Sustainable Brown Girl

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Taylor Scott, the creator of Sweet Honey Thrift, a secondhand online boutique. Through reselling her thrifted finds, Taylor is helping others quit fast fashion and diverting textile waste from being dumped on other countries.

We talk about:

- why Taylor started Sweet Honey Thrift
- the role resellers play in sustainable fashion
- addressing the question of ethics in reselling
- Taylor's process of shopping to resell 

Support Taylor here:

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Anuella Alexandre, also known as @thegreengoddessdiary on Instagram where she shares tips for plant parents and new gardeners. Anuella is also the founder of A Green Community, where she aims to connect families and children to nature.

- how Anuella's sustainable journey began
- her mission with A Green Community
- how to introduce kids to gardening

Support Anuella:

Finding planet-forward platforms that share good news and inspiring stories about folks making positive impacts on the planet has not always been an easy feat. But today’s guest has created a space that fills this need.

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Reza Cristián, founder and editor-in-chief of SUSTAIN, an online sustainable publication focused on creating a diverse and inclusive space for people who are eco-conscious. Through SUSTAIN, Reza and her team inspire us to give a damn, and cheers us on as we make our first baby steps into this world of sustainability.

We talk about:
- what led Reza to start SUSTAIN + who it's for
- how sustainability in media has shifted since SUSTAIN was started
- recent SXSW experience
- future plans for SUSTAIN

Knowing the ingredients that are in beauty products is becoming more and more important to consumers. Today’s guest has created a platform that makes it easy to learn about what goes into our favorite products and helps us to make more sustainable choices. 

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Sabrina Noorani, founder of ClearForMe, a platform that is taking steps to educate users on beauty product ingredients to ultimately make more sustainable decisions when it comes to which products they purchase. 

We talk about: 

- how Sabrina’s sustainable journey began 

- what led her to start ClearForMe 

- laws on product regulations that hold brands accountable for claims 

- signs to look out for when navigating the beauty aisle 

- ways to have a sustainable skin routine & best products to incorporate 

- thoughts on DIY skincare products

Support Sabrina here:

After a two-and-a-half-year battle with kidney cancer, my mom passed away a few days ago. It only felt right to dedicate an episode of the Sustainable Brown Girl podcast to the woman who inspired and fostered my love for the planet and people. 

Taking care of our skin should be a top priority - just as we only have one planet, we only have one body, so it’s important to take care of it. Our guest today is sharing tips on how to have a sustainable skincare routine as well as incorporating full-body wellness into your routine.  

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Emani Mone, a third-generation beauty professional on a mission to provide quality vegan-friendly skincare and curated full-body wellness experiences. At Beauty Strike, based in Brooklyn, NY, Emani and her team are creating space for women of color in the beauty and wellness industry.  

We talk about:

- how Emani's sustainable journey began

- what led her to start Beauty Strike

- ways to have a sustainable skin routine & best products to incorporate

- thoughts on DIY skincare

As people who are conscious of how the choices we make impact the planet, we are probably also conscious about the brands we support and buy from. It can be difficult to know who's the real deal and who's not, which is why businesses like Sancho's exists.   

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Kalkidan Legesse, the Ethiopian woman owner of Sancho's, a sustainable fashion & ethical gift department shop based in the UK. Sancho's mission is to make it easy for shoppers to prioritise people and the planet by curating the best sustainable fashion brands and putting them under one roof. 

We talk about: 

- how Kalkidan's sustainable journey began 

- what led her to start Sancho's 

- how they select sustainable brands to stock 

- how Sancho's is addressing fashion circularity  

We all are on our own sustainable journeys but it's great to learn how other people are approaching sustainability. And seeing how people live sustainably in real life can be inspiring. Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Addie Fisher,  the woman behind the Old World New blog. Addie is a sustainable living enthusiast and a thrift fashion lover. On her blog and Instagram, Addie shares sustainable living tips and encourages her audience to slow down and live more intentionally.

We talk about:

- why Addie started Old World New blog

- favorite thrift finds

- tips for living sustainably on a budget

- experience as a sustainable parent

- tips for budding eco-influencers

It’s no secret that I’m not vegan, but as a former vegan, I surely believe that we should limit our meat intake for the health of our bodies and the planet. Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Monique Koch, also known as Brown Vegan on YouTube, Instagram, her blog, and podcast. Through her platform, Monique shares family & beginner-friendly vegan tips and recipes for folks who say they could never go vegan.  We’ll talk about tips on going vegan, why representation within the vegan community is important, and how to deal with family & friends who question your veganism.

