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Sustainability Defined

Latest episodes

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Jun 4, 2021 • 1h 6min

Ep 60: Sustainable Landscaping with Dr. Sharon Hall (Arizona State University)

Many Definers may enjoy laying in a lush, green lawn staring up at a blue sky while listening to the latest Sustainability Defined episode. We love that, but it's also important to think about how we got those landscapes and how we can maintain them more sustainably. This episode considers the footprint of all kinds of man-made and maintained landscapes, particularly the around 50 million acres of lawn in the United States. You'll hear about the many impacts of landscaping our environment, including the crazy amount of air pollution that comes from gas powered equipment, as well as techniques you can use to maintain a landscape you enjoy with less impact on the environment. Our expert guest, Dr. Sharon Hall, ecosystem ecologist and professor at the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, provides insights from her research on how humans interact with the residential landscape and from her own landscaping experience. Let's put on some gardening gloves as we get our hands dirty diving into sustainable landscaping. ----------------------------- Sustainability Defined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. Please go to www.sustainabilitydefined.com for more information. Our website has pages for each episode where there is a player to stream the episode, as well as hyperlinked intro notes.
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May 7, 2021 • 1h 3min

Ep 59: Eco-Anxiety with Dr. Lise Van Susteren (Climate Psychiatry Alliance)

Feelings of helplessness toward the ecological crisis, persistent worry about the future of the climate, intense guilt about your own carbon footprint... sound familiar? These are all symptoms of eco-anxiety, the focus of our 59th episode and something we at Sustainability Defined can relate to directly. Join us as we unpack what exactly eco-anxiety is, why it's so important, and what we can do about it. We're lucky to chat with Dr. Lise Van Susteren in this episode, a licensed psychiatrist and pioneer in the field of eco-anxiety.  Take a deep breath, press play, and come learn with us! ------ Sustainability Defined is the podcast that defines sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com
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Apr 2, 2021 • 58min

Ep 58: Biotechnology and Sustainability with John Melo and Beth Bannerman (Amyris)

Biotechnology may sound like a futuristic word, but utilizing living organisms and their derivatives to produce products and processes goes back a long time and continues to provide important products today. In this episode, we'll explore why biotech is important and its current applications that advance sustainability. We'll also dive into biotech's potential complications. Our interview is with the CEO and Chief Engagement and Sustainability Officer of a biotech leader, Amyris. John Melo and Beth Bannerman will explain Amyris' biotech platform and products – and how this science and technology contribute to a more sustainable future. We guarantee after this episode you'll be able to impress your friends with your knowledge of squalene (we didn't know what it was either!). ----------------------------- Sustainability Defined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. Please go to www.sustainabilitydefined.com for more information. Our website has pages for each episode where there is a player to stream the episode, as well as hyperlinked intro notes.
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Mar 5, 2021 • 54min

*UPDATED* Ep 16: Sustainable Beer with Katie Wallace (New Belgium Brewing)

Definers, we had to delay our brand spankin new episode to April so this month we're replaying one of our most popular episodes, episode #16 on sustainable beer. But, before we replay that episode, we have an updated interview with one of our favorite people, Katie Wallace of New Belgium Brewing. We ask her for updates on what she talked about in the original episode, the latest sustainability news (Fat Tire is now certified carbon neutral!), and general Katie updates (she has made the wise choice of joining Jay and Scott in getting a pet). See you next month for a new episode! ----------------------------- Sustainability Defined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com
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Feb 5, 2021 • 1h 10min

Ep 57: Energy Storage with Marek Kubik (Fluence)

Alas, it’s time for us to stop storing this episode and release it to our Definers. This episode focuses on energy storage systems, which – as you might’ve guessed – store energy until it is needed at a later time. This of course includes lithium-ion batteries that power everything from your car to your TV remote, but as we’ll discuss, there are other exciting storage systems on the market. In this episode we talk about the various energy storage systems, explain why storage is important, dissect its downsides, and discuss the exciting future for energy storage. Our guest is Marek Kubik, a man so busy that we’re pretty sure he has his own personal energy storage system that powers all his various pursuits. His day job is Managing Director of Fluence, a leading global energy storage technology company. Enjoy! ----------------------------- Sustainability Defined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. Please go to www.sustainabilitydefined.com for more information. Our website has pages for each episode where there is a player to stream the episode, as well as hyperlinked intro notes.
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Jan 1, 2021 • 1h 5min

*UPDATED* Ep 32: Reversing Global Warming with Paul Hawken (Project Drawdown)

