Sustainability In Your Ear

Mitch Ratcliffe
  • 4.5 (20)
  • EARTH SCIENCES
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Mitch Ratcliffe interviews activists, authors, entrepreneurs and changemakers working to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, post-carbon society. You have more power to improve the world than you know! Listen in to learn and be inspired to give your best to restoring the climate and regenerating nature.

  1. 1D AGO

    The MooBlue Team Keeps The Beef, Without The Burp

    Cattle are one of the most consequential climate problems hiding in plain sight on the dinner table. Livestock are responsible for roughly 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and cattle alone account for about 65% of that sector's output. Most of it doesn't come from manure or land use — it comes from inside the cow. Approximately one billion cattle on the planet burp around 3.7 gigatons of CO₂-equivalent emissions annually, more than the aviation and shipping industries combined. A growing number of researchers and companies are focused on a deceptively simple approach: change what a cow eats. A red seaweed called Asparagopsis taxiformis contains bromoform, a compound that blocks the enzymes used by methane-producing microbes in the rumen. Today's guests didn't learn about this from a graduate seminar. They're high school students, and they built an idea for their first company around it. Every January, I judge a Shark Tank-style competition that caps a month-long entrepreneurship program at the Bush School in Seattle. This year, a pitch by three students stopped me cold. Zara, Ellie, and Kai Aizawa are the co-founders of MooBlue, whose tagline — Cut the burp, keep the beef — got a laugh, but whose business concept is entirely serious. Kai is heading to Haverford College in the fall. Zara and Ellie are still freshmen. MooBlue proposes harvesting Asparagopsis from the Mediterranean, where it is an invasive species currently harming marine ecosystems, processing it into an oil-based feed additive and building a certification and labeling system so consumers can identify beef and dairy products raised using reduced-methane feeds. What struck me wasn't just the idea. It was the depth of the research: from the biochemistry of rumen fermentation to the intellectual property landscape to a two-segment go-to-market strategy targeting large corporate operations and family farms. They covered the competitive white space, the supply chain, the financial incentives for farmers, and the consumer psychology of premium labeling, all with the ease of people who had genuinely internalized what they were talking about. The conversation shows that the internet has exploded ceiling of what a curious teenager can discover. When Zara, Ellie, and Kai needed to understand the biochemistry of enteric fermentation, they found recent, peer-reviewed research. When I was their age, those journals would have been available only at a university library, if they existed at all. Today, a high school freshman in Seattle can find a paper out of, understand the biochemistry well enough to explain it clearly, and build a company around the discovery. That changes what a generation can imagine. And it may change what we can collectively accomplish.You can learn more about the Bush School's entrepreneurship program at bush.edu. Subscribe to Sustainability In Your Ear on iTunesFollow Sustainability In Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

    45 min

  2. MAR 2

    The Forest Stewardship Councils' Path to a Circular Bio-based Future with Loa Dalgaard Worm

    Forests are vital for people everywhere. They cover about 4.14 billion hectares, roughly a third of the world’s land, and store 714 gigatons of carbon. They also support 80% of land-based biodiversity. However, we are losing 11 million hectares each year to deforestation, and the World Bank expects demand for forest-based products to rise by 400% by 2050. Many industries, from construction to textiles and automotive, are turning to wood fiber to replace fossil-based materials. Yet, a 2023 Circularity Gap Report found that over 90% of materials entering the global economy come from nature and end up in landfills. This approach is not sustainable. If we do not change how we use and reuse fiber, forests will be depleted faster than they can recover.   Today’s guest, Loa Dalgaard Worm, leads the Forest Stewardship Council’s Circularity Hub. This innovation team, launched in 2023, is updating a certification system that was originally designed for a linear economy 30 years ago. Her team is working to add circular business models, like take-back, repair, and leasing, to FSC’s chain-of-custody standard, which already includes 70,000 companies worldwide. They are also creating a framework to certify agricultural leftovers, such as wheat straw, rice husks, and coffee chaff, as alternative fibers for pulp-based products. This helps reduce the need for new forest fiber. Loa’s boldest idea is a royalty system that would pay forest owners a small fee each time fiber from their forest is reused or recycled into a new product. Currently, forest owners are paid only once, when they harvest a tree, and do not receive ongoing rewards for protecting ecosystems, conserving biodiversity, or supporting communities. Companies buying recycled fiber would pay for verified origin data, which they increasingly need to meet the EU Deforestation Regulation and other international standards. The pieces for this plan are coming together. FSC already runs FSC Trace, a blockchain-based traceability platform, and works with World Forest ID on isotope testing that can identify a fiber’s origin within about 15 kilometers. They also partner with esri to improve earth observation capabilities.   “We used to be able to do this,” Loa says about circularity, pointing out that remembering old habits, not just inventing new ones, is key to sustainability. “Our parents knew how to repair things. My grandmother knew how to mend all of her clothes.” FSC’s circularity work is focused on rebuilding the systems needed to help us relearn how to reuse and repair on a large scale. Loa hopes to test the royalty system within two years and present it to FSC’s General Assembly for discussion by 2029. The big question is whether institutions and markets will move quickly enough to protect forests. To learn more about the FSC Circularity Hub, visit fsc.org/circularity or email the team at circularity@fsc.org. Subscribe to Sustainability In Your Ear on iTunesFollow Sustainability In Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

