Show Notes
Rhett Butler is an award-winning journalist whose reporting is actively saving rainforests. I met him at a climate conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, and immediately felt pulled to the sense of hope and action that exists in his work as the founder and CEO of Mongabay—a non-profit Conservation & Environmental Science news platform that has been raising human awareness of both wild lands and wildlife for 20+ years. “I didn’t have a big vision,” he said. “I just achieved little things along the way. Then you wake up 20 years later and…” I jumped in to finish his sentence because Rhett is humble, but his work is not. The power of the information he’s gathered has impacted the livelihood of our planet in profound ways. His platform, Mongabay, is special for so many reasons, but one, in particular, is that it allows other outlets to use its information, its storytelling, research, data, science, all for free—and, in that act, Mongabay has successfully aided in the preservation of precious ecosystems and changed the very fate of our planet more than once.
This episode is a double-triple listen in that it gives us tangible mental health tools that can actively turn our climate despair into the hope we need to create planet-saving action. It’s also a visual listen. We get to see inside the very real threat environmental defenders, like Rhett and his team, experience globally. You’ll hear stories that will make the hair on your forearms spiderweb all the way up, with visuals that take you into the environments he protects and then back with information to armor you for the fight of preserving our existence here on Earth.
We get real on the issues and talk misinformation (the WHY and the WHO) and then dig into what each of us can do to level up our information intake in a way that protects us all from mistruths. We get all of this alongside the very real hope that rises up when we dedicate ourselves to local acts of change. And if you know me, if you know this show, you know one thing: solutions are my love language. Let’s go. WORKS: - founder and CEO of Mongabay—a non-profit Conservation & Environmental Science news platform… with over 20 years dedicated to raising awareness and appreciation for wild lands and wildlife - Editor-in-chief and CEO of Mongabay - founder, WildMadagascar.org, a site that highlights the spectacular cultural and biological richness of Madagascar and reports on environmental news for the Indian Ocean island nation - co-founder of Tropical Conservation Science (acquired by SAGE Publications in August 2016), an open-access academic journal that aims to provide opportunities for scientists in developing countries to publish their research - co-founder, Tropical Forest Network, a social network in the San Francisco Bay Area broadly interested in tropical forest conservation and ecology - information source for The Economist, BBC, CNN, CBS, NBC, Fox News, National Geographic, the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, Business Week, Bloomberg, the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Reuters, Voice of America, the Associated Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the L.A. Times, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Forbes, among many other media outlets TOOLS: - Tips to support your mental health in the face of climate despair - Critical thinking tools that help us understand how we’ve been misinformed and why - Insight into how corporations purposefully intend to mislead us for their capital gain - Awareness of the very real threats that journalists and advocates defending nature experience - Insights into what drives global change (and what local action to take) - Stories to inspire sustained action
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: BETTER is recorded on the unceded and ancestral territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and has been stewarded by them since time immemorial.
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More from BETTER presents: Make Food Food Again
Where is this season going? Into the systems that shape how food gets grown, made, shared, and accessed, and toward the possibility of making them work better for everyone. We are setting out to demystify the food system: how it works, who it serves, who gets left out, and how people can help change it. Drawing on decades of experience in restaurants, farms, and community food programs, he’ll make big ideas around food access, agriculture, and food justice clearer, more practical, and easier to act on. Because the systems we live with were built by people, and people can build them better. This season is a guide to understanding what’s possible when we work together to make good food and care more accessible to all. East Coast Credit Union is proud to support Better because we believe meaningful change starts with asking the right questions and challenging the way things have always been done. As Mark Brand explores the systems that shape our lives and meets the people working to improve them, we see a natural connection to our own purpose: using banking as a force for good to improve financial wellbeing, strengthen communities and help people thrive. When our members and communities thrive, we all do. Learn more about how East Coast Credit Union is challenging the status quo of traditional banking and showing how business and banking can be a force for good: eastcoastcu.ca
In Season 4, Make Food Food Again, Mark takes a deeper look at the systems that determine how we feed ourselves, who benefits, who gets left behind, and what needs to change. Through powerful human stories, investigative documentaries, and accessible explainers, BETTER explores the connections between food, health, labour, land, power, and dignity. From food banks and grocery giants to the people growing, preparing, and relying on our food, Mark asks difficult questions, challenges familiar narratives, and explores practical solutions. Because building a better world starts with understanding the one we've created. East Coast Credit Union is proud to support Better because we believe meaningful change starts with asking the right questions and challenging the way things have always been done. As Mark Brand explores the systems that shape our lives and meets the people working to improve them, we see a natural connection to our own purpose: using banking as a force for good to improve financial wellbeing, strengthen communities and help people thrive. When our members and communities thrive, we all do. Learn more about how East Coast Credit Union is challenging the status quo of traditional banking and showing how business and banking can be a force for good: eastcoastcu.ca
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