Episoder

  • -Midwifery care that bridges the sacred and the scientific-

    Melissa Chappell has been helping babies enter this world in holistic ways for many years and is a vessel of knowledge when it comes to preserving the naturally induced physiological state women go into during the birth process that is vital for a natural birthing scenario.

    She got her licensure in 2016 and opened her first birth birth center in 2018. She has since opened another birth center and with her team served over 500 families!

    Melissa has had the opportunity to travel the world doing birth work in Haiti, Costa Rica, Kenya, and Ethiopia.

    She is a wonderful person to speak and listen to, full of knowledge and love for the process of birth and connecting it back to its natural roots.

    In this episode we debunk some myths surrounding birth that are very common.

    Melissa talks us through some of the ways of how the setting for a safe, holistic delivery can be created and why she isn't a fan of in-hospital births if not absolutely necessary.

    We speak about the importance of re-establishing trust.

    In oneself in earthly processes, the knowledge that birth is natural to us and that our body knows how to navigate it if we let it.

    Partially, this episode was very emotional.

    Honestly, although it is a long way ahead, I could already picture myself feeling very safe under Melissa's guidance to support my own birth process one day.

    🦋If you are located in Provo or Utah county and feel called to contact Melissa to have her and her Team guide you on your path to and through a holistic birth process, find her website here

    You have been wanting to take a doula or widwifery training? Great news! Melissa offers courses to carry on this sacred knowledge and practice👼🏼🌱

    Thank you for listening to this Talk☀🌊🌍

    which came alive through the voices of

    Melissa Chappell

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • 10 % of American women are diagnosed with Endometriosis.

    That is millions of women!

    Worldwide, fertility issues and inflammation related diseases are extremely relevant topics.

    In this episode Matilda Rosengren is sharing her personal experiences with fertility and Endometriosis and her motivation to start her online platform Mind and Womb which offers tools and support to those women trying to conceive.

    This episode is not only for female ears! Fertility issues are wide spread and equally distributed between men and women.

    The understanding regarding women's cycles and the need for rest and slowing down in work and personal life especially, but not only, when dealing with Endometriosis and the toll it can take on body and mind, can definitely be improved.

    Matilda shares the rad to her diagnosis, treatments she has undergone and how she has used self-practices like yoga and womb massages to re-connect to her body.

    Thank you for listening to this Talk🌊🌍☀

    which came alive through the voices of

    Matilda Rosengren

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

    Sources/Resources:

    National Geographic article on men's fertility: https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2022/11/sperm-counts-worldwide-are-plummeting-faster-than-we-thought

    Mind and Womb: https://mindandwomb.com/

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  • Erik G. Turner has a background in chemical and process engineering and started his career in the Pharma industry.

    Currently working for Neustark, an ETH spin off which works in the carbon removal space, transforming old concrete and CO2 into recycled concrete, he is contributing to the transformation of one of the largest waste streams in the world.

    Erik got interested in sustainability in 2018, joining the NGO YES Europe, a youth led initiative focusing on a sustainable energy transition.

    His thoughts center around identifying leverage points we have as a society to make change happen, around complexity and ambiguity and about "living the questions", which is very much what this episode is about.

    We explore the topics of "tools" (which will we be choosing to address different crisis),

    the "simple solutions trap" presented by politics and industry and why Erik's honest answer to: which solutions he is seeing at the moment -

    is quite shockingly "none!"

    This is an episode of exploration and questioning and we do hope you enjoy listening🌱

    Thank you for listening to this Talk🌊🌍☀

    which came alive through the voices of

    Erik Turner

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • Cate Zoltan is CEO of the Undo App, which is designed to activate self-healing through deep body meditations.

    In this episode we discuss how Cate found her way to the concept of natural meditation, what it means to live a more "natural life" and how we can re-connect with our "original self" through meditation, which requires slowly carving our way back to who we are at our core, seeing through the experiences, information and all else that is imposed onto us throughout our lives and daily.

    We ask how important TRUST is and why the lack of trust in our capabilities, in the world, in each other may be informing much of the un-kindness, insecurity or even hatred that is also present at these times.

    We answer the question, why all of this matters -

    This internal work, the attention to mental health, deep connection, emotional intelligence...

    If not simply for our own sakes, think of the farmer providing your food, a teacher or a supreme court judge.

    All of their decisions and impacts, no matter how big or small will be informed by their worldview, their relationship and connection to themselves, their biases and morals.

    This will impact their town, a nation, in a wider sense, the world and might mean the difference between:

    Petrochemicals or farming with the rhythms of nature.

    Providing safe spaces for children to thrive or pushing for discipline and silence.

    Verdicts informed by a drive to exert power and having a distrust towards certain cultures or verdicts motivated by the will to make a positive change, to build trust in the law and make people's lives easier, not harder.

    It always starts with us, whether we think us important or not - we are. Every living being has an impact on their surroundings and the world and how we tread this earth matters greatly.

    Our healing journey will have ripple affects.

    Our connection to ourselves will impact our external connections.

    If you are presently embarked on a healing journey, we are sending our loving wishes,

    if you would like to try another tool or take new steps towards healing, maybe you will find it with Undo

    feel free to use the code STELLA24 for a 14-day-free-trial in the App.

    Thank you for listening to this Talk🌊🌍☀

    which came alive through the voices of

    Cate Zoltan

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • Lydia Afriyie - Kraft was born and raised on a farm in Ghana, she holds a Bachelor in silviculture and forest management and a master of international management of forest industries.
    Currently she is providing consultation to European Wood Importers and on timber trade regulation.
    Her father, a cocoa farmer, cultivated land not only for cocoa, but also for palm oil production and growing food for the family to live off.
    Lydia shares memories and experiences from her childhood, inviting us to walk to the water well in the morning, on to a school she was grateful to have been able to attend, from school back to one of the plots of land that needed working on, back to her house at night, guided by the light of the moon and finally studying in the light of a kerosene lamp.
    Our conversation also takes us to her work in the regulation and certification of sustainable forest management in Germany.
    Here, mine and Lydia's differing backgrounds, worldviews and influences show, as we discuss sustainable resource use and our views on what sustainably managed forests looks like. We realize here that the two of us have quite different ways of relating to earth and forests in particular.

    It holds so much value and is very expansive to share perspectives and realize that you and the person you are sitting across are both relating to a topic informed by your own personal beliefs and experiences.

    🌱These conversations are becoming more and more important as we are aiming to sit together, cross reference, develop and exchange in order to create local, national, communal, international pathways for positive, regenerative changes.

    Thank you for listening to this Talk☀🌊🌍
    which came alive through the voices of Lydia Afriyie-Kraft
    and your host
    Stella Sage🌿


  • Four extraordinary days in the Engiadin Valley in La Punt, Switzerland.

    Nestled in between mountains, next to a river where cool, clear water flows steadily is where [y]our2040 found its place for the third time since 2020.

    I was so very blessed to be part of the Team that delivered [y]our2040 in the summer of 2023 and it had me absolutely hooked.

    Four days of incredible conversations around all topics mainly centered around regeneration.

    Regeneration of communities, natural habitats, connections, communication, spirit, systems, oceans, soils, economies...

    Critical, challenging, loving, discussions and sharing of opinions.

    Around 100 participants coming together to work on over 10 different projects that should serve a regenerative purpose, carried out and nurtured far beyond the gathering.

    Music in the background, painting, writing, dancing, laughter, tears, ideas.

    People from different backgrounds with different mind sets and visions, yet at a closer look fundamentally similar, walking barefoot from one tent to the next, forming a community that feels like family after only a couple of days.

