Episódios
-
S2 E8: “I am part of it, and it is part of me.”
Lance Garland was supposed to get married at 18 and become a preacher. But, that was never really in the cards for him; he knew early on that he was gay. Inspired by writers like Jack Kerouac, he forged his own path and found himself in the wilderness. In the season finale of A Little Green, Lance takes us on his first backpacking trip, one that would empower him to embrace his authentic self and share his story with the world.
Read more of Lance’s work at lancegarland.com. Do you have a story to share? Tell us how nature has changed your life @avocadogreenbrands on Instagram.
-
S2 E7: “It's a connection with Mother Nature and it's a way to find yourself.”
As a child in Michoacán, Javier Zamora remembers planting radishes and picking citrus. When he came to LA, he built a comfortable life for himself and his family, but everything changed when the 2008 recession hit. We follow Javier through the ups and downs of his journey and how he ultimately found his way back to tending to plants and his community.
Check out Javier’s farm and learn more about organic farming at jsmorganics.com.
-
Estão a faltar episódios?
-
S2 E6: “Oh my gosh, this is my very best self. And I am happier than I have ever been.”
Virginia Rose grew up loving nature. She rode horses and went backpacking with her family until a sudden accident changed her life forever. Virginia would go on to pursue a career in education. After retiring, Virginia found an unlikely hobby that would reconnect her with the outdoors and with an integral part of herself. Her experience would launch a movement to make nature more accessible for all.
Visit birdability.org to learn more about Virginia’s work.
-
S2 E5: “That started my journey to being an activist and an artist.”
In 2022, Staten Island’s Elizabeth Shvarts was named New York’s Youth Poet Laureate. Ten years earlier, her home was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy; the experience opened her eyes to the devastating impacts of climate change at a young age. Elizabeth devoted herself to poetry and channeled her exceptional gift into climate action, becoming part of a community of young people driving change.
You can follow Elizabeth on Instagram @elizabeth.shvarts. Tell us how nature has changed your life @avocadogreenbrands on Instagram.
-
S2 E4: “You have to figure out how to use your wings and what they're for.”
Nichole Alexander spent three years raising endangered butterflies while incarcerated. The butterflies weren’t the only beings that metamorphosed along the way. Nichole had experienced immense loss and years of discouragement within the prison system. Nature provided respite, a healing environment, and newfound confidence that would inspire Nichole to better her community and make the world a more just place.
Visit sustainabilityinprisons.org to learn more about their programs.
-
S2 E3: “Nature saved my spirit, saved my marriage and created a safe place for me to...find purpose and meaning in what life really is about.”
Sonya and Necota Staples fell in love in college, got married, and bought a house in the suburbs of Atlanta. But happily ever after wouldn’t be that simple. They tell a story about the camping trip that changed the trajectory of their marriage, and their relationship with nature, forever.
Follow @staplesintents on Instagram or visit staplesintents.com to follow their work.
We’d love to hear about your life-changing experience with nature. Share it with us @avocadogreenbrands on Instagram.
-
S2 E2: “It was almost the revelation of my own humanity.”
Spending just two hours a week in nature could improve your mental and physical health. That’s the conclusion researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School came to in their 2019 study; that analysis would change Mike Fuhrmann’s life forever. After struggling with anxiety and depression, he would go on to hike over 13,000 miles of the country’s most spectacular trails. Along the way, he learned to manage his mental health, was inspired to pick up a camera, and made lasting connections with fellow wanderers.
Visit www.portraitofahiker.com to follow Mike’s journey.
Content Warning: This episode contains a brief discussion of suicide, which may be upsetting to some listeners. If you or a loved one is in crisis, or having thoughts of suicide, help is available, please call 988, the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Hotline or visit their website at 988lifeline.org.
-
S2 E1: “One of the powers of this little canoe...is keeping these really important parts of our culture, our history, and our traditions alive.”
Thousands of years ago, Polynesian seafarers did something remarkable: they navigated their way across endless miles of open ocean guided only by the stars, the wind, and the sea, ultimately arriving in Hawaii. As a child, Lehua Kamalu grew up hearing this epic story, and in 2022, she was the first woman to captain and navigate that ancient route. To kick season two of A Little Green off, Lehua shares how one historic canoe and the people that make up its crew could help preserve Hawaiian culture and the health of our planet.
Visit www.hokulea.com to learn more about the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
Do you have a story to share? Tell us how nature has changed your life @avocadogreenbrands on Instagram.
-
S1 E8: What can one person do about the climate crisis?
It’s a question that’s nagged Christina from the beginning of this podcast, and one she seeks to answer in the final episode of our series. With seven episodes under her belt, she wants to know how she can put all of these learnings into practice in her own life, and perhaps most importantly, how to share everything she’s picked up with the people around her.
She finds out that all this “talking about it” is actually a pretty big deal. Dr. Katharine Wilkinson and Professor Sarah Jaquette Ray make the case for having these climate conversations. So, Christina sets out to understand what climate communication is all about. What’s the best way to talk about all of this? And, will anyone even listen?
Susi Moser, climate change communicator and researcher, shares tangible ways we can all start talking about climate change today -- in ways that will engage and motivate others. It turns out that these seemingly small nudges can make a profound difference.
Highlights:
What are climate change deniers up to these days? (4:01)This could be the number one thing we can all do to fight climate change (5:31)What actually makes people change their minds? (6:42)Trustworthy messengers make all the difference (8:38)Lessons we can learn from climate change communicators (9:37)Balancing hope and reality (11:35)Three steps to start climate conversations in your own life (14:46)What it really means to “do our part” (26:06)Terminology:
Climate denialClimate change communicationInformation deficit modelResources:
The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about itLearn more about climate change knowledge and attitudes from the Yale Program on Climate Change CommunicationClimate Engagement and Activism (Pew Research Center)Find more of Susi Moser’s work here.Listen next: Our 6 Favorite Podcasts Inspiring Climate ActivismRead next: 7 great sources for staying up to date on climate change -
S1 E7: It’s the penultimate episode of A Little Green and it’s time to talk policy. Christina gets up to speed on the latest climate action in Washington. What’s on the table? And who’s at the table?
What becomes clear is that it’s going to take bold, transformational climate action to steer us toward a livable future, and the Green New Deal has come to symbolize just that. Christina talks with fellow podcaster Georgia Wright about what this Green New Deal is all about.
Jade Begay of NDN Collective and Ali-Reza Vahabzadeh of the American Sustainable Business Council join Christina to shed light on the Biden administration’s approach to climate change and how they’re incorporating those important environmental justice principles we’ve learned are so vital to climate action.
Christina brings things back to New York to dig into one amazing example of a bold, just, and intersectional initiative with Anthony Rogers-Wright of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. It’s called Renewable Rikers.
With so much great work being done by these organizers in the climate movement, Christina wonders why we haven’t made bigger strides on the national and global scale. It turns out that we’re dealing with a “leadership crisis.” Christina looks at the ugliest manifestation of this leadership crisis with Sarah Jaquette Ray, and Katharine Wilkinson explains who needs to take the wheel if we’re going to move forward.
Highlights:
What is the Green New Deal? (2:24)Understanding President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda and how climate factors in (5:14)What intersectionality looks like in action (14:50)Why the climate crisis is a leadership crisis (18:09)The dangers of moving forward without taking justice into account (21:03)What transformational climate leadership looks like (23:05)Terminology:
Green New DealCivilian Climate CorpsGrassroots advocacyEco fascismResources:
Read more about the Green New Deal and Civilian Climate CorpsMobilizing an Indigenous Green New DealHear from Inherited podcast’s Green New DreamersLearn more about the White House Environmental Justice Advisory CouncilCheck out Renewable RikersA sinking jail: The environmental disaster that is Rikers Island (Grist)Climate Anxiety Is an Overwhelmingly White Phenomenon (Scientific American)What We Like (and Don’t Like) About the Biden Climate PlanThis is What Supporting Climate Justice Looks Like -
S1 E6: We’ve heard about the physical tolls of climate change; the catastrophic weather events like wildfires and heat waves. Now, Christina wants to know about how it’s affecting our mental health. How do we cope with all of the big emotions that climate change brings up? What do we do with feelings like anxiety, grief, anger, and fear? And, is there a role for the other side of the emotional spectrum to play; the joy, hope, and love?
