Kiss That World Podcast | Sustainability + Conservation + Environmentalism

There are some people in this world that cannot be extinguished. They have a spark that’s lit from within.  Katie Lee was one of those people and her spark was ignited by a rafting trip on the Colorado River through a place that is now drowned under the man-made reservoir Lake Powell. Katie lived many lives in her 98 years, she was a Hollywood starlet, singer, mother, activist and river woman. She loved the desert fiercely and started each day with her favorite old English word- Fuck.

Florijn De Graaf wants to revolutionize neighborhoods. Imagine living in an affordable, modern home with no bills to pay. Now imagine if you need more energy, or your solar panels produce too much you can simply share it with your neighbor. Imagine walking through your beautiful neighborhood green with edible plants and fruit trees grown with recycled water from your shower. And after you eat your very locally grown food you take your bike on the 5-minute ride to the train station to commute to work.

What if we could start by creating a culture of sustainability in our public schools? Where kids are educated about environmental issues and take pride in participating. That's exactly what this weeks expert, Mrs. Janis Duncan did. For the last decade, she's been revolutionizing the way school kids think about their food and the environment. They are using both the Green Ribbon School standards and the Environmental Education Initiative Curriculum.

Plastic has been getting a lot of attention in the sustainable community. Because, unlike climate change, accumulating plastics is something we can touch, feel and see. It's clear that plastic is harming our environment. Unlike other materials, plastic never biodegrades. But how did we get here, in this plastic filled world? When did we know we'd made a mistake? From it's surprising past saving elephants to its uncertain future, here's a brief history of everyone's fav hardened dead dinosaur.

What a time to be alive. As an immigrant, and an empathetic human I have a lot of feelings about being an American citizen right now. It's challenging to balance the pride I feel as a new citizen with the disgrace around how we are treating others. Instead of wallowing in disappointment I am taking what I've learned from the interviews conducted here to celebrate with pride.

The AIDS Lifecycle is a 7-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to LA with 2400 (+) bikers plus volunteers. Each participant needs biking gear for each day, shower gear, camp clothes, sunscreen and required safety/maintenance gear for their bike. Going into this ride I wanted to be as zero waste as possible. I broke up my efforts into main categories, there are ways I can improve next time. https://www.plaineproducts.com/kissthatworld/ref/254/

After seeing his students take jobs supporting companies he didn't agree Dr. Omar Clay took the chance to pivot. Dr. Clay lives in Baja Mexico and is the founder of Science for the People. An organization that aims to help teach people without potable water sources how to set up, maintain and use simple water purification techniques. For people with little or no access to education, the internet, and other resources the simple solutions developed centuries ago are not easily available.

Dr. Jennifer Adler grew up loving the ocean. She lived in Massachusetts and took up competitive sailing when she was little. Her parents also got her a pink snorkeling mask, which was a staple of her summer's exploring the creatures in Sand Dollar Cove. Today she's armed with a Ph.D. and a camera as she sets out to connect citizens and science. She uses her photography to help communicate water issues and connect people to the world around them. JenniferAdlerPhotography.com

It's easy to feel overwhelmed, upset and incredulous at the rhetoric around climate change. 3 friends took these feelings and turned them into a project to help better the planet. They are planting trees as a global statement. Their project is Trump Forest and it's powered by ignorance. trumpforest.com

At the Center for Biological Diversity, Lori Ann directs a team of intrepid scientists and lawyers who focus on toxic issues like EPA’s deeply flawed pesticide regulatory system. They closely monitor the actions of the Trump administration, and file lawsuits when the government violates the law.So far 70 lawsuits against the Trump administration, averaging over one lawsuit per week since Trump took office. https://twitter.com/loriannburd?lang=en http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/

Adnan's father Ibrahim lived in Saudi Arabia, where desertification is rampant.  A solution was needed to help plants grow with less water, less often. He developed a polymer that holds 115 x it's own weight in water. There are other polymers that can hold a lot of water but most of them are sodium based and can be harmful to the soil if it’s already salinated. Their polymer, called SolidWater, is biodegradable. It breaks down into things plants can use as food- Potassium, Nitrogen, CO2, and Water.

Rachel Carson was a writer, environmentalist, marine scientist and a cat person. She was in part responsible for the formation of the EPA- America's Environmental Protection Agency, Earth Day, The Environmental Species Act and the Clean Water Act. As if that wasn't enough she's also credited with a catalyzing the modern environmental movement. And unfortunately, also the counter-movement. She did all this through her book Silent Spring.

Alice Ojeda created Authentic House to help connect local citizens to local services they can trust for all their home improvement needs. Alice interviews experts on interior design, landscaping and architects for big jobs. Authentic House covers all your sustainable living upgrades. www.authentichouse.co.uk

Chloé is the mastermind behind Conscious by Chloé the slow living, zero waste and fashion blog based in Portland. She's actually the first person I met in real life from the Ethical Writers and Creatives . I was in the area and we met at a coffee shop near her house to have a chat and a drink- for here in a mug. That was over a year ago now and we finally were able to reconnect and talk about the environment on the record. www.consciousbychloe.com

Gibbons are arboreal apes from Southeast Asia. That means they live on the trees and spend a majority of their time brachiating (swinging by their arms) through the forest. They are intelligent, curious, and endangered due to habitat loss and the wildlife trade. Gabriella Skollar (Gabi) is from Hungary, and she is the director of the Gibbon Conservation Center (GCC) in Santa Clarita. She is in charge of keeping the center's 39 individuals happy, healthy and sometimes breeding. gibboncenter.org