Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers cover image

Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers

Latest episodes

undefined
Oct 26, 2022 • 35min

How to solve the EV problem and a jobs problem at the same time

Kameale Terry, CEO of ChargerHelp!, was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. The daughter of Belizean immigrants, Kameale has always had a focus on environmental sustainability and community engagement.With over a decade of experience in clean tech, Kameale formed ChargerHelp! with her co-founder, Evette Ellis, to create a reliable electric vehicle charging infrastructure. ChargerHelp! uses data to identify and provide maintenance and repair services for electric vehicle charging stations.  Have a green jobs question for Yesh? Send it to her on Twitter @yeshsays. Use the hashtag #askyesh. Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.  Discover the solutions that are turning the tide on climate change. Subscribe to EDF’s Climate Tech Brief. Each month, you’ll hear diverse perspectives from business leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs working on climate tech solutions around the world. Subscribe today. Combat misinformation: “A lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” That famous quote was made far before the advent of the internet - but is still true today. Especially when it comes to online climate misinformation. EDF’s Misinformation Brigade is actively working to stop the spread of climate misinformation. This volunteer army of truth-tellers is armed with the skills to spot and squash misinformation as it happens. Join the Brigade today and help put an end to deceptive and destructive climate misinformation. ResourcesChargerHelp! Partners with Tesla to Support Reliability at Charging StationsChargerHelp raises $2.75M to keep EV chargers workingGlobal Green Skills Report 2022Wired article: Broken Charging Stations Could Be Stalling the EV MovementEdison Energy article: These two trailblazing entrepreneurs are getting EV charging stations and people back to workTechCruch article: ChargerHelp raises $2.75M to keep EV chargers workingLA Cleantech Incubator (LACI)Elemental Excelerator Win a copy of Speed & Scale!We want you to have a copy of Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now by John Doerr with his co-author of Degrees guest Ryan Panchadsarum. To enter, rate and review Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or  Spotify. Take a screenshot of your review and share it with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Use the hashtag #DegreesPodcast. We’re giving away up to five books per episode! Who makes Degrees?Yesh Pavlik Slenk is Degrees’ host. Amy Morse is our producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Tressa Versteeg is senior producer; Rye Taylor is our audio engineer; Elaine Grant is CEO of Podcast Allies and Tina Bassir is project manager. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive. Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).  How to find YeshFollow Yesh on Twitter at @yeshsays, and stay up to date with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund.  Share Degrees:TwitterFacebookLinkedInWebsite — Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers
undefined
Oct 19, 2022 • 34min

Tracking jaguars with a toddler: Introducing Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant

To support Dr. Rae-Wynn Grant’s work, subscribe to Going Wild on your favorite listening app. And if you haven’t yet followed Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers, follow our show on your favorite listening app and rate and review us, too. Your feedback matters! You can also get Going Wild updates and bonus content by following Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant and PBS Nature on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook. And you can catch new episodes of Nature Wednesdays at 8/7c on PBS, pbs.org/nature and the PBS Video app. Going Wild can be found at the PBS website here.  How to connect with Degrees and Yesh Pavlik SlenkFollow Yesh on Twitter @yeshsays. Have a green jobs question for Ask Yesh? Write to Yesh on Twitter and use the hashtag #askyesh. Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.  To win a copy of Speed & Scale, rate and review Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or  Spotify. Take a screenshot of your review and share it with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Use the hashtag #DegreesPodcast. We’re giving away up to five books per episode! Yesh Pavlik Slenk is Degrees’ host. Amy Morse is our producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Tressa Versteeg is senior producer; Rye Taylor is our audio engineer; Elaine Grant is CEO of Podcast Allies and Tina Bassir is project manager. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive. Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Follow EDF on Instagram. Please share our show! It’s one step you can take to motivate others to choose planet-saving careers and make a difference. Share Degrees:TwitterFacebookLinkedIn(Website) Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers
undefined
Oct 12, 2022 • 30min

How to get a job investing millions in planet-saving tech

Mia Diawara is a partner at Lowercarbon Capital, where she invests in ambitious teams building needle-moving climate tech — always with her eye on equity and inclusion. Before Lowercarbon, Mia spearheaded decarbonization strategy across a portfolio of more than $90 billion in assets at TPG and advised companies across industries at Bain & Company. Previously, she assessed climate policy and market-based climate solutions at NRDC and RMI, respectively.Mia is also a poet and dancer who has performed professionally with the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Company. She chairs the Nominating & Governance Committee on the board of Robert Moses’ Kin—a San Francisco-based dance company. Have a green jobs question for Yesh? Send it to her on Twitter @yeshsays. Use the hashtag #askyesh. Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more. Discover the solutions that are turning the tide on climate change. Subscribe to EDF’s Climate Tech Brief. Each month, you’ll hear diverse perspectives from business leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs working on climate tech solutions around the world. Subscribe today.  ResourcesThe Climate Draft, a member-supported coalition of climate tech startups and VCs on a mission to collectively bring more top talent, investment, and commercial opportunities into the spaceLowerCarbon Capital’s extensive jobs boardClean Up on Aisle Earth — LowerCarbon Capital cofounder Chris Sacca’s blog post on raising $350 million to invest in carbon removal. This is worth a read to learn about the ethos of this forward-thinking company. Twitter Space conversation about investing in climate techCarbon capture startups received a record $882 million in VC investments, Protocol, 9/16/2022An Inconvenient Truth – the trailerOn the fact that climate change disproportionately affects the global south: Temperatures in the Sahel region of West Africa will rise 1.5 times faster than the global average, according to this article by the Brookings Institution.TPG’s Rise Climate fundNRDCRMIThe LowerCarbon Capital portfolio companies mentioned in this episode, and others, including: Carbon EngineeringLiving CarbonRunning TideZanskarCoda Pakistan floods: A health crisis of epic proportions, Al Jazeera, 9/13/2022Pakistan’s Deadly Floods Pose Urgent Questions On Preparedess and Response, Center for Strategic & International StudiesJackson, Miss. residents struggle with basic needs as the water crisis disrupts life, NPR, 10/1/2022Giveaway To win a copy of Speed & Scale, rate and review Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or  Spotify. Take a screenshot of your review and share it with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Use the hashtag #DegreesPodcast. We’re giving away up to five books per episode!Who makes Degrees?Yesh Pavlik Slenk is Degrees’ host. Amy Morse is our producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Tressa Versteeg is senior producer; Rye Taylor is our audio engineer; Elaine Grant is CEO of Podcast Allies and Tina Bassir is project manager. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive. Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).  How to find YeshFollow Yesh on Twitter at @yeshsays, and stay up to date with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Share Degrees:TwitterFacebookLinkedInWebsite — Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers 
undefined
Oct 5, 2022 • 33min

How do we learn to live with wildfire?

Frank Kanawha Lake, Ph.D., is a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service. He’s been learning and teaching the role of fire in managing ecosystems in the northwest U.S. for more than three decades, and has introduced indigenous fire prevention and management practices to the Forest Service. He was mentored by botanist and best-selling author, Robin Wall Kimmerer.  Have a green jobs question for Yesh? Send it to her on Twitter @yeshsays. Use the hashtag #askyesh. Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more. To win a copy of Speed & Scale, rate and review Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or  Spotify. Take a screenshot of your review and share it with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Use the hashtag #DegreesPodcast. We’re giving away up to five books per episode!ResourcesMeet Frank Kanawha Lake (US Forest Service)Sacred Pollinators: An Interview with Frank K. Lake (California Native Plant Society)From Supercomputers to Fire-Starting Drones, These Tools Help Fight Wildfires (Smithsonian Magazine)In a World on Fire, Stop Burning Things, by Bill McKibben (The New Yorker)CreditsYesh Pavlik Slenk is Degrees’ host. Amy Morse is our producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Tressa Versteeg is senior producer; audio engineers Rye Taylor and Matthew Simonson worked on this episode. Elaine Grant is supervising producer and CEO of Podcast Allies and Tina Bassir is project manager. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive. Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Follow Yesh on Twitter at @yeshsays and stay up to date with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Visit the Degrees website: https://www.edf.org/degreesShare Degrees:TwitterFacebookLinkedIn
undefined
Sep 28, 2022 • 30min

Building a Black community for green jobseekers

Have a green jobs question for Yesh? Send it to her on Twitter @yeshsays. Use the hashtag #askyesh. Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more. To win a copy of Speed & Scale, rate and review Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or  Spotify. Take a screenshot of your review and share it with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Use the hashtag #DegreesPodcast. We’re giving away up to five books per episode! Resources on diversifying the planet-saving workforce and environmental justiceBlackOak CollectiveCongressional Black CaucusEPA announces new environmental justice division (September 24, 2022)Greenbiz State of the Profession Report 2022 Sources used in the making of this storyWes Gobar in GristA timeline of the march on CharlottesvilleCompressor pollution compared to diesel fumes from busesReconstruction: What went wrong?What are sacrifice zones and who lives there? What sank the Atlantic Coast Pipeline CreditsHost: Yesh Pavlik SlenkEDF Producer: Amy MorseProduction company: Podcast Allies, LLCSupervising producer: Elaine Grant, CEO of Podcast Allies Senior producer: Tressa VersteegProject manager: Tina BassirAudio engineer: Rye TaylorMusic: Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive. Follow Yesh on Twitter at @yeshsays, and stay up to date with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Visit the Degrees website: https://www.edf.org/degrees  Share Degrees:TwitterFacebookLinkedInDegrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers
undefined
Sep 21, 2022 • 42min

The woman greening the golden arches

To win a copy of Speed & Scale, rate and review Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Podchaser or  Spotify. Take a screenshot of your review and share it with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Use the hashtag #DegreesPodcast. We’re giving away up to five books per episode! Terms we discuss in this episode:Scope: How companies categorize their emissions. Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, sometimes called “operational emissions.” This includes reducing emissions from facilities or vehicles owned by an organization.Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from electricity, heating, cooling, or steam purchased by an organization. (For additional guidance on Scopes 1 and 2, see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’ website.)Scope 3 emissions are all indirect emissions (that aren’t included in Scope 2) in an organization’s value chain. These are sometimes called “supply chain emissions.” Scope 3 emissions include both upstream emissions (from production processes) and downstream emissions (consumer use of a certain product).With Jenny, we talk a lot about Scope 3 — in McDonald’s case, the emissions from its supply chain and franchisees. Since franchisees make up 95% of McDonald’s restaurants, scope 3 emissions are significant. Science-Based Targets (SBTs)SBTs provide a clearly-defined pathway for companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help prevent the worst impacts of climate change. McDonald’s uses SBTs. Absolute and Intensity TargetsThese are two ways to measure emissions reductions.Intensity Target: Emissions relative to some other factor, such as the number of employees or revenue. Intensity targets account for economic growth. For example, McDonald’s could reduce the emissions per chicken nugget, while continuing to sell more happy meals each year.Absolute Target: An attempt to reduce all emissions, regardless of other factors. For example, an absolute target at McDonald’s would be saying that no matter how many chicken nuggets they sell, McDonald’s will reduce the amount of total emissions associated with chicken nuggets.Resources:Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps program, where Jenny McColloch was a fellowMcDonald’s 2021 Risk & Resiliency reportMcDonald’s Climate StrategyMcDonald’s Net Zero by 2050 AnnouncementGlobal Roundtable for Sustainable BeefU.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Yesh Pavlik Slenk is Degrees’ host. Amy Morse is our producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Tressa Versteeg is senior producer; Rye Taylor is our audio engineer; Elaine Grant is CEO of Podcast Allies and Tina Bassir is project manager. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive. Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). For this special episode, we super-sized our team. For our interview with Jenny McColloch, Yesh joined forces with Mike Toffel, host of Climate Rising, a podcast about the impact of climate change on business from Harvard Business School. Follow Yesh on Twitter at @yeshsays, and stay up to date with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Have a green jobs question for Yesh? Send it to her on Twitter @yeshsays. Use the hashtag #askyesh. Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more. Visit the Degrees website: https://www.edf.org/degreesShare Degrees:TwitterFacebookLinkedIn
undefined
Sep 14, 2022 • 37min

How a psychology major is on the frontlines of decarbonizing a global industry

To win a copy of Speed & Scale, rate and review Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or  Spotify. Take a screenshot of your review and share it with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Use the hashtag #DegreesPodcast. We’re giving away up to five books per episode!Resources on CarbonCure Technologies and low carbon concrete:Concrete: the worlds’ 3rd largest CO2 emitter fromThe urgent demand for low carbon concrete How CarbonCure’s technology works Why the building sector is important to decarbonize Concrete market to reach $972.05 billion globally by 2030A list of some of CarbonCure’s projects, from highways to grocery stores to sea ports Yesh Pavlik Slenk is Degrees’ host. Amy Morse is our producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Tressa Versteeg is senior producer; Rye Taylor is our audio engineer; Elaine Grant is CEO of Podcast Allies and Tina Bassir is project manager. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive. Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Follow Yesh on Twitter at @yeshsays, and stay up to date with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Have a green jobs question for Yesh? Send it to her on Twitter @yeshsays. Use the hashtag #askyesh. Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more. Visit the Degrees website: https://www.edf.org/degreesShare Degrees:TwitterFacebookLinkedIn
undefined
Sep 7, 2022 • 31min

The fastest electric vehicle fleet makeover in the west

To win a copy of Speed & Scale, rate and review Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Spotify. Take a screenshot of your review and share it with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Use the hashtag #DegreesPodcast. We’re giving away up to five books per episode!Yesh Pavlik Slenk is Degrees’ host. Amy Morse is our producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Tressa Versteeg is senior producer; Rye Taylor is our audio engineer; Elaine Grant is CEO of Podcast Allies and Tina Bassir is project manager. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive. Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Follow Yesh on Twitter at @yeshsays, and stay up to date with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Have a green jobs question for Yesh? Send it to her on Twitter @yeshsays. Use the hashtag #askyesh. Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more.Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more.  Resources on electric school buses (ESBs)World Resources Institute School Bus InitiativeElectric School Bus Newsletter Mom’s Clean Air Force on environmental justice and electric school busesHow infrastructure bill is related to electric school busesHow electric buses reduce toxic exposure for kids Stockton Unified School District Energy Patrol video that got a standing ovation at the school boardStockton Unified School District is an exemplary case study at WRIModesto City purchases largest single order of electric school buses from BluebirdShare Degrees:TwitterFacebookLinkedInDegrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers 
undefined
Sep 7, 2022 • 27min

10 Ways to Save the Planet

Fighting climate change is the biggest job opportunity of our lifetime. But which career will make the biggest difference — and where will you fit in? In this episode, Ryan Panchadsaram explains the 10 solutions outlined in Speed & Scale: six areas to decarbonize and four ways to do it as rapidly as possible. To win a copy of Speed & Scale, rate and review Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or  Spotify. Take a screenshot of your review and share it with us on Instagram @Environmental_Defense_Fund. Use the hashtag #DegreesPodcast. We’re giving away up to five books per episode!Yesh Pavlik Slenk is Degrees’ host. Amy Morse is our producer. Podcast Allies is our production company. Tressa Versteeg is senior producer; Rye Taylor is our audio engineer; Elaine Grant is CEO of Podcast Allies and Tina Bassir is project manager. Our music is Shame, Shame, Shame from Yesh’s favorite band, Lake Street Dive. Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers is presented by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Follow Yesh on Twitter at @yeshsays, and stay up to date with us on Instagram @environmental_defense_fund. Have a green jobs question for Yesh? Send it to her on Twitter @yeshsays. Use the hashtag #askyesh. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on green careers, upcoming episodes and more. Resources:Job hunting? Visit our comprehensive Green Jobs Hub for job listings, networking resources, skills and certification information and more. Speed & Scale, by John Doerr and Ryan PanchadsaramTo learn more about how rapidly green careers are growing, see the GreenBiz report mentioned in this episode. Seventy-five percent of large companies have added sustainability jobs since 2019. Their latest report says,  “Hiring of green jobs in the workforce in the United States is rising faster than any other category.”For a great example of the potential of sustainability careers in city government, listen back to Yesh’s conversation with Chris Castro (Season 1, Episode 2). He became head of sustainability for the city of Orlando before he turned 30. The White House recently recruited Castro to work at the Department of Energy, helping cities across the country become more sustainable. For more on this episode’s Ask Yesh segment on narrowing down your career choices, listen back to episode 1 in our Green Jobs 101 miniseries).Sustainability careers expert Trish Kenlon offers live coaching to jobseeker Maya Johnson. (Johnson found her first dream job a few months later.)  While you’re there, listen to the rest of our Green Jobs 101 miniseries, and to all of the episodes in Season 3 as well!Visit the Degrees website: https://www.edf.org/degreesShare Degrees:TwitterFacebookLinkedIn
undefined
Aug 24, 2022 • 3min

Introducing Season 4: Jobs of the Future

Kicking our addition to fossil fuels is the single biggest job opportunity of a lifetime. This season, we’re spotlighting jobs of the future, those that will reduce carbon emissions the fastest. And tune in for our new feature, #AskYesh! Host and climate careers expert Yesh Pavlik Slenk solves your job-seeking dilemmas and offers her advice on how to get paid to save the planet.

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode