The Most Important Question

This podcast discusses the reasons behind the record-breaking heat this year, the impact of carbon and methane emissions, and the significance of every degree and ton of emissions. It also explores the environmental impact of meat production, climate change's effect on food security and trade, and the progress in clean energy and transportation. The hosts emphasize the need for faster mitigation efforts, public action, and support for climate-related organizations.

This week: Tolkien described life (and often, his stories) as a "long defeat", where evil frequently, inevitably wins. But he allowed for "eucatastrophe" - sudden joyous turns, just like breakthroughs in voting rights. We must keep fighting, to hold off the darkness.Here's What You Can Do:Donate to protecting voting rights and advocating for democracy with Fair Fight.Volunteer to bring together conservatives, progressives, and everyone in between to fix America’s political system with RepresentUS.Get educated about quick, easy, daily actions you can take to save democracy by subscribing to the Chop Wood, Carry Water newsletter.Be heard about fair elections and add your name to the End Gerrymandering Pledge.Run for your state or local office with Run for Something (if you’re under 40, if you’re over 40, donate!)Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at https://www.importantnotimportant.com/ Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpSubscribe to our YouTube channelTake a nap you deserve itAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

What are microplastics doing to us? And how do we stop putting them into our water, and our bloodstreams, and our food? That's today's big question, and my guest is Julia Yan. Julia is the co-founder and CEO at Baleena, a closed-loop, consumer-facing laundry startup working to tackle ocean microplastic pollution.Julia is a recent graduate at UPenn, and with her two co-founders, some funding, including from our friends at 776 and a bunch of big name partners, they're trying to tackle one of the biggest microplastic inputs. Your washing machine. Microplastics are not great. They're so prevalent that we have found them on the bottom of the ocean and on the top of mountains. We have found them in deserts, in our crops, in our soil. We have found them in adult bloodstreams and in unborn babies and placentas.It is an enormous, wildly complicated problem and the implications are becoming more clear. The good news, like carbon emissions, we can choose to stop it. It's just going to take an intentional systemic approach and people like Julia.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.-----------INI Book Club:Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle ZevinFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Join the waitlist to pre-order your Baleena product nowFollow along with Baleena's journey on InstagramRead more about the 5 Gyres Microplastics Solutions sailing expeditionFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

This week: Are you ready for the next big test?Here's What You Can Do:Donate to Cooperation Humboldt, a worker-led, non-hierarchical non-profit that delivers programming in seven areas that are key to basic human rights.Volunteer with Global.health to help create a global resource of public health information and assist in preventing the next pandemic.Get educated about steps to solving the climate crisis by receiving a weekly challenge in your inbox from Minimum Viable Planet.Be heard about better outbreak tracking, and get your local government officials to sign up for Biobot Analytics wastewater testing.Invest in getting the world vaccinated by having your company sign up for a matching fund with Gavi.Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at https://www.importantnotimportant.com/ Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpSubscribe to our YouTube channelTake a nap you deserve itAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

This week: Because I am a sap, I have been thinking about my kids a lot lately. And kids in general. They’re going to grow up and live in a world that’s very different from ours, and it’s important to me that they’re all as ready for that as they can be.So this week: Did you hear about the starfish?Here's What You Can Do:Donate to Tobacco Free Kids to help fight against flavored e-cigarettes.Volunteer with Mothers Out Front and come together to fight against climate injustice and for our children’s future.Get educated about how to electrify your child’s school, making it cleaner, healthier, and climate-safe with these resources from Rewiring America.Be heard about protecting children from pesticides and urge your representative to support the Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act.Invest in a better world for kids and make sure your philanthropic dollars make a measurable difference with Impact Assets.Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at https://www.importantnotimportant.com/ Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpSubscribe to our YouTube channelTake a nap you deserve itAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

Over the past few years, more and more voters have cited “action on climate” as a reason for voting the way they do.But here’s the thing: lots of voters who are registered, and even those who do vote in presidential elections – don’t turn out for midterms.Much less for state and local races.Millions of registered voters who list the environment or climate as their most important issue do the same. Success might not actually be about identifying and focusing on one specific issue, campaign, or candidate. It might come down to how we want to see ourselves, why we wear those little “I Voted” stickers, how we identify, and our behaviors.And that’s what the Environmental Voter Project is all about, and why we are rerunning our 2022 conversation with Nathaniel Stinnett.Nathaniel founded the Environmental Voter Project in 2015 after over a decade of experience as a senior advisor, consultant, and trainer for political campaigns and issue-advocacy nonprofits, and he sits on the Board of Advisors for MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative. He’s here to help me understand the EVP’s mission and tactics, and how we can help them achieve their goal of turning out more climate-focused voters this year and in the years to come.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.-----------INI Book Club:The Overstory by Richard PowersFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Follow Nathaniel on TwitterVolunteer with the Environmental Voter Project today!Follow the Environmental Voter Project on TwitterFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

