Rebalancing Act

Hearing lots of talk about oil dependency? Not sure what it means to have a resource based economy? Why does Banana Republic have such a problematic name? Does the resource curse impact climate action too?⁠ In this episode we dive into what is a rentier state and why does having a resource heavy economy matter. The Forgotten History of Banana Republic: https://catapult.co/stories/the-forgotten-history-of-banana-republic

Housing affordability (or lack thereof) seems to be on the lips of all Canadians these days - or at least everyone Kiran and Leslie Anne know. Join Kiran for a conversation with Craig Ruttan, Policy Director of Energy, Housing and Economic Enablers at the Toronto Region Board of Trade, for a conversation about how we can increase housing affordability and sustainability in Ontario. Sounds like a win-win!

Leslie Anne takes a deep dive in this episode into climate models. How accurate are they? How do we test them? How should we be using them?

In the final episode of Rebalancing Act's mini-season about climate finance, Kiran is joined by climate strategist Pete Richardson. Pete works at Manifest Climate, a fast-growing startup providing climate change solutions & consulting to help companies manage their climate risk and build resilience. Pete and Kiran discuss Pete's own career journey, how Manifest Climate is helping companies navigate the fast-changing world of climate risk, and advice for anyone wanting to build a career solving climate change (and more!). If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to listen to the other episodes of our miniseries.

In episode 2 of Rebalancing Act's mini-season focused on finance, Kiran and Leslie Anne discuss the power of personal finance. Are you looking for more ways to have a positive impact on the climate? Your savings hold the power to either slow or accelerate climate solutions.  In this episode, the hosts discuss how to avoid greenwashing, how to research whether your portfolio is climate-positive, and an emerging trend of green index funds with low fees and high potential. 

We are back with a mini-season focused on finance! What is the financial system, how does it impact climate goals, and how can we use finance as a force to accelerate climate solutions? In this episode, we discuss the ongoing activist movement pressuring institutions to divest from fossil fuels. Where did it start, how is it going, and what lessons can we take away to enact climate-positive change in our own lives? Listen now to find out more and get inspired.

After a long summer hiatus, Leslie Anne and Kiran are back with a new episode, and some more lined up coming soon. The olympics are always an awesome sporting event, but what is their carbon footprint? In this episode, our hosts discuss whether the 2020 Tokyo Olympics lived up to its "green" branding, and what we can do to make this event more sustainable in the future while still continuing to enjoy it.

Kiran recently had the pleasure of interviewing Scott A. Bonar. Scott is currently a professor at the University of Arizona in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, and he researches fishery conservation. Scott is also the immediate past-president of the American Fisheries Society. Scott and Kiran talked about what we can do to help preserve fisheries, what it means as a scientist to advocate for climate solutions, and - perhaps most importantly - how to engage in the positive and constructive conversations that we need to mitigate emissions. I hope that you enjoy! Show links: American Fisheries Society 2020 Letter: https://climate.fisheries.org/world-climate-statement/ Scott's contact information and biography: https://snre.arizona.edu/people/scott-bonar Threshold Podcast: https://www.thresholdpodcast.org/ Ologies Podcast: https://www.alieward.com/ologies Thank you for supporting us through our “Four Elements” series! We are looking forward to greeting our listeners with new episodes this Fall.

Hear Leslie Anne chat with the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper about hidden gems on Lake Ontario, water literacy and the importance of environmental protection. Links: https://www.swimdrinkfish.ca http://www.waterkeeper.ca https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/children-of-the-poisoned-river-mercury-poisoning-grassy-narrows-first-nation/

In honour of National Indigenous People's Day next week we are replaying our first episode which focused on Indigenous law and climate change.

We want to acknowledge the tragedy that is the discovery of a grave of 215 children on the grounds of a residential school this past week. Leslie Anne thought hard about including an additional recording in the episode when editing but couldn't bring herself to talk more about it. We know this isn't history. We know this isn't shocking. But it is still heartbreaking. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tk-emlúps-te-secwépemc-215-children-former-kamloops-indian-residential-school-1.6043778 Water is life - https://standwithstandingrock.net/mni-wiconi/ https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/climate-change-impacting-water-cycle https://www.zmescience.com/science/the-story-of-the-three-tons-of-water-in-your-jeans/ Sound effects curtesy of Zapsplat.

