Who's Saving the Planet?

When we last spoke to Sanchali Pal she was the CEO of Juro. Today, Juro is called Commons, and she has $10,000,000 reasons to be more optimistic about the future of personal carbon accountability.

Commons is an app …

What if recharging your EV was as easy as swapping out the batteries in your flashlight? That's exactly the future Ample is building.

In this episode we sat down with Ample president John de Souza to discuss the future …

Understanding a forest has long been a marriage of art and science, but without the technology to scale. Earthforce is determined to bring forestry …

Europe has long been more aggressive in how it deploys legislation and regulatory agency to push for a more climate positive future from large …

It's morning, you walk into your backyard, stroll over to the Maple by the fence, and have a conversation about the weather. That, my friends, is …

What if you could build a virtual environment, a la Sim City, but with real world inputs about product pipelines, energy sources, construction cap …

Artificial Intelligence will reshape our future in ways we haven't yet imagined. Electric Vehicles will transform our relationship with transportation. Today we're talking with Jason Koeller, the man who is at the …

Jay Kapoor is the General Partner of VSC Ventures, an offshoot of the internationally lauded PR firm VSC. As a seasoned investor Jay, who spent the last decade advising teams and athletes in the NFL, NBA and other major …

Tim Hade is the COO and Co-Founder of Scale Microgrid Solutions. He founded Scale Microgrid Solutions to build distributed energy systems for …

The fashion industry is incredibly wasteful. Of the 100 billion garments manufactured in the world every year over 50 billion end up in landfill …

We throw away 50,000,000,000, that's fifty BILLION, single use coffee cups each year, in the US alone. While most of these are made out of paper they include a plastic liner which makes them very tricky, if impossible, …

It all started with a pizza box.

Jack Bruner, co-founder and CEO of Carbon Neutral Club, is a reformed consultant, some of our favorite people here …

When you’re faced with a giant systemic machine that looks like it’s really never going to change, adopting some sort of nihilistic view isn’t uncommon.

Brooke Bowlin’s giant machine is the Fast Fashion industry, which …

Riddle me this: What if all of our clothes were made from seaweed? 

This week we sit down with two phenomenal women who are changing the fashion industry from the inside out. Keel Labs was founded by fashion industry …

Let’s say you’re a big company. You’ve been making all these commitments recently at press conferences to get “carbon neutral”.” it’s been great for …

Every brand worth their sustainable (or marketing...) salt is claiming a path to carbon neutrality, the bridge between the marking claims and the climate realities is being built in real time. This week we sit down with …

Prior to becoming the President and Chief Strategy Officer of Arrival, Avinash Rugoobur, led General Motor's billion dollar acquisition of autonomous …

As with most things magically, Joro was once an excel spreadsheet. Sanchali Pal was concerned with her personal carbon footprint when she was in …

Put your money where your mouth is, perhaps more effect would be to put your moneys where your values are. Carbon Collective is an investment …

We often discuss saving the planet in terms of technological breakthroughs, political movements or individual choices. This week we examine a more …

They say culture eats strategy for breakfast, and if that's true it's unlikely Raven Hernandez, CEO and founder of Earthrides, will be hungry any …

Who gets a voice when it comes to the environment? After all, we all have to live on this little blue dot together. Everyone, regardless of identity, has a right to define humanity’s relationship with the environment. …

Imagine if you could wave your phone across a hoodie and instantly get information about where the cotton was sourced, how much the workers were …

Imagine a substance which is as durable, malleable, and practical as plastic, except it's produced through extracting methane from the atmosphere, …

92 million tonnes of clothes end up in the garbage every year. That's more than one full dumpster truck every second. The fashion industry has long …

Nate Storey, the Chief Science Officer of Plenty, has a vision for the next evolution of agriculture, and it has nothing to do with a farm. At least …

Within our lifetimes, actually within this decade according to our guest today, your grocery store will have three options for a burger: traditional …

Over one hundred million tons of fabric is produced for the textile industry ever year. The scale of that production is hard to comprehend, but for comparison, the Empire States Building weighs about 365,000 tons, so we …

As e-commerce has swallowed consumerism, we take for granted the speed and ubiquity of shopping online. Get anything ever in a day at most, feels like magic. But, all of those products have a story to tell in the …

This week Karin Dillie, VP of Partnerships for Recurate, joins us to talk about how they're building the technology for independent brands to resell …

What if superior clothing retained re-sale value enough to justify a reach purchase, knowing you'd be able to recoup a hefty sum when you were ready to move on? We think that way about cars, why not suits? Why not …

Imagine if you could actually see sustainability in manufacturing manifested, immediately and obviously. That's exactly what the team at Circular …

This week we return to the world of furniture with Kristin Smith, COO, President, and even an early investor, of Fernish. The EPA estimates that  12.2 million tons of furniture ends up in a landfill every year, a …

Paul Shapiro spent is career working to improve the wellbeing of animals through legislation, activism, awareness campaigns, and civic engagement …

Zach Lawless is one of the few people I've met who's gets just as worked up about all the ways recycling isn't all it's made out to be as Jess Miles does. And that's saying something. 

