Rethinkers

You might have heard of the UN “30 by 30” pledge in the media, which aims at protecting 30% of the earth’s biosphere by 2030. A goal that applies to biodiversity both on land and sea. This goal is highly ambitious, and is particularly difficult to implement on the High Seas - vast areas of the sea owned by no one and hence beyond the jurisdiction of any one nation. Who decides how and where to protect these areas? In today’s conversation with geographer and social scientist Nadège Legroux, we try to shed some light on these questions. Nadège Legroux is a PhD candidate at the University of Paul Valéry Montpellier III, where she is working on her pluridisciplinary thesis on marine conservation between the French Agency for Development and the Environmental Humanities Laboratory (UMR SENS, Montpellier). Her research focuses on the Costa Rica Thermal Dome, an offshore phenomenon that drives marine biodiversity in geographically fluid ways. 00:03:00    Environmental threats to marine ecosystems with a historical perspective  00:16:40    The legal organization of oceans, current international treaties and environmental objectives 00:37:10    The Costa Rica Thermal Dome: an offshore phenomenon's challenging environmental protection 01:04:14    Closing remarks and where to find further information

Dans cet épisode, je parle avec le photographe animalier Laurent Geslin de son documentaire "Le Lynx". Le film suis une famille des lynx dans le massif du Jura en Suisse. La beauté de ce documentaire m’a énormement touché, et c’était donc un grand honneur de interviewer Laurent Geslin sur sa philosophie par rapport à la nature. Laurant Geslin partage sa vision sur la manière dont son travail de photographe peut avoir un impact positif sur les problèmes environnementaux. Il nous explique également comment son travail lui permet de dialoguer avec des groupes des personnes très differentes, comme par example des scientifiques et des chasseurs. Finalement, il partage quelques mots de sagesse sur la manière don’t le fait de ralentir dans la nature peut nous permettre de découvrir tout un univers incroyable sans avoir à chercher loin. Cet épisode est une  invitation à s'asseoir sous un arbre dans la fôret et à prendre le temps de observer la vie autour de nous.

In this episode, you'll be learning about trees. As many of you may already know, tree planting campaigns are a very popular solution to climate change. You’ve probably all heard slogans such as “buy a tee plant a tree”.  And planting trees sounds easy enough, right? Unfortunately, the reality is not quite as simple, and many tree plantations fail. And when they do fail, they tend to impact the local communities they’re implemented in negative ways.  Recently I’ve read a very inspiring article discussing the pitfalls and limitations of tree planting efforts as a solution to climate change. I’ve had a chance to virtually sit down with two of the interdisciplinary scientists who worked on the paper, namely with Divya Gupta (Assistant Professor at the State University of New York in Binghamton) and Vijay Ramprasad (Senior Fellow at the Center for Ecology Development and Research in Dehra Dun, India). During this conversation, you’ll learn about some of the important ecological services forests provide. You’ll also learn about why it is so challenging to successfully plant trees in order to sequester carbon. And, most importantly, Divya Gupta and Vijay Ramprasad share their thoughts with us on how we could rethink the way we go about planting trees, be it by including local communities in projects, by focusing on protecting existing forests instead of planting new ones, or simply by taking a good look at our own carbon footprints. 

In episode six we hear from Manuel Stucki & Philipp Portenier on the topics of creativity, being content and lowering expectations. This conversation fits the broader theme of this podcast series, which is to shed some light onto the question of how to be human in a warming world. Manuel is a physiotherapist and semi-professional musician. Philipp holds a masters degree in philosophy and is also an ordained buddhist monk from the Soto Zen school. Manuel and Philipp have been lifelong friends and live in Switzerland. They share a passion for music, enjoy engaging in philosophical conversations and are very interested in the role that time or “having time” plays in our daily lives. During the conversation, Manuel and Philipp share with us why they believe that boredom is important for creativity and how they go about the sometimes tricky business of being content with the way we spend our time. They also tell us why it is valuable to think of time spent together with other people not simply as time spent together but rather as time shared together. We hear from Manuel’s and Philipp’s own personal experiences and also get some insights from Philipp’s perspective as a zen monk.

