How To Save The World Podcast

The Single Most Effective Thing

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 12:00:00 GMT

This podcast show started with Waveney asking the question, “what is the single most effective thing I can do to save the planet?’ Two years on, and 71 episodes later, both Tim and Waveney take stock of what actions seem to stand out from the rest and declare what their own personal ‘official’ winners. As always, the episode sticks to the show’s guiding kaupapa of focusing on simple solutions that trigger positive change through the whole collection of planetary woes from extinction, to microplastic, to climate change – connecting people with their power to make a difference.

This episode is the last episode for Season 2 and the last for the series. We’d to thank our major funders, (Huckleberry, All Heart, Ethique, Ecotricity, Kokako and the Live Lightly team at Auckland Council); the How to Save the World Team (Brody, Mariel and others who volunteered their time); and our amazing guests, listeners and biggest thanks of all to our partners, Zoe and Matthew.

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Green Living: Beautiful Extended Whānau

Sun, 23 May 2021 12:00:00 GMT

Journey into the world of Koia and Robyn, living sustainably in Manurewa, Auckland, with 9 other whānau members in a ‘not much bigger than average’ sized house. The episode starts with Koia leading a pōwhiri to formally welcome Tim and Waveney into their home and bless their time together. After the pōwhiri, Robyn shares her homemade feijoa cake and extraordinary feijoa skin fermented fizzy drink (how to details in episode). The manaaki and aroha flow out of Koia and Robyn, encompassing not just their whānau, but their community, and their environment. They both work professionally supporting others to be their best, Robyn working with tamariki at a kōhanga reo (https://www.kohanga.ac.nz/) ; and Koia working with community members at the ME Family Services centre in Mangere East (http://www.mefsc.org.nz/). Koia shares from the heart about how Whare Tapa Whā transformed his life and about how they got to where they are today as a whānau.

Glossary of terms:

· Whānau / family

· Pōwhiri / welcome ceremony

· Manaaki / to show respect, generosity and care for others

· Aroha / love

· Tamariki / children

· Kōhanga reo / Māori language nest school

· Whare Tapa Whā / a Māori model of health and wellbeing encompassing:

o Taha tinana (physical health)

o Taha wairua (spiritual health)

o Taha whānau (family health)

o Taha hinengaro (mental health)

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Should We Have Less Kids?

Tue, 04 May 2021 12:00:00 GMT

The desire to have and love children is one of the strongest, most basic human urges. But studies show that having less kids or no kids is by far the single most impactful action you can take to create a more sustainable tomorrow. So is there any wiggle room in these studies? Or could we justify having a baby on other grounds? Perhaps countries with low birth rates and high consumption rates, (i.e us here in Aotearoa and other wealthy nations), should actually focus the way we consume? We love babies here at How to Save the World and see this episode as a chance to personally reflect on what feels right for you, not as a chance to forward to your prodigiously reproducing friends. It’s a hard topic - so hard in fact that it is usually completely omitted from civic debate or sustainability forums.

Thanks to those who have gone there, notably:

North & South Magazine, Feb 2020, ‘Saving Planet Earth One (Less) Child at a Time’ by Sharon Stephenson
Population Matters (website & Facebook page)
8 Billion Angels movie
UN Sustainable Development Goals - less population video:
University of Lund and University of British Columbia, 2017 Study (cited in N&S article)
BIoScience journal, 2019 Report, ‘World scientists’ warning of a climate emergency, (cited in N&S article)
Project Drawdown, health & education of women

If you’d like to take more control of your fertility:

Hooray, in Aotearoa all LARCS (long lasting reversible contraceptives) (i.e. implant and IUDs) are now completely funded.
Have a contraception plan: visit any Family Planning Clinic for professional, non judgemental advice and support

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How To Buy Organic Food Cheap

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 12:00:00 GMT

Buying organic food (food grown without the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides) is crucial to restoring the earth and protecting our biodiversity. But it costs the earth to do the right thing, right? WRONG! In many cases, buying organic food can save you money. In this episode, Waveney explains how.

It all starts with intention, knowing WHY to buy organic and making the decision. According to the UN’s 2014 report on Food and Agriculture, the planet only has 53 harvests left on our current trajectory.

If you’re a regular supermarket shopper, it can be as simple as looking for the organic label of the food you’re already getting, which may involve looking in the slightly less obvious bits of the aisle. Getting a food box delivery service that does organic veges like Ooooby is also an easy and cost-effective method of going organic – the meal plans mean you usually wind up with no spoiled ingredients. Farmer’s markets are a great way to source organics from your local area and connect with farmers who can tell you right there and then whether they’re growing organic crops – if you’re buying in season fruit and vege, even their organic prices will often beat the supermarket. Now we even have chains who focus on sustainable products, like Huckleberry, who have a huge range of products under one roof.

Buying organic food in bulk and joining a collective are great ways to save some serious coin. Try looking on Facebook groups for collectives in your area. Or get your own wholesale account from Ceres Organics and Ecostore. Just enquire via the website. Both have a minimum order value and minimum amounts of the product you can buy, so ask a couple of friends to join in.

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Change Is Coming w/ Leo Murray

Sun, 04 Apr 2021 12:00:00 GMT

One year on from our last discussion with self-described Worm Guy (and Why Waste founder) Leo Murray, he returns to discuss with Tim and Waveney what lessons we've learned from living with COVID for the past 12 months, and what we need to do next to try and protect our planet. We discuss the implications of simpler living during lockdown and the false dichotomy of mitigation vs. adaptation when it comes to responding to the climate crisis. We also chat about how we, as a species, may need change our thinking from relying on technology to connecting with each other.

We also celebrate the incredible change that we're seeing in ourselves and those around us, including tremendous uplift in the amount of shared understanding that change is coming and we need to address the climate and protect our environment. We also talk about Aotearoa New Zealand's unique gift in the form of te ao Māori and what we can learn from our tangata whenua’s world perspective.

Check out Leo’s worm farm rental business WhyWaste here: (Hire a wormfarm — Why Waste | Worm Farm Memberships)

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Are EV’s All They're cracked Up To Be?

Mon, 22 Mar 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Many countries including the UK, Sweden, France, Norway and the Netherlands are phasing out combustion engine vehicles in favour of EV vehicles. Here in Aotearoa, while there isn’t any comparable government declarations (yet), demand for electric vehicles, bikes, scooters etc is growing. This episode explores how EVs compare to fossil fuel cars in environmental terms as well as in terms of price, user experience and convenience. It’s a broad analysis covering the ‘old favourite’ pros and cons of EVs, new technological advancements and a peek into what our near ‘EV future’ could look like.

Special thanks to Theo Gibson from NZ EV podcast, Robyn Parkinson, an EV salesperson; and Matthew - EV enthusiast, EV driver and investor – who all generously gave me their time.

Resources

Lithium-ion battery recycling drop off in West Auckland: EcoMatters
E World Expo: 6 - 8 May 2021, The Trusts Arena, Auckland
EV NZ calculators and buyers guides
Ecotricity Buyer's Guide
Leading the Charge
Flip the Fleet
Robyn has kindly allowed us to share her EV buyers seminar ppt with you all, which is some of the clearest info I’ve seen overviewing the considerations (Google Slides)
2017 video on cobalt mines

Sources

Green House Gases

Lithium

Cobalt

Amnesty’s 2016 Cobalt Child Labour video
Guardian’s 2020 update

Battery tech

Tesla’s Battery Day announcement, 2020, YouTube
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Emissions Trading Schemes w/ James Shaw

Sun, 07 Mar 2021 11:00:00 GMT

The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is the New Zealand government's most powerful tool in reducing the amount of carbon we put into the atmosphere. But what exactly is an ETS? Tim sat down with Hon James Shaw, Minister for Climate Change (and co-leader of The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand) to get some questions answered.

If you've ever wondered HOW scientists measure the carbon capturing abilities of different trees, wanted to know whether native New Zealand trees are treated differently in the ETS or if the Government recognises the immense carbon capturing abilities of soil - you're in luck! James Shaw also shares some challenges he's had in his personal journey in reducing his carbon footprint at home.

LINKS

Ministry for the Environment’s ETS explainer

Stuff's 'Climate explained: How emissions trading schemes work and can they help us shift to a zero carbon future'

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NZ Seafood: Surprisingly Unsustainable

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Seafood New Zealand and our Ministry for Primary Industries tell us that we have a sustainable fishery, but many hapū, marine scientists and ANYONE trying to catch fish without commercial fishing equipment say it’s getting harder and harder to catch and eat fish, crays, and shellfish around the coast of Aotearoa. Join TIm and Waveney as they explore who’s right and how to make sure the fish you eat is not leading to the extinction of Maui’s dolphins or our unique seabirds or trawling through and destroying the seafloor ecosystem. Dig deeper with the associated how to Save the World blog: https://www.howtosavetheworld.nz/blog/is-it-ok-to-eat-fish-in-new-zealand.

Links and resources:

Rescue Fish petition: https://rescuefish.co.nz/ (from LegaSea)
Zero By Catch pledge: https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/campaigns/zero-bycatch
The Price of Fish Documentary, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIQNDYoymMU (from LegaSea).
Best Fish Guide, http://bestfishguide.org.nz/ (from Forest & Bird)
LegaSea (New Zealand Sport Fishing Council)
www.legasea.co.nz
Manifesto for inshore fisheries: https://legasea.co.nz/about-us/what-is-legasea/manifesto/
Forest & Bird
Ocean landing page: https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/oceans
Briefing for incoming ministers (Forest & Bird’s most succinct summary of the issues and proposition for change) https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/sites/default/files/2021-02/Forest%20%26%20Bird%20Briefing%20to%20the%20Incoming%20Government%202021.pdf

Photo credit: Rachel Mataira / Our Auckland https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/articles/news/2021/02/waiheke-local-board-gives-support-for-rahui-to-protect-the-island-s-kaimoana/

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Jacqui Forbes - Para Kore & Te Āo Māori

Sun, 07 Feb 2021 22:30:00 GMT

Production Note: Some of this conversation was featured in our last episode. This episode contains the conversations with Jacqui, in its entirety.

Waveney chats to Jacqui Forbes (Ngāruahine), the Kaihautū Matua (General Manager) for the Māori zero waste organisation Para Kore. Starting with Poihakena Marae in Raglan/Whaingāroa, Para Kore now has now touch almost half a million participants at wananga, events and presentations.

Jacqui is sharing knowledge with and between marae throughout Aotearoa to reduce waste and pass on methods to work with the environment. Her philosophy is steeply grounded in a Te Ao Māori perspective and using mythology like the Māori creation story - borne of the separation of Papatūānuku and Ranginui, we can look at we humans as being the youngest creatures inhabiting the land. Respecting that we are part of nature and thus need to protect our fellow living beings felt very normal to Jacqui from a young age and she shares stories from her upbringing which still inform her approach today.

Links

Collapse by Jared Diamond

Para Kore's website

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Roadtrip to Raglan (Whāingaroa): Part 2

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Join Tim and Waveney on a road trip to legendary surf town Raglan (Whāingaroa) to uncover the stories behind the town’s long history of ground breaking successes in sustainability.

In this second episode we explore:

Para Kore

Para Kore means Zero Waste in te reo. It is also a for Maori by Maori programme that came out of Whāingaroa / Raglan in 2009 and now has national impact. It’s goal is to support all marae to be working toward zero waste by 2025. Incredibly 449 marae have joined and over 500 tonnes of waste that would have gone to landfill has been completely avoided. Interview with Jacqui Forbes, Para Kore cofounder and General Manager.

Local food resilience

Growing and eating local food is arguably one of the most important things we can do to secure a regenerative future. We investigate a cluster of local projects led by different groups in Whaingaroa / Raglan including a government sponsored food resilience project, seed saving, ‘crop swap’ and an extraordinary group collecting food waste from each and every Raglan home to create a high grade compost (that can be used to grow more local food!) Interview with Liz Stanway, Whāingaroa Environment Centre committee member and Organics Team Leader at Xtreme Zero Waste.

xtremezerowaste.org.nz/foodwaste-collection-service (Food Waste Collection)

whaingaroa.org.nz/projects (Environment Centre)

facebook.com/groups/178142569374566 (Crop swap)

A household’s role in a sustainable region

Our hosts during our Raglan stay were Clare and David Whimmer, a household of adept perma-culturalists, 20 mins out of town. They kindly agreed to let us interview them as we were blown away by how they lived and inspired to see a tangible example of people living in and enjoying a thriving, sustainable region.

CHECK OUT THE BLOG ON THIS TOPIC at the How to Save the World blog. Raglan: New Zealand’s most eco-friendly town?

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Roadtrip to Raglan (Whāingaroa): Part 1

Sun, 10 Jan 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Join Tim and Waveney on a road trip to legendary surf town Raglan (Whaingaroa) to uncover the stories behind the town’s long history of ground breaking successes in sustainability.

In this episode we meet four locals. Two who have been part of rebuilding the standard small town economic model of shipping energy and food in / waste and profits out out; And two who have mobilised hundreds of community members to turn around collapsing fish stocks and seabird populations to thriving ecosystems heaving with life. All of the projects are ground breaking in timing or scale, with relevance internationally for anyone wanting to understand more about creating sustainable futures beyond the confines of consumer choice and citizen advocacy.

We would like to mihi Ngāti Tahinga of Tainui, the mana whenua (hapu with territorial rights and authority in the area) kaitiakitanga (gaurdians) of Waingaroa. Their whare tupuna is Tainui a Whiro. Their marae connects to the Tainui waka, the moana Whaingāroa, the awa Wainui and the maunga Karioi. Leaders from this hapu, notably whaea Eva Rickard, have led the way in envisioning, advocating, transforming and enabling. “Don’t wait for permission to do something about it.” Tautoko koutou. (We were unable to interview representative of Ngāti Tahinga of Tainui).

In this episode we cover:

Raglan Naturally

The community led town plan that was 20 years in the making and recently adopted by the Waikato District Council as the town’s official long term plan. Interview with Gabrielle Parson, Raglan Naturally coordinator and Raglan Community Board member.

Xtreme Zero Waste

The community owned resource recovery centre that prevents 75-80% of Raglan’s “rubbish” (read “resources”) from going to landfill. Interview with Rick Thorpe Xtreme cofounder and Innovations Manager.

Raglan Community Energy

A community enterprise that has Whaingaroa on its way to be Aotearoa’s first energy independent town. Interview with Rick Thorpe, also Coordinator of ‘Raglan Local Energy.’

Whaingaroa Harbour Care

The riparian planting project has had one of the most successful engagement rates with farmers and fishers in the country. Interview with Fiona Edwards, Whaingaroa Harbour Care Project manager

Kari-oi Maunga ki te Moana

A community led epic trapping project with 350 volunteers regularly checking 2048 traps. Interview with Kristel van Houte, Kari-oi Maunga ki te Moana Project Manager.

If you are inspired to make a difference in your local community, these organisations might be a good place to start:

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New Year's Resolutions for 2021

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:00:00 GMT

We’re bidding farewell to 2020 and a big, hopeful hello to 2021 so time for some intention-setting and New Year’s resolutions.

Waveney’s found a study scientifically proving we put more stock into the goals we set at the start of a New Year and have more success keeping them vs goals set at other times of the year. We discuss the tips for successful goal-setting, including making them Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. It’s also important to make resolutions and goals as simple as possible, link them to your personal values, and don’t be unrealistically ambitious with behaviour change. So what can we do for sustainability in the next 12 months?

Waveney has decided to avoid op-shop clothes shopping to avoid buying a surplus of stuff she won’t wear. Tim has decided, sort of, the opposite! He’s only buying second-hand clothes for the entire year (excluding socks and undies) taking inspiration from the HTSTW Six Items Challenge episode. He’s also buying a second-hand bike to throw his personal weight behind building a more bikable city in Auckland.

There’s got loads of suggestions for sustainable new year’s resolutions drawing inspiration from previous HTSTW episodes, from the painfully easy, like moving your kiwisaver to a sustainable fund (see Climate Action w/ Erica Finnie from 350.org) to going meat-free on Mondays/doing vegan meals once a week, to the more challenging like knocking out Palm Oil or starting a worm farm or reducing your carbon footprint using FutureFit.nz.

As always, this is a great opportunity to start eating more locally, more organically and more environmentally minded.

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Eco Pets

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 11:00:00 GMT

In many homes the family dog or cat occupies a special place in our hearts. We cry when they die (and we all secretly think puppies and kittens are cuter than babies). But have you ever stopped to wonder if our modern day pet obsession is “eco-friend or foe”? In this episode Waveney and Tim ask ‘what is the environmental pawprint of our pets?’ and explore what it takes to be a sustainable pet owner. They talk about the best food options; eco-friendly flea treatment; how to deal with toilet waste onsite; and the pitfalls of those incredibly cute dog onesies and all the other crazy consumption we do on their behalf - before finishing with a shout out to the very best of the natural vegetarian pets… guess what pet Tim has always secretly wanted but never had?

Plus check out the How to Save the World blog with a special guest writer Alex who shares her ‘cat litter saga’ with us - well worth the read for any pet owners with litter boxes.

Studies and resources mentioned in this episode

General:

2017 US study finding cats and dogs responsible for 25-30% of the environmental impact of all meat consumption in the US
Esther Woolfson, “Between Light and Storm” a study of our history of pets & Guardian Longread excerpt

Food:

Home made dog food recipe
The Raw Dog Food Company
Jimbo’s: minimally processed fresh meat pet food. Available in supermarkets.
Home made dog treats from Lauren Singer, Trash is for Tossers: organic whole wheat flour, peanut butter, chicken stock
Coming soon - In Zect Direct dog treats (cricket protein and spent grain from beer making)
Green Elephant online store - dog treat range, (packaging… carbon foot print)

Toileting

Enso Pet compost system from Zing Bokashi:
DIY subterranean composting with worms
Rubbish Free
Compost Collective

Fleas:

Recent UK study ‘waterways to be routinely and chronically contaminated with the active ingredients from cat and dog flea treatments’. Avoid Fipronil and Imidacloprid.
How...
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Sustainable Gift Giving

Sun, 29 Nov 2020 11:00:00 GMT

This holiday season, we're trying to be conscious of not buying plastic-y, non-Earth friendly gifts for people that they may not even like! So we've got 10 suggestions for sustainable gifts for everyone you will be gift-giving to this year.

1) Christmas Crackers from KidsCan

They’re only $2.50 each from Countdown, Harvey Norman, The Coffee Club and other retailers. Inside you’ll find a party hat, cheesy joke and the chance to win a spa pool, trampolines, toys, and sweet treats instead of a plastic toy everyone throws in the bin.

Even better, DIY crackers – You can buy the Bang from spotlight, rescue the rest. Creative Junk in Christchurch (who also do gift vouchers) or North Shore Recycling Centre, or wherever is close to you. Whole bag of craft supplies for $10. Hopper in Wellington also have eco-friendly crackers.

2) Ethical, natural cosmetics and skincare from Go Native NZ

Go Native are a premium online seller/supplier of natural, organic and ethical skincare ingredients. Over the almost 20 years the business has been around, they’ve developed a global network of suppliers of essential, carrier and fragrance oils, cosmetic butters, waxes, raw materials, ready-to-go bases, and more. The ingredients must be ethically sourced and where possible they buy direct from the growers, so they can establish a relationship with them. You can buy raw ingredients, made products OR Make Kits which are a really fun gift.

3) Nectar Feeder

A fantastic way to support native birdlife and easy to make yourself (or buy one). Forest and Bird have a great guide on how to make one, the benefits of a nectar feeder and things to remember when you have one.

To make a sugar feeder, take a one-litre milk bottle and attach the lid to a shallow dish or jar lid. Fill the milk bottle with sugar water and make a few small holes about 0.5cm from the bottom of the bottle. Screw it into the lid and turn the dish upside down. Sugar solution will come out of the bottle and fill the dish to the height of the holes.

Banks Peninsular Conservation Trust pamphlet (warning: PDF) on care and concerns. Buy ready-made for about $60 delivered to your door.

4) A Bee House

It’s crucial we start looking after our pollinators and a the most effective in the bee family are solitary bees, which need housing while doing their job all day. The ready-made houses start from $30. You can even make these with recycled materials, using a waterproof container (1.5L fizzy drink bottle), wool, air drying clay, string, holy tubes such as bamboo. Video instructions are here and here.

5) String Art Kit

They’re back in fashion and a beautiful way to provide art and stress relief to someone you care about. All you need is a backing board, nails, wool or string and an image. You tack nails in and provide string. Any wooden...

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Plant Milk Review

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:00:00 GMT

Concerned about the environmental impact of dairy milk? Heard unsettling rumours about some of the plant based alternatives? Confused about your plant milk options? In this episode you can find out how to get hold of delicious, fresh, environmentally friendly milks that are affordable and easy; We go behind the scenes of the world’s massive soybean, almond, rice, oat, coconut, cashew, buckwheat, sunflower and pumpkin seed plantations; We consider the importance of packaging and also the importance of how milk ingredients are farmed (regardless of what crop it is). And, especially for kiwi’s wondering if they should ditch dairy, we dig into how Aotearoa’s farming practices compare to the rest of the world and why “buying local” really matters when you live in an isolated country in a far flung corner of the world’s largest ocean.

But let’s be honest, if it is too expensive, tastes weird, etc we aren’t likely to ruin our daily caffeine fix for the planet. So Tim and Waveney weave it all together in a one-stop-plant-milk-shop with taste testing, price information and a DIY plant milk demonstration.

Overall, we pronounce “oat” best in show. It’s one of the only DIY milks that require no soaking (we don’t actually mention on the ep). It is also one of the cheapest options, one of the best for the environment, one of the easiest to buy organically and locally and - rejoice and be glad - it performed very well in the double blind taste tests.

DIY NUT MILK INFO

The recipe used in the episode is:

1/2 cup of seeds / nuts etc of your choice, soaked overnight
Discard the soaking water and put the rest into the whiz/blender/bullet.
Add 2 cups of water in total - just a little at first to ensure everything gets cut up well.
Use a sieve to strain if you want to. (Most recipes online require you to force it through a cheese cloth, but the faf factor of that was way too high for us).
That’s it.
Use any strained out bits in dinner - just throw into whatever your making for a bit more bulk, texture, flavour, nutrition...

This recipe is the easiest you’ll find online, even easier than popping down the road to buy it. However, for those with the time and desire to create their own award winning plant milks we highly recommend the YumUniverse review of 22 DIY plant milks, (www.yumuniverse.com/plant-powerful-dairy-free-milk) with excellent summaries on taste and nutrition.

SOURCES

The globally relevant statistics and information in this episode come from Consumer.org; Oxford University review, Our World in Data; The Guardian, BBC science and wikipedia. Special thanks for the kiwi stats and info to the Lifecycle Association of New Zealand (www.lcanz.org.nz), Fonterra (www.fonterra.com/nz), the Organic Dairy and Pastoral Group of New Zealand (www.organicpastoral.co.nz) and Oak and Thistle (www.oakandthistle.co.nz).

https://ourworldindata.org/land-use
Consumer.org, Issue 589, April 2018
Environmental Engineering Science VOL. 35, NO. 11 | ‘Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Milk and Plant-Based Alternatives’,
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FutureFit.nz

Sun, 01 Nov 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Today Tim talks to Danielle, a Sustainability Advocate and Educator from Live Lightly. Live Lightly is a collaboration between community groups, Auckland Council and other partners that began in 2017 and provides advice for people so they can take personal action to tackle the climate crisis and reduce emissions. Their new initiative is New Zealand’s first gamified carbon footprint tool, called FutureFit and that’s what we’re talking about today.

FutureFit.nz is a free tool that uses New Zealand emission standards to measure your carbon footprint and give you personalised tips on how you can reduce it. Users fill out a short quiz, get their footprint, then register for free to choose personalised actions. You even get told how YOUR footprint compares to the national and international averages. It covers areas like Energy use, Transport and Food choices, and gives ready-to-apply tips on how to make positive changes. Some are one-off actions, some are ongoing behaviours.

Tim gets assessed and gets some worrying news about his carbon impact and gets recommended choosing local produce to bring it down. Danielle breaks down what a carbon footprint actually is and we have a discussion on individual and systemic change.

Check out FutureFit.nz right now and register as an individual, a household, a workplace or a group of friends.

Additional Links and Resources

futurefit.nz/business
livelightly.nz
Reducing Your Carbon Footprint Still Matters article by by Leor Hackel and Gregg Sparkman
Ways to save the planet Stuff article
100 Year Forecast: The Spin Off documentary series on the impact of climate change for New Zealand's future - Part 5: Towards Solutions
NZers’ true climate impact revealed - including imported goods Stuff article and Statistics NZ consumption-based emission data

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Green Living: Beautifully Urban

Sun, 18 Oct 2020 11:00:00 GMT

How could you possibly live sustainably in an apartment? Don’t you need a bit of earth and a bit of space to crack sustainability? To find out, the How to Save the World podcast team is drawn out of the studio for the very first time to visit apartment dweller and advocate Angela Lees.

Angela lives in a 60m2 apartment in Otahuhu, Auckland with two flatmates and two cats. It’s a sunny spot with a sweeping view of the Auckland isthmus, maunga and city. Angela, who works from home and keeps very busy with part time study as well, made a conscious decision to buy something small and central. It’s a choice that more and more urban New Zealanders are making, but the interesting thing is, sustainability was high on Angela’s agenda when she decided against a far flung house and section further out.

In terms of sustainability every lifestyle has its wins and drawbacks, for those living in a compact space in highly populated areas, or perhaps considering it, Angela’s story highlights how apartment dwellers can be part of the solution. She embraces local shopping options, transport hubs and uses no additional energy to heat her home. And she also has thought through how to solve some of the trickier issues, like what to do with food waste.

Angela lifestyle uncovers some surprising bonuses of apartment life and the episode is packed with tips and inspiration for

Bokashi
Composting in small spaces
Gardening in pots, balconies and small spaces
Life without house maintenance
Connecting with neighbours
Low carbon living
DIY yogurt, kombucha and sourdough
Visible mending
Clothes swapping (shwapping)

Links to the shout outs in this episode:

Bokashi by Zing Bokashi
Sharewaste, an Auckland based initiative for households with or wanting food scraps to directly connect.
Will and Able a company selling cleaning products that have a workforce of differently abled people, product stewardship and a social enterprise model. (Fantastic! But HTSTW would encourage you to check the ingredients against the Ecostore ingredient list, for more information)
Bin Inn - our old favourite bulk bin store. A great way to reuse containers and avoid plastic.
That Perfect Hour, Renee Williams, Visible Mending Instagramer

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What's The Deal With Hemp

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Why would we focus on one plant? Because Hemp is absolutely incredible, it has a truly impressive number of applications for us humans and is very environmentally friendly compared to its alternatives across the range of uses.

With a complicated legal, political and social history, it’s important to remember one thing from the outset: HEMP IS NOT A DRUG. Hemp comes from the same plant family as marijuana but you cannot get high from hemp. What you can get is an incredibly strong fibre, textile, food and medicine that humans have been using for over 10,000 years. In fact, hemp was very likely the first crop our species cultivated. It was used extensively on ships for sails and ropes because it’s strong and resistant to salt water and was so critically important that English lords were required by law handed down from King Henry VIII to grow hemp crops. It was that important to the Empire. It’s more modern history is confusing and frankly stupid, with Hemp being incorrectly swept by the War On Drugs and getting an unfair associated with marijuana.

Hemp can be used for textiles, and against cotton it is a MUCH more environmentally friendly alternative because it uses half the amount of water to grow and doesn’t require pesticides or fertilizers to grow. It is also much stronger (three to eight times) and harder-wearing. As a building material, so-called hempcrete has a number of benefits. First it is a carbon negative building. It sucks sequesters carbon when the crop is grown and continues to do sequester carbon while it’s in your house, for decades to come. It removes the need for concrete (which is highly environmentally damaging) and also knocks out the need for insolation like synthetic fiberglass. When it’s time for the house to come down, you can simply bulldoze and bury it.

Links and Resources

Laura Neish’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opotiki.hemp/

Erkhart Construction: https://www.erkhartconstruction.co.nz/

Hemp is not a drug: https://medium.com/cbd-origin/hemp-vs-marijuana-the-difference-explained-a837c51aa8f7

We’ve been using hemp for thousands of years: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5312634/

Until the 1920s, 80% of clothing was made from hemp: https://www.mit.edu/~thistle/v13/2/history.html#:~:text=Hemp%2C%20which%20has%20historically%20had,building%20materials%20still%20remains%20banned

The racist history of the cannabis plant: https://journals.openedition.org/echogeo/17650

Hemp’s advantages over cotton: http://www.howstuffcompares.com/doc/h/hemp-vs-cotton.htm

Hemp uses 50% as much water as cotton:

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Bonus: Beyond The Banks

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 20:00:00 GMT

Don't go buying Bitcoin as a green-friendly replacement for your traditional banking needs (but hopefully in the future the underlying technology, Blockchain can enable us to do some cool stuff). Check out DeFi for more info.

Liberty Trust is helping people buy a home in New Zealand by providing interest frees loan to people who donate to the Trust. Based on biblical principles of lending, Liberty believes that lending should be interest free. They require members to make their donation over a period of about 8 - 10 years, and after that time they are entitled to an interest-free loan of seven times the value. The donations stay in the lending pool. It’s a very interesting concept especially for parents with young kids and there's no religious requirements to being a member.

Living Economies has set out to solve several problems at once. They see the traditional financial system as exacerbating inequality and environmental issues while weakening community ties. So they provide online information and advice (all advisors volunteer their time) on how to set up Time Banks; alternative currencies and Savings pools (for friends, families or otherwise connected individuals).

Ethical Investment Specialists (such as Mindful Money) help us watch where our money is going. Examples of ethical investors are Care Saver and Money Matters who help you invest responsibly, sustainably and ethically.

Market Forces for our Aussie listeners and 350 Aotearoa for our kiwi audience are great places to check out how to stop your money going to fossil fuels.

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Finding New Zealand's Most Eco-Friendly Bank

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 19:00:00 GMT

Is your bank doing all that it can to make a difference for good? Banks are one of the most powerful ‘future creators’ in modern society. More or less they get to choose who they invest their millions (and billions) in, empowering some and squeezing others. They can also affect climate through their operational footprints and have significant opportunity to give back to communities through grants and other charitable activities.

In this episode we delve into finding New Zealand’s most sustainable bank. Waveney has done some hard yards on this one! She spoke with financial experts from across the sector to devise a five point criteria and weighting system for assessment and then researched and contacted each bank to see how they performed in each category. Special thanks to Professor David Tripe, (Professor of Banking at Massey University); Barry Coates, (Mindful Money CEO); John Berry, (CareSaver CEO); CEOs and Heads of Sustainability within the banking sector that were happy to speak with me; and to the people seeking finance who shared their stories.

The How to Save the World most sustainable New Zealand bank award (actually it’s just a shout out really, but it’s fun to say award) goes to the bank that was best able to demonstrate its performance across the following five criteria:

Internal sustainability

Looking at the carbon footprint of the operations inside the big five banks including things like electric vehicle take-up in their fleet (shout out Westpac), getting 5 and even 6 Green star buildings (that’s Kiwibank]) sorting out green business procurement (ANZ and Westpac is using Fwd.) and ASB, Westpac and BNZ all getting Toitū Envirocare[https://www.toitu.co.nz/] certification, for being carbon zero (well ASB & Westpac) or enviro mark gold (BNZ - making a start).

Corporate Responsibility

Looking at the social and environmental activity of the banks, how they treat their employers and what they’re doing for the wider communities they’re a part of. Including BNZ’s support of Kauri 2020 Trust and Westpac’s CoGo Partnership – a cool organisation making ethical living clearer and easier.

Investment and Lending Portfolios

Looking into where the bank’s are putting their money. Which banks still ‘fuel’ climate change by providing oil companies with capital? To check on your bank:

Kiwi listeners: 350 Aotearoa (check out graph ‘Does your bank fund climate change?’)
Australian listeners: Market Forces

And on the positive side, which banks are actively trying to make a positive difference? Some examples include BNZ who, since 2017 have facilitated NZ$2.875 billion of green and sustainable bonds [https://www.bnz.co.nz/about-us/sustainability]; SBS’ affordable housing products; Westpac’s interest free Warm Up Loan scheme to help add insolation and heat pumps and

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Why Are We Here?

Sun, 06 Sep 2020 12:00:00 GMT

Wait. Why are we here? What are we saving the world from? Join Waveney and Tim as they delve into the reasons behind the reasons to find out why (and how) we have ended up in the 21st Century eating up the planet that supports us.

It’s our first episode of season two so we are also asking ourselves: Why are we here, doing this podcast? Turns out there are lots of reasons! And what can you, dear listener, expect to get out of it? Connecting with your power to make a difference.

Referencing work of Professor Nate Hagen; Jarred Diamond and Darrin Qualman, we look at the real reasons human activity is changing the climate and causing extinctions and the good news is - We don’t think it’s because we are dicks.

Waveney argues that we have superpowers ‘indistinguishable from magic.’ And that we are simply using those superpowers just like any organism would. We use them in the service of the primal urge to grow, conserve our own energy and to multiply. Nothing on Earth can out compete or even curb us (with the notable exception of the virus). So the big question is; Is it feasible to imagine that we might be able to curb ourselves?

Links and Stats

Speaking of your power, did you know that, along with all humans alive today, you have two special superpowers? Darrin Qualman, Civilisation as Asteroid: Human, Livestock and Extinctions (online article)

Jarred Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (book)

Nate Hagens, Reality 101 (video course)

Oil barrel v Human labourer statistic from this video in Nate’s Reality 101 course (video)

We over shot the earth’s carrying capacity in 1970 (website)

How To Save The World's website / Facebook Page / Instagram (@HTSTWPod)

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See You Soon!

Mon, 15 Jun 2020 09:38:59 GMT

Please fill out our listener survey to help us improve the show and find out what you want to hear about (you'll also go in the draw to win a Prezzie Card!): https://forms.gle/xxgyFmzqviFD4NHL9

Waveney and Tim are taking a break after an entire year of weekly episodes before they come back with an even better podcast for you! We chat about the journey we've taken over the last year of episodes of How To Save The World. Tim's trying to reduce trips to the supermarket, ditching teabags, getting a compost going and going organic. Waveney talks about changing her buying behaviour toward clothing, learning a TON about soil and the lessons from lockdown. We compare favourite episodes, guests and topics.

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How To Save The Bees

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 12:03:00 GMT

In this episode, Tim is joined by Margaret from Kiwimana Buzz and Jess from Bees Up Top to chat about how we save the bees!

Bees are an absolutely critical part of our environment and food chain but facing multiple pressures from human encroachment, industrial mono-culture food production and pesticide exposures, their numbers are in serious trouble.

Our top tips for helping the bees are planting a diverse range of flowers, herbs and spices in your garden (heritage, if possible) and avoid using pesticides. If you see swarming bees, google beekeepers in your area who'll be happy to help take them away. And consider putting a hive in your workplace or home! It's fun, helpful, educational and you'll get honey!

Kiwimana Buzz's website / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / Podcast
Kiwimana are beekeepers who have bees located in the wild west coast of Auckland, New Zealand. We teach, we sell beekeeping supplies and provide information to help you keep honey bees.

Bees Up Top's website / Instagram / Facebook
Bees Up Top aims to increase New Zealand's bee population by supplying healthy, happy hives to urban areas and to educate our future generation on the importance of keeping our little workers around.

Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this podcast!

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NZ Sustainability Icons; Liam and Hannah

Tue, 02 Jun 2020 05:00:16 GMT

Giants of the sustainability movement in Aotearoa (and self-styled No-waste Nomads), Hannah Blumhardt and Liam Prince talk to Waveney about the connection of individual action to big change, what they were up to in lock-down, the origins of their (and Wave's) journey into waste reduction and the demographics and often gendered nature of today's sustainability culture.

You may know Hannah and Liam from their website TheRubbishTrip.co.nz or the TakeawayThrowaways.nz campaign, aiming to rid NZ of single-use coffee cups.

Resources and Links

TheRubbishTrip.co.nz
TakeawayThrowaways.nz - please sign now!
Regeneration not Incineration campaign - please sign now!
NZ Product Stewardship Council
The Kiwi Bottle Drive (to support the Government in forming a Deposit Return Scheme for single-use bottles)
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Charles Eisenstein's book The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible

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Good News #6; Super Bees and MOAR (renewable) POWER

Tue, 26 May 2020 04:19:56 GMT

Waveney and Tim have some sustainability good news from over the world, including;

A reduction in stresses on the environment during COVID-19 lockdowns, plus bike sales are way up, Amsterdam is trialing using Kate Raworth's Donut Model of economics for policy-making and investors flocking to green energy as a save-haven through these troubling economic waters.

Planet-based meat is having a meteoric rise in popularity. USA sales are up almost 300% since March this year and people are normalising the new products as part of their daily diets.

Bubble bees know how to stimulate plant flowering and a research team in Zurich are the first scientists to observe this incredible abee-ility (sorry). It shows bees are more able than we knew to change their environments to help them survive and flourish.

Renewable energy is on the up. The Guardian reports that “Renewable sources made up 72% of new energy added in 2019”, meaning a third of the world's energy is now generated from renewable sources.

An increasing number of countries are recognising legal rights for nature. Starting with Ecuador in 2008, and followed by New Zealand and Columbia in 2017 - there is an increasing groundswell of support to protect nature in our courts.

A project to build our planet's eighth largest solar array has just been approved by the US government and will be built in Las Vegas. It'll supply enough power for 260,000 homes and will be the largest solar farm in America when it's completed next year.

Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this podcast!

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Earning A Sustainable Living

Mon, 18 May 2020 11:13:00 GMT

We got a listener question from Jules, asking us ‘what careers or tertiary education choices can kids focus on with the view to aiding positive climate change action?' Great question! In this episode we talk about what constitutes a ‘sustainable' or ‘green' job, discuss the automation threat (and opportunity) and chat about the circular economy.

Jobs you do with your hands are pretty safe for the immediate future - That includes permaculture, earth-building, conservation, waste-to-resource jobs and traditional tradie jobs. Also careers that involve so-called Left-side brain skills, such as people management and creative problem-solving. There's also entirely new fields inside of STEM opening up for future and present technologies, including hardware and software.

We also discuss eco-friendly side hustles to supplement your income, career and training paths. We've even found free online aptitude tests to help start you thinking about what you may be best suited for.

Sources
World Economic Forum's 2017 Future of Work report
Foundation for Young Australians' New Work Order report (PDF)

NZ Productivity Commission's 2020 report: Technological Change and The Future of Work (PDF)

Global Strategic Trends - The Future Starts Here video

Picking a career

Do What You Are book (Amazon link)
Free Career Tests
Green jobs list (UK)
Green jobs list (Australia)
Fastest growing green jobs
Jobs in electric vehicles (USA)

Job Vacancy Websites
Global Environment Jobs / USA Green Jobs / UK Green Jobs / Canada Good Work / Australia Green Jobs / NZ conservation jobs / Do Good Jobs NZ

Training
Resource Recovery Training from the Zero Waste Network
Permaculture Design Certificate

Circular Economy

Circular Economy Resources (from Sustainable Business Network (SBN), New Zealand)
What is a circular economy? (SBN)
Emerging jobs in the circular economy (Greenbiz)
3 essential elements for future circular jobs (Greenbiz)

Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this podcast!

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How To: Home Winter Garden

Mon, 11 May 2020 06:05:21 GMT

Welcome to the absolute rock bottom beginner guide to gardening. This episode is for you if you expect it to take about 5 minutes a day to garden, don't compost properly, don't particularly love the idea of gardening, and think you can put a seedling in an abandoned old garden bed and it will have everything it needs.

We asked 20 of New Zealand's top gardeners from around the country to share the very best of their advice.

Top suggestions on what to plant going into winter.

Leafy greens (e.g. Silver beet, kale, spinach, winter lettuce pak choi, rocket)
Broad beans
Parsley
Herbs
Garlic chives
Spring Onions
Choko (didn't say on the episode but well worth checking out – its grows like an out of control weed, so perfect for a beginner gardener – follow advice from rediscover.co.nz:

https://rediscover.co.nz/oh-the-places-youll-grow-choko/

How to beat slugs and snails

Healthy mature plants can beat slugs (learn how to sheet mulch and compost)
Number one tool is picking off at night with a torch
Make a beer trap from a 4cm high saucer sunk into the soil, clean and refill weekly if populations are high.
More tips here: https://rediscover.co.nz/natural-ways-to-deter-slugs-snails/

Recommended resources for beginner gardeners, in New Zealand.

Kiwi's first

What to grow in winter by NZ region from edible backyard: https://www.ediblebackyard.co.nz/what-to-plant-in-your-vegie-patch-in-winter/
Buy trusted organic sprays, or let the experts come to you:
- https://biologix.myshopify.com/ make your way to the Home Garden page.
- www.growinspired.co.nz

Read
How to Grow Your Own Food (Real BOOK, $25. Hamilton-based)

Connect

- Organic Edible Garden Sign up to the newsletter here and connect on Facebook here.
- Taranaki based Farm Next Door, sign up to their newsletter coming soon.

Best of The Rest

Square Foot Gardening (USA). Good overview of the method from this Australian site.
Eliot Coleman's book, 4 Season Harvest. Works well for South Island (Maine, USA)
Anything by Charles Dowding on Youtube. Somerset UK. Excellent videos. “His method is the easiest I've see anywhere - and with great results!”

Thank you to the gurus, market gardeners, educators and communicators who gave their time. Here they are with links to any helpful projects they are involved with – heaps of great resources:

- Sophia Xiao-Colley, organic market gardener
- Caity Endt, organic market gardener
- Judy Keats,
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Better Futures w/ Shane Ward

Mon, 04 May 2020 10:27:00 GMT

We chat to Shane Ward about the recently launched Better Futures Forum (BFF),
the hot new platform where New Zealanders are meeting to facilitate the transition towards a more resilient Aotearoa. BFF is seizing the transformational power of COVID-19. In just three weeks since it launched, the organization, co-founded by Dr Mike Joy, has received tremendous support with a groundswell of people joining them. They have a focus on six key areas: Land and Water; Infrastructure; Transport; Building and Housing; Energy; and Economy, and are encouraging any interested New Zealanders to join them.

We also chat to Shane (international regenerative-agriculture design-consultant, speaker, teacher, writer and founder of Action Ecology) about his vision for NZ's future and get him to explain the powerful impact of regenerative agriculture.

Check out Shane's recent lecture at Victoria University here.

Hear more from Dr Mike Joy in a previous How To Save the World episode ‘Saving Our Waterways with Dr Mike Joy.
Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this podcast!

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Sea Life w/ Clarke Gayford

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 05:46:36 GMT

Clarke Gayford (Fish of The Day host and partner of NZ PM Jacinda Ardern) joins us to talk about the haunting sound of his morning alarm, being an Ambassador for NatGeo's Planet or Plastic and his obsession with the ocean. Growing up in Gisborne and falling in love with fishing, Clarke has spent his professional life travelling the world and connecting locally with NZ's fishing community for his TV show Fish of The Day. He discusses their connection with the environment and the dynamic moves they're making to fish more sustainably in NZ.

