Hot & Bothered
Hot & Bothered
Meredith Mazzotta, Connie Lin, Tabitha Schwartz
We are three women from three different cities who are working to shift the climate change narrative from doom-and-gloom to solutions and inspiration. Each week, we’ll highlight local sustainability changemakers making a positive impact in our communities. We hope these stories of individual and collective actions inspire you to plant seeds of change in your own community.
Season 1 - Wrap Up
Join us for our reflection on Season 1 of Hot and Bothered! We share our ideas for Season 2 and ways to get involved, including a call for additional hosts to expand the pod. Email us at [email protected] if you’re interested! Find us on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community (it’s free!) to help us evolve the podcast. Resources: The Night That Changed San Francisco Cycling Forever | KQED Flooding rushed into a doggy day care. A dispatcher called it a water leak. Hola Cultura Tiny little D.C. has more green buildings than most states : NPR mossy.earth Wolves saved Yellowstone National Park - The Northern Range Mr. Trash Wheel Refuse Refuse San Francisco CalWave Climatebase Fellowship Terra.do Work on Climate Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here. Music by QubeSounds.
Oct 17, 2023
21 min
Travys Harper Teaches Us How to Manage Stormwater in Atlanta
Join us for our last episode for Season 1 to learn about “green infrastructure” from Travys Harper, Trees Atlanta’s first Green Infrastructure Manager. He shares his ideas about what to plant and designs on channeling your rainwater to not only benefit your gardens but how it can play a vital role in combating climate change in your local watersheds.  Follow Travys on LinkedIn and Trees Atlanta on Instagram.  Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community (it’s free!) to help us evolve the podcast. Resources: Trees Atlanta City of Atlanta green infrastructure plan  Rain Gardens in Home Landscapes Presentation from University of Georgia’s Extension Office Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here. Music by QubeSounds.
Oct 10, 2023
36 min
Paawan Kothari on Greening San Francisco
Can’t get enough of trees and green infra? We got you! We sat down with Paawan Kothari from Friends of the Urban Forest about why and how we’re stubbornly trying to get trees to grow where there once were sand dunes. Listen for the low down on those winter storms and some ways to help our pollinator friends.   You can find Paawan on LinkedIn and Friends of the Urban Forest at friendsoftheurbanforest.org. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Follow us on LinkedIn and join our Patreon community (it’s free!) to help us evolve the podcast. Resources: Adopt a Yard Tree Certified Wildlife Habitat Programs Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here. Music by QubeSounds.
Oct 3, 2023
23 min
Dr. Susan Agolini Tackles Heat Mapping in Arlington, VA
We all know trees remove carbon from the atmosphere, but tree canopy also plays an important role in lowering surface temperatures. In this week’s episode of Hot & Bothered, Marymount University Associate Biology Professor Dr. Susan Agolini (pictured here with her daughter at a tree planting event in Arlington) walks us through a heat mapping study conducted in the county, what the study uncovered about the interplay between surface temperatures and socioeconomics, and the role tree canopy plays in keeping the county cooler… plus local efforts underway to protect existing canopy and plant more trees! You can find Susan on LinkedIn.  Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod!   Resources:   Arlington Tree Canopy study: New Tree Canopy Data from Civic Federation Webinar — Arlington Tree Action Group The Lancet: Planting more trees could decrease deaths from higher summer temperatures in cities by a third, modelling suggests EcoAction Arlington: Tree Canopy Fund; Tree Canopy Equity Program  Arlington County, VA: Grants to Plant or Maintain Trees on Private Property Arlington Tree Action Group
Sep 26, 2023
20 min
Rebecca Serna Advocates for Safe Streets for All in Atlanta
How do you shift a metro from car-centric to safe for all types of mobility? We close out our Transportation series with Rebecca Serna, Executive Director of Propel ATL. Listen in as Rebecca shares her experience working with a nonprofit organization that advocates for safe streets for all, working closely with the City of Atlanta to reduce traffic fatalities, and celebrating non-automotive transportation options.  Follow Rebecca on LinkedIn and Propel ATL on Instagram.  Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: Atlanta Vision Zero Vision Zero SF League of American Bicyclists America Walks
Sep 19, 2023
37 min
Christopher Kidd on Bike Infrastructure in San Francisco
What's it like to create accessible bike infrastructure? This week, we sit down with Christopher Kidd to get a city planner’s point of view. Christopher is the project manager for San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's Active Communities Plan. Find out about the hurdles they’ve faced with the bicycle master plan and how they’re working to make sustainable transportation inclusive to all - both people and devices! If you live in SF, answer their survey and look at their schedule of events! Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: Building California: Deal that will speed up infrastructure projects signed into law  You Want to Ride Your Bicycle? A Look into the Active Communities Plan | SPUR Work Commute Mode Choice | Vital Signs Greenhouse Gas Inventories | DC DOEE CleanPowerSF | City Performance Scorecards (Correction: 60% not 75% renewable)  The San Francisco housing crisis, compared with other major cities Washington, D.C. and San Francisco | SPUR   Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.  Music by QubeSounds.
Sep 12, 2023
24 min
Marley Blonsky Gets All Bodies on Bikes in the DC Area
Boosting access to eco-friendly methods of transportation is key to achieving a low-carbon future, and we need to invite everyone to the party. In this week’s episode, Marley Blonsky talks to us about co-founding All Bodies on Bikes, a non-profit working to create a size-inclusive bike community through judgment-free community rides. Marley shares how biking is a key player in a low-emissions future, how she’s working with sporting goods companies to create clothing and equipment that improves access for all, and how the size-inclusive bike movement has implications for other marginalized communities. Bonus: an All Bodies on Bikes chapter is opening in the DC area (and maybe your city, too)!  You can find Marley on LinkedIn. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: The Podcast — All Bodies on Bikes All Bodies on Bikes Local Chapters How riding a bike benefits the environment Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here. Music by QubeSounds.
Sep 5, 2023
23 min
Natasha Dyer on Composting Wasted Food in Atlanta
As we close out our 3-part series on Food Systems, we are joined by Natasha Dyer in Atlanta to learn more about composting wasted food. Natasha is a circular economy professional who transitioned her career from fashion to composting and is now focused on the entire waste stream through the SWEEP Standard. We learn about her passion for diverting wasted food and get tips on starting a community compost program.  Follow Natasha on Instagram and The SWEEP Standard on LinkedIn.  Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: The SWEEP Standard SF composting history and 2022 California state-wide mandate progress Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.  Music by QubeSounds.
Aug 29, 2023
27 min
Dan Kurzrock on Upcycling Food in the Bay Area
We’re diving into food again! This week, we chat with San Francisco Bay Area native Dan Kurzrock about how he’s fighting food waste. Dan is CEO and Co-Founder of Upcycled Foods, Inc. We cover his unlikely climate origin story, how they're upcycling and innovating, to growing an upcycled food movement. Follow Upcycled Foods, Inc. at upcycledfoods.com, LinkedIn, or Instagram Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: Reduced Food Waste | Project Drawdown Upcycled Food Association Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.  Music by QubeSounds.
Aug 22, 2023
24 min
Mike Ross on Vertical Farming in the DC Area
Ever wonder what work is being done to make our food system more sustainable? Meet Mike Ross, co-founder and CEO of Beanstalk Farms–a vertical farming venture based in Herndon, VA (just outside of Washington, DC). In our very first episode, Mike shares how his innovative farming methods have sustainability–as well as efficiency and nutrition–at heart. You can find Mike on LinkedIn and Beanstalk Farms on Insta and Facebook. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts! Join our Patreon community to help us evolve the pod! Resources: Environmental Impacts of Food Production - Our World in Data How Two Alexandria Brothers Transformed a Data Center into an Indoor Farm (northernvirginiamag.com) Comments or suggestions? Submit your feedback here.  Music by QubeSounds.
Aug 15, 2023
21 min
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