1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:03,920 Speaker 1: It is the hardest working habitat type on planet Earth. 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:06,640 Speaker 1: If I could be king for the day of the 3 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:09,160 Speaker 1: entire planet, and there's only one thing I could do, 4 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: I would protect all mangroves. Globally, It's only found in 5 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: a very sort of a sliver of our planet. 6 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 2: Fucked. 7 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 3: Welcome to I'm fucking the future. I'm your host. Chris 8 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 3: Turney are a climate scientist from Sydney, Australia. Today, a 9 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 3: lot of people look to Silicon Valley venture capitalists and 10 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 3: the next big startup to solve the climate crisis. But 11 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 3: a lot of these solutions neglect the communities that are 12 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 3: affected most by the crisis. It doesn't have to be 13 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 3: that way. Actually, let me just say it should not 14 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,239 Speaker 3: and cannot be that way, because the answers to this 15 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 3: crisis lie in our communities. That people have taken care 16 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 3: of this earth and there's a small parcel of land 17 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 3: or water on it for generations upon generations. They have 18 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 3: solutions and that's one of the reasons that our guest 19 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 3: today has been so successful. M Sanjan is an organizer, 20 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 3: conservationist and media personality whose passion for the environment was 21 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 3: instilled from an early age. Growing up in Sierra Leone. 22 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 3: He's the CEO of Conservation International, and global nonprofit that 23 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 3: does help protect more than six million square kilometers of 24 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,119 Speaker 3: land and ocean across more than seventy countries. Today, we're 25 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 3: going to be focusing on a big part of this mission, 26 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 3: their work on the world's oceans. 27 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 4: We're fucking the future. We're a fucking the future. 28 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 3: Our oceans are a major and wildly underutilized tool in 29 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 3: solving the climate crisis, not just because they can strengthen 30 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 3: the resilience of communities, but also because the ocean is 31 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 3: a giant carbon capture machine. It draws down vast amounts 32 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 3: of carbon in the atmosphere and ultimately moderates for climate, 33 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 3: and it can do so much more. It offers the 34 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 3: opportunity to walk back from the precipice we face. M 35 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 3: Sungean is a biologist turned into national conservation superstar, and 36 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 3: because of his upbringing, he's particularly interested in using our 37 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 3: natural resources and water in particular to solve Earth's greatest challenges. 38 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 3: Sungan grew up as Sierra Leone in a small logging 39 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 3: and mining town surrounded by forest. 40 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: And here's the amazing thing about this place. This was 41 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: the place that David Attenborough got his start in television. Wow, 42 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: very first time you see Assinbourgh on TV, it was 43 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: in this not just in cyri Leone, but in this 44 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: community that. 45 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 2: I grew up in. 46 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 3: Good Grief, and I think it's kind. 47 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:08,960 Speaker 1: Of remarkable that this tiny little town was the place 48 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: that he he sort of got going on television and 49 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:12,799 Speaker 1: then I had the chance to do it. 50 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 3: At the time, Sierra Leone was home to some of 51 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,919 Speaker 3: the most incredible forests in the world, so it made 52 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 3: sense that one of the world's top nature educators would 53 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 3: film their show there. And he wasn't the only one. 54 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 3: Gerald Double spent time there too. He's another celebrated British naturalist, 55 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 3: famous for his book My Family and Other Animals. 56 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: So Darrel gets to start in sirial Leone too. 57 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 2: Her first appearance on television isn't the same place. It's 58 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 2: actually kind of amazing, right. 59 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 3: It's incredible. You could imagine there's some producer there says 60 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:51,839 Speaker 3: hang on, I did a job there. We could go there. 61 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: They used to call him, and when we were kids, 62 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: we used to hear about this guy that the local 63 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 1: people would call mister White. 64 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 2: In decades to figure ound. 65 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: Mister White was durrel o God because he was white 66 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: and because he had a white beard at the time. 67 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 3: So you've got mister White, David Dattenborough, and Lil Sanjan 68 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 3: all learning about nature in the same twenty mile area 69 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 3: totally covered in forest. 70 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: And my dad, here's an amazing thing. My dad at 71 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:23,839 Speaker 1: the time was working for a logging company. 72 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 3: Before the logging industry got to Sierra Leone, more than 73 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 3: seventy percent of the country was made up of biologically 74 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 3: diverse forest, seventy percent. When European colonizes invaded the region, 75 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 3: they began exploiting these incredible forests for their timber. This 76 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 3: paved a way for a commercial logging industry to take 77 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:49,480 Speaker 3: over the country. 78 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: So this company would go into the forest and cut 79 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: down one giant tree, loaded onto truck, that's how gigantic 80 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: these trees were, and then bring it back in. And 81 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 1: as a child, I would go in with them sometimes 82 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:04,559 Speaker 1: and run up and down the log as the tree 83 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: once the tree fell down, and collect animals from the 84 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:12,679 Speaker 1: canopy and bring them home, like chameleons and baby parrots 85 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:13,360 Speaker 1: and things like that. 86 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 2: And then and you know, back then, we didn't have 87 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 2: a sense of the loss of the forest. 88 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: I don't really remember feeling really bad about the tree, 89 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,359 Speaker 1: you know, because it just felt like a big frontier 90 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: and it felt like there was so much more Now 91 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: that same forest, it is one of the rarest forests 92 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:34,799 Speaker 1: in the world now. 93 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 3: Heartbreakingly, less than five percent of our original forest remains today, that. 94 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,479 Speaker 1: Upper Guineaan forest, there's only a sliver of it left. 95 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:50,039 Speaker 1: It's got thirteen speeds of primates, pygmy hippos, a few elephants. 96 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:51,840 Speaker 2: It's still there. 97 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: It's still that amazing biodiversity, but it's so much smaller 98 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 1: than it used to be. 99 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,479 Speaker 3: Oh r, I forgive me, but we've really got to 100 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:11,279 Speaker 3: discuss how terrible the global logging industry really is. Deforestation 101 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 3: makes up about fifteen percent of our global greenhouse emissions, 102 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 3: and yet this industry continues to grow. Much of a 103 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 3: wood that is cut down today is processed into sawn, timber, 104 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 3: pulpwood board, and wood based panels, and we as consumers 105 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:32,479 Speaker 3: love process would. In the US, demand for wood based 106 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,839 Speaker 3: panels has increased by eight hundred percent of the past 107 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 3: three decades. We simply can't get enough of it. It's 108 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 3: how we end up with fast furniture, you know, like 109 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:44,720 Speaker 3: how your parents' dining room table seem to last for 110 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 3: fifty years and yours barely holds up after five. But 111 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 3: back when Sangan's family was in Sierra Leone working for 112 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 3: the logging industry, we really had no idea that the 113 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 3: commercialization of our trees would turn into fast furniture trends 114 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 3: on TikTok. But here we are. We're fifteen percent of 115 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,719 Speaker 3: our global emissions caused by deforestation and a fast furniture 116 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 3: industry that's only getting worse. So Bat Desangean. He grew 117 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 3: up in this incredible environment where they were able to 118 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 3: save chameleons and watched David Attenberg get his start. Pret 119 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 3: you dream if for a kid is into nature, right. 120 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 3: He left Sierra Leone to study conservation biology under Michael 121 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 3: Soule at the University of California, Santa Cruz. 122 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: Michael Soule is often seen as the father of conservation biology. 123 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 1: He coined the word conservation biology, and he was really 124 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: a big figure and in really established the field. And 125 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: Michael at the time, I went to study cheatahs, you know, 126 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: like the African cat, right, That's what I really wanted 127 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: to study, and. 128 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 3: That would have been very cool. 129 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 2: It would have been very cool. 130 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: But interestingly, very sadly, my project got canceled halfway through 131 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: because of some funding dispute, nothing to do with me, 132 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: nothing to do with the project. But I was studying 133 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: in Namibia, uh and there was money that was going 134 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: from the US to Namibia that got caught up in 135 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: some politics. My project got canceled halfway there, so I 136 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: had to quickly switch and find something because I was 137 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: on the student visa right so clock is sticking, you know, 138 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: my visa runs out, I'm getting sent back, and so 139 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: I ended up switching to study. You know a little 140 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,079 Speaker 1: rat that lives underground. They're called gopherst If you ever 141 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: watched the movie Caddyshack, Yes, no money is off to 142 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 1: killing Gover like that's it, And that's all I knew about. 143 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:41,760 Speaker 2: Go first. I've got a more important job. 144 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 5: I want you to kill every gopher on the course. 145 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 2: Check me if I'm wrong, Sandy. But if I kill 146 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:50,679 Speaker 2: all the golfers, they're gonna lock me have to throw 147 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 2: away a key. 148 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: Go first, job, great kidnaped, Call first a little brown 149 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: furry rodents. You know my advice I actually gave me 150 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: you know Caddyshack and said, go watch this. 151 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 2: It'll tell you everything you know. And it's such a 152 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:04,319 Speaker 2: depressing sort of story. 153 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: Because I was here here, I thought I was going 154 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:08,840 Speaker 1: to go out there, you know, and know, live in 155 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 1: Africa with a land rover and my binoculars and my 156 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: khakis and you know, sipping a gin and tonic under 157 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:18,959 Speaker 1: an efcresive, watching a spotted cat across the Serengeti. 158 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 2: And the plains of Africa. 159 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 1: And I end up instead digging in the dirt in California, 160 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: in the most boring part of California, which is the 161 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,080 Speaker 1: agricultural region of California, the Central Valley. 162 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 2: But here's the amazing thing about the story, Chris. 163 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 1: You know, in doing that and being forced to do that, 164 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: I ended up meeting some amazing people. And I started 165 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: understanding that the people who lived in the Central Valley 166 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,320 Speaker 1: of California had so much to tell me about the 167 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: land and about me, Except they weren't using words you 168 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: and I would use. They were using I was using 169 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: words that had to do with love. I love nature, 170 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:58,440 Speaker 1: I love the landscape, I love wildlife. They were using 171 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:01,800 Speaker 1: words that had to do with value. You know, we 172 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 1: value what's going to happen the soil or fire season, 173 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:09,959 Speaker 1: or the crops or when the first day of frost 174 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:14,679 Speaker 1: shows up right, And it really opened my eyes that 175 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 1: the whole thing about conservation. I always thought that what 176 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:24,240 Speaker 1: this field is about is how to protect nature. It 177 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,360 Speaker 1: really isn't nature will take care of itself. It really 178 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: is about how to protect people. And when that turn 179 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,079 Speaker 1: happened to me, it really made a lot of sense 180 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: because I do come from the global South and in 181 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,079 Speaker 1: the countries that I live in and I work in 182 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 1: and Conservation International works in. If you want to make 183 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: conservation stick, it has to make sense for those communities 184 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 1: and those people. And that was my first glimpse notion 185 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: that these people who we have often seen as the 186 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: enemy could really be our allies. 187 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 2: We only shifted the frame through which we were talking 188 00:10:59,280 --> 00:10:59,959 Speaker 2: about what we do. 189 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 3: This mentality and approach to conservation led Sangan to Conservation International. 190 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 3: Their mission is to protect communities by protecting nature. 191 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:18,840 Speaker 1: You cannot get to a stable human friendly climate without 192 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: including nature. So not only is it an ally, but 193 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: ignoring it is not enough either. Without without it, you're 194 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:30,560 Speaker 1: not going to get to the numbers don't add up, right, 195 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:32,679 Speaker 1: And another way to put it is that even if 196 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: miraculously overnight all of our energy use becomes renewable instantly, 197 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:40,960 Speaker 1: and I think we are heading in that direction, you're 198 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,839 Speaker 1: still going to be, you know, aft because so much 199 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,319 Speaker 1: of the carbon emissions that we get comes from our destruction. 200 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 2: Our war on nature. 201 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 3: One of the key priorities for Conservation International is preserving 202 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 3: and protecting the ocean because it has a critical role 203 00:11:57,760 --> 00:11:59,360 Speaker 3: to play in carbon capture. 204 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:01,520 Speaker 1: Now the shouldn't have been a bit ignored in that 205 00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:05,559 Speaker 1: whole equation. It turns out they're great at sequestrian carbon. 206 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 1: They're also incredibly important in buffering temperature itself. Like this 207 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: giant body of water is great at absorbing that heat, 208 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,679 Speaker 1: and without it, we would be in a frying planet already. 209 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 3: I mean, it's amazing, amoun it's only ninety percent or something, 210 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:23,000 Speaker 3: it's ninety three percent. 211 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:25,560 Speaker 1: Yes, the valace amount of energy that hits this planet 212 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: gets absorbed by the ocean. 213 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:29,439 Speaker 2: It's kind of mind boggling how we treat the ocean. 214 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 1: I don't think we should continue to put out fossil 215 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: fuel emissions. I think we need to get that to zero, 216 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,480 Speaker 1: and get that to zero fast. But we also need 217 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:40,000 Speaker 1: to do this other thing, which is protect and restore 218 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 1: nature at scale. 219 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:42,840 Speaker 2: You can't do one without doing the other. 220 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 1: And you get great return on the nature side right now, 221 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:48,439 Speaker 1: because frankly it's cheap. 222 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 3: Oceans are carbon sucking machines, and the seaweed didn't help 223 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:57,720 Speaker 3: forest within. Oceans are spectacular at absorbing carbon. In my 224 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:01,200 Speaker 3: home in Australia, I regularly swimming in the ocean on 225 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 3: the weekends, and as I swim for the sea grass, 226 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 3: I can't help but notice just how much biodiversity of 227 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 3: they hold. But behind the scenes, the water I swim 228 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 3: through and all the wildlife I admire is working over 229 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 3: time to save our planet. It's such an important part 230 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:23,400 Speaker 3: of a global carbon cycle. Not to mention it might 231 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 3: actually be the cheapest carbon capture we have available to us. 232 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 2: I'd be willing to bet this. 233 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 1: It's probably the most carbon rich environment that you have 234 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: in Australia. 235 00:13:36,559 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 2: Those seagrass bet and that's very little. 236 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 1: You know, people don't really know that how important they 237 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,080 Speaker 1: are for the world's future but also Australia's future. The 238 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,439 Speaker 1: amazing thing about that also is that when I was there, 239 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: you know, I was studying I was. I was there 240 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: with some researchers who were looking at dogongs. Oh right 241 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 1: now that live on the coast of Australia. 242 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,319 Speaker 3: If you haven't seen the do goong, please google. It 243 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 3: is absolutely the amazing do cele sea mammals. They're kind 244 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 3: of graceful, but Sanjin explains it far better. 245 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 2: Mythical the old sirens of the deep right. That's yes, the. 246 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:14,439 Speaker 1: Mermaids legends came from the sea cow. They're very very threatened. 247 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 1: Now once upon a time in Sri Lanka you could 248 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: find them there. Now there's probably fifty there. Both sides 249 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: of Australia have dogongs. But it turns out that sea 250 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 1: grass seeds only really germinate if they go through the 251 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: gut of a dogong. So dougong poop basically is full 252 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 1: of seeds that are primed to germinate. If you just 253 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: take sea grass seeds and just plant them, the germination 254 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:43,560 Speaker 1: rate is I think one fifth or one sixth the 255 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:45,960 Speaker 1: rate you get when they go through the gut of 256 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: a do goong. So dogong's, it turns out, are incredibly 257 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 1: important carbon sequestration catalysts, if you will. So here's this animal, 258 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 1: this dozy thing called the sea cow that again could 259 00:14:57,840 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: be part of the future of our planet. 260 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 3: Which brings us to the other big point of this episode. 261 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:08,200 Speaker 3: Our oceans might save us. All the ocean suck up 262 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 3: twenty five percent or so of the amount of carbon 263 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 3: that we humans put up into the atmosphere, and that's 264 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:19,480 Speaker 3: why Conservation International has made ocean conservation a key part 265 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 3: of their strategy. 266 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,840 Speaker 1: If you don't have a healthy ocean, you are making 267 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: it impossible to have a healthy planet. When it comes 268 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: to oceans, we focus on three areas, you know. The 269 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:36,440 Speaker 1: first is really creating marine protected areas. So only about 270 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:39,920 Speaker 1: five percent of the oceans are actually protected at any 271 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,160 Speaker 1: reasonable level, and that's far below the thirty percent or 272 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: so that we think we need. We are putting in 273 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:53,240 Speaker 1: substantial funding to help create, better manage, and better protect marine. 274 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 2: Protected areas around the world. 275 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: So we want to go from five percent to ten percent, 276 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 1: which is about eighteen million square kilometers of ocean that 277 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: we want to add to the protected area network around 278 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 1: the world, and we're on a great pathway to doing that. 279 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,600 Speaker 1: The second part of it is is restoration of core 280 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 1: reefs and mangroves. I would say that the third part 281 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 1: of this is fisheries. Right, So you know, three hundred 282 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: plus million people are directly dependent on fish in the 283 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:25,440 Speaker 1: Pacific for their primary source of protein. It's incredibly important 284 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 1: to the GDP of many many nations. If we don't 285 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 1: find a great way to manage those fisheries resources in 286 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:33,760 Speaker 1: a sustainable way, you know, the world is going to 287 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,240 Speaker 1: be poorer. And some of these countries really just don't 288 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: have an alternative, right, no alteri. So, particularly in the Pacific, 289 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,360 Speaker 1: we're very heavily involved in the tuna fisheries in the Pacific, 290 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 1: but around the world around coastal fisheries. You know, how 