The Planet Today

The Planet Today

di Matt Norden and Nick Gennusa

Scientists protesting around the world over climate inaction, “Drill Baby Drill” in the U.S., & more!

It’s Earth Day! Matt and Nick celebrate by talking about the U.S. resuming drilling for oil and gas on public lands (U.S. to resume oil, gas drilling on public land despite Biden campaign pledge | Reuters), The shock-wave from the Tonga Volcanic eruption in January 2022 ( ‘It’s Super Spectacular.’ See How the Tonga Volcano Unleashed a Once-in-a-Century Shockwave. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)), A new climate law in Maryland (Maryland just passed one of the most aggressive climate laws in the US | Canary Media), And scientists protesting in over 25 countries over political climate inaction (Over 1,000 scientists from around the world take to the streets in week-long climate protests – The Hill)!

Guest Interview: Brian Alderman (IvyCo) and Nate Truitt (The American Forest Foundation)

Matt interviews Brian Alderman and Nate Truitt! Brian is the Founder and CEO of IvyCo, a financial technology company that aims to increase engagement with the climate crisis and raise money to protect our American forests and fund environmental non-profits. Nate is the Senior Vice President of Business Development at the American Forest Foundation, which aims for meaningful conservation impact through the empowerment of family forest owners Their teams, along with many other partners - most notably The Nature Conservancy - have worked to put together the Family Forest Carbon Program, which helps family forest owners earn income from growing their forests and using sustainable forestry practices. You can learn more about IvyCo and/or the American Forest Foundation by clicking any of the links in your show notes. Download IvyCo on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ivyco/id1616898815 or Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eco.app.ivyco&hl=en_US&gl=US

The global renewable push, water as a human right & more!

Matt and Nick talk about the White House’s Office of Management and Budget calling the financial risks of climate change “immense” (White House details ‘immense’ risks of climate change for federal budget | The Hill) African nations ramping up renewables to mitigate climate change and boost their economies (Africa looks to renewables to curb warming, boost economies - ABC News (go.com)), Could water soon be treated as a right and not a commodity in the United States? (Rep. Khanna, Senator Warren Introduce Bill to Prevent Corporations From Profiting Off Water Rights | Food & Water Watch (foodandwaterwatch.org)), Non-organic produce and the abundance of pesticides found on them (Pesticide residue found in over 70 percent of non-organic US produce: report | The Hill), And Germany’s clean energy expansion and reduction in reliance on Russian oil (Germany unveils plans to accelerate green energy expansion | Reuters)!

A Spinosaurus update and a prehistoric conversation!

Matt and Nick talk about the Spinosaurus: a dinosaur with penguin-like bones. National Geographic’s Michael Greshko reports that this is a sign of underwater hunting. The Spinosaurus and its cousin, the Baryonyx, are the only known dinosaurs other than birds with this adaptation. So what did we learn about the Spinosaurus? What does this discovery mean for the species? And what else have we learned about dinosaurs recently? The guys dive into this before discussing some dinosaur fun facts, their favorite dinosaurs, their favorite dinosaur movies, and some dinosaur theories. Check out the National Geographic story here: Spinosaurus had penguin-like bones, a sign of hunting underwater (nationalgeographic.com) Additional source material for this week’s show: Spinosaurus - Wikipedia Spinosaurus Facts Stegosaurus - Wikipedia Stegosaurus Facts Triceratops - Wikipedia 10 Intriguing Facts About the Triceratops (thoughtco.com) T. Rex Like You Haven’t Seen Him: With Feathers - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Legal rights for animals, logging in Tongass National Forest, & more!

Matt and Nick talk about a Sumatran Rhino born in Indonesia's Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park (Heartwarming News As A Critically Endangered Sumatran Rhino Is Born At The Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary In Indonesia - World Animal News) Logging in Tongass National Forest (A logging loophole is clear-cutting the Tongass National Forest - Grist | Grist), The fight to protect little penguins in South Australia (Victor Harbor council works hard to protect little penguins, but says it needs SA government help too - ABC News), UPS potentially cutting urban delivery emissions by using “eQuads” (UPS tries out 'eQuad' electric bikes for urban deliveries | Reuters), And legal rights for animals in Ecuador (Ecuador’s High Court Rules That Wild Animals Have Legal Rights - Inside Climate News)!

Documentary Review: Kiss the Ground (Netflix)

Matt and Nick review the 2020 documentary Kiss the Ground on Netflix. The documentary’s description says “Science experts and celebrity activists unpack the ways in which the earth’s soil may be the key to combating climate change and preserving the planet.” Matt and Nick read the documentary’s summary before getting into some discussion questions and chatting about it.

Microplastics in human blood, we still hate yachts, & more!

Matt and Nick talk about European waters being impacted by oil discharge from ships (Revealed: ships may dump oil up to 3,000 times a year in Europe’s waters | Oil spills | The Guardian), The USPS announced it would be buying mostly traditional vans and trucks to deliver mail - would a fully electric mail service be possible? (USPS Could Serve Nearly All Its Mail Routes in Electric Vehicles, a Watchdog Says - Government Executive (govexec.com)), The Traverse Wind Energy Center in Oklahoma (Massive new wind farm goes online in Oklahoma | TheHill), Microplastics have been found in human blood and can lodge in human organs (Microplastics found in human blood for first time | Plastics | The Guardian), And a breakdown of how bad yachts and superyachts really are for the environment. (Superyachts symbolize climate breakdown | Environment | All topics from climate change to conservation | DW | 24.03.2022)!

West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency

Matt and Giselle go over the U.S. Supreme Court hearing oral arguments that could weaken the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to mitigate climate change. They discuss the oral arguments, what this could mean for our climate goals, whether Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to replace Stephen Breyer makes a difference, and how they feel about this news in general. Source material for today’s show: This US Supreme Court decision could derail Biden’s climate plan (nature.com) GOP, Coal Look to Supreme Court EPA Case to Limit Federal Agencies - Bloomberg Supreme Court wrestles with EPA power to regulate climate change | TheHill

Business and Climate Change, Widespread Coral Bleaching, Winston the Bongo, & more!

Matt and Nick talk about businesses reporting their greenhouse gas emissions and how climate change is impacting their business (The SEC unveils historic climate disclosure rules for companies : NPR), Widespread coral bleaching across the Great Barrier Reef (Dead coral found at Great Barrier Reef as widespread bleaching event unfolds | Great Barrier Reef | The Guardian), How hot it is in Antarctica this month (Temperatures in eastern Antarctica are 70 degrees warmer than usual | TheHill), A large portion of the United States likely to experience drought for the first time since 2013 (Spring 2022 Drought Will Affect Most of US (gizmodo.com)), And a baby eastern bongo named Winston has been born at the Denver Zoo (Meet Winston, a rare bongo born at the Denver Zoo - CNN)! You can contact the SEC at this link: https://www.sec.gov/contact-information/sec-directory and watch the video of Winston here.

Guest Interview: Dave Johnson

Matt interviews Dave Johnson of Stanford Law School and the Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. Dave is a lawyer, teacher, and writer, who is currently working on a book titled Climate Activism by Design. You can go to www.climate-activist.com for more of Dave’s work and how you can become a better climate activist.

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