Zach founded the GoodGoods to step …

Madeline Fraser came up with the idea for Gemist when she tried to design herself a custom ring. The ordeal proved successful but a headache. How is …

After six years working at Amazon, Sydney Badger had bigger dreams than maximizing efficiency. But, she also had a black-belt in maximizing efficiency. Public Habit is the marriage of expert supply chain optimization …

The answer, at its most maximalist expression, a significant reduction in the 30% of greenhouse gasses released through the production of heavy industry. The people making that hypothesis a reality? Meet Sean and G, …

Yes, that's a photography pun. I'm a dad, the jokes come with the gig. 

KT Merry is an internationally recognized high-end destination photographer who moonlights as a conservationist, traveling the world capturing …

Extracting metals from the earth is, by nature, not a sustainable practice. We have a finite amount of resources, after all. However, that doesn't mean that all methods of mining are created equal.

Anna Bario, one half …

A net positive product is a new concept: a thing which by virtue of it having been made, has improved the outlook for earth and the humans who live …

Agriculture and farming can play a tremendous role in reducing America's carbon footprint and farmers can lead the way in offsetting greenhouse gas …

Microsoft says it's going carbon negative. You just bought an offset for a flight you're taking (congrats, welcome back). Credit cards have carbon-neutral lifestyle plans in the works. All sounds great, but what does it …

Generally when Mark Cuban makes you an offer, it's a good idea to take the deal and run. Lindsey McCormick had a different idea.

Lindsey is the CEO and co-founder of Bite, the tablet toothpaste company which charged …

What if we knew everything about everything we bought? Nuts to bolts, cradle to grave, all of it. Would we make better choices? Would we treat our …

Third-generation sustainability superstar Alex Shadrow is our guest. She's an entrepreneur who says it's in her DNA to solve the fashion waste …

If we intend to meet our climate goals, we need to decarbonize the transportation sector. That means moving away from fossil fuels to clean energy. …

Before Shari Siadat was a children's book author, before she was a corporate executive, or a mother of three, she was a child struggling with the …

While Jason Carney is not one to shy away from the responsibility he's shouldered as a pioneer in his field and a leader in his community, he does so …

Inventor and engineer David Weaver started out at Kodak some 40 years ago cleaning optical equipment by hand. Today, he's at the helm of his own eco-friendly cleaning product company — Aphex BioCleanse Systems. Its …

Getting companies to do things is hard. Getting companies to take climate seriously has been a slow, long, march, with many a setback and all too few victories. It's a fight Bill Weihl knows well, and recently he …

Leo Alvarez and his team over at Protera had a busy 2020. Not only did the startup snag $5.5 million in venture capital, it traded its San Francisco digs for a new HQ in the 'City of Lights' — Paris. But what's next on …

Suicide and mental health are discussed at length in this episode, which could be triggering. If you, or anyone you know is struggling with mental …

If a tree falls in a city, but no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Cities across the U.S. are losing their urban canopy. In fact, more trees fall in cities than in our national forests. (Roughly 46 …

The magnitude and complexity of the threat posed by climate change can't be solved with one silver bullet. Rather than looking for one solution, Dr. …

Soil erosion, the degradation of the health of soil through over-tilling and rampant use of chemicals, is an existential threat to our ability to grow food, sequester carbon and live in harmony with nature. In many …

Here's an age old question: how do you make marketing a force for good in the world? Welcome to the world of Andrew Forman's win-win-win business …

Imagine a world where offsetting your carbon footprint was as simple as ordering more butt paste for your newborn infant (relevant, I promise). If we're going create a better world for the generations to come, my baby …

Let's say you're on the beach one day with your metal detector (as we do) and happen upon a chest of buried treasure, as it were. Your first call is your mom, clearly, but then after that, ring up CEO of Boundless …

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, personal protective equipment (PPE) like medical grade gloves flew off the shelves in an effort to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. But PPE supplies aren't exactly …

For a long minute in venture capital world (and on Shark Tank, for those of us playing at home) if you were pitching your new start up, it was useful …

Big tech companies like Microsoft and Apple are guilty of planned obsolescence. They purposely make stuff glitchy so you have to buy whatever new …

With degrees in Industrial Engineering, Business, and Fashion Design, Kristy Caylor was well prepared for the world of fashion by the time she joined GAP Inc. in 2004. She led the Project (RED) initiative within GAP, …

9.8 million tons of furniture end up in landfills every year, and most of it was pretty crappy to begin with. Jay  is here to change that, and along the way, our conception of how we use, enjoy and own our stuff. 

