The Green Elephant in the Room: Solutions To Restoring the Health of People and the Living Planet

In this episode, first, we’ll put to rest the constant debate over:  I s it over-consumption or over-population that is intensifying the climate and wider ecological crisis? Then we will look at our biological nature and the reasons for having children.  Next, the profound and delicate subject of what are the moral implications of having children in the age of climate change? Crucially we go direc...

On 15 November 2022, the world’s population is projected to reach 8 billion people, a milestone in human development and humanities future.  This unprecedented growth is due to the gradual increase in human lifespan owing to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine. It is also the result of high and persistent levels of fertility in some countries.   8,000 million pe...

Animals and people have been living together for thousands of years, but the past 100 years have been extraordinary in the amount of change in those relationships.  Why would you guess?  Understanding the history of the human-animal relationship is key to the preservation of nature, and reducing the drastic decline of native wild animal and plant populations.  It is instructive to look at the ente...

Extinctions, even mass extinctions, are not unprecedented. The "Big Five" extinction events in the long history of life have been devastating. What was the cause of all of the major extinction events? It might surprise you...  In modern times, humans historically have caused a great many annihilations of species. Early Americans were responsible for the greatest animal extermination invo...

THINK OF ALL THE BENEFITS OF BEING A KING OR QUEEN Giant castles, vast armies at your command, and unlimited wealth. What could be more appealing than the prestige and power that comes with royalty?  Just think of all the people waiting on you. Imagine all your privileges, including your own court jester to entertain you, and lots of soldiers that you can use to expand or defend your territory.  Y...

Climate change is NOT our biggest environmental problem. Yet, it is almost the only environmental issue we hear about — from the government, in the media, in public debates, even among the leading environmental organizations. The real problem is huge and needs immediate attention, but is generally getting ignored. What's going on here? Listen in and get an earful. 

Going on vacation may be fun for you, but it can be hard on the planet. The negative environmental impacts of tourism are substantial.  Beaches are overrun, forests are leveled, the lifestyle of local populations is compromised, air and water are polluted, and animal habitat is destroyed to make way for restaurants and hotels.  Trip on over to our podcast or website where we take a close look at b...

We suddenly find ourselves sort of running a planet—a role we never anticipated or sought—without knowing how it should be done. We’re at the controls, but we’re not in control.  Humans have become a powerful agent of geological change, equal to the other great forces of nature that build mountains, and shape continents and species.  We are witnessing, and manifesting, something unprecedented and...

One of the most destructive environmental practices that you could fix three times a day. Food waste is an appalling part of America's throw-away culture. It's costing us time, money and our environment. We are wasting up to 40 percent of our food from farm to fork to face to landfill. It is time to stop biting off more than we can chew and clean our plates.  And it's so easy to fix...

On this inaugural podcast we share three topics: 1. Can a better understanding of human behavior save the planet? The global issues associated with our environmental problems are as big as the planet. But the real issues are in our heads. 2. We need a new story with new heroes — like you. To fix our environmental fix we have to tell better stories. While images of a negative future are powerful an...

Can we make fossil fuels socially unacceptable?  Could we drive fossil fuels to extinction? We don’t have to live like this.  We can change our societies. There have been plenty of positive tipping points in recent history: the remarkably swift reduction in smoking; the dramatic acceptance of same sex marriage; the unexpected legalization of marijuana; the spread of solar power and wind power; the...

In this episode: The intersection between population growth, economic growth, and the climate and environment is complex.  We simplify it for you. Also: NEWS OF THE FUTURE "The future is here. It's just not evenly distributed yet" — William Gibson — THE FUTURE OF  The Human Climate Niche —  THE FUTURE OF Air Pollution Laws That Help Wildlife — THE FUTURE OF PETROLEUM FACILITIES: Lit...

'When did the future switch from being a promise to being a threat?' — Chuck Palahniuk FIRST -  The future of how we are going to keep the lights on as horrific weather events continue to hammer our world. NEXT – The future of how we can bring some quiet to the ear-splitting racket we are creating in the world’s oceans.  FINALLY – A peek at the future when the electric vehicles become ki...

