Episodes
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Rob and Kaihan join Kimberly to talk about their new book, Proximity: How Coming Breakthroughs in Just-in-Time Transform Business, Society, and Daily Life. Highlighting the failures that laid the foundation for the success stories of how to attain P = 0, Rob and Kaihan offer ways to bring consumers and producers closer together while achieving greater sustainability in the process. Innovations as diverse as specialty lab-grown meats, 3D-printed inoculations, and virtual reality implants show how much more immersed we are in a world of on-demand, proximate goods and services than we might realize.
Rob, Kaihan, and Kimberly spend time considering:
If Covid-19 was the catalyst or just another building block toward digital adoption
Whether proximity technologies are going to put most of us out of work
Whether increased demand for minerals will be just as exploitative an industry as the fossil fuel it’s likely to replace
Whether we colonize Mars because it’s one more planet humans can (irresponsibly) exploit
How both developing and developed countries can benefit from the leapfrogging proximity technologies
The possibility that AI takes over the world, justifying the fears of Campaign to Stop Killer Robots
Ways businesses can integrate proximity into their strategies
For more on her thoughts about Proximity, check out Kimberly’s Substack post
Follow Rob Wolcott on X, LinkedIn, and his website
Follow Kaihan Krippendorff on X, LinkedIn, and his website -
A country finally attempts to implement more stringent fossil fuel regulations and before the law is even passed (or not, in the case of the U.S.), the policy sends companies on a spree to mine, dig, and drill as quickly as possible. This ‘Green Paradox’ raises the question of how on Earth humans are going to meet the UN’s Climate Change COP28 goals in time to avoid planetary meltdown.
Harold Hotelling’s 1935 theory of extraction set up Hans-Werner Sinn’s ‘The Green Paradox’, which holds up under rigorous study. Faced with faster extraction, governments need to keep emissions in check, but confront obstacles at home and abroad. Michael and Kimberly consider how quickly it is possible to feasibly enact achievable policies that simultaneously protect domestic businesses and politicians’ seats, while avoiding ‘spatial carbon leakage’.
Tune in as Michael and Kimberly lay out the pros and cons of the Cap & Trade System, numerous sectors—even the clothing industry—are affected by emissions targets, and why even the most evolved IGO in the world regularly deals with groups protesting everything from farm policies to bans on combustion engines. And for more about the issues, check out Kimberly’s Substack notes.
Key Topics
Whether the UN’s ambitious ‘global stocktake’ to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions will be foiled by an army of Jolly Green Giant Paradoxes
How the capitalist market encourages Green Paradoxes, not only in the fossil fuel industry, but in other sectors affected by climate change policy
Why the international community and individual countries struggle to counter the effects of a Green Paradox
The variety of ways Big Oil has worked to stall being displaced by greener alternatives
How the EU’s ETS, the US’s Waxman-Markey Climate Bill, and China’s 14th Five-Year Plan have fallen prey to The Green Paradox
Why Michael and Kimberly remain optimistic about tackling climate change, despite evidence stacked up against global efforts to mitigate pollution
Recommended Resources
Hans-Werner Sinn’s short overview of The Green Paradox
The UN’s ‘Global Stocktake’ climate action plan
One analyst's argument that The Green Paradox extends to consumers
Kimberly’s supplemental Substack post on To Green or Not To Green: That is the Question (also linked below) -
Missing episodes?
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Would you rather live in London or Gothenburg? For more excitement and a lush 174 sq. ft. of green space per person (and to skip Duolingo Swedish lessons), you might choose London, but for future sustainable security, Gothenburg might be the better bet. Unless hard-pressed, you’re far less likely to Lagos, Nigeria, despite its 6.5% annual growth rate and less than 10 square feet of green space per person.
The appeal of cities puts more pressure on urban planners with increased urbanization and outdated—or in the case of developing countries—practically non-existent infrastructure. Whether it’s traffic jams or strained water supplies, cities need to devise sustainable management methods.
While governments recognize that sustainable development necessarily includes promoting human security and environmental protections, it’s a tough balancing act, defined by the economic bottom line. Facing rapid urbanization and the need for green spaces, Global South countries struggle not only to develop, but in a sustainable manner. And what’s more, perhaps the biggest hurdle they face is developing public-private partnerships to attract investments that alleviate the need for continued government subsidies.
Key Topics
What, exactly, qualifies a city as sustainable?
Why Michael argues the UN is too ambitious in Sustainable Development Goal #11, “making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”
Michael and Kimberly butt heads over the IESE Business School’s “Top 10 Smart & Sustainable Cities” ranking system
How smart can a city be when a government decides to create it from the ground up-the amazing feat of Cyberjaya and desert cities
The ambitious Net-Zero, Green Roofs, Million Trees, and 100% Climate-Proof sustainable city initiatives of London, Toronto, NYC, and Rotterdam
China’s daunting undertaking of Integrated Urban Water Management, a.k.a. Sponge City Program (should have gone with SpongeBob City Program, for certain!)
Recommended Resources
UN Sustainable Development Goal #11
IESE Business School Smart & Sustainable City rankings
What makes a city Smart & Sustainable
China's Sponge City Program
Building a city from scratch- the latest on Cyberjaya, Dubai Internet City, and the pictures promised of Tianjin
We Were Promised Smart Cities
Kimberly's supplemental Substack post on cities' sustainability challenges -
In Episode 7, delving into the global clothing industry, Michael and Kimberly iron out the difference between fast fashion, ultra-fast fashion, and slow fashion—the sustainability reaction to these trends. A brief look at why we are tempted to fill our closets and drawers sets up consideration of the effects of the global clothing supply chain, what policy-makers are doing, and options for clothes-horses, the trendiest -core fans, and the average shopper.
Key Topics
Who we have to thank for the birth of ‘fast fashion’ and ‘ultra-fast fashion’
How mixed fabrics, waterproof gear, and stretchy clothes combine with a ‘race to the bottom’ for a clothing production and consumption sustainability nightmare
The complex web of the global supply chain that links clothing firms to subcontractors to our doorstep
When ‘thrifting’ became a verb and how it burdens the poor both at home and abroad
How and what governments and MNCs are doing and need to do better
Why the cost-per-wear calculation can fill your closet while saving you a pile of money
That not just reduce, but repair and repurpose are useful fashion tips
How a mall entrance was actually a portal to a different dimension for Michael and Kimberly
Recommended Resources
Good on You rates companies’ practices on the planet, people, and animals (turns out Madewell's not as good as I thought!)
What is your garment's cost-per-wear?
The latest UNEP report, a compilation of useful stats at Earth.org, a business review of fast fashion, and why the McKinsey report on The State of Fashion indicates a need for sustainable practices
For legal eagles, the NY bill, the CA bill, the US FABRIC Act, EU’s ESPR, and what Australia is considering
To prime you for a future episode, some wildly alternative fabrics and leather sources -
In Episode 6, Michael and Kimberly put on their academic hats to discuss Commodity Fetishism, a concept Karl Marx used to explain what compels consumers to buy the stuff we do and, ultimately, how understanding this fetishism helps us get out of the sustainability hole we’ve dug.
Key Topics
Why we care more about the ‘perceived value’ of a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt than the ‘real value’ of a plain old polo shirt
Why we can blame the Industrial Revolution for not talking to the person next to us who’s also been called for jury duty
Why ordinary people couldn’t afford the décor and houses that came out of the Arts & Crafts Movement
That there’s more to the global supply chain than just the goods we buy
Why you should be on the lookout for the ‘hidden cost externalities’ lurking all around us
Whether buying more stuff that’s ethically produced is better than buying nothing at all
How, despite some arguments, picking low-hanging fruit can lead to a Sustainable Planet
Recommended Resources
If you're up for it, Karl Marx on Commodity Fetishism
Eric Pickersgill's Removed series, a photo commentary on the impact smartphones
The Day the World Stops Shopping, suggested by a Sustainable Planet listener after hearing Episode 2
If you're into videos, here's one about Commodity Fetishism -
Michael and Kimberly trace the history of the 'Beyond Petroleum' campaign sent us all off to calculate our carbon footprint, how to cast a wider Climate Shadow, and suggest that we should probably cut Bill Gates some slack for flying in his private plane.
Key Topics
How British Petroleum's campaign to rebrand itself as ‘Beyond Petroleum’ has us wondering whether foregoing air travel or counting our produce consumption will help us to lower our impact
Why Emma Pattee decided that our shadow casts much bigger than our footprint, so we should consider not just our quantifiable consumption, but our choices and actions that impact climate change
Whether celebrities should get a free pass to jet-set around the world on their private planes while drinking bottled Fiji brand water
Why Kimberly thinks people on the future Earth we’ve destroyed will be wondering why we tossed so many useable resources into landfills, cursing us, as they scavenge to survive
How Michael lost the battle of the thermostat in the household search of the lowest hanging fruit to decrease our carbon footprint, but won the climate shadow battle at the Northern Kentucky University Board of Regents meetings to ditch bottled water
That personal impact and collective action are important to save the world not just from climate change, but all those other pesky environmental and humanitarian issues we’ve caused
Recommended Resources
Earth Overshoot Day
The BP campaign 'sham' reminded someone else of the Keep America Beautiful campaign, but for different reasons
For low-hanging fruit suggestions for every aspect of your life, check out Give a Sh*t or this interview with author Ashlee Piper
Unless it's necessary, be a trendsetter and ditch the bottled water -
As Sustainable Planet's cross-interview with The Politics Guys, Kimberly talks with Akshat Rathi, award-winning senior reporter for Bloomberg News and host of Bloomberg Green's climate podcast, Zero, about his new book, Climate Capitalism: Winning the Race to Zero Emissions and Solving the Crisis of Our Age.
