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

Good news! Climate change is not a natural disaster; it is a disaster of our own making, and we CAN reverse it by adopting new cultural assumptions and practices. Join us for an introduction by Vinit Allen to the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium, an initiative from the Pachamama Alliance to challenge and re-educate the notions at the core of our current state of planetary peril. Ideas such as: Mone...

Rich in free nutritional and medicinal fare, nature serves up a bountiful table as a solution to food insecurity. Learn more in this introductory and informative jaunt into the world of wild food foraging with Philadelphia expert, Lynn Landes. Starting with the basics, Lynn explains that foraging and plant identification is a multi-sensory experience, engaging sight, touch, taste and smell. She ca...

The environments in which we work and play impact our health and well-being in a multitude of ways. Emily Winer of the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) explains how the pioneering WELL standard supports people and communities to thrive. Complimentary to the materials-focused LEED certification, WELL is a holistic framework that sets a new global benchmark for performance in ten areas:...

If we think of a city as a living organism, energy and waste are essential parts of the urban metabolism. Join us for an enlightening conversation with zero waste consultant, Alisa Shargorodsky as we explore the challenges of recycling programs, and the impact of recyclables, compostables and single-use packaging on the urban ecosystem. While they may seem a responsible and sustainable alternative...

Hear from Donovan Spitzman, Lisa Bodey and Nick Nevares, to learn about the Crestone Energy fair — the oldest energy fair in the nation, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Crestone is a Mecca for the alternative building movement with structures including climate battery buildings, papercrete and cordwood houses, earthships, straw bale homes and more. The fair incorporates home tours and...

Plastic is EVERYWHERE! Plastic containers, packaging and products fill our stores, and microplastics poison the food we eat and the water we drink. Clearly, we have a global addiction that is crying out for a cure. How can retail establishments and individuals wean themselves from our reliance on plastic? MOM's Organic Market has some ideas about that. With a 32 year history and 19 stores in the M...

Bio-Architect Paul Richardson builds buildings and community where shelter transcends a roof and four walls to become fully self-reliant, self-regenerative, and economically viable—producing food and clean water, and managing and re-using all waste in balance with nature. Paul founded Haven Earth SEED (Stewardship Education & Ecological Design) Training Center — both a physical and virtual educati...

A self-declared "Spellbreaker," Brian D. Ridgway's very way of describing the world has resulted in spontaneous healings and miraculous transformations of body and spirit. What if, in a flash of awareness, the anguish and pain of your life were to dissolve into an experience of perpetual grace? Brian has helped more than 100,000 people step toward and into that freedom through his Level 5 mentorin...

Tom Moroz artfully connects the dots between grass roots and horticultural gardens, Burning Man, the Buckminster Fuller Organization, the Global EcoVillage Network and Stonehedge Gardens, a local node of a global network. Resource links on https://www.sustainabilitynow.global/?p=509

Business as a force for good? Chris Jacobs, CEO of Communally, a certified B Corporation, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia fills us in on a new paradigm for business that actually balances purpose and profit. Certified B Corporations are legally required to consider their impact on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and...

An active advocate for NOAH, The National Organization for Arts in Health, Karl Anthony is a modern day bard who uses the transformational power of music as an invitation to connect, inspire and heal. Join us as we discuss Karl's work with children and families at the Children's Hospital of San Diego and the profound and important role of the arts in easing pain, reducing anxiety, improving mood a...

Helping people bring themselves out of extreme hopelessness and poverty, Judah Becker is a one-man force for good in the world. But, he doesn't do it alone. From rescuing children from sex trafficking in Southeast Asia to developing tiny home affordable housing communities for folks living on minimum wage in Utah, Judah creates communities that teach people to become self-sustaining entrepreneurs....

Join us for an enlightening and hopeful conversation with Daphna Nissenbaum, CEO of TIPA. Based in Israel, TIPA produces fully compostable flexible packaging—food grade and non-food grade bags and pouches—which make up the bulk of single-use, non-recyclable plastics. Unlike conventional plastic that lasts for hundreds and possibly thousands of years, compostable plastics break down to create compo...

