Campus Life, Climate, and Connection with Mallory McDuff
Mallory McDuff has been living on campus at Warren Wilson College for over 20 years. She is a professor who teaches environmental education at the college, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. Living and teaching at the college, and raising two daughters, has given her some unique opportunities to connect with young adults, understand their thoughts and feelings about climate change and the environment, and see how those thoughts and feelings have evolved and continue to evolve.Mallory is the author of several books that focus on climate change and the environment, including Love Your Mother: 50 States, 50 Stories, and 50 Women United for Climate Justice and Our Last Best Act: Planning for the End of Our Lives to Protect the People and Places We Love.In this episode, we talk with Mallory about her experiences at Warren Wilson and how she helps inspire students who participate in the college's unique environmental education and community engagement programs. She describes how she became interested in environmental education and shares some advice for educators and future educations who might want to follow in her footsteps.Mallory’s web site is https://mallorymcduff.com. You'll find information about her books, including Love Your Mother and Our Last Best Act, at https://mallorymcduff.com/books.Mallory recently wrote an essay for Business Insider about her life on campus at Warren Wilson College. You can read that essay here.In this article for HuffPost, Mallory describes how the climate crisis and her own parents' sudden deaths led her on yearlong journey to revise her final wishes with climate change and community in mind.Want to learn about Third Act, the climate action group for people over sixty? Their website is https://thirdact.org/Mallory also mentioned Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and her upcoming book, What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures. Dr. Johnson's website is https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/.Get out of your comfort Zone. Transform your relationship with time. Visit https://scottmillercoaching.com/
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12 - A Smart Way to Reuse EV Batteries with Bill Von Novak
Bill Von Novak is helping to put electric vehicle batteries in the Matrix. No, he’s not creating an electric version of the popular Toyota hatchback, as cool as that would be. Think Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus, not, “I can’t believe how much stuff fits in this little car!”Bill earned an electrical engineering degree from MIT and has a few decades of experience working with power systems for electric vehicles and UAVs. These days he works for a California-based company called Smartville. Smartville is turning used EV batteries into sustainable energy storage systems which can be used in a variety of ways. These storage systems can provide backup power for buildings and can be used by power companies to prevent blackouts and brownouts. Smartville’s systems are already providing backup power for a library at the University of California, San Diego. The Smartville system helps protect the library’s collection, which includes original writings of Theodor Geisel—a.k.a. Dr. Seuss.Along with describing the exciting work that Smartville is doing, Bill shares some interesting stories about his journey to this current career. You’ll hear about his first time driving an electric vehicle—an early prototype EV built by Ford. He talks about the solar power and battery storage systems he's built for artists at Burning Man. And he offers advice for other engineers looking to use their talents in environmental or sustainability-focused careers.Learn about Smartville and their energy storage systems at https://smartville.ioArticles about Smartville:“South Carolina HBCUs part of $10M US Department of Energy renewable energy project:”https://www.wltx.com/article/money/business/south-carolina-hbcus-part-of-330million-dollar-us-department-of-energy-renewable-energy-project/101-92b21c52-2938-43e1-a79f-9b57d34a125a“Smartville Is Giving Used Automotive Batteries A Second Life:”https://cleantechnica.com/2023/11/07/smartville-is-giving-used-automotive-batteries-a-second-life/"Second Life: Carmakers and Storage Startups Get Serious About Reusing Batteries:”https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/car-makers-and-startups-get-serious-about-reusing-batteriesGet out of your comfort Zone. Transform your relationship with time. Visit https://scottmillercoaching.com/
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11 - Join the Rebellion with Laura Kits
Laura Kits is a singer, songwriter, painter, freelance consultant and business writer. She is a climate activist and spokesperson in a movement called Extinction Rebellion.Extinction rebellion has grown from a small group of people to a competent, powerful and fun social movement with hundreds of local groups in almost sixty countries. They are a diverse group united by a deep concern for life on Earth and how all life will be impacted by the climate and ecological crisis we are currently facing.In this episode, Laura talks about disruptive civil disobedience and the actions that groups like Extinction Rebellion are taking to draw attention to the climate crisis. She talks about what corporations and governments are doing—and more specifically, what they aren’t doing—to address the climate crisis.Laura shares her own reasons for becoming a climate activist and talks about actions we can all take to bring about meaningful change.Here’s what you can do to help.Learn about Extinction Rebellion.Extinction Rebellion Netherlands (English website): https://extinctionrebellion.nl/en/Extinction Rebellion Global: https://rebellion.global/Learn about other climate action groups.Climate Defiance: https://www.climatedefiance.org/Just Stop Oil: https://juststopoil.org/Letzte Generation: https://letztegeneration.org/en/Learn about climate change.Climate Fresk: https://climatefresk.org/The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions by Greta Thunberg: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709837/the-climate-book-by-greta-thunberg/Learn about political debate, messaging, and the power of framing.Don’t Think of an Elephant! by George Lakoff: https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/the-all-new-dont-think-of-an-elephant/Enjoy more of Laura’s music.https://open.spotify.com/artist/0UntvTSyhgiZmbpT4iOofiLaura is on Instagram at https://instagram.com/laurakitsmusicand on Linkedin at https://linkedin.com/in/laura-kits-60462931/Get out of your comfort Zone. Transform your relationship with time. Visit https://scottmillercoaching.com/
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10 - How to Give a Scrap About the Planet with Daniel Bagnell of the Scrap Exchange
At one end of the Lakewood Shopping Center in Durham, North Carolina, a nonprofit organization called The Scrap Exchange is doing its part to promote a circular economy. The Scrap Exchange’s mission is to reduce waste and promote creative reuse.When exactly is the last time that you threw something in the trash? How many things do you throw away each week? It’s not surprising if you don’t exactly remember. On average, Americans throw out almost 5 pounds of trash per person every day (a little over 2 kg). Every 15.5 hours, Americans throw out enough plastic to fill the AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, which is the largest NFL stadium in the country.*Throwing things away is the trademark of a linear economy. But these days, more and more people are talking about creating a circular economy. In a circular economy, the people who design and sell products and the people who use those products take steps to minimize waste and ensure that goods and materials can be reused.In 2023 The Scrap Exchange collected approximately 300,000 pounds of donated materials and helped keep those items from being dumped in landfills.In this episode we talk with Daniel Bagnell, a longtime employee of The Scrap Exchange. Daniel knows a lot about how The Scrap Exchange operates and has seen many of the changes that the organization has been through over the years. We go behind the scenes with Daniel to learn what it’s like to work at a creative reuse arts center.* Source: https://environmentamerica.org/center/resources/trash-in-america-2/Check out The Scrap Exchange web site: https://www.scrapexchange.org/Instagram: http://instagram.com/scrapexchangeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scrap-exchange/Sign up for a free, one-hour, online time management workshop. Task, Time, Energy: The Workshop is at https://scottmillercoaching.com/Get out of your comfort Zone. Transform your relationship with time. Visit https://scottmillercoaching.com/
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09 - Running Green Events and Being a LEEDer with Janna Starr
Janna Starr works as a Project Coordinator at U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) where she has also served as a Certification Program Specialist supporting the LEED Volume Program. Before joining USGBC she managed green events in New York City and was the Facilities & Events Manager and Sustainability Officer at the North Carolina Botanical Garden.In this episode we talk with Janna about LEED, her work managing recycling and composting for parades and festivals in New York City, and simple things that you can do to promote sustainable practices at home and at work.We also touch on the touchy subject of greenwashing. Can companies back up their claims about being green and promoting sustainability?Learn more about the U.S. Green Building Council and LEED at https://www.usgbc.orgCheck out the Plant Power Podcast at https://ncbg.unc.edu/about/newsroom/plant-power-podcast/Find Janna on Instagram at @wastefairy (https://www.instagram.com/wastefairy/)Get out of your comfort Zone. Transform your relationship with time. Visit https://scottmillercoaching.com/
Creating a Cooler World is a podcast about climate change, sustainability, and conservation. We'll talk with people who are taking action to create a cooler world—not just a world that we can survive in, but one that we will enjoy living in.
Australia