The future of fashion — made from mushrooms | Dan Widmaier

Exactly when and where did life on Earth begin? Scientists have long thought that it emerged three billion years ago in the ocean — until astrobiologist Tara Djokic and her team made an unexpected discovery in the western Australian desert. Learn how an ancient rock found near a hot volcanic pool is shifting our understanding of the origin-of-life puzzle.

Everyone has the right to a clean environment — but major disparities exist when it comes to who faces the consequences of pollution. Environmental justice leader Peggy Shepard points to the disproportionate impact that hazardous environmental conditions have on Black, brown and Indigenous communities and challenges us to build a truly equitable future that turns "sacrifice zones" — where community health is sacrificed for the sake of development — into "green zones" that redress the legacy of pollution and harmful policies.

Your closet is likely full of all kinds of materials — leather, cotton, nylon and polyester, to name a few — that contribute to fashion's sustainability crisis. Biomaterials investigator Dan Widmaier explains how we could look to nature for sustainable replacements for these much-used materials and introduces a leather alternative made from mushrooms that looks great and doesn't harm the environment. "We can make fashion sustainable, and we're going to do it with science," Widmaier says.

What if you could eat chicken nuggets without harming a chicken? It's possible through "cellular agriculture," says Isha Datar. In a talk about cutting-edge science, she explains how this new means of food production makes it possible to eat meat without the negative consequences of industrial farming — and how it could fundamentally change our food systems for the better. "It's our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get a second chance at agriculture," she says.

From the return of nomadic living to a climate-disrupted world, author and global strategist Parag Khanna has some predictions for humanity. Get a fascinating glimpse at the future as he tackles an urgent question: Where on Earth will eight billion humans live in the uncertain times ahead?

(This conversation, hosted by TED current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. Visit ted.com/membership to become a TED Member.)

The single most important thing for avoiding a climate disaster is cutting carbon pollution from the current 51 billion tons per year to zero, says philanthropist and technologist Bill Gates. Introducing the concept of the "green premium" — the higher price of zero-emission products like electric cars, artificial meat or sustainable aviation fuel — Gates identifies the breakthroughs and investments we need to reduce the cost of clean tech, decarbonize the economy and create a pathway to a clean and prosperous future for all.

Today's youth have inherited a big, unprecedented climate problem to solve — and the eco-anxiety to go with it. Gen-Zer and activist Clover Hogan knows the struggle firsthand, but she also understands the path to climate action starts with the one thing you can control: your mindset. She explains why challenging the stories that keep you feeling powerless can help you take the first step to protecting the planet for generations to come.

This is an episode from a show we think you might like: The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast.

Holiday shopping season is upon us, but instead of having a wasteful, plastic-heavy Christmas, why not have a green one? Hosts Candice and Caleigh have tips for how to celebrate sustainable holidays, from your wrapping paper to the menu at your holiday dinner.

The third season of Sold Out examines the intersection of the climate and housing crises. Hosted by Erin Baldassari, the series tells the stories of families and communities throughout California, as they grapple with the ways that climate is challenging the very idea of home. Sold Out shines a light on the solutions that can help us all face the future, highlighting the people who are actively working to protect their communities. This series questions assumptions that dictate how and where people live, while examining the barriers – whether political, financial or social – that hold us back from embracing or realizing change. 

Listen to Sold Out wherever you listen to podcasts. 

TED Climate will be back soon -- in the meantime here is an episode of another podcast we thought you'd enjoy.

This is the first episode of a five-part series exploring the European energy crisis in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In this season, we ask the trillion dollar question: Will this crisis speed or slow down the energy transition in Europe? And what does that mean for the rest of the world?

Unpacking the history behind Europe’s dependence on Russian energy

Putin’s assault on Ukraine triggered an energy crisis that sent Europe’s economies into a tailspin and put the European energy transition to the test. But how did the European Union, a leader in climate action, become so dependent on Russian oil and gas to begin with?

This season, we look at the energy systems of Germany and Poland. Both have very different energy systems, but both became dependent on Russian energy for heating homes, firing power plants, and fueling businesses.

