Sustainable Minimalists

The enviro-news you need to know for Friday July 14, 2023:[00:30] Flash floods 101[3:30] An alternative to single-use plastic packaging is (almost) here![9:00] 12 years later, Fukushima has an awful lot of wastewater. What should be done with it?[13:00] Introducing the Devil's Hole Pupfish  Join our (free!) community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube. Email me and say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com. Our Sponsors:* Thank you to LifeStraw! https://lifestraw.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists/exclusive-content

Spending time in nature is recreation; it's also restorative and preventative medicine. Enter forest bathing which, like yoga, has been around for centuries and is now gaining newfound popularity amongst those of us who are overexposed, overworked, and overscheduled.On today's show author Ben Page invites us to connect with nature - and ourselves - in a new way.Here's a preview:[5:00] Japan and shirin-yoku: The origins of modern forest bathing[9:00] Why bother? Here's a laundry list of forest bathing's health and wellness benefits[17:00] How to forest bathe, step by step (with newbie questions in rapid fire format)[33:00] Biophilic interior design for wellness Resources mentioned: Healing Trees: A Pocket Guide To Forest Bathing Bringing Nature Inside Can Improve Your Health. Here’s How To Do It. (Via The Washington Post) Episode #352: Growing Joy With Plants --Join our (free!) community here.Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube.Email me and say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.Our Sponsors:* Thank you to LifeStraw! https://lifestraw.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists/exclusive-content

When it comes to reducing cell phone use, we've all heard the advice. Turn off notifications. Unfollow and unfriend. But this advice? It's stale. Shallow, even, because it does little to *actually* reduce time spent on screens.We often discuss gatekeeping our homes and the responsibility that comes with deciding what gets granted admittance. On today's show we identify what it means to be the gatekeeper of our peace by once and for all getting intentional with our tech. Here's a preview:[10:30] Enter white space: How to incrementally extend the length of time between your cell phone checks[12:30] Has the work-from-home movement ballooned our use of tech?[18:30] Here's the stuff you really, really should be deleting from your phone[22:00] The one phone-related step you can take to improve your focus, well-being, and relationships[26:00] Are you a phubber? Resources mentioned: Episode #292: The Minimalist Cell Phone Movement Join our (free!) community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube. Email me and say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com. Our Sponsors:* Thank you to LifeStraw! https://lifestraw.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists/exclusive-content

The enviro-news you need to know for Friday July 7, 2023:[00:45] The rise of livestream e-commerce in China[5:00] Is passive cooling the way of the future?[10:00] Are insects wildlife? Well, it depends on where you live[12:00] Wealth matters. So does population density Resources mentioned:  Dow Cool Roof Energy Calculator Join our (free!) community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube. Email me and say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.  Our Sponsors:* Thank you to LifeStraw! https://lifestraw.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists/exclusive-content

Spoiler alert: Disposable diapers are terrible for the planet. They account for about 2% of all landfill waste in the US; worse – because they're made of plastics – they decompose very, very slowly. Before their arrival on the commercial scene in the 1960s babies were fully potty trained by 18 months. But thanks to this "convenient" option, these days the average potty training age is 3 years. Andrea Olson is the voice behind the über popular method of bathroom training called elimination communication. On today's show Andrea explains the ways in which diaper companies play on our fears of being bad parents to push their single-use products; she also breaks down the steps she took to get her children out of diapers in half the time. Here's a preview:[4:45] Thoughts on intentionality in potty training as being better for both our children and the planet they will inherit[9:00] A history of potty training: What did humans do before disposable diapers?[16:00] Addressing common criticisms: Does elimination communication have adverse effects on a child's development?[24:00] So how does it work, exactly? Resources mentioned: Go Diaper Free podcast Andrea on Instagram Commons app  Our Sponsors:* Thank you to LifeStraw! https://lifestraw.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists/exclusive-content

The (positive!) enviro-news you need to know for Friday June 30, 2023:[00:30] The latest re: nature's healing effects on human health & wellness[2:45] The planet gets a big win in Switzerland[4:00] 400 Panamanian golden frogs, 6 black-footed ferries, and a western lowland gorilla[9:00] What's living at the bottom of the ocean? (We don't know!)[12:00] The climate denying tide, it is a-changin'  Join our (free!) community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube. Email me and say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com. Our Sponsors:* Thank you to LifeStraw! https://lifestraw.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists/exclusive-content

The world has a big fat carbon problem. There’s already too much of it in the atmosphere and – thanks to both our lifestyles and corporations' polluting, business-as-usual practices – we're emitting even more carbon into the atmosphere each and every second.Enter carbon capturing.Today in honor of Climate Optimism Week we are outlining the latest and greatest in the carbon capture game. Here's a preview:[2:00] A carbon capture primer: What it is, why we need it, and why trees are simply no longer enough [5:00] 2 examples of small-scale carbon solutions[11:00] The main differences between post combustion capture and direct air capture[18:00] What on earth should we do with the carbon we end up capturing? [21:00] Let's not put all our eggs in the carbon capture basket! Here's why --Join our (free!) community here.Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube.Email me and say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.Our Sponsors:* Thank you to LifeStraw! https://lifestraw.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists/exclusive-content

When the climate narrative is all doom and gloom, many of us find it difficult to rally. It's the Snooze Button Effect in real-time: the barrage of "climate apocalypse" headlines lose their urgency, their potency.If you're desensitized to environmental news, know that you're not alone.Today I speak with angry-activist-turned-climate optimist Anne Therese Gennari about becoming more resilient and motivated when confronting the climate crisis – and why optimism is key when it comes to rethinking how we live in this world.Welcome to Climate Optimism Week! Today’s show is the first in a two-part series outlining reasons to be hopeful in the climate fight. Here's a preview: [5:00] How can we be climate optimists when the planet’s future looks so dire?[11:30] 2 benefits to toning down the urgency [20:00] Can capitalism be our ally in the climate fight?[25:00] What it really means to maximize your positive footprint Resources mentioned:  What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming: Toward a New Psychology of Climate Action by Per Espen Stoknes Upchoose --Join our (free!) community here.Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube.Email me and say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.Our Sponsors:* Thank you to LifeStraw! https://lifestraw.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists/exclusive-content

The enviro-news you need to know for Friday June 13, 2023:[00:45] It's here my friends. We're living in the Fire Age[05:00] Cutting edge fire detection measures happening now[9:00] 5 steps to improving your indoor air quality[11:00] Air conditioners of the future Resources mentioned: The Best Home Air Quality Monitor (via NY Times) AirNow app Episode #312: 12 Practical Energy Saving Tips Join our (free!) community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube. Email me and say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com. Our Sponsors:* Thank you to LifeStraw! https://lifestraw.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists/exclusive-content

There comes a time when we're simultaneously sick of all the greenwashing and angry at the snail's pace in which change tends to occur. Because while doing our best within our homes is indeed impactful, it does little to create large-scale change.If you're dedicated to leaving the world a better place than you found it, you're ready to become an advocate.Today's show is the second in a two part series about creating a marketplace that puts consumers — not mega corporations! — first, and I'm speaking with podcaster Jessica Brennan about her transition from quiet-but-crunchy parent to loud-and-proud advocate. Jessica was pivotal in the passing of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) which is the first substantial update to cosmetic laws since 1938. Here's a preview: [5:00] How to know when you're ready to take your frustration and do something with it outside of your home[12:00] The surprising benefits associated with advocacy work[18:00] Want to be an advocate but don't want to picket? Here's how[24:00] Thoughts on using your voice for change even when it's scary Resources mentioned: Jessica on Instagram--Join our (free!) community here.Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube.Email me and say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com.Our Sponsors:* Thank you to LifeStraw! https://lifestraw.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists/exclusive-content