Mongabay Newscast
Mongabay's award-winning podcast features inspiring scientists, authors, journalists and activists discussing global environmental issues from climate change to biodiversity, rainforests, wildlife conservation, animal behavior, marine biology and more.
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How a prize-winning project brought saiga antelope back from the brink
04/15/2025
How a prize-winning project brought saiga antelope back from the brink
Two decades ago a group of NGOs came together with the government of Kazakhstan to save the dwindling population of saiga antelope living in the enormous Golden Steppe. Since then, the has successfully rehabilitated the saiga (Saiga tatarica) from a population of roughly 30,000 to nearly 4 million. For this effort, it was the 2024 Earthshot Prize in the “protect & restore nature” category. Joining the podcast to discuss this achievement is Vera Voronova, executive director of the , an NGO involved in the initiative. Voronova details the cultural and technological methods used to bring the saiga back from the brink and to help restore this massive grassland ecosystem. “When [the] initiative [was] started, the saiga would be always like the flagship and the priority species because we did have this emergency case to recover saiga,” she says. “But the whole … picture of restoring the [steppe] was always behind this, and will be now a long term strategy.” Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image credit: Saiga calf. Photo by Kibatov Arman/ACBK. -------- Timecodes (00:00) Saving the saiga antelope (07:13) The Golden Steppe is massive (13:00) Using conservation technology (17:07) Incorporating local knowledge (20:56) Wild horses and agriculture (26:40) Community connection (29:37) Credits
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The impact-driven success of Mongabay’s nonprofit news model
04/08/2025
The impact-driven success of Mongabay’s nonprofit news model
Media outlets are newsrooms and the audience for traditional news is in , but Mongabay continues to grow thanks to its , nonprofit model. Mongabay's director of philanthropy, , joins the podcast this week to explain the philosophy behind Mongabay's fundraising efforts, why the nonprofit model is essential for impact-driven reporting, and how the organization ensures editorial independence. " Those who fund us and read us, they're really expecting real-world impact and high-quality journalism. So, people are coming back to Mongabay because they're interested in what we're reporting on. There's a really high level of quality that is informing their decisions," he says. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Dave can be reached at or on . Image Credit: Galapagos tortoise, Ecuador. Photo by Rhett Butler/Mongabay. ----- Timecodes (00:00) Dave’s story (08:50) Why nonprofit news creates impact (15:08) Funding and ethical considerations (23:27) Explaining trust-based philanthropy (29:10) Reflections on the Los Angeles wildfires (32:19) Dave’s favorite animals
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The climate movement should emphasize humans, not just carbon, Paul Hawken says
04/01/2025
The climate movement should emphasize humans, not just carbon, Paul Hawken says
Renowned author, activist and entrepreneur Paul Hawken joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss his new book, , and argues that the jargon and fear-based terms broadly used by the climate movement alienate the broader public and fail to communicate the nuance and complexity of the larger ecological crises that humans are causing. Instead, Hawken argues that real change begins in, and is propelled by, communities: "Community is the source of change, and what we have [are] obviously systems that are destroying community everywhere." The title of Hawken's book, carbon, is also the fourth most abundant element in the universe, and a fundamental building block of life. He argues it is being maligned in a way that distracts from the root causes of ecological destruction in favor of technological solutions that are not viable at scale, or international agreements that prioritize carbon accounting. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image credit: A photograph of Paul Hawken, environmental activist and author. Image courtesy of Paul Hawken. ------- Timestamps (00:00) Language in the climate movement (18:10) What is a ‘nounism’? (23:45) Leadership is ‘listening to all voices’ (33:49) Community drives change (40:24) Why does carbon get a bad rap? (50:01) Normalizing the conversation around climate (54:22) ‘Decentering’ the Global North (59:19) Humans are not ‘alpha’
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Why has Australia paused key environment commitments?
03/25/2025
Why has Australia paused key environment commitments?
