We’re rounding out season three with a bang, marking our 100th podcast episode!
We have two popular return guests joining us and one fresh face; we speak to our favourite freshwater ecologist and science communicator Dr Mike Joy as well as zero-waste extraordinaires Hannah Blumhardt and Liam Prince. Hannah is a Senior Associate at the Institute of Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington and Liam is Chair of Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance, and together they founded The Rubbish Trip in 2017.
This year on the podcast we’ve covered some heavy climate science, and for many, the sense of urgency around climate change is so great it almost seems tangible. Yet enacting the necessary changes remains difficult. So, in this episode, our esteemed guests give their two cents on how we can go about translating environmental science into real-world action.
While there are no simple solutions or one size fits all approaches, when we work together collectively, we can live the change we want to see. We end this season with the words of Greta Thunberg: ‘When we start to act hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope - look for action. Then the hope will come.’
In this episode we cover:
• The background of our guests
• How The Rubbish Trip came to be and their car-free journey around Aotearoa
• The Takeaway Throwaways campaign and the call for the government to ban single-use service ware for NZ food and drink establishments
• An update on Mike’s latest work and award-winning research
• The huge environmental cost of every glass of milk
• Limitations for behaviour change within our current economic and business paradigms and the need to reduce GDP to achieve climate targets
• Greenwashing traps to watch out for
• Issues with the current academic model: Pressure to publish and issues with industry funding in climate and agricultural science
• Effective climate advocacy and framing of narrative – it’s not a one size fits all approach
• The importance of community - using the skills you have to build coalitions and connections, ultimately enhancing climate action and outcomes
• Not staying quiet -the need to have those uncomfortable climate conversations
We hope you find value in this 100th episode, our last of season three. To all our listeners a huge thank you again for joining us on this ride so far. Stay safe and well over the break and we’re looking forward to joining you all again next year for more important conversations around personal and planetary health.
To view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.
Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.