Down the Wormhole

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Climate Connections Part 3 (Billion Dollar Unicorn Bills)

February 26, 2020

Episode 27

In part 3 of our Climate Connections series, Adam tries to break us out of our conventional ways of thinking by introducing the concept of play, and forcing us to imagine how we would solve the climate crisis if we had zero limitations.

How about guerrilla gardening, benevolent-ish dictatorships, billion dollar grants, the end of big cities, the return of generational living, solar farming the desert, or farting salt mines?

Send us your wildest, pie-in-the-sky plan to stop climate change, and you could one BILLION dollars (of totally fake money). Email us at [email protected] or post it to our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson
music by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis

Show Notes

Favorite PE game

Adam-Scooter (found here: https://www.gophersport.com/pe/scooters/sst-scooters) and games (found here: https://www.gophersport.com/blog/6-scooter-games-pe/ )

Kendra--Parachute, games found here: https://www.playparachutes.com/pagaac.html

Rachael -- Tetherball, what it is : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetherball (scene from Napoleon Dynamite : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azSxYbFovWo )

Zack -- none (here’s one story as to why some kids dislike p.e. : https://education.penelopetrunk.com/2013/05/20/forced-gym-makes-kids-hate-exercise/ )

Adam’s book “Living with Tiny Aliens” https://www.amazon.com/Living-Tiny-Aliens-Anthropocene-Groundworks-ebook-dp-B07WWJP3FP/dp/B07WWJP3FP/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1582659303

Augustine and his idea that children are sinners : http://www.stephenhicks.org/2011/12/02/augustine-on-why-babies-are-evil/

Solar power in Sahara : http://theconversation.com/should-we-turn-the-sahara-desert-into-a-huge-solar-farm-114450

Nuclear power, pros-cons: https://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Advantages_and_Disadvantages_of_Nuclear_Energy

Gen 2 reactors:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/09/leslie-dewan-explorer-moments-nuclear-energy/

New energy storage ideas:

https://www.wired.com/2016/05/forget-elons-batteries-fix-grid-rock-filled-train-hill/

More Episodes

Climate Connections Part 2 (Of Starfish and Men)

February 19, 2020

Episode 26

In part 2 of our Climate Connections miniseries, Rachael serves up a heaping helping of hope in the face of potentially the greatest crisis the human race has ever encountered. Can her immovable optimism stand firm against Adam's unstoppable despair? Will a realistic way forward emerge in the aftermath? Grab some popcorn and roasted crickets. This one is fun.

(Zack note: I recorded my part from the passenger seat of my station wagon on a family trip, so you will hear my toddler yelling for food periodically. Lunch is important yall!)

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson
music by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis

Show Notes

Favorite Tree

Rachael--Aspen: https://www.nationalforests.org/blog/tree-profile-aspen-so-much-more-than-a-tree

Kendra--Rainbow eucalyptus: https://mymodernmet.com/rainbow-eucalyptus-tree/

Ian--live oak: https://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguide/treedetail.cfm?itemID=876

Zack--box elder: https://www.thoughtco.com/introduction-to-the-boxelder-tree-1343340

Adam--one particular elm

Bark beetle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_pine_beetle

Beetle kill pine furniture: https://sears-trostel.com/blog/13657/Beetle-Kill-Blue-Stain-Pine-Lumber-in-Fort-Collins

Food

Who owns the land: https://thecounter.org/who-really-owns-american-farmland/

CO2 animal production: https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local?fbclid=IwAR0fMG7sySLwJO7FAjbp7Wix1uy8RAsLci-IOMLZlYxzcxNbnHxV7MRgAIU

Americans love their meat: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-chart-proves-americans-love-their-meat-2016-08-15

Food recommendations in American diet: https://www.meatinstitute.org/index.php?ht=d/sp/i/47465/pid/47465

We ate a record amount in 2018: https://www.meatinstitute.org/index.php?ht=d/sp/i/47465/pid/47465

World consumption of beef (note how many countries eat far less than we do) https://beef2live.com/story-world-beef-consumption-per-capita-ranking-countries-0-111634

We are the Weather: saving the world begins at breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Weather-Saving-Breakfast/dp/0374280002

Recycling

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/climate/recycling-wrong-mistakes.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/climate/recycling-landfills-plastic-papers.html

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/recycling6.htm

“Star Thrower” by Loren Eiseley wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star_Thrower

Babies in the river story: https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/youth/call/workshop1/171686.shtml

Equality/equity/justice: https://www.icafoodshelf.org/blog/2017/11/15/equity-vs-equality-vs-justice-how-are-they-different

Creation Care Alliance: https://creationcarealliance.org/

Better clothing: https://qz.com/823607/pro-tips-for-buying-clothes-that-will-last-years-not-weeks/

A whole book on the subject https://www.amazon.com/How-Break-Fast-Fashion-guilt-free-ebook/dp/B07WH5C7XD

Climate Connections Part 1 (Take a Cricket and a Condom on Your Way Out)

February 12, 2020

Episode 25

If you could save the world simply by changing the way you eat, would you do it? Is fake meat the future of food or is it a fad for rich people? Why are we so afraid of eating bugs? Why are we so bad at living out our values unless they are convenient? All these questions and more as Zack introduces part 1 of our Climate Connections miniseries in which each host takes a week to explain their own personal connection to the climate crisis.

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson
music by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis

Show Notes

Comfort foods

Zack: TastyKake: https://www.tastykake.com/

Kendra: Reese puffs cereal: https://cereals.generalmills.com/products/reeses-puffs/

Ian: milk chocolate, especially milka: https://germandelistore.com/milka/?p=1

Adam: mashed potatoes: (best mashed potatoes, but also comes with meatloaf recipe) https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/02/tomato-glazed-meatloaves-with-brown-butter-mashed-potatoes/

Rachael: brownies: https://smittenkitchen.com/2012/08/my-favorite-brownies/

History

Last name “Jackson”

https://www.facinghistory.org/reconstruction-era/changing-names

https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/19/news/among-blacks-washington-ranks-as-the-top-surname.html

https://www.amazon.com/Slaves-Family-Edward-Ball/dp/0374534454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&keywords=slaves+in+the+family&qid=1513302146&s=books&sr=1-1

Jefferson quote, hold a wolf’s ears https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/famous-jefferson-quotes

Quakers and abolition: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17843552

Industry (cotton) and the continuation of southern slavery: https://www.ushistory.org/us/22b.asp

1 Tim 1:15, explanation of “chief of all sinners” https://doctrine.org/paul-chief-of-sinners

“Historical roots of our ecological crisis” By Lynn White 1967: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/155/3767/1203

Edible insects and Human Evolution by Dr. Julie Lesnik: https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813056999

Food

Impossible food: https://impossiblefoods.com/

Vox article criticizing meatless-meat trend:

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/10/7/20880318/meatless-meat-mainstream-backlash-impossible-burger

Patrick Brown TEDmed Talk (2015): https://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=529958

New Yorker article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/30/can-a-burger-help-solve-climate-change

Grass-fed vs. grain fed for environmentalism: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/08/13/746576239/is-grass-fed-beef-really-better-for-the-planet-heres-the-science?fbclid=IwAR2Mgkudmkq9mH5RfqhsnhjP-qG1h-N3vbDGuanT2472FLB4VP9-dC8gRvY

Farming in America stats: https://www.fb.org/newsroom/fast-facts

How many farms are there: https://www.statista.com/statistics/196114/top-10-us-states-by-number-of-farms/

*note: considered a farm if sells >$1,000 in agriculture in 1yr.

General other food articles:

Entomophagy!

Human Origins Part 5 (Who Are My People?)

February 5, 2020

Episode 24

We finish up our series on human origins by asking "Who are my people?"

That simple question will lead us to question every facet of our lives and how we interact with life on Earth. It will force us to face our relationship with animals, our self-identity, our sense of purpose, and our various privileges. It will also lead us to ancient bathroom graffiti, songwriting whales, and a hope for humanity.

Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast

More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/

produced by Zack Jackson
music by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis