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Nature Nate is back for his take on COP30 in Belém, Brazil!. COP30 (November 10-21, 2025) has just wrapped up. Nate shares thoughts on COP30, with a recap on his attending Climate Week NYC 2025. The geopolitical context of COP30 was front and center. The billion-dollar shortfall in the UN budget and the near-empty Loss and Damages Fund presented a major challenge. The U.S. had pulled out of COP, but it’s not all bad news. Instead of participating on a federal level, 24 individual states representing 54% of the nation’s GDP have remained committed. This year, China has stepped forward with the largest delegation. It’s driving the EV revolution and creating financial realities that have led to the lowest-ever prices for wind, solar, and batteries. There’s still a lot of work ahead. While the world currently possesses all the necessary tools and technologies to stop climate change at an effective price point (heat pumps, EVs, cheap renewables, energy storage), new challenges are arising. A major new complication is the drastically growing energy use of AI. This pressure is complicating carbon targets, with companies like Microsoft potentially missing net-zero goals, and is incentivizing the prolonged use of gas and coal plants to meet the new compute demand. Plus, cool stories from Climate Week NYC, including Mark Ruffalo, Jane Fonda, and an Australian mining company committed to "real zero" (and no carbon offsets). (The episode was recorded on November 20, when countries still yet to reach a consensus on mapping out the “roadmap” to phase out fossil fuel.) This is Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. It's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean, and waste. Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/wastenotwhynotFollow us on Twitter @wastenotpod EPISODE CREDIT Nate Maynard (@N8May), HostEmily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), ProducerWayne Tsai, Audio EditingZack Chiang, Production AssistantShow logo by Southwicks GraphicsTheme tune by Dac Chang A Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One fine day in December 2018, Nate Maynard and Emily Y. Wu met over a coffee in downtown Taipei. The two talked about podcasting and sustainability. By Christmas, Nate, Emily, and Emily (Pearson) had recorded the first episodes of “Waste Not Why Not”. “Waste Not Why Not” - a sustainability podcast - was the first original show from Ghost Island Media. It debuted on Earth Day in 2019. Since then, it’s been a media partner at the 2020 AAAS Annual Meeting (American Association for the Advancement of Science), a program partner of the American Institute in Taiwan, and received support from Cypress River Advisors. We remember interviewing incredible guests:Season One included Daniel Vickery, then-head of engineering of batteries and energy systems at Gogoro (maker of the world’s first nation-wide electric grid for electric vehicles); Sam Kimmins, then-head of RE100 from The Climate Group; Taiwanese youth climate activist Liang-Yi Chang; and Dr. Nebojsa Nakicenovic (IIASA) on radical change. Season Two included Dr. Jane Lubchenco, former head of NOAA; Professor Stephan Lewandowsky of the University of Bristol on science denial and disinformation; Christine Bader, former head of CSR at Amazon and BP; and Dr. Enric Sala, National Geographic explorer-in-residence. We visited a food lab (thank you, Mattson in California!), a coral lab (thank you Shashank Keshavmurthy at Academia Sinica in Taiwan!), a batteries R&D center (thank you, Antonio Baclig at Stanford University!), a garage of new electric dirt bikes (you rock, Azizi Tucker!).In Season Three and Four, we walked about solar energy, climate simulation, sustainable menstrual products, green buildings, COP, and we even did a game show.Thank you to all our listeners and supporters who rooted for us in the past five years. Waste Not Why Not has come to an end (for now!)Nate Maynard now continues his podcasting career at NETTING ZEROS, a new project Nate launched with David Green. Here’s the show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/netting-zeros/id1739098029Here’s the show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7uEIMDGgCduymAekSiV7zDCheck them out on Substack: https://nettingzeros.substack.com/aboutAs for Ghost Island Media, we continue producing podcasts and publishing. Please check out our other shows at www.ghostisland.mediaEPISODE CREDITHost: Nate Maynard (Nature 8, @N8May), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean and waste.Producer: Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), executive producer and founder of Ghost Island Media.Audio Packaging by Wayne Tsai Show logo by Southwicks GraphicsTheme tune by Dac ChangA Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For this final part of our COP28 mini-series, Nature N8 attends his last day at COP28. He chats with Tanmatra Bhanti, Manager of Policy & Partnerships at Rare, and Alfredo M Coro II, Municipal Mayor of the Municipality of Del Carmen, Siargao Islands in the Philippines.Nature N8 gives his final thoughts at COP. What is it for, who is it for, what's achieved there, and what's greenwashing in today's climate conversations?This is Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. Debuted on Earth Day in 2019, it's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean and waste.Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/wastenotwhynotFollow us on Twitter @wastenotpodEPISODE CREDITNate Maynard (@N8May), HostGerald Williams, Audio EditingShow logo by Southwicks GraphicsTheme tune by Dac ChangA Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nature N8 spends another day at COP28 in Dubai where he continues to go behind the scenes giving his thoughts, explaining some of the cool exhibits, and speaking with participants from Taiwan. This episode includes interviews from:Katie Liu, New Taipei City representativeChia Wei Chao, Research Director at the Taiwan Climate Action NetworkCammie Lu, Mom Loves Taiwan AssociationEmmanuel Fromont, Acer’s Corporate Vice President and President of Acer’s EMEA operations. Stay tuned for part 3 of our COP28 mini-series!This is Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. Debuted on Earth Day in 2019, it's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean and waste.Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/wastenotwhynotFollow us on Twitter @wastenotpodEPISODE CREDITNate Maynard (@N8May), HostGerald Williams, Audio EditingEmily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), Producer Show logo by Southwicks GraphicsTheme tune by Dac ChangA Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Skip to 4:00 minutes for Nate live from Dubai! Go behind the scenes at COP28 with Nate where he gives his thoughts, what he hopes to see, and what cool stories he can find.Nature Nate is back! He jump-starts this new season by going to COP 28, what might be the most important climate negotiations ever…or not. Also, listen in to hear some updates about the show and its upcoming season.This is Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. Debuted on Earth Day in 2019, it's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean and waste.Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/wastenotwhynotFollow us on Twitter @wastenotpodHosted by Nate Maynard (@N8May)Audio Editing by Gerald WilliamsShow logo by Southwicks GraphicsTheme tune by Dac ChangProduced by Emily Y. Wuu (@emilyywu) A Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tony Rinaudo is an Australian agronomist widely known as the “forest maker”. He's lived and worked in Africa for decades where he put into a forest restoration practice called Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR).FMNR has restored 6,000,000 hectares of land and over 200 million trees in Niger, vastly improving the livelihood of millions. Today, Nature N8 and Tony talk about inspiration, life’s purpose, making a difference, and hope. Resources:- Read the FMNR manual here to learn more. - Two books that made a difference in Tony’s life: “I Planted Trees” and “Sahara Conquest” by Richard St. Barbe Baker. This is Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. Debuted on Earth Day in 2019, it's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean, and waste.Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/wastenotwhynotFollow us on Twitter @wastenotpodEPISODE CREDITNate Maynard (@N8May), HostEmily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), ProducerGerald Williams, Audio EditingShow logo by Southwicks GraphicsTheme tune by Dac ChangA Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s piece is guest-produced by students at Minerva University - a four-year, US accredited college where the students are on semester-abroads all the time. In Fall 2022, more than a hundred Minerva students spent time in Taiwan. Nate was a mentor to four students who wanted to make a podcast on sustainability. And here’s the result!A VEGAN STORY - TAIWANDespite the recent rise of popularity in veganism, it is true that veganism is associated often with a restrictive, judgemental connotation. However, veganism in Taiwan is proof that veganism does not have to be all or nothing Today, 1 in 7 people in Taiwan live with a vegan or vegetarian diet, with a diverse array of vegan alternatives to choose from. However, despite the abundance of alternatives, not many Taiwanese do not actively identify themselves as vegan or vegetarian. Why may this be the case?For many, it may seem like the increasing global attention towards sustainability has shifted the options available for keeping a vegan diet, extending the abstinence from all forms of animal products into more and more people’s everyday lives. But veganism is not just a story about sustainability. In Taiwan, veganism is an embedded practice within everyday life that is a combination of politics, religion, sustainability, and more. In this article, we will cover Taiwan’s unique vegan story, created through its unique cultural background. We will delve into the past, present, and future of Taiwan’s veganism, exploring the multifaceted story that has allowed Taiwan to become so vegan.This episode is written and produced by Stephanie Froebel, Jana Majnova, Seo Kim, and Narandelger Erdenebileg.Enjoy!This is Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. Debuted on Earth Day in 2019, it's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean, and waste.Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/wastenotwhynotFollow us on Twitter @wastenotpod Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy lunar new year from all of us at Ghost Island Media! At time of this new years greetings recording, we didn't know yet of the mass shooting in Monterey Park in California that took the lives of 10 people on new years eve, Saturday, January 21, 2023. Our deepest condolences to families affected by the horrific tragedy. Our hearts are with our Asian American community.We have new shows waiting to announce this spring. Meanwhile, our newest partner is AmCham, the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, do check out the podcast we're helping to produce. "Executive Sweet":Search "Executive Sweet" right here where you're listening, or use this link: https://topics.amcham.com.tw/listen/ Happy new year of the rabbit. Hop hop! Other shows we mentioned in the announcement: Waste Not Why