The Australian government recently key environmental protection commitments indefinitely, including the establishment of an environmental protection agency, and a robust accounting of the nation’s ecological health via an environmental information authority. The latest suspension was announced by the Prime Minister just ahead of a federal election. Australia initially proposed these “nature positive” in 2022 and hosted the first in 2024 to great fanfare, but has not implemented any substantial domestic legislation to overhaul its old environmental laws. Joining the podcast to explain this situation is , the environment editor at The Guardian Australia. In this podcast conversation, Morton details what the Australian government promised, what it reneged on, the potential global influence of its backtracking, and why the nation’s environment will continue to without intervention. "I think that the message internationally from this term in parliament has been that the resources sector is winning, and environmental protection is losing out. Now, that's a very simple dichotomy, and it doesn't have to be one or the other, but on every front at the moment, that's how it feels in Australia. That applies to fossil fuel extraction. It applies to native forestry [and] logging, which still continues in a significant amount," Morton says. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image Credit: A koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in Queensland, Australia. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. ----- Timecodes (00:00) Australia breaks a key promise (07:30) What does 'Nature Positive' mean? (16:39) Koala protection sidelined (20:53) How to 'right' the 'wrongs’ (28:30) Credits
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What environmental history says about our current ‘planetary risk’
03/18/2025
What environmental history says about our current ‘planetary risk’
Recent and major shifts in international environmental policies and programs have historical precedent, but the context of global environmental degradation and climate change presents a planetary risk that’s new, say Sunil Amrith. A professor of history at Yale University, he joins this week’s Mongabay Newscast to discuss the current political moment and what history can teach us about it. " When we look at examples from the past, [societies’ ecological impacts] have tended to be confined to a particular region, to those states, and perhaps to their neighbors. Because of where we are in terms of anthropogenic warming [and] , I think the scale of any risk, the scale of any potential crossing over into irreversible thresholds, is going to have impact on a scale that I'm not sure historical precedents would give us much insight into," he says. Amrith is the author of , which examines the past 500 years of human history, colonization and empire, and the impact of these on ecological systems. In this conversation, he details some historical parallels, what lessons can be learned, and what periods of history resulted in the most peace and prosperity. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image credit: Deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon. Photo by Rhett Butler/Mongabay. ------ Timecodes (00:00) Historical parallels to the current moment (09:43) The context of ‘planetary risk’ (20:36) Lessons from history (26:10) Credits
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How ‘ecological empathy’ can shape a better world
03/11/2025
How ‘ecological empathy’ can shape a better world
A new framework for considering the needs of the “more-than-human world” when designing human-made systems is “ecological empathy,” the focus of , founder of , a sustainability consulting firm. Her research, , was published in the journal Ecosystems and People in late 2024, when she was at Arizona State University. She joins the podcast to detail the concept and its potential for reconnecting humans with nature for mutual benefit. "Ecological empathy as I define it [is] essentially a framework of practice for how to use empathy as a guide to connect to the more-than-human world, and integrate our interdependence and relationships with the more-than-human world in everyday thinking, everyday practice, and specifically in the places where we work," she says. Previous newscast guests like Carl Safina, for overhauling how humans raise and farm seafood. Ben Goldfarb how road crossings can help humans move toward a less environmentally damaging road infrastructure network in his award-winning book Crossings, which documents what he calls “road ecology.” Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image Credit: A Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) in Indonesian New Guinea. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. ---- Timecodes (00:00) What is ‘ecological empathy’? (10:50) The limits of feelings (15:38) The theory of change (21:22) How do you apply it? (33:29) Real-world examples (44:29) What empathy is and isn’t (52:30) Credits
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Degrowth’s benefits in Barcelona are getting noticed across the globe
03/04/2025
Degrowth’s benefits in Barcelona are getting noticed across the globe
Middle and working-class citizens in nations across the globe are feeling their purchasing power diminish while billionaires historically high levels of wealth. People are looking for economic solutions out of the inequity that are in line with their ecological values and planetary boundaries. "People are really hungry for solutions [and] really hungry to find alternatives," says Alvaro Alvarez, the documentary filmmaker of the new BBC documentary Alvarez joins Mongabay's podcast to detail real-life solutions using the concepts behind “degrowth” in the city of Barcelona, which he highlights in the film and which have garnered widespread interest. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Listen to a previous conversation on degrowth on the Mongabay Newscast . Image Credit: La Brugera de Púbol, a sustainable living and educational eco-estate roughly 2 hours from the city of Barcelona operated by Mike Duff. Image courtesy of Alvaro Alvarez. ----- Timecodes (00:00) Degrowth momentum in Barcelona (06:26) Degrowth and housing cooperatives (09:01) Growing international support (13:06) Challenges and criticisms of degrowth (24:51) Degrowth and global inequality (32:42) Green gentrification (39:03) Challenging the ‘wealth=success’ narrative (42:24) Keeping inside the planetary boundaries
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How corporations meet their climate targets, on paper
02/18/2025
How corporations meet their climate targets, on paper