Progressive change through simple acts of commerce. That's the heart of Credo's business model. They resell services that everyone uses—telephone and energy—and utilize the generated revenue to fund social causes. How awesome is it to be able to simply use the services you already use and support positive change at the same time? Join us for this empowering conversation with Trish Tobin, Credo's C...

Shel Horowitz, ten-time author and green-living guru blends activism with business and marketing to solve humanity's greatest challenges. With numerous examples and principled strategies, Shel shows us we can have it all: the moral gratification of doing good coupled with the financial rewards of good and profitable business. Exploring business models and opportunities that turn tradition on its h...

The first Earthship to receive a building permit in a major US city broke ground just north of Philadelphia in Ambler, Pennsylvania on September 19, 2018! So, what's an Earthship? An Earthship is a free-standing, sustainable structure built from repurposed tires, bottles, cans, concrete and other more traditional building materials. It generates its own power, processes its own sewage, regulates i...

Here at Sustainability Now we believe that sustainability begins between the ears. In other words, we recognize that self-care is an essential factor in creating a world that works. With that in mind, and knowing that yoga has become a staple in current culture, we thought an exploration of the actual science behind its beneficial impact might be of interest. Our very special guest, GuruSimran Kha...

Begun as a college exercise in social entrepreneurship, Evan Lutz founded Hungry Harvest with a mission to achieve zero food waste and put an end to hunger. Four years and a successful Shark Tank deal later, Hungry Harvest is making "ugly food" a beautiful thing, making food deserts flourish, and nourishing body and spirit. Join us for this inspiring and informative interview with Stacy Carroll, H...

Magic and miracles driven by the power of purpose, possibility, social entrepreneurship and being in service to making difference in the world… This interview explores the creative power of clear intention and responding to the call of the soul. Join us for a truly inspiring chat with visionary, Hajjar Gibran, founder of DomeGaia, and learn about the extraordinary journey he took to his current mi...

A school bus converted to a tiny home, educational events at music festivals, a pop-up hemp store; Kate O'Flaherty, is walking her talk by embodying the principles of permaculture in the way she orchestrates her life. Tune in to learn how Solutions Voyage, Kate's 501(c)(3), cultivates community resilience by sponsoring fun educational and networking opportunities in and around Boulder, Colorado. L...

TerraCycle is on a mission to eliminate the idea of waste by recycling un-recycleables. Learn about the Zero Waste Box Program and what you can do to keep waste out of the landfill.

Nora Chahbazi is on a mission to teach the world to read. Founder of EBLI (Evidence Based Literacy Instruction), Nora has trained thousands of teachers and tens of thousands of students in her center, in classrooms and online at all different grade and reading levels. Why, on a show about sustainability, are we talking about literacy? Only 35 to 40% of 4th graders are proficient in reading in the...

Zero Energy Buildings: Yes, they exist and your health depends on them! James Geppner, Executive Director of Erase40.org, explains how you can save money, improve your health AND reduce carbon emissions by as much as 40% with a zero energy building/passive house. Passive houses cost dramatically less to heat/cool, provide a steady flow of clean air and reduce the amount of outside noise in our ind...

In this episode, I interview Nic Esposito,the Zero Waste and Litter Director for the City of Philadelphia. Nic lets us in on the city's strategy for taking Philadelphia from being known as one of the dirtiest cities in the country to zero waste and litter by 2035. Learn about Philly Zero Waste Events like the Philly Marathon that has achieved zero waste for the past 7 years through partnership wit...

Mira Rubin is the host of Sustainability Now and is a woman on a mission to save the world. She's passionate about finding and proliferating solutions to planetary problems related to food, fuel, housing, water, waste, health, economics and consciousness. Mira shares a vision she calls Project EcoPark. Imagine Disney meets sustainability where you have a vacation/education/conference destination t...