The Human Right to Water: a Conversation with Mathias Risse

The Human Right to Water: a Conversation with Mathias Risse

In this podcast Mathias Risse, professor of philosophy and public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, discusses his recent paper, “The Human Right to Water and Common Ownership of the Earth” which posits that humanity’s shared possession of our planet provides a philosophical foundation for a right to water and sanitation.

Protecting Pakistan: A Conversation with Environmental Lawyer and Activist Rafay Alam

Protecting Pakistan: A Conversation with Environmental Lawyer and Activist Rafay Alam

In this episode, Rafay Alam, an environmental lawyer and activist in Lahore, Pakistan, speaks about the social and economic challenges the government faces in addressing endemic environmental issues. Much of the conversation revolves around problems with poverty and access to natural resources, and how Pakistan’s national identity is defined by the Indus River. Rafay also tells the story of starting Critical Mass Lahore, a bicycling advocacy group and how, person by person, it is changing people’s lives.

Climate and Agriculture: a Conversation with Peter Lehner

Climate and Agriculture: a Conversation with Peter Lehner

In this podcast Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), discusses agriculture — both NRDC’s work on the issue and his own experiences as a coffee and sugar cane grower in Costa Rica — high-impact climate litigation, and career planning.

Sacred Earth: a Conversation with Dekila Chungyalpa

Sacred Earth: a Conversation with Dekila Chungyalpa

In this podcast WWF’s Dekila Chungyalpa, discusses the organization’s Sacred Earth program, which engages religious leaders and faith communities as stakeholders in the organization’s work. Religious leaders, Chungyalpa says, have long been the missing piece of conservation. Scientists often want to distance themselves from religion, or from addressing the moral and ethical questions inherent in many of our most critical environmental dilemmas. This idea that religion threatens science has been an Achilles heel, she says; instead, these leaders help reframe environmental issues in a way that resonates within their communities.

From Forest to Farmland and Moraine to Meadow: When did the Anthropocene Begin?

From Forest to Farmland and Moraine to Meadow: When did the Anthropocene Begin?

The start date for what scientists call the Anthropocene – the era in which human activities begin to have a significant global impact on Earth’s ecosystems – varies widely. Some researchers point to the industrial revolution, others look much further back. In this podcast Jed Kaplan, of the Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, discusses his research, focused on the role of the Earth’s land surface in the climate system — and what it reveals about how humans were transforming ecosystem more than 3,000 years ago.

Grasslands, Compost and Climate Change Mitigation: a Conversation with Whendee Silver

Grasslands, Compost and Climate Change Mitigation: a Conversation with Whendee Silver

In this podcast, Whendee Silver, Yale F&ES ’97 (PhD) and professor of ecosystem ecology at U.C. Berkeley, outlines how the use of composted organic material (agricultural and green waste) on rangeland soils can increase carbon storage and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.