Check out our NEW MERCH! Pre-orders open until June 24, so don't miss out!

It’s the sustainable brown girl podcast 2 year anniversary! In this episode we’re going to take a walk down memory lane to see how far Sustainable Brown Girl has come in the past two years, we’re going to hear updates from a few past guests, we’ll talk about the future of this platform, and I’ll finally answer the question that I’ve been asking guests for the past year - what being a sustainable brown girl means to me.

Check out our NEW MERCH! Pre-orders open until June 24, so don't miss out!

It was such an honor to be able to sit down with today's featured Sustainable Brown Gir,l Dominique Drakeford. She's an environmental educator, community advocate, and sustainable style influencer. Dominique works at the intersections of sustainability and style to heal our relationship to the Earth and spark equitable change for economic wellbeing while simultaneously celebrating her Blackness.

In this podcast episode, we talk about:

- how Dominque's sustainable journey began

- the creative & business project Dominique is working on

- how Dominique uses fashion as a form of activism

- what being a mother has taught Dominique about sustainability 

Support Dominique:

To be more sustainable, we often strive to reduce the amount of waste that we are creating and bringing into our homes. In this episode, we’re talking with The Afrominimalist about how minimalism relates to sustainability, how to get rid of things that no longer serve you, and  how African American history and how that has shaped our beliefs with consumerism.  

Today's featured sustainable Brown Girl is Christine Platt, author of The Afrominimalist's Guide to Living with Less, a radical re-envisioning of minimalism that focuses on authenticity over aesthetics. Christine's book is a resource anyone seeking to discover the truth behind their overconsumption as well as how to let go of what no longer serves them. 

 I would highly recommend that you read Christine's book. If you're an audiobook person, check out Libro.fm - a platform that allows you to buy audiobooks from local bookstores in the US and Canada. Click the link below to sign up and use code SBG for a free audiobook with a new membership (*affiliate link).  

Sign up for Libro.fm: https://tidd.ly/35m6CnA 

The youth are truly leading the climate discussion. From Fridays for Future, that’s led by Greta Thunberg to The Sunrise Movement, a youth-led political action organization focused on stopping climate change. It’s no doubt that Gen Z is fully invested in taking action in the fight against climate change. As a tired millennial, it’s truly inspiring to see such vigor in today’s youth as they challenge politicians and corporations, holding them accountable for the harm that they’ve done to the planet. And in addition to that, Gen Z has also made great strides in bringing awareness to environmental and social injustices that have been tolerated for way too long. In this episode, we’re chatting with a college student who is inspiring her generation to get involved in climate action.

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Anya Sastry, a climate activist, filmmaker, and student. She produced a documentary titled Frontliners that highlights environmental injustice from the perspective of the less privileged. Anya is also the National Outreach Director for the US Youth Climate Strike and a contributor to the book  United We Are Unstoppable: 60 Inspiring Young People Saving Our World by Akshat Rathi.

In this episode, we talk about:

- Anya's role as National Outreach Director for the US Youth Climate Strike

- How young people can get involved with climate justice work

- Anya's film, Frontliners. and its exploration of the impacts of environmental injustice on marginalized communities

Watch Frontliners: http://anyasastry.com/frontliners/

Follow Anya on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anyasastry/

It’s wedding season! Apparently 80% of weddings take place between May and October. I’ve actually already been to two weddings this year, and I just celebrated my own 10 year wedding anniversary on Earth Day. So I’ve got love bugs in my eyes.   

But seriously, it’s been a long time since I got married but I know that weddings can get expensive and they can also be wasteful. In today’s episode, we’re talking about a MAJOR way to save money on a wedding dress while reducing your impact on the planet.   

Today’s featured sustainable brown girl, Lundyn Carter, the co-founder and CEO of Laine London, a first-of-it’s kind rental bridal shop in Atlanta. Lundyn and co-founder Tiffany have created a more cost-efficient and eco-friendly solution that allows brides to feel beautiful in the dress of their dreams on their big day.

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, Gaia by Blush, a line of sustainable vibrators. Enter the giveaway for a Gaia of your choice by following Sustainable Brown Girl on Instagram and commenting on our latest post about Gaia. For a bonus entry, leave a review for the podcast on Apple Podcasts and DM a screenshot to @sustainablebrowngirl on Instagram. Entry for the giveaway closes at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday May 4, and winner will be announced on Instagram on Thursday May 5.

This time of year during Earth Day/Week/Month, it's a great time to give thanks to Mother Earth. Rather than worrying about all of the negative Earth news, now is the perfect time to celebrate her beauty and all she does for us. Staying positive isn't always easy, but our guest today helps keep us inspired.

Today's featured Sustainable Brown Girl is Zahra Biabani, also known as Soulful Seeds on Instagram where she shares Weekly Earth Wins to highlight environmental good news around the world. Zahra is a recent Vanderbilt University graduate and founder of In the Loop, a clothing rental platform that makes sustainable fashion more accessible.

We talk about: 

- How Zahra started Weekly Earth Wins and how she stays motivated as climate optimist

- Her sustainable clothing rental brand, Rent in the Loop

- Greenwashing in the fashion industry

- How to make our wardrobes more sustainable

Support Zahra: 

When it’s time for businesses to remodel their offices, what happens to all of the old furniture and textiles? Usually they’re sent to a landfill to rot or be incinerated. Of course that’s not good for the planet. The goal is to create a circular economy where things that are no longer needed can be reused or recycled to be used in a new way or by a different person. That’s exactly what our guest today is facilitating with her business.

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is May Al-Karooni a Middle-Eastern woman living in the UK, and founder of Globechain, the biggest ESG reuse marketplace worldwide. On a mission to divert 100 million tonnes of waste from landfill by 2025, Globechain is helping businesses become leaders in circular economy through reuse.

In this episode we talk about:

- How Globechain is helping businesses divert waste

- Why a circular economy is important 

- How businesses can be more conscious about their waste

Support Globechain:

When we transition to a low waste lifestyle, we often look around our homes and see several areas that could use improvement; such as replacing disposable paper towels with reusables, trading disposables razors for a metal one, or trying beauty products with better ingredients and packaging. It can be overwhelming but it helps to remember that using and reusing what we have is the most sustainable option. When it's time to make the switch, do your research, take your time, and try to support small or woman of color owned businesses. 

Today's featured Sustainable Brown Girl is Alex Gamboa Grand, the co-founder of Way of Being, a low waste shop located in Portland, Oregon and online. By offering a variety of low waste products and guides, Way of Being is helping us be more intentional on our sustainable journeys.

We talk about:

• How Way of Being was started
• Why sustainable goods cost more
• Ways to transition to a low waste lifestyle
• Alex's favorite low waste products
• Successes and challenges as a sustainable business owner

Support Way of Being:

It's Global Recycling Day! I'm not sure how popular this "holiday" is, but I want to take this opportunity to share a conversation that I had on my local radio show with the director of Keep Newnan Beautiful - a local affiliate of Keep America Beautiful in my hometown of Newnan, GA. In this episode, I share a portion of the interview where we talk about recycling myths and local recycling tips. As you're listening to this, keep in mind that recycling protocol varies from city to city and state to state, so please research your local recycling guidelines. 

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Ushma Pandya, co-founder of Think Zero LLC, a consultancy offering waste reduction and diversion services to businesses and homes. Before the term "zero waste" was trendy, Ushma was raising awareness about consumption and waste with her schoolmates and work colleagues.  

Before we get into the interview with Ushma, let's discuss the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

Here's a great reference article breaking down the IPCC report: https://www.wri.org/insights/ipcc-report-2022-climate-impacts-adaptation-vulnerability

I’m sure we all love watching movies or binging our favorite shows, but have you ever thought about how much waste is produced on a production set?

After a production wraps, bulldozers plow through custom made sets, leaving half-empty plastic water bottles behind. Diesel generators power empty trailers, and tons of props go straight into dumpsters. Not to mention, hazardous chemicals being dumped who knows where.

The idea of sustainability is infiltrating nearly every industry, including the entertainment industry.

Today’s featured sustainable brown girl, Jennifer Sandoval, the Eco Supervisor for Earth Angel, a sustainable production service. Earth Angel works with tv & film production sets to develop sustainable practices that will reduce the environmental impact of the entertainment industry.

