Who's Saving the Planet?

Sameera delves into her work at the UNDP, which supports countries to transition toward low-emission and climate-resilient sustainable development. She discusses the critical work that the UNDP does globally, like Mission 1.5 and how her work supports the most vulnerable of communities, whose problems are exacerbated by the effect of climate.

WSTP travels (via Zoom) to the historic Vino Nobile district in the southeastern Siena province of Tuscany. There, we speak to Michele Manelli — the man behind Salcheto Wine. The word ‘salcheto’ comes from the stream that runs through the town of Montepulciano and is the boundary of their organic winery. The willow trees are still planted at the winery and form a part of their logo to show their c...

Alice Min Soo Chun is an architect who is used to overseeing large-scale projects, but her greatest design is an item that weighs just over two ounces. After the catastrophic 2010 earthquake that hit Haiti, the Columbia University professor set out to invent something that could be used to help the victims who were left in the dark. The effort eventually culminated with the launch of Solight Desig...

Throughout the pandemic, including the cresting of the first wave in New York City, Dr. Khullar has been on the front lines caring for patients at Weill Cornell Medicine. All the while, he chronicled his experiences in a series of dispatches for the New Yorker, offering a rare glimpse into the emotional, mental and physical toll the Coronavirus has taken on patients, families, and the healthcare w...

This week, Lex and Tony head into "the lab" with the brilliant Naz Shams as their guide. Hear how this fellow New Yorker took a chance, changed careers and embarked on a mission to ethically — and sustainably — create beautifully crafted clothes. DAYWEARLAB is the place to go for "elevated classics with a twist." Not only that, the company is dedicated to making sure your closet is climate friendl...

How do we alter our perception of the world in ways so subtle we don't realize it's happening? To quote Morpheus from the Matrix, "what you know you can't explain, but you feel it...." (yes, we're nerds here on this podcast)  Angela Spangler, Director from the WELL Building Institute, joins us to explain how subtle, but intentional, shifts in our environment can have profound effects on our e...

Would you wear a t-shirt made from milk? You might soon enough. Two years ago, Robert Luo visited his uncle's dairy farm and was shocked to see buckets and buckets of sour and spoiled milk just sitting there. Food and money gone to waste — a common problem among farmers! (see past episodes FoodMaven and Milk Marketing King ) After returning home, Robert started researching ways to s...

You may have seen the letters ESG in the news recently, we certainly have. Literally, that translates to "Environmental, Social and Governance", but it actually means in practice, that's a whole separate matter. This week we dig into the meaning behind the acronym with ESG expert and good friend Harry Etra, founder and CEO of HXE partners.  Also, special guest and longtime friend of the Pod,...

In episode 22, Tony and Lex meet Bertrand Piccard — the legendary pilot who circumnavigated the globe with a solar-powered aircraft. Before that, he completed the trip in a hot-air balloon! He's also a psychiatrist. A hypnotist. And a hang-gliding champion. And Captain Piccard is still traveling the world. Only this time, he's on a quest to find 1000 solutions that can protect the environment in a...

Farms, and specifically dairy farms, were traditionally a centerpiece of economic livelihood and cultural heritage in the rural North East. In the last 70 years they've come under tremendous economic pressure, forcing closures across the north east and migration of dairy production to Midwest and Southwest. This week we speak with Dan Horan, CEO of Five Acre Farms, about the marketing and supply c...

When you're unemployed, sites like LinkedIn or Indeed feel more like a rabbit hole than job-search platforms. That's especially the case if you're on the hunt for something more niche... specialized... or challenging. For Evan Hynes, climate change is the "mother of all challenges." And there were no websites that made finding a job in this space conducive. That is, until, Evan launched one. This...

The 5/6th grade class of NYC's Pine Street School host this episode of Who's Saving the Planet, and they're bringing the heat! Since March they've been schooling from home, and they want to know what will need to change before they can get back to the classroom. Who better to answer those questions than WSTP longtime friend and guest, CEO of the Center for Active Design Joanna Frank. Join them as...

