Planet: Critical Folgen

We can’t harm the planet without harming ourselves.Plastic. It’s ubiquitous. We are now learning it’s also insidious. Plastic is linked to numerous serious health conditions, from cancers to heart disease. It’s changing our DNA—and now babies are being born pre-polluted.Jane van Dis is a medical doctor, academic and co-founder of ObGyns For Sustainable Future within Healthcare Without Harm. She joins me to explain the myriad impacts of plastic on the body, the collusion she has investigated between the petrochemical industry and government, how the fossil fuel industry got society hooked on the stuff, and the medical industry’s own plastic pollution problem. This is a jaw-dropping episode, exemplary both of the systems of harm we are forced to live in, and how civic advocacy begins when we take care of one another. For Jane, her journey began when she asked the question: Why are my patients getting sicker?Planet: Critical is 100% independent and community-powered. If you value it, and have the means, become a paid subscriber today! Get full access to Planet: Critical at www.planetcritical.com/subscribe

What happens when an industry regulates itself?Bad science, opaque methodologies, incorrect conclusions—and few questions asked. The fashion industry has spent over 10 years drafting sustainability guidelines under the guise of independent analysis which protect brands’ bottom lines. Thanks to an elaborate network of organisations, think tanks and funders, these guidelines have even made their into Law around the world. The problem? They’re unscientific. Veronica Bates Kassatly is an economist and sustainable fashion consultant I met whilst investigating this story in 2022. Despite the extent of fashion’s greenwashing making international headlines years ago, little has come on since, as Veronica explains in the episode. We discuss the manipulation of sustainability metrics by the fashion industry to promote polyester fibre as sustainable, the deficiencies in current methodologies, and the impact of EU regulations on global trade, particularly for producers in the Global South. The episode highlights the interplay of economics, legislation, and industry incentives in perpetuating unsustainable practices, urging for inclusive discussions and genuine sustainability measures.Planet: Critical is 100% independent and community-powered. If you value it, and have the means, become a paid subscriber today! Get full access to Planet: Critical at www.planetcritical.com/subscribe

What happens when economics takes precedence over thermodynamics?Eventually, the system collapses—because being incompatible with thermodynamics is impossible. That’s the stark message of this week’s guest, Louis Arnoux, a scientist, engineer and managing director of Fourth Transition, who has been working on this problem for decades. Louis and his team’s research point to our energy systems collapsing by 2030 because we’re having to spend more energy than ever before to extract fuel. Soon, the energy cost of extraction will equal the energy benefit. Such an equilibrium is, in his words, a dead state. In the episode, Louis gives a phenomenal overview of the three thermodynamic traps human civilisation is caught in, including how decarbonising to renewables is exacerbating the thermodynamic problem. He explains how our current energy systems work antithetically to the sun and the planet, including the waste problem, before highlighting the role of economics in the creation of an impossible system. He then explains what a possible energy system could look like with the technology we have available, and how we can engineer that system to mimic the efficiency and productivity of life on the planet. Planet: Critical is 100% independent and community-powered. If you value it, and have the means, become a paid subscriber today! Get full access to Planet: Critical at www.planetcritical.com/subscribe