CJMP Podcast

The story of bottled water is nuanced. Backed by the reality that we need clean drinking water to survive, and then infused with marketing campaigns that played on fears of water born pathogens and the wonders of trace mineral content. 

What is the full story of bottled water? And with 1 in 7 people having no access to clean drinking water, can we thrive without it?

This episode follows the silver linings during COVID. Green gardening tips using materials from your recycling bin, tips on waste reduction through home composting ideas, and recipes for homemade shampoo and face masks (not the kind with elastic bands!).

Would you live in a house made from mushrooms? Would you wear a suit embroidered with fungal spores to help decompose your corpse? Fungus has always been among us and now we are more actively seeking a symbiotic relationship.  This episode explores the role of mushrooms in reducing the waste we produce, as well as cleaning up the waste we inevitably do create.

Cognitive Scientist & Mycologist, Theo Rosenfeld also shares how mushrooms can be key to physical and mental wellness during times of personal and even global crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Would you live in a house made from mushrooms? Would you wear a suit embroidered with fungal spores to help decompose your corpse? Fungus has always been among us and now we are more actively seeking a symbiotic relationship.  This episode explores the role of mushrooms in reducing the waste we produce, as well as cleaning up the waste we inevitably do create.

Cognitive Scientist & Mycologist, Theo Rosenfeld also shares how mushrooms can be key to physical and mental wellness during times of personal and even global crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic.

On our show this month, we’re going to take a look into some of the most productive characters that are a part of nature’s cleanup crew. To us, it’s garbage. To them, it’s dinner. There are some busy scavengers who live among us — crafty critters who share our cities and recycle the mountains of food waste our messy society leaves behind. Through the help of thoughtful and passionate scientists who have come to understand and love these creatures, we will uncover in our show today just what makes these scavengers tick. Debunking some myths along the way, we learn what adaptations they have evolved for this “messy” job, what benefits they can provide us, and how us humans can work with them so they can do their job even better.

Happy 2020!  To start the year off we reflect on the past month of December in terms of consumerism.  Are those gifts still giving?  We also take a more detailed look into what exactly is in to-go packaging....are you sure you want to be eating out of that packaging?  Tune in and be inspired to add a few more things onto your new years' resolution list!

This episode reviews our plastic themed shows from 2019, where we delved into the subject from many angles. From interviewing experts in the field of microplastic research to oyster farmers out in Okeover Inlet cleaning up industrial marine debris, we got a bird's eye view of how our over consumption and mismanagement of this resource has plasticized our ecosystem and is even moving into animals and humans.

Can we rescue wasted food? This show addresses how one small community on the coast of BC is attempting to divert food waste to local charities.

S A N D is the most consumed resource on the planet after water and air, and we are gobbling it up fast, mostly in the form of aggregate for our concrete jungles.

We'll also dive into the G L A S S vs plastic bottle debate.  Which is better?  And why are only some kinds of glass accepted at recycling depots?

With sand in rapid depletion, we'll brainstorm ways we might dovetail our use of glass with our need for sand in construction.

All about the strain we put on our drain...and the planet, when we flush, pour, rinse or otherwise release items down our drains. We look into garburators - the pros and cons, waste veggie oil conversion into fuel, and talk biosolids (aka sewage sludge) with a UBC post-grad (Robin Harder). How do we manage this resource when it's contaminated with heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and microplastics?

In this episode, we go further into the topic of Microplastics and look at a recent study that was published out of the University of Victoria. The lead researcher on the project, Garth Covernton, brought forth an estimate of just how much microplastic we are consuming on an annual basis. Tune in to find out more!

Tune in and celebrate our 100th episode with us!  We have a slew of special guests in the studio with us joining in on the party.  There's some reminiscing, some laughs, a glimpse into a new interactive art project that's going to be at the Library this September as well as a teaser into a longer conversation we'll have next month on new science coming out about microplastics.  We'll play the interview that we didn't have time for next month!

In this month’s show we’re exploring our relationship with the ocean.  We all know we’re doing a solid job of polluting it but there are also stellar people out there loving it up.  

We’ll take a peek into the growing cruiseline industry, investigating its attempts at sustainable management of these floating hotels. 

We’ll also get an update of how our community is cleaning up its harbours and beaches.  So far this year there have been four shoreline clean ups that have brought groups of caring volunteers together.  We'll hear from clean up coordinators about the ins and outs of these amazing events.

This month we delve into the circular economy.  The circular economy has emerged as a strategy for businesses and organizations to address the changing world through building stronger, more resilient and more competitive businesses and economies that take waste into account.  

In the conventional economy, materials move through a linear process of extraction, production, consumption and eventual disposal -> Take, make, waste.  In contrast, circular economies eliminate waste through the redesign, reuse and recycling of products and materials in interconnected systems, biological cycles and markets -> make, use, return.  Tune in and join the conversation!

Tune into our Earth Month focused show.  Hear about all the amazing events scheduled for this April and how you can get involved.  We have this year's Earth Month coordinators live in the studio to provide all the details.

We also venture into the effects being felt by the Chinese National Sword initiative that took full effect last year but have had a delayed impact which, we are now starting to really feel.  And the world of textile waste also rears its head in our show this month.

Make an impact this Earth Month and take up a challenge for the month to help the earth out in any way you can!  The Plastic Free Challenge is always available, receive weekly tips through letstalktrash.ca!