Sustainababble

A new band of young Americans is organising to get the planet out of a death spiral and give decent jobs to people in the process. Hooray! The central demand - a 'Green New Deal' - is as ambitious as anything Roosevelt came up with, and spearheaded by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a working class, socialist, woman of colour born in - gulp - 1989. Very much *not* Al Gore, in other words. We probe, ponder, and postulate this new phenomen, but mostly try not to get depressed about how everyone is so much younger than us these days. Also this week: Veganuary bringing out the bitter old man in Dave Iceland supermarket coming over all Inhofey American weather taking the piss Schoolchildren showing adults how to stop acting like children Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or

Caroline Lucas - CAROLINE LUCAS! -  is the UK's first and only Green MP, former party leader, former MEP, and pretty much the lone voice of sanity in any political debate. Oh and she got nicked for protesting fracking. And she wore a "No More Page Three" t-shirt in Parliament. And she pwned Jacob Rees-Mogg in a recent brexit debate. We're quite big fans. As another year of enviro-catastrophe draws to a close, Caroline chats exclusively to the Babble about trying to get shit done in Parliament, why there aren't more Green politicians around, what she thinks of Extinction Rebellion and why she remains positive, despite it all. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustain

Deck the halls with boughs of Ollie! (And Dave). It's this year's Xmas Xtravaganza, and as always our sacks are bulging with ripest sustainababble. Turns out Baby Ol isn't getting any presents this year - particularly not bath salts. Whyever not? And can Ol remember anything about 2018 at all? We find out. All this, and we find time to dole out our Inhofe of the Year award, and splatter Cuadrilla's melons. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

For the past 4 years Molly has been a Member of the European Parliament, from where she's championed all sorts of planet-saving causes. Now heavily involved in Extinction Rebellion, she's simulteneously breaking and making the law. We chat to Molly about protest, the gillets jaunes, hope and of course squeeze in some pointy-headed green economics chat. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

Occasionally on fire and forever associated with the word "bog", peat is many things to many people. Gardeners guiltily sprinkle it on petunias, while tweedy gun people gad about on it shooting grouses in the face. To the boss of Heathrow, however, it's the answer to all those knotty questions about carbon emissions, and to Michael Gove it's the inspiration for an outrageously smutty speech. Oh for peat's sake. We dig around to uncover why rotting plants are suddenly so important for the climate. Also this week, more planet-saving heroism from young people. Christ knows we need it. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

It's ten years since the UK passed a law compelling politicians to save the planet from a fiery death. Given recent news, you'd be forgiven for thinking that law - the Climate Change Act - has all the potency of a eunuch. But is that fair? Was the point of the law really to immediately fix climate change? If not, what was it? And how come Ol thinks it's spiffing and brilliant and marvellous given, y'know, everything? Also this week, we visit Poland (figuratively) for some splendid babble ahead of the latest international climate shindig, and get momentarily confused about Lego. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

Climate protest has a new headline act, and its name is Extinction Rebellion. Seemingly from nowhere, ER is gathering attention and supporters at breakneck speed, and is unusually straightforward about the state we're in. Hanging a 'CLIMATE CHANGE - WE'RE F*CKED' banner off Westminster bridge kinda straightforward. Far more interesting than its sweariness though is the movement's focus on civil disobedience. 'Join us, and be prepared to get nicked' seems to be the recruitment mantra, and it's working. Thousands of people are showing up, hundreds have now been arrested. Best of all Jim Davidson is cross. So will it work? Who's it trying to appeal to? What will happen next? Are these details even important when people are - not a minute too soon - getting seriously aggy about the planet? Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iT

We hate to PLUG ourselves but in our opinion this is one of the best TORQUEs we've ever had: a GRIPping and wide-RANGEing chat about cars what run on batteries, not oil. While electric cars aren't a new thing, them not being a bit rubbish, frankly, is. But like a fizzling-out in the hard shoulder halfway to your in-laws, do electric cars still have a long way to go? We interview the brainily jocular James Murray - editor of whizzy website businessgreen.com - and ask: did your kids like hanging out in supermarket car parks all week? Does driving one make you feel like a berk? And is an electric car better than no car at all? We bring you all this, free of CHARGE. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Fac

There's every reason to be alarmed, but does it help? Does screaming from the rooftops about impending climate doom grab people's attention or make them switch channel? Does *not* sounding the alarm give a false impression that everything's kinda OK? It's a debate as old as the hills, but one reignited by everyone's favourite nonagenarian coming down decidedly on the "alarmism's a turn-off" side. Is he right? We discuss. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

Most people get it: blunting climate breakdown means ditching fossil fuels. Which is inconvenient for the men and women who dig up, drill, refine, ship, burn, market or otherwise earn their living from those fuels. People with mortgages and kids and bills to pay. Tree-huggers like us may think a low carbon economy sounds just spiffing, but for a lot of people it probably sounds a like a P45. What do to? Does Spain have the answer? We chew this all over, including what's meant by the - it turns out - entirely straightforwardly termed 'just transition'. Also this week: guff from the UK's finance minister, and monumentally catastrophic 'everything's dying' news from animal world. Lolz. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @theb

Work can be massively tedious. But would doing less of it - e.g. working 4 days rather than 5 - really be better for the planet? How would we pay the bills? And what would we do with all that extra time? We chat to Aidan Harper of the 4 Day Week campaign to find out. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

Beautiful Brazil looks set to elect a git. He goes by the name of Jair Bolsonaro and he is bad news for rainforests and those that live in them. We ask our Brazilian chum Fernanda Balata whether her country has gone totally nuts. Closer to home, we tear a strip off the Government's Green Great Britain (and Northern Ireland) week. Shame about the fracking, eh. And yet with one of the Big Six energy companies apparently ditching fossil fuels forever, we find to our surprise that our cynicism glands may be running dry. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

Climate scientists have piped up again! 2,000 international brainboxes report that the nitty gritty of *actually* doing what the world said it would do in Paris three years ago is, well, gritty. Very gritty. Like 12 years to avert irreversable climate catastrophe gritty. After a bruising few days taking stock of all this, Dave has a wobble and Ol - surprisingly - finds some glitter in which to roll this most monstrous of news turds. Warning: episode may contain FEELINGS. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. MERCH: sustainababble.teemill.com Available on iTunes, Spotify, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

As East India Youth, electronic musician William Doyle has been nominated for a Mercury music prize and travelled the world promoting two highly successful albums. But the physical and emotional stresses of his own touring led him to ask whether musicians and the industry at large in anyway faces up to its environmental impact, and how it might change. William joins us to discuss what can be done, why U2 aren't actually all that bad, and how ramming climate change down people's throats, muscially speaking, leaves a lot to be desired. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Available on iTunes, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

Poor little sods are in big trouble. We pick over the plight of our prickly pals and ask: whose fault is the demise of the hedgehog? What's Boycie from Only Fools and Horses got to do with it? And can Ol be trusted to look after a hedgehog in distress? We salute Chris Packham's march for wildlife and have a flick through his 200 things that should be done about it, and we find out what Auntie Beeb is planning to freak us out with next. All this, and putrid pig poo pots. Thanks to the BBC for the clip of Drowning in Plastic. It goes out on BBC One on Monday 1st October at 8.30pm and will be available to catch up on BBC iPlayer. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Available on iTunes, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

Vybarr is not only the most fabulously named babble guest we've had, but also the author of TWO incredible books about humans and our environment. His new book - Primate Change: How the world we made is remaking us - uncovers the extraordinary tale of how our environment has changed our bodies, from our eyes and teeth down to our toes, while 2017's Footnotes: How running makes us human reconnects us to our bodies and the places in which we live. We pick Vybarr's mega brain in a wide ranging chat, during which - as well as discovering how the treadmill killed Oscar Wilde - we learn that Dave is in fact no more than 25% Dave. And poo transplants get a mention. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Available on iTunes, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sust

There's a plan to make cold things hot - and hot things cold - using the lost rivers that wind under cities like London. Sounds like magic? Is magic. SCIENCE MAGIC. Just how *do* we warm ourselves up in winter without knackering the planet? Or should we just put a few more jumpers on and shiver? And what on Earth have we found in this pub's basement? We investigate with Alice Bell from 10:10 and Louise Waters from Scene. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Available on iTunes, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

Trump Baby will fly! Remarkably, permission has been granted for a 6 metre inflatable, nappy-wearing, perma-tweeting, orange skinned crying baby to fly above parliament when The Donald makes his controversial visit to blighty. As TB prepares for lift off, the babble bags an exclusive chat with one of its creators, friend of the babble, Leo Murray. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Available on iTunes, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

Solar boomed in the UK a few years back, but now hardly any of it's going up. Which seems a shame what with this INFERNAL sunny weather. What's happened? Why are we stalling just as other countries go nuts for the most popular green technology? And where the hell are our solar powered flying cars, like we were promised? Never ones to pass up a cheese stick and some OJ, we crashed the Solar Trade Association's 40th birthday shindig to nobble some proseccoed solar-y types and find out whether the future really is bright. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Available on iTunes, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.

More and more people on Earth = nailed-on environmental catastrophe. Yes? We talk to Alistair Currie from Population Matters to find out. Dashedly thorny issue, this. Isn't the real issue how much of a mess rich people are making of the planet, not how many poor people there are? Is talking about population inherently racist? And short of nuclear war, what could anyone nice realistically hope to be done about it anyway? In our candid chat, Alistair takes all of that - and more - head on. Sustainababble is your friendly environment podcast, out weekly. Theme music by the legendary Dicky Moore – @dickymoo. Sustainababble logo by the splendid Arthur Stovell. Available on iTunes, Acast, Soundcloud & all those types of things, or at sustainababble.fish. Visit us at @thebabblewagon and at Facebook.com/sustainababble. Email us at hello@sustainababble.fish.