

Reversing Climate Change
Carbon Removal Strategies LLC
Reversing Climate Change is a podcast that bridges science, technology, and policy with the richness of the humanities. From the forefront of carbon removal and climatetech to explorations of literature, history, philosophy, theology, and geopolitics, we dive deep into the people, ideas, and innovations shaping a better future for the planet and its inhabitants.
If you love the show, please become a paid subscriber on Spotify.
If you love the show, please become a paid subscriber on Spotify.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 4, 2021 • 1h 5min
S2E62: The Oxford Offsetting Principles & carbon removal—w/ Eli Mitchell-Larson
Many corporations, organizations, and governments have made net zero commitments, and most are leaning on voluntary carbon offsetting to achieve these climate goals. But how can we be sure that such carbon offsets demonstrate a real change in the atmosphere? And how can we approach offsetting in a way that gives rise to an actual net zero society?
Eli Mitchell-Larson is a climate researcher and PhD candidate at the University of Oxford and the corresponding author of The Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting. He also serves as an advisor to Carbon Direct and is helping build a new carbon removal advocacy organization in Europe. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Eli joins Ross to walk us through Oxford’s four principles, explaining why the guidelines prioritize decarbonizing first and then negating emissions.
Eli describes why he advocates for a shift to carbon removal offsetting and long-lived storage, discussing why he believes nature-based solutions are crucial—but may not be appropriate for carbon markets. Listen in to understand the argument of why companies must support the development of net zero aligned offsetting (and what that might look like) and learn how you can get involved in Eli’s burgeoning advocacy organization that serves as a champion for carbon removal.
Connect with Ross
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Join Nori's book club on Patreon
Nori's website
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Nori on Medium
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Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Resources
The Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting 2020
‘Prosets: Making Continued Use of Fossil Fuels Compatible with a Credible Transition to Net Zero’ on Research Square
Eli Mitchell-Larson on Twitter
Carbon Direct
CDR Advocacy Europe
CDR Advocacy’s Open Executive Director Role
Carbon Takeback Obligation
George Monbiot’s 2006 Article on Carbon Offsets
United Nations Race to Zero Campaign
Silvia Terra
The Blue Carbon Initiative
Carbon180
Carbon Dioxide Removal Primer

Apr 27, 2021 • 1h 1min
S2E61: Paul Greenberg on The Climate Diet: 50 Simple Ways to Trim Your Carbon Footprint
There’s a lot of advice on how reduce your carbon footprint. But everything seems to come with a caveat. You can stop eating meat, but do synthetic meats require monoculture? You can boycott Bitcoin, but would that make the grid itself any cleaner? You can drive an electric car, but its battery is made with rare minerals. So, how do you make choices that really move the needle?
Paul Greenberg is the fisherman and bestselling author behind Four Fish, American Catch, and The Omega Principle. His latest book is called The Climate Diet: 50 Simple Ways to Trim Your Carbon Footprint. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Paul joins Ross to explain what we can do to support sustainable fisheries and why we should be ‘picky plant eaters.’
Paul challenges us to be mindful of how many children we add to the planet and shares his argument against building infrastructure that gets us ‘back to normal’ after the pandemic. Listen in for Paul’s insight on electrical versus gas appliances and learn how The Climate Diet can help you make conscious choices in a spirit of kindness to the environment.
Connect with Ross
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Join Nori's book club and Slack on Patreon
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Resources
Paul’s Website
Seaspiracy
What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins by Jonathan Balcombe
‘The Wrong Mine for the Wrong Place’ in The New York Times
Gidon Eshel
‘The Plant Prescription’ in Eating Well
Goodbye Phone, Hello World: 60 Ways to Disconnect from Tech and Reconnect to Joy by Paul Greenberg
How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price
Empty Planet on Reversing Climate Change EP105
‘Has the Pandemic Transformed the Office Forever?’ in The New Yorker
Carl Safina
‘We Don’t Need More Life-Crushing Steel and Concrete’ in The New York Times
Natural Resource Defense Council
Farhad Manjoo