Baked into the net-zero model is the assumption that we will use carbon-negative tools and techniques to offset areas of life that are difficult to decarbonize. What kind of tools are available to us, and how should their ability and potential fit into our understanding of carbon solutions? Kiran and Leslie Anne discuss advanced weathering, a nifty way to pull carbon from the sky and turn it into rock with - wait for it - green beaches, challenges that currently face carbon-negative tech startups, and the moral imperative to explore the potential of carbon-negative tools. Leslie Anne's current listening, a podcast about failed startup Theranos - https://abcaudio.com/podcasts/the-dropout/ Carbon removal as a moral imperative and form of distributive justice - https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/03/why-political-philosopher-thinking-about-carbon-removal/618195/

This week Leslie Anne spoke with Mayor Boucher of Antigonish and Sean Fleming about AREA and renewable power! https://www.areans.ca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarine_Reference https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/climate-and-environment/in-u-s-people-of-colour-more-exposed-than-whites-to-air-pollution-1.5407491 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/solar-garden-antigonish-mahone-bay-berwick-1.5393118

We all think we know why renewables are great, right? Zero carbon! On this episode of Rebalancing Act, Leslie Anne and Kiran add another "win" to that pile: the public health benefits of renewable energy are huge, and we should be talking about them. The Covid-19 pandemic showed us what happens when economic activity slows and the smog clears, right? We can have that, without having to stay at home - if we love renewables like they love us. Tune in for a spirited conversation about what happens when you realize air pollution isn't an invisible problem anymore, and we that we have the tools to solve it.

First we bring you flame with a discussion about wildfires, now we bring you...gas? Kiran interviews Daniel Bida, Executive Director of ZooShare, Canada's first zoo biogas plant. They talk about what biogas is, how it turns something that has traditionally been seen as a waste item (poo and food waste!) into a valuable source of renewable energy. Yes, it really is that cool. Want to learn more about ZooShare? Check out their website: https://zooshare.ca/

We talked forest fires this week with Maria Sharpe of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre and Mike Flannigan of University of Alberta and Wildland Fire Service. Some things they mention: CBC World on Fire Podcast - https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-422-world-on-fire Fire Smart Program - https://firesmartcanada.ca Fire Triangle - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_triangle We also spotlighted another podcast by a friend of the pod, David Evans. You can find more information about Water, we doing? here: https://www.aquaticbiosphere.ca/podcast

This week Leslie Anne gets a little personal talking about forest fires. She talks about the role they've played in her life and the role they play in their ecosystems. Links: https://www.ontario.ca/page/karner-blue https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/fire-u-s-forest-service/u-s-forest-service-fire-suppression/ https://www.tvo.org/article/ontario-needs-to-reignite-its-love-of-starting-fires-in-the-right-places

We interview Brittany Maguire about regenerative farming, food security and how they interact with climate solutions. Brittany is currently working on food security issues at Meal Exchange. Meal Exchange is a nationally registered charity that works in collaboration with post-secondary students and campuses to increase access to good food and build more resilient food systems across campuses in Canada. They are currently raising funds to build awareness and facilitate collaboration to empower students and catalyze change. Donate here: www.mealexchange.com/donate And as usual links to learn more! For the poem check it out here: https://poets.org/poem/complaint-el-rio-grande https://regenerationinternational.org/why-regenerative-agriculture/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/climate/regenerative-grazing-cattle-climate.html https://farmersforclimatesolutions.ca/about-us https://www.nfu.ca/join/ https://www.nfu.ca/publications/tackling-the-farm-crisis-and-the-climate-crisis/?fbclid=IwAR2mxyeaM3DVvFWOxosrft6wth9I9C-4Sij22hr0pxa3rg0C9oQiKGuwIiM

We know that trees store carbon. What's harder to figure out is how much, in what amount of time, and who should benefit from preserving and planting them. Treeconomy is a startup seeking to solve this problem by using technology to sell carbon offsets that are transparent and verified. We interview Rob Godfrey, co-founder of Treeconomy, to get the inside scoop about what it's like to run a climate startup. Plus - stay for Kiran's own story of working at a startup, and Leslie Anne's insights into how founder passion can make living on canned chickpeas seem like a good idea. Want to learn more about Treeconomy? You can find their website here: https://www.treeconomy.co/ Links to Treeconomy's operations here: https://linktr.ee/treeconomy Shoot Rob a message at: rob@treeconomy.co Treeconomy seeks to combat climate change, support biodiversity, and improve rural livelihoods by using technology to quantify tree carbon and reinvent forestry-based carbon offsetting for the better

Join us for our first episode of our second season! We talk all about the importance of soil and the living things all around us, the challenges that they in a changing climate, and what we can do about it. If you want more Rebalancing Act in your lives, you can find us at @rebalancingact on Instagram, @rebalancingact_ on Twitter, and at rebalancingact.ca

This week we talked energy co-ops and energy democracy! The co-ops: Co-Energy: http://coenergy.coop Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative: https://www.orec.ca Some academic articles Leslie Anne read: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00139157.2019.1564212 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629617303031 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2018.00043/full Park Slope grocery coop in Brooklyn, New York: https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/25/the-grocery-store-where-produce-meets-politics/amp Lion Sounds from Zapsplat.com

This week we talked carbon footprints and how valuable they really are in our minds... https://mashable.com/feature/carbon-footprint-pr-campaign-sham/ https://grist.org/energy/footprint-fantasy/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/01/10/how-fossil-fuel-industry-got-media-think-climate-change-was-debatable/ “Google says it has wiped out its entire carbon footprint by investing in "high-quality carbon offsets". It became carbon-neutral in 2007 and says it has now compensated for all of the carbon it has ever created.” http://news.mit.edu//2008/techtalk52-23.pdf https://www.rinkwatch.org/ Sounds from Zapsplat.com

Solarpunk primer: http://www.re-des.org/a-solarpunk-manifesto/ Our guest, Andrew Luba's website. Link here to learn more about his documentary and to buy his new board game, FUTURES: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/goodpartygames/futures Solarpunk inspiration: https://www.instagram.com/solarpunkfarms/?hl=en Learn more about 2040 The Documentary here: whatsyour2040.com Why is the Spanish Flu called as such? Learn here: https://www.history.com/news/why-was-it-called-the-spanish-flu

This week we talked turtles! The connection between conservation and climate change might not be obvious but conservation is crucial to support Natural Climate Solutions, climate mitigation and adaptation measures and to protect our biodiversity! Let alone the inherent value of turtles. Ways to Support Mi'kmaq fisheries - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u_LF_bCFBbSijzqJgHNh4-MfpYz0hfdv/view The Algonquin Wildlife Research Station, where Jackie works. Check out their Instagram, I promise it's worth it. - https://www.algonquinwrs.ca, https://www.instagram.com/algonquinwrs/ Jackie's bio - https://laurentian.ca/faculty/jlitzgus The study that assessed the effectiveness of Indigenous lead conservation as compared to government managed conservation: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901119301042 More Ontario turtle resources! https://ontarioturtle.ca/turtles/ https://cottagelife.com/outdoors/how-to-identify-ontarios-8-species-of-turtles/

Show Notes: 1. The New Yorker, “The Last Time That Democracy Almost Died” Jan 27 2020 Link: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/02/03/the-last-time-democracy-almost-died 2. Lethbridge College, Alberta, Wind Turbine Technician program Link: https://lethbridgecollege.ca/programs/wind-turbine-technician 3. Bowling alone: an influential text documenting the decline of civil society in North America Link: http://bowlingalone.com/ 4. TED Talk “The lies our culture tells us about what matters - and a better way to live” Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB4MS1hsWXU&ab_channel=TED 5. United Nations resources on civil society Link: https://www.un.org/en/sections/resources-different-audiences/civil-society/index.html 6. Website with details of France's citizen's assembly on climate policy Link: https://www.conventioncitoyennepourleclimat.fr/en/