To be …

Our guest this week is Evan Hanczor, a chef at the sustainable breakfast restaurant Egg and the founder of Tables of Contents. TOC brings people together to enjoy a book passage paired with a meal that really brings …

By the age of 25 Abigail Lorick had clocked a successful career as a Ford Model and was on her way to launching her own brand. From there her career …

Hydropower already provides nearly 7% of the nation’s electricity. It also holds tremendous potential for expansion! But there are challenges: How …

66°North began not so much as a clothing company as it was a means of not dying. In 1926 the company was founded to provide a layer of protection from the elements to their local community of fisherman. Considering it …

This week we're revisiting one of our favorite stories from 2020, the crazy duo in South Africa building engines that look like beetles powered by …

In 2009 Dr. Harvey Karp was in the twilight of his career as a renowned pediatric physician, beloved professor of medicine, and renowned author of the "Happiest Baby"  book series. While he was working the speaking …

Steve Sakala says there's zero excuse for consumer packaged goods companies to not be plastic negative. Take his work in the cannabis industry, for example. Like most industries, the world of weed has a major …

Do you have a drawer or box filled with old laptops and smartphones? Or  perhaps your electric vehicle is reaching the end of its life and you're …

At the top of this episode, special guest Penelope Barr reminds us: Getting up and living your life well makes you the hero of your story. She's certainly done that. With 20-plus years of tech expertise, Penelope is …

On Black Friday, ditch the guilt and secure your stocking stuffers with an episode that honors the environment and Indigenous peoples. As anyone knows, makeup is a deeply personal endeavor. How we see ourselves, matters.

Gina Stovell has been called many things: climate scientists, onetime geological consultant, sustainability evangelists (that's me who called her …

Here's a question I get often. How many trees can a tree planter plant, if a tree planter could plant trees all day? The answer: Many fewer than if …

Happy Democracy Day in the United States! There's no one we'd rather have on the pod today to help us make sense of the marriage between climate and …

Have you ever fed a plastic bottle into the machine outside the grocery store, watched in amazement as it disappeared into that mysterious maw and returned to you a nickel, and left thinking you did your part to reduce, …

For our 50th episode (more than a few grey hairs in the beard to prove it) we turn the mic on ourselves to pull back the curtain on the planet saving …

Here's a horrifying fact: humans ingest one credit card worth of plastic every week. Plastic is ubiquitous in everyday life, more so than we realize. The large plastic composite, for instance, the tires on our cars and …

It's easy to say you can see the forest from the trees, easier still if you deploy a fleet of satellites using bleeding edge artificial intelligence and machine learning to count the leaves on the trees in the forests. …

A rose by any other name... could be called denim overalls once DJ's had her way with them. 

Do you want to take your Poison Ivy cosplay to a new …

If you were anywhere close to crunchy in high-school you had a pin on your backpack that proclaimed, "Be The Change You Want To See In The World." …

Imagine you knew how much carbon went into everything that you bought on Amazon through handy browser plug in. Then imagine you could offset that …

Those who make movie magic are often doing so at the expense of the environment. The logistics of producing a big-budget show or blockbuster require …

Two main issues plague consumers looking to shop sustainably: finding the startups (who generally don't have massive marketing budgets to find you) that are making sustainable products, and secondly, trusting that those …

This week we cap off our activism abroad series with three inspiring activists who aren't waiting for anyone to change the world for them, they don't have that kind of time. Michael, Luna and Lily are all still in high …

This one takes a bit of explaining. Rachel Major, co-founder and CEO of NuLeaf Technologies, began her journey into entrepreneurship as most do, with …

Elizabeth Gulugulu lives in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, but her ambitions reach far beyond the city limits. She has traveled to the United …

What do you get when you mix energetic electrolysis, micro-biotic fermentation, and a couple of mad scientists? I'll take "Creates Dinner Out of …

The Jammu Kashmir region of India is a remote patch of land that has- for decades- been home to ongoing geo-political turmoil, border scuffles and …

Dr. Enric Sala was a lauded professor until he quit his job because, in his words, "I was doing was writing the obituary of ocean life."  Thus began …

Sustainable marketing guru Suzanne Shelton pulls back the curtain on what preppers, extremists and anarchists reveal about what’s in store for a …

Every so often we find innovators creating fantastically elegant solutions to equally fantastically huge problems. In this episode we take a journey …

How do you align the interests of business, government, and communities with the rigor and rigidity of environmental science? Well, with carrots and sticks, and a good measure of grit. Dr. Brosnan shares with us her …

Ciara May is walking the path of an entrepreneur: she recognized a problem, looked for a solution on the market, and when she found none existed, she …

Can we save our future by putting a price on carbon? A carbon tax has been in the conversation since the 70's, but we've had very little in the way of progress despite decades of scientist and economists arguing that it …

Mimi Ausland began her career as a climate activist at the age of 14 with a click-to-give website that landed her on Oprah, Ellen, and the Today Show- and that was just the beginning. 
Mimi built and runs the website …

Sameera delves into her work at the UNDP, which supports countries to transition toward low-emission and climate-resilient sustainable development. She discusses the critical work that the UNDP does globally, like …

WSTP travels (via Zoom) to the historic Vino Nobile district in the southeastern Siena province of Tuscany. There, we speak to Michele Manelli — the man behind Salcheto Wine. The word ‘salcheto’ comes from the stream …

Alice Min Soo Chun is an architect who is used to overseeing large-scale projects, but her greatest design is an item that weighs just over two …

Throughout the pandemic, including the cresting of the first wave in New York City, Dr. Khullar has been on the front lines caring for patients at …

This week, Lex and Tony head into "the lab" with the brilliant Naz Shams as their guide. Hear how this fellow New Yorker took a chance, changed careers and embarked on a mission to ethically — and sustainably — create …

How do we alter our perception of the world in ways so subtle we don't realize it's happening? To quote Morpheus from the Matrix, "what you know you can't explain, but you feel it...." (yes, we're nerds here on this …

Would you wear a t-shirt made from milk? You might soon enough. Two years ago, Robert Luo visited his uncle's dairy farm and was shocked to see …

You may have seen the letters ESG in the news recently, we certainly have. Literally, that translates to "Environmental, Social and Governance", but …

In episode 22, Tony and Lex meet Bertrand Piccard — the legendary pilot who circumnavigated the globe with a solar-powered aircraft. Before that, he …

Farms, and specifically dairy farms, were traditionally a centerpiece of economic livelihood and cultural heritage in the rural North East. In the …

When you're unemployed, sites like LinkedIn or Indeed feel more like a rabbit hole than job-search platforms. That's especially the case if you're on …

The 5/6th grade class of NYC's Pine Street School host this episode of Who's Saving the Planet, and they're bringing the heat! Since March they've …

Most of our episodes are dedicated to people who are saving the planet today, but in this edition of CONTEXT we dig into how we're preparing the next generation to save the planet tomorrow. The team at TED-ED, led by …

A mechanical bug just might be the answer to solving the world's plastic problem — a 6 billion-ton problem. That's how much plastic is in the …

Consumer facing companies are in the news constantly touting "green" initiatives, socially responsible campaigns, and feel good stories that make you wonder whether the marketing budget is bigger than the actual …

With their powers combined, planeteers Lex and Tony bring you this super-sized episode featuring one of the most brilliant scientists working in the renewable energy industry today. He's Dr. Reginald Parker — aka Dr. …

“Sometimes you need to understand that a small change in a big problem is a big change.” Words of subtle wisdom from the founder of Eva, Tamara …

During this shutdown we've seen the LA skyline emerge from a haze as if on cue from a cinematographer, the Himalayas visible from India for the first time in memory, and images from space revealing a planet unburdened …

The ocean is in jeopardy! Scientists say if we continue to pollute and plunder the seven seas, they'll be fully depleted by 2050. In other words, …

What will the world look like when we can return to it? What will we need to change in order to restore the trust on only in the safety and hygiene of our shared spaces, but in each other? In this week’s edition of …

More than 294 million Americans used liquid hand soap in 2019. That soap typically comes in plastic packaging... and it ultimately pollutes our …

This is our first in a series of episodes that reflect how the events we are living through today will impact the struggle to save the planet for tomorrow. We’ll interview a host of professionals form academia, …

CEO and Founder Jonathan Cedar had his eureka moment a decade ago which led him to create a revolutionary way to cook meals and generate electricity. …

The dark side of coffee isn’t the roast. It’s the trash. Enter Muuse, the reusable coffee cup company that’s using technology to create a system of …

Did you know that 40% (!!!) of all the food grown in the USA goes to waste? This week we interview Ben Deda, CEO of FoodMaven, a Colorado based …

Liz Turrigiano and her co-founders are solving a problem every new parent is all too familiar with, what to do with the poop? They’ve created a …

Meet Amanda Weeks. She's the genius behind Veles, a revolutionary all-purpose household cleaner composed of two things — water and organic food …

Lex is in Brooklyn. Tony is in Manhattan. Boroughs apart... but the show must go on! This week, the Planeteers wield Zoom to bring you a special edition of Who's Saving The Planet? to discuss two important topics. First …

In the most epic meet cute, Olivia met Kyle when he was running a diamond mine and she was polishing her diamond skills as a gemologist. What came …

The indomitable Carly Bigi pulls back the curtain on the incredible waste — including literally setting clothes on fire — that is rampant in the …