291 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:49,360 Speaker 1: do you manage those fisheries better, How do you think 292 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 1: about aquaculture and make sure they're sustainably done, and how 293 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 1: do you make sure that you know, it's the last 294 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,880 Speaker 1: hunter gathering resource we have left, right, there's no other 295 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 1: There's not other thing that humans go out there into 296 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 1: nature and gather in large numbers of the old days. 297 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 3: People often forget that, don't they they're actually going out seafishing, 298 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:18,920 Speaker 3: your hunting. We're still hunter gatherers scale right, It's amazing, 299 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:20,680 Speaker 3: and so this is the last. 300 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: Thing we have to do, and you know what a 301 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:23,960 Speaker 1: shame if we if we don't find a way to 302 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: do that right. 303 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 3: I want to go back to something Sanjan mentioned earlier, 304 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 3: mangroves and coral reefs. Now, coral reefs are greatly underprotected, 305 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:38,119 Speaker 3: but we all know how valuable they are. They're biological 306 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 3: hotspots about the court of all marine life on the 307 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:45,560 Speaker 3: planet living coral reefs. Plus they're crucial to local economies 308 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 3: which depend on the reefs for tourism and fishing. They 309 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:53,119 Speaker 3: should be protected. But how often do you see people 310 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 3: shouting to protect our mangroves? I mean, do you even 311 00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 3: know what a mangrove is. 312 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: It is the hardest working habitat type on planet Earth. 313 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:06,639 Speaker 1: If I could be king for the day of the 314 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:09,160 Speaker 1: entire planet, and there's only one thing I could do, 315 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 1: I would protect all mangroves globally. 316 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:14,960 Speaker 2: It's only found in a very. 317 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 1: Sort of a sliver of our planet, A tiny, tiny 318 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,800 Speaker 1: portion of our planet has mangroves in them. So they 319 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 1: are sort of an aquatic or a semi aquatic tree, 320 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:28,159 Speaker 1: and they are fast growing for the most part, and 321 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: they grow in the boundary between salt water and land. 322 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 1: And when I was growing up, they were really seen 323 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: as just a terrible habitat. They're hard to get through, 324 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:44,280 Speaker 1: lots of insects in them. They're basically in swamps right 325 00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 1: right on the coast, and if you are if you're 326 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:48,200 Speaker 1: trying to get to a coastline, if you're trying to fish, 327 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,200 Speaker 1: if you're trying to do anything like that, you can't 328 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:53,439 Speaker 1: get to the beach because of the mangroves. It's moist, 329 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,480 Speaker 1: lots of bugs, and you can't really see the sea. 330 00:18:57,520 --> 00:18:59,200 Speaker 1: You can hear it, but you can't see it from 331 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:03,920 Speaker 1: lamb because you've got this big forest, this thick, intertangled 332 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:10,160 Speaker 1: network of aerial roots and tree cover, multiple species, all 333 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:15,160 Speaker 1: twisted with one another, and then surrounded by water that's tidal. 334 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,280 Speaker 1: So sometimes it's just mud and you step into it 335 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,520 Speaker 1: and you're going to sink, you waste. Sometimes you have 336 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: to get in there with a boat. 337 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 3: Look, as someone who loves our planet, I've got to say, 338 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:32,280 Speaker 3: even this is ridiculously understating how much people don't like mangroves. 339 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:36,359 Speaker 3: They have this smell like stale water mixed with the 340 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:40,640 Speaker 3: overpowering odes or rotten eggs. It's of a mistaken for sewage. 341 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 3: So safe to say they're not coral reefs. People don't 342 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,560 Speaker 3: go on vacation to admire and take pictures of mangroves, 343 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:50,120 Speaker 3: but they should. 344 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 1: They end up being incredibly important for humans and for nature. 345 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:59,160 Speaker 1: So mangroves are obviously important because they stop sea level rise. 346 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,679 Speaker 1: They protec coastlines from big waves. They're really good at 347 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: blocking waves. If you remember the big tsunami that hit 348 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,119 Speaker 1: Asia back in I think two thousand and what is 349 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: it six or two thousand and four won that hit 350 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: Sri Lanka and Thailand and Indonesia, mangroves really did protect 351 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:19,320 Speaker 1: some of that coastline and places that had mangroves were 352 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:23,240 Speaker 1: protected and is that didn't lost it. They're also incredibly 353 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 1: important of fish because they're fish nurseries, and lots of 354 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:29,359 Speaker 1: fish that you go out there and catch in the 355 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:33,080 Speaker 1: open ocean end up spending their lives. 356 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 2: As babies sheltered in the mangroves. 