Happy 2021, Definers! This month we have an update to one of our most popular episodes ever. We interviewed Paul Hawken of Project Drawdown back in June 2018. For those unfamiliar, Project Drawdown is a non-profit focused on helping the world reach “Drawdown,” which is the future point in time when the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline. The need to reach Drawdown is as important as ever, so we thought it would be a good episode to revisit to start the year. Before playing the original episode, we provide an update on Project Drawdown’s many activities since we interviewed Paul, including releasing Drawdown Review 2020 that has a new framework for the most impactful activities to reach Drawdown and starting Drawdown Labs to engage the private sector. We’ll be back next month with fully new episodes of Sustainability Defined. In the meantime, have a wonderful start to the new year and enjoy this episode! ----------------------------- SustainabilityDefined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com
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Dec 4, 2020 • 1h 4min

Ep 56: Sustainability & Spirits with Sophie Kelly (Bulleit Frontier Whiskey) and Eric Sprague (American Forests)

Congratulations, definers! You’ve made it through 2020! We think it’s time for a toast… a toast of whiskey, to be precise. Join us as we round out this unparalleled year by exploring sustainability within the spirits category. We begin this episode by unpacking the environmental, economic and social impacts of spirit production. We then distill how and why top spirits brands are diving into sustainability head-first. We’re joined by Sophie Kelly, Senior Vice President of Whiskeys at Diageo North America, and Eric Sprague, Vice President of Forest Restoration at American Forests, who help us understand the link between whiskey and stewardship of our beloved oak trees, as well as the actions Bulleit Frontier Whiskey and its parent company Diageo are taking to advance sustainability in their spirit production. Cheers! ------ Sustainability Defined is the podcast that defines sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com
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Nov 6, 2020 • 56min

Ep 55: 2020 Holiday Hodge-Podge

It's that time of year again, listeners/definers! The Sustainability Defined Holiday Hodge-Podge episode—a yearly tradition many consider to be as emblematic of the holidays as snow(wo)men and Mariah Carey. Join us as we review 2020's major podcast milestones, share updates from our personal lives, discuss our favorite sustainability stories of the year, and - of course - share our favorite sustainable gifts for this holiday season. Happy holidays and thanks for joining us through this year's wild ride! ----------------------------- Sustainability Defined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com
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Oct 2, 2020 • 1h 24min

Ep 54: Racism and the Modern Environmental Movement with Faith Briggs (Global Works Community Fund)

Like so many others, Sustainability Defined is learning more about structural and historic racism and what we can do to advance racial justice. This is the first of what we intend to be a number of episodes that focuses on particular aspects of the intersection of race and sustainability. We‘ve created a page on our website with a running list of valuable resources on racism and environmental justice (sustainabilitydefined.com/racism) for those eager for more info. Going forward, we plan to consider and include connections to racial justice in all episodes. We start this episode with the history of racism in the modern American environmental movement. We then explore the racist history of U.S. public lands, of which too many, including us, have been unaware. Next, we share the voices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color leaders on their perspectives toward the environmental movement and strategies to dismantle racism within environmental organizations. Last is a candid conversation with Faith Briggs, a racial justice advocate and trail-blazing filmmaker. We first became aware of Faith when we saw her documentary short “This Land” earlier in 2020 (you can watch it online for free!). We are so glad that she was able to join us and share her insights with our community. Have a listen, and for our U.S. listeners, make sure you've got your voting plan! ------ Sustainability Defined is the podcast that defines sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com
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Sep 4, 2020 • 60min

Ep 53: Pollinators with Rob Davis (Center for Pollinators in Energy), Kevin Hackett (NativeEnergy), and Elysa Hammond (Clif Bar & Company)

We run a family-friendly podcast here at Sustainability Defined, but in this episode, we’re going to talk about sex. Plant sex, to be precise. Pollinators play a critical role in moving pollen from male to female parts of the flower so the plant can reproduce. Without pollinators to help plants reproduce, we wouldn’t have all sorts of food and products that we enjoy daily, our ecosystems would be severely harmed, and we wouldn’t have all those pretty flowers to look at. The world of pollinators is huge; we’re guessing many of you listeners think of bees when you think pollinators, but there’s actually more than 200,000 species of animals around the world that act as pollinators. We’re going to talk in this episode about why these pollinators are important, what’s threatening so many of them, and what you can do to help them. We also talk with THREE awesome experts about pollinator-friendly habitat at renewable energy sites: Kevin Hackett (NativeEnergy), Rob Davis (Center for Pollinators in Energy), and Elysa Hammond (Clif Bar & Company). After all, what do you get when you combine pollinator-friendly habitats and renewable energy? Our favorite thing - a win-win! This episode is sponsored by NativeEnergy. ----------------------------- Sustainability Defined is the podcast that seeks to define sustainability, one concept (and bad joke) at a time. Hosted by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen. Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode. We have divided our organizational tree into the following seven sectors: Energy Cities Natural Environment Transportation Business Policy Social Each episode is categorized under one of our sectors and visually depicted within our organizational tree. The more episodes we complete, the more the tree will visually define what exactly sustainability means. www.sustainabilitydefined.com

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