Not: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/waste-not-why-not/The Taiwan Take: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/taiwan-take/Metalhead Politics: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/metalhead-politics/In French and Mandarin:Balades Culturelles Franco-Taïwanaises: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/france-taiwan/In Mandarin:Z Green Party: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/green-party/In the Weeds 大麻煩不煩: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/in-the-weeds/Dos Salidas: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/dos-salidas/Five Star Nation: https://ghostisland.media/en/shows/5-star-nation/ Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joshua Sam Miller is a musician, a filmmaker, a conservationist, a yogi, and a collector of ocean sounds and peoples. He’s performed at COP as well as at Burning Man. Today, N8 talks to Joshua about mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, the healing power of ocean sounds, and how something silly now, may end up being something you do for a living later on. If you liked the music track at 11:44 - 12:15 and 28:07 - 30:07 in this episode, then check out more works from Joshua on Spotify. The track we featured is called “Unity”: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2AWiZLYN8BaYhMJp9lfQ9j?si=xtfUJccVQ8S0iQPGWCIkRAThis is Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. Debuted on Earth Day in 2019, it's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean, and waste.Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/wastenotwhynotFollow us on Twitter @wastenotpodEPISODE CREDITNate Maynard (@N8May), HostGerald Williams, Production AssistantTeresa Yen, Audio EditingEmily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), ProducerShow logo by Southwicks GraphicsTheme tune by Dac ChangA Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last month, Taiwan’s largest green energy event took place in Taipei connecting the domestic renewable energy industries with their international counterparts. So obviously, Nature N8 had to go.This year, Energy Taiwan had 5 categories: solar, wind, smart storage, emerging power and net zero Taiwan. This year, N8 saw bigger booths, plenty of renewable technologies, and goats. Yes, real goats. There's exciting times ahead for the renewable energy sector in Taiwan. But there were still some things Nate wanted to see more of at Energy Taiwan. Energy alternatives were rarely featured and Taiwan’s net zero plan could have played a bigger role.To read more about Taiwan’s Net Zero Targets, click here.This is Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. Debuted on Earth Day in 2019, it's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean and waste.Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/wastenotwhynotFollow us on Twitter @wastenotpodEPISODE CREDITNate Maynard (@N8May), Host Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), Producer & Audio EditingGerald Williams, Production Assistant & Audio EditingShow logo by Southwicks GraphicsTheme tune by Dac ChangA Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The climate crisis came into full view this summer as countries across Europe experienced record-high temperatures in July. In the UK, a train track caught on fire, and an airport runway melted. In France, they called it a “heat apocalypse.”But while Europe is trying to deal with 40-47 degree celsius weather, we need to remember that things have been bad for a long time now. In 2016, parts of India reached 51C degrees celsius. The climate crisis affects everyone on this planet, but why do we pay attention only to some countries, and not others?Most of our infrastructures just weren’t built for this new climate, and the climate policy sphere, we refer to this as adaptation. Adaptation is where countries, companies, institutions adapt to new levels of warming from our warming planet.We need to ask some important questions as well. How long will these events last? Where will they be? And what do these countries need to do or need to survive them? Today, N8 has a list of climate resources he recommends: Bloomberg Green Volts by David Roberts Carbon Brief Professor Jesse Jenkins at Princeton Professor Kuei-Tien Chou at the Risk Society and Policy Research Center in Taiwan And here’s more -  National Geographic, Enric Sala Podcast Catalyst by Shayle Kann theconversation.com  Yale Environment 360 And for your friends, colleagues, and families, here’s a digital library from the Waste Not Why Not team and our guests: https://wastenotwhynot.com/#library This is Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. Debuted on Earth Day in 2019, it's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean and waste.Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/wastenotwhynotFollow us on Twitter @wastenotpodEPISODE CREDITNate Maynard (@N8May), HostGerald Williams, Research & EditingEmily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), Producer & EditingShow logo by Southwicks GraphicsTheme tune by Dac ChangA Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Double Dribble is a fashion & accessories brand that upcycles basketballs. The founders come from product design, but they’re now trying to design a new system for upcycling sports waste.Today, we bring you “The Incinerator” - a game show where a circular economy startup goes in front of a panel and gets their ideas burned and turned into better ideas. (Cheat sheet: Circular Economy = Environmental Impact + Business) Contestant today is Roy Huang, co-founder of Double Dribble, based in Taiwan.Panelists: Aining Ouyang, COO of REnato Lab, a circular economy consultancy based in Taiwan. Luke Martin, Cultural Affairs Office at the American Institute in Taiwan, responsible for educational and cultural programming. And Nate Maynard (Nature N8), an environmental consultant focusing on waste, ocean, and energy.We have a prize for one lucky listener! That’s right we are giving away a prize, it’s like we are rewarding you for listening to our podcast! Name another podcast that does that! Here is what you do: Go on Instagram - to Double Dribble’s page at @2doubledribble (https://www.instagram.com/2doubledribble/)Share the design you want.Tag Ghost Island Media (@ghostislandme), AIT (@ait_taipei), and Double Dribble (@2doubledribble).  