Apr 20, 2021 • 48min
S2E60: Art out of thin (carbontech) air—w/ Madison Savilow of Carbon Upcycling & Expedition Air
Art has a unique ability to explain complex, oft-emotional topics in an understandable way. And that’s why Carbon Upcycling Technologies (CUT) is engaging with visual artists to educate the general public about carbontech. CUT offers their artist-collaborators free materials and tech support, encouraging the use of CO2-derived materials to create pieces that ‘showcase the carbon capture and utilization industry.’
Madison Savilow is the Chief of Staff at Carbon Upcycling Technologies and Venture Lead of CUT’s new consumer brand, Expedition Air. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Madison joins Ross to discuss the technology Carbon Upcycling uses to create solid materials like concrete, plastics, and consumer products out of CO2 and share her take on the tradeoffs associated with working with some of the largest players in the energy sector.
Madison explains what inspired CUT to launch Expedition Air, describing how a consumer brand helps educate the general public about carbontech and what other companies in the space are following suit. Listen in for insight into Expedition Air’s collaboration with artists Annalee Levin and Luis Merchan and learn how Madison and her team are using visual art to market carbontech.
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Join Nori's book club on Patreon
Nori's website
Nori on Facebook
Nori on Twitter
Nori Newsletter
Email podcast@nori.com
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Resources
Expedition Air
Expedition Air on LinkedIn
Expedition Air Artist Collaborations
Expedition Air Artist in Residence Program
Carbon Upcycling
Annalee Levin on Reversing Climate Change S2EP52
Carbon XPRIZE
Apoorv Sinha on Reversing Climate Change EP078
Rob Niven on Reversing Climate Change S2EP16
Clean CO2
Aether Diamonds
Air Company
Newlight Technologies on Reversing Climate Change EP014
Covalent
Captured Carbon Studio

Apr 16, 2021 • 1h 4min
Rebuilding trust in a polarized world—Dr. Kevin Vallier, philosopher at Bowling Green State University
According to the NOMINATE Index, the last time the US was this polarized was just before and during the Civil War. So, how did we get here? And what can the philosophy of public reason liberalism teach us about living together—even when we don’t agree on much?
Dr. Kevin Vallier is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bowling Green University and author of Trust in a Polarized Age and Must Politics Be War? Restoring Trust in the Open Society. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Dr. Vallier joins Ross to discuss the doom loop between falling distrust and growing polarization and address how we can learn to disagree in more a productive way.
Dr. Vallier explains liberalism in general and public reason liberalism specifically, describing how we might build a shared doctrine that appeals to multiple reasonable perspectives. Listen in for Dr. Vallier’s public reason argument for restricting carbon emissions and learn what we can do to rebuild trust in our institutions and each other.
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Join Nori's book club on Patreon
Nori's website
Nori on Facebook
Nori on Twitter
Email podcast@nori.com
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Resources
Books by Kevin Vallier
Trust in a Polarized Age by Kevin Vallier
Must Politics Be War? Restoring Our Trust in a Polarized Age by Kevin Vallier
Nolan McCarty on Google Scholar
Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation and Radicalization in American Politics by Yochal Benkler, Robert Faris and Hal Roberts
So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
John Rawls
Jerry Gaus
A Theory of Justice by John Rawls
Political Liberalism by John Rawls
Public Reason Liberalism

Apr 13, 2021 • 1h 12min
S2E59: Is endless growth Crazy Town?—w/ Dr. Jason Bradford of the Post Carbon Institute
Empires rise and fall. And while we understand these cycles conceptually, there’s a bizarre notion that we are somehow immune. That we can continue to evolve toward greater ease and material abundance generation after generation. That our potential for growth is somehow unlimited. But natural resources are finite. So, what happens when we run out?
Dr. Jason Bradford is the Cofounder of Farmland LP and Cohost of Crazy Town, a podcast produced by the Post Carbon Institute that explores “climate change, overshoot, and runaway capitalism”. He is also the author of The Future Is Rural: Food System Adaptations to the Great Simplification. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Dr. Bradford joins Ross to explain what differentiates ecological economics from other schools of thought and why some resources are simply too valuable to price.
Dr. Bradford shares his prediction regarding a great simplification of civilization, describing his vision of a future where we might still enjoy modern conveniences but at a very different scale. Listen in to understand why we he thinks we can’t ‘artificial ecosystem’ our way on to other planets, why industrial carbon capture is a bad idea, and how we might build a lower-complexity society that is sustainable for the long term.
Connect with Ross
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Join Nori's book club on Patreon
Nori's website
Nori on Facebook
Nori on Twitter
Nori Newsletter
Email podcast@nori.com
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Resources
Crazy Town podcast
The Future Is Rural: Food System Adaptations to the Great Simplification by Jason Bradford
Farmland LP
Post Carbon Institute
Tom Murphy’s Do the Math Blog on Economic Growth
Enough Is Enough: Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources by Rob Dietz and Dan O’Neill
Paul Kingsnorth on Reversing Climate Change S2EP53
Ted Nordhaus on Reversing Climate Change EP100
The Breakthrough Institute
Kim Stanley Robinson on Reversing Climate Change S2EP51
Novels by Ursula Le Guin
Bernard Lietaer

