Sustainability In Your Ear

Earth911 talks with George Leonard, chief scientist for the non-profit Ocean Conservancy about the state of the oceans, plastic pollution and particularly the impact of COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) pollution. The organization recently completed its annual survey of beaches and waterways, during which it found 107,219 PPE items — masks, shields, and gloves among other items. We seem to treat the sea as our dumping ground, but the oceans are a source of food and much of the world’s oxygen, and according to the United Nations global fisheries could collapse by 2048.Leonard describes the striking increase in PPE and its potential impact on aquatic life and human health, as microplastics spread throughout the food chain. We also discuss the recent documentary Seaspiracy and the Ocean Conservancy's work to develop sustainable fisheries around the world. The U.S. remains a leader due to strong regulation of its fishing industry but there are challenges around the world. We also talk through the basic steps each of us can take to reduce ocean plastic pollution, from eliminating single-use plastic in our life and learning about, supporting, and advocating for laws to strengthen environmental protection and enforce extended producer responsibility regulations.Visit the Ocean Conservancy at https://oceanconservancy.org/ to learn more and support their work.

Earth911 talks with Dr. Oliver Peoples, president and CEO of Yield10 Bioscience Inc., about the company's development of plant-based bioplastic made from flax (Camelina) seeds. Plastic is the most challenging modern material. It is ubiquitous and a major source of pollution, particularly in our oceans. But only about 8 percent of the 8.3 billion tons of plastics produced annually are recycled. By 2050, the world is expected to need more than 34 billion tons of plastic per year, but we cannot afford the environmental damage associated with petroleum-based plastics. Bioplastics, which are made from plant material and organic waste, can change our future, reducing our need to extract oil from the ground and making the resulting waste more environmentally friendly because bioplastic breaks down without leaving harmful “forever chemicals” in the ground and water. Yield10 Bioscience recently announced a successful field test to grow oilseeds that can be used to produce biodegradable PHA bioplastics that could help replace petroleum-based plastics. Dr. People's discusses the benefits of Camelina as a rotation crop -- it produces usable oils and animal feed in addition to the PHA polymer to make bio-plastic -- and the low- to negative-carbon production process required to make it. The material can replace plastic films, rigid and flexible plastics such as bottles and caps. He also addresses the use of bio-engineering technology to increase the seeds' PHA polymer production. Take a few minutes to learn about this emerging alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Visit Yield10 Bioscience at https://www.yield10bio.com/ to learn more.

Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with Charles Brennick, director of Business Development and eCommerce at Seattle-based 3R Technology, an electronics recycling company that also refurbishes and resells PCs, laptops, phones and monitors. He explains the two major recycling standards, eStewards and R2, and how devices are handled after people send them. Brennick also outlines the valuable materials in old electronics and how R3 refurbishes and sells PCs, phones, monitors and mother boards, extending their useful life and reduce the need for raw materials. eWaste accounts for 53.6 million tons of waste annually as of 2019 and is expected to rise to 74 million tons by 2030 -- twice the amount discarded just seven years ago. Only 17.4 percent of the ewaste was recycled, so your decision to recycle old tech can contribute to changing the electronics industry for the better.R3 Technology's SimplEcycle program provides a free mailing label and, if needed, a box to send multiple PCs or phones. The company has developed a discount program to help get PCs and phones to low-income kids and non-profit organizations. Take a few minutes to learn how to give your old computer or phone a second life -- if you have devices you'd like to recycle, request a free shipping label from 3R Technology and get started at https://store.3rtechnology.com/pages/simplecycle.

Stew Lawrence, CEO of CleanWell, a maker of botanical home cleaning products, joins Earth911 to talk about safe and natural Spring cleaning. We’ve been using several CleanWell products; read our review. The company uses a plant-based Thymol disinfectant in its products, which has been recognized to be an antiseptic for centuries. In laboratory tests, it killed 99.99% of germs and viruses, and the EPA certified it for use against the virus that causes COVID-19. CleanWell does not use alcohol, bleach, ammonia, phosphates or quarternary ammonium — all common ingredients in home cleaning products that range from being poisonous to a source of endocrine system disruption and water pollution.Lawrence shares the story of CleanWell's founding and the turnaround he executed on joining as CEO in 2016. We also talk with Lawrence about CleanWell's plan to replace its single-use plastic packaging. The company is testing new packaging. We also get some ideas about how to do a complete Spring housecleaning without toxic chemicals.