In this episode, we look at the immediate impact of the Ukraine invasion on that dependency and the historical influences behind it– from Germany’s pursuit of natural gas to Poland’s centuries-long relationship with coal.

Then we ask whether Europe’s initial response to the crisis– leaning more heavily on fossil fuels– will accelerate or slow down Europe’s push toward green energy.

If you like The Big Switch, you can listen wherever you get your podcasts.

In episode 258, Kestrel welcomes Aja Barber, a writer, stylist & consultant, to the show. Aja’s new book, Consumed - The Need For Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change & Consumerism is mandatory reading for anyone who wears clothes.

“We have to ask ourselves — on a planet where there is not endless resources, is this the attitude that we want to lead ourselves into the future on? If we are really approaching planetary limits, I think it’s actually time for us to maybe have some cultural shifts in how we view what is enough and what we should want out of life.” -Aja

In her new book, Aja writes:
“Please stop referring to this system as affordable. The planet cannot afford the environmental costs, and neither can most of its inhabitants.”

This is something I noticed woven across several chapters – the idea of *affordability* and the nuanced detriment that this sentiment can have on the overall fashion conversation.

When we say affordability, who are we really thinking about?
Probably primarily ourselves. What can I say, we do live in a very ME-oriented society. 

Are we thinking about who made our clothes? Are we thinking about the impact those clothes had on the environment in which they were made? Probably not. 

And while privilege is absolutely wound up into this – the idea that sustainable fashion must be *affordable* is just another way that we’re trying to cut and paste a better option into an already crappy system.

We can’t just replace fast fashion with sustainable fashion, and move on. We can’t expect that to remedy the absolute mess that we are living in. 

As Aja says, WE NEED A CULTURE SHIFT.

Quotes & links from the conversation:

• “What do we have to gain by being credited by all the things?” -Aja

• “I don’t read one news site only — I read a lot of different news sites. And I just think — you know, when we silo ourselves, obviously, we’re missing out.” -Aja

• “I think what people forget is that existing in a marginalized body and existing in a world that is ultimately a white supremacy that doesn’t like fat people, that doesn’t really care for Black people — there’s so many strikes against me. And when I am out there in the larger world, I have to deal with people who do not share my views on a lot of things, always. You can’t avoid that, and so people act like because you have boundaries on social media, that you just want to live in an echo chamber, while not realizing that people like me don’t actually get the right to ever live in an echo chamber. You don’t get to pick your coworkers, you don’t get to pick your family, and you don’t get to pick your classmates, but you do get to pick your friends and you get to pick your online spaces, so, I’m gonna make online spaces as boundaried as I possibly can, because for every other space that I exist in, I’m gonna run up against some stuff that quite frankly I’m tired of.” -Aja

• “The one thing we all can do is SLOW DOWN.” -Aja

• Order Aja’s book Consumed >

• Follow Aja on Instagram >

On a mission to plant a million trees, social entrepreneur Chaitsi Ahuja is making waves with her sustainability lifestyle store ‘Brown Living’, India's first plastic-free and chemical-free online marketplace. Aimed at enabling Indians to make a switch to sustainable living, Brown Living has also created jobs for over 200 artisans and 150 people from rural tribes in India so far. Vinay talks to the green warrior on her journey so far. 

[2:48s] ‘On a mission to plant a million trees’

[4:09s] From retail marketing to social entrepreneurship  

[11:50s] Genesis of ‘Brown Living’ 

[31:11s] Sustainability in a pandemic 

[35:46s] ‘I’m in the business of changing behaviour’

[47:15s] RWL: Chaitsi’s recommendations for you to READ ‘Sapiens’ by Yuval Noah Harari; WATCH documentaries ‘What the Health’, ‘Toxic Beauty’, ‘Down to Earth’. 

More curated recommendations on sustainable living at https://brownliving.in/blogs/changemakers   

Also do check out https://www.grow-trees.com/ that’s at the core of Chaitsi’s ‘mission to plant a million trees’     

Follow Chaitsi on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram

Connect with Vinay on Twitter, LinkedIn or email him at vinay@c2cod.com 

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This podcast is sponsored by C2C-OD, your Organizational Development consulting partner ‘Bringing People and Strategy Together’. Follow @c2cod on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook