It’s little surprise that the foods we eat impact our environment. Whether it be high food miles, large amounts of water or chemicals used to produce the food, land degradation caused by food production, or resources used to process and package the food and transport it to market, the choices we make when it comes to our diet can make a lasting impact on the world in which we live.

The good news is that by making a few small changes to our diet and including more plant-based foods, we not only improve the health of the environment, we improve our own health at the same time!

In this podcast episode I share 5 ways to increase your intake of plant-based foods.

I hope you enjoyed the previous two episodes where I chatted biodiversity and climate change with Professor Bill Laurance from James Cook University.

Discussing the big issues always helps to reignite our passion and remind us just why we’re on this journey together.

But I also realise that hearing the big issues can throw some of us into overwhelm. So today I want to share with you my thoughts on conservation and the four key areas we need to consider when striving to live more sustainably.

It’s my hope and intention that sharing the four C’s of conservation will help bring you back to the basics during those times when you might feel a little overwhelmed on your eco journey.

Welcome to the second piece of my two-part series on the State of the Environment chat with Professor William Laurance from James Cook University.

Last week in Part 1 we discussed Biodiversity and why it is so important. Today we’re chatting about climate change and will cover:

• What climate change is.
• The impact for life as we currently know it.
• What changes we can expect to see in the next 10-50 years.
• The main factors driving the change in our climate.
• What needs to happen to halt or slow the current rates of climate change.

This is another meaty article but one that is so important given that climate change is really changing life as we know it. It’s important that we get this knowledge out of our Universities and science institutions and into the general community so that we can all know as much as possible about the topic, and feel empowered to do something to address it.

Given that we are so close to the start of a new year, over the next couple of weeks on the podcast I wanted to stop and have a look at how our global, regional, and local environments are tracking along.

Today and next week, I’m lucky to be chatting with Professor William Laurance. He is a distinguished research professor and Australian Laureate at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia. A tropical conservation biologist, he has written eight books and over 450 scientific and popular articles. He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences and has received many professional honors, including the Heineken Environment Prize. He is director of the Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science at James Cook University, and founded and directs ALERT—the Alliance of Leading Environmental Researchers & Thinkers—a global conservation-advocacy group that reaches over 250,000 readers each week. He is also a four-time winner of Australia’s Best Science Writing Prize.

The topic of today’s chat is Biodiversity. Many articles and media over the last few years have reported that the Earth is facing a Mass Extinction event on a scale similar to that which wiped out the dinosaurs. It’s been termed the Sixth Mass Extinction event and is really quite scary for life as we know it on Earth.

In today’s podcast Bill and I discuss: 

• What biodiversity is and why it’s important.
• What this Sixth Mass Extinction event means.
• The current rates and percentages of biodiversity loss
• Where Australia sits among the rest of the world on the issue of biodiversity.
• What needs to happen to halt, or slow the current rates of biodiversity loss worldwide.

This is a really meaty episode but I’m excited and proud of that. I don’t like to shy away from the big issues on this podcast which is why I’ve invited Bill to come on and share his insights and knowledge on the topic of biodiversity.

Well holiday season is in full swing in Australia, which means that many of us are taking a break from everyday life to rejuvenate ourselves, catch up with family or friends, or just to relax and have fun.

While a break from everyday life is welcomed and to be encouraged, leaving your eco habits at home isn’t.

Regardless of whether you choose to stay in the most luxurious eco resort or sleep in your own tent in the wilderness, low impact holidays are more about HOW you behave on your holidays rather than where you stay or what you do.

In this podcast episode I share 14 of my best tips to eco-fy your holiday.