The Land & Climate podcast

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30:20

Eli Beer is a pioneer, social entrepreneur, President and Founder of United Hatzalah of Israel. In thirty years, the organization has grown to more than 6,500 volunteers who unite together to provide immediate, life-saving care to anyone in need - regardless of race or religion. This community EMS force network treats over 730,000 incidents per year, in Israel, as they wait for ambulances and medical attention. Eli’s vision is to bring this life-saving model across the world. In 2015, Beer expanded internationally with the establishment of branches in South America and other countries, including “United Rescue” in Jersey City, USA, where the response time was reduced to just two minutes and thirty-five seconds. Episode Chapters (0:00) intro (1:04) Hatzalah’s reputation for speed (4:48) Hatzalah’s volunteer EMTs and ambucycles (5:50) Entrepreneurism at Hatzalah (8:09) Chutzpah (14:15) Hatzalah’s recruitment (18:31) Volunteers from all walks of life (22:51) Having COVID changed Eli’s perspective (26:00) operating around the world amid antisemitism (28:06) goodbye For video episodes, watch on www.youtube.com/@therudermanfamilyfoundation Stay in touch: X: @JayRuderman | @RudermanFdn LinkedIn: Jay Ruderman | Ruderman Family Foundation Instagram: All About Change Podcast | Ruderman Family Foundation To learn more about the podcast, visit https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/ Looking for more insights into the world of activism? Be sure to check out Jay’s brand new book, Find Your Fight , in which Jay teaches the next generation of activists and advocates how to step up and bring about lasting change. You can find Find Your Fight wherever you buy your books, and you can learn more about it at www.jayruderman.com .…

The Land & Climate Podcast

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The editorial team from The Land and Climate Review interview thinkers and policymakers in the world of economics, land-use and climate policy. Find more on our site at www.landclimate.org

99 episodes

The Land & Climate Podcast

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updated 4 days ago

Series home•Feed

The editorial team from The Land and Climate Review interview thinkers and policymakers in the world of economics, land-use and climate policy. Find more on our site at www.landclimate.org

99 episodes

#Science #Environment #Government #Tech #Land And Climate Review #Climate Review #Climate #Sustainability #Policy #Green #Eco #Politics #Economy #Economics

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The Land & Climate Podcast

1
Are we prepared for geoengineering? 31:48

4 days ago31:48

31:48

A UK government agency recently announced it would spend £57 million on a controversial project to develop geoengineering technologies. The Exploring Climate Cooling Programme will fund 21 international research teams to conduct small-scale, controlled outdoor experiments to thicken Arctic sea ice and brighten clouds, to prevent global warming from increasing past irreversible tipping points. Geoengineering has long been a point of contention amongst scientists, environmental academics and conspiracy theorists - each firm in their beliefs about whether such interventions are necessary, effective, or risk irreversibly damaging the planet. Alasdair speaks with two academics studying geoengineering - Albert Van Wijngaarden and Adrian Hindes - who call for nuanced understanding and more productive conversation between the advocates and opposers of such radical interventions. They discuss the history of polar and solar geoengineering, the risks involved, and the lack of global governance. If you enjoyed this episode, stay tuned - we plan to explore geoengineering in more detail in the future. Further reading: Plans to cool the Earth by blocking sunlight are gaining momentum but critical voices risk being excluded, October 2024, Albert Van Wijngaarden and Adrian Hindes Do-or-Die: Should we be talking about geoengineering?, December 2022, Land and Climate Review Soviet and Russian perspectives on geoengineering and climate management - Oldfield, J. D., & Poberezhskaya, M. (2023). . Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Controversial geoengineering projects to test Earth-cooling tech funded by UK agency, May 2025, Nature Not such a bright idea: cooling the Earth by reflecting sunlight back to space is a dangerous distraction, March 2024, The Conversation Securing the ‘great white shield’? Climate change, Arctic security and the geopolitics of solar geoengineering, August 2024, Nordic International Studies Association After Geoengineering: Climate Tragedy, Repair and Restoration , 2019, Holly Jean Buck, Verso Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
Has Russia committed ecocide in Ukraine? 35:22

