Mothering Earth Podcast

Mothering Earth-138-Ripple: Reintegrating With Nature

For generations, we humans have been taught that we are superior to the rest of nature, that we alone can reshape all of nature and the environment, to serve our needs, which leads to a sense of separation from nature. At the same time humans have a need to connect and be in nature. In this program, we explore those competing ideas and how they shape our lives, with author William Powers. His latest book is Ripple: An Intimate Exchange of Urgency and Hope Between An Ecologist and His Daughter, which is largely made up of communications between Powers and his young daughter as they navigate a path to reintegrating with nature.

Mothering Earth-137-CoolEnvironment

How do we stay cool on a planet that heating up? It’s a tough question, because we have been relying on fossil fuels, like coal, oil and gas to keep the air conditioners and fans running, and it is those same fuels that contribute mightily to global warming. Rather than promoting the use of renewable energy sources, it appears we are going to be using even more oil, gas and coal. So we turn to an architect to get some ideas on designing living spaces that are as highly energy efficient as possible.

Mothering Earth-136-World Wildlife Fund & the Rio Grande

A changing climate with hotter and drier weather is a challenge for people, but also for lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The Rio Grande river, which runs from Colorado into Mexico, crossing several U.S. states, continues to shrink and to run dry in places where it used to flow. Most of the water from the river is used to grow crops like alfalfa and hay to feed livestock, Other crops are cotton and pecans; some water is used for power generation and some for municipal water use. But the river can no longer provide enough water for all those uses. The World Wildlife Fund has made it their mission to revitalize the river. It’s a daunting task, one faced by my guest, Enrique Prunes, Rio Grande Manager and Freshwater Lead Specialist at World Wildlife Fund US.

Mothering Earth-135-Homegrown National Park

Whether your outdoor space is a large garden or a tiny apartment balcony, you can plant plants that are native to your part of the world. For those with lawns, you can reduce or eliminate the lawn and replace those areas with native plants. The result would be a greater sequestration of carbon by those plants, and increased support for all forms of life, including birds, insects, pollinators and other animals. Another benefit is we would use less water, and our water would be protected from pollution from fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides which are widely used to maintain lawns and non-native plants. Doug Tallamy is co-founder of the Homegrown National Park, a nationwide project that encourages everyone to plant natives and eliminate, or at least reduce, lawn areas. You can be part of this project and in the process become a conservationist, and part of the solution to climate change.

Mothering Earth-134-Return of the Rio Grande

The Rio Grande river has been immortalized in movies and in songs, but sadly, the river itself has shrunk and now regularly runs dry in certain areas. The World Wildlife Fund has prioritized restoring the river and to that end is funding programs to revitalize the Rio Grande. One such program called Rio Grande Return is building beaver dams and other wood structures in the river, in an effort to improve water retention and water quality, and they are beginning to see positive results.