357 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 1: And then they're really important for climate change because they 358 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 1: are fantastic at absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. So all 359 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,679 Speaker 1: plants absorb carbon from the atmosphere, that's how they grow. 360 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,399 Speaker 1: They're fantastic at doing this, it's called photosynthesis, and they're 361 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: just a giant carbon captive machine. Mangroves do it really fast, 362 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:01,120 Speaker 1: and mangroves put all that carbon that they captured underground 363 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: and underwater. So what's good about mangroves is they're not 364 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:07,399 Speaker 1: just capturing it in their branches and their leaves, but 365 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:09,880 Speaker 1: they're really good at setting it all the way down 366 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 1: at their root systems, and that goes down six meters underwater, 367 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:18,040 Speaker 1: right like under the mud. And so that mud under 368 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 1: the mangroves, if you ever dig into it, it's. 369 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:25,200 Speaker 2: Dark black mud that is chock full of carbon, and. 370 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:28,639 Speaker 1: It's like four to six times the amount that an 371 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:33,200 Speaker 1: equivalent sort of chunk of rainforest would store. So hector 372 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,520 Speaker 1: by hector, acre by acre, mangroves gives us the biggest 373 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,520 Speaker 1: bang for the buck when it comes to capturing carbon, 374 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:41,440 Speaker 1: and then they do all these other things as well. 375 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:44,200 Speaker 1: So you know, my belief is that no mangroves should 376 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: ever be cut down. 377 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:54,400 Speaker 3: But sadly, mangroves are still being attacked. 378 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:57,440 Speaker 1: They're still being cut down, and we should actually restore 379 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,560 Speaker 1: mangroves to their former glory. And we have a big project, 380 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: a joint project with lots of other groups called the 381 00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:07,760 Speaker 1: Mangrove Breakthrough that is really trying to incentivize all the 382 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 1: countries of the world that have mangroves to protect them. 383 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:15,200 Speaker 3: But that's not the only solution. Sangan and his teams 384 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:19,720 Speaker 3: are also working with private companies to create carbon buyback 385 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 3: credits for promote for creation and protection of mangroves. 386 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:27,680 Speaker 1: So we brought the first blue carbon project to market, 387 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:30,440 Speaker 1: which was in Colombia in a project called Vita Manglare. 388 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 1: And in this case, one of the one of the 389 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 1: partners that came into to help us do that was Apple. 390 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:39,440 Speaker 1: So you know, Apple's got a bit of a carbon footprint. 391 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:42,520 Speaker 1: Now most of their footprint they're trying to reduce on 392 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,360 Speaker 1: a track to reducing by reducing their emissions, reducing packaging, etc. 393 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: There's some part of the mission that is hard to abate, 394 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:53,360 Speaker 1: and it's that part of that emissions that they're trying 395 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 1: to get ahead of the curve on and meet their 396 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 1: goals sooner than they can do through industrial processes, and 397 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:03,119 Speaker 1: then doing that by protecting these high carbon ecosystems. 398 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:04,200 Speaker 2: In this case, this. 399 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 1: Project, community run project on the coast of Columbia, which 400 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 1: is just this amazing mangrove. 401 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:13,359 Speaker 3: Forest community is at the heart of these projects. 402 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 1: They're involved in the protection activities of it. They're involved 403 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:21,199 Speaker 1: in how the revenue is accruede and then spent, and 404 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,840 Speaker 1: then importantly in this project, they even got to choose 405 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:27,360 Speaker 1: who they were willing to sell this carbon too. 406 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:32,280 Speaker 3: Gosh really really yes, so involved in the whole process. 407 00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:34,600 Speaker 1: They were involved all process because, as I said, I mean, 408 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:36,600 Speaker 1: we had the choice of whether we would sell it 409 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,040 Speaker 1: to a say, an oil and gas company, or whether 410 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:41,639 Speaker 1: we would go with maybe a company that has a 411 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:46,439 Speaker 1: higher brand profile and really much high ambitions, like Apple, 412 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:49,800 Speaker 1: and it was the community's decision to go with Apple. 413 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 1: Can make all sorts of jokes about whether or not 414 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:55,239 Speaker 1: they were going to get an iPhone out of it, 415 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:58,440 Speaker 1: but they they that even in very rural parts of 416 00:23:58,480 --> 00:23:59,679 Speaker 1: the world, people know Apple. 417 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:05,879 Speaker 3: That's incredible as lovely in Colombia, the local communities around 418 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:10,160 Speaker 3: the mangroves are also benefiting from the project. They're paid 419 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 3: for their labor, and community organizations also receive funding for 420 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 3: their projects. 421 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: And the wonderful thing about the funding, particularly for carbon projects, 422 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,399 Speaker 1: is it not year by year. It's like a thirty 423 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,920 Speaker 1: year thing, because you're selling those credits for years of 424 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:25,800 Speaker 1: thirty years. 425 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:31,119 Speaker 2: So imagine having that like that life for us. 426 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:35,040 Speaker 3: So the communities know that actually they've got this long 427 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 3: term income stream right exactly, long. 428 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,199 Speaker 1: Term fantastic can plan around it. They can build a 429 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:42,560 Speaker 1: school because of it. I mean, they can really invest 430 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,440 Speaker 1: in the right way. And that project is I think 431 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:50,000 Speaker 1: like three or four x oversubscribed so once while yeah, 432 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:52,040 Speaker 1: I mean like there's so much demand for. 433 00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 3: It because mangroves capture carbon. Supporting a mangrove ecosystem on 434 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 3: the other side of the world helps you wherever you are. 435 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 3: A That's what Tom Starr was talking about a few 436 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,440 Speaker 3: episodes ago when you mentioned that carbon capture can help 437 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:11,399 Speaker 3: create economic equality in our incredibly unequal world. 438 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: Like you protect mangroves in Papua New Guinea or West Papua, 439 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:22,040 Speaker 1: it will have a direct material impact on my life 440 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,119 Speaker 1: in New York City. 441 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:25,600 Speaker 3: Wow, that's powerful. 442 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 2: It is. It's true. It's true. 443 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,160 Speaker 3: If you're ready to take to the streets and protest 444 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:35,640 Speaker 3: for mangrove justice, I'll be there right beside you. Sanjin 445 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,640 Speaker 3: says that every single one of us can actually support 446 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:40,399 Speaker 3: the regeneration of mangroves. 447 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 1: So the thing about mangroves is that you can restore 448 00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: them they do grow back fast, but you've got to 449 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:49,639 Speaker 1: do it in the right way. So some of the 450 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:52,440 Speaker 1: stuff you might see on YouTube, like you know, all 451 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:54,879 Speaker 1: these towns mobilized and they go out and plant a 452 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,120 Speaker 1: million mangroves in a weekend or something like that, most 453 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,520 Speaker 1: of them don't succeed because they're they're not using the 454 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:03,320 Speaker 1: best sort of available. 455 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:03,879 Speaker 2: Science on how to do it. 456 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: You need to understand the hydrology, you need to understand 457 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 1: how water moves. 458 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:11,240 Speaker 3: But don't let that warning deter you from going out 459 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 3: and getting involved in mangrove restoration. Both Sanjan and I 460 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:19,160 Speaker 3: were at a climate conference last year in the UAE 461 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:23,040 Speaker 3: and outside the metropolis of Abu Dhabi there's actually a 462 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:26,639 Speaker 3: mangrove forest that was only planted ten years ago. 463 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,680 Speaker 1: Just north of Abu Dhabi, right there's a restoration site 464 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,119 Speaker 1: and you can see mangroves that have been planted before, 465 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:35,920 Speaker 1: like ten years ago, and they're quite big. They're quite 466 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:39,200 Speaker 1: big now, So you know they can do it if 467 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:39,840 Speaker 1: you do it right. 468 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:43,040 Speaker 2: So yes, the average person actually can get involved in 469 00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:44,000 Speaker 2: mangrove restoration. 470 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,920 Speaker 1: You just need to find a credible organization to sort 471 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:47,399 Speaker 1: of work with. 472 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:50,440 Speaker 3: And don't forget the two big tools in front of. 473 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,400 Speaker 2: Us, the two big levers we have. The two big 474 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:54,359 Speaker 2: levers we have. 475 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:58,040 Speaker 1: Are government and private sector. We need to keep the 476 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,480 Speaker 1: pressure on governments. They do listen to a They listen 477 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:05,520 Speaker 1: to concerned So vote, you know, vote again, get involved right, 478 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 1: make your voice heard with government for sure. Number two companies. 479 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:12,880 Speaker 1: Reward the companies that are trying to do the right thing, 480 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,880 Speaker 1: Punish the companies that are not, And don't be too 481 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:19,760 Speaker 1: harsh on it, like it's not easy to do this right. 482 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 1: You're not trying to get the perfect trying it better. 483 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:36,160 Speaker 4: We're fucking the future. We're fucking the future. 484 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,920 Speaker 3: Sanjan and Conservation International are having a big impact protecting 485 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:48,639 Speaker 3: the natural biodiversity of our oceans. It's one of the 486 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,959 Speaker 3: most important things we can do to slow global heating 487 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,600 Speaker 3: because all of those mangrove and kelp forests and doogongs 488 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:00,439 Speaker 3: and other sea life enhance the ocean's ability to absorb 489 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:04,680 Speaker 3: carbon dixide. So you might be wondering how you can 490 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 3: get involved, which brings us to our final segment of 491 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:11,680 Speaker 3: a show where we ask what the fuck can I do? 492 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:14,800 Speaker 2: What fuck can I know? 493 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:18,280 Speaker 3: I'd like to welcome back to the show our good 494 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 3: friend and activist Maggie Bird. Maggie, what did you think 495 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:24,439 Speaker 3: of our chat with Sanjan Okay? 496 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:29,280 Speaker 5: Well, first of all, how amazing are kelp and seaweed? Incredible? 497 00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:35,080 Speaker 5: Conservation International scientists found that seaweed absorbs as much carbon 498 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:39,960 Speaker 5: as one point six billion trees. One point six billion. 499 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 5: I cannot get my brain around that number. So I 500 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:46,000 Speaker 5: just want to first acknowledge that all of us should 501 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 5: be more appreciative of the often overlooked seaweed. And then 502 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:55,160 Speaker 5: the second thing, I want to encourage people to consider 503 00:28:55,640 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 5: volunteering with the local environmental group. Places like Conservation International 504 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 5: depend on financial support to do their incredible work, but 505 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 5: there's also a lot of local environmental groups that depend 506 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:12,840 Speaker 5: on our volunteer time to accomplish their goals, whether you're 507 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,880 Speaker 5: working in the trenches or serving on their boards. True, 508 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:18,720 Speaker 5: I mean, you know, it doesn't have to be something 509 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 5: you do every single week, but just making a commitment 510 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:25,320 Speaker 5: to a local environmental group that you'll volunteer, say once 511 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,680 Speaker 5: a month with a beach cleanup or a tree planning event, 512 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:30,520 Speaker 5: that can make a huge difference. 513 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:34,239 Speaker 3: So how can people get started with volunteering? Where can 514 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:35,480 Speaker 3: they start? Well? 515 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:37,840 Speaker 5: If I was going to find one here in Los Angeles, 516 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:42,800 Speaker 5: for example, I might just google Volunteer LA Environmental Group, 517 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,120 Speaker 5: check out their websites, look at their mission statements, and 518 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:48,960 Speaker 5: then reach out and see what their needs are. 519 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 3: That's a great suggestion. 520 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:52,960 Speaker 5: Yeah, And you know what, you can narrow your search 521 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,400 Speaker 5: by the issue that you care about most. So if 522 00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:00,240 Speaker 5: you're into greening your neighborhood, check out tree People. If 523 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 5: you care about food equity and how it relates to 524 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:06,000 Speaker 5: the climate crisis, we'll check out my organization Support and 525 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:09,280 Speaker 5: Feed Friends of the La River, for example, is focused 526 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:12,480 Speaker 5: on how we turn that big concrete waterway of ours 527 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 5: into a dynamic, functioning ecosystem. We have so many cool 528 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:21,760 Speaker 5: orgs just here in LA and with a little searching 529 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:25,720 Speaker 5: you can find similar organizations wherever you might be. 530 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 3: Such a good point, Maggie. Our time is so valuable 531 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 3: to local nonprofits. We've all got to do our part. 532 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:34,880 Speaker 5: We really do, and it's a great way to do it. 533 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,120 Speaker 3: And that's what the fuck you can do? 534 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:43,160 Speaker 4: What the fuck can I do? Oh? 535 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:44,240 Speaker 2: Fucked? 536 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:51,120 Speaker 3: You may have started this show because you thought we 537 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 3: were seriously fucked. Now, don't get me wrong. We're not 538 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:58,720 Speaker 3: in a great place, but I hope you, like me, 539 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:01,880 Speaker 3: have been in Spa by the amazing people out there 540 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:06,280 Speaker 3: doing incredible things. If we're going to unfuck this, we 541 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:10,640 Speaker 3: need to act quickly, at speed and scale. But perhaps 542 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:13,720 Speaker 3: most importantly of all, we need to do this together 543 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 3: as one global community. Look, we haven't covered all the 544 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 3: solutions to the climate crisis, we haven't even touched the edge. 545 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:25,160 Speaker 3: But there are great people and great ideas out there 546 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:29,200 Speaker 3: that can make a difference. We really can turn things around, 547 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:33,840 Speaker 3: and it's already starting to happen. So get involved and 548 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:38,040 Speaker 3: let's all unfuck the future together. For now. This is 549 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:41,760 Speaker 3: Chris Turney signing off from Sydney, Australia. Hope to see 550 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:42,120 Speaker 3: you soon. 551 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:46,000 Speaker 4: We're Fucking the Future. 552 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:54,160 Speaker 3: Unfucking the Future is produced by Imagine Audio and Awfully 553 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:57,760 Speaker 3: Nice for iHeart Podcasts and hosted by me Chris Turney. 554 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:01,480 Speaker 3: The show is written by Meridi Brian. I'm Fucking the 555 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,680 Speaker 3: Future is produced by Amber von Shassen and Rene Colvert. 556 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:09,320 Speaker 3: Ron Howard Brian Grazer, Carral Welker and Nathan Chloke are 557 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:13,200 Speaker 3: the executive producers from Imagine Audio. Jesse Burton and Katie 558 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:17,320 Speaker 3: Hodges are the executive producers from Awfully Nice, sound design 559 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:21,320 Speaker 3: and mixing by Evan Arnette, original music by Lilly Hayden, 560 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:25,760 Speaker 3: and producing services by Peter mcgigan. Sam Swinnerton wrote our 561 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:29,760 Speaker 3: theme and all those fun jingles. If you enjoyed this episode, 562 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,560 Speaker 3: be sure to rate and review Unfucking the Future on 563 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:35,560 Speaker 3: Apple Podcasts, or whether you get your podcasts