Apr 6, 2021 • 44min
S2E58: Oceans and climate, Waves and Beaches—w/ Kim McCoy, oceanographer and author
Few of us live at sea, so the ocean doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves in the climate conversation. But Kim McCoy contends that phytoplankton deserve just as much consideration as polar bears, and it’s time for us to understand how rising temperatures impact the water, the wind, the waves, and the weather. After all, we all live downstream of climate change.
Kim is the oceanographer who updated Willard Bascom’s Waves and Beaches: The Powerful Dynamics of Sea and Coast, adding new insights around the impact of climate change. On this episode of the podcast, Kim joins Ross to discuss the impact of changing the amount of energy in a given system (i.e.: adding energy in the form of heat) and explain the relationship between changes in the atmosphere and changes in the ocean.
Kim shares the scientific data around the increase in accumulated cyclone energy fueling Atlantic hurricanes and describes how private property is becoming public due to sea level rise. Listen in for Kim’s take on interventions like iron fertilization and solar radiation management and find out what we can do restore the health of the hydrologic cycle that connects us all!
Connect with Ross
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Join Nori's book club on Patreon
Nori's website
Nori on Facebook
Nori on Twitter
Nori on Medium
Nori on YouTube
Nori on GitHub
Nori Newsletter
Email podcast@nori.com
Nori White Paper
Subscribe on iTunes
Carbon Removal Newsroom
Resources
Waves and Beaches: The Powerful Dynamics of Sea and Coast by Willard Bascom and Kim McCoy
Books by John Kretschmer
John Kretschmer on Reversing Climate Change S2EP33
John Martin’s Iron Hypothesis
Running Tide
Brian Von Herzen on Reversing Climate Change EP034
Brian Von Herzen’s RCC Bonus Episode on the Documentary 2040

Mar 30, 2021 • 34min
S2E57: Farming While Black: race and regenerative agriculture—w/ Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farms
Regenerative agriculture is sometimes branded as a new idea. But the tradition of maintaining soil carbon and honoring the earth, of leaving the land better than we found it, has been part of indigenous traditions for thousands of years. So, what can we do to re-center the stories of Black and Native American growers and give credit where credit is due?
Leah Penniman is the Co-Director and Farm Manager at Soul Fire Farm, an Afro-Indigenous-centered community farm committed to uprooting racism and seeding sovereignty in the food system. Leah has 20-plus years of experience as a soil steward and food sovereignty activist, and she is the author of Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation of the Land. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Leah joins Ross and cohost Rebekah Carlson to explain George Washington Carver’s work pioneered modern regenerative agriculture—two decades prior to J.I. Rodale.
Leah describes the work she has done to reclaim a connection with the land (beyond the oppression of slavery and sharecropping) and offers advice on reconnecting with your own indigenous roots. Listen in for Leah’s insight on the shift among Black Americans from rural to urban farming and learn how you can support Soul Fire Farm’s work to promote social and environmental justice.
Connect with Ross & Rebekah
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Join Nori's book on club on Patreon
Nori on Twitter
Nori Newsletter
Email podcast@nori.com
Listen to our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Resources
Soul Fire Farm
Soul Fire on Facebook
Soul Fire on Instagram
Soul Fire on Twitter
Soul Fire on YouTube
Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation of the Land by Leah Penniman
‘Why Farming Is an Act of Defiance for People of Color’ in Healthyish
Owen Taylor on The Table Underground Podcast EP030
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty
The land-healing work of George Washington Carver at Grist
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon
The Justice for Black Farmers Act