Listen to Part One of the interview on The Politics Guys
Topics Kimberly & Akshat discuss include:
How a misinformed campaign marketing slogan about ‘clean coal’ led Akshat into the year-long pursuit of uncovering the truth about climate technology
Why economists feel the way to address climate change is to put a price on carbon
How to achieve negative carbon emissions since zero emissions alone isn’t enough
Why, when it comes to electric cars, you’ve never heard of Wan Gang, though Elon Musk is a household name
Why the very industries that created lithium-ion batteries, solar cells, and carbon capture and storage are so resistant to employing that technology
How private capital from billionaires like Bill Gates and anyone with a 401K plan is a key part of pursuing climate technology
That climate justice is both ethically the right path but also reaps global economic benefits
The need to shift from ‘shareholder’ to ‘stakeholder’ if we’re going to meet the less-ambitious Paris Conference climate change goals
Akshat Rathi on X -
Food waste might not be at the top of anyone's "Top 10 List of Worst Environmental Offenders," yet the impact is huge and far-reaching. The United Nations revealed we waste so much food that it's 5 times the CO2 caused by the aviation industry! When we waste food, we also waste every resource that goes into producing that food. Listen to find out how to avoid food waste in pursuit of a more Sustainable Planet.
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Just how huge of an impact does the livestock industry have on the planet? The Economist developed its 'Big Mac Index' to indicate currency values based on the cost of a McDonald's Big Mac. We consider the many costs to people and the planet not included in the price of a Big Mac burger.
Key Topics
Find out why our diets are taxing the planet
How eating meat is an inefficient way to convert plants to calories
Why, for so many reasons, it's so challenging to forgo eating meat and dairy products
The many ways that governments are huge supporters of the meat and dairy industries
A plant-based diet can be nutritious and even delicious- just listen to what Michael has to say about adopting a vegan diet
How to consume less meat, including meat alternatives, lab-grown meat, and even insects
Skipping beef just one meal a week can make a huge difference for the planet, and a Meatless Monday can help change the world
Recommended Resources
The UN's guide to Food and Climate Change: Healthy Diets for a Healthier Planet
Small changes can make a big difference - Tulane's study on food and climate change
The livestock industry and climate change
Concerned about animals and protein intake?
One Green Planet and VegNews are one-stop sites for recipes and info about a plant-based diet -
At every turn, people feel compelled to buy stuff. We examine how consumerism took hold of us, the sorts of policies governments enact that encourage or discourage consumption, and what reasonable changes people can make to be kinder to the planet.
Key Topics
The growing list of Rs-Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Repurpose, Reinvent, Reimagine, Recycle
Living in a single-use, disposable consumer society that's encouraged to buy more stuff
The dual ecological nightmare of credit cards
Why people in developed countries need to cut back when most people in developing countries need to consume more
How the capitalist economic system sets us up to buy more stuff
That planned obsolescence (along with the functional and psychological versions) is not a 21st-century invention
How we can consume less and not feel horrifically unhappy
Recommended Resources
A Brief History of Consumer Culture outlines how we became consumers
Though a bit dated, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story remains a relevant and worthwhile read
Mr. Money Mustache and the FIRE movement -
In their premiere episode, Michael and Kimberly talk about what they've learned over the decades as university professors, introduce sustainability, give an overview of its key challenges, and consider what living more sustainably involves.
Key Topics
What a 14th-century tuberculosis epidemic has to do with conspicuous consumption
Why living in a developed country is way worse for the planet than living in a developing country
Whether population growth really affects sustainability in the way we might think
That achieving a sustainable future goes beyond just protecting the environment, but also requires meeting people's basic needs
Common myths about climate change and achieving a Sustainable Planet
Why we should be hopeful that through even the smallest actions, we can achieve a more sustainable path moving forward
Recommended Resources
Though in need of a 2nd edition, Kimberly's book, From Jicama to Jackfruit, remains a worthwhile read
Michael's book, Navigating the News, could also use an update, considering its message is more relevant than ever
Kimberly's interview with 8 Billion & Counting author Jennifer Sciubba
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