Récemment j’ai eu le plaisir de interviewer le musicien, compositeur et multi-instrumentiste Mathias Duplessy. Fortement inspiré par la musique traditionnelle, il compose et joue entre autres avec les groupes Trio Cavalcade et Violins of the World. Il a également composé de nombreuses musiques de films. Au cours de l'interview, Mathias Duplessy nous explique comment sa musique est inspirée par la nature, comment différents types de musique peuvent évoquer différents sentiments, et pourquoi la musique traditionnelle lui semble donc importante pour nous permettre de nous connecter avec la nature et la terre. Il partage également avec nous pourquoi il pense que l'art et la musique peuvent apporter de la lumière au monde, et pourquoi il s'intéresse à la philosophie et au stoïcisme. 00:01:20 Une musique qui évoque la nature 00:02:13 Voyager par la musique et éviter de "chosifier" les choses 00:05:10 La nature comme synonyme de vérité 00:07:35 Rehumaniser le monde et penser en petit 00:09:10 La question du bonheur 00:12:20 Comment les artistes peuvent être des messagers de la nature 00:15:35 Garder la lumière 00:17:10 Philosphie et stoïcisme 00:21:20 La musique traditionnelle 00:24:50 Pourquoi la perte de la musique traditionnelle est importante 00:29:45 Comment maintenir la musique traditionnelle en vie et trouver de la profondeur 00:31:40 Violins of the World 00:38:00 Vivre ensemble et être sur scène ensemble 00:44:10 Questions finals

In this episode, I talk to writer and beekeeper Helen Jukes about her book "A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings". This first book of hers was listed as Book of the Year, Book of the Month or Book of the Week by various different outlets and was also shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag non-fiction award. Helen Jukes tells us how she got into beekeeping. We talk about how this experience has changed her perception of the world and her relationship with her surroundings. We also discuss how activities such as beekeeping can help us in slowing down and calming that inner drive to always be busy and productive. 00:01:15 Of becoming a beekeeper 00:07:25 Of teaching children not to be afraid of our natural surroundings and wild creatures 00:07:53 The outdoors as a dreamspace 00:09:10 Fostering a reciprocal relationship to the land and to wild creatures 00:11:40 Finding agency in our immediate surroundings 00:11:55 Reflections on beekeeping and our relationship to nature 00:15:23 How beekeeping can change our perception of our surroundings 00:19:15 Discovering interconnectedness by focusing on our immediate surroundings 00:23:20 Rethinking our role as keepers and stewards 00:27:12 Reflections on what we can give back to other living creatures 00:31:57 Of being guided by the bees in learning about beekeeping 00:36:10 Of writing "A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings" 00:40:35 Writing as a means of reflecting about the world 00:42:50 Closing questions 

In this episode, my friend Laurence and I talk about the upsides and downsides of global food trading schemes. Laurence tells us how agricultural practices have already influenced local climates during historical times and explains what role global power dynamics play in our food systems. She shares with us why she thinks food trading schemes are of global importance to increase our resilience towards the effects of climate change. Finally, we discuss why young people's voices in international relations matter, and why diversity is so important. Laurence Jeangros is an environmental scientists with a bachelor's degrees from the University of Lausanne and a master's degree from the Swiss Federal Institut of Technology in Zurich. During her studies, she has spent a year in Chile as an exchange student. For her master thesis, she explored power dynamics within tomato food systems in Ghana. Laurence has spent a year interning at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations organizations in Rome and is currently working at the Laboratory of Environmental and Urban Econocmis at the Swiss Federal Institut of Technology in Lausanne. 00:01:01 Of becoming interested in environmental sciences 00:02:44 How the climate movement helps us in validating our feelings regarding climate change 00:05:48 Food as a physical and symbolic intersection between humans and the natural world 00:07:24 The positive leverage food system could have 00:09:25 Why international relations matter in our food systems 00:10:00 The history of food exchange 00:12:55 Global exploitations in food systems: Produce exports in Chile 00:14:07 Global exploitations in food systems: The avocado trend in Chile 00:16:10 Global exploitations in food systems: Rice imports in Ghana 00:20:14 What are power dynamics and why do they matter? 00:20:27 Humanitarian aid, rice and power dynamics 00:26:57 Global justice in our food systems 00:31:44 Positive communication 00:32:22 Upsides of global food trading schemes in the face of climate change: Resilience and mitigation 00:35:50 Creating bonds and building peace over international exchanges 00:37:19 Why diversity is so important for resilience 00:39:40 Why young peoples voices matter 00:44:50 How we could include young voices better into our political landscapes 00:47:17 Closing questions

