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GrowthBustersEarth Overshoot DayDid you know we are in overshoot? What does that mean, and what should we do about it? Also in this episode, which has a smaller footprint – milk, or milk alternatives like almond milk? Dana informs us that, “Eating food is one of the worst things you can do for the environment.” Are some health departments preventing bulk filling of reusable containers? Carrying reusable utensils and napkin on your travels. And choosing carefully the trash can in which to deposit your refuse. August 1, 2018 is Earth Overshoot Day. Data collected and analyzed by the Global Footprint Network tells us thi...2018-07-2551 minGrowthBustersDo Only Villains Care About Overpopulation?In Avengers: Infinity War the villain Thanos wants to solve overpopulation by exterminating half the population of the universe. Whenever overpopulation pops up in the movies, it’s always a villain with an inhumane solution. Dave and Dana discuss whether this helps or harms the cause of achieving a sustainable human population (yes, the world IS overpopulated today, and the forecasts are to add several billion more). Aren’t there humane, noble solutions to overpopulation? Plus: Are we hardwired to reproduce? Population control, Paul Ehrlich, Thomas Malthus, Dan Brown’s Inferno novel and movie, Soylent Green, ZPG, and Da...2018-07-1058 minGrowthBustersOne Thing That Will Guarantee Climate DisasterWhile the U.S. announced intention to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement is bad news, it seems to have inspired a lot of carbon-reducing promises at other levels across the country. And that is good news. Dana and Dave lament the biggest hurdle in the path to a survivable climate – the fact that economic growth is the number one public policy goal around the world. In many cases it is the one thing policymakers won’t sacrifice in efforts to curb the growth of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. We seem to be putting all our...2018-06-2738 min
GrowthBustersDownsize MeImagine you can live large – trophy house, fancy toys, caveman diet – but the costs are miniscule. Would you find that appealing? Or would you rather simplify your lifestyle and make your footprint the thing that’s miniscule? Is downsizing simply a way to supersize your consumption without maximizing your footprint? The latest episode of the GrowthBusters podcast examines these questions, as explored in the film, Downsizing. “Downsizing may be about a small world, but it is an audacious, out-sized peach of a picture.” Ian Freer, Empire Magazine The film, starring Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig, is now avai...2018-06-1134 min