How Can We Talk About What is Happening to The Planet?                                                                Even though more than 75% of Americans believe climate change is happening, two-thirds of Americans rarely, if ever, talk about climate change with the people they care about. I get it. Talking about climate change can be tough. And sometimes, it's downright awkward. It’s time...

For the next few episodes, we are going be focusing the future.  Predicting the future has always been problematic.  This usually is because we are predicting futures of say, business models such as the next stock-market correction, or the next housing boom. Credentialed authorities are comically bad at predicting the future. The track record of expert forecasters—in science, in economics, in poli...

Show Notes It is paradoxical that the global Covid 19 plague hit us about the same time our climate issues are ramping up in the public consciousness. The weather extremes this summer have been like a hike through the Book of Revelations. In the last 18 months, what have you talked about more, Climate or Covid? If you’re like me, I would say the pandemic. Maybe a 1000 to one.  Remember those crazy...

Last week we shared with you the first two-words: Drive Less. This episode we reveal  the last three words that could be the key to reversing the the climate crisis, and the broader ecological collapse of which it is part of. In fact, it may be our only hope.  Stay tuned until the end where we have updated this podcast with some very hopeful new information. Since the first time we published this...

This rebroadcast episode covers two of those words - that's because it is a big topic and very dear to most of us. Also, there are big changes happening, and we have updated the end of this episode.  Next week the remaining three words on another beloved, but conflictual topic that may have a happy meal ending.  If you can't stand the suspense, head to our webpage and check out episodes...

In the face of such huge global problems, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless, and to find ourselves asking, “What difference can one person make?”  The answer is that one person can make all the difference in the world. Any single step you take towards environmentalism can be multiplied by your wider circle of friends and followers. Let’s be the change-agent for those around us today. Tu...

With the summer travel season approaching and the pent-up demand to hit the road, we thought this would be a good time to revisit a previous episode on  Travel, Tourism and the impact that it has on communities, animals and the environment.  We are now at the golden moment of entering our Post-Pandemic world, and this is an area that is ripe for positive changes.  This rebroadcast is Episode numbe...

Two stories that encapsulate our climate predicament and human nature. One is an uplifting tale of survival through cooperation, and the other a dark story of blind loyalty that led to tragic results. See if you can tell which is which. Plus News of the Future Elephants close to extinction in the wild: It's been a long time coming - what did we expect? Reef safe sunblock: The very stuff you u...

EPISODE 48 Whales — the Greatest Creature that ever lived is even Greater A Love Letter to your Lungs A Couple of Things You Could Do One Day a Week to Help Yourself and the Planet NEWS OF THE FUTURE Hollywood — How are They Going to Depict Covid – or Better Yet, Climate? An Endangered Species Creates their own Protest Movement Why France’s New Tech ‘Repairability Index’ is a Big Deal Run for Some...

SHOW NOTES First Anniversary of the Devastating Australian Fire Storm. One of the greatest climate catastrophes ever, and their government says, “meh.” The Fix is in: The Cost of Climate Inaction. Or, a better way to put it, with climate action we could save trillions of dollars and the planet to boot! Bitcoin: an Unimaginable Energy Suck. News of the Future Warnings at the Gas Pump Snow Droughts...

NEWS OF THE FUTURE! Why wait to hear about your cleaner, greener future?                                                                               EPISODE 46 When it comes to the climate, tipping points can be bad …or we can create our own positive tipping points . It’s within our power. Germans are eating less meat! In the land of pork knuckles and schnitzel, consumption of animals is droppin...

SHOWNOTES What we are trying do with this podcast is a delicate balance between sharing the frightful truth about what is happening to our planet, all the while trying give you hope that you are part of the solution, that we can avert the worse consequences of what could potentially be catastrophic.  The grand issue is, climate and environment are totally infused in our lives — considering the sca...