A in the journal Nature Climate Change concludes there is limited accountability for corporations that fail to achieve their climate change mitigation targets. The analysis shows 9% of company decarbonization plans missed their goals, while 31% “disappeared.” However, 60% of companies met their targets. While this might initially seem like good news, it may not be leading to genuine climate action. This week's podcast guest, , a consultant and researcher for nonprofit organizations in the climate sector, explains that many corporations are not actually decarbonizing their supply chains, but rather relying on buying renewable energy certificates and carbon credits to "offset" additional carbon emissions from their business. While carbon offsets are often touted as a way to directly fund climate action on the ground, Joshi stresses there is no verifiable way to track how much is funding these projects. Typically, credits are purchased from a broker, and 90% of these arranging such deals on the voluntary carbon market don't share their data. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image Credit: The 2015 Paris Agreement stipulates that countries must reduce carbon emissions in order to limit warming to 1.5°C, or at least well below 2°C. Image by jwvein via Pixabay (Public domain). ---- Timestamps (00:00) Are companies actually decarbonizing? (16:06) The rise of climate litigation (31:00) Carbon removal tech as an offset (42:00) What is GreenSky? (50:38) Credits
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Bobcats provide health benefits for ecosystems and humans, but are largely misunderstood
02/11/2025
Bobcats provide health benefits for ecosystems and humans, but are largely misunderstood
The bobcat population has over the past century, making it North America’s most common wildcat: as of 2011, there were an 3.5 million bobcats in the United States alone, a significant increase from the late 1990s. These felids, Lynx rufus, have benefited from conservation efforts that have increased their natural habitat. The species also thrives at the edges of towns and cities, where their presence can even reduce the spread of pathogens like Lyme disease that affect people, says podcast guest Zara McDonald, founder of the . McDonald shares her thoughts on how the bobcat manages to thrive on the edge of urban areas, the state of wildcat conservation, and what she wishes more people knew about wildcats. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image: A bobcat in Kalispell, Montana. Image by Outward_bound via (). ----- Timecodes (00:00) Intro (02:58) The resilience of bobcats (08:13) The benefits of bobcats (16:19) The Felidae Conservation Fund (25:30) The state of wildcat conservation (30:47) Wildfires and their impact on wildcats (33:47) Thoughts on coexistence with wildlife
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How law enforcement in Africa's protected areas is part of a larger culture in conservation
02/04/2025
How law enforcement in Africa's protected areas is part of a larger culture in conservation
Nations across the world are working to expand their protected areas to include . In Africa, this would encompass an additional 1 million square miles. Mongabay's Ashoka Mukpo recently traveled to three nations to assess the current state of conservation practices in key protected areas, to get a better picture of what an expansion might look like, and how the crucial role of rangers in enforcing their protection is evolving. While there, he traveled with passionate and dedicated rangers, but also documented allegations of ranger involvement in violent incidents in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. He joins the podcast to describe the situation, which he says is commonplace in national parks across the continent. "The amount [of] violence and aggressive enforcement that is, I think, generally associated with wildlife rangers has led to a lot of mistrust, a lot of alienation, and a real sense that 'the purpose of these people is to kind of harass and impose a system that doesn't include us, on us,'" Mukpo says. Read more here: Image Credit: Lion inside Queen Elizabeth National Park. Photo by Ashoka Mukpo for Mongabay. ---- Timestamps (00:00) Introduction (01:27) National parks, human rights and 30x30 (04:15) Allegations of violence in Queen Elizabeth Park\ (09:48) How did we get here? (13:26) Tension between communities and rangers (18:05) Signs of collaboration (21:27) The economics of Queen Elizabeth Park (24:16) Local people cut out from revenue (26:31) The bigger picture (30:28) Credits
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Justice for people, animals and environment are closely linked
01/28/2025
Justice for people, animals and environment are closely linked
Bryan Simmons, the vice president of communications for the Arcus Foundation, joins the Mongabay Newscast this week to share the philosophy behind the 25-year-old foundation, which funds grantees that work on LGBTQ rights and great apes and gibbons conservation. In this conversation with co-host Mike DiGirolamo, Simmons explains the link between economic development and justice for people and how this is correlated with conservation outcomes. “When people are not able to have their economic needs met, conservation begins to pay the price right away,” says Simmons. He encourages listeners to review recent reports regarding and how this relates to human health, disease, and the ‘’ approach to planetary stewardship. Find more at . Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Arcus is a of Mongabay, but it did not initiate this interview nor does it have editorial influence on Mongabay’s coverage. Image Credit: . --- Timestamps (00:00) Bryan’s journey to the Arcus Foundation (13:25) How social justice enables conservation (25:47) Threats to human rights and conservation (30:09) Concerns in the Congo Basin (33:26) Hope during a dark period (37:54) Empathy in apes
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Turning problems into solutions for culture and agriculture, with Anthony James
01/14/2025
Turning problems into solutions for culture and agriculture, with Anthony James
This week, Anthony James, host of , joins Mongabay’s podcast to share stories of community resilience and land regeneration in the Americas and Australia. James explains how donkeys (seen as invasive pests) are now being managed to benefit the land in Kachana Station in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In this episode, James emphasizes the importance of harnessing what’s in front of us, rather than fighting it. Across the many interviews he’s conducted, it’s become clear that this concept is something Aboriginal Traditional Owners are keenly aware of. “If you’re there, you’re kin. There’s no sense of ‘being greater than,” James says. Related reading: Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend. You can also subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to . Listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image Credit: Jim Jim Falls, Kakadu National Park. Image by Parks Australia. Courtesy of the Director of National Parks, Australian Government, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Timecodes --- (00:00) Why Anthony James started The RegenNarration (05:32) The story of Kachana Station (12:24) Turning problems into solutions (25:26) Community resilience amidst political strife (36:45) Where's the potential? (41:29) Credits
