Kiss That World Podcast | Sustainability + Conservation + Environmentalism

We all have to eat. But we don't have to continue the pattern of wasting 1/4 of what we buy. Alison Mountford wants us to stop wasting food + stick it to the man. Her website Ends and Stems provides comprehensive meal planning, grocery lists and, kitchen tips to help every family save money and eat their food.

They say opposites attract but the founding fathers of Bureo have a lot in common... Likes: surfing, skateboarding, engineering degrees, travel, Australia, their home on the East Coast of the States.... Dislikes: ocean plastics, wilting away in a stuffy corporate job. After graduating as engineers all three of the Bureo founders Ben Kneppers, Kevin Ahearn and David Stover found themselves in Australia. Bureo tackles the problem of ocean plastic, with a product that they would actually use.

Calling all adventurers, explorers, + ocean lovers: this one is for you. Andrea Marshall has lived a lifetime of adventure- submerged. She has been a part of exploratory missions, pioneering research and is the champion of manta conservation. queenofmantas.com marinemegafaunafoundation.com

This week we are talking with Kiss That World fangirl and Zero Waste Beginner Brittany Morgan. Brit talks about her wins and lessons learned on her quest to become more environmentally friendly. She hones in on which episodes inspired her the most and why you should take out your compost regularly...

Today's expert is Clementina Oliveras, founder of Wander.io. A hotel booking company that partners with Vitamin Angels to provide 5 children under 5 a years supply of vitamins. 

Today's expert is Francesca Willow of the Sustainable Living and Social Justice blog Ethical Unicorn. We get into why Social Justice is an Environmental issue, what cultural appropriation is and how to avoid it. 

Mo is laid back and often has salty hair from a day spent in the ocean and dirt under her nails from working in her favorite place- the great outdoors. But don't be fooled by her laid-back attitude and friendly personality, Mo is a serious scientist. She got her undergrad from UC Santa Barbara in Aquatic Science, and after testing the job market for two years she knew her passions lay in fieldwork. So Mo made the decision to go back to school and last year graduated with her Masters in Marine Science.

Lindsey McCoy started Plaine Products with her sister Alison Webster. After living and working in the Bahamas for 10 years, Lindsey just couldn't ignore the impact single-use plastics have on our environment. After reducing single-use plastics in her own life she found herself stuck in the bathroom. So Plaine Products- a refillable bath and body product subscription service was born.

Carrie Woods loves plants (what's in a name, right?!). Her love affair with the outdoors started at a time before cell phones and internet. A time when parents could cut their kids loose on the neighborhood and expect them back at dinner and that was ok, normal and encouraged. It hadn't occurred to Carrie, who now has a career in academia, to go to College until she saw the film Medicine Man*. But from then on her dreams were in the rainforest canopy.

Celia Ristow wants you to know you belong in the zero waste community- even if you can't give up everything packaged. Continuing the conversation we started last week, Celia another Zero Waste veteran takes a more behind the scenes inclusive approach on her blog Litterless. She focuses less on counting trash and more on empowering baby steps. Celia also talks a lot about travel and dining out- two very enjoyable but tricky things to do zero waste.

Kathryn Kellogg grew up in a conservative Baptist military family bouncing around the south between Arkansas and Texas. She is a musical theater buff and now the Martha Stewart of Zero Waste. After a health scare in college she started paying more attention to the products and chemicals she was using on her body and in her home. In 2015 she committed to living a zero-waste lifestyle and is now one of the leaders with tips on everything from food, beauty diy, personal lubricant and cleaning products.

Amer is, among many things, a relentless optimist. He believes we are at the beginning of a big shift to a cleaner, more sustainable, world where companies take responsibility and consumers demand change. Where projects, buildings, and cities are designed to be better for people and the environment. It's a world I would like to live in so I sure hope he's right. “I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that, then I realized I was somebody!” Lily Tomlin

The Refill Shoppe was founded in 2010 by Michelle Stevens. They offer bulk bath, beauty and cleaning products to do away with the single-use bottles that seem inherent to the industry. And if that wasn't enough, each product is scent customizable. With thousands of scent combinations available and as much or as little as you want it's not only good for the environment but an incredibly fun place to shop.

In this episode, we explore the wild and wonderful world of animal poop.... I mean zookeeping! Rachel Winkler is a mammal keeper at the Santa Barbara zoo and is on the Giraffe/Gorilla/Meerkat line which means she helps take care of a herd of 4.5 giraffes, a troupe of 2 western lowland gorillas, and a mob of meerkats 8 deep. Rachel talks about how she became a zookeeper even though her early career dreams were more in line with NASA, and the best way to become a zoo employee.

Master Talia spent the last 8 years of her life studying the black-backed land crab. Her research focused on the processes behind molting. We talk about what it means to love an animal that isn't traditionally hailed as cute or cuddly. Plus her adventures on over 350 diving expeditions, what it means to be a scientific creative and the wonders of fermentation.