We also talk about the power of writing letters to the Prime Minister's office, an amazing surfer in Malaysia who's turning beach rubbish into a material that's saving depleted coral and a hero of his, Sir David Attenborough.

Resources and Links
NatGeo's Planet or Plastic campaign
NZ Bird and Fish: Best Fish Guide [warning: PDF]
Mike Bhana's work
Sustainable Coastlines
Love Your Coastline NZ
David Attenborough's narrated memoir ‘Life On Air'

Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this podcast!

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The Youth Movement w/ Luke Wijohn (Green Party politician)

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 11:24:15 GMT

Luke Wijohn is just 18 years old and running for Parliament - In the Prime Minister's Electorate, no less. After being a lead organiser for NZ's Youth Strikes for Climate, Luke decided to run as a Green MP in this year's election. We chat about his desire to change the conversation we're having with and about our farmers and how to achieve transformational change in city systems like waste and transport.

Luke has a focus on getting politicians speaking to issues they have lived experience about and trying to increase youth turnout at the election this year (he's a staunch supporter of making 16 the voting age and lays out a pretty compelling case for it). We also chat about The Zero Carbon Bill and what the media gets wrong about political reporting in our MMP system.

Follow Luke on Twitter here and on Facebook here.

Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this podcast!

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Microplastics; A hidden disaster

Mon, 13 Apr 2020 08:39:00 GMT

A lot of the information in today's episode comes from Waste MINZ fantastic webinar on microplastics delivered by Dr Grant Northcott and Dr Olga Pantos. Check out the webinar here.

This episode, we're discussing microplastics - What they are, why they're bad and what can we do about them.

Plastic does not biodegrade, it breaks down, fragmented by wind, waves and sunlight into ever-smaller pieces. Microplastic is plastic fragments less than 5 mm in size. They do a number of nasty things, including absorbing pesticides, hydrocarbons and heavy metals. They also leach bad stuff into the environment. On average, we consume a credit card a week in microplastics. Scientists have recently found out that we have massively underestimated the amount of microplastic in the environment, sadly it's found everywhere on earth.

Solutions; Use less plastic. Use less everything. Go clear, if you must use plastic. Get involved with collective action by signing your name at YourPlasticDiet.org

Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this podcast!

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How To Compost Right w/ Leo Murray: The Worm Guy

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 09:46:00 GMT

Composting; It's the easiest way to dramatically cut down the waste you send to landfill AND supercharge your garden but we wanted to make sure we were doing it right so we invited Leo Murray, founder and director of WhyWaste - the company that hires out worm farms to homes and businesses to eat through your food waste.

In this episode we find out that biowaste (which could go to compost) accounts for more than half of the total volume of waste going to landfill from our homes (for society at large, it's about a third). This has a hugely detrimental effect on the environment at large and is completely avoidable. We discuss the timely concept of using food waste (and worms) to produce your own fertilizer for growing food in your back garden and the importance of community resilience. We also talk about the concept of product stewardship (or kaitiaki) and Leo's parties with a purpose; Regenerate!

Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this podcast!

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Laundry

Mon, 30 Mar 2020 08:23:29 GMT

PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded before things escalated regarding COVID-19. Please follow the health and hyguine advice of your local government, and/or WHO

As an addendum to our episode on cleaning products, this week Wave is focusing on keeping your clothes clean while keeping the planet happy.

Laundry Detergent Solutions
Soap nuts, kiwis can buy them at Ecoware house or grow your own tree.
You can check out Green Goddess' Laundry Powder DIY Kit or products at Ecostore.

Stain Removal
Check out Ethique's Solid Laundry and Stain Remover Bar – no plastic, no palm oil.
General tips on stain removal are available here and here's a useful super infographic.

Most eco-friendly bleaches contain Sodium Percarbonate, because it's way better for the environment than regular bleach. However Wave still has reservations and try and live without it. Here is the Safety Data Sheet for Sodium Percarbonate [warning: PDF].
Bluing Powder takes the yellowing out of sheets. We love it. Kiwis can grab it from Green Goddess

Outsmart Green Washing
Words like Natural or Biodegradable don't mean they are good for the environment
I take it as a warning sign if companies haven't listed, (or plainly listed) their ingredients. Take a moment to think about what they are silent on.

Watch out for SLS's: Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphate. These are super common nasties because they are cheap and they work.
You can also wade through EcoStores ingredients index. It's the best we've seen for summarizing health and safety information on common household chemicals. Its alphabetical, non searchable but thorough, and based on independent industry findings.
Google the product you would like to check + Safety Data Sheet (SDS) to find the low down. If you can't find an SDS (assuming you are a competent Googler) it probably means the product doesn't need one, which is good – only hazardous substances (a lot cleaners in the supermarket) need them.

STAIN REMOVAL

FOOD and WINE STAINS:
Club Soda & Salt (sit overnight and then wash regularly.).
Vinegar (Soak then wash as normal)
White Wine on RED wine

SWEAT AND YELLOWING STAINS:
Lemon Juice & Salt
Baking Soda (Make a paste Let sit for an hour)
Aspirin (Crush and mix with warm water until a paste forms. let it sit for an hour before rinsing it off)
SHEETS & PILLOWCASES YELLOWING : Bluing powder!! Green Goddess. Needs SUN

DIRT:
Vinegar (just swap out your detergent for a cup of white vinegar);
Shampoo;
Stale Bread (If you have stale bread around just gently rub the bread - gluten absorb the dirt. Gluten free bread will not work).

BLOOD:
Lemon Juice
Salt & Cold Water
Baking Soda

Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this...

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How To Be Happy

Mon, 23 Mar 2020 06:40:27 GMT

In this episode, Waveney and Tim tackle an issue we rarely talk about; How can we make ourselves happy without punishing the planet and environment?

Humans are social creatures and we crave interaction. While we're locked down for a bit, why not take the time to listen and think about what makes you truly happy? We've got loads of suggestions, including exercise, visiting nature, volunteering and more PLUS we've got the science to back up which of these are most effective. Time to stop using shopping as a way to bring us short term contentment, let's try and reach for sustainable joy!

Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this podcast!

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Good News #5

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 10:31:32 GMT

Time for some GOOD NEWS. In this episode Waveney and Tim discuss the positive things happening in sustainability, at home and around the world.

First up; the CEO of Black Rock, the largest managed fund in the world (looking after US$7.4T in assets) giving strict guidance to global megacompanies and corporations on the importance of climate change to the future of their business survival. See the letter here.

Next up, a huge victory for 350.org and others who have pressured the Government into dropping any default fund in KiwiSaver that has fossil fuel investments. That's over $1.15 billion of New Zealanders' savings, or 715,000 individual kiwis' savings.

We also discuss Microsoft's commitment to going Carbon Negative – that is, their commitment to remove the net amount of all the carbon the business has been responsible for putting into the atmosphere since it began in 1971.

We also have a progress update from Wellington-based Mint Innovation, the company reclaiming minerals from discarded electronics using a brand new and eco-friendly process. In 2019, Mint raised $5m and they've now built a ‘precommercial' factory in East Tamaki to validate their concept and test equipment and processes. On 13 Dec they announced they'd stuck gold!

Links to organisations and companies we mentioned are here:

Repair Café Auckland
The Right to Repair from the Electronics Frontier Foundation
Spirit Festival
350 Aotearoa

Organics:

o Eco Spot

o Organic NZ Magazine

o Farmers Market Finder

o Dunedin: Taste Nature

o Christchuch: Piko

o Christchurch Wholefoods

o Common Sense Organics

o Huckleberry

o Aucks: Good For

o the Source

o Palmerston North: Be Free Grocer

o Wellington: Hopper Eco Shop

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Six Items Challenge w/ Gina Dempster

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:38:00 GMT

Gina Dempster is the Communication and Marketing Manager from Wastebusters, based in Wanaka and a bona fide sustainability legend. She joins Wave and Tim to chat about the #SixItemsChallenge - a goal to wear just six different items of clothing for the month of March (excludes underwear, socks and active wear for exercise). The challenge has been set up to start a conversation about the global clothing industry, our relationship to fashion and the life cycle of apparel.

Check Wanaka Wastebusters out on Facebook and the #wastebusters6items event here
Follow the Wastebusters on Instagram.

Tips from Frederique Gulcher who undertook the Challenge while living in Queenstown.
The Six Items Challenge made possible by the financial support of The Waste Minimisation Fund which is administered by the Ministry for the Environment & Queenstown Lakes District Council's Waste Minimisation Community Fund.

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Cleaning House

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 03:55:54 GMT

Today we're cleaning house. Tim has offered up all the products used in is flat to clean, disinfect and scour and Waveney has researched the harmful ingredients in each and has some VERY simple and cost-effective solutions to replace them.

We dig into the personal and environmental hazards of everything from Spray and Wipe to oven cleaner, to household stain remover and dishwashing liquid.

Thanks to the great website Wellness Mama for simple solutions for healthier families and local legend/author Lyn Webster of Northland who wrote Save, Make, Do (aka Pig Tits and Parsley Sauce).
Also thanks to Vicki Lansky who wrote Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun, and Frugal Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of and Vinegar: Over 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of.

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Just Try w/ Sarah Walker, Olympic medallist BMXer

Mon, 24 Feb 2020 10:07:00 GMT

We're joined by the inspirational and massively kick ass kiwi Olympian, Sarah Walker. Sarah is both an Ambassador of Litefoot.nz (an NZ sport organisation inspiring kiwis to be environmental champions) and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s Sustainability and Legacy Commission.

Sarah chats to us about what it was like to cycle in Australia during the wild fires, how playing The Sims as a kid lead to her designing her own energy efficient homes and how the IOC is trying to make the Olympics sustainable for the long term. Sarah also shares what it was like to win a Silver medal at the Olympics on a broken shoulder and discusses her life as a mentor for upcoming world competition-winning kiwi women BMXers.

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Coffee

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 00:09:51 GMT

Coffee; We humans drink 2.25 billion cups of it per day but it turns out the method we use to grow the majority of it is pretty harmful to trees, birds and soil.

Tim drills into the specifics of how a change in the way we grow coffee that happened in the 1970s shifted farmers away from biodiverse, tree-shade grown coffee plants to Full Sun Cultivation, which requires lots of fertilizers and pesticides.

Our solutions for coffee drinkers;
- Try find shade grown coffee (quite tricky because the only certification is the Smithsonian's Bird Friendly Coffee)
- Always buy Fairtrade and certified organic
- Don't use disposable coffee cups

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Climate Action w/ Erica Finnie (of 350 Aotearoa)

Sun, 09 Feb 2020 09:33:38 GMT

Erica Finnie is a community organiser, climate activist and the Director of 350 Aotearoa - the organisation standing up against the fossil fuel industry in NZ (and around the world). 350 was founded by American environmentalist/journalist/author Bill McKibben and is named for the Parts Per Million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that has been deemed acceptable for the health of the planet. We are currently at over 400 PPM and climbing.

