SCIENCE FOR PEOPLE WHO GIVE A SHIT
Oct. 31, 2022

Introducing Climavores: "Our first Climavores guest is a big one: Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack"

Introducing Climavores:

Climate change is a touchy topic in farm country. But one third of greenhouse gas emissions come from food and agriculture, so it’s crucial that the industry becomes part of the climate change solution. 

For years almost all the action on climate change centered on energy – solar and wind and electric vehicles taking on coal and gas and oil. But now Washington is suddenly buzzing about “climate-smart agriculture,” and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is in the middle of the action. He just announced $3 billion in grants for “climate-smart commodities.” The Inflation Reduction Act is sending the USDA $20 billion for climate-smart projects. It’s incredible how quickly the food and climate issue has moved to the center of the plate.

This week, Mike and Tamar welcome Secretary Vilsack as their first Climavores guest. They dig in on everything from regulating farmers to regenerative agriculture to subsidies as a bridge to market solutions. And of course Mike pushes the Secretary on his favorite topic –  biofuels. 

Have a question about food and climate change for Mike and Tamar? Leave a message on the Climavores hotline at (508) 377-3449. Or email us at climavores@postscriptaudio.com. We might feature your question on a future episode. 

Climavores is a production of Post Script Media


-----------

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com

New here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at importantnotimportant.com/podcast.

-----------

Follow us:


Find our more about our guests here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/guest-stats

Advertise with us: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/sponsors

Featured Episodes

May 8, 2023

Fighting Food Waste With The iPhone of Trash Cans

How much food do you throw away every week? And do you have to? That's today's big question, and my guest is Matt Rogers . Matt is a former Apple iPod and iPhone engineer . The Co-Founder of Nest thermostats …

Listen to the Episode
July 10, 2023

How To Live A Happy Life

How can we live happier lives? That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Marc Schulz, the co-author with Dr. Robert Waldinger of “The Good Life: Lessons From the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness” They're t...

Listen to the Episode
April 24, 2023

Every Climate Action Matters

What can I do? The simple question is the underlying premise of everything we do here. It's often the easiest one to help people answer for themselves, but from the outside, it's often the most imposing. All of which is …

Listen to the Episode
Feb. 20, 2023

Clean Air Is An Inside Job

Imagine you’re in a sci-fi movie. The one where everything’s on the line . And while dinosaurs or aliens or a virus takes over down on the ground, you’re the scientist unexpectedly riding in the helicopter with the actual pre...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 30, 2023

What Causes Depression?

Content Warning We're going to be talking about stress and anxiety, depression, suicide, and more today. If any of this could be triggering to you in any way, please feel free to just skip over this one. Nothing in this …

Listen to the Episode
Nov. 6, 2023

Can Your Gut Predict Alzheimer's?

Can your gut composition predict Alzheimer's? That's today's big question and my returning guest is Gautam Dantas. Gautam heads up the Dantas Lab at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis . His lab works at...

Listen to the Episode
Nov. 13, 2023

The Female Origin of Species

How did the female body drive 200 million years of human evolution? And why the hell are we just finding out about it now? That's today's big question, and my guest is Cat Bohannon . Cat is the author of …

Listen to the Episode
Dec. 4, 2023

How To Make Ethical Decisions

Has there ever been a more important time, a more consequential time, to lead with ethics? That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Susan Liautaud . Susan is the author of The Power of Ethics and of the …

Listen to the Episode