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Christiana Figueres helped deliver the Paris Agreement and remains optimistic on climate action
01/07/2025
Christiana Figueres helped deliver the Paris Agreement and remains optimistic on climate action
General frustration with the result of the most recent UN climate conference (UNFCCC COP29) spurred the former UN climate chief, Christiana Figueres – under whose leadership the Paris Agreement was struck – to co-author a letter to the UN to the COP process, and “no longer fit for purpose.” Figueres joins this episode to speak about why the world’s governments seemingly cannot agree to move decisively on climate action, and what can be done about it. She shares why – despite these frustrations and disappointments – she remains optimistic about the global effort to decarbonize economies and transport systems, citing in the deployment of renewable energy and the power of everyday actions: “I used to think that it was our collective responsibility to guarantee to future generations that they would have a perfect world. And now that I am a recent grandmother, I really look back at that and I go, ‘my God, we cannot guarantee to future generations that they're going to have a perfect world.’ We cannot. So, what can we do? We can do our darndest and we can wake up every morning and make a choice and say ‘where am I going to put my energy today?’” she says. Figueres is also the co-host of the popular podcast, , which features conversations and analysis about the climate crisis. Related reading at Mongabay.com: · · Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Timecodes --- (00:00) A disappointing COP process (03:33) Has the Paris Agreement failed? (08:01) The renewable energy adoption s-curve (13:34) Electricity generation vs. consumption (18:55) Decarbonizing without mandates (23:29) Are we standing still? (31:16) Courage in choosing optimism (41:25) Reflections from a Colombian forest (48:12) Rachel changes her mind
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Secretive regional fisheries management organizations need media coverage
12/23/2024
Secretive regional fisheries management organizations need media coverage
Seventeen (RFMOs) regulate commercially valuable fish species across the world's oceans. The members of these organizations do not publicize their meetings and bar journalists from attending, presenting a barrier for public awareness. On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, Africa staff writer Malavika Vyawahare is joined by a fisheries expert, Grantly Galland, and an RFMO secretary, Darius Campbell, to explain how decisions are made in regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), the consequences their decisions have on global fish populations, human rights and labor rights on the high seas, and how journalists can better cover these organizations. “Decisions are being made by RFMOs that impact billion-dollar fisheries and take effect next year [so] these stories deserve to be told,” says Grantly Galland, a project director at the Pew Charitable Trusts. Also joining the conversation is Darius Campbell, secretary of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, an RFMO. “The sea is [vast and it’s] very difficult to understand what's going on. Most of the [fish] stocks are very difficult to analyze and predict. And it's difficult to enforce [rules],” Campbell says. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Like our podcast? Please leave a review and share this episode with a friend. Image credit: Schools of fish at Cayman Islands, Caribbean. Image by Jason Washington / Ocean Image Bank. Timecodes (00:00:00) What is an RFMO? (00:07:37) Who are the key players? (00:13:18) Who holds the power? (00:20:32) Strategies for journalists covering RFMOs (00:29:47) Transparency and secrecy (00:38:59) Conservation and RFMO decision-making (00:48:10) Forced labor and human rights (00:53:29) What happens when an RFMO breaks the rules? (01:01:13) Common heritage vs high seas (01:07:13) BBNJ agreement (01:15:24) Citizen participation (01:19:09) Resources (01:21:39) Credits
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A new tropical forest conservation fund with great potential
12/16/2024
A new tropical forest conservation fund with great potential
A new forest finance fund known as the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) will work like an investment portfolio (unlike the familiar – and often ineffective – forest conservation loan or grant funds), and if enacted as intended, it will reward 70 tropical nations billions in annual funding for keeping their forests standing. Co-host Mike DiGirolamo speaks with three people who have analyzed the fund: Mongabay freelance reporter Justin Catanoso, Charlotte Streck – co-founder of Climate Focus – and Frédéric Hache, a lecturer in sustainable finance at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. They tackle the critical questions regarding what the proposed fund could – and would not – do. “I think that TFFF is an initiative that has great potential because it is put forward and supported by tropical rainforest countries. It is not [a] mechanism that has been defined by donors or by any experts. It is now pushed and promoted by the countries that harbor all this tropical forest,” says Streck. For additional background, find Catanoso’s report on the TFFF for Mongabay . View and hear our podcast team's picks of top 2024 episodes . Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend, and leave a review. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image caption: Cecropia tree in Peru. Image by Rhett Butler for Mongabay. ---- Time stamps (00:00) A brief primer of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) (03:10) Details from Justin Catanoso (10:24) Digging deeper with Charlotte Streck (25:17) Critiques and concerns from Frederic Hache (35:50) Credits
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Do we need a 'moral reckoning' on aquaculture's environmental impacts?
12/10/2024
Do we need a 'moral reckoning' on aquaculture's environmental impacts?
