
Show Notes
What if one of the most powerful climate solutions wasn’t something we needed to build, but something the Earth has been doing for billions of years?
In this episode, Steph Speirs sits down with Dr. Noah Planavsky, a geochemist at Yale University and one of the world’s experts on enhanced rock weathering. They explore how crushing silicate rocks like basalt and spreading them on farmland can accelerate a natural process that pulls CO₂ from the atmosphere and locks it in the ocean for thousands of years. All this both improves soil health and boosts crop yields.
Dr. Planavsky breaks down the science, explains why farmers already understand soil chemistry better than most academics, and makes the case that carbon removal should benefit the communities where it operates. He shares his choice to co-found two carbon removal companies and then walk away from any financial stake so he could advocate for transparency and sound science.
More from Future in Bloom
What can a close encounter with a nine-foot shark teach us about business, community, and the future?
Right now, humanity puts billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. This has real, negative impacts on environmental and human health. Clean energy and the updated infrastructure that it demands are steps towards a healthier future. If that’s well known, why aren’t we building more?
In the past 50 years, the cost of generating solar power has dropped by 99%. That’s largely due to economics: when more solar generators get made, the cheaper it is to make more. This isn’t unique to solar power; in the right circumstances and with enough time, these economics play out with many new technologies. But the climate crisis is here, now, so how much longer can we wait?
Most Americans support solar. Most are interested in it. But most people can’t afford it because of cost. And 63% of renters say the only reason they don’t have it is that they’d have to go through their landlord. Balcony solar, also called plug-in solar, is solving both of those problems.
Supply chains are made up of thousands of interconnected pieces, each with their own customers, suppliers, and responsibilities. In a global economy, how can any one company, let alone one person, understand where a product is really coming from?