    I recorded tiny live conversation snippets with about 30 people to put them together into one episode that explores the outlooks on the concept of regeneration that must be central to our present and future actions.

    One word, many interpretations.

    This is explored in this episode of SageTalking with a foreword from one of the founders, Jonelle Simunich 🌱

    Thank you for listening to this Talk☀🌊🌍

    which came alive through the voices of

    participants of the [y]our2040 gathering

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • Tobias Luthe is a professor at ETH Zurich, teaching in the fields of resilience and complex systems, systemic design and regenerative systems, traveling and adventuring through different countries and landscapes.

    Powered by a passion for outdoor sports, exploration and the active participation in regeneration.

    Tobias grew up in a very natural setting, immersed in nature and being introduced to building, making firewood and winter sports in particular in his childhood, setting a foundation of deep trust in one self and life, described as "Urvertrauen" (deep trust) in the German language.

    Tobias recognizes that this groundedness set him up to be creative, adventurous and entrepreneurial as an important skill set when engaging in regeneration.

    In this episode we also touch on his work at Mon Viso Institute in the Italian Alps in the village of Ostana which is a University Mountain Campus acting as a real world lab in the fields of sustainability and regeneration.

    Tobias shares a story of accidental de-generation of soil at the Campus and the journey of learning, questioning and exploring that never stops and highlights the importance of "playing in the un-plannability of the real world"🌍🌿

    Thank you for listening to this Talk🌍🌊☀

    which came alive through the voices of

    Tobias Luthe

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • Who we are as people, how we feel and receive ourselves, the state of our health, purpose, connection to nature and community determines our interactions, beliefs, choices in regards to the ways we act towards earth, other people etc.

    Nathan Maingard describes himself as having been a misfit in our society at a young age.

    Not fitting into the boxes that school, society, government, predetermined, which all seemed a skin too tight for him.

    In this episode he shares how he transformed from thinking he was the problem, acting out and feeling out of place, to living his truth and supporting other people in that journey as well.

    We reflect on the way many of us feel out of place or forced into structures and the fallacy of "this is just the way things are".

    Nathan argues that we ARE ALL already FREE.

    That with the decisions to show up for ourselves and making choices from the moment we get up in the morning that set ourselves up for peace and well-being, we are freeing ourselves.

    There is a place for everyone to bring value to themselves and community. We need to foster a society and atmosphere that let's everyone contribute, because everyone CAN. There is no useless or valueless person. We all have hands, feet, mouths, eyes, ears and brains to use.

    Each in their own way and we must let go of the constraints that say that there are only certain predetermined and economically imposed ideas that determine which inputs are worth anything.

    This way we can let go of feelings of uselessness of not being enough of being "misfits" in a society of essentially a majority of "misfits" that are struggling along, working against themselves and natural cycles and rhythms.

    "people sitting around a fire with their families, who are at peace with themselves, who have purpose and connection and live with the rhythms of nature won't even look up to listen to that pained, disconnected person coming along, proposing to start a war or plunder another family's home."

    The ME reflects the WE and it starts with I 🌱

    We are 100 % capable of creating a different reality and making change one person, one family, one community, one city, one nation, one world....at a time -

    One that flourishes and harmonizes a hell of a lot more than it does right now🌍💚

    Catch up with Nathan here:

    Instagram: http://instagram.com/nathanmaingard

    Podcast: https://alreadyfree.me/podcast

    Morning Practice Challenge: https://alreadyfree.me/yes

    Thank you for listening to this Talk🌍🌊☀

    which came alive through the voices of

    Nathan Maingard

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • John Fullerton imagines a world where we are not breaking the planet's boundaries with our economics.

    He argues that we have a superbly functioning model of living systems around us, which is regenerating all the time, that we could orientate ourselves toward.

    In this episode we Talk about clear design principles and processes that are important for us to consider in order to create a global regenerative economy.

    To read more about John's ideas feel free to dive into the 8 principles of a regenerative economy

    After a 20 year career as a managing director on Wall Street, John has seen the violence that can occur when it comes to the world of finance and business.

    We Talk about the mindset shift that happened for him and his path to exploring alternatives to the neoclassical economy.

    Does it work to speak to the consciousness of investors and shareholders alike?

    If we offer different alternatives that align more with natural rhythms will they be welcomed or do people stick to what they know?

    What does the regenerative economy look like, respecting cultural, geological and other differences?

    Possibly you will find an example of a regenerative economy at your town's very own farmers market

    which in John's eyes already IS the regenerative economy 🥦🍉🌼

    "We're not going to have one model that everyone replicates. There will be expressions of this that will happen organically all over the world."

    📣We want to encourage you to ask yourselves and family members the question: "What does a regenerative economy look like, to me?"

    At first it can be a micro economy only including your own household or a small town - if you like you can go national or even global.

    ✉Fell free to share visions in the Q & A section of this episode

    Thank you for listening to this Talk☀🌊🌍

    which came alive through the voices of

    John Fullerton

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • The more innovative and "developed" societies become, the more complex the issues within them -

    and today every issue seems to make its way to span the globe, asking for ever more complex solutions to ever more confusing problems that

    seem to be well stocked.

    Have we become too innovative for our own species to handle the issues that arise from all the developments?

    Or have many societies reached a point of so much wealth and comfort that we are now simply creating problems? - or innovations first, that create problems to then have to solve them?

    Thinking about this too long feels like mentally doing the splits on a bicycle, but me and Nelly really had the need to try and unpack this and through honest conversation get closer to some of the root causes and closer to core truths (if there are any).

    *disclaimer here: many issues touched on in this podcast might be misinterpreted, not all you say in a flow of conversation is completely 100 % refined and planned or will be understood by a third party exactly as it was meant since use of language differs and is spontaneous in a flow of conversation + just because we don't agree with the craziness, confusion and division sown around different topics does not mean we don't agree they are generally important or that all people (unless they show they deserve otherwise) should be treated with respect and kindness*

    We touch on the topics like political correctness and political affiliation, identity markers and the issues that arise form putting people into categories and boxes that overlook all other facets and nuances that we humans bring with us.

    We try to discover if it were the case that we could strap away much of the BS and generally treat one another and earth with respect - could we begin focusing on the things we KNOW fulfil the basic, biological needs of human beings, the things that are important to ALL of us...?

    🎨👨🏼‍🌾👩🏼‍🌾community, collaboration, working and living with the rhythms of nature, connection, intellectual pursuit and conversation, creativity, self-sufficiency, family, realization of physical and intellectual potential, exploration...🥗🍉🥦🌳🥀

    We invite you to try and listen to this Talk as a neutral observer - to see where it takes all of us and not let it quickly confirm a bias or highlight disagreement -- then literally or figuratively open your eyes at the end of the Talk and see where your mind is at and which pathways of thinking it has taken you on🌼

    maybe this approach could be an antidote for all of us in this time where quick judgement and narrow categorization of people and information is very prevalent

    Thank you for listening to this Talk🌍☀🌊

    which came alive through the voices of

    Nelly Cyprichova

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • Marc Buckley is the founder of ALOHASRegenerative Foundation, an Ecological Economist, Regenerative Futurist, andSolarpunk.

    He wrote the SDG Manifesto for the UnitedNations and has been working with the UNFCCC since 2019 on the next set ofgoals that come after the SDG’s the Resilient Development Goals through UNFCCCand Resilience Frontiers.

    Marc takes a systems view of life and addresses all facets of complex systems inorder to solve human suffering and our global grand challenges. As a longtimestudent of Ecological Economics, Regenerative Futurism, and Systems ScienceMarc has been involved in Climate and Environmentalism for a long time andwould love to show you how to run faster than climate change by being animpactful and exponential human being.

    One of the first to be trained by AlGore as a Climate Speaker he has made getting through the Climate Crisistowards Regenerative Desirable Futures his life‘s work.

    On top of all of this I have found Marc to be an extremely likeable, humble personwho is genuine to the core.

    In this episode we unpack many different questions (as it seems there is nothingyou can’t talk about with him when it comes to environmental issues;)

    ...from theway he structures his days being involved in so many different projects andtasks at the same time, to the question of which ways of farming are the onesgoing forward, a short history of mankind and what it looks like inside theWorld Economic Forum or the United Nations –

    We made sure there is something of interest for everyone.

    One of the main motivators for Marc to be an active participate in changing some ofthe ways the world functions was the realization that most of the systems inplace today create emissions, food scarcity and malnutrition, poverty, badeconomic models and policies and suffering.

    Every day he sets out to change that and he is optimistic about the powerful,positive impacts humans can have once they set out to create systems that are conduciveto a thriving existence on planet earth.

    Thank you for listening to this Talk🌊🌍☀

    which came alive through the voices of

    Marc Buckley

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • "The fashion industry is better than other industries at covering up how polluting it actually is.

    It is a massive marketing machine and very good at selling you things you don't need - shaping ideas of desire and beauty."

    ~ Kiki Boreel

    The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world, in terms of water, air and soil pollution.

    Their annual greenhouse gas emissions of 2.1 billion even top those of the entire tech-industry.

    The devastating destruction left in the wake of manufacturing masses of clothing by ruining land and water, depleting resources,

    spreading dangerous chemicals and microplastics and mistreating and virtually enslaving workers - is nothing short of abysmal, not least to say un -intelligent, wasteful and unnecessary.

    Kiki Boreel has joined me for another episode after the first Talk she created with me "Kiki Boreel Talks Climate Crisis and Fashion Industry"

    She recently visited Copenhagen Fashion Week which is also called "Sustainable Fashion Week", requiring brands to fulfill certain minimum standards

    in order to be able to present their clothing at the show, which is a novelty in the industry.

    Kiki has gone through a big transformation from jetting around the world, modeling for all kinds of brands to

    convincing her colleagues that taking a train to Scotland instead of flying is superior because of the beautiful scenery you don't get to see on the plane ; ) -

    making it mission to gain knowledge and expertise on all things regarding sustainable fashion,

    sharing her views about the changes that would be critical to make at the current time to knock fast fashion down a peg and make room

    for a slower and more conscious way of wearing and consuming clothing.

    Thank you for listening to this Talk☀🌊🌍

    which came alive through the voices of

    Kiki Boreel

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • I met Natascha at the [y]our2040 gathering in Switzerland in June this year

    and spoke to her for a short interview where I found out that she had been part of the Exxpedition Atlantic crossing and wanted to know

    more about it.

    Somehow we managed to also discuss differing opinions on feminism and identity politics and the value of common decency which just

    made it all the more interesting : )

    Exxpedition is an all women's sailing voyage across different parts of the world's oceans where the participants collect data, mainly about plastics in the oceans with the help of trained professionals, founded by the skipper and ocean advocate Emily Penn.

    Natascha shares her memories from this three week voyage and the experiences and learnings that she had out on the water.

    Natascha is an outspoken feminist and wants to do her part to contribute to a whole and more just world in different ways.

    We open up a conversation about the meaning of feminism and other labels that people tend to give themselves and sometimes even feel obligated to.

    We try to get closer to the reasons for division and occasional misuses of different words and phrases and if they should even be as important as

    they are made out to be in today's "hyper aware and correct" political climate.

    This conversation touches on many different issues and thoughts that we feel should be discussed openly and in respectful manners - much more so without "cancelling" one another but rather inviting in discourse, trying to open ourselves up to different view points and realities.

    Like the currents of the ocean we let this conversation flow in different directions and we hope you enjoy this Talk🌊

    Thank you for listening to this Talk☀🌍🌊

    which came alive through the voices of

    Natascha Glanzer-Fürst

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • Why would a teacher's pension fund be invested in fossil fuel holdings?

    Your guess is as good as mine and as Kim Benson and Jillian Maguire explain, there are surprisingly many teachers who don't know what their pensions are being invested in.

    The two women founded BCTF Divest Now to petition against their pensions being invested in unsustainable ways that they have no control over and to raise awareness amongst teachers.

    Every public school teacher in British Columbia, Canada gives a mandatory percentage of at least 11 % of every pay check to the B.C. teachers pension plan.

    These funds are managed by BCI (British Columbia Investments Corporation) and are highly invested in fossil fuel giants as well as other

    unsustainable companies.

    Kim and Jillian talk about why they started the campaign, how they are working towards spreading awareness on this issue and how they are working towards getting their pension funds and those of thousands of other teachers, divested.

    These goals are not always easy to reach because although there might be strong support from other likeminded colleagues, corporations, governments and executives more often than not, still go against the will of the people who actually should have the say!

    We hope this can serve as a motivator or inspirational push to look at where your money flows and who manages it for you in ways you might not agree with.

    Money is the result of energy we put into something and we all deserve to know what we are putting our energy into!

    Strength and gratitude to all those who are standing up and working with integrity against the status quo of investing in environmental breakdown and exploitation of all kinds🌼🌼

    Visit BCTF Divest Now to read more.

    Thank you to listening to this Talk🌊☀🌍which came alive through the voices of

    Kim Benson,

    Jillian Maguire

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • We flush tons of valuable materials down the drain everyday.

    This includes copious amounts of precious water as well as human output that would normally be part of a circular cycle in nature and can have manifold uses if we recognize it as more than material to be flushed and discarded.

    Kompotoi is a composting toilet that aims to change that narrative.

    In this episode I am joined by Kristina Hoch from the German Kompotoi office and the co-founder of the venture from its birthplace in Switzerland, Jojo Casanova.

    Jojo and Kristina explain how the Kompotoi toilets are built, how the processes of using the toilets and then treating the human outputs work

    and share their experiences with how these toilets that recreate natural cycles are received.

    Right now the company is mainly renting out their Kompotoi's for events of all sizes as well as offering an alternative to the plastic chemical porta pottie's that are still mainly used at construction sites.

    Of course, you can also check out their German or Swiss page in order to purchase several different toilet set ups for your own home or backyard

    which seamlessly re-integrates this part of your life back into already naturally occurring, waste free cycles that

    people have been utilizing for thousands of years - much longer than the conventional toilets we know today!

    It's time to change the narrative, value natural resources again and spare the ones that are so precious like water🌊

    So as a recent post by my friends at Kompotoi said:

    EAT🍏

    SHIT🚽

    COMPOST👨🏼‍🌾👩🏼‍🌾

    REPEAT🤎

    Thank you for listening to this Talk☀🌊🌍

    which came alive through the voices of

    Kristina Hoch,

    Jojo Casanova

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • Friedensreich Hundertwasser: Painter, architecture doctor, ecological activist, philosopher.

    From the Hundertwassser Archive in Vienna, I am joined by Andrea Fürst to talk about the artist and visionary Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

    "Only he who acts in harmony with plants and trees, who acts in accordance with the laws of nature and the cosmic cycle cannot go wrong."

    This sentence encapsulates Hundertwasser's attitude very well.

    He wanted to break the grid system and functionality of architecture as well as abolish the use of the straight line that is non-existent in nature.

    Hundertwasser was calling for a peace treaty with nature, for the afforestation of cities.

    Green roofs, walls and courtyards were some of the most important features of his architecture.

    He was very much shaped by his childhood, as the son of a Jewish mother during WWII in Austria, when he started to paint to occupy himself, having a limited radius to move and explore in.

    He supposedly roamed through the forests with his mother often, where he painted nature and landscapes.

    The creation of his art was a contemplative, conscious process, described by him likened to the process of how a plant grows.

    He advocated for spontaneous vegetation in cities, greening everything horizontal, to give nature back to territories that have been occupied by

    building activities, industrialization and modern society.

    Andrea Fürst tells us about his story, visions and art in this episode.

    Feel free to visit the Hundertwasser Archive in Vienna HERE

    Thank you for listening to this Talk🌊☀🌎

    which came alive through the voices of

    Andrea Fürst

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • Stephen Lester is the science director with the Center for Health, Environment & Justice.

    The Center works with grassroots groups around the US that are dealing with toxic chemical problems.

    On February 3rd, 2023 a train derailment occurred in East Palestine, Ohio.

    Approximately 38 cars derailed, 10 - 12 of which contained toxic chemicals of the likes of vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, benzene, ethyl hexyl acrylate and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether.

    Stories like these have the tendency to make headlines and then disappear quickly from public conscience, owed to the fact that big things happen every other day.

    So , we are revisiting the event, looking at the actions that were taken, or rather not taken by the authorities, the EPA and Norfolk Southern (the company owning the freight train that carried the chemicals), shedding light on the impact of the chemicals released on life and health, now and in the future.

    We ask questions like:

    -Was the action taken after the event appropriate?

    -Why wasn't the EPA testing for specific chemicals?

    -Was it necessary for Norfolk Southern to conduct a controlled burn of the already spilled chemicals?

    -Why were people told to return home BEFORE any testing was done?

    Stephen remarks that the choice of the EPA to only test for generic classes of groups of chemicals instead of testing for specific chemicals for the first few weeks was "pretty inadequate and really poorly planned".

    He also states that until he came onto the scene, raising the issue of dioxins, no one seemed to be aware that this was something to be concerned about.

    In fact the EPA had even said that there was NO reason to test for dioxins in the area.

    Following public pressure the EPA then did not test for dioxins themselves but asked the company to do its own testing.

    Norfolk Southern hired a consultant who put together a proposal, which Stephen noted, left much to criticize.

    So the company who was responsible for the disaster was told to do their own testing for dioxins, which they have not released the results on.

    Of course many questions were raised about the integrity of this testing.

    We are once again missing accountability and appropriate conduct from a company responsible for damage to life on earth.

    Thank you to Stephen and people like Lois Gibbs, who founded the Center for Health, Environment & Justice⁠ for supporting communities on the ground at times where support and guidance is desperately needed🌱☀

    Read the article Stephen wrote for the Guardian here: "Here's the real reason the EPA doesn't want to test for toxins in East Palestine"

    Thank you for listening to this Talk🌊☀🌍

    which came alive through the voices of

    Stephen Lester

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • The Club of Rome was founded about 50 years ago by an industrialist who saw that if society continued living the same way,

    we would eventually be using up all resources - owed to the fact that we are using them up faster than the planet can replenish them.

    He commissioned four Harvard scientists to work on a simulation to see if this was really true and the results of the research showed that it was just as he had feared.

    In the first publication by the Club of Rome - "The Limits to Growth" - the scientist warned about climate change and the depletion of resources, over 5o

    years ago, yet not much has happened to counteract or stop the trend and to act on the information presented since it didn't fit the the strong expansion and growth agenda of the time.

    Dr. Mariana Bozesan was invited to join the Club of Rome based on her work in integral investing, using capital and technology to address the needs of the planet and to move back into the realm of safe planetary boundaries.

    In this episode we touch on the "smart ways" to implement the UN SDG's (UN sustainable development goals), which were developed by scientists from the Club of Rome.

    📚Find Mariana's book "Integral Investing" here

    Thank you for listening to this Talk☀🌊🌎

    which came alive through the voices of

    Dr. Mariana Bozesan

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • Dr. Mariana Bozesan is an author, award winning integral investor, serial tech entrepreneur and member of the renowned Club of Rome.

    I had a lengthy, philosophical and at times even argumentative conversation with Mariana in her Munich home, in a

    room filled to the brim with books and more books as well as big portraits of Mahatma Ghandi and Albert Einstein.

    We had the type of conversation I want to have much more on the podcast:

    different angles and opinions, friendly discourse, revelations, thought provoking, horizon widening and possibly open ended.

    Where we are allowed to agree to disagree while having conversations which are conducted with laughter and respect for one another while also being able to say:

    "I would like to challenge you on this point:" - after one has voiced their opinion or made an argument.

    After all, we are all the sum of our upbringing, environment, belief systems and many different influences and to stay open minded and keep learning is what makes tolerant and expanding minds.

    Mariana for one is in the unique position to have experienced not just wealth and prosperity as well as scarcity to the pint of going to school without food.

    She has also lived under the influence of two economics systems: Capitalism and Communism

    Growing up in communist Romania has inspired Mariana to work hard and make the most of the free education she was offered there.

    Mariana has a passion for empowering others to realize their ambitions relating to creating a positive impact.

    She is a big believer in uplifting one another and searching for solutions to deal with the many crisis we are faced with, based on science.

    She wants to help point out the many things that are right with this world instead of highlighting all the wrongs in order to promote a sense of purpose and direction.

    She shares with us her journey to fulfilling her personal needs to the point where she felt she was able and inspired to help fulfill others needs

    as well and talks about the schizophrenia she sees in the system that forces us to choose between profit and non-profit and how she detests the concept of "giving back" to people in questionable ways through foundations that give 5 % of the money made to their cause and invest the rest on Wall Street 💰

    📚 PS: To read Mariana's book: "Integral Investing, From Profit to Prosperity" click here

    Thank you for listening to this Talk☀🌊🌍

    which came alive through the voices of

    Dr. Mariana Bozesan

    and your host Stella Sage🌿

  • E-S-G

    Environmental - Social -Governance

    Dr. Rupini Deepa Rajagopalan is head of the ESG office at Berenberg Bank, the second oldest bank in the world.

    She built up the ESG office and strategy together with a team, from scratch, after joining in 2018.

    She actually coined the term "finance with a heart" and feels like incorporating ESG standards in financial analysis is indispensable.

    Though it may sound a bit technical this episode is for everyone.

    As ESG is becoming a buzzword and regarded more and more as a widespread solution to "cleaning up" the dirty parts of the investment management and finance industry that is crucial to propping up those industries that are currently wreaking havoc on the world and pushing us closer to climate, societal and ecological breakdown, it is favorable that we try as best we can to develop an understanding of the concept and to question it as well.

    Should you be an investor or working in the finance industry then you may be interested in what Rupini can share from her experience.

    It is important to Rupini that investors and asset managers look further than solely at financial information and to consider adopting a more holistic view when deciding where money will flow.

    Since greenwashing is a problem in every industry and I want us all to stay informed and engaged I asked Rupini to elaborate on a few critical questions:

    - Is ESG really enough to truly transform the investment industry?

    - Is it genuine and progressive?

    - Are there enough genuine change agents in the industry or is it being used as a "sustainable front" to be able to continue business as usual with a "green image"?

    - How is incorporating ESG compatible with the fiduciary duty of investors to get returns?

    The investment industry is definitely one that needs a big chunk of transformation and the integration of a moral compass that is not geared towards money over everything.

    Rupini is a very genuine, kind woman who expressed how fortunate she feels that she is possibly able to play a role in bringing about change and hopefully a bit of heart - to the industry.

    If you want to make up your own mind about the Berenberg ESG implementation and strategy feel free to visit their website here.

    Thank you for listening to this Talk☀🌊🌍

    which came alive through the voices of

    Rupini Rajagopalan

    and your host host Stella Sage 🌿