18 days ago35:22

35:22

On 6th June 2023, the Nova Kakhovka dam was breached while under Russian occupation, releasing a wave of toxic pollution into Ukraine’s rivers. The number of casualties – both human and animal – may never be fully known. Ukraine is one of a small number of countries to include ecocide in its domestic criminal code, and the destruction of Kakhovka Dam is one of hundreds of incidents that prosecutors are studying while building environmental damages cases against Russia. On the global stage, Ukraine is leading efforts for the International Criminal Court to recognise ecocide as the fifth core international crime, alongside genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. Bertie speaks to Darya Tsymbalyuk, Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Chicago, about her new book, “Ecocide in Ukraine: The Environmental Cost of Russia’s War.” They discuss the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, the sensory impact of war, and Tsymbalyuk’s intention to bring Ukrainian environmentalists and humanities scholars into this growing legal dialogue. Buy a copy of Ecocide in Ukraine: The Environmental Cost of Russia’s War from Polity Press here. Further reading: Destruction og Ukraine dam casued 'toxic timebomb' of heavy metals, study finds, The Guardian , March 2025 Ukraine's Ravaged Environment, The New York Times , April 2025 Constellations of Ukranian Thought and the Environmental Humanities, Tanya Richardson and Darya Tsymbalyuk , 2024 What my body taught me about being a scholar of Ukraine and from Ukraine in times of Russia’s war of aggression, Springer Nature – Darya Tsymbalyuk, July 2023 The unlikely species entangled in Ukraine's resistance to Russia, BBC , February 2024 A Landmine Detonates in the Woods, IWM – Darya Tsymbalyuk , October 2022 Darya’s f undraising for Ukraine Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
How is mining in Sweden affecting Indigenous Saami communities? 23:25

5 weeks ago23:25

23:25

In 2022, the Swedish government granted an exploitation concession to Jokkmokk Iron Mines AB — a subsidiary of British company named Beowulf Mining — to develop an open-pit iron mine in Northern Sweden. The decision has been opposed by both Indigenous and environmental activists, who have expressed concerns about the mine’s impacts on Saami communities and the surrounding ecology. Bertie speaks to Tor Tuorda about the long history of extraction and exploitation in the region, the erasure of Saami culture, and resistance from Indigenous and environmental activists. Tor Tuorda is a nature photographer and Indigenous campaigner based in Jokkmokk. He is a long-time opponent of the Kallak mine, and a prominent voice in Saami activism. Audio engineering by Vasko Kostovski. Further reading: Read Tor's blog here [Swedish] ' EU’s raw materials plan an attack on Indigenous land and culture, says Saami Council ', The Barents Observer, April 2025 ' Swedish Court gives green light to controversial mining plans in Kallak ', The Barents Observer, June 2024 ' ‘The Klondike of ore mining’: Fighting for the Sami way of life ', Al Jazeera, 2019 Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
Have monopolies broken agricultural markets? 35:23

7 weeks ago35:23

35:23

Nearly half of the global agriculture market is controlled by four companies. This level of concentration - driven by decades of mergers and poor regulation - has allowed agribusiness “titans” to dominate the farming sector. Alasdair talks to Dr Jennifer Clapp, author of a new book about corporate domination of the farm sector and why it matters. Alasdair and Jennifer discuss how and why mass-merging has led to market distortions and high prices, and what solutions could improve the state of the sector. Dr. Jennifer Clapp is a Professor at the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo, Canada. She is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems and the Scientific Advisory Committee of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub. Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
Why are foreign companies suing governments that decarbonise? 24:54

9 weeks ago24:54

24:54

It is becoming common for the fossil fuel industry to sue governments that attempt to decarbonise over “lost future profits.” They do so via an obscure part of international law called international-state dispute settlements (ISDS) that can allow them to extract billions in public money. Alasdair speaks to Eunjung Lee, a senior policy advisor at think tank E3G. The two discuss how ISDS began, how the international treaties came to being predatory, and what measures countries should take to prevent the exploitation of the claims. Eunjung Lee is a senior policy advisor at think tank E3G and is the lead investigator of international investment governance. She previously served as a South Korean diplomat and has worked in the Korean embassy in London. Further reading: Investment treaties are undermining the global energy transition - E3G The climate crisis requires a new approach to international investment treaties - E3G The Energy Charter Treaty remains the most dangerous investment treaty to the energy transition - E3G Clean investments shun Investor-State Dispute Settlements - E3G Investor-state disputes threaten the global green energy transition | Science “Shocking and sad”: how corporations use investment agreements to block decarbonisation in the Global South - Land and Climate Review How Exxon is using international law to sue the Dutch government Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
What does space privatisation mean for climate? 30:44

11 weeks ago30:44

30:44

With India kicking off 2025 with an historic space-docking experiment, and Elon Musk's growing power in the US government raising questions over the future of his spacecraft and satellite companies SpaceX and Starlink, we may be at the dawn of a new era for space exploration. Unlike the 20th Century Space Race, however, it will likely be private companies that cross new mildstones - not public agencies. But who will regulate mining on the moon and tourism in space, and what are the environmental implications? Bertie talks about these issues with D. Raghunandan, Director of the Delhi Science Forum, as well as discussing the positive contributions of the space sector towards climate and environmental science. Further reading: ' Indian Space Sector on a High This Year ', News Click, February 2025 ' Mining the moon for minerals could be worth billions, but astronomers warn it's bad news for science ', Business Insider, February 2025 ' India File: Jostling for position in the space race ', Reuters, January 2025 ' How Elon Musk’s partnership with Trump could shape science in the US — and beyond ', Nature, December 2024 ' Donald Trump’s approach to US space policy could throw up some surprises, especially with Elon Musk on board ', Durham University, November 2024 ' The dark side of SpaceX’s flight of innovation ', People's Dispatch, November 2023 Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
Why has the US government profiled pesticide scientists? 25:22

13 weeks ago25:22

25:22

Alasdair speaks to journalist Margot Gibbs about her investigation into a US government-funded PR firm that profiled pesticide scientists. Last autumn, Lighthouse Reports - in collaboration with media partners across Europe - published an investigation into v-Fluence, a US-based PR firm that worked to discredit anti-pesticide scientists and campaigners. Alasdair speaks to Margot Gibbs, a journalist who led the investigation, about its findings and what it reveals about the agro-chemicals lobby. Margot Gibbs is an investigative reporter at Lighthouse Reports focusing on money trails and food systems reporting. Before joining Lighthouse she was a reporter for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and Finance Uncovered. Audio engineering by Vasko Kostovski. Further reading: ' US-funded ‘social network’ attacking pesticide critics shuts down after Guardian investigation ', The Guardian, February 2025 ' Poison PR ' , Lighthouse Reports, September 2024 ' How the US agrochemical lobby is meddling in the future of Kenyan farming ', The New Humanitarian , September 2024 ' Secret files suggest chemical giant feared weedkiller’s link to Parkinson’s disease ', The Guardian , October 2022 ' "Monsanto papers": the pesticide giant's war against science ', Le Monde , June 2017 Merchants of Doubt , Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, 2010 Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
What is the future for Ukraine's energy sector? 25:35