Animal aquaculture, the farming of fish, has the amount of wild-caught fish by tens of millions of metric tons each year, bringing with it negative environmental impacts and enabling abuse, says Carl Safina, an ecologist and author. On this episode of Mongabay’s podcast, Safina speaks with co-host Rachel Donald about his recent Science Advances describing the “moral reckoning” that’s required for the industry, pointing to environmental laws in the United States, which put hard limits on pollution, as examples to follow. “In the 1970s in the U.S., we had this enormous burst of environmental legislation. We got the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act … all of these things were not because somebody invented something new. It's because we felt differently about what was important,” he says. The global fishing industry also contributes to forced labor and other worker abuses, as revealed by whistleblowers and media outlets, including Mongabay. Read our award-winning 2022 , which revealed systemic abuse of foreign workers by China’s offshore tuna fleet. Like this podcast? Share it with a friend, and please leave a review. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image caption: An Atlantic salmon. In the U.S., the Washington state legislature banned farming of Atlantic salmon in 2018. A state official banned all commercial finfish aquaculture. Alaska and California have similar bans. Image by Hans-Petter Fjeld via (). --- Timecodes (00:00) Aquaculture and its impacts (15:32) How values shape environmental policy (32:56) The tragedy of the commons (35:52) Ecological empathy (45:07) Credits
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Conservation is key for planetary health & preventing pandemics
11/26/2024
Conservation is key for planetary health & preventing pandemics
Neil Vora MD is a former epidemic intelligence service officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with experience combating outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus and running the New York City contact tracing program for COVID-19. He advocates supporting public health infrastructure to respond to diseases. He much prefers preventing outbreaks before they occur instead of rushing to respond to them, though, and the best way to do this, he says, is by investing in nature. On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, Vora shares his knowledge of why the “spillover” of — when a pathogen jumps from wildlife to humans — is increasingly occurring due to and . He also says that despite science's importance in studying and combating viruses, art and philosophy are necessary tools to drive the global change needed to prevent further outbreaks. “If we want to see societal transformation, we're going to need people feeling inspired, and that's where art and philosophy come in,” Vora says. Listen to Mongabay’s previous Newscast episode covering the recent outbreak of avian influenza . Like this podcast? Share it with a friend, and please leave a review. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: Rainbow over Jambi, Indonesia. Photo credit: Rhett Ayers Butler / Mongabay ----- Timecodes (00:00) Introduction (01:06) Medical doctor and conservationist: Neil Vora (04:27) The link between deforestation and disease (07:33) The 'One Health' movement (09:41) How disease 'spillover' happens (13:06) What's happening with marburg and 'bird flu'? (23:10) Why we need art & philosophy to protect nature (26:31) Apocalyptic horror films as scenario explorations (30:04) Solutions and 'radical listening' (35:09) A rejection of nihilism
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Grounded: This pilot quit flying to help the aviation industry change, for the better
11/12/2024
Grounded: This pilot quit flying to help the aviation industry change, for the better
Todd Smith wanted to be a pilot since the age of 5, but an epiphany spurred by seeing a retreating ice cap in Peru revealed that his love of flying conflicted with the planetary harm his industry was causing. “That was the first seed that was planted, and I was witnessing in that moment climate change and mass tourism firsthand,” he says. Today, Smith is co-founder of Safe Landing, an organization dedicated to advocating for sustainable aviation reform to adapt to the realities of climate change and ensure the future employment of airline workers. On the latest Mongabay Newscast, he details his journey to leave the industry, and shares what he thinks the airline industry needs to change to in order to adapt to our new climate-changed reality. Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image: Private jet flights account for a small fraction of aviation’s overall emissions — around 4% — though the burden is up to 10 times more per passenger compared to a commercial flight, according to a recent report. Image by lillolillolillo via Pixabay (Public domain). --- Timecodes (00:00) Introduction: Todd Smith (02:10) From airline pilot to climate activist (12:10) The origins of Safe Landing (24:04) The future of aviation on a limited carbon budget (37:10) The inequities of flying (45:53) Credits
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Don't call it the ‘high seas treaty’: New oceans agreement should center biodiversity, expert says
10/29/2024
Don't call it the ‘high seas treaty’: New oceans agreement should center biodiversity, expert says