Christina talks with author Michele Wucker about one of the first reactions many people have when faced with climate change: denial and avoidance. She likens these big crises to gray rhinos. They’re right there, charging at us, so how do we get from denial to action?
Many young people have been raising the alarm about this “rhino,” after all, they’ve been saddled with the worst effects of this crisis. Georgia Wright, co-creator of the podcast series Inherited, shares insight into the generational psychology of climate change. She brings up an important term that many people of all ages are grappling with: climate anxiety.
Christina looks to Professor Sarah Jaquette Ray for a definition. She helps uncover the wide range of emotions that we might be feeling when it comes to climate change. Professor Ray emphasizes an alternative way of approaching climate change, one that moves beyond urgency, dystopia, and despair.
Highlights:
The very human way many people respond to big crises (5:21)How young people are coping with climate change (7:09)Defining climate anxiety -- and understanding how to deal with it (11:42)Moving through burnout, despair, and urgency (18:57)What does joy have to do with all of this? (21:45)Terminology:
Gray rhinoClimate/Eco anxietyResources:
Learn more about Michele Wucker’s The Gray RhinoListen: Inherited podcastRead Sarah Jaquette Ray’s A Field Guide to Climate AnxietyWhy Most Americans are Dealing with Climate AnxietyUsing Art to Process Eco Anxiety -
S1 E5: We know that climate change is here. In this episode, Christina looks for ways to not only live with climate change, but to also reshape our future in a more livable and equitable way. She looks at three complementary pathways forward; mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.
But first, she debunks the “great equalizer” myth -- that people are affected by huge catastrophes equally. She learns that, in reality, some communities are hit first and worst. This is a core principle of climate justice.
Christina gets in touch with a local New Yorker and the Director of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Anthony Rogers-Wright. Anthony helps explain environmental and climate justice in more detail.
To live with climate change, it’s clear that these injustices need to be addressed. So Christina talks with Professor Vivek Shandas, who specializes in climate adaptation, to get a better sense of what this livable future might actually look like.
During the making of this podcast, Portland, Oregon was hit with an unprecedented heatwave. Our producer, Anna, lives there, so we decided to focus on this event, and see what kinds of lessons we could learn from it.
Highlights:
What a winning approach climate action could look like (3:59)The origins of environmental justice (4:27)Why intersectionality has to be central to climate and environmental action (6:03)How we move forward in an era of climate change, using three complementary strategies to create a just and livable future (7:53)Zeroing in on the unprecedented 2021 heatwave in Portland, Oregon, and what we can learn from this event (12:35)How and where we can implement adaptation strategies (18:39)Why community leadership, social infrastructure, and mutual aid make a huge difference in the face of climate change (21:28)Advice for taking action in a sustainable way (23:00)Terminology:
Climate/environmental justiceDecarbonizationIntersectionalityClimate mitigationClimate adaptationClimate resilienceHeat islandMutual aidResources:
New York Lawyers for the Public InterestIntersectionality Matters! With Kimberle Crenshaw podcastDr. Robert Bullard, the “father of environmental justice”What do adaptation to climate change and resilience mean?Mutual Aid ToolkitWest Brooklyn Waterfront Mutual AidHow Environmental Racism Makes Urban Heat Islands Worse -
S1 E4: Each week seems to bring news of another catastrophic weather event, from hurricanes to flash floods. It’s clear that these events -- that many communities have been facing for years -- are now intensifying and playing out all over the world.
Christina wakes up to the aftermath of one such event: the 2021 Bootleg wildfire.
The massive West Coast wildfire spewed unhealthy amounts of smoke across the country, reaching her all the way in New York. Christina asks a tough question: are these extreme weather events the new normal? And can she do anything about it?
These questions lead her to a recent study from climate researchers Tom Corringham and Rosana Aguilera. They found some troubling evidence about the effects of wildfire smoke on human health, and they join Christina to share their takeaways. The question becomes, what can we do today to prevent devastating wildfires?
Christina revisits climate justice, a concept introduced in our last episode. According to a climate justice approach, the people most affected by climate events likely have the knowledge to develop solutions in their communities. Christina gets in touch with Jade Begay, the Climate Justice Campaign Director for NDN Collective, to learn more about climate justice, and how Indigenous groups are uniquely poised to lead the way on climate.
With Jade’s insight in mind, Christina talks with someone who is on the frontlines of these wildfires, and who is actively leading solutions. Bill Tripp is the Director of Natural Resources for the Karuk Tribe in Northern California, and he explains the history and importance of cultural fire use; a promising and proven practice.
Highlights:
The impacts of wildfire smoke on human health (3:11)Climate justice, and why Indigenous communities are already equipped to lead solutions (10:53)The Karuk Tribe’s approach and relationship to nature (11:48)What is cultural burning? And how could it change the severity of wildfire events? (14:20)What you can do to help preserve traditional Karuk ecological knowledge (24:53)Terminology:
Extreme Weather EventPM 2.5/Fine Particulate MatterCultural burning/Prescribed burningIndigenous/Traditional Ecological KnowledgeResources:
Donate to the Karuk Tribe’s Endowment FundWECLIMAStudy Finds Wildfire Smoke More Harmful To Humans Than Pollution From Cars (NPR)NDN CollectiveKaruk Tribe’s Department of Natural ResourcesWestern Klamath Restoration PartnershipAsk your elected officials to act on climate changeHow Indigenous Groups are Leading the Way on ConservationWhy Prescribed Burns are Essential for Forest Health -
S1 E3: We make decisions about what to buy (and who to buy it from) every day. Choosing environmentally-responsible products and brands is important to many of us, especially in light of what’s happening with our climate. But these choices can be difficult to make when we’re surrounded by persuasive advertising and most of us don’t have the time to research every bottle of detergent or pair of shoes.
In this episode, Christina focuses her attention on greenwashing. It’s one of those big bad words of environmentalism, and it can be kind of tricky to spot. Many of the products we use in our daily life are subject to greenwashing -- even bank accounts! So, how do you avoid greenwashed products? How much does your dollar actually matter? And what are companies really doing to act on climate change?
Christina brings these questions and more to a few people who are determined to combat greenwashing. First, she catches up with Avocado’s Director of Sustainability and Impact, Bri Decker, to hear about how Avocado is communicating its impact to customers.
Bri shares that there are legitimate, rigorous certifications and labels that brands can pursue to verify and convey their environmental practices. So, Christina chats with representatives of these certifications to learn more. They include Climate Neutral, 1% for the Planet, and B Lab’s B Corp certification.
Going beyond specific certifications, Christina talks with Raj Aggarwal of the B Corp Climate Collective about how business leaders can and should be approaching climate action, specifically through climate justice. Ali-Reza Vahabzadeh of the American Sustainable Business Council also shares how the organization is advocating for these priorities legislatively.
Highlights:
What is greenwashing? (3:04)Trusted certifications we can look for when shopping (5:38)What’s the difference between a stakeholder and a shareholder? (8:35)Going climate neutral (10:52)What 1% of sales can do for our planet (16:04)Avocado’s journey to B Corp certification (19:59)Defining climate justice (21:56)8 questions to ask yourself as you move toward climate justice (25:03)How values-driven organizations are advocating for change on a national scale (26:33)Terminology:
GreenwashingStakeholder capitalismB CorpCarbon NeutralCarbon offsetNet zeroClimate justiceResources:
Climate Neutral Certified brandsBrands that are donating 1% for the PlanetCertified B CorpsAmerican Sustainable Business Council member brandsLearn more about the B Corp Climate CollectiveRead their Climate Justice Playbook for BusinessThe Truth About GreenwashingConscious Living 101What are Carbon Offsets? -
S1 E2: Recycling. It’s something a lot of us do on a daily basis that helps protect our planet. Sorting out plastic, cans, and cardboard seems almost second nature at this point, right? But, in this episode, Christina learns that this isn’t necessarily the case for everyone, and she sets out to learn more about how we deal with our waste.
Is there more to it? What are the big recycling dos and don’ts? And what’s composting all about? What happens when we throw food in the trash?
Sarah Dearman, Vice President of Circular Ventures at The Recycling Partnership, shares the lowdown on recycling today. She also introduces a key concept; circularity. Christina then sits down with TerraCycle, an innovative company that aims to recycle everything, to better understand the science of recycling, and what the future could look like.
After all of this talk about recycling, Christina decides to see it in action. She visits local recycling hub Sure We Can, and gets a tour from Executive Director Ryan Castalia. A big question presents itself; what about plastic? Svanika Balasubramanian of rePurpose Global paints a stark picture of plastic pollution, and what we can do to help.
Finally, Christina takes a look at another circular process with Rebecca Louie: composting. She hears about the potential to compost in her apartment and community, and what a large-scale compost system might mean for our planet’s health.
Highlights:
Defining circularity (3:11)TerraCycle’s “recycle everything” approach (9:29)The science of recycling (13:33)On the ground at Sure We Can recycling and sustainability center (16:33)Breaking down our world’s big plastic problem (24:49)The impact (and the joy!) of composting (31:52)A glimpse into Portland’s curbside composting system (36:08)Terminology:
Circular EconomyUpcycleWish-cycleCannerExtended Producer ResponsibilityZero WastePlastic FootprintCompostingResources:
Learn more aboutThe Recycling PartnershipTerraCycleSure We CanrePurpose GlobalThe CompostessHow to CompostFind out what your local government is doing5 R’s of Sustainability4 Innovative Plastic Pollution SolutionsA Guide to Recycling SymbolsHow to Compost in a Small Space -
S1 E1: How do we even begin to understand -- let alone act on -- a problem as big and complex as climate change? Christina Thompson is on a mission to find out.
She starts by going back to basics, and high school science teacher Sofia Di Bari is here to answer the questions that some of us might be a little hesitant to ask, like, are we even calling it global warming anymore?!
After gaining a better understanding of her own day-to-day impact, Christina talks with Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, who is at the forefront of the climate conversation. Dr. Wilkinson helps to unravel some nuanced questions; what is the individual’s role in all of this? And, how much of the science does one person need to understand before taking some real action?
Highlights:
Climate Science 101 (6:24)Christina calculates her Ecological Footprint (14:20)Top climate solutions and how we move forward (17:39)Terminology:
Global warmingGreenhouse gasCarbonCarbon footprintFossil fuelOzoneClimate resilienceCarbon footprint/eco footprintDrawdownConfirmation biasResources:
Learn more about New York’s Resilient Schools ConsortiumCalculate your own Ecological FootprintCheck out top climate change solutions at Project DrawdownListen: A Matter of Degrees PodcastRead: All We Can Save8 Climate Change WinsKeeping Up with Climate ChangeYour Vote is Essential -
A Little Green is a short podcast series from Avocado Green Brands. Follow along as Avocado’s own Christina Thompson investigates her and, by extension, our relationship with the environment and its health. And it won’t be simple. It’ll take vulnerability, candid conversations with those at the forefront of the climate movement, and an exploration of her own awareness and impact. We’ll demystify the “obvious” questions many of us find ourselves asking these days. Better yet, we’ll take things a step further to challenge the status quo and become climate leaders in our own communities.
