Sustainability Now - exploring technologies and paradigms to shape a world that works

Still very much misunderstood, the effectiveness and importance of cannabis as a plant medicine has everything to do with our endocannabinoid receptors. Tammi Sweet explains the nuances and mechanisms of our biological interactions with this miraculous master plant and teaches us how we can benefit from its medicinal properties.

Visionary, film producer, and activist, Ryland Engelhart is guided by the fundamental question, "How can I use my life to awaken more love?" After years as "Mission Fulfillment Officer" and co-owner of the legendary, family owned, plant-based Café Gratitude and Gracias Madre restaurants, Ryland co-founded Kiss the Ground and is now engaged in full time advocacy of regenerative agriculture.   Join...

If we're going to stop fracking and pipelines, we need future-thinking energy policy. Tom Gilbert of ReThink Energy NJ joins us to discuss how his organization informs and empowers citizens and decision-makers to support sensible policies to bring about a swift transition to clean, efficient, renewable energy. They advocate reducing the use of dirty fossil fuels and stopping unnecessary pipelines...

Co-founders of Possible Planet, Jonathan Cloud and Victoria Zelin are on a mission to finance the transition to a regenerative future by creating strategies to attract capital and investment in clean energy.   Today's conversation is about PACE, (Property Assessed Clean Energy) — a source of financing that: 1) requires no money out of pocket to make clean energy property improvements, 2) pays for...

What if we could use open-source software development principles to reverse climate change?   That is exactly what Chris Neidl and The Open Air Collective has done through their Direct Air Carbon Capture (DACC) projects and their leadership in crafting the New York State Low Embodied Carbon Concrete Leadership Act (LECCLA). LECCLA is new legislation that would require all of the state's agencies t...

Featuring Tim Paganos, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of microshare.io Smart buildings are good right? Adjusting room temperature and lighting based on patterns of use is more efficient, uses less resources and is therefore more sustainable. Collecting more detailed data enables greater refinement of systems and environments. But when is enough, enough? Join us for this provocative conver...

Starting with the reinstatement of the 1942 Articles of Incorporation for the Kentucky Hemp Growers Association and then inspiring the planting of three feral hemp seeds by Woody Harrelson in the 90's, Joe Hickey has been a primary force behind the legalization of industrial hemp. Despite being a nearly magical plant with over 25,00 uses that include food, fuel, fiber, housing, health, and so much...

Director of the documentary film "At War with the Dinosaurs," John Michael Parkan is a hydrogen energy evangelist extolling the virtues and promise of a burgeoning hydrogen economy. Hydrogen is the third most abundant element on earth and is a sustainable green-energy alternative to fossil fuels that has been around since the early 1800's. All the major car manufacturers have produced a hydrogen f...

Jason Schramm has focused his passion for the vegan lifestyle along with his tech skills on developing global directories for vegan events, vegan-friendly movies, and plant-based meal delivery. When Jason embraced veganism 5 years ago, it started him on the path of evaluating his own life. He saw how difficult it was for folks interested in a plant-forward lifestyle to find one another and connect...

Anne-Marie Bonneau, the Zero-Waste Chef, is an author, blogger, fermenter, sourdough-er and zero waste evangelist. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation about consumerism, cooking and composting; sourdough, fermenting, and starting a movement. With tips & tricks as well as recipes & resources, Anne-Marie's passion and enthusiasm for sustainability has spilled over to social media where she is sp...

Raz Razgaitis is on a mission to eliminate single-use packaging and put bottled water out of business by making tap water safe and tasty again. Co-founder and CEO of FloWater, Raz sees the bottled water industry as our contemporary "Big Tobacco," capitalizing on a manufactured need while wreaking untold public health consequences due to plastic pollution. FloWater's technology is currently keeping...

Eden Green is helping establish food safety, food independence, and sustainable farming. Its turnkey greenhouse and vertical farming technology gives you the ability to locally grow large amounts of produce safely and efficiently, while using exponentially less land, energy and water than traditional farming and other indoor solutions. Their 1.5 acre greenhouse produces 900,000 pounds of leafy gre...

Meet Colin McIntosh, Founder and irreverent CEO of Sheets & Giggles, a fast-growing brand in the $12B US bedding space. Colin's motto is, "Do good, have fun, make money — in that order. And he does! Colin shares his entrepreneurial insights: the business criteria that lead him to the bed linen space, marketing strategies that set S&G apart, and most importantly, how he built S&G around his underly...