The new BBNJ (biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction) marine conservation agreement is impressive in scope but has since been rebranded by some as the “high seas treaty,” which risks biasing its interpretation by emphasizing the historical, but outdated, freedoms enjoyed by seafaring (and largely Western) nations. Elizabeth Mendenhall of the University of Rhode Island joins this episode to discuss the treaty with co-host Rachel Donald, detailing the fascinating and complicated nature of ocean governance beyond the jurisdiction of states. The BBNJ agreement was designed to resolve some of these governance issues, but the text contains ample gray area in how the principles of “common heritage,” the concept that something belongs to all of humanity, will apply to the protection and extraction of resources from the water column and seafloor. “The treaty design that we ended up with [from] my perspective is not really suited to achieve what it is we say we want to do, which is to create a big network of marine protected areas that's effective in terms of protecting biodiversity,” Mendenhall says. To learn more and find links to the treaty documents, see the commentary Mendenhall co-authored for Mongabay about the topic earlier this year, Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: Baleen whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Image by ArtTower via Pixabay (Public domain). --- Timecodes (00:00) Introduction (02:51) How biodiverse are oceans? (05:20) What's at stake? (07:47) How are the oceans governed? (10:47) How international ocean management organizations work (17:13) What is the treaty for? (21:21) Is it a marine protected area if you can still exploit it? (27:55) BBNJ vs. 'High Seas' (29:09) Principles of High Seas and Common Heritage (35:35) Post-show (40:13) Credits
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Global Nature Positive Summit features Indigenous & conservation leaders but gets negative marks on government action
10/22/2024
Global Nature Positive Summit features Indigenous & conservation leaders but gets negative marks on government action
Just prior to the latest world biodiversity summit (COP 16 in Colombia), a similarly-themed event was hosted by the Australian Government in Sydney: the Global ‘Nature Positive’ Summit featured Indigenous leaders, scientists and conservationists, but political leaders in attendance provided little insight into when key reforms to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act would take place, which experts, lawyers, and activists have been for. For this episode, Mongabay speaks with delegates to the summit including Barry Hunter, a descendent of the Djabugay people and the CEO of (NAILSMA), Éliane Ubalijoro, the CEO of , and also Ben Pitcher, a behavioral biologist with the . These guests share their expertise on the state of biodiversity, what kind of action they want to see from leaders, and what can be done to safeguard species while ensuring First Nations rights. Image Credit: Barry Hunter on his Country (Djabugay Country) at Mona Mona. Image by Seth Seden. ---- Timecodes (00:00) Introduction (02:05) A lack of government action (04:04) Interview with Barry Hunter (15:31) Interview with Eliane Ubalijoro (20:24) Interview with Ben Pitcher (28:16) Credits
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Jane Goodall and Rhett Butler celebrate Mongabay’s 25th anniversary
10/15/2024
Jane Goodall and Rhett Butler celebrate Mongabay’s 25th anniversary
The Mongabay Newscast recently traveled to San Francisco to join an event hosted by the popular radio show and podcast, , reflecting on both Mongabay’s 25th anniversary and Jane Goodall’s 90th birthday, for a live audience of 1,700. First, Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler discusses the news outlet’s biggest successes and impact over a quarter of a century, and then Climate One founder and host Greg Dalton engages Butler and Goodall in conversation about the state of environmental news, the biggest issues they’re working on, their inspirations, and what Goodall wants more people to think about during what she calls a crucial election year. Here's additional discussion of Mongabay’s 25th anniversary, This is our previous episode where Goodall shares additional thinking on these issues: Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: Rhett Ayers Butler and Jane Goodall in conversation in San Francisco. Image by Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo/Mongabay. --- Time Codes (00:00:00) Introduction (00:00:59) Rhett’s reflections on 25 years of Mongabay (00:02:27) What makes for a successful newsroom? (00:07:50) Looking to the future (00:17:47) Jane Goodall and Rhett Butler in conversation with Climate One (01:17:30) Credits
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Community conservation, Indigenous rights, and phasing out fossil fuels at Climate Week NYC
10/08/2024
Community conservation, Indigenous rights, and phasing out fossil fuels at Climate Week NYC
An array of top voices are interviewed or heard on this episode straight from Climate Week in New York, a global gathering of leaders and experts working in the climate and environmental sectors on proactive policies and practical initiatives. The podcast speaks with several individuals on topics ranging from a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty that’s gaining steam currently to ways of improving the financing of Indigenous communities and conservation organizations working in Africa, and many others. Here’s who appears on the show: Allison Begalman, co-founder of the Hollywood Climate Summit Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam International Tzeporah Berman, chair of the Luisa Castaneda, deputy director of Paul Chet Greene, member of the House of Representatives of Antigua and Barbuda Susana Muhamad, minister of environment and sustainable development of Colombia Mohamed Nasheed, former president of the Maldives Maria Neira, director of the Department of Public Health and Environment at the World Health Organization Sam Shaba, CEO of Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: Indigenous activists during an End of the Fossil Fuels event during Climate Week 2023. Image courtesy of the Confederation of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA). --- Time Codes (00:00) Mongabay at Climate Week NYC (01:34) Mohamed Nasheed (04:35) Paul Chet Greene (05:52) Amitabh Behar (07:23) PLANETWALKER with Allison Begalman (12:15) Funding justice with Luisa Castaneda (18:19) Community-led conservation with Sam Shaba (24:44) The fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty (29:19) Juan Bay and the Waorani Nation endorsement (36:49) Maria Neira from the World Health Organization (38:39) Susana Muhamad on Colombia’s endorsement (44:07) Tzeporah Berman talks treaty (53:32) Rainforest reception and a song
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High CO2 levels are greening the world’s drylands, is that good news?
10/01/2024
High CO2 levels are greening the world’s drylands, is that good news?