Most of our episodes are dedicated to people who are saving the planet today, but in this edition of CONTEXT we dig into how we're preparing the next generation to save the planet tomorrow. The team at TED-ED, led by founding director Logan Smalley, and  has long been in the business of making complex issues accessible, entertaining and actionable for students of all ages. The TED-ED team tra...

A mechanical bug just might be the answer to solving the world's plastic problem — a 6 billion-ton problem. That's how much plastic is in the environment. It piles up onto our land into trash heaps, and clogs our oceans, forming islands. It's beyond gross. "The question still remains," Scarab Tech co-founder Simon Davis tells us. "What on Earth do we do with this ever growing mountain of plastic?"...

Consumer facing companies are in the news constantly touting "green" initiatives, socially responsible campaigns, and feel good stories that make you wonder whether the marketing budget is bigger than the actual investment in changing their business practices for the better. And those are the one's who are defending a consumer facing brand- what we don't hear about are the companies farther up the...

With their powers combined, planeteers Lex and Tony bring you this super-sized episode featuring one of the most brilliant scientists working in the renewable energy industry today. He's Dr. Reginald Parker — aka Dr. Green Power! His base of operations is in "Hot-Lanta" — but the solar panel technology he innovated can be found all over the world. His mantra: "Use energy better and then use better...

“Sometimes you need to understand that a small change in a big problem is a big change.” Words of subtle wisdom from the founder of Eva, Tamara Mumcuoglu. In this week’s episode we discuss the technology Tamara and her team developed- specifically, a means of recycling old concrete in order to reduce the need for a harmful byproduct of coal power plants in creating new concrete- but also how much...

During this shutdown we've seen the LA skyline emerge from a haze as if on cue from a cinematographer, the Himalayas visible from India for the first time in memory, and images from space revealing a planet unburdened by pollution not seen in generations. It's as though humans took a moment to rest so the planet could breath. But at what cost, and what of this temporary pause will become permanent...

The ocean is in jeopardy! Scientists say if we continue to pollute and plunder the seven seas, they'll be fully depleted by 2050 . In other words, there will be no fish left for us to eat. What can be done to solve this crisis? Amy Novogratz has an answer. She's the founder and managing director of Aquaspark — a fund that invests in aquaculture... namely fish farms. That's right. Seafood, a go-to...

What will the world look like when we can return to it? What will we need to change in order to restore the trust on only in the safety and hygiene of our shared spaces, but in each other? In this week’s edition of CONTEXT Lex speaks with CEO and Founder of the Center for Active Design, Joanna Frank, foremost expert in understanding the relationship between our shared spaces and the humans who use...

More than 294 million Americans used liquid hand soap in 2019. That soap typically comes in plastic packaging... and it ultimately pollutes our planet in landfills and oceans. But while everyone talks about the environmental damage caused by plastic straws and plastic bags, no one seems to be talking about the soap next to our sinks. "For Soapply, that's where we land," says CEO and founder Mera M...

This is our first in a series of episodes that reflect how the events we are living through today will impact the struggle to save the planet for tomorrow. We’ll interview a host of professionals form academia, economics, venture capital, institutional investment, advocacy and activism to give context to where we stand in our efforts to combat climate change. We’re thrilled to kick off the series...

CEO and Founder Jonathan Cedar had his eureka moment a decade ago which led him to create a revolutionary way to cook meals and generate electricity. BioLite's signature product, the CampStove, uses thermoelectric technology to improve the efficiency of campfires by over 90% while providing electricity to power lights and charge phones. That would have been enough of an invention itself, but he's...

The dark side of coffee isn’t the roast. It’s the trash. Enter Muuse, the reusable coffee cup company that’s using technology to create a system of sustainable caffeination. Every year in the United States over 58 Billion single use coffee cups are thrown into landfills- that’s the entire footprint of of New York’s central park covered in coffee cups, stacked 100 feet high. To tackle the single us...

Did you know that 40% (!!!) of all the food grown in the USA goes to waste? This week we interview Ben Deda, CEO of FoodMaven, a Colorado based start-up committed to cutting down on that waste while giving back to their community. Also we dig into how a start-up pivots on a dime when a quarter of their revenue dries up over night.