Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
While coffee chains across North America generate mountains of disposable cups and lids every day, Italy’s traditional café culture offers a different model. By serving coffee in reusable cups and encouraging customers to stay rather than rush away, Italian bars show that convenience and sustainability do not have to be at odds.
In this episode, Simon Michaux returns to discuss his new paper “A Resource Balanced Economy”, which outlines an alternative economic and social system.
In the United States, the city of Portland, Oregon offers some leadership in terms of what this might look like in action. The city boasts a lively network of partnerships between nonprofits, businesses, civilians, and different bureaus and layers of government.
Cargonomia officially was launched in 2015. It came out of the idea: how can we connect the farm, bike messengers and a bike workshop?
“When we talk about urban mining, we’re talking about mining what we have already made and brought into an urban context.”
A large population, an increasing demand for fish, a warm (and warming) climate, and the lack of action by local pollution control boards has led to an overflow of fish debris along India’s 7,500-kilometer-long coastline.
Grassroots organizations in Mexico are promoting inclusive recycling by helping usher trash pickers, or pepenadores, into the salaried workforce. In the endeavor, they draw on positive experiences around the developing world.
By collecting and separating reusable or recyclable materials of their own accord, unsalaried waste pickers relieve the growing burden of mismanaged municipal solid waste.
Through the organization Fashion Act Now, a growing band of dissident fashionistas want to make the clothing industry more ecologically responsible, relocalized, and culturally in sync with this moment in history, especially with respect to climate change, economic justice, and decolonialization.
Together, Kate Raworth and Roman Krznaric address the one core question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?”
In a circular food economy, food waste becomes valuable, affordable healthy food becomes accessible to everyone and innovation uses a regenerative approach to how food is produced, distributed and consumed.
When we learn from the way nutrients are constantly broken down and repurposed in natural systems, we find opportunities for a circular economy everywhere.