Expanded polystyrene has proven stubbornly uneconomical to recycle, but Augusta, N.J.-based Foam Cycle has an affordable solution that can be added at any municipal transfer station or community location. Earth911 talks with Foam Cycle founder and CEO Lou Troiano about the self-service foam collection and recycling system his company has installed in several communities around the country. Expanded polystyrene, also known as expanded plastic #6 or by the Dow Chemical trademark Styrofoam in its blue form, is 98% air, so it takes a lot of foam to produce a usable amount of the recycled resin. In traditional waste sorting facilities, it is impractical to sort and clean foam so almost all the 1,500 tons Americans produce each day goes into landfills.The Foam Cycle system fits in a shipping container. Troiano says that people who drop off foam at the New Jersey and Florida locations where Foam Cycle has systems generally place clean packing and food service foam in the system. The $75,000 units are financed by municipal waste management systems and entrepreneurs -- Foam Cycle seeks public-private partnerships -- and will break even in four to five years based on typical usage. Troiano shares that religious organizations are expressing interest in the system to help their communities deal with an intractable recycling problem and to raise funds for their ministries. A ton of the processed resin sells for between $300 and $500. If you're interested in solve its foam recycling challenge, check out Foam Cycle at https://www.foamcycle.com/.

Young people are stepping into leadership roles in the climate restoration movement. Earth911 talks with Ashley Meeky, the first youth ambassador on the board of the Foundation for Climate Restoration, a non-profit working to encourage global support for the development and deployment of carbon capture and sequestration technology. A student at Vanderbilt University, Ashley got involved with the organization in 2019 and participated in creating its 12-week leadership program that trains youth to speak and raise awareness about climate change and the 50 trillion tons of CO2 humanity has already put in the atmosphere. It's this existing excess that carbon capture technology can remove as we reduce CO2 emissions to zero over the next several decades.The foundation argues that we can return the Earth's climate to what our grandparents knew later this century, but without carbon capture technology it may take centuries to remove. The technology produces CO2 that can be used to make concrete, fuels and industrial materials including plastic and carbon fiber.Ashley shares her experiences with the Foundation for Climate Restoration and how she is shaping her goals for adulthood based on the realities of global warming. A young entrepreneur who runs a hair care business and her own Instagram accounts, Ashley believes that business must play a leading role in the end of the fossil fuel era and the prolonged cleanup the planet needs. And she explains her own daily steps to reduce her carbon footprint. The foundation and Ashley will be involved in the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change COP26 meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, this November with hopes of getting global support for carbon capture technology, which is already operational at ClimeWorks and Blue Planet, among other companies. She argues that the necessary efforts to reforest large parts of the planet must be augmented with an aggressive carbon capture program to reverse, not just stop climate change. Learn more about the Foundation for Climate Restoration at https://foundationforclimaterestoration.org/.

What would the world look like if we could turn post-consumer waste, including food scraps, paper, packaging and other materials into a bio-based plastic? Tato Bigio, cofounder and CEO of Tel Aviv-based UBQ Materials, which makes a low-carbon bioplastic using the waste headed for landfills. It's UBQ material can be used to make rigid plastic components for buildings, shipping palettes, and even food service trays at McDonald's restaurants. Bigio explains how each ton of UBQ bioplastic reduces CO2 emissions by as much as 15 tons, resulting in an almost carbon-neutral production process.The company is beginning to roll out the technology globally. Bigio reports he is hearing from brands that environmental responsibility is increasingly important to their success and survival. UBQ is building facilities in The Netherlands and has created an early partnership with a Virginia recycling system -- they want to build close to waste sources and manufacturing locations that can use the recycled bioplastic to minimize transportation impacts. To learn more about UBQ, visit https://www.ubqmaterials.com/.