    51 min

  3. FEB 23

    The Net Zero Accelerator's Colin Mangham on Nature's Rules for Building A Sustainable Infrastructure

    We already have the technology to decarbonize buildings, and many pilot projects have shown it works. So why hasn’t progress toward net zero moved faster? Colin Mangham believes it’s because we’re still using outdated business models to promote new solutions. Colin is the Chief Experience Officer at the US Green Building Council California and leads its Net Zero Accelerator, the first program focused only on net-zero innovation for buildings. Since 2019, the accelerator has helped over 100 companies in a six-month program that stands out by putting real technology pilots into actual buildings with dedicated partners, then tracking the results. This approach has led to more than 60 pilot projects in California and beyond, providing the proven results that founders and investors need to move forward. Colin offers a unique mix of experience to this field. He has served as Chief Marketing Officer at four growing companies, co-founded and led Morpho Energy, which helps put unused commercial rooftops to work for solar, and he is a certified biomimicry specialist, which shapes what he teaches founders. He often thinks about beavers, which are keystone species that create habitats for others by building their own homes. As he tells entrepreneurs, “This thing that you’re creating, it should also create better living environments for the people and the neighboring organisms all around you.” It’s an approach that applies systems thinking to business strategy, leading to companies that differ from the typical Silicon Valley disruptors. To learn more about the Net Zero Accelerator, visit NetZeroAccelerator.org. Learn about the US Green Building Council of California at USGBC-CA.org.

    51 min

  4. FEB 16

    CurbWaste's Mike Marmo Is Building the Waste Logistics Layer of the Circular Economy

    The U.S. waste management industry moves more than 290 million tons of municipal solid waste each year. This is a potential trillion-dollar market, but much of the work still relies on paper tickets, clipboards, and spreadsheets. About 10,000 independent haulers handle a large share of collection and materials transfer in the U.S. In this business, a single truck costs $300,000, and profits depend on efficient routes. Most haulers do not have access to the digital tools that other logistics industries have used for years. Mike Marmo, CEO and founder of CurbWaste, is building a new operating system to change this. His goal is to create the data foundation needed for the circular economy to work. He is a fourth-generation waste industry professional who started his career as a scale operator at a family transfer station in New York and sold a hauling business in 2021. Since then, he's built CurbWaste into a platform serving more than 150 haulers in 40 states. Its CurbPOS system for transfer stations tracks inbound and outbound materials with scale integration. It generates automated LEED diversion reports and Recycling Certification Institute-certified documentation; the per-load, per-material chain-of-custody data that extended producer responsibility programs need, as seven states now require producers to fund and document the recycling of their packaging. Mike made a simple but important point: "Waste is being created when it's being manufactured." The waste management industry reflects the economy and could become the base for a circular supply chain that keeps materials in use. Mike compares this to Amazon, which learned about buyer behavior and then built warehousing, freight, and delivery systems around that knowledge. The waste industry can do something similar. By tracking what is produced, where it goes, and where it ends up, haulers and new operators can work together on a shared digital system that gives full visibility of materials. Mike calls this the "waste meter," and he thinks an AI-powered circular economy could be in place within 10 years. Accenture research estimates that the circular economy could add $4.5 trillion in economic output by 2030, a number supported by the United Nations Development Program. Right now, investment is far below what is needed to reach that potential. CurbWaste is working to build the transparency needed to connect collection and vision, helping turn a fragmented industry into a circular supply chain. To learn more, visit curbwaste.com. Subscribe to Sustainability In Your Ear on iTunesFollow Sustainability In Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

    42 min

  5. FEB 9

    The Ocean Conservancy's Dr. Erin Murphy Documents the Lethality of Ocean Plastics

    Each year, over 11 million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean, which is like dumping a garbage truck full of plastic every minute. For years, we’ve known that marine animals eat this debris, but no one had measured exactly how much plastic it takes to kill them. Dr. Erin Murphy, who leads ocean plastics research at the Ocean Conservancy, is the principal author of a major study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Her team analyzed more than 10,000 necropsies from 95 species of seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals worldwide. Earth911’s summary describes this critical study, which found lethal plastic thresholds that could change how we view the plastic crisis. The study measured how deadly different types of plastic are to sea life, which makes the results especially useful for policymakers. Each finding suggests a clear policy action, such as banning balloon releases like Florida has done, banning plastic bags as in California’s SB 54, or improving how fishing gear is marked and recovered. Still, Erin points out that focusing only on certain plastics is not enough. Her team found that even small amounts of any plastic can be dangerous. As she says, "At the end of the day, there is too much plastic in the ocean," and we need big changes at every stage of the plastics life cycle, from production to disposal. There's encouraging evidence that interventions work. Communities in Hawaii conducted large-scale beach cleanups and saw the Hawaiian monk seal population rebound. A study published in Science confirmed that bag bans reduce plastic on beaches by 25 to 47%. And Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup, now in its 40th year, removed more than a million plastic bags from beaches last year. These actions address a parallel crisis in human health that is building from the same pollution source. Most of the microplastics now found in humans and around the world began as the same macroplastics that are killing puffins and turtles. As Erin puts it, "I do view this all as part of the same crisis." You can read the full study at pnas.org and learn more about Ocean Conservancy's work at oceanconservancy.org.

    44 min

  6. FEB 2

    Milwaukee's Kevin Shafer on Circular Thinking in Wastewater Management

    Subscribe to receive transcripts by email. Read along with this episode. Every gallon of wastewater flowing through a municipal sewer contains recoverable energy, nutrients, and water—assets that the linear "flush and forget" model has long treated as problems to dispose of rather than value to recapture. Meet Kevin Shafer, who has spent more than two decades proving otherwise. As executive director of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) since 2002, he's transformed an agency once mocked as a symbol of government waste into a national model for sustainable infrastructure, and last year, Veolia designated it as America's first "eco factory."   Milwaukee's circular approach actually predates the term by nearly a century. In 1926, the district began producing Milorganite—Milwaukee organic nitrogen—a fertilizer made from dried biosolids that most utilities simply spread on fields or incinerate. Today, that product returns $11 to $12 million annually to the city's budget while keeping waste out of landfills. Kevin explains that this foundational commitment to doing the right thing has shaped MMSD's culture ever since: 'We just always look at those type of approaches. It's foundational to the district.' The district's eight digesters at its South Shore plant now generate 80 to 85% of the facility's electricity from biosolids, with enough material left over to continue making Milorganite. Kevin calls it Cradle to Cradle in action, referring to the philosophy pioneered by architect William McDonough, who visited MMSD in 2006 and was intrigued by work that predated his framework by decades. The district is also partnering with regional breweries and food processors, accepting their organic waste streams for co-digestion. This reduces disposal costs for industry partners while increasing energy production—a synergy that Kevin sees as the future of utility operations. Looking ahead, Kevin's 2035 vision targets 100% renewable energy and a 90% carbon reduction compared to 2005. He argues that utilities should see themselves as anchor institutions with generational responsibilities: 'I won't be here 50 years from now, but MMSD will be.' That long view has attracted new partners. 'All of a sudden they say, oh, here's someone that's thinking a little bit differently about something, and maybe we can help them, or they can help us.' The key barrier to scaling the circular economy, he believes, isn't technology—it's institutional culture and a narrow focus on regulatory compliance rather than systems thinking. You can learn more about the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District at mmsd.com. Subscribe to Sustainability In Your Ear on iTunesFollow Sustainability In Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

    43 min

  7. JAN 19

    Peter Fusaro's Wall Street Green Summit Explores Financing The Renewables Transition

