Category Environment

These feats of conservation and sustainability hold countless examples of people following their passions for protecting our planet. Let your curiosity guide you as you explore fascinating corners of our environments and discoveries that are moving us toward a greener future.

Your Backyard at Night: What the Critters Can Teach Us with Topher White (Episode #135)

This chat with conservation innovator Topher White will give you a feeling of celebration and wonder. In 2013, he created the ingenious Rainforest Connection, a nonprofit which is helping to preserve biodiversity in 34 countries and counting. And now, he is launching another pioneering technology! But this time, it’s one we can all bring to our own backyards, neighborhoods, and even on vacation. All of that, in the service of making a personal connection with the natural world around us, in fascinating and delightful ways.

Image: A monarch butterfly sits on an orange flower.

Monarch Butterfly Migration: A Breathtaking Journey

The Monarch Butterfly migration is one of the most remarkable journies on this planet. Join us for the breathtaking details, on a journey of your own to explore the science, culture, and conservation. In the end, we'll stand in awe of this feat of nature!

Image: a large school of silver fish swimming around a coral reef

NASA Technology is Being Used to Save Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are some of the most important ecosystems on the planet to each and every one of us, but few realize the connection. You may know coral is in danger, but the future isn't as dark as we so often hear. Meet the people who are hard using amazing, cutting-edge technology to save our corals and building a brighter future for us all!

Here’s A Better Way to Axe Food Waste (Hint: It’s Not Composting!) with Andrew Shakman (Episode #130)

Many of us are conscientiously making new habits to help with the problem of climate change: recycling, making greener purchasing choices, or reducing our carbon footprint. But did you know there is a solution well underway that can reduce 13% of greenhouse gasses if the food industry made one commitment? Yes, our guest today—Andrew Shakman—is tackling (and winning against) one problem: food waste. And this one problem that we know how to solve in a fascinating, completely new way. Hint: it is not about more composting!

Image: A front loading washing machine sitting on the edge of a body of water, demonstrating how electronics have an impact on our climate.

Big Tech is Becoming an Ally in the Fight Against Climate Change!

The fight for our planet is a daunting one, and in a world where just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions, this fight requires not only individual action but massive action in the form of companies doing their part. And good news: big tech companies are joining the fight! Here's how.

Image: Three farming machines detasseling corn in Illinois. These machines may soon be operated by artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is Revolutionizing Farming. Here’s How

In the next 30 years, we will have to drastically change the way we feed the world. Our food future may rely on combining the wisdom of generations of farmers with the precision and power of artificial intelligence. Here’s what that future looks like!

5 min read

How This Hero Conservation Dog Fought to Save the World’s Only Ground-Nesting Alpine Parrot

The mountains of New Zealand are home to a fascinating community of inquisitive, mischievous parrots who make their homes not in the trees but on the ground. They are called kea, and over the last 200 years their populations have been decimated, placing them on the endangered species list. With unnatural foes attacking their nests, an unexpected hero has come to their rescue. He doesn’t wear a cape but rather a collar, and with his sidekick, Corey Mosen, Ajax the border collie-cross has devoted his life to keeping kea safe.

Saving Endangered Lives in the First Sea Turtle Hospital

We've all been hearing that sea turtles need help... so, who's been helping them? Some really inspiring people you'll want to meet yourself! This fantastic video brings us into a sea turtle clinic to give us a look at what's being done to save these ancient creatures from the injuries and diseases they've picked up as they go about. It's a truly amazing place.

How 82 Million Minutes of Rainforest Audio Could Save Your Life with Bourhan Yassin (Episode #124)

It is possible to save all the remaining rainforests in the world when we connect three things: technology, imagination, and our love for the world. Our guest today, Bourhan Yassin, is CEO of a nonprofit—the Rainforest Connection (RFCx)—that has been working towards doing exactly that since 2014. Their founder discovered that we could use simple cell phone technology to detect and stop illegal logging, and in less than a decade, the RFCx has expanded into using sound and machine learning to protect biodiversity in all kinds of places.

9 min read

Image: A person washing their hands under running water with hotel soap.

What Happens to Your Half-Used Hotel Soap? Now, It Could Save Lives

What happens to the bars of soap and toiletries that get left behind after you stay at a hotel? Turns out nearly 2 million bars end up in the landfill each day. But now, Clean the World is on the case! Having found a way to recycle used bars into new soap, they are saving millions of lives each year.

Image: One adult bison and two bison calves, roaming in a field of green grass.

The Birth of the First Baby Bison in this Region in Thousands of Years

Bison are ecosystem engineers, making their environments better simply by existing there. Formerly native to England, they slowly disappeared over time. But now, thousands of years later, a bison has given birth in the United Kingdom, marking a true win for rewilding efforts in the region.

Image: A frog on a lilypad in a wildlife pond

Take Your Backyard from Wasteland to Wildlife Wonderland in 365 Days

Many of us count on nature for inspiration, wellness, and wonder. But what are we giving back to it? Meet the nature enthusiast who built an entire living pond in his backyard to attract local wildlife. And in turn, discover for yourself how quickly, and beautifully, things can get wild.