Drylands are vast and home to a wide array of biodiversity, while also hosting a large portion of the world’s farmland, but they face continued desertification, despite many of them recently experiencing increased vegetation levels. Five million hectares (12 million acres) of drylands, an area half the size of South Korea, have been desertified due to climate change since 1980, but elevated CO2 levels are also driving a regreening of some areas, which some argue is a positive effect of pumping CO2 into the atmosphere. However, our guest on this episode says this isn’t necessarily good news: remote-sensing researcher Arden Burrell describes how the CO2 fertilization effect is greening some dryland ecosystems, and why this worries scientists who say it may mask land overuse and decreased water resources. Read the study here: Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: Green areas saw a growth in foliage from 2000 to 2017, while brown areas represent a reduction. Image courtesy of Joshua Stevens/NASA Earth Observatory. Time Codes --- (00:00) Introduction (02:50) Drylands and desertification (04:19) Impacts of climate change on drylands (09:33) The CO2 fertilization effect (23:34) Digging into the models (30:16) Implications for land overuse (35:54) Post-show (41:42) Credits
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“What If We Get It Right?” marine biologist & climate action author Ayana Elizabeth Johnson asks
09/24/2024
“What If We Get It Right?” marine biologist & climate action author Ayana Elizabeth Johnson asks
Marine biologist and climate policy advocate Ayana Elizabeth Johnson joins this episode to discuss her latest book, , a compilation of essays and interviews with experts and authors in the climate and environmental fields. Her book sensitively probes the problems human society faces and potential pathways to address environmental injustice, from the unsustainable industrialization of our food systems to the inequity (or lack) of climate policy in many places. Co-host Mike DiGirolamo speaks with Johnson about key insights from her book’s array of interviews, plus lessons learned from fighting for climate policy herself in the form of a “Blue New Deal.” Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson holding a copy of her book “What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures.” Image courtesy of Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. --- Timecodes (00:00) Introduction (01:06) What If We Get It Right? A brief review (05:10) The barriers to change (09:20) What is 'biophilia'? (10:42) Agriculture doesn't have to be this way (12:52) Unsung advice (16:12) It's all about heat pumps (18:36) The role of media in covering protests (21:50) An ocean policy odyssey (25:43) Credits
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Private profit from public lands: How a Cambodian elite with military ties claimed a community forest
09/17/2024
Private profit from public lands: How a Cambodian elite with military ties claimed a community forest
The Phnom Chum Rok Sat community forest used to support local and Indigenous groups in Cambodia’s Stung Treng province, as well as a thriving local ecotourism venture, but that all changed this year when mining company Lin Vatey privately acquired roughly two-thirds of the land and began clearing the forest. Mongabay features writer Gerry Flynn how this happened with freelance reporter Nehru Pry, and speaks with co-host Mike DiGirolamo about how the 10 individuals behind the land grab, many of whom have connections to powerful Cambodian military officials and their families, managed this land grab. Local community members who have resisted currently face legal intimidation and arrests. While community forests, such as Phnon Chum Rok Sat, are supposed to belong to the public, this kind of corporate acquisition of land is commonplace in the nation, Flynn says. “As we see a lot in Cambodia, it’s public forests being turned into private fortunes.” Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: Lin Vatey's original mining site inside Phnom Chum Rok Sat threatens to consume the entire forest according to documents seen by Mongabay. Image by Gerald Flynn/Mongabay. --- Timecodes (00:00) Introduction (02:56) A once vibrant community forest (06:04) Cordoned off from the land (08:48) Liv Vatey moves in (17:03) Letter number 1456 (26:24) Arrests and intimidation (30:06) Ecotourism efforts shut down (34:14) The 'mental gymnastics' of a government spokesperson (37:12) Credits
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The rights of nature, legal personhood & other new ways laws can protect the planet
09/03/2024
The rights of nature, legal personhood & other new ways laws can protect the planet
“Legal personhood” and laws regarding the “rights of nature” are being trialed in nations worldwide, but whether they lead to measurable conservation outcomes is yet to be seen, says environmental economist Viktoria Kahui. Still, she says on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast that she’s very hopeful about them. There’s a global debate surrounding these laws’ efficacy as a tool for conservation, and growing uneasiness about how they may impose a Western viewpoint upon something as inherently complex and extralegal as nature. Some critics argue that such a concept not only transcends the legal system but also cannot be subjected to it without harming the people and places these laws are intended to empower. Yet Kahui argues that there’s potential for rights-of-nature laws to develop in context-dependent scenarios, where humans can advocate on behalf of nature in places like Ecuador, which she says is a particularly powerful example. Read more about legal personhood and the rights of nature here: Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: Blue water of the Quinault river, Olympic Rainforest. Image by Rhett Butler. Time Codes --- (00:00) Introduction (00:58) The global debate on rights of nature (03:52) Can these laws protect biodiversity? (07:58) Challenges for legal personhood (14:10) The advantage of using rights of nature (24:21) Philosophical qualms with anthropocentric laws (28:55) How laws can shape our relationships with nature (33:00) The 'big possibility' (40:56) There's no silver bullet (44:01) Credits
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How coastal communities are adapting to rising seas naturally with Living Shorelines
08/27/2024
How coastal communities are adapting to rising seas naturally with Living Shorelines