Mar 23, 2021 • 59min
S2E56: Celebrating your very own Climate Passover Seder—w/ Sarah Tuneberg of Geospiza
The Passover story is one of intense grief and loss as well as redemption and freedom. And while the Jews fled Egypt 3,000 years ago, many aspects of the story seem particularly relevant in a world plagued by extreme climate events and COVID-19. So, how might the events of Passover inform the way we think about climate change? Can we customize our Passover observances in a way that considers our responsibility to solve the climate crisis?
Sarah Tuneberg is the CEO of Geospiza, a software company that helps cities and corporations take action around climate risk, and she spent 2020 leading the State of Colorado’s Coronavirus Innovation Response Team. On this episode of the Reversing Climate Change podcast, Sarah returns to explain the Jewish tradition of the Passover Seder and explore how it might be customized around the theme of climate change.
Sarah walks us through the Seder meal, describing the inclusive nature of the service and the Jewish tradition of questioning that allows for reinterpretation of the Passover story. Listen in to understand how the idea of tikkun olam requires an active pursuit of social justice and learn how to incorporate climate elements in your Seder celebration this year.
Connect with Ross
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Join Nori's book club on Patreon
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Subscribe to Nori's newsletter
Email podcast@nori.com
Resources
Sarah on Twitter
Geospiza
Sarah Tuneberg on Reversing Climate Change EP094
New American Haggadah by Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer on Reversing Climate Change S2EP29
Jonathan Haidt
Books by Amy-Jill Levine
Greta Thunberg
An Overview of the Story of Passover
What to Expect at a Passover Seder

Mar 16, 2021 • 1h 32min
S2E55: Gather: Reclaiming indigenous foodways—w/ Twila Cassadore, Nephi Craig, & Sammy Gensaw
There is a growing movement among Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, cultural, and political identities. And restoring indigenous food practices is central to this work. The new documentary Gather follows several indigenous leaders as they work toward food sovereignty, demonstrating the hope and healing power of traditional food.On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, three of the people featured in the film join Ross to discuss how they got involved in Gather and share their work around reclaiming indigenous foodways with the world. First, traditional food forager and educator Twila Cassadore explains the importance of food sovereignty in the context of her work with the Western Apache Diet Project.Then, Apache & Navajo restauranteur and executive chef Nephi Craig of Café Gozhóó describes his journey through classical French cuisine back to Native food, exploring the power of indigenous food practices in healing chemical dependency and generational grief. Finally, Yurok fisherman and Ancestral Guard founder Samuel Gensaw III offers insight on the Fish Wars of the 1970s and his ongoing fight to protect future generations through indigenous food. Listen in to understand why he believes indigenous values are key in sustaining life on earth and learn what you can do to support Twila, Nephi, and Sammy’s work.Connect with NoriPurchase Nori Carbon RemovalsJoin Nori's book club on PatreonNori's websiteNori on TwitterNori's newsletterEmail podcast@nori.comListen to our other podcast, Carbon Removal NewsroomResourcesGather DocumentarySan Carlos Apache TribeWestern Apache Diet ProjectTribal Food Sovereignty Advancement InitiativeTwila Cassadore at the Quivir CoalitionCafé GozhóóSunrise Park ResortNephi Craig on InstagramNephi Craig on FacebookNative American Culinary AssociationVictorious Gardens InitiativeAncestral Guard on InstagramFishboneTradeCoGuardians of the River on YouTubeThe Fish Wars

Mar 9, 2021 • 36min
S2E54: Survivorman in an age of climate trouble—w/ Les Stroud, survival expert
Extreme weather can cause desperate situations. So, what can survival experts teach us about navigating wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, and severe winter storms? Can we prepare for these natural events without turning into full-fledged preppers or giving into the assumption of doom? How do we adapt to a changing climate?
Les Stroud is a filmmaker, musician, and author best known for Survivorman, the pioneering documentary series that launched Survival Television as a genre. He is also the author of the new children’s book Wild Outside: Around the World with Survivorman and the creator of the forthcoming PBS special Surviving Disasters with Les Stroud. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Les joins Ross to share his mission around connecting people with nature and using film as an outlet to teach bushcraft and primitive earth skills.
Les explains how his work is ‘changing into the future’ to help people adapt to climate change, stressing the general skills of resilience and ingenuity, and reminding us that the truth of survival is in community. Listen in to understand how Wild Outside encourages kids to have adventures in their own backyard (be it the back forty or an urban park) and learn how to prepare for natural events so that they don’t turn into disasters.
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Join Nori's book club on Patreon
Nori's website
Nori on Facebook
Nori on Twitter
Resources
Survivorman Les Stroud on YouTube
Les Stroud’s Website
Wild Outside: Around the World with Survivorman by Les Stroud
Survive! Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You Out of Anywhere—Alive by Les Stroud with Michael Vlessides
Les Stroud’s Wild Harvest
Surviving Disasters with Les Stroud
The 10 Bushcraft Books by Richard Graves
Primitive Technology on YouTube
Max Brooks
Survivor Man on The Office
Ray Mears
Bush Tucker Man