hot and CO2 levels were even higher than they are now. Peter Brannen is an award-winning science journalist. His work has appeared in The New York Times , WIRED and The Guardian , among many other national pu...

Paul Kingsnorth is tired of talking about the scope of the climate crisis. In his view, we can’t fix climate change. But we can uncover the spiritual root of the problem and explore how we might live through it. Paul is the founder of The Dark Mountain Project and a prolific writer of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. His latest release, the novel Alexandria , serves as the capstone of the acclaime...

In the new community economy, many content creators have moved beyond simply sharing ideas with an audience. For many the goal is to facilitate connection among their followers and foster a sense of belonging. So, how can businesses and organizations in the climate space leverage community to shape the low-carbon future we need? Evan Hynes is a Cofounder at Climatebase , a platform that makes it e...