Earth911.com's Sustainability In Your Ear

Welcome to 2019 and the month of Veganuary. The Earth911 team gathers to talk about the growing Veganuary movement. People around the world are adopting a vegan diet during January and, if it goes well, embracing animal-free eating all year. We also explore the role of recycling oyster shells in the environment and the best ways to start this year's garden in January with indoor seedlings. Sarah Lozanova shares seed sprouting tips for healthier Winter eating and Trey Granger explains a cool new food waste-fighting app, Food Rescue USA. The app has already saved 32 million pounds of food. Plus, taking kids on environmentally positive trips to learn about their world and Earthling Questions!

It's the Sustainable New Year episode of Earth911's podcast as the team gathers around the microphone to talk impactful resolutions. What can we do to combat climate change, improve your use of renewable energy, reduce plastic pollution of the oceans, and lower CO2 emissions? What are the non-profits to support? How can we be better stewards of water? We also discuss getting involved in your community to reduce, reuse, and recycle? Getting kids and grandkids engaged wih sustainable thinking and ready to lead is an important contribution families can make to the world. In Earthling Questions, we answer the wrapping paper and bows recyclability question explain the options for old CD and DVDs.

The Oceanic Society (oceanicsociety.org) is celebrating Pantone's Color of the Year selection, Living Coral, a vibrant message that designers will use in media around the world. Earth911 talks with Wayne Sentman, director of Conservation Travel Programs at the Oceanic Society about the state of coral and raising awareness about coral bleaching and climate change. The organization encourages people to adopt "blue habits" that will reduce pollution and overfishing, as well as to keep coral reefs alive in the face of climate change. Pantone's Living Coral is a vibrant red-orange that could vanish from the natural world in our lifetimes that is "animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge." You'll be seeing it online, in magazines, and business cards, among many other places -- remember the coral reefs when you do and share blue habits with your community.

The Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business is a hotbed of innovation for the circular economy. Earth911 talks with the school's Dr. Beril Toktay and Michael Oxman about the application of sustainable practices in business and the future of careers in sustainability. If you are a student or a business owner considering how to turn green intentions into profitable practices, this is an interview that will open your eyes to many possibilities. Start your sustainable business journey with this podcast.

Vikram Aggarwal, founder and CEO of home solar comparison-shipping service EnergySage.com, talks with Earth911 about the costs of, and incentives available for, solar installations. The company, which provide free solar product comparisons and on-call expertise, has helped homeowners in more than 30 states get their houses off the traditional power grid. Aggarwal explains the many factors that contribute to decisions about which solar products to buy, as well as how long it typically takes to recoup the investment. We talk tech, policy, and the rapid adoption of alternative power by American homeowners. You'll learn where to start and how to get the biggest solar jolt for your buck.

Evelyn Fielding-Lopez and the Earth911 gang assemble at the microphone to talk about 2018's biggest recycling and sustainability stories. From climate change and environmental protection, to recycling policy in and its impact on U.S. recycling rates, it has been a year we think sets the stage for major changes. Also, what were the best green businesses in apps, retailers that use renewable energy, solar panels, and electric vehicles? We answer Earthling questions about latex paint (it can remain usable for many years) and DirectTV dish disposal.

Dr. Kinari Webb founded Health In Harmony (healthinharmony.org) in 2005 to help illegal loggers in the Boreo rainforest stop poaching trees. In a remarkable story, she and her team have reduced the number of families that rely on illegal logging for a living by 88 percent while virtually eliminating childhood deaths in the region. You won't forget this interview.

Sustainability In Your Ear follows the Earth911 team to the store for a holiday shopping that doesn't damage the planet. The gang explores whether online or shopping the mall is better for the environment. Sarah Lozanova introduces five green fashion brands to look for when shopping and our new list of top electric vehicles. Trey Granger takes us on a skiing green vacation. We also talk through the questions to ask when shopping for sustainably produced jewelry, how to request less wasteful packaging in your Amazon orders, and how giving experience instead of stuff can be the most memorable gift. Find eco-friendly gift ideas and hear the conversation about recent Earthling Survey results: Do You Prefer Paper or Plastic Food Packaging? And always more Earthling Questions, including what cookware goes into curbside bins and how to recycle lithium-ion batteries.

Evelyn Fielding-Lopez talks with Peter Mehring, cofounder and CEO of ZEST Labs, which makes produce-tracking sensors that extend the shelf-life of produce. By monitoring the condition of produce from the field to the store or restaurant, ZEST supports better decisions in the food supply chain. Learn how technology is being put to work to eliminate food waste that results in 40 percent of U.S.-grown food going unused.

Beth Porter, Climate and Recycling Director at Green America, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit, has studied the recycling system carefully. In her new book, Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: Sorting Out the Recycling System, Porter challenges established thinking and recounts the history of the single-stream recycling system introduced decades ago in the United States. With recycling rates stuck near 34 percent in the United States, and in the face of China's National Sword contaminated recycled materials ban, the country needs to establish a new recycling ethos. Porter also reintroduces an important American story about Scrap For Victory recycling campaigns during World War II that galvanized the homefront. Children, adults, communities, and companies pulled together to gather scrap metal to produce planes and tanks to fight the war. Why can't we make the same shared commitment today? Beth Porter thinks we can. Tune in to hear this inspiring conversation.