Within the sustainability community, we talk a lot about reduce the amount of things that we are consuming. Overconsumption has led to overfilled landfills, a depletion of natural resources,  and let’s admit it, credit card debt. Our guest today is Aja Barber, author of Consumed: The Need for Collective Change, Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism. I would quickly describe it as a call for change from consumers and corporations to think about how they buy and sell. I would really encourage you to read or listen to the book because it’s so much deeper than that. Aja talks about how Black American slaves were environmentalists and stewards of the earth, how colonialism has destroyed countries in the global south, and how we can shift our destructive habits as consumers.

I would highly recommend that you read Aja's book. If you're an audiobook person, check out Libro.fm - a platform that allows you to buy audiobooks from local bookstores in the US and Canada. Click the link below to sign up and use code SBG for a free audiobook with a new membership (*affiliate link). 

As a budding gardener myself, I realize how important it is to have representation in the horticultural space (as EVERY space needs adequate representation). Today's featured sustainable brown girl is doing exactly that with her podcast Black in the Garden. Colah B Tawkin is comedian, life-long nature lover, and host of the Black in the Garden podcast. Using her extensive horticultural knowledge, her endless love for Black people, and her keen ability to teach in a spirit of joy and kinship, she has built a village of Soil Cousins and is taking up space in the plant industry!

Watch the full interview with Colah on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vd13ba-8WMA

In this episode we talk about:

- How Colah's gardening journey began

- Why she started Black in the Garden

- Helping people get over their fears of gardening & crafty tips of keeping costs low

- Colah's new tree planting project - Underground Arborist

- Colah's horticultural & environmental heroes (Wangari Maathai, Jessica Nabongo, Hellah Sidbe)

Follow Colah B Tawkin & Black in the Garden:

https://blkinthegarden.com/

https://www.undergroundarborist.org/

https://www.instagram.com/blackinthegarden

https://www.facebook.com/Blackinthegarden/

That's right. I received a text message from GA Dems saying that they are looking for candidates in my conservative county in Georgia to run for local office. Here's the story of how I was contacted, what happened at the initial interest meeting, and how I'm going to proceed.

If you're interested in running for local office, here are some resources to help!

Run for Something - Supporting candidates under 40: https://runforsomething.net/run/

Elevate: Campaign Training for People with Disabilities: https://ncil.org/elevate/

Get Her Elected: https://www.getherelected.com/

Vote Mama: https://www.votemama.org/

It’s baby season! I’m just kidding, babies are always being born, but today we're talking about raising eco-conscious children. I’m not a mom yet, although I’ve been trying to be for a few years now, but that’s a topic for another day. But when I am a mom, I know that I want to be as eco-friendly as possible. I’m talking mainly second-hand clothes (cuz who wants to spend top dollar for something they’ll wear for 3 months?), minimal plastic toys, and cloth diapering.

There’s somewhat of a debate within the environmentalist community about if having children is a good decision when the planet is not in the best condition. Some people don’t think we should be adding more human life that will use resources from Mother Earth. I understand that argument, but having and raising children is a special part of life. While we all have an impact on this planet just by being alive, we can make better choices about how we live and raise our kids to be eco-conscious so that they have less of an impact.

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Lacie Wever, an environmental educator and the creator of the Teach Go Green blog. As a wife and mom of two, Lacie is passionate about educating parents to make eco-friendly choices for their families. 

We talk about:

- How Lacie's sustainable journey began

- What it means to be an eco-parent

- Cloth diapering

- Ways to be more eco-friendly with kids

Check out Lacie's Blog, Teach Go Green: https://teachgogreen.com/

Follow Teach Go Green on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachgogreen/

Get Lacie's cloth diapering guide on the Teach Go Green website!

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Shanae Jones, founder of Ivy's Tea Co., a pop culture and Hip-Hop inspired holistic health brand. Inspiring people to drink tea like an adult through creating trap music inspired loose leaf organic tea blends, Shanae aims to change the way we see tea drinkers and the way tea drinkers see themselves.

In this episode, we talk about

• Why Shane started Ivy's Tea Co
• How Black people think about tea
• How drinking loose leaf tea can save the environment
• Ivy's Tea Co collaboration with Buy From a Black Woman and H&M
• Tips for small business owners

It is the end of January, the end of the first month of a new year. It's also the end of Veganuary, a challenge that takes place in January to encourage people to be vegan. I know many people have set resolutions to be more sustainable in different ways, and one of my new year's resolutions is to eat more plant-based meals. In this episode I'll talk more about veganism and plant-based diets that people within the sustainability community partake in and have conversations around.

