329 episodes
Reversing Climate Change Nori
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A podcast about the different people, technologies, and organizations that are coming together to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reverse climate change. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/support
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325: Literally Redoing the Oregon Trail: An Eccentric Environmental History—w/ Rinker Buck, author and adventurer
If you're going to write about the Oregon Trail or the Mississippi flatboat era, why not go gonzo? Does it make for better history or just better bar stories? What can you really learn about change by recreating epic journeys in contemporary times, and what can that teach us about how we live upon this planet?
Today, adventurer and author Rinker Buck is on the show to discuss his odysseys. In particular, his flatboat ride from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, and his mulecart passage of the entire Oregon Trail. If you're gasping reading that last sentence, you need to read his books.
Obviously, these landscapes have massively changed over the centuries, and their environmental history reflects human wants and desires, some good and others less so. How are they shadows of their former selves, which could you not tell which century you're currently in, and which are making beautiful comebacks? What does it teach us about the country so many of our listeners call home? How does the American experience prepare or fail to prepare us for a climate-changed world?
Rinker discusses his particular approach to participatory history, why he doesn't like reenactment as a paradigm, and why he bothers with the Heraclean effort for which some might deem him a "conquistador of the useless."
Tune in and learn from Rinker's hard-earned experience and observations!
Resources
Rinker's website
The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey
Life on the Mississippi: An Epic American Adventure
Flight of Passage: A Memoir
1883
Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey by Lillian Schlissel
Frederick Turner's Frontier Thesis
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
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324: My Octopus Teacher: How Rewilding Ourselves Could Heal the Planet—w/ Craig Foster, Oscar Winner and Author of Amphibious Soul
When the world feels increasingly tame, what does it mean to reclaim our wildness? Can we appreciate the benefits of industrial civilization while connecting with our evolutionary roots? Can we get ourselves back to the garden?
In this poignant conversation, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Craig Foster shares insights from his experiences diving in the Great African Sea Forest and the inspiration behind his new book, Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World.
Host and Nori Co-Founder Ross Kenyon asks Craig some unanswered questions he has about My Octopus Teacher, the experience of fame from winning the 2021 Best Documentary Feature Oscar, whether evolution has prepared us for fame, and Craig's adjustment back to civilian life.
Craig discusses the profound lessons learned from marine life, emphasizing the importance of a deep connection with nature and the critical role biodiversity plays in the survival of our planet.
Ross and Craig discuss their various stories of interspecies communication and what it means to build a thread to a species and learn their language. They explore themes of kinship with nature, the significance of tracking as an ancient fundamental language, and the transformative power of cold water immersion. Plunge for the planet!
The discussion also touches on Craig's marine conservation efforts through the Sea Change Project and introduces a unique multimedia aspect of his book that aims to enhance readers' connection to nature.
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Carbon Removal Memes on LinkedIn
Resources
Sea Change Project
My Octopus Teacher
Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World
James C. Scott's anthropology
Wim Hof
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323: Is the Rise of a Global Middle Class Good for Climate?—w/ Dr. Homi Kharas, author of The Rise of the Global Middle Class
The world is becoming wealthier. Is that a good thing? Or should we be looking to simpler and less material lives? How does a middle class global population affect climate change, for good or ill?
On today's show, Dr. Homi Kharas, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution and author of The Rise of the Global Middle Class: How the Search for the Good Life Can Change the World, elaborates on what it means to be middle class, emphasizing the relevance of choice as a defining characteristic. People drop the concept all the time, but it isn't really clear what is meant by it. Is it about per capita earnings? Security? The type of labor done? Something else?
He explores how the middle class's values and choices intersect with issues like climate change and government policy. Dr. Kharas sheds light on the evolution of capitalism, arguing that it has always adapted to societal changes, and suggests that this continued evolution is optimism-inspiring.
He counters the narrative of a trade-off between material prosperity and carbon emissions, asserting that technology can and should allow for both!
Tune in today to get a dose of history and economics!
Resources
Dr. Homi Kharas's website
The Rise of the Middle Class: How the Search for the Good Life Can Change the World
Amartya Sen on Capabilities
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
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322: On Being a Climate Hypocrite—w/ Amie Engerbretson, pro skier and filmmaker of The Hypocrite
You are condemned to be free, and yet how much responsibility do you bear for the structures you inhabit? Do your individual consumer choices matter, or is it some distant political economy? Should we enjoy our time in nature on snowmobiles, or is that just one more bootprint on the road to hypocritical perdition? Do you need to be perfect in order to be an activist?
In this episode, Nori cofounder Ross Kenyon, and Thanks-A-Ton cofounder Siobhan Montoya Lavender, discuss the new short film from Protect Our Winters and professional skier Amy Engerbretson, The Hypocrite.
In this wide-ranging discussion, Amy discusses why she made The Hypocrite, which deals with how she went from climate ignorance, through the guilt of her carbon footprint and that of skiing, and became an imperfect climate advocate.
She emphasizes the importance of systemic solutions over individual perfectionism, revealing the often-paralyzing effects of aiming for personal purity in environmental activism. The film aims to inspire action by showcasing the power of collective efforts in outdoor communities, urging listeners to engage civically beyond mere personal adjustments, while also discussing whether duty must be done for its own sakes, regardless of how big of an impact it might have.
The session concludes with Amy's thoughts on political will as the paramount force for climate change mitigation, encouragement for involvement with organizations like Protect Our Winters, and the value of messy, imperfect advocacy.
Resources
Amie Engerbretson's website
Protect Our Winters website
Watch The Hypocrite
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
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321: Metalplant's Debut! Enhanced Rock Weathering, Coproducing Nickel, & Additionality—w/ Eric Matzner, Cofounder of Metalplant
Carbon removal is often conceived of as only separating greenhouse gases from ambient air. But what if it also creates other valuable products in the process? Should they still be selling carbon credits? Does this competition make it harder for carbon removal companies that can't produce additional value streams? What are the trade-offs here, and is financial additionality the right place to intervene if intervention is even necessary?
In this episode of the Reversing Climate Change podcast, Nori Cofounder Ross Kenyon interviews Eric Matzner, an alumnus of Carbon Removal Newsroom and Cofounder of Project Vesta who has a new venture leaving stealth mode called Metalplant. This is Metalplant's podcast debut!
This innovative project combines hyperaccumulator plants and enhanced rock weathering to extract nickel from soil and crushed rock while removing carbon from the air. Eric discusses the economics of co-producing nickel and carbon offsets, addressing the challenges of carbon removal scale-up, and his views on the importance of vertical integration in ensuring quality and cost control. The episode delves into Metalplant's initial operations in Albania, leveraging the country's rich olivine resources on non-arable land, and generating local employment.
Much of the conversation focuses on a possibly looming intellectual crisis in carbon removal: what does the industry do when it realizes that many of its methodologies are co-producing value besides carbon? Will it try to find a way to square that with conventional applications of financial additionality, or will they abandon or amend additionality to make sure co-producers aren't held down while the world desperately needs them to scale their operations?
So much to talk about, and there will almost certainly be more on this topic in the future!
Resources
Metalplant's website
Eric Matzner's website
Eric Matzner on Carbon Removal Newsroom back in 2019: "Project Vesta for olivine drawdown leaves stealth mode"
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/message
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320: Why We Die: Living Longer's Impact on Climate Change—w/ Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel Laureate and author of Why We Die
Why does death exist? Does getting older always mean getting wiser? Should we look to experience or youth for breakthroughs?
In today's episode of the Reversing Climate Change podcast, Nori Cofounder Ross Kenyon is joined by Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan, a 2009 Nobel Laureate in chemistry and author of the new book, Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality.
Despite growing lifespans, it isn't clear that we have become less avaricious or kinder as a species, at least to the extent that may be desired. Would that change if we had radically longer lives? Is that even likely at this point? Venki challenges much of the discourse around anti-aging, immortality, trends made fun of in Silicon Valley like blood boys, consciousness uploads, and much else. And of course, they discuss if and how this will impact the world's attempts to grapple with climate change.
Resources
Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/support