Dans cet épisode, David nous raconte sa traversée des Alpes à ski et il nous explique pourquoi il a renoncé à sa voiture. En outre, il nous parle de comment il a adapté son mode de vie pour pouvoir accéder facilement à la montagne sans voiture, y compris pour son travail de guide de montagne. Nous discutons également du concept de la sobriété et du fait qu'elle peut nous aider dans la transition énergétique. David nous explique pourquoi il pense que notre société devrait repenser son image de la réussite, et pourquoi l'acte de partager est précieux. David Moreau partage son temps entre les métiers de guide de montagne et d'ingénieur en environnement (EPFL). Il est le directeur de NégaWatt, une association qui vise à promouvoir les trois piliers que sont l'efficacité, la sobriété et les énergies renouvelables dans les discussions sur la transition énergétique en Suisse. En outre, il a acquis des expériences professionnelles dans le domaine de la mobilité. 00:01:03 La traversée des Alpes à ski 00:07:09 La valeur des longs voyages 00:09:29 Profiter des moments charnières pour changer les habitudes: vendre la voiture 00:12:13 Adapter le rhythme de la vie quotidienne aux nouvelles habitudes 00:13:45 Les possibilités offertes par des transports publiques pour accéder aux montagnes 00:27:28 L'hélicoptère en montagne : la revitalisation des cabanes 00:33:43 L'hélicoptère en montagne : le héliski 00:36:52 NegaWatt: Repenser notre consommation d'énérgie : efficacité, sobriété et énergies renouvelables 00:41:55 Comment intégrer le concept de la sobriété dans la vie quotidienne 00:44:10 Redéfinir notre image de la réussite et notre notion du temps 00:44:30 Les scénarios NégaWatt pour une vie plus sobre 00:50:24 Comment utiliser les voitures électriques dans un monde plus sobre 00:54:35 La valeur de la communication pour sensibiliser des autres personnes au réchauffement climatique, à la croissance et à l'image de la réussite 00:59:30 Questions finales

In this episode, Sophia and I talk about her approach to veganism, meat alternatives and why dietary schemes aren’t the one silver bullet for fixing our food systems. We also discuss social justice and our relationship to food. Finally, Sophia gives us some ideas of what truly sustainable food systems could look like. Sophia McRae is a food advocate, vegan, and sustainable food systems researcher in  Freiburg, Germany. A German-American, her food activism began in the urban agriculture movement of her hometown, Rochester, New York, where she worked with urban farms and food pantries to improve access to fresh food and green spaces in the city. She is currently completing a Master’s degree in Environmental Governance at the University of Freiburg and is working on a project for sustainable food system governance in the Upperrhine region, focusing especially on the role of small, intermediary food processors and distributors in supporting vibrant regional food economies. She is passionate about food and food justice, and loves experimenting with new food recipes and food practices in her kitchen. 00:01:40 Sophia’s personal story 00:09:17 Of being vegan 00:16:14 Other approaches to eating more sustainably 00:21:06 The middle ground between individual consumerism and blaming the system 00:25:15 Greenwashing, food labels and food certificates 00:31:35 Meat substitutes: plant-based meats 00:34:10 Meat substitutes: cultured meats 00:42:43 Changing consumer preferences 00:45:13 Social justice and food systems 00:52:40 Intersectional activism 00:55:00 Avocados and Mexican Cartels 00:57:33 Rethinking our food systems 01:07:19 Fostering a personal relationship to food 01:13:27 The value of community engagement 01:10:00 Advice for adopting more sustainable eating habits 01:24:33 How we can all engage meaningfully with food 01:26:27 Closing questions