Director Joe Gantz's new film, The Race to Save the World, captures the energy and personal emotional challenges faced by people to take direct action as part of the climate protest movement. It follows the stories of protesters who blocked oil trains and oil drilling equipment in Washington state; Michael Foster, the activist who shut down the Keystone pipeline in North Dakota; Aji Piper, a young environmentalist from Seattle who sued demanding state environmental protections be enforced, and; a grandmother who marched across the country to raise awareness about the climate, among others. Each of these dedicated and sometimes terrified activists sacrificed their personal lives, and in some cases their freedom, to fight climate change. Gantz' film captures the unique personal costs and collective energy that animates protest.Gantz is known for Taxicab Confessions, American Winter, and the recent film Ending Disease. The Race to Save the World will be released on Earth Day 2021 at select independent theaters and non-profit events, will be available for streaming on Amazon, Google Play and other streaming services. Learn when and how to watch this intimate documentary about the people fighting for the planet at https://www.theracetosavetheworld.com/how-to-watch.html.

Earth911 talks with oceanographer John Englander, author of the new book Moving to Higher Ground: Rising Sea Level and the Path Forward. His 2014 TED Talk provides stark examples of close relationship between CO2, climate temperature and coastlines -- Florida was half the size it is now during the last warm period in Earth's history and twice the size it is today during the last Ice Age. In his new book, Englander describes the challenges of sea level rise (SLR) and urges humans to prepare to adapt to rising oceans, because it is too late to stop significant SLR along U.S. and global coastlines. Those changes have dramatic implications for government, business, the global supply chain, and our own neighborhoods.Englander explains how the increased surface of a warming ocean will amplify extreme weather events we are already seeing in the form of wildfires, flooding, and drought. He suggests that governments need to discourage continued building along coasts by reducing flood insurance subsidies, so that people are not displaced in a disorderly way but can plan for living on higher ground. He urges people to think in terms of short (30 years), mid-term (50 years) and long-term (100 years) time frames to understand their SLR risk, but he argues that governments and business need to act today to be ready for disruptions from the already higher sea levels around the planet. He warns that accelerated ice loss in Greenland and Antarctica could lead to 5 feet or as much as 10 feet of SLR by 2050. We finish the conversation by discussing strategies for cooling the planet to prevent further damage, including the potential for geoengineering the atmosphere to reflect more sunlight back into space and carbon capture and sequestration technology.John Englander's previous book, High Tide On Main Street: Rising Sea Level and the Coming Coastal Crisis, jump-started the public conversation about SLR in 2012 and Moving to Higher Ground: Rising Sea Level and the Path Forward, which was released this week, lays out ideas about how we can respond and adapt to rising seas.

Author Kathy Freston joins Earth911 to talk about her new book with co-author Gene Stone, 72 Reasons to Be Vegan: Why Plant-Based. Why Now. The book explains the benefits of plant-based eating and exposes the unhealthy, often gross truth about our inhumane industrial meat and dairy complex. Freston explains the health and environmental impacts of the meat and dairy industry in detail in the book and the facts shares here will make anyone think twice before eating a hamburger. But being "veganish" instead of perfectly vegan is a great step for the environment, providing a greater positive impact on an annual basis than switching to an electric vehicle.We also discuss meat and dairy addiction mechanisms that tap into human opiate receptors to make cravings almost unbearable for some people, and Freston recommends adopting a plant-based meat alternative that contains heme proteins, which mimic the iron-rich components of meat and blood without the negative health consequences. There's also plenty to worry about in a pescatarian diet, Freston warns. Not only is the world's fish population expected to collapse by 2048 if current practices continue, the bodies of wild fish are shot through with plastic, mercury and pharmaceuticals that can harm our bodies.But the conversation is not all about bad news. Making the switch to plant-based eating can improve our health, mental acuity, and the planet. Tune in to hear about  72 Reasons to Be Vegan, and check out Freston's previous books, The Book of Veganish: The Ultimate Guide to Easing into a Plant-Based, Cruelty-Free Awesomely Delicious Way to Eat and Quantum Wellness Cleanse: The 21-Day Essential Guide to Healing Your Mind, Body and Spirit.