Voluntary carbon credits are a lot like used cars: You really have no idea what their quality might be. Or maybe they’re more like expensive bottles of wine. Many people (or at least Shayle) can’t tell whether they’re actually buying good-quality wine. If it’s expensive, it must be good, right?That’s the kind of logic that has plagued voluntary carbon markets for years. A carbon credit can work in one of two ways. First, it can avert 1 metric ton of emissions that would have otherwise happened by, for example, preventing deforestation. Alternatively, a credit can directly remove a ton of carbon from the atmosphere through methods such as direct air capture or biochar.But widespread reporting reveals that most credits don’t do what they say they do. Just this month, the CEO of the world’s leading certifier stepped down after an investigation by The Guardian revealed that over 90% of rainforest carbon credits were worthless. In May, a $1 billion lawsuit filed in California alleges that the credits that Delta Air Lines relies on for its claim of reaching carbon-neutrality are bogus.Carbon credits have reached a crisis point at the same moment we need to massively scale them up to meet net-zero goals. So what do we do about these quality problems? In this episode, Shayle talks to Allister Furey, co-founder and CEO of Sylvera, a company that rates the quality of credits in a manner akin to what agencies like Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s do for bonds.Shayle and Allister cover topics including:The history of the first voluntary carbon markets and their early problems, such as producing fluorocarbons just to destroy them.The current state of the market, including its size, segments and prices.The wide gulf in price between the cheapest avoidance credits and the most ambitious engineered removal credits Why Allistair thinks we need to be on a  “war footing” to reach the highly ambitious carbon-removal targets needed to meet net zero, such as growing the market from $2 billion to $1 trillion by 2050.Why high prices do not necessarily mean high quality.Recommended resources:The Guardian: Revealed: more than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest certifier are worthless, analysis showsThe Guardian: Delta Air Lines faces lawsuit over $1B carbon neutrality claimCatalyst is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.More episodes of Catalyst can be found here.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.-----------Follow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

This Week:Telling better stories is a type of Compound Action.Here's What You Can Do:Check out the Good Energy Project's playbook on how to tell better climate stories.Donate to Experiment, a platform where scientists can crowdfund their research, and you can pick and choose what research you want to support.Volunteer with our friends at the Environmental Voter Project, a non-partisan non-profit with a proven track record of getting non-voting environmentalists to the polls.Get educated about climate change and combat disinformation with Climate Feedback, a worldwide network of scientists sorting fact from fiction in climate change media coverage.Be heard about climate action and keep your representative accountable by checking out this list of candidates and elected officials that have signed the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge.Invest in deforestation-free companies by moving your money into investments that aren’t killing the planet with Deforestation Free Funds.Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at https://www.importantnotimportant.com/Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpSubscribe to our YouTube channelTake a nap you deserve it Advertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

How can we provide better mental health support for pregnancy, postpartum, and loss around pregnancy? That's today's big question, and obviously in America in 2023, it's a loaded one, so I'm so thankful that my guest today is Simmone Taitt. She's the Founder and CEO of Poppy Seed Health. Simmone experienced the vast gaps in emotional and mental support in American maternal healthcare while navigating her own path to parenthood after suffering multiple miscarriages, which she talks about today, with and without health insurance, like so many Americans.In 2019, Simmone identified a better way forward for all birthing people, becoming a birth and full spectrum doula, and then launching Poppy Seed Health, a growing network of diverse, very qualified doulas, midwives, and nurses. They provide care within seconds, private care right in the app just when you need it the most. If you've ever been a part of this journey as a pregnant person intentionally or not, as a partner, or in postpartum, whatever your path, you are probably intimately aware of how much and how often, often in the middle of the night, you just desperately need someone informed who can help answer questions around birth and postpartum planning, lactation support, general comfort, miscarriages, relationships, sleep, and so much more. And we do it very, very poor job as a country of intentionally providing these essential services, often intentionally not providing it.And so that's why I am so glad that Poppy Seed exists. -----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.-----------INI Book Club:The Mountain Is You by Brianna WiestFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Learn more about Poppy Seed HealthDownload the app on iOS or Google PlayFollow Poppy Seed Health on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and LinkedIn Follow Simmone on Instagram and LinkedInFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

How did we get here?That's today's big question, and today my guests are Roy Moger-Reischer, and our first three-time guest, Brandon Ogbunu. Roy Moger-Reischer is a scientist trained in microbiology, evolution and data analysis for his PhD. He's currently a fermentation specialist Arzeda, working to develop new proteins and biochemistry for the production of valuable molecules. Brandon Ogbunu, described as a radical collaborator, is an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale. His research takes place at the intersection of evolutionary biology, genetics, and epidemiology. When I first read about the work of Roy and his lab compatriots to take this idea of a cell stripped down to only what is most essential -- a minimal cell -- and then to see if it would or could evolve to survive even basic mutations, my first thought was, "What?"The answer, it turns out, is profound as hell. And because I'm a self-aware moron, I also begged past guest, Brandon Ogbunu, to come back on the show to help me understand what the hell is happening here and what it means for our history, for society today, and for future breakthroughs to help answer the question:What can you do with just 493 genes? And if the answer is not only survive, but thrive, what can we do once we know that about the building blocks of life? -----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.-----------INI Book Club:The Ghost in the Shell by Shirow MasamuneThe Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David WengrowFind all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Read Roy's paper on the minimal cellKeep up with Roy's workKeep up with Brandon's workFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ImportantNotImpSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow Quinn: twitter.com/quinnemmettEdited by Anthony LucianiProduced by Willow BeckIntro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.comAdvertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors