S1 E13: COP26 and the Race to Zero

In the final episode of this mini-series, youth discuss how making mindful everyday choices creates real change, and how focusing on what you can control can be both empowering and impactful, because every action truly matters.  This mini-series was created by youth, for youth, in partnership with Kids Help Phone’s National Youth Council, and Earth Rangers’ ER Teens. If you’re worried about climate change, there are things you can do to prioritize your wellbeing and get support. If you’d like to give your feelings a place to go, visit www.kidshelphone.ca for resources and support. You can also join ER Teens, a volunteer program by Earth Rangers, to take hands-on environmental action and make a positive difference in your community. Teens in Canada can visit www.earthrangers.com/EN/CA/er-teens/ to sign up.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Have you ever heard of vertical farming? Paper made from fallen leaves? Or a powder that absorbs carbon dioxide? In this episode, youth voices highlight these incredible sustainability-driven breakthroughs, along with practical ways you can you can make a difference too! This mini-series was created by youth, for youth, in partnership with Kids Help Phone’s National Youth Council, and Earth Rangers’ ER Teens. If you’re worried about climate change, there are things you can do to prioritize your wellbeing and get support. If you’d like to give your feelings a place to go, visit www.kidshelphone.ca for resources and support. You can also join ER Teens, a volunteer program by Earth Rangers, to take hands-on environmental action and make a positive difference in your community. Teens in Canada can visit www.earthrangers.com/EN/CA/er-teens/ to sign up.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Do headlines about the climate crisis make you feel uneasy? Or maybe it’s the spread of climate change denial that feels frustrating. Young people today are navigating a world of information – and misinformation – and it can be a lot to process. But you’re not alone. In this first episode of the Big Melt mini-series, you’ll hear from youth voices sharing how they stay informed, and stay grounded in the face of eco-anxiety. This mini-series was created by youth, for youth, in partnership with Kids Help Phone’s National Youth Council, and Earth Rangers’ ER Teens. If you’re worried about climate change, there are things you can do to prioritize your wellbeing and get support. If you’d like to give your feelings a place to go, visit www.kidshelphone.ca for resources and support. You can also join ER Teens, a volunteer program by Earth Rangers, to take hands-on environmental action and make a positive difference in your community. Teens in Canada can visit www.earthrangers.com/EN/CA/er-teens/ to sign up.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi Big Melters, I recently got to chat with Nigel Topping - the UN’s high level Climate Champion about the upcoming COP - Conference of the parties, aka. the Mack Daddy of all climate conferences!Find out why this year’s meeting is SO important.And here is a link to a cool graphic novel about IPCC, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, of the UN for insight into the way these sorts of meetings work: https://becauseipcc.thesuccession.ca/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi Listeners, it’s me: Sarah. I had to get out of the basement for a bit so I decided to podcast on the go from my favourite places of all time: the forest! Forests are incredible. And not just because they let you take social distancing to the next level. They are literally ecological wonders; they are complex living worlds that prevent soil erosion, provide homes to thousands of different species, and absorb carbon to help fight climate change. This episode features conversations with Darren Sleep, Senior Director of Conservation Strategies at the Sustainable Forestry Initaitive, and Cindy Cheng, PhD candidate in Forestry at the University of British Columbia. Thanks to Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Project Learning Tree for their collaboration on this Episode. Find out more about the amazing work they do at https://www.sfiprogram.org/ ———————————————————————————————- For more awesome Gen-Z media podcasts check out GZMshows.com ———————————————————————————————- To become an Earth Ranger and for cool daily eco-activities, visit https://www.earthrangers.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today I’m talking to Damon Gameau about solar panel networks and sea farming and, and, self-driving cars and... Wait... OMG, you need some background, right? Of course...Sorry! I’m just so excited because Damon just released this amazing film called 2040, which I just watched for the second time, and it’s chock full of brilliant green technologies and new ways of thinking about climate change and like, awesome animation and.. . well - just listen to the episode.For more awesome Gen-Z media podcasts check out GZMshows.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brand new problem? Fake news? Yeah, no!! More like should be totally obvious, is super real, and has been attempted to be hidden for literal decades!! Climate change may seem like a thoroughly modern problem, but scientists have been exploring the question of the earth’s climate for over a hundred years. And while early theories may have been more concerned with predicting ice ages and the outcome of volcanic eruptions some things they discovered still hold up today. History is the story of human nature. What we choose to pursue, whose voices we value, all of that. Knowing that we knew early and didn’t do anything just goes to show that you can have all the information, perfect science, but it doesn’t really matter if people aren’t willing to listen to it. So the next big question is: how do you get people to listen? And why do they choose not to sometimes? I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, how everything will unfold, if robots will save us, or if we find a way to connect back to nature, but I’m more sure than I ever have been, that we’re not out of time...that we can handle it...Together. **This episode feature an interview with: ** Nathaniel Rich: Nathaniel is an awesome writer of both fiction and nonfiction. His book Losing Earth: A Recent History is all about the existence of the scientific evidence for global warming for decades and the reasons why we collectively failed to listen to it. Twitter: @nathanielrich https://twitter.com/nathanielrich?lang=en Website: https://nathanielrich.com/ Want to read some of his writing online? Check out recent and archived work by Nathaniel Rich for The New York Times:https://www.nytimes.com/by/nathaniel-rich Dr. Greg Slater: Greg is a Professor at Mc Master’s School of Geography & Earth Sciences. His research focuses on understanding the fate and transport of organic compounds, organic contaminants in particular, in the environment and on the microbial processes which control carbon cycling in both contaminated and natural environments. The common theme in his research is to understand the fundamental processes that control the environment around us and the impact that life, including industrial society, has on the environment and vice versa. For more info and a chance to win a custom “The Big Melt” T-shirt, visit www.bigmeltpodcast.com or the shownotes for this episode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You’ve probably heard more about #preppers in the media lately with the current COVID-19 stuff going on. But trust, the doomsday preppers have been at it already for literal YEARS. While it may be easy for some people to get carried away thinking of “surviving extreme weather events” related to climate change...it’s important to remember that global climate change is a gradual process... One that’s already taking place. That's what today’s episode is all about. How we respond to this transition. The ways we’re preparing our cities, buildings and even wild spaces to deal.  And it's not all doom and gloom, a big part of this prep is about imagining the world of the future, about dreaming up sustainable living cities... And the coolest thing? If we do it right, this prep can actually help us stop global warming. Today we are exploring our two options when it comes to helping us figure out how to deal: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation is about reducing emissions to slow or stop global warming. Things like pollution deterring carbon taxes and carbon sinks. Yay tree planting!  Adaptation focuses on making adjustments to better cope with the effects of climate change, hopefully before they happen. Things like shoring up buildings to deal with severe storms or making sure hospitals and old folks homes have backup power. ....So I guess today's vibe is that; focusing on resilience and long term sustainability really is the best option... And working with nature is pretty much the only way we can avoid the more destructive effects of climate change. Also, any future we imagine for ourselves has to be built to last. Also: I mention the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change - more info on that here: **This episode features interviews with: ** **Julian Tersigni: **Julian manages the Earth Rangers Center for Conservation on the ground of the Kortright Conservation Area. It’s an incredibly amazing, eco-friendly building. Like, absolutely every part of its construction was designed to be environmentally friendly... Even the pavement outside! And there are also these really cool things called “earth tubes” that help the building manage temperatures. Literally, so, so cool!! Website: http://www.earthrangers.org/about/our-facility/ Emma Tamlin Emma is the co-chair of  the Toronto Food Policy Council. The council understands that youth are the ones that will inherit the problems associated with an unsustainable food system. The council works with Toronto's diverse young communities to find solutions to food insecurity. They then raise awareness of these issues through their seat at the Toronto Food Policy Council, by making deputations at City Hall, and through their advocacy work with other food justice organizations. As the voice of Toronto’s food-passionate youth community, the TYFPC encourages other groups of youth to form their own food policy councils. Emma hopes to bring more fresh food and nature to cities through urban agriculture and rooftop gardens Website: http://tyfpc.ca/ Twitter: @TYFPC  http://tyfpc.ca/ Facebook:  @TorontoYOUTHFoodPolicyCouncil  https://www.facebook.com/TorontoYOUTHFoodPolicyCouncil For more info and a chance to win a custom “The Big Melt” T-shirt, visit www.bigmeltpodcast.com or the shownotes for this episode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we are looking at the big big and the super small… life after climate change and international cooperation... about local effects and nationwide initiatives.  I keep a close eye on world events, and lately... Regarding climate change, I’ve actually felt really excited by what I’m seeing! People are pulling together. Every day there’s some new story about another country adding environmental protections or #cancellingcoal. Seriously, Just look at Belgium, it started shutting down the last of its coal plants! Or- Or the UK! It recently celebrated its first 24 hours without coal power since the industrial revolution. Everywhere, countries like Portugal, Sweden, France... even tiny countries like Malta are taking action.  I’m feeling really energized and hopeful!  On this episode I’m even talking with a super special guest about Canadian governmental action on climate change!! This episode features conversations with: Katia Bannister Katia is the Co-leader of the Cowichan Valley Earth Guardians – a group of teens working in climate activism in BC. She’s passionate about fighting against climate displacement and the loss of indigenous culture and biodiversity. She spoke to us about climate change is threatening life on her small gulf island off the coast of British Columbia. Facebook: @cvearthguardians Jasmine Hachey Jasmine has been a climate activist ever since she made a short film about sustainable energy when she was in 6th grade. She cares about climate change because her family is Cree and the land and sustainable practices are important to her culture. The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson Jonathan Wilkinson PC MP is a Canadian Liberal politician, who was elected to represent the riding of North Vancouver in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election, and re-elected in the 2019 election. He was sworn in as the Minister of Environment and Climate Change on November 20, 2019 Website:  https://pm.gc.ca/en/cabinet/honourable-jonathan-wilkinson Twitter: @JonathanWNV link: https://twitter.com/JonathanWNV?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor ———————————— For more info and a chance to win a custom “The Big Melt” T-shirt, visit www.bigmeltpodcast.com or the shownotes for this episode. ———————————— We’d love to hear from you: Get in touch and share your thoughts at [email protected] Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

So, there’s a lot going on right now… A LOT…. And I thought it might be kinda cool to talk it out? School is cancelled, which means I have way too much time on my hands… I’m sure most of you are in the same boat. I thought since everyone is following the coronavirus pandemic as it unfolds, and we’re getting news from so many different sources and everything is kinda confusing… That maybe I could use the power of fact-checking to sort some of it out. Not the health science part… I’ll leave that to the pro’s. But there is one story I can set straight. I’m sure most of you have seen these wildlife related posts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. They’ve totally gone vir-…They’re really popular. But in case you haven’t, let me give you the rundown. These posts show totally adorable pictures of dolphins frolicking in crystal clear water in the channels of Venice, while swans float by. As awesome as those reports sounded, my mythbuster-sense started tingling. Listen in to see what I learned. We’d love to hear from you: Get in touch and share your thoughts at [email protected] Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.