This episode will explore:

• the environmental impacts of animal agriculture
• the differences between vegan, plant-based, vegetarian, and pescatarian
• Ariel's history with vegetarianism and veganism
• 
  

Today’s episode is all about ethical fashion. Ethical fashion is the direct opposite of fast fashion. Ethical fashion is garment design, production, and distribution that focuses on reducing harm to people and the planet.

Maithreyi Ramdas is the Co-Founder of People Heart Planet, an online ethical shopping platform that makes it easier for people to discover and shop fair trade and sustainable brands. Maithreyi is a social entrepreneur, a passionate advocate for animal welfare and the environment. Today we'll be talking about how to tell the difference between labels like ethical, sustainable, vegan, and organic and how People Heart Planet makes it easier to shop these brands. Plus we discuss the effects of globalization on the fashion industry.

Today we’re getting into a taboo topic - feminine hygiene. Ewww gross, periods!! I know, I know. I felt this way for a long time. In most societies, we’re conditioned to believe that menstrual cycles are something to be embarrassed about or something that should be hidden and not discussed. But Nearly half of the Earth’s population has, will have, or has had a menstrual cycle. It’s what brings life to this planet, and it should be celebrated, or at the very least not treated like the plague.

Since I’ve been environmentally conscious, I’ve examined every part of my lifestyle to see how I can be the most eco-friendly. I often encourage people to do a trash audit when they are first starting on their sustainable journey to see what kinds of things that are throwing away frequently. I’m sure most menstruating people would notice a bunch of pad or tampon wrappers in the trash every month.

To learn more about this topic, today I’m talking to Kamaria McMillian, a black woman, a fellow Atlanta-native and owner of Moonly Organics, a naturally-derived feminine care line dedicated to ending the stigma that often surrounds feminine hygiene. Kamaria educates her followers on the harmful ingredients in traditional feminine care products and encourages us to embrace each phase of our divine femininity.

I think a good way to kick off this new year is with a little education. On this podcast, me and my guests often use terms without clearly defining them, assuming the audience understands all the lingo used around sustainability. So today I’m going to try my best to easily explain some of the common words that you will hear on this show and within this community. Get your notebooks and pencils, and grab a snack because we’re going back to school.

It’s a new year, and it’s the perfect time for a fresh start with our sustainable goals. In this episode, I recap some of my wins and fails on my continuous journey of trying to be more sustainable in 2021. I also share some tips to help you along in your sustainable journey in 2022. 

We are officially in the holiday season. By now, I’m sure most people have at least started shopping and some may already have crossed everything off their lists. Festive decorations are up and holiday music is playing. For some, this is the most wonderful time of the year. For others, it’s anxiety inducing.

I’m part of the latter group.

The holiday season was never a big deal when I was growing up - we didn’t put up a tree and didn’t exchange very many gifts. Christmas was very simple for my family. Since I’ve married into a family that goes hard for Christmas, I’ve had to meet certain expectations. Now that I’m a sustainable brown girl, it’s getting more and more difficult to blindly participate in the festivities. Mainly because there is so much overconsumption and waste surrounding the holiday season.

So this episode is for all of my fellow sustainable girls and guys who are looking for ways to enjoy the holiday season without compromising their values.

This week, we’re keeping it local and I’m having a conversation with the owner of a shop in my hometown of Newnan, Georgia. 

I love speaking to small business owners, especially those who are women of color, because it takes a lot to start a business, not to mention a brick and mortar and I think it’s so interesting to hear their stories. A couple of weeks ago I talked about the importance of supporting local businesses, a few reasons being that it helps build the local economy - it’s estimated that for every $100 spent at a local business, about $68 stays within the community. The owners are our neighbors, so we know that they care about the community and are invested in its future. Also, supporting local businesses is good for the environment, because they often have smaller carbon footprints than large corporations.   

Needless to say, I’m really excited to sit down with Kenya and speak with her about Greenhouse Mercantile, all of the services she offers, and her experience with being a business owner in downtown Newnan.  

This week I want to talk about how we can all get more involved within environmentalism and sustainability. I talk a lot about individual action, like using a reusable water bottle, taking shorter showers, and reducing your waste. Those things are great and it’s a good place to start when thinking about your carbon footprint, but after a while, you may feel like you’ve peaked.  

Donnie Monk is a recent college graduate with a degree in environmental studies. She’s currently the neighborhood planner in Syracuse, New York, and has organized several environmental outreach programs in her community that have been a great success and have even been supported by the mayor of Syracuse. Listen in as Donnie and I talk about how she organizes these programs.

Follow Donnie online: 

www.earthlydonnie.com 

https://www.instagram.com/earthlydonnie 

https://www.instagram.com/ecothot 

In this episode, we’ll hear from past podcast guests about how to get involved in activism in ways that are comfortable for you. We will hear from the following Sustainable Brown Girls:

Raya Salter - Episode 10: The relationship between climate & racial justice with Raya Salter, Energy & Climate Justice Lawyer

Donnie Monk - Episode 40: Getting involved in your community with Donnie Monk, Ecothot co-founder

Lashanti Jupp - Episode 24: A day in the life of a marine conservationist with host of Siren Sundays

Jasmine Sanders - Episode 31: Effects of climate change on people of color & how to make a difference

The holidays are quickly approaching and I’m sure many of us have started to think about the gifts that we want to get our loved ones. If your goal is to support more businesses of color this season, then this show will be perfect for you.

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Akua Yamoah Opoku, a Ghanaian-American woman with a dream to leave her planet better than she found it. She is committed to helping newbies in low waste and minimalist living, transition to a lifestyle that they love that is also good for the planet. Akua supports her community through providing a BIPOC sustainable business list, a blog of her experiences and knowledge, and a weekly newsletter with encouragement and resources. 

When it comes to causes of climate change, oil and gas, or methods of energy production are some of the biggest contributors to the warming of the planet. An important talking point at COP26, as well as any time climate change is discussed, is the necessity for us to move from using fossil fuels for energy, to using clean and renewable forms of energy.

Today's guest is Chandra Farley, the founder of The Good Energy Project, a movement to get black women involved in clean energy. Chandra is experienced in developing community-centered strategies to advance energy equity. I’ll be talking to Chandra about what exactly clean energy is, some things Georgia is doing around clean energy, and how we can all make better decisions about how we use and think about energy.

This week is a big one in regards to environmental news. COP26 kicked off on Monday November 1 in Glasgow, Scotland. COP26 is a global United Nations summit about climate change and how countries are planning to tackle it. COP stands for Conference of the Parties, and will be attended by countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - a treaty agreed in 1994. The 2021 meeting will be the 26th meeting which is why it’s called COP26. The summit is widely regarded as humanity’s last and best chance to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

COP26 will be going on until November 12, so there’s still much to be discussed, but let’s talk about a few things that have happened thus far.

With Halloween coming this weekend and the holidays quickly approaching, I think now is a good time to talk about ways to prevent food waste. Pumpkins are the universal symbol of autumn and are a popular decor item in millions of households. In fact, according to the USDA, an estimated 2 billion pounds of pumpkins are grown in the United States each year, and about two thirds are trashed rather than being eaten or composted.

Keeping food out of the landfill is crucial to fighting climate change. You see, when Halloween pumpkins and other food waste makes it to the landfill, they release methane gas, a harmful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

In this episode I’ll be talking about a few ways in which we can put those Halloween pumpkins to good use and prevent food waste in general. We’re also going to be hearing from Elise Smith, a black woman who is the founder of Winnie’s Bakery. When baking delicious treats for Winnie’s Bakery, Elise strives to use sustainable ingredients and prefers to buy local, organic, and fairly-sourced goods as often as possible.  Elise will be sharing some tips about how to reduce food waste in the kitchen later on in the show.

It's becoming very apparent that climate change is real and immediate. For example, this past summer, there were record-breaking heat waves and droughts in the Western part of the US. Hurricane Henry made its way to New York, causing record rainfall and flooding of the city. Last winter there was a freak snow storm and extreme cold weather causing power outages for over a week in Texas. And last year California experienced record breaking wildfires. To be exact, 5 out of California's 10 worst fires happened in 2020.

At this point, there's no doubt that climate change is real and immediate as the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rises, the temperature of the earth also rises. Of course, the temperature of the earth has always fluctuated, but the rate at which it has risen in the last 200 years is significantly high.

While climate change will affect every living being on this planet in one way or another, according to an article published by Princeton University titled Racial Disparities and Climate Change, it says, “Climate change disproportionately affects those who suffer from socioeconomic inequalities, including many people of color”. 

In today's episode, I talk about how communities of color are among the first and hardest hit by the effects of climate change.