We talk good policy making, behavioural science and a comparison between COVID and climate change response policies! Show Notes: Sebastian's bio - https://www.bi.team/people/sebastian-salomon-ballada/ The world is coming together to fight coronavirus. It can do the same for the climate crisis - https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/18/world/coronavirus-and-climate-crisis-response-intl-hnk/index.html Eight Lessons from COVID-19 to Guide Our Climate Response - https://eos.org/articles/eight-lessons-from-covid-19-to-guide-our-climate-response The tale of two Crises: COVID-19 and the Climate - https://www.evergreen.ca/blog/entry/the-tale-of-two-crises-covid-19-and-the-climate/ Climate scientist and epidemiologist Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.noc/video/6863995933638577414

Motivational interviewing (MI), a style of personal interaction you can learn in a few weeks, is a key solution for spurring action on climate change. MI was developed by psychologists originally in work with patients suffering from addiction, but now is used in many settings to encourage self-reflection and help change minds. In this episode we talk with Vince, an expert in MI who will give us examples and talk about the process. Kiran and Leslie Anne will reflect on the value of MI and how they see it being used and we will hear about windmills and birds in climate allies this week! Show Notes: https://www.enviromentum.org/ Vincent Schutt's organization Motivational Interviewing organization, Environmentum Vince's book recommendation: Motivational Interviewing with Adolescents and Young Adults, by Sylvie Naar-King and Mariann Suarez https://motivationalinterviewing.org/ Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers - gives an explanation of MI and how to start learning https://coady.stfx.ca The Coady International Institute - where Leslie Anne learned about Motivational Interviewing. They offer leadership courses and programs https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.6592 Painting windmills black could reduce bird mortality rates by up to 70%! An exciting climate win-win-win to advocate for https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/motivational_interviewing.pdf A Motivational Interviewing resource - page 3 highlights the types of questions and relational style at the heart of MI. This includes asking open-ended questions, affirming, reflecting, and summarizing.

Show Notes: This week we talked eels, manatees, wildfires and Indigenous epistemologies. Please remember to rate, review and subscribe wherever you are listening to this podcast. For more information on things mentioned in the episode, or Indigenous sovereignty and its intersections with climate change more broadly, check out the links below. If you have questions you can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook or at rebalancingact.ca! Learn more about American Eels here: https://www.ontario.ca/page/american-eel Check out Indigenous fire management practices: https://grist.org/justice/with-wildfires-on-the-rise-indigenous-fire-management-is-poised-to-make-a-comeback/ Natural Climate Solutions and the study which finds they can contribute over ⅓ of the carbon reduction needed: https://www.pnas.org/content/114/44/11645 The study that assessed the effectiveness of Indigenous lead conservation as compared to government managed conservation: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901119301042 Grasslands and restoration: https://thenarwhal.ca/carbon-cache-grasslands/?fbclid=IwAR0LErwj0htB1o12dwHBFkOJIwZbbyhNihhIdGKlxvYSBduBboZ4I2C0_as Peatlands and carbon sequestration: https://thenarwhal.ca/ring-of-fire-ontario-peatlands-carbon-climate/ Australian fire setting birds: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7843527/The-native-Australian-bird-making-bushfire-crisis-worse-spreading-flames.html The 2014 Tsilhqot'in Nation v British Columbia case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsilhqot%27in_Nation_v_British_Columbia Exciting coral reef news: https://www.wtsp.com/article/tech/science/restoring-coral-reef-florida-keys/67-e4e1c076-13a7-4733-8ae3-7a41ccfd98eb Reefs and health science reserach: https://coral.org/coral-reefs-101/why-care-about-reefs/medicine/ Mote Marine (the home of Hugh and Buffet): https://mote.org Indigenous knowledge and a new role for it in statistical modelling: https://medium.com/ubcscience/stats-660805dd930a Indigenous Guardian programs as an example of Indigenous land management: https://landneedsguardians.ca/latest/guardians-partner-on-climate-and-wildlife-research Funny video on land “acknowledgements”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlG17C19nYo&t=1s

Let's navigate the ambitious, exciting and achievable roadmap to our climate-positive future together. Climate change is real, it's here, and it's the defining issue of our time - but that doesn't mean we are helpless. Kiran Waterhouse, Leslie Anne St. Amour and expert guests explore how we can make our lives and communities better while rebalancing the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. The future of climate solutions is here, it's just unevenly distributed. Join us as we figure out how to achieve the changes we need to shape the future we want. Look for new episodes biweekly on Fridays.