Eco-visionary Brian Hicks couldn't stand sending the hundreds of thousands of pounds of spent coffee grounds from his and other restaurants to landfill, so he started a business called GroundSteam to collect and convert them to compost instead. Building on his success, Brian has since expanded his service to divert millions of pounds of coffee waste from restaurants in the Edmonton area.

Tim Tan of Affordable Abodes is tackling the low-cost housing crisis in Indonesia and Malaysia with modular, kenafcrete houses. Kenaf is a plant much like hemp in its versatility with thousands of uses, one of which is as the primary ingredient in an eco-concrete-style construction material called kenafcrete. Affordable Abodes streamlines the construction process by using lightweight, 2ft x 10ft s...

Kari McDonald is using her experience and know-how from years in the fossil fuel industry to engineer a transition from traditional fossil fuels and fertilizers to sustainable and regenerative solutions. About two years ago, Kari's company, Bio Energy Solutions Inc., acquired the Green Power House technology popularized in the movie "The Need to Grow." Since then, she's been bringing farmers and f...

Zen Honeycutt is unstoppable. Founder of Moms Across America, Zen is a champion for local activism, and an inspirational example of the indomitable power available when we stand up, speak up and take action. She's gone toe-to-toe with Monsanto in a campaign to educate the public to the extreme dangers of glyphosate and is currently leading the charge against the 5G technology that is poised to inf...

Join us for an exploration of microbial magic with Dr. Christo Miliotis, eco-entrepreneur and microorganism enthusiast. From gut & soil health to delectable foods, pest & weed control to hydrogen gas, learn how microbes are the key to a thriving future. A renaissance man whose passion for microbes has led him from farm to food and beyond, Christo is a tireless inventor. Guided by the principles of...

Dr. Stephanie Seneff, Senior Research Scientist at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory is sounding the alarm about Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, the world's most popular weed killer. Is the 99% correlation between Glyphosate usage and the epidemic rise of autism coincidental, or is it just one of many indicators of the danger posed by this pervasive chemic...

Join us for an informative interview with Cameron McIntosh, president and founder of Americhanvre Cast Hemp. We'll discuss hempcrete — an amazing building material that is carbon sequestering, fireproof, non-toxic, soundproof, and resistant to mold, rot, mildew and pests. Hempcrete construction can also save up to 60% of the heating and cooling costs vs. traditional construction. Cameron sits on t...

Founder of Fearless Farmers, Amy Milliron creates online and onsite regenerative farming curricula for kids of all ages. Amy advocates for regenerative agriculture as a path to reverse climate change, heal the soil and improve health.  Mom, educator, farmer, and activist, Amy came to regenerative farming by way of a deep commitment to feeding her family nutrient dense and healthful food. Starting...

Like industrial hemp, Kenaf has tens of thousands of uses. Bob Lawrason of Kenaf Partners USA joins us to discuss the role kenaf can play in reversing climate change, reducing pollution, restoring the land, and generating profit for farmers. Kenaf is fast growing, can be cultivated in most climates, regenerates the soil, and is unencumbered by the legal challenges faced by cannabis and industrial...

An almost prescient interview for this unique moment in time, we speak with elder activist Lynne Iser about the role of elder wisdom in shaping a new future. Touching on a range of topics —local economies, inclusive community, the movement from consumerism to conservation, and more — this thoughtful conversation affirms the importance of inter-generational connection and communication to inform th...

Andrew Bailey, inventor of the Enviroplex, explains how his off-grid carbon-capture complex pulls CO2 directly from the air. Captured carbon is easily converted to calcium carbonate (for use in concrete), carbon fiber (an alternative to aluminum and steel that can be 3D printing) and baking soda (non-toxic with a plethora of uses). Carbon sequestration is one step in a three-pronged approach to Cl...

Maya van Rossum, founder of The Green Amendment movement, has sparked an environmental revolution with a truly novel idea: amend the Bill of Rights in every state Constitution to include an inalienable right to clean water, clean air and a healthy environment. As surprising as it may seem, only Pennsylvania and Montana currently enshrine these rights as fundamental liberties. In 2013 van Rossum an...