327 episodes
Reversing Climate Change Nori
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- Technology
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4.8 • 263 Ratings
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A podcast about the different people, technologies, and organizations that are coming together to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reverse climate change. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/support
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323: Is the Rise of a Global Middle Class Good for Climate?—w/ Dr. Homi Kharas, author of The Rise of the Global Middle Class
The world is becoming wealthier. Is that a good thing? Or should we be looking to simpler and less material lives? How does a middle class global population affect climate change, for good or ill?
On today's show, Dr. Homi Kharas, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution and author of The Rise of the Global Middle Class: How the Search for the Good Life Can Change the World, elaborates on what it means to be middle class, emphasizing the relevance of choice as a defining characteristic. People drop the concept all the time, but it isn't really clear what is meant by it. Is it about per capita earnings? Security? The type of labor done? Something else?
He explores how the middle class's values and choices intersect with issues like climate change and government policy. Dr. Kharas sheds light on the evolution of capitalism, arguing that it has always adapted to societal changes, and suggests that this continued evolution is optimism-inspiring.
He counters the narrative of a trade-off between material prosperity and carbon emissions, asserting that technology can and should allow for both!
Tune in today to get a dose of history and economics!
Resources
Dr. Homi Kharas's website
The Rise of the Middle Class: How the Search for the Good Life Can Change the World
Amartya Sen on Capabilities
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/support -
322: On Being a Climate Hypocrite—w/ Amie Engerbretson, pro skier and filmmaker of The Hypocrite
You are condemned to be free, and yet how much responsibility do you bear for the structures you inhabit? Do your individual consumer choices matter, or is it some distant political economy? Should we enjoy our time in nature on snowmobiles, or is that just one more bootprint on the road to hypocritical perdition? Do you need to be perfect in order to be an activist?
In this episode, Nori cofounder Ross Kenyon, and Thanks-A-Ton cofounder Siobhan Montoya Lavender, discuss the new short film from Protect Our Winters and professional skier Amy Engerbretson, The Hypocrite.
In this wide-ranging discussion, Amy discusses why she made The Hypocrite, which deals with how she went from climate ignorance, through the guilt of her carbon footprint and that of skiing, and became an imperfect climate advocate.
She emphasizes the importance of systemic solutions over individual perfectionism, revealing the often-paralyzing effects of aiming for personal purity in environmental activism. The film aims to inspire action by showcasing the power of collective efforts in outdoor communities, urging listeners to engage civically beyond mere personal adjustments, while also discussing whether duty must be done for its own sakes, regardless of how big of an impact it might have.
The session concludes with Amy's thoughts on political will as the paramount force for climate change mitigation, encouragement for involvement with organizations like Protect Our Winters, and the value of messy, imperfect advocacy.
Resources
Amie Engerbretson's website
Protect Our Winters website
Watch The Hypocrite
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/support -
321: Metalplant's Debut! Enhanced Rock Weathering, Coproducing Nickel, & Additionality—w/ Eric Matzner, Cofounder of Metalplant
Carbon removal is often conceived of as only separating greenhouse gases from ambient air. But what if it also creates other valuable products in the process? Should they still be selling carbon credits? Does this competition make it harder for carbon removal companies that can't produce additional value streams? What are the trade-offs here, and is financial additionality the right place to intervene if intervention is even necessary?
In this episode of the Reversing Climate Change podcast, Nori Cofounder Ross Kenyon interviews Eric Matzner, an alumnus of Carbon Removal Newsroom and Cofounder of Project Vesta who has a new venture leaving stealth mode called Metalplant. This is Metalplant's podcast debut!
This innovative project combines hyperaccumulator plants and enhanced rock weathering to extract nickel from soil and crushed rock while removing carbon from the air. Eric discusses the economics of co-producing nickel and carbon offsets, addressing the challenges of carbon removal scale-up, and his views on the importance of vertical integration in ensuring quality and cost control. The episode delves into Metalplant's initial operations in Albania, leveraging the country's rich olivine resources on non-arable land, and generating local employment.
Much of the conversation focuses on a possibly looming intellectual crisis in carbon removal: what does the industry do when it realizes that many of its methodologies are co-producing value besides carbon? Will it try to find a way to square that with conventional applications of financial additionality, or will they abandon or amend additionality to make sure co-producers aren't held down while the world desperately needs them to scale their operations?
So much to talk about, and there will almost certainly be more on this topic in the future!
Resources
Metalplant's website
Eric Matzner's website
Eric Matzner on Carbon Removal Newsroom back in 2019: "Project Vesta for olivine drawdown leaves stealth mode"
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/support -
320: Why We Die: Living Longer's Impact on Climate Change—w/ Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel Laureate and author of Why We Die
Why does death exist? Does getting older always mean getting wiser? Should we look to experience or youth for breakthroughs?
In today's episode of the Reversing Climate Change podcast, Nori Cofounder Ross Kenyon is joined by Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan, a 2009 Nobel Laureate in chemistry and author of the new book, Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality.
Despite growing lifespans, it isn't clear that we have become less avaricious or kinder as a species, at least to the extent that may be desired. Would that change if we had radically longer lives? Is that even likely at this point? Venki challenges much of the discourse around anti-aging, immortality, trends made fun of in Silicon Valley like blood boys, consciousness uploads, and much else. And of course, they discuss if and how this will impact the world's attempts to grapple with climate change.
Resources
Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/support -
319: How Nori Rebranded: A Case Study—w/ Heidi Sloane, Nori's Senior Marketing Manager
How should a climatetech company think about its brand? What if it's B2B? What if it needs to be both trustworthy and idiosyncratic at the same time?!
In today's episode of Reversing Climate Change, Nori Cofounder, Ross Kenyon, is joined by his colleague, Heidi Sloane, Nori's Senior Marketing Manager. Heidi led Nori's recent rebrand, which took it from a more playful B2C feel to something more sturdy and B2B. We used the agency Odi to help us with it. Great job, Odi!
Heidi explains how a brand can retain its personality and uniqueness while also communicating that it is serious about what it does and can be trusted. Just because one can sometimes act like a clown, doesn't mean one needs to dress like one. If you don't believe me, ask Leslie Nielson.
They also discuss how to lead stakeholder engagement in a way that minimizes conflict or typical committee dysfunction and make sure feedback is heard and synthesized without fetishizing consensus.
Resources
Odi
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/support -
318: Is the Climate Cooking Craze Missing the Point?—w/ Tamar Adler, author of An Everlasting Meal
Seems like a new book on climate-friendly cooking is constantly being released. Do they matter, or do they unfairly place the burden of political economy and social change on the lowly consumer? What type of cooking might actually be impactful, and why? Why do we even bother cooking anyway?
In today's Reversing Climate Change podcast, Nori Cofounder and Director of Creative & Marketing, Ross Kenyon, is joined by Tamar Adler, a James Beard awardee and author of several books, including An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace, The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z, and Something Old, Something New: Classic Recipes Revised.
Tamar shares her unique approach to cooking which emphasizes the beauty of the endless transformation of ingredients, utilizing and elevating leftovers, and making food an enduring lifestyle rather than a collection of discrete meals.
This focus on transformation, leftovers, and creatively utilizing so many of the parts we often throw away, has an obvious climate angle. But Tamar isn't convinced that's the best reason to pursue her way of cooking, and in fact, doing it for political purposes may make it hard to sustain for the same reasons that diets are hard to sustain: if it isn't joyful, it's a burden. And if it's a burden, it is so much harder to sustain.
Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of An Everlasting Meal, and subscribe to Tamar's new Substack, The Kitchen Shrink, where you can ask her all of the cooking questions you've kept locked in your root cellar.
Connect with Nori
Purchase Nori Carbon Removals
Nori's website
Nori on Twitter
Check out our other podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom
Carbon Removal Memes on Twitter
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
Tamar's website
An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace
The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z
Something Old, Something New: Classic Recipes Revised
The Kitchen Shrink
The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection by Robert Farrar Capon
The River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reversingclimatechange/support
Customer Reviews
Always thought-provoking and insightful
Reversing Climate Change has expanded my knowledge of and connection to the climate community in the most delightful way. Ross and the other hosts ask great questions EVERY TIME that lead to unique conversations and leave me pondering episodes for a while afterwards. More often than not, I take topics covered from these episodes and introduce them to people in my personal life, and am rewarded with wonderful conversations. Thank you to Ross and every guest featured on the podcast for making this show such a rewarding journey to follow along with.
Two Stars
Very low intellectual level, no science, very high amount of self-justification for leading a high-carbon footprint life.
LOVE this podcast!
This podcast is one of the best out there. Unlike other climate change podcasts that focus on the problem of climate change, this podcast offers insightful discussions about solutions. I enjoy Ross’ humor and how he’s unafraid to ask the necessary hard questions. The guests (and Ross) are extremely knowledgeable and unafraid to answer the hard questions. Overall, I love love love this podcast! Not only is it entertaining but the content is just unbeatable.