15 weeks ago25:35

25:35

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 shocked global energy markets, and changed the EU's long and short-term plans for decarbonisation. But how have three years of conflict changed Ukraine's own policies and plans around energy security and net zero? Bertie discusses this issue with Ukrainian economist Maksym Chepeliev, Research Assistant Professor at the Center for Global Trade Analysis, Purdue University, USA. Read Professor Chepeliev's research: ' Net-Zero Transition in Ukraine: Implications for Sustainable Development Goal 7 ', Aligning the Energy Transition with the Sustainable Development Goals, 2024 ' Can Ukraine go “green” on the post-war recovery path? ', Joule, 2023 ' What is the future of nuclear power in Ukraine? The role of war, techno-economic drivers, and safety considerations ', Energy Policy, 2023 ' The role of bioenergy in Ukraine's climate mitigation policy by 2050 ', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2021 See our previous episodes on : nuclear power and net-zero , in which we discuss security concerns about Zaporizhzhia military emissions , in which we discuss the carbon cost of the Russia-Ukraine War the future of Russian oil , from 2022 Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
Is the clampdown on climate protest a threat to democracy? 25:12

17 weeks ago25:12

25:12

In a recently published report, “Criminalisation and Repression of Climate and Environmental Protests”, Dr. Oscar Berglund and his colleagues identified four key mechanisms through which climate and environmental protests are repressed: the introduction of new anti-protest laws, the broadening use of existing legislation, excessive policing and killings and disappearances of activists. Alasdair and Oscar discuss the findings of the report and the ways in which the clampdown on climate protest represents a threat to both democracy and net zero targets. Oscar Berglund is Senior Lecturer in International Public and Social Policy in the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol. He is an expert on climate change activism and civil disobedience. Audio engineering by Vasko Kostovski. Further reading: Criminalisation and Repression of Climate and Environmental Protests , University of Bristol , 2024 Civic Activism in an Intensifying Climate Crisis , Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , 2024 Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action , Columbia University Press , 2024 Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
Is climate crisis really an economic threat? 22:47

22 weeks ago22:47

22:47

“The capitalist system is necessarily built on creating ecological crises.” Bertie speaks to Ståle Holgersen about his new book Against the Crisis: Economy and Ecology in a Burning World , in which he argues that, contrary to popular economic thought, economic crises are not triggered by ecological ones but instead the capitalist economy benefits from ecological crises. Bertie and Ståle discuss the ways in which crises are defined, the drawbacks to arguments for degrowth and the potential solutions to the climate emergency. Ståle Holgersen is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at Stockholm University and a member of the Zetkin Collective, an ecosocialist group of scholars and activists primarily working on the political ecologies of the far right. Against the Crisis was published last month and is available to buy from Verso here . Further reading: Read an extract from Against the Crisis on Land and Climate Review. White Skin, Black Fuel: On the Danger of Fossil Fascism , The Zetkin Collective , 2021 Searching for “Solutions” to Crisis: A Critique of Urban Austerity and Keynesianism , Uppsala University , 2018 Destroy what destroys the planet: Steering creative destruction in the dual crisis , Uppsala University , 2016 Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
How transparent are the new Indonesian President's business interests? 17:56

24 weeks ago17:56

17:56

One month ago, Prabowo Subianto was inaugurated as the new president of Indonesia. An investigation by The Gecko Project has revealed that Subianto has invested in or owned companies involved with rainforest logging, coal mining, palm oil production, and industrial fishing - but many of the companies appear to be inactive. Do these investments representing potentially concerning conflicts of interest, or are they par for the course? Are his own claims of enormous wealth accurate or exaggerated? Alasdair speaks to the author of the Gecko Project research, Margareth Aritonang, who is also the Pulitzer Center's 2024 Rainforest Investigations Fellow for Indonesia. Further reading: Read Margareth's reporting here . ' Activists fear supercharged ‘business as usual’ under Indonesia’s new president ', Mongabay , November 2024 The ' Indonesian environmental activists keep dying in suspicious circumstances ', Gecko Project, September 2024 Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
How we uncovered pollution in the biomass industry 29:44

26 weeks ago29:44

29:44

This year, Land and Climate Review’ s first investigative series has documented more than 11,000 breaches of environmental law at North American wood pellet mills. Alasdair MacEwen speaks to Camille Corcoran, whose recent reporting was published with The Times in the UK, and Bertie Harrison-Broninski, who normally co-hosts with Alasdair, but here discusses Land and Climate Review ’s Canadian investigations, which were featured on BBC Newsnight . They discuss the process of uncovering environmental violations at wood pellet mills owned by Drax Group, which operates the UK’s largest power station, and how residents in Mississippi and British Columbia say they have been affected by the pollution from the mills. Audio engineering by Vasko Kostovski and Podcast House. Read the investigations: ‘ Drax-owned facilities broke environmental rules more than 11,000 times in the US ’, Land and Climate Review, November 2024 ‘ The Dirty Business of Clean Energy: The U.K. Power Company Polluting Small Towns Across the U.S.’ , The Intercept, September 2024 ‘ Drax’s pellet mills violated environmental law 189 times in Canada ’, Land and Climate Review, May 2024 ‘ Drax faces penalty after Canadian biomass plant fails to submit pollution report ’, The Independent, October 2023 Related episodes: Are Canada’s sustainable forestry claims accurate? - with Richard Robertson from Stand.Earth Does bioenergy increase CO2 emissions more than burning coal? - with John Sterman from MIT What is BECCS and what does it mean for climate policy? - with Daniel Quiggin from Chatham House Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
How is Colombia’s sugar cane industry harming Black communities? 21:45

28 weeks ago21:45

21:45

As the UN Biodiversity Conference draws to a close Bertie speaks to María Arango, a lawyer at the international human rights organization Forest People’s Programme, about the impacts of the sugar cane industry on Black communities in the Cauca River Valley region of western Colombia. A new report titled The Green Illusion finds that more than 80% of the region’s wetlands have been drained in order to plant sugar cane, resulting in Afro-descendant peoples being displaced from their ancestral lands and stripped of vital resources. Bertie and María discuss the report’s findings and how international summits such as COP16 present key opportunities to protect the rights of Indigenous people that live in biodiversity hotspots. Further reading: Read the full report: The Green Illusion: Impacts of the Sugar Cane Monoculture on the Biodiversity and Livelihoods of the Black People in the Cauca River Valley , October 2024 The Green Monster: Human Rights Impacts of the Sugarcane Industry on Black Communities in Colombia , June 2021 ' Colombia’s cane industry efficient but potentially damaging ', Mongabay , March 2017 Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
Is biomass power risking tropical deforestation? 17:08

30 weeks ago17:08

17:08

“In 2022, Indonesia only consumed about 70,000 tonnes of wood for electricity. In 2023, we consumed almost half a million.” Alasdair speaks to Timer Manurung, Chairman of the Indonesian NGO Auriga Nusantara, about a new report he worked on with five other environmental charities. Titled Unheeded Warnings , the report warns that the Indonesian government’s plans for biomass power risk harming 10 million hectares of untouched primary forest, and "the deforestation of an area roughly 35 times the size of Jakarta — resulting in CO2 emissions almost five hundred times higher than current levels.” Alasdair and Timer discuss the investigation process, the scale of these potential impacts, and the Indonesian Government. To see photos from Timer's investigation, click here . Further reading: Read the full report, which includes maps outlining the threatened and logged forest areas: Unheeded Warnings: Forest Biomass Threats to Tropical Forests in Indonesia and Southeast Asia , Auriga Nusantara, October 2024 ' Rush to Burn Wood for Energy Threatens Indonesian and Southeast Asian Forests & Communities ', Auriga Nusantara, October 2024 ' The President's new clothes ', The Gecko Project, October 2024 Bioenergy Explained , Land and Climate Review, 2022 Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.…

The Land & Climate Podcast

1
How is climate crisis changing the US military? 22:32

32 weeks ago22:32