Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jason Swann’s childhood in the rural south included living in “a small shanty in the middle of a cow pasture.” Sure, he played outdoors—but he wasn’t exactly hiking in wild places. He grew up to become a financial analyst, but that career ended after an encounter with the police ruined his reputation. His life upended, he moved from Nebraska to Colorado. There, he tells host Yesh Pavlik Slenk, “I found respite in the melodic powers of the outdoors.”Inspired by his new connection with nature, Jason reinvented himself. He did what some career sustainability pros mistakenly think is impossible: He became a land policy analyst without first getting an advanced degree in environmental science or sustainability. Now, as an analyst with Western Resource Advocates and co-founder of Rising Routes, an environmental, social, and mental wellness advocacy business, he helps underserved communities gain access to the outdoors. He helped pass Colorado’s Create Outdoor Equity Grant Program, ground-breaking legislation that allocates millions of dollars for outdoor activities and education to those in need. The Create Outdoor Equity Grant Program and similar national initiatives seek to address the historical exclusion of BIPOC communities from enjoying outdoor recreation in the U.S.Jason has little patience for sustainability career seekers who allow themselves to be stymied by a lack of an advanced degree. “For those who think you need to have a PhD or an environmental science degree or any of that, I say the hell with it…. Half of this job, if not 90% of it, is about relationships,” he tells Yesh. “You can learn technical things,” he says. “What you can't learn and you can't hide is your passion and love and appreciation for what you're doing.”Be bold, he urges. Speak your truth. “If you are being quiet, you don’t have the power to shape the future of this work.”Resources mentioned in this episode:Colorado.gov: Create Outdoor Equity GrantOutdoor Afro: Outdoor AfroLatino Outdoors: Latino OutdoorsWestern Resource Advocates: Western Resource AdvocatesRising Routes: Rising RoutesAdditional resources:Outdoor F.U.T.U.R.E.: Outdoor Future Initiative This BIPOC-led group advocates for the National Outdoor Equity Initiative, which would allocate funds to make all U.S. public lands and parks financially accessible to underserved youth.American Trails: Historical Perspective on Racism in the OutdoorsFollow Jason Swann:Instagram: @jason_g_swannFacebook: Rising RoutesTwitter:@Jason_G_SwannRising Routes  Rising RoutesWestern Resource Advocates: Western Resource AdvocatesFollow EDF:Sign up for the Degrees newsletter!Twitter: EDF (@EnvDefenseFund)Facebook: Environmental Defense FundInstagram: environmental_defense_fundLinkedIn: Environmental Defense FundBe sure to explore the back catalog of Degrees. If you liked this episode, you'll love the conversation with environmental justice and green jobs advocate, Michelle Romero. If you're seeking a job tackling climate change, and I hope that you are, check out our "Land a Green Job 101 Bootcamp."  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Women have been the main drivers of sustainable finance, or investing with environmental, social and governance (ESG) values in mind. After years of slow growth, sustainable investing is showing dramatic financial returns. According to Moody's, “In 2020, ESG products saw strong returns and investment outperformance that marked it as a watershed year.”And yet the mostly male leaders in the world of finance continue to discount sustainable investing, or give it lip service. So says Taeun Kwon. And she’s sick of it. To combat the problem, Kwon and two cofounders created Women in Sustainable Finance (WISF). The organization educates women on sustainable finance and empowers them to have a positive impact. WISF offers mentoring, coaching, and courses on ESG strategy and communication. Kwon’s path has been anything but straight, as she tells Degrees host Yesh Pavlik Slenk in a lively conversation that follows her journey as a failed collegiate entrepreneur to the heights of global sustainable finance. Resources mentioned in this episode:Website: Women in Sustainable FinanceGreenbuzz: GreenbuzzAdditional Resources:Moodys: ESG Investing a Boon for Asset ManagersFortune: Women lead in responsible financing. Now men want in. Moody’s: Moody’s ESG SolutionsFollow Taeun Kwon and Women In Sustainable Finance (WISF):LinkedIn: Taeun KwonTwitter: Women in Sustainable Finance (@wisf_int)Website: Women in Sustainable FinanceFollow EDF:Sign up for the Degrees newsletter!Twitter: EDF (@EnvDefenseFund)Facebook: Environmental Defense FundInstagram: environmental_defense_fundLinkedIn: Environmental Defense Fund Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Some people know from an early age that they are environmentalists. Dan Schnitzer certainly did. Inspired by childhood nature walks with his mom, he studied pond water under a microscope. At age 13, he conducted the first of many environmental experiments—for a science fair, he made clean fuel from fruit.After learning about the concept of "poverty traps" in college, Dan realized that lack of energy access is an infrastructure failure—and a massive burden on disadvantaged communities. Approximately two billion people worldwide either don't have energy access or it’s unreliable. Without reliable sources of electricity, people are forced to rely on dirty fuel like charcoal and kerosene to generate power, which are dangerous and expensive. The use of these fuels, particularly indoors, leads to devastating health outcomes, including early death from pneumonia, heart disease, and lung cancer.Dan traveled to Haiti in 2008 and worked with communities to learn more about their energy needs. Within a year, his nonprofit, EarthSpark International, was helping to build a different, more reliable kind of infrastructure called microgrids. That was just the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey. Today, SparkMeter sells software that helps utilities in 25 developing countries provide reliable, affordable electric service in rural areas. SparkMeter recently ranked #1 on Fast Company's 10 Most Innovative Energy Companies of 2021. Dan tells Degrees host Yesh Pavlik Slenk that his mother instilled in him an ethos of gratitude and responsibility. She encouraged him to pursue a career helping other people. He wanted to make sure, though, that his service was actually useful. “There's a long history of development working to help people, but in ways that really didn't go well,” he says. “And as the old saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”Dan believes everyone should be invested in helping developing nations access clean, reliable, and  affordable energy. “The climate problem is a global problem,” he says. “The emissions that come from Nigeria into the atmosphere are going to have the same effect on climate change as the emissions here.”Resources mentioned in this episode:IFC: The Dirty Footprint of the Broken GridAdditional resources:Fast Company: The 10 Most Innovative Energy Companies in 2021  WHO: Household Air Pollution and HealthNorthwestern University: Poverty TrapGreentech Media: Sparkmeter Closes 12m to Expand From Metering Minigrids to Analyzing Broken GridsResearchgate: Microgrids for Rural Electrification Dan Schnitzer’s 2016 critical review of microgrid practices in rural areas Follow Daniel Schnitzer and SparkMeter:LinkedIn: Daniel Schnitzer, CEO SparkMeterSparkMeter: SparkMeterTwitter: @SparkMeterFollow EDF:Not yet receiving the Degrees newsletter? Join us here! Twitter: EDF (@EnvDefenseFund)Facebook: Environmental Defense FundInstagram: environmental_defense_fundLinkedIn: Environmental Defense Fund Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Most people don’t think about running for office when pondering environmental careers. However, California Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia may change your mind.In a state ravaged by air pollution and wildfires, Garcia has crafted policy that fights climate change. Recently, he introduced  AB 1500, which helped inspire the Climate Resilience Bond. This allocates $3.7 billion of the state’s 2021-22 budget toward shoring up disadvantaged communities against “catastrophic wildfire, sea level rise, drought, extreme heat and flooding.” It also provides for infrastructure investments. “The connection here to climate, the drought, the fires . . . is recognizing that we have a serious crisis with mother earth,” Garcia said. “We've got some work to do when it comes to not just building the infrastructure, but the conservation aspect of it is key for the first time.”Garcia hardly followed a traditional “green” education and career path. He took time off after high school, then attended his local community college and completed his bachelor's degree at the University of California Riverside. His journey eventually led him to the Coachella City Council at 27. At 29, he became Coachella’s mayor, the youngest ever elected in that city. In 2014, Garcia became assemblyman. Garcia believes that young people can help save the planet by serving others. “I never thought that going into public service would end up being a career,” he said.  “When I came to realize that it is something that one can do to contribute to the betterment . . . of conditions in our communities, I kind of got married to the idea. I’ve been doing it since.”Resources included in this episode: Ca.gov: Budget Summary A breakdown of how the Climate Resilience Bond will be used. Climate Candidates: https://climatecandidates.org/ To help people who want to run for officeAdditional Information:Sierra Club:  The Great Western Drought, Explained New solutions are required for water droughts caused by climate change.Ca.gov:  Bill Text AB 1500 Safe Drinking Water... Details of the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022 that Garcia introduced February 19, 2021.Desert Sun: Eduardo Garcia Continues Momentum in Assembly  2015 profile of Garcia’s work in the CA Assembly.Follow Eduardo Garcia:Official Website: Eduardo Garcia Official WebsiteFacebook: Assemblymember Eduardo GarciaFollow EDF:Sign up for the new Degrees newsletter!Twitter: EDF (@EnvDefenseFund)Facebook: Environmental Defense FundInstagram: environmental_defense_fundLinkedIn: Environmental Defense Fund Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The clothing retail industry is not known for being climate friendly. The textile industry, as a whole,  emits 1.2 billion tons of carbon and uses five trillion liters of water per year.Dawnielle Tellez, an EDF Climate Corps alum, is candid and thoughtful about the challenges of making the outdoor apparel industry more sustainable. “What's been tough for me to realize is that at the end of the day, the outdoor industry and broadly apparel industry is reliant on fossil fuels,” she  tells Yesh Pavlik Slenk. She finds reasons for hope, though. Tellez says the circular economy, the adoption of lower carbon materials, and scaling decarbonization are exciting, emerging ways the apparel industry will be reducing negative environmental impacts going forward.  Tellez advises people looking to get into sustainability careers to set goals, ask for informational interviews, and explore the kinds of degrees she and other sustainability specialists have pursued. “The space is just wide open right now,” she says. “I feel like you can really carve out whatever it is that you want.”Tellez fights social challenges as well as climate change—particularly the historical exclusion of marginalized groups from outdoor activities.  She hopes to see them become more visible and included in the outdoor imagination—some of which is modeled by high-profile outdoor apparel companies like REI.“Looking to groups that are bringing access and knowledge of sport, [such as] Black Girls Run, Outdoor Afro, Latino Outdoors, organizations that are doing incredible work to build community amongst different BIPOC groups is, I think, hugely valuable to how we're going to be able to make the outdoors actually accessible for all people going forward.”Resources mentioned in this episode:REI: A Sustainable Future, REI’s blog about their sustainability initiativesGRID Alternatives: GRID Alternatives. Dawnielle worked for this nonprofit, which provides affordable solar panels to low-income communities.EDF: Climate CorpsGreenBiz: The 2021 GreenBiz 30 Under 30Black Girls Run:Black Girls Run. Outdoor Afro: Outdoor AfroLatino Outdoors: Latino OutdoorsAdditional information: EDF’s Supply Chain Solution CenterREI’s 2020 Impact Report (its corporate sustainability report) Nature: The price of fast fashionWorld Resources Institute: Apparel Industry's Environmental Impact in 6 GraphicsUSC Diving: USC Dornsife Scientific Diving, Dawnielle’s 2012 blog post about scientific diving at USCFollow EDF:Not yet receiving the Degrees newsletter? Join us here! Twitter: EDF (@EnvDefenseFund)Facebook: Environmental Defense FundInstagram: environmental_defense_fundLinkedIn: Environmental Defense Fund Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

LaUra Schmidt co-founded the non-profit Good Grief Network in 2016 with her wife, Aimee Lewis-Reau, to provide a space to help people cope with climate anxiety. Passionate about saving endangered species and panic-stricken about the climate emergency, LaUra had been suffering from her own climate grief and impotence. A childhood trauma survivor, LaUra had found solace in Adult Children of Alcoholics. So she took that group’s 12-step model (an offshoot of AA) and developed a 10-step program for others like her. Today, it’s helped more than 2,500 climate anxiety sufferers from more than 14 countries—and growing.  Schmidt describes the despair of climate anxiety as “when we wake up to how severe the climate crisis is, paralleled with our social injustice issues... our ecosite issues and our habitat destruction issues.” That wake-up call can make anyone question themselves, she says: “It really takes on a personal blend of, ‘ What can I possibly do?’” The Good Grief Network arrived right on time. A recent study published in the medical journal The Lancet found that of 10,000 young people, ages 16 to 25, in 10 countries, 84% are worried about the climate. The same study found more than 50% feel sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless and guilty about climate change.Forty-five percent said climate anxiety was affecting their ability to function in daily life.The authors wrote that this stress threatens the health and well-being of young people and there is an “urgent need” for an increase in research and governmental response to this critical issue.  Since its founding, The Good Grief Network has served more than 2,500 participants in more than 14 countries. Schmidt, who describes herself as a “truth-seeker, cultural critic, grief-worker, and the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor” hopes to help others around the world develop the resiliency and skill set to create change.Resources mentioned in this episode: IPCC: AR6 Climate Change 2021The Lancet: Young People's Voices on Climate Anxiety and Government Betrayal, and Moral Injury: A Global PhenomenonAdditional Information:Today: Climate Anxiety is Real: How to Cope When it Feels Like the World is Burning  Results of the first large-scale, global peer-reviewed study on climate anxiety in children and young adults was published in the scientific journal The Lancet on Tuesday, September 14.Gizmodo: The Kids Are Not Alright  In what Gizmodo called “rare candor” by scientists, the authors said that they had hoped for significant results. But they added, “We wish that these results had not been quite so devastating.”Washington Post: Climate disasters will strain our mental health system. It’s time to adaptThe Atlantic: A World Without ChildrenFollow Good Grief Network: LinkedIn: laUra schmidtWebsite: Good Grief NetworkTwitter: Good Grief Network (@GoodGriefNetwk)Instagram: Good Grief Network (@goodgriefnetwork)Follow EDF:Not yet receiving the Degrees newsletter? Join us here! Twitter: EDF (@EnvDefenseFund)Facebook: Environmental Defense FundInstagram: environmental_defense_fundLinkedIn: Environmental Defense Fund Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.