Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast

Episode 257

How to Solve Our Global Challenges in One Generation

Years ago I built this really nice storage shed at the cabin. It is where we store a lot of our extra dry goods and it also houses our chest freezer. But, despite the size of the shed, it is in a perpetual state of disarray. I have this really bad habit of just closing the door and ignoring it.

I sometimes think that our world is a lot like my storage shed, in a perpetual state of disarray. And most of us go home at night, close our doors and forget about it. Now this sort of approach of course is not the answer to my storage shed or our global challenges. So join me for E257 How to Solve Our Global Challenges in One Generation.

Most of us love going to the beach. There is something soothing about listening to the sound of the waves, relaxing in the sun and then cooling off with a refreshing swim. If you enjoy snorkeling, that adds another layer of enjoyment. If you are a scuba diver like I am, that adds a completely different dimension to enjoying the ocean.

But what most people do not realize is that the oceans are not just vast bodies of water. They are literally the foundation of Earth’s life support system, influencing everything from the air we breath to the food we eat and the climate we depend on.

Yet once again, we are altering the very foundation of a vital ecosystem. So join me for E256 Ocean Acidification-The Silent Threat Beneath the Waves.

One of the things that humanity does best is to go about our daily business despite warnings that we should change. The reason for this is that we are better at responding to emergencies than we are about planning for the future. As long as life seems good we just keep doing what we are doing and all warnings that we are headed for a cliff are just noise in the background.

Climate change is a perfect example. The first seminal paper about climate change was published in 1896. We are now seeing the obvious effects of climate change. But, there is another, more subtile looming problem that most of us do not even know it exist.

So join me for part two of Food Scarcity and the Urban Diet Pressure Loop.

When you live in a developed country where life tends to be stable, it is easy to get the impression that all is good in the world and there are no worries. Most of us calmly go about our daily business and much of the time the vast array of global issues are out of sight out of mind. For example, we are oblivious to the fact that millions of people in the world go hungry everyday.

Furthermore, it is even more difficult to believe that what we eat everyday contributes to food scarcity and hunger. Who would have ever thought about that.

So join me for episode 254 and learn how the urban-diet pressure loop contributes to food scarcity, environmental degradation and world hunger.

It has long been known that our current methods of agriculture are harmful to the environment. Scientists and environmentalists have been warning us for many years now that we need to rethink our present food systems.

Despite this, in the coming years we are going to need to produce twice as much food in order to feed our growing population. This creates a serious dilemma. If what we are doing now isn’t working, how can we change our food systems so that we can feed ourselves and not destroy the planet in the process.

And that is the focus of this episode. So join me for E253 is it possible to feed the world without destroying it?

There are so many times that I sit in front of my cabin enjoying the fact that I am completely surrounded by trees. During the 29 years that I have owned this property, I have always been determined to leave it in it’s original state as much as possible. That is why it is difficult for me to imagine that deforestation is one of the critical environmental issues of our time.

Living where and how I do, it is difficult for me to see or even feel the magnitude and effects of deforestation. At the rate we are going, it is estimated that our planet will be devoid of trees in 300 years. And that is the focus of this episode, the magnitude and effects of deforestation and what we can be about it.

There is a long list of environmental problems that we are faced with today. As you learned from my last episode, our dependence on fossil fuels is at the top of that list. Solving the problem of fossil fuels will be difficult because our entire culture has been built on the use of this convenient energy source.

However, there are many other pressing environmental issues that have just as much of a widespread impact. One of the things on this list of pressing issues we face is plastic pollution. However, it is one of the most pervasive, widespread concerns that can actually be solved. In this episode I am going to focus on why this is such a widespread problem and what we can do to fix it.

As you could likely guess, there is a whole list of environmental concerns that we are face with in our modern world. When you look at this list, it is easy to see why people are completely overwhelmed and feel as if their individual action makes no difference.

At the top of that list is our dependence on fossil fuels. That dependence is directly related to why our ice caps are melting. But, as with most things, there is something we can actually do about it. It may require some modifications to your lifestyle, and perhaps a transition to renewable energy, but it is entirely possible. That is how we go from doom to empowerment. It is truly worth the effort. So join me for episode 250 which focuses on reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.