Earth911.com's Sustainability In Your Ear

What if the money we used could also do good every time we spent it? There’s a movement among cryptocurrency developers to add a social purpose to the coins they make. Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with the co-creators of the World of Waves token, a cryptocurrency that has a “built-in tax” that “[support] as many charitable organizations in the world as possible while rewarding holders with substantial returns.” Sami Touzani and Kristijan Tot explain how they developed the idea of a crypto token aimed at helping clean up the world's oceans.Every time a World of Waves coin is used in a transaction, 11% of the value is set aside, part of it to help save our oceans. 3.3% goes to the people who hold the coins, as a kind of dividend, 3.3% goes into the liquidity pool, an account that serves a similar purpose to a market maker that guarantees the ability to buy or sell shares of a stock in the stock market. And 4.4% goes to charitable organizations that preserve oceans. You can track the current value of the World of Waves token at CoinMarketCap.We do not address all the intricacies of owning cryptocurrency during this conversation and this podcast is not an endorsement of the World of Waves token. Earth911 urges you to carefully consider any investment before making a decision to buy or sell any assets.

Earth911 talks with Pascal Leroy, Director General of the WEEE Forum. October 14th is International E-Waste Day, when the world’s electronics producers and recyclers collaborate to increase the recovery and reuse of the more than 63.2 million tons of e-waste produced annually. But only 17.4% of that e-waste is currently recycled. The experience in the European Union, where 42.5% of e-waste is recycled, compared to about 15% in the U.S., provides useful lessons. Electronics manufacturers embraced E.U. extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws starting two decades ago but here EPR regulations are just being introduced.During the COVID Pandemic, purchases and use of electronics has increased around the world — in Europe, the estimated increase was 4.6% in 2020 compared to 2019 — making it more important than ever that we recycle e-waste.

Mitch Ratcliffe talks with Kate Gaertner, the author of Planting a Seed: Three Simple Steps to Sustainable Living and an expert who has advised companies about enacting sustainable business practices for several decades. She recently shared an article on Earth911, Developing Habits for a Sustainable Life. We talk about the values-based decisions for sustainable living in the article and her advice for individuals and companies that want to turn the corner to achieve dramatically improved environmental outcomes.

The future is not written, we can make a better, sustainable future for our children according to Chunka Mui, cofounder of the Future Histories Group and co-author of A Brief History of a Perfect Future: Inventing the world we can proudly leave to our kids by 2050, with Paul Carroll, a former reporter and editor at the Wall Street Journal, and Tim Andrews of consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton. They crafted a vision for evolving our society and technology to achieve an environmentally sustainable and just world. Their book describes how computation, telecommunications, and information can help to tune the waste out of our economy while innovations in genomics, energy, water management and transportation deliver improved health and sustainable use of limited resources.Starting from computing pioneer Alan Kay's quip that the best way to predict the future is to invent it, A Brief History of a Perfect Future presents a realist, and slightly pessimistic forecast for 2050, but they offer ideas about how we can navigate out of catastrophe. Their vision is far-ranging and we encourage you to read and decide for yourself. Do it with a skeptical but open mind and you’ll find that there are many paths through the climate and equity crises we face.

The Atlas of Disappearing Places, a new book by Christina Conklin and Marina Psaros, is a catalog of the coastal, island and deep ocean locations around the world most at risk during the Climate Crisis. It also forecasts how humanity, including individuals, governments and business, can collaborate to restore the planet.Humanity faces serious and difficult questions as it adapts to climate change. More extreme weather and rising sea levels will have dire consequences for the environment, human food production and the livability of populated regions, especially along the coasts. The stories in Conklin's book beautifully illustrate stories explore the consequences of changing chemistries in our ecosystems, the strengthening of storms, warming water and ice loss, as well as the consequences for humans and animals of rising seas along coasts around the world. The Atlas of Disappearing Places is available now in a beautiful hardcover edition on Amazon and at Powell's Books.

Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with authors Daniel O’Connell and Scott Peters about their book In The Struggle. It is  a chronicle of the decline of the traditional small farm in California’s Central Valley, the resulting social and political movement by small farmers and farm workers, and the lessons for future generations seeking equitable, environmentally responsible communities. Under the onslaught of industrial agribusiness, which manipulated provisions of several landmark federal laws meant to protect small farms, those farmers, farm workers and a cadre of university social researchers forged a resistance that attempted to preserve democratic agrarian communities against loss of income and political power.In the Struggle is also a narrative reflection on the process and purpose of sociological research featuring the stories of eight prominent ethnographic and community development professionals who worked in the region over the past 100 years. The lessons and tools identified are valuable in the battle to solve today’s climate crisis equitably. Daniel O’Connell is the executive director of the Central Valley Partnership, a network of labor, environmental and community groups, and Scott Peters is professor of Global Development at Cornell University.

Earth911 explores the circular economy potential of subscription hot-water-as-a-service programs with Gordon Olson, cofounder and CEO of Fairfield, Montana-based Torii Industries. The startup is committed to making “green water heating available to all.” They are launching a “hot-water-as-a-service” business that provides customers with a newly patented water heater design that eliminates the oxidation issues caused by traditional metal heating elements. Available through a monthly subscription, the Torii water heater uses a carbon foam element to rapidly heat water to a uniform temperature — it’s more efficient than traditional water heating. The inline, tankless water heater is more energy-efficient than conventional tank heaters. It also connects to a WiFi network to help you track energy use and identify issues before they interrupt service -- Torii will deploy a plumber to fix a problem before it becomes evident to the homeowner.Olson explains how Torii plans to grow a network of local plumbers who can install and service subscription water heaters. While subscription business models for essential home products may challenge homeowners’ ideas about ownership, they promise to recapture the materials so that they can be recycled. The Torii app will also provide customers with guidance about their energy use.

Recyclops founder Ryan Smith has a vision for locally grown recycling services. The company's Uber-like on-demand residential, apartment and business recycling service is available in 16 states and adds three or more new cities every month. With pickups starting at $12 a month, customers can place plastic, paper, cardboard, glass and other recyclables in a single-use plastic bag provided by Recyclops on their curb for twice-monthly removal and recycling. Drivers make about $25 an hour before their costs, servicing a regular route of about 100 customer homes or businesses. Find out where Recyclops needs drivers.Ryan, who has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 innovator, shares how he developed Recyclops from an initial idea in 2013. The company responded to the pandemic, which shuttered recycling services across the country, with a plan to relaunch recycling in 100 cities. He describes why the company selected single-use plastic pickup bags over reusables and how Recyclops can support recovery of branded packaging to enable improved recovery rates of hard-to-recycle items. The opportunities for innovation in a flexible, on-demand approach to recycling are virtually unlimited. Because anyone could start their own Recyclops route by recruiting their neighbors, the company's app is a potential launching pad for a new, resilient and constantly evolving recycling infrastructure built from the grass-roots up. Check out how to get started at Recyclops.com.

Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with Jon Chambers, cofounder of 8BillionTrees.com, which offers a variety of ways to “shop and erase your carbon footprint.” They've planted more than 6.4 million trees to date and make is simple to calculate how much CO2 your daily habits produce. For example, 8 Billion Trees provides tree-planting to offset your streaming video habit, a birthday party or your pet’s carbon footprint. Chambers and his cofounder Michael Powell set out to create “the most environmentally aware social enterprise on the planet.”

Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe explores the cultural barriers to a harmonious relationship with nature in conversation with author Philip Loring about his book, Finding Our Niche. Loring is the Arrell Chair in Food, Policy and Society at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. He writes that “reconciliation takes hard work at all levels, from federal governments to within individuals’ hearts and minds. It requires that we dismantle our existing, imbalanced systems of power and privilege, give the land back to Indigenous peoples and then trust, rather than fear, what these actions will mean for us settlers.” His meditative writing based on decades of research in indigenous communities is a pleasure to read, opening paths to discovering the sense of stewardship that humans must bring to their interactions with the environment if we are to recast our lifestyles. Phil discusses myth, metaphor and the shifts in thinking that can transform our relationship with nature. A climate optimist, Loring also talks about the value of speculative science fiction, including Star Trek, as humanity wrestles with its poor environmental record.