The Planet Today

The Planet Today

by Matt Norden and Nick Gennusa

A solar tower producing jet fuel, we’re less mad at Joe Manchin, & more!

Matt and Nick talk about Joe Manchin changing his mind and agreeing to the Senate’s climate and energy programs (Manchin, in Reversal, Agrees to Quick Action on Climate and Tax Plan - The New York Times (nytimes.com)), A solar tower creating sustainable jet fuel (All-in-one solar tower produces jet fuel from CO2, water and sunlight (newatlas.com)), The fossil of the earliest known animal predator has been found in Leicestershire (Ancient fossil is earliest known animal predator - BBC News), President Biden’s low-income solar plan (Biden launches plan to bring solar to low-income homes - POLITICO), And a new villain for Matt to be mad at! This time, it’s a political consulting firm operating behind the scenes in at least eight states to fight clean energy (Leaked: US power companies secretly spending millions to protect profits and fight clean energy | Florida | The Guardian)!

Monday Minisode: Solar Recycling & The IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress!

Matt and Nick talk about the projected boom in solar panel recycling (Solar panel recycling market to be worth billions by 2030, say researchers | RenewEconomy) And the Pan-African committee focused on protected areas to conserve wildlife (First IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress opens in Kigali, Rwanda - Press release | IUCN)!

Guest Interview: Tara Lordi and Bobby O’Shields (Weedoo Boats)

Matt interviews Tara Lordi and Bobby O’Shields. Their company, Weedoo, is on the forefront of waterway cleanup in an environmentally safe manner. Weedoo is the industry’s leading manufacturer of aquatic weed harvesters and weed cutters. They value our natural resources and aim to keep herbicides and toxic chemicals out of the water in order to provide solutions that preserve nature. Tara has experience in operations, technology, development, and business and is well-regarded in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

Climate Change’s impact on armed conflict and refugees

Matt and Nick talk about a study that predicts an increase in armed conflict in Africa. They also get into the U.S. Military's carbon emissions and pollution levels, and why climate change can increase wars but wars also increase climate change. They break down the impacts climate change will have on people as water and food availability decrease and the number of climate refugees increases. Some people may even leave cities if infrastructure is not able to catch up to the threats caused by heat waves. Sources for today’s episode: Climate change could increase armed conflict in Africa: study | CTV News Climate change and conflict | ICRC Hunger in Africa surges due to conflict, climate and food prices | CTV News The U.S. Military Emits More Carbon Dioxide Into the Atmosphere Than Entire Countries Like Denmark or Portugal - Inside Climate News Climate refugees: The world’s forgotten displacement crisis | Concern Worldwide (concernusa.org) 13 Things to Know About Climate Refugees (theimpactinvestor.com) Most US cities underprepared for rising heat, study finds – The Hill

Energy Department’s support for clean energy tech, Joe Manchin still sucks, & more!

Matt and Nick talk about an $18.4 million commercialization fund to support clean energy technologies (Energy Department to fund initiatives focused on ‘barriers’ to clean energy tech | The Hill), A copper shortage means bad news for renewables (Copper is key to electric vehicles, wind and solar power. We're short supply (cnbc.com)), Europe’s current heat wave (Europe broils in heat wave that fuels fires in France, Spain | AP News). ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Hilcorp, and Occidental Petroleum’s major contributions to US emissions (Four companies are top sources of US greenhouse gas, methane emissions: report | The Hill), And Matt once again is mad at Joe Manchin (Democratic Senator representing the good folks at ExxonMobil). This time, it is for not supporting major climate provisions in President Biden’s agenda (Manchin balks at climate and tax pieces of Biden agenda bill but backs health care provisions (nbcnews.com))!

Guest Interview: Charles Henry (Council on Library and Information Resources)

Matt interviews Charles Henry, the President of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), a non-profit organization that works with libraries, cultural institutions, and higher learning communities to improve research, teaching, and learning environments through the digitization and preservation of cultural heritage. Charles believes preserving cultural heritage connects us with humanity’s collective experience and knowledge, and gives us a sense of identity. However, cultural memory loss can easily occur and climate change poses a significant threat. In fact, it is believed that 98.8% of American archives are likely to encounter at least one climate risk factor by the year 2100. CLIR has been working for decades on the preservation and access to cultural heritage. Projects include theDigital Library of the Middle East, one of the world’s largest online archives of Middle Eastern and North African artifacts, and theHBCU Library Alliance Partnership, which fosters awareness of and access to collections held by Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Weedkiller ingredient found in human urine, a whiskey made from invasive crabs & more! Featuring Dan Walsh

Matt is joined by recurring guest co-host Dan Walsh of Vala Alta Check them out on Tiktok an Instagram @Vala_Alta. They talk about a weedkiller ingredient found in 80% of human urine samples (‘Disturbing’: weedkiller ingredient tied to cancer found in 80% of US urine samples | US news | The Guardian), The proposed Willow oil project (Biden Administration Signals Support for Controversial Alaska Oil Project - The New York Times (nytimes.com)), Microplastics discovered in beef and pork (Around 80% of cow and pig meat, blood and milk contains plastic - Plastic Soup Foundation), Forever chemicals found in oysters (‘Forever Chemicals’ Found Contaminating 100% of Florida Oysters Tested - EcoWatch), And a whiskey made of invasive crabs (How a New Hampshire distillery is fighting invasive green crabs — with whiskey : NPR)!

Plastic Policy, Drought in Italy, & more!

Matt and Giselle talk about California placing recycling costs on plastic producers (California Requires Plastics Makers to Foot the Bill for Recycling - The New York Times (nytimes.com)), Canada’s ban on grocery bags, takeout containers, and stir sticks (Canada is banning the sale, production and import of some single-use plastics | Engadget), High amount of plastic in Asian elephant diet in India (New Study Documents the Extent of Plastic Ingestion as an Emerging Threat to Endangered Asian Elephants in Uttarakhand, India), And drought in Italy’s impact on rice - and risotto (Rice fields dry up as Italy's drought lingers on | AP News)!

Space Bubbles, Feeding Insects to Cows, & more!

Matt and Giselle talk about the link between birds and wildfires (How an Electrocuted Bird Might Start a Wildfire - The New York Times (nytimes.com)), Cooling earth through reflecting sunlight (MIT proposes Brazil-sized fleet of “space bubbles” to cool the Earth (freethink.com)), How scientists and fishers are working together to protect overfished sharks (A shark 'superhighway' is being protected by fishermen), And sustainable meat and dairy through changing cow feed (Feeding insects to cattle could make meat and milk production more sustainable (theconversation.com))!

Monday Minisode: Fish leather & one mischievous beaver!

Matt and Nick talk about a sustainable leather made from invasive fish species (Fish leather is here, it’s sustainable – and it’s made from invasive species to boot | Invasive species | The Guardian) And a power, internet, and cell service outage in Northern British Columbia caused by one single beaver (What caused B.C. power outage? | CTV News)! Trigger Warning: Matt and Nick start the show by discussing the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court. They would like everyone to be aware of Vote Save America’s F*ck Bans Action Plan, where donations are split evenly amongst Abortion Clinics, Patients, and Legal Defense. Click the link below to donate one time or to set up recurring monthly donations. F*ck Bans Action Plan: The Immediate Impact Fund — Donate via AB Charities (actblue.com)

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