Write “I heard about this on the Waste Not Why Not podcast.” Good Luck!This is Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. Debuted on Earth Day in 2019, it's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean and waste. Check out our digital library at wastenotwhynot.com/#library+ Follow us on Twitter @wastenotpod** Today’s episode is sponsored by American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Check out our full-length bonus video interview about its LEED Silver certified green building in Taipei. WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5PPlzYFa78&list=PLZzATvbhwVo_a0vn1oydVOXDzoccyaECY&index=2 **EPISODE CREDITHost is Nate Maynard (@N8May)Audio editing by Yu-Chen Lai (@aGuavaEmoji)Produced by Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu)Production assistant Gerald WilliamsNew show logo by Southwicks Graphics New theme tune by Dac ChangA Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ocean temperature is rising, and that’s killing corals. But scientists are finding out that some corals can resist climate change. So if we wanted to make sure that at least some corals survive in the future, which species should we save? We are at a coral lab to speak to Shashank Keshavmurthy at the Biodiversity Research Center at Academia Sinica in Taiwan. He’s setting up an experiment to stress test corals in a lab, and trying to figure out how resilient corals can be to temperature changes. Welcome to Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. Debuted on Earth Day in 2019, it's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean and waste.Check out our digital library at wastenotwhynot.com/#libraryFollow us on Twitter @wastenotpod Today’s episode is sponsored by American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Check out our full-length bonus video interview with AIT on their LEED Silver green building. WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5PPlzYFa78&list=PLZzATvbhwVo_a0vn1oydVOXDzoccyaECY&index=2 EPISODE CREDITHost is Nate Maynard (@N8May)Audio editing by Yu-Chen Lai (@aGuavaEmoji)Produced by Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu)Our intern is Gerald WilliamsNew show logo by Southwicks Graphics New theme tune by Dac ChangA Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme)www.ghostisland.media Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new, knowledge-filled, episode on corals is coming your way, but to prepare you for it, we bring you an old episode to catch you up to speed. Happy World’s Ocean Day!Corals are dying. By 2050 we probably won’t have any corals left in our oceans. So scientists around the world are trying to figure out how to regrow coral reefs, and some have even turned to 3D printing for coral restoration. But is this possible? Can technology save corals? View show notes. Follow us on Twitter @wastenotpod. A Ghost Island Media productionwww.ghostisland.media  Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Solar is - in some places in the world - the cheapest energy, even cheaper than coal and oil with fossil fuel subsidies. Solar is inexpensive, inoffensive, inexpensive. But it wasn’t always this easy. Investing in solar used to be risky business. What happened?Welcome to class SEI101: Solar Energy Investment.Today, we speak to Mark Oei, an investor of real estate and clean energy. He’s founding partner at Redwood Coast Capital and a lecturer at the Kellogg School of Management. We also catch up with Calvin Cheng, co-founder of the solar developer PGE in Taiwan. Cheng tells us it’s much easier to get financing now than ever.By 2030, 1 in 7 American homes are expected to have solar panels. And by 2050, it’s to become up to 45% of the U.S. electricity supply. Over here in Taiwan, clean energy accounts for just 5% of our energy supply. Taiwan wants to raise that number to 20% by 2030. (Fun fact - Taiwan was an early manufacturer of the world’s solar panels.)** Today’s episode is sponsored by American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - who has a focus on climate-related initiatives. Check out our full-length bonus video interview with Lee Carnell, facilities manager at AIT who takes care of its new campus, a LEED Silver certified green building. WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5PPlzYFa78&list=PLZzATvbhwVo_a0vn1oydVOXDzoccyaECY&index=2 **Welcome to Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. Debuted on Earth Day in 2019, it's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean and waste. This season, we're onto green buildings, electric vehicles, coral, renewable energy investments, and the circular economy.https://wastenotwhynot.com+ Check out our digital library at wastenotwhynot.com/#library+ Follow us on Twitter @wastenotpodEPISODE CREDITHost is Nate Maynard (@N8May)Audio editing by Yu-Chen Lai (@aGuavaEmoji)Produced by Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu)Our intern is Gerald WilliamsNew show logo by Southwicks GraphicsNew theme tune by Dac ChangA Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme) www.ghostisland.media Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.