Homeowners and towns along the U.S. East Coast are increasingly building “living shorelines” to adapt to sea level rise and boost wildlife habitat in a more economical and less carbon-intensive way than concrete seawalls. These projects protect shorelines using a clever mix of native plants, driftwood, holiday trees, and other organic materials. Peter Slovinsky, a coastal geologist with the Maine Geological Survey, joins the Mongabay Newscast to discuss the benefits of living shorelines, how they are implemented in his state, and what other techniques coastal communities should consider in a world with a warming climate and rising seas. Read Erik Hoffner’s original reporting on living shorelines . Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: Salt tolerant plants are part of a ‘living shorelines’ project on the Blue Hill Peninsula in Maine. Image by Erik Hoffner for Mongabay. Time Codes --- (00:00) Introduction (02:19) What is a “living shoreline?” (04:55) Green over gray (13:06) How to make a “living shoreline” (18:59) Case studies and urban applications (24:50) Adaptation methods that deserve more consideration (31:13) Reconsidering retreat (32:48) The geologist’s greatest fears and biggest hopes (39:35) Credits
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Experts warn bird flu poses ‘an existential threat’ to biodiversity, and a possible threat to humans
08/20/2024
Experts warn bird flu poses ‘an existential threat’ to biodiversity, and a possible threat to humans
The current clade of H5N1 or bird flu is an "existential threat" to the world’s biodiversity, experts say. While it has infected more than 500 bird and mammal species on every continent except Australia, the number of human infections from the current clade (grouping) 2.3.4.4b is still comparatively small. U.S. dairy workers have recently become infected, and the virus could easily mutate to become more virulent, our guest says. Joining the Mongabay Newscast to talk about it is Apoorva Mandavilli, a global health reporter for The New York Times. Mandavilli details what virologists and experts know about the human health risks associated with this latest clade, what nations are doing (or not doing) to help contain its spread, and why. She also details how environmental degradation and industrial agriculture help create the conditions for outbreaks like this to occur. Read Sharon Guynup’s reporting on it . Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: Highly pathogenic avian influenza killed thousands of black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) chicks in the Falkland Islands and Islas Malvinas, where two-thirds of the entire population lives. Image © Julia Emerit and Augustin Clessin. Time Codes --- (00:00) Introduction (02:44) The evolution of H5N1 (05:47) Clade 2.3.4.4b (08:21) Challenges in monitoring the spread (11:10) What are the human health risks? (16:34) A spotlight on industrialized animal agriculture (18:26) A vaccination strategy? (20:05) What lessons are we learning from other pandemics? (23:08) The degradation of nature and the frequency of disease outbreaks (25:57) Credits
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Indigenous communities' traditional ecological knowledge is key to conservation: National Geographic photographer Kiliii Yüyan
08/13/2024
Indigenous communities' traditional ecological knowledge is key to conservation: National Geographic photographer Kiliii Yüyan
Top National Geographic photographer Kiliii Yüyan joined the show to discuss traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and why Indigenous communities are the world’s most effective conservationists. Yüyan spoke about this with us in March 2023 and we're sharing the episode again after it recently won a 'Best coverage of Indigenous communities' prize from the Indigenous Media Awards. While the National Geographic version of "Guardians of Life" is now published, the collaboration between Gleb Raygorodetsky and Yüyan will be published in book form in 2025. Sign up at Raygorodetsky's to be notified when it’s out. Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. *Come celebrate Jane Goodall's 90th birthday, and Mongabay's 25th anniversary, during an event hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco (or virtually) by purchasing tickets at. To get $10 off, use the promo code C1PARTNER. * Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: With a dip net, Karuk fisherman Ryan Reed searches for Chinook salmon under the watchful eye of his father, Ron, on California's Klamath River at Ishi Pishi Falls in October 2020. The Reeds caught no fish in stark contrast to earlier times. Before California became a state, the river saw about 500,000 salmon each fall, but last year just 53,954 mature Chinook swam up, a 90 percent decline. The nation now restricts salmon fishing to Ishi Pishi Falls, but with the slated removal of four dams, the Karuk hope the salmon will return. Image (c) Kiliii Yuyan. Time Codes --- (00:00) Indigenous peoples: the world's best conservationists (02:31) Who are the Guardians of Life? (07:30) Some of Kiliii's favorite memories (10:39) 'People are not separate from nature' (18:04) 'Two-eyed seeing': combining Western and Indigenous science (23:30) Advice from an Indigenous storyteller (27:26) The Impact of storytelling (30:52) A kayak is not a ship (34:02) The Guardians of Life book (39:50) Credits
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The ‘Wild Frequencies’ of Indian wildlife revealed by bioacoustics
08/06/2024
The ‘Wild Frequencies’ of Indian wildlife revealed by bioacoustics
Mongabay newswire editor Shreya Dasgupta joins the Mongabay Newscast to detail her new three-part miniseries, Wild Frequencies, produced in collaboration with the Mongabay India bureau. Dasgupta details her journey with Mongabay-India senior digital editor Kartik Chandramouli. They travel the country speaking with researchers, listening and studying to the sounds produced by bats, Asian elephants, sarus cranes, wolves and many other animals. The emerging field for which this study is named, bioacoustics, is helping researchers lay foundational knowledge crucial for conservation measures. Listen to the miniseries on the ‘Everything Environment’ podcast or by clicking the links below: Like this podcast? Please share it with a friend and help spread the word about the Mongabay Newscast. *Come celebrate Jane Goodall’s 90th birthday, and Mongabay’s 25th anniversary, during an event hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco (or virtually) by purchasing tickets at . To get $10 off, use promo code C1PARTNER. * Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for and devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all of our previous ones. Image Credit: An Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus). Image by sunnyjosef via () Time Codes --- (00:00) Enter: Bioacoustics (02:51) What Is the New 'Newswire' Service at Mongabay? (05:50) What is Wild Frequencies? (08:45) Going a Little Batty (17:59) The Complicated Lives of Sarus Cranes (21:44) Animal 'Societies' We Don't Normally Hear In Cities (30:07) Credits
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