Sustainability In Your Ear

• SePRO's Mark Heilman On Phosphorus, Waterways, And Invasive Species

  Every summer, the same devastating story repeats across America: lakes that families have cherished for generations suddenly turn toxic green. Half a million people in Toledo lose their drinking water when Lake Erie blooms with poison algae. Or, Florida's red tide costs the state billions in lost tourism. But some of the most damaged bodies of water in America are getting a cleanup. Meet Dr. Mark Heilman, Vice President of Environmental Restoration and Advocacy at SePRO, whose two decades of water restoration work have brought 1.4 million acres of polluted lakes and wetlands across North America back to life. Mark's team achieved a 42% reduction in harmful phosphorus levels and protected $300 million in annual tourism revenue at Moses Lake, Washington.When phosphorus from fertilizers and runoff enters our waters, it acts like Miracle-Gro for algae, creating massive blooms that choke aquatic life and produce toxins that cause liver damage, neurological problems, and even death. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assessments show the number of overly productive lakes with poor water quality is increasing. Harmful algal blooms are becoming more frequent and intense. Perhaps most striking is Heilman's noting that even benign-seeming weekend lawn care directly contributes to this crisis: a bushel of grass clippings that reach a waterway contains about a tenth of a pound of phosphorus, the same amount found in a box of Miracle-Grow fertilizer. When dumped into a waterway, those clippings can grow up to 50 pounds of algae. Heilman explains that treating a lake is like "performing surgery on an entire ecosystem," a process that involves a comprehensive assessment of water quality, community engagement, and multi-year management programs. The climate crisis is intensifying these challenges as warming water temperatures favor cyanobacteria growth, while invasive species like hydrilla—what Heilman calls "disturbance specialists"—exploit changing environmental conditions to establish footholds and outcompete native species. Yet he remains optimistic about prevention: "It's easier to prevent, takes less resources and investment to prevent them than to actually try to resolve them once these problems are in the environment." You can learn more about SePRO's restoration work at sepro.com.Subscribe to Sustainability In Your Ear on iTunesFollow Sustainability In Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

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• Author and Activist Bill McKibben Brings The Sun

  Solar and wind have become the cheapest sources of power in human history, but political headwinds threaten to derail the fastest energy transformation ever recorded. At this crucial juncture, how do we ensure America doesn't surrender its technological leadership in clean energy to nations more willing to embrace the future? Meet Bill McKibben, legendary environmentalist and author whose four decades of climate writing have shaped our understanding of the environmental crisis. His latest book, Here Comes the Sun, argues that we're standing at the hinge of history. In 2024, 92% of new global electricity generation came from renewables, and the U.S. saw greater gains, at 96% of new generation capacity. McKibben, founder of 350.org and Third Act, believes we can fundamentally reshape how civilization powers itself if we look forward to energy abundance rather than backward to fossil fuel scarcity.The numbers are stunning, but the transition isn't guaranteed. McKibben warns that while the adoption of renewable energy is inevitable due to economic forces, it may not occur quickly enough to prevent catastrophic climate change. That's why he's organizing Sun Day, a national day of action on September 21st, designed to drive renewables out of the "alternative" category once and for all. Once solar panels are installed, McKibben explains, "the sun pleasantly delivers the energy for free over and over and over and over again." That's a paradigm shift from buying energy as a commodity that could reshape not just our power grid, but geopolitics itself. While partisan politics may divide Americans on climate change, polling shows both conservatives and liberals support solar power—albeit for different reasons. His conservative neighbors embrace energy independence and self-reliance, while liberals appreciate the environmental benefits. "Even humans are going to be hard pressed to figure out how to start a war over sunshine," McKibben notes.You can learn more about Bill McKibben's work at BillMcKibben.com and Sun Day events at Sunday.Earth. "Here Comes the Sun" is available on Amazon, at Powell's Books, and in local bookstores.Subscribe to Sustainability In Your Ear on iTunesFollow Sustainability In Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

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• Sustainability In Your Ear: Carbonfuture is Building the Trust Infrastructure for Carbon Removal

  The carbon removal industry stands at a crucial crossroads. While cutting emissions remains essential, avoiding catastrophic warming now requires pulling billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere permanently. But as this nascent field grapples with questions of legitimacy, scalability, and accountability, a critical challenge remains: How do we build the infrastructure needed to track, verify, and certify that carbon has actually been removed and stays removed? Meet Hannes Junginger-Gestrich, CEO of Carbonfuture, a company helping define the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) infrastructure that could transform carbon removal from scattered efforts into a functioning ecosystem. Launched five years ago, Carbonfuture has emerged as what CDR.fyi describes as "the largest facilitator of durable carbon removal" by volume. The company's digital platform integrates data across the carbon removal life cycle, connecting diverse approaches like biochar, enhanced rock weathering, and direct air capture with buyers seeking to meet climate commitments. "We are probably more the crowd, the ground keepers in a stadium that makes sure that everything is provided properly," Hannes explains, using a sports analogy to describe their role: "We are the ground keepers in a stadium [who ensure] the players have a playing field that's in shape and no one gets hurt, and the audience can come and they pay their tickets and have a good experience."The MRV infrastructure becomes crucial as corporate demand for verified carbon removal grows and trust becomes currency. One of the most interesting aspects of the conversation centers on balancing data confidentiality with transparency needs, particularly when collecting data along industrial value chains from agricultural residue producers to biochar processors to end users. Perhaps most telling is Junginger-Gestrich's unwavering commitment to scientific rigor over short-term economic gains: "We never had to trade off between rigor and allowing a not so good project on our platform for economic reasons. We always lean to the scientific and rigorous side." This philosophy has guided Carbonfuture's work with leading buyers like Microsoft, helping develop increasingly sophisticated approaches to carbon removal verification. While Junginger-Gestrich expresses concern about delayed emission reductions globally, he remains optimistic about carbon removal scaling: "I think we will be on the path to the gigatons by 2040 for sure." His vision emphasizes ecosystem thinking over vertical integration, aiming to drive down costs while creating network effects that could accelerate the entire field. As governments worldwide grapple with climate policy, the monitoring, reporting, and verification systems companies like Carbonfuture are developing now may well determine the success of our collective effort to reverse climate change. You can learn more about Carbonfuture at carbonfuture.earth.

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• Sustainability In Your Ear: Author Topher McDougal Asks If Earth Is Evolving A Planetary Consciousness

  What if Earth is developing a planetary collective intelligence emerging from the convergence of ecological crisis, new global information systems, and the data-crunching capabilities of artificial intelligence? This provocative question drives economist Topher McDougal's book, Gaia Wakes: Earth's Emergent Consciousness in an Age of Environmental Devastation. On this episode of Sustainability In Your Ear, explore McDougal's sweeping theory that our planet may be in the early stages of developing what he calls a "Gaiacephalos"—a planetary consciousness that could fundamentally reshape humanity's role in the global ecosystem. McDougal opens his book with a striking metaphor from Star Trek: The Next Generation, where the Enterprise's computer systems flicker into sentience, its emerging "personality" acting out disagreements in the holodeck that nearly destroy the ship. That episode, McDougal argues, mirrors our current moment. As environmental devastation accelerates and technologies become increasingly networked, we may be witnessing the birth pangs of a planetary intelligence that could guide us toward survival or react chaotically to the damage humans have caused.Building on James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, which views Earth as a self-regulating living system, McDougal explores the profound and unsettling implications of Gaiacephalos. What is humanity's role? Noting a paradox in human development, that societies have become increasingly peaceful at the expense of massive environmental degradation, McDougal discusses how concepts like "progress" and "free will" might change in a world governed by an emergent planetary intelligence. Drawing on ancient myths—from Hopi legends to the Tower of Babel—McDougal uses traditional stories as lenses for understanding global transformation. Throughout our conversation, he repeatedly references the work of René Descartes and how his mind-body split has defined Western thinking since the Enlightenment. He argues that this mechanistic view prevents us from understanding emerging systems holistically—whether we're talking about AI, collective intelligence, or planetary consciousness. We keep separating the physical system that performs calculations from the experience of thought itself, missing the integrated whole. Consequently, becoming "indigenous to our times" offers a path forward. Rather than appropriating Indigenous ways of life, he suggests we need to learn how to live fully in relationship with our current systems and places. True indigeneity means understanding our role within larger systems and, as the apex predator currently destroying the ecosystem we depend on, being thoughtful about our interactions within that system.What if Earth is developing a planetary collective intelligence emerging from the convergence of ecological crisis, new global information systems, and the data-crunching capabilities of artificial intelligence? This provocative question drives economist Topher McDougal's book, Gaia Wakes: Earth's Emergent Consciousness in an Age of Environmental Devastation. On this episode of Sustainability In Your Ear, we explore McDougal's sweeping theory that our planet may be in the early stages of developing what he calls a "Gaiacephalos"—a planetary consciousness that could fundamentally reshape humanity's role in the global ecosystem. McDougal opens his book with a striking metaphor from Star Trek: The Next Generation, where the Enterprise's computer systems flicker into sentience, its emerging "personality" acting out disagreements in the holodeck that nearly destroy the ship. That episode, McDougal argues, mirrors our current moment. As environmental devastation accelerates and technologies become increasingly networked, we may be witnessing the birth pangs of a planetary intelligence that could guide us toward survival or react chaotically to the damage humans have caused.Building on James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, which views Earth as a self-regulating living system, McDougal explores the profound and unsettling implications of Gaiacephalos. What is humanity's role? Noting a paradox in human development, that societies have become increasingly peaceful at the expense of massive environmental degradation, McDougal discusses how concepts like "progress" and "free will" might change in a world governed by an emergent planetary intelligence. Drawing on ancient myths—from Hopi legends to the Tower of Babel—McDougal uses traditional stories as lenses for understanding global transformation. Throughout our conversation, McDougal repeatedly references the work of René Descartes and how his mind-body split has defined Western thinking since the Enlightenment. He argues that this mechanistic view prevents us from understanding emerging systems holistically—whether we're talking about AI, collective intelligence, or planetary consciousness. We keep separating the physical system that performs calculations from the experience of thought itself, missing the integrated whole. McDougal's concept of becoming "indigenous to our times" offers a path forward. Rather than appropriating Indigenous ways of life, he suggests we need to learn how to live fully in relationship with our current systems and places. True indigeneity means understanding our role within larger systems and, as the apex predator currently destroying the ecosystem we depend on, being thoughtful about our interactions within that system.Gaia Wakes poses challenging questions about whether we're building toward a benign planetary intelligence or heading toward dystopian risks. McDougal doesn't offer easy answers, but he provides a framework for thinking about how technological trends—from AI and smart infrastructure to global information networks—might be assembling the components of a planetary brain. The book is part speculative theory, part analytical deep dive. It challenges readers to think beyond traditional boundaries between nature and technology, individual and collective intelligence, human agency and planetary systems. You can learn more about Topher McDougal and his work at https://tophermcdougal.com/. Gaia Wakes is available on Amazon, Powell's Books, and at local bookstores. 

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• Sustainability In Your Ear: Author Kelsey Timmerman's Journey to Find Farms Regenerating Earth

  The scale of agriculture's environmental impact is staggering. According to the EPA, agricultural runoff is the leading cause of degraded water quality in rivers and streams. Today's farming practices lead to 1.70 billion tons of U.S. topsoil annually, and agriculture produces 31% of human greenhouse gas emissions. Tune in to meet Kelsey Timmerman, author of the new book, Regenerating Earth, from Patagonia Books, who faces a heartbreaking reality shared by many rural families: he can't let his children swim in the pond near their Indiana home because of agricultural contamination. Rather than accept environmental degradation as inevitable, Kelsey embarked on a global journey to find farmers and communities who prove there's another way. From standing barefoot in traditional Hawaiian kalo patches to protecting cattle from lions alongside Maasai warriors in Kenya to discovering how chocolate could save Brazilian rainforests, he found regenerative agriculture practices that build soil, sequester carbon, and challenge everything we think we know about farming. Kelsey's story revolves around systems thinking that connects everything from chloroplasts to mycorrhizal fungi with how we eat. He argues that industrial agriculture leads to farmers being farmed by corporations, trapping them in debt to buy chemically treated seeds, fertilizer, herbicides, and fungicides. His journey uncovered regenerative practices rooted in Indigenous and traditional farming practices combined with cutting-edge soil science. Farming can be more profitable for farmers who heal the land. The solutions aren't new. They're already in hand but largely ignored or forgotten because they require attention to nature's complexity rather than simplifying life to fit profit margins. Regenerative thinking starts by approaching problems through the same lens that nature does, by putting everything to use and accounting for all positive and negative impacts while treating nothing as waste to be discarded. For consumers, this means understanding that grocery choices ripple through complex ecological networks, with practical steps starting at farmers markets and supporting farms that regenerate rather than degrade the land which you can find using the Farm Map at https://regenerationinternational.org/. You can learn more about Kelsey's work at kelseytimmerman.com and Regenerating Earth is available on Amazon, Powell's Books, and local booksellers.Subscribe to Sustainability In Your Ear on iTunesFollow Sustainability In Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

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