Erica and 350 Aotearoa have successfully lobbied institutions like Auckland University to pull investment money from fossil fuel industry and meet all around the country to coordinate climate action. But don't be scared – they're super friendly, even if you don't know the first thing about Climate Change! Erica talks to us about climate change, the importance of collective action and the very simple but powerful actions individuals can take to positively impact the environment.

Learn more about 350 Aotearoa here and see if you can join a group near you!

350.org's global website is also worth a visit.

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Best of The Guests #1

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 10:36:00 GMT

We celebrate some of the many fantastic guests we've had on the show so far by replaying a couple of our favourite moments of conversation with them. In this episode we chat to:

Dai Henwood (full episode here: https://omny.fm/shows/how-to-save-the-world/talking-tea-with-dai-henwood)
Miriama Kamo (full episode here: https://omny.fm/shows/how-to-save-the-world/zero-waste-with-miriama-kamo)
Robyn Malcolm (full episode here: https://omny.fm/shows/how-to-save-the-world/making-change-with-robyn-malcolm)
Sophie Hanford (full episode here: https://omny.fm/shows/how-to-save-the-world/school-strike-4-climate-with-sophie-handford-nz-or)

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Listener Questions #2

Sun, 26 Jan 2020 23:00:00 GMT

Wave and Tim open up the virtual mail bag and dig into your questions. We chat about Project Drawdown, Dr Paul Hawken and regenerative farming. Dr Hawken is on a mission to remove existing carbon in the air (rather than just reducing what we're putting out in the air now). Short answer: Have a listen to our soil episode! We cover a lot of ground (lol).

We also chat about the effect of dirty containers on your recycling and wonder how far we can move the waste behaviour needle. We explore why is NZ so far behind in banning single use plastics and learn what Wave's pet plastic peeve is.
Also in this ep; how to combat single use plastics in the supermarket and what comes after we win that battle; How businesses can do the right thing; And is government conducting effective public information/behaviour change campaigns?

The Rethinking Plastics report: https://www.pmcsa.ac.nz/our-projects/plastics/rethinking-plastics-in-aotearoa-new-zealand/
Plastic bottle return scheme: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/399547/plastic-bottle-return-scheme-to-put-value-back-into-recycling
Wasteminz's Guide on Composability [PDF]: https://www.wasteminz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Its-complicated-guide-Final-2019.pdf
The Rubbish Trip's Shopping Guide: http://therubbishtrip.co.nz/regional-shopping-guide/regional-zero-waste-shopping-guides/

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Is the Council Listening? (w/ Cr. Richard Hills)

Sun, 19 Jan 2020 23:30:28 GMT

Tim and Wav are joined by Auckland Councillor Richard Hills. Richard is the Chair of the newly formed Environment and Climate Change committee and is passionate about public transport, stopping urban sprawl and protecting our environment. We discuss what it's actually like to work in local government, if the council actually cares what we have to say, and how to effectively lobby for change in your region.

We also chat about how seriously the Council takes climate change, what declaring a climate emergency actually means and the anticipated effects of climate displacement on New Zealand, especially on our biggest city.

Find out more about Richard here and learn about Generation Zero here.

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Inside Your Smartphone

Sun, 12 Jan 2020 20:00:00 GMT

Tim's in the expert chair today as he shares his research into the impacts of the object we use more than any other, every single day; Our phone! We explore the three major life stages of a phone, 1) Mineral extraction for components 2) Assembly 3) Disposal.

The true cost of mineral extraction to get the rare Earth minerals needed to make all the different parts of a phone are hidden from us and there's a good reason. Child labour, dangerous conditions and underpaid workers in developing countries are all part of the smartphone production line. The (largely) Chinese-assembled smartphones are also produced in very dubious conditions. The disposal of these devices (and e-waste in general) needs to be considered because these toxic elements can leach into soil, groundwater and even start fires at dumb sites.

On the positive side of things; NZ's own MINT Innovation claims to have developed a revolutionary process for recapturing rare Earth elements from reclaimed electronics including phones, which reduces our need to harvest more from the Earth and could prevent huge amounts of e-waste going to landfill.

Then there's Fairphone, the Dutch smartphone maker who are mindfully producing devices using best worker practices and environmental sustainability at its core. Their phones also use a modular design so you won't have to throw away phone because the screen's cracked or battery barely holds a charge, you can just order that component from Fairphone and slot it in. This can extend the life of the device many times over and reduces the amount of devices purchased/produced by consumers.

For details on how to responsibly dispose of your mobile devices in New Zealand, check out ReMobile.

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How to Inspire Online (w/ Ethically Kate)

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 07:26:46 GMT

Kate Hall is a 23-year-old Instagram inspirer (nee influencer), entrepreneur and sustainable fashion enthusiast. She lived in Mongolia at an early age which made an indelible mark on thinking about global supply chains and where our stuff comes from. In this chat with a leading green member of Gen Z, we discuss communicating online, the importance of slowing down and how to avoid the paralysis of perfectionism.

Kate has partnered and worked with many figures in the New Zealand fashion industry to try and figure out how NZ can lift its fashion game.
Kate is aiming to change people's life choices on buying and living ethically. Importantly, she stresses the importance of kindness.

The True Cost documentary (which was highly influential on Kate) is available here.
Kate is on Instagram @EthicallyKate and at Facebook.com/EthicallyKate

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Good News #3

Mon, 30 Dec 2019 21:39:00 GMT

This episode is focused on good news in sustainability. Waveney and Tim trade big stories on oil staying in the ground in Norway, battery breakthroughs, and how the flow of global capital is starting to move away from ecologically unsustainable business practices. We also celebrate the incredible work being done by NZ's Environment Centres.

You can check with 350.org to see how your bank ranks on becoming fossil free, and with Mindful Money to see if your Kiwisaver is environmentally responsible.

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Sustainability Psychology (w/ Dr Niki Harré)

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 09:37:28 GMT

Sponsored by Karma Cola - the NZ drinks company making ethical, organic, recyclable soda AND by Kōkako Organic Coffee Roasters (carbon neutral coffee since 2016).

Dr Niki Harré is a Psychology Professor from The University of Auckland who focuses on sustainability and social change (among other areas). She authored Psychology for a Better World (check out her video summary of the book here) and has contributed significantly to the academic world on thinking about sustainability and how we can change societal behaviours for the common good.

This fascinating conversation draws on Niki's ideas that challenge the status quo in several ways. She builds on the ideas put forward in the book Finite and Infinite Games (James Carse) – the framework of identifying that most pursuits can be split into finite games (played for the purpose of winning) and infinite games (played for the purpose of continuing the play).

Find out more about Niki here.

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30 Sustainable Gift Ideas

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 10:02:52 GMT

This episode is sponsored by Ecotricity - New Zealand's only carboNZero certified electricity retailer. Join Ecotricity now!

30 Personality test
Myers Briggs test or Strengths Finder

29 Personal Time Voucher
Either volunteer hours or quality time. What's your skill set – tailoring, mending, IT, jamming doors, painting, proofing.

28 Ebooks / vouchers

27 Give a goat
World Vision , Tear Fund, Oxfam

26 Restaurant vouchers
Especially local, small, seasonal – organic.

25 DIY Garden gifts
Indoor potted plants, second-hand pot, home-grown seedlings, home-made ready to go compost, or worm castings.

24 Take away cup
or Keep cup.

23 Get out on the harbour
Sailing on harbour or Ferry trip to island, protected bird sanctuaries like Tiri Tiri Matangi.

22 Magazine gift subscription
The gift that keeps on giving.

21 Mason Jar Cake mix (stripy)
Soup mix, slices, biscuits, seed bread. Need to add instructions and list what wet ingredients are needed, great for zero waste vegans.

20 Colour analysis
Getting your colours done. And personal style analysis

19 Massage Voucher
Shout out to Auckland's NiceTouch

18 Make a mixtape
Or Spotify playlist.

17 Bake something

16 Hand-drawn family tree

15 Frozen meals

14 Fruit and vegetable bags
See Rubbish Free website, bags for shopping. Think about the materials, see article.

13 Toiletry pack
Introduce people to some new products, dental floss, go bamboo toothbrush, or eco-comb/hairbrush.

12 Organic Menswear
Barkers have an organic range.

11 Chocolate
Specifically, fair trade and organic available at supermarkets including Huckleberry or your local organic shop. Bennetto, Green & Blacks are good brands. Watch the packaging!

11A Good quality kitchen equipment
No motors, no plastic, good gifts for under 20s. A mortar and pestle, stainless steel measuring cups, spoons, mixing bowl, wooden chopping board.

10 Lessons
Singing, guitar, mountain bike skills, cooking.

9 Shows
The ballet, live stand up comedy, theatre, dance shows.

8 Experiences
Dining in the Dark and Escape Rooms.

7 Lumosity
Purchasable as a gift for others, great for the brain.

6 Customisable calendars
Such as Snapfish (paper based).

5 Civil Defence Packs
A gift that people really need. Getaway Kit or Emergency Survival Items...

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A Revolution in Milking (w/ Glen Herud, Happy Cow founder)

Mon, 09 Dec 2019 10:52:59 GMT

Sponsored by Kōkako Organic Coffee Roasters (carbon neutral coffee since 2016) and All Good Bananas (Good for Growers, the Land, and You).

We sit down and chat to the incredible Glen Herud, founder of Happy Cow Milk.
Glen started off as a dairy farmer then went to renting appliances, then invented a new way to get milk and keep cows happy. Then we went bankrupt. Then he created an all-in-one machine that can milk cows on the go (with their calves nearby to reduce their stress immensely), pastoralise, bottle and sell the milk. All in a machine that can fit on the back of an e-bike! He's been through financial ruin, a borderline emotional breakdown working 19 hour days and a lot of personal growth but the result is a potentially completely revolutionary system to democratise milk and keep cows happy in the process.

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Waste to Energy: Should we burn or bury our rubbish?

Mon, 02 Dec 2019 09:46:33 GMT

This episode is sponsored by Ecotricity - New Zealand's only carboNZero certified electricity retailer. Join Ecotricity now!

This episode is about how to ditch landfills. Landfills don't work. We all hate them. We don't want them in our backyards. They are getting further away from our cities – Dome Valley (between Warkworth and Wellsford). They produce tonnes of methane and an eternal leachate problem which you don't want in waterways. So burning all this waste to generate energy is a great idea, right?!

Waveney's been researching expert opinion and data from both sides and presents a far more complex picture of waste to energy than you may know. This includes four different kinds of W2E: Incineration, Gasification, Pyrolysis and Anaerobic digestion (aka bio-digestion).

W2E is an attractive alternative to landfill: It creates energy; It could reduce the need for landfills; It reduces the volume of rubbish; It creates new jobs when plants are opened and it doesn't mean that all the rubbish has to be gobbled, we can still recycle or repurpose useful items.

HOWEVER, that leads us to the five big issues with W2E. It isn't a very efficient way to make energy. The toxic ash and filters need to go somewhere (often landfills). It doesn't vanish waste, it creates a very dangerous concentrated end product. It's the lowest waste jobs creator (1 job for 10,000 tonnes vs landfill's 6 jobs, recycling's 36 jobs and waste recovery's 200-300 jobs). It's very expensive, which creates a dependency of waste generation long-term, making it incompatible with zero waste goals.

Sign the petition against incineration for Aotearoa.

Have a listen and please share with your friends who are passionate or just curious about waste to energy solutions. Thank you to the following people who helped with this episode; Michael from Sierra Energy, Hannah and Liam from the Rubbish Trip, Val from the Zero Waste Network, Trish A for your winning question on our Facebook page.

LINKS, RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

https://www.mfe.govt.nz/climate-change/state-of-our-atmosphere-and-climate/new-zealands-greenhouse-gas-inventory

https://orders.wastemanagement.co.nz/media/files/DFNews%20Draft%20Aug%2017.pdf

https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/109411303/bold-new-waste-energy-plant-concept-proposed-for-huntly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste-to-energy

https://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/biogas/wastetoenergy-plant-to-be-built-in-new-20190715

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/energy-production/sweden-is-great-at-turning-trash-to-energy.htm

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Buy Nothing Day (w/ Suzanne McFadden)

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 03:51:30 GMT

This episode is sponsored by Ecotricity - New Zealand's only carboNZero certified electricity retailer. Join Ecotricity now!

To mark Buy Nothing Day (Friday 29 November) we're joined by special guest Suzanne McFadden talk about her one year challenge to buy no clothes except for essentials. Suzanne is also the founder of the online women's sports hub The Locker Room – who are doing a great job of raising the profile of women in sport in Aotearoa. Suzanne rocked her year, she even nailed the Media Awards in an op-shop find.

Buy Nothing Day combats Black Friday, the day of hyper commerce after Thanksgiving - It's the biggest shopping day of the year in the US when stores drop their prices to work up a buying (crowding crushing) frenzy. It started off as an American tradition but now is undertaken around the world, including New Zealand.

Shout out to two other Buy Nothing kiwi heroes: Kristy Lorson and Chris Morrison - both making their living out of selling stuff but would rather you didn't buy it. Kristy is the guru behind zero waste hub Earth Savvy and Chris is the co-founder of Aotearoa's most successful fair trade businesses Karma Cola and All Good Bananas. When asked what the one thing people could do to save the planet is, Chris said “buy less.” Kristy boldly took her shop off line for Black Friday / Buy Nothing Day last year.

If you don't get why you can't buy as much fair trade, organic, plastic free “STUFF” as you want then listen on.

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Your Questions

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 00:36:12 GMT

Sponsored by Huckleberry – Your organic grocer and one stop shop for better food and living.

Waveney and Tim are answering your submitted questions including: How do we deal with climate deniers? What can we do about stress and anxiety cause by eco issues? How do we get other people in our life on board? How do vegans get all the nutrients they need?

We reference American professor Jes Thompson, who teaches public relations, new media and environmental responsibility. Check out her Ted Talk here. NZ Psychologist Niki Harre's book Psychology for a Better World is full of simple, usable tips and you can watch a video covering a lot of it here.
Jennifer Kerr's Impakter.com piece on talking to climate change deniers is loaded with great tips.
Vanessa King's article about eco anxiety is on Grist.org is well-researched and quotes several psychologists and therapists on how to keep up the good fight.
Websites for 350.org and Greenpeace are here too.

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The Future of Farming (and more w/ Te Radar)

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 03:32:48 GMT

This episode is sponsored by Ecotricity - New Zealand's only carboNZero certified electricity retailer. Join Ecotricity now!

Te Radar joins us, fully wired and caffeinated to share some incredible developments about the future of farming. Radar is a NZ broadcasting icon and has been making TV and radio programmes for decades about sustainability and our relationship to the environment. He comes from a farming family and has travelled the world meeting agriculturalists from all over the planet who are doing things differently. We discuss the difficulties of treating trees as a total solution for offsetting carbon, moving people from a free hold mentality regarding land to a lease hold mentality (nature being the leaseholder) and much more. Radar also shares his optimism about the future, the younger generation and vertical farming.

Links and Resources
Alanna Mitchell's book, Seasick
China has culled 100m pigs
AI-assisted pig farming
Tech advances in Chinese supermarkets increasing trackability of farm-to-table food journeys
40% of US Farmers' 2019 income will come from government subsidies and insurance

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Even More Good News!

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 07:46:13 GMT

Sponsored by Ethique – a New Zealand zero-waste beauty company on a mission to rid the world of plastic waste.

Waveney is absolutely stoked about that the NZ government is implementing a beverage container return scheme after many, many years of hard fighting by sustainability advocates and activists. She also been chatting to her green mates who are suddenly experiencing a huge and universal uptick in public engagement with environmental causes and organisations.

Tim is chatting about the incredible discovers scientists have made by observing the exclusion zone at the site of the world's worst nuclear accident, Chernobyl. By all accounts, nature is thriving there and large land mammals are reclaiming the land faster and stronger than anyone hoped, now that humans aren't around. He also digs into the story of LA's historic smog problem and how they tackled it. It serves as a reminder that when science and politics come together, huge positive change is possible.

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A Māori Perspective on Our Landscapes (w/ academic Raaniera Te Whata)

Mon, 28 Oct 2019 08:12:08 GMT

This episode is sponsored by Ecotricity - New Zealand's only carboNZero certified electricity retailer. Join Ecotricity now!

We chat to Māori academic Raaniera Te Whata (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, te Whānau a Apanui), who is currently completing his PhD, ‘Now. Then. Next. Whakapapa on Ancestral Landscapes in Tautoro, Te Tai Tokerau'. His doctorate looks at current issues and capturing the history of his homeland in Northland.

Raaniera discusses the indigenous New Zealand perspective regarding our environment and our natural resources, the effects of Māori urbanisation on rural areas and the Māori creation story and its foundation for the concept of kaitiaki (or stewardship) over the landscapes in which we live. He also takes us through some of the challenges local iwi face when dealing with local government when it comes to resourcing issues and explains a water rights negotiation happening in his home of Tautoro, as an example.

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Soil (It's serious!)

Mon, 21 Oct 2019 07:24:03 GMT

Sponsored by Ethique – a New Zealand zero-waste beauty company on a mission to rid the world of plastic waste.

Soil is like your most introverted dinner guest who says nothing all night and just when she's leaving you realise that she heads UN!
Or, (if that doesn't do it for you) won gold last Olympics in women's 100 metres; and all of a sudden you are so interested and wish you had more time but it's too late because she's leaving…

Soil is alive, and here's the big surprise, our number one way to reverse climate change. But we've almost nuked the life out of the friendly little microbes with synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Find out some easy ways you help turn the ship round. There's heaps of links and sources listed for this episode because it's packed with “hang on, what?!” content that seem too crazy to be real. And here they are:

Overview Resources
The Soil Story narrated by Larry Kopald - (YouTube link)
The Toxin Solution by Dr. Joseph Pizzorno
For Pastoral Farmers
Organic Dairy and Pastoral Group, (New Zealand's hub for regenerative farmers)
Try googling: Your area / specific interest + Biological Group / Biological Farming / Carbon Farming / Wholistic Management / Long grazing / Regenerative farming.
Consultancy and training services
Integrity Soils
BioAgriNomics Ltd
For home gardeners and horticulturalists
Free composting courses: Contact your council and cross your fingers. Aucklanders; Compost Collective
Organic NZ - great magazine and website
New Zealand's hub of permaculture: permaculture.org.nz
Koanga gardens (Kay Baxter)
Organic Edible Gardens website
Give or receive food scraps for composts at ShareWaste
Google Bio Char; It's even better than compost for your garden

Sources for this episode's information
Wikipedia: Soil
Nature Is Speaking – Edward Norton is The Soil (YouTube link) | Conservation International (CI)
Humus - the essential ingredient: Graeme Sait at TEDxNoosa (YouTube link)
Organic Pastoral intro video (YouTube link)
Successful Farming
Medical News Today
‘New Zealand's dangerous addiction to fertiliser' by Charlie Mitchell
'Humanitarian crisis' by Charlie Mitchell
'Precious rock New Zealand is accused of stealing from the Sahara' by Charlie Mitchell

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The Power of Small Actions (with Steve Gurney)

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 01:52:04 GMT

Sponsored by All Heart NZ – helping corporates to redirect, repurpose and reduce their waste while supporting communities throughout Aotearoa and globally.

9-time Coast to Coast champion Steve Gurney chats with us about what to do with climate anxiety (take a breath, observe without judgement, take SOME action) and shares some great tips on goal setting (pick a goal that aligns to who you are and what you care about). Steve also shares insights gained from witnessing rubbish strewn across the Sahara Desert and from battling to clean up a Christchurch estuary. We also get stuck into the importance of small actions adding up to a huge result.

You can learn more about Steve and check out his speaking dates and books at SteveGurney.co.nz

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Good News!

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 07:31:23 GMT

This episode is sponsored by Ecotricity - New Zealand's only carboNZero certified electricity retailer. Join Ecotricity now!

Waveney and Tim have decided it's time to celebrate some environmental successes. We discuss Colmar Brunton's recent polling that shows pretty much all groups in New Zealand (except white middle class men) are prioritising Climate Change as a TOP issue. The tide of public consciousness is changing - rapidly!
We also dig into the success of defeating Acid Rain, a terrible coal-caused phenomenon that dominated news cycles and the public imagination through the 1970s, 80s and 90s before scientific research and good old diplomacy actually got on top of it!
Lastly, we celebrate Happen Films - a kiwi film production house that exclusively make environmental documentaries that are solutions-focused, inspiring and hopeful. Their latest title, Fools & Dreamers: Regenerating a Native Forest is the amazing story of botanist Hugh Wilson who regenerates forests in the south island using the much hated 'weed', gorse!

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School Strike 4 Climate (with Sophie Handford - NZ organiser)

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 04:12:29 GMT

Sponsored by Ethique – a New Zealand zero-waste beauty company on a mission to rid the world of plastic waste.

Inspired by Greta Thunberg, 18 year old Wellingtonian Sophie Handford started organising New Zealand's School Strike for Climate and chatted to us about her passion for saving the climate and protecting the environment. In this episode we discuss the importance of supporting politicians who are doing things to help the climate, why we need to work on behalf of the planet and the difficulty of switching off and just being a teenager. Sophie is currently running for Kāpiti Council in the Paekakariki-Raumati Ward and you can find her on Instagram @Sophie_Handford

Top tip: Find your unique skill and plug that into a group of like-minded people.

The five demands that School Strike 4 Climate NZ have made to the government are:
1) The NZ Parliament declare a nation-wide climate emergency
2) A cross-party consensus is established for an ambitious zero carbon bill (including the formation of a Youth Climate Commission)
3) Ceasing extraction of fossil fuels
4) Moving toward a regenerative and just economy
5) Ensuring there is a pathway for climate survivors in the Pacific to emigrate with dignity to NZ.

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Is Recycling Legit?

Mon, 23 Sep 2019 03:06:42 GMT

Sponsored by Huckleberry – Your organic grocer and one stop shop for better food and living.

Recycling - is it a crook or not? Turns out the answer is a complicated NO but also a very interesting story. Today we tap into Waveney's years of expertise on this issue to discover what ACTUALLY happens when you throw items into the recycling. We discuss the difference between recycling and downcycling, what a MRF is and figure out why Malaysia is buying bails of materials and the burning them.

Ministry for the Environment are calling for submissions on setting up regulated stewardship for six particularly problematic waste streams. This is a game changer for waste in Aotearoa and such a relief that its finally on the table. If you have 2 mins, go in and just say yes, yes, yes to everything. Its time well spent because the government may get industry back lash and they need to know they have a mandate - that's how plastic bags got over the line.

If you want to engage a bit more the Zero Waste Network have put together a simple guide to making a submission and there is also this video from Grey Lynn 2030.

Submissions aside if, like Waveney, you have a geeky level of interest in recycling in New Zealand, check out: Waste MINZ, (New Zealand's representative body of the waste, resource recovery and contaminated land sectors in New Zealand) and the Zero Waste Network (Aotearoa's network of community based recyclers).

Also if you live in Auckland, Auckland Council has a good online search tool for what you can do with unwanted items, although like we say in the show, we recommend landfilling tetrapaks, cartons and plastics #3,4,6,7 until there are better options for the end products.

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Saving Our Waterways with Dr Mike Joy

Mon, 16 Sep 2019 03:33:07 GMT

Sponsored by Go Well Consulting (guiding businesses to the sustainable future) and Kōkako Organic Coffee Roasters (carbon neutral coffee since 2016).

We speak to Dr Mike Joy, an expert in freshwater ecology, bioassessment and the interface between science, policy and environmental protection. Mike is one of NZ's foremost experts on what's going wrong with our rivers and lakes and talks about what needs to happen in farming and assessment to fix our waterways.

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The Baggage of Flying

Wed, 11 Sep 2019 09:13:51 GMT

Sponsored by Ethique – a New Zealand zero-waste beauty company on a mission to rid the world of plastic waste.

Waveney and Tim confess their flying sins and dig into just how harmful plane travel is to our planet. We chat about how the effect of releasing harmful substances at high altitude is even more damaging to the atmosphere, how gains in plane designs have been gobbled up by huge increase in air travel and how planes' emissions alone could make up our entire carbon budget by 2050. Wave's gran was right along - it's the planes changing the climate!

Top tip: Try traveling by plane less and always offset with you fly. Think about having a holiday closer to home and using rail when possible.

Links: Carbon Calculator by Enviro-Mark & A Free Ride campaign.

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Making Change with Robyn Malcolm

Sun, 01 Sep 2019 21:00:00 GMT

Sponsored by All Heart NZ – helping corporates to redirect, repurpose and reduce their waste while supporting communities throughout Aotearoa and globally.

National treasure, actor, activist, and Greenpeace spokesperson Robyn Malcolm joins Tim for a chat about saving dolphins, protecting our national parks against mining and her life of activism. Robyn is world famous for her role as Cheryl West on Outrageous Fortune and so many other roles in TV and film.

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Fashion!

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 02:03:01 GMT

Sponsored by Ethique – a New Zealand zero-waste beauty company on a mission to rid the world of plastic waste.

It's Fashion Week in New Zealand so Waveney and Tim dive into the world of clothing, textiles and apparel to figure how to behaviour more sustainably as consumers.

We discuss globalised supply chains, the recent creation of synthetic fabrics, and remember the days of sewing and fixing your own clothes! Journalist/author Elizabeth L Klein's investigations into the Fast Fashion industry are laid bare and we compare the impact of polyester, cotton and linen. Some heartbreaking stats from India about the disappearance of the Aral Sea and the wave of suicides from Indian farmers.
Top tip: Buy less, buy second-hand and buy linen!

Image credit: The Golden Book Gown by Ryan Jude Novelline

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The Vegan Debate

Mon, 19 Aug 2019 11:26:11 GMT

Sponsored by Kōkako Organic Coffee Roasters (carbon neutral coffee since 2016) and Go Well Consulting (guiding businesses to the sustainable future).

Tim explains/defends his decision to go vegan as Waveney probs the benefits and real effect on a sustainable future. We chat about water usage, animal ethics and Eating Animals (the book to turn you vegetarian). We also discuss small scale and regenerative farming, what is takes to produce the increasingly precious commodity of drinking water AND how to check if your booze is vegan-friendly. Here's the table to see how much water is used in different food production and

Top tip: Try going vegan for a short, set amount of time. OR just try reducing your meat meals and buy local whenever possible.

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Low Waste Parenting w/ Kate Meads

Mon, 12 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Sponsored by Ethique – a New Zealand zero-waste beauty company on a mission to rid the world of plastic waste.

We chat to ‘The Nappy Lady' Kate Meads who is an expert in cutting down waste while parenting. Kate lays out just how UNscary cloth nappies are, what we should we doing for school lunches and the unexpected health risks of baby food pouches. Check out Kate's website with tons of info and videos, and join her on Facebook and Instagram.

Top tip: Swtich to cloth nappies. every baby had just one cloth nappy change per day, we would stop one million nappies going to NZ landfills every week!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greenwashing

Mon, 05 Aug 2019 12:33:38 GMT

Sponsored by All Heart NZ – helping corporates to redirect, repurpose and reduce their waste while supporting communities throughout Aotearoa and globally.

Greenwashing: The nasty practice of companies marketing their environmentalism to sell stuff, when they're actually not being good friends to the planet at all. It's complex and it's an increasing problem as more people become aware and focused on sustainable practices and products.

Waveney and Tim try to give you the red flags on when you might be being greenwashed (pictures of barns, "100% natural", literally the colour green) and what you can do to combat it (look for certification, try to parse the language, do your research into the company!)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zero Waste with Miriama Kamo

Mon, 29 Jul 2019 04:15:13 GMT

Sponsored by Huckleberry – Your organic grocer and one stop shop for better food and living.

In this episode Waveney and television presenter Miriama Kamo, swap their zero-waste-life stories. Waveney (11 years in) and Miriama (seven months in) both have heaps in common –the same favourite things and the same secret phobias. They even both have the same zero waste heroes Hannah and Liam from The Rubbish Trip – also featured in Miriama's personal zero waste story on Sunday. We also chat about the importance of activists, vegan food FOMO and the Māori princibles that can be brought into sustainability space.

Miriama shares her zero waste journey on Instagram and Facebook and you and find the full story of Waveney's 2008 Rubbish Free Year story at rubbishfree.co.nz. If you want to “connect with others” check out the “connect with others” page on the website for over 60 links to the Aotearoa zero waste community.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fairtrade with Pravin Sawmy

Mon, 22 Jul 2019 08:49:06 GMT

We're joined by Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand's Business Development Manager, Pravin Sawmy. We discuss how Fairtrade is more than just getting a fair price for farmers - It's about looking after the surrounding farming community to bring lasting positive change, and even bringing in organic practices through incentive schemes. We learn about where our sugar, cotton, coffee and chocolate come from and the how the people who grow it for us live, including the horrific child labour and human trafficking issues which are prevalent in these industries.

This ep's top tip: Buy certified Fairtrade products whenever possible - just look for the logo.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bagging The Single Use Bags

Mon, 15 Jul 2019 05:48:55 GMT

Sponsored by Huckleberry – Your organic grocer and one stop shop for better food and living.

As of 1 July 2019, New Zealand has banned the use of single-use plastic bags at shops and other businesses. But just what's so bad about these bags? Waveney and Tim get into it. Also in this episode,
• Tim explains why he's tried going vegan and meat's impact on fresh water usage
• The amazing promise of the plastic bottle and how it all went wrong
• The dangers of biodegradable labelling and the difference between commercially compostable and home-compostable
• PLA – the molecule that looks and acts like plastic, made from plants

Our big tip this episode: Use a jute, cotton or hessian bag for your groceries.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talking Tea with Dai Henwood

Wed, 03 Jul 2019 22:39:20 GMT

Sponsored by Huckleberry – Your organic grocer and one stop shop for better food and living.

Comedian Dai Henwood joins us to chat about his life as an environmentally minded dad, a fan of Japanese philosophy and the history (and ethics) of tea. Waveney counts down the top tips to enjoy a sustainable cuppa and explains what happened to NZ's short-lived soft plastics recycling programme at supermarkets (which has since relaunched on a more targetted scale). We also discuss Lego, the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility and the importance of going for a walk with your kids.

This episode's tips (on tea): Use loose leaves; Boil your kettle with only the water you need; Compost your leaves; Buy local when possible.

This discussion mentions the link between plastic, dioxins and ill health effects. You can read about these links in the Royal Society, Science Direct and Environmental Science and Pollution Research and other peer-reviewed research.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Palm Oil

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 00:44:43 GMT

Sponsored by All Heart NZ – helping corporates to redirect, repurpose and reduce their waste while supporting communities throughout Aotearoa and globally.

Palm Oil: It's got hundreds of uses and names, and is in half of all packaged goods in supermarkets. It's also partially responsible for the recent extinction of half of all vertebrate on Earth. Scary stuff. Waveney and Tim chat about the pitfalls of monoculture farming and deforestation, palm oil alternatives (and their risks) and five tips to beat the problems of palm oil!

The show's palm oil facts came from Wikipedia, the World Wildlife Foundation, Auckland Zoo and Consumer.org (consumer institute). We also mention the palm oil ingredient finder: 300 names for palm oil; NZ's Unmask palm oil Facebook page; and palm oil v coconut oil (the comments on this page highlight some of the issues).

Image credit: Photographer: Kabir Bakie, used according to Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Time To Save The World

Mon, 10 Jun 2019 05:59:46 GMT

Sponsored by Huckleberry – Your organic grocer and one stop shop for better food and living.

Welcome to the show. In this first episode, we learn about our hosts' journeys into environmentalism. Waveney Warth is a long-time environmental advocate who (with her husband) dedicated a year to going completely waste-free but is uncomfortable with banner-waving and protest marching. Tim Batt is a stand-up comedian and podcaster who has read enough news and science reports on how screwed the Earth is to finally take some action. We talk about the truth of recycling, whether we need less democracy to combat the Climate Crisis and never-ending highlighter pencils!

This episode's tip: Keep an eye on the amount of wasteful packaging you're buying.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.