Category Archives: Climate Curious

Climate Quickie: How to have your burger and eat it too

We’ve all heard of meatless meats, but what exactly are they and how are they made? To put the patty in the bun is this week’s Quickie expert, Sonalie Figueiras, founder and editor-in-chief of Green Queen Media. Tune in to understand the three ways alternative proteins are created, and how such innovative methods can ensure a healthier, safer and more sustainable approach to food. Without compromising on our favourite foods – yay!

Enjoyed this quickie? Listen to our episode on how seaweed reduces cow burps: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/climate-curious-how-seaweed-reduces-cow-burps/

Grab your ticket for TEDxLondon, October 2nd: https://tedxlondon.com/bb2022/

How life in plastic can still be fantastic

A circular plastics system is helping people make low carbon choices on the daily, thanks to ‘the plastics man’ Peter Goult, a Programme Director at SYSTEMIQ. A story of climate innovation, pragmatism and optimism in action, this week’s freshly wrapped (biodegradable obvs) Climate Curious by TEDxLondon is a celebration of how life could be better in plastic, if we remake the system. Tune in with co-hosts Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst live from New York Times’ Climate Forward event at The Conduit in London to learn about what plastic is made from, why we don’t recycle a whopping 91% of it, and how Peter hopes to create a net zero plastics system by eliminating unnecessary plastic, substituting, recycling, and investing in ground-breaking chemical recycling methods.

Read the summary blog here: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/how-life-in-plastic-can-still-be-fantastic/

How to act from a place of climate love, not climate fear

Love, duty and care are climate’s secret weapon, says Daze Aghaji, a 22-year-old climate justice activist and artist on the Climate Curious podcast by TEDxLondon. We’ve all seen the ‘soft life’ trend on TikTok this summer, but to what extent can you apply that self-care thinking to your relationship with the planet? Daze suggests: all of it! Tune in with co-hosts Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst from New York Times’ Climate Forward event as we ask, is it time to enter your climate activist soft era? As Daze explains, “in these systems of abuse: no-one wins.”

Read the summary blog: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/how-to-act-from-a-place-of-climate-love-not-climate-fear/

Why creativity is climate’s uncut gem

Creativity can help us demand clean air, says founder of creative industry alliance COPI Humphrey Milles on the latest episode of Climate Curious by TEDxLondon. Its most effective campaign to date? A postcode checker alerting people to levels of pollution at any UK address, hitting property owners where it hurts most – their wallets! Tune in with co-hosts Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst live from The Conduit in London to learn how creative people can unite to drive climate action, why air pollution is a good entry point issue for climate newbies (hint: it’s a health issue), and although London’s toxic air is off the charts, it’s not an insurmountable challenge (yay!).

Get a free air quality report for your address: https://addresspollution.org/

Read the summary blog: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/why-creativity-is-climates-uncut-gem/

How inequality affects the air we breathe

An invisible killer; air pollution is a hard topic to drive action around. But 19-year old co-founder of Choked Up Destiny Boka Batesa found a way. Launching a hard-hitting air pollution campaign, they made national news, sparking a UK-wide conversation about how inequality affects the air we breathe. And they’re not stopping there – now, they’re pushing for laws to enshrine our right to clean air. Tune in with co-hosts Maryam Pasha and Ben Hurst live from The Conduit in London to discover what environmental racism looks like, how you can be a climate campaigner and still shop at Urban Outfitters, and why, even though this is a question of survival, it’s not too late. As Destiny says, “it’s really nice and refreshing to feel like you can do the right thing.”

Read our summary blog: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/how-inequality-affects-the-air-we-breathe-2/

Buy your ticket to join our next Climate Curious Live event in London, September 5th: https://tedxlondon.com/climate-curious-live/

What queerness can teach the climate movement

The category is: climate realness. As part of a Pride Climate Curious series featuring guest co-host, Jamie Windust, we hear from the co-founders of PermaQueer Guy Ritani and Toad about the systemic resilience that their queer, permaculture community has built, and what this approach can teach the mainstream climate movement. As Guy tells us, “queerness is the growing vital edge of regeneration, love and care.” Tune in with co-hosts Ben Hurst and Jamie Windust as they discuss the unexpected luxuriousness of dumpster diving, why we need more grassroots community projects, and why queerness – meaning an ever-evolving state of innovation and creativity – is essential for the systemic overhaul this planet so desperately needs!

Read our summary blog: Read more in our summary blog: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/climate-curious-what-queerness-can-teach-the-climate-movement/

Pride Climate Quickie: Why climate’s got a diversity problem

“I created Queer Brown Vegan because my queerness has been something that I really have often hidden away in environmental research”, says Isaias Hernandez, an environmental educator, explaining how male, pale and stale climate spaces gatekeep the climate movement – but now – thanks to Isaias and others like them – that’s changing.

Tune in to hear their experiences of reshaping the professional and digital creative climate space to be something entirely more inclusive, and engaging.

Enjoyed this quickie? Why not listen to Isaias’s full episode on Climate Curious – Why Climate Has a Youthwashing Problem: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/climate-curious-why-climate-has-a-youthwashing-problem/

Pride Climate Quickie: What is queer ecology?

This Pride, we’re revisiting a Quickie with iconic environmental and intersectional drag queen, Pattie Gonia. They give us a quick introduction to queer ecology – we’re talking gender shifting fish, intersex birds, and even how trees can impregnate themselves. Yep – queerness is natural!

Tune in to discover why queer ecology is so much more than “gay dolphins in the ocean”. Instead, “queerness is just the oddity in this world to problem solve, no matter what, to almost be different, and to bring beauty and brilliance to that “, they say.

If you enjoyed this quickie, why not listen to Pattie’s full episode on Climate Curious – Why Mother Nature is a Drag Queen: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/climate-curious-why-mother-nature-is-a-drag-queen/

Climate Quickie: What is artivism?

“You need to understand you are much, much more powerful than the head of any big organisation that does not know how to sing and dance properly,” says Kumi Naidoo, a South African human rights and environmental activist, explaining how we can use our creative talents to drive climate action.

Artivism in a nutshell? Don’t project your consciousness on the people that you’re trying to organise, Kumi explains. You need to come from a common place of understanding, and inspire them!

Enjoyed this quickie? Why not listen to Kumi’s full episode on Climate Curious – How culture can help us win the climate war.

Part 1: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/climate-curious-how-culture-can-help-us-win-the-climate-war-part-1/

Part 2: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/climate-curious-how-culture-can-help-us-win-the-climate-war-part-2/