    Subscribe to receive transcripts by email. Read along with this episode. ' Global investment in the energy transition reached $2.2 trillion in 2025, up 5% from the previous year despite political headwinds intensified. Peter Fusaro has watched this market evolve from a niche curiosity into a systemic financial concern. As founder of the Wall Street Green Summit, he's spent a quarter century connecting capital to climate solutions. This year's summit, the 25th in its history, will take place on March 10 and 11 in New York. This critical conversation arrives at an historic inflection point: insurance companies are withdrawing from climate-vulnerable states, AI data centers are straining electrical grids, and the economics of clean energy have fundamentally shifted. The energy transition's bottleneck isn't capital, it's infrastructure. The U.S. went from 110 investor-owned utilities in 1992 to just 40 today, and consolidation meant underinvestment in transmission and distribution. Data centers consumed 2% of U.S. energy demand in 2020; Peter sees that climbing to 10-12% by 2030. Blackouts and brownouts are inevitable, he says. Yet his message is pragmatic optimism: ignore Washington and watch the capital markets and blue states where climate policy is embedded in law. Many companies are "green hushing," quietly pursuing sustainability without public positioning. The energy industry thinks in 40-year cycles, making the current political moment a blip. "I've spent 56 years now in sustainability, before it had a name," he says. "What I've learned is change takes decades." Peter argues that Wall Street has genuinely internalized climate as systemic risk—not because of ideology, but because of opportunity. "Wall Street likes exchanges, likes to trade, likes volatility, and certainly likes uncertainty," he explains. "What people don't understand about Wall Street, it's about the edge. What's the arbitrage opportunity?" The reinsurance industry has stepped forward aggressively, funding carbon credits and sustainability projects. Peter's recent Earth911 article, "Climate Risk Has Become a Defining Economic Issue," explores these themes in depth. However, he sees natural gas and renewables dominating the next 15 years, while geothermal is enjoying a genuine renaissance. His optimism rests on a demographic bet: "I have a tremendous valuation on young people. I'm 75. They're inheriting this world, and they get the sustainability message globally." The summit attendees includes no government officials and no academics, just people in the trenches building and financing solutions. You can learn more at TheWallStreetGreenSummit.com. Earth911 is a media sponsor for the event. Subscribe to Sustainability In Your Ear on iTunesFollow Sustainability In Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

    48 min

  8. JAN 12

    Turning Waste Into New Products And Packaging With Overlay Capital's Elizabeth Blankenship-Singh

    Read a transcript of this episode. Subscribe to receive transcripts. What we call waste is really just misallocated feedstock—raw materials waiting to be cycled back into the next generation of products and packaging. According to research by the World Economic Forum and United Nations Development Programme, the circular economy could unlock $4.5 trillion in new global value by 2030, and investors are racing to capture part of that opportunity. Meet Elizabeth Blankenship-Singh, Director of Innovation at Overlay Capital, an Atlanta-based alternative investment firm whose Waste and Materials Fund is backing both early-stage materials innovators and later-stage recycling operations with established infrastructure. Overlay's strategy involves investing in innovation and implementation simultaneously—in both startups and established companies—to accelerate progress across multiple layers of the circular economy. It offers a window into where smart money sees the materials transition heading.   Elizabeth explains that sortation is the biggest bottleneck at the materials recycling facilities (MRFs) your garbage and recycling are sent to after curbside collection. The U.S. is simultaneously the world’s leading exporter of scrap aluminum and the number one importer of finished aluminum, because we've lacked domestic sorting capacity. Overlay has invested in companies like AMP Robotics, which recently closed a 20-year contract with SPSA, a southeastern Virginia municipal authority, to sort all recyclables from four to five cities using AI-driven systems. When you fix sortation, she says, you trigger a domino effect: recycling rates climb, landfill life extends, and margins improve as higher-purity materials command premium prices.   Overlay's portfolio also includes next-generation materials companies united by a common thesis: they must be better, faster, cheaper, and more sustainable than what they replace. Cruz Foam converts chitin from shrimp shells into compostable packaging foam. Simplifyber uses cellulose to create biodegradable soft goods through 3D molding, bypassing traditional textile manufacturing entirely. Terra CO2 just closed a $124 million Series B to scale low-carbon cement technology that could cut into concrete's 8% share of annual global CO2 emissions. Each uses abundant, waste-derived feedstocks and has achieved or is on a clear path to price parity with incumbents. You can learn more about Overlay Capital at overlaycapital.com Subscribe to Sustainability In Your Ear on iTunesFollow Sustainability In Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

    44 min
See All (544)

4.5
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

Mitch Ratcliffe interviews activists, authors, entrepreneurs and changemakers working to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, post-carbon society. You have more power to improve the world than you know! Listen in to learn and be inspired to give your best to restoring the climate and regenerating nature.

Information

  • Creator
    Mitch Ratcliffe
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    544
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Internet Media Strategies Inc.
  • Show Website
    Sustainability In Your Ear

You Might Also Like