In this interview, I speak to Zach Weiss, who runs a business called Elemental Ecosystems. I met Zach a few weeks ago when I took his workshop, where he taught some of his methods for understanding and managing water in the landscape. Zach works under the assumption that the core reason for many environmental problems is a misunderstanding and poor management of water. By building dams, repairing eroded stream banks and many other tactics, Zach helps people improve their land’s ability to catch and hold water. This has flow-on effects for local climate, drought resilience and financial stability. Show Notes 01:05 Zach describes his work02:01 Outline of the water cycle04:31 Sepp Holzer09:20 Zach's opinion of Holistic Management10:32 Tom Brown Jr. and Jon Young: wilderness skills, bird language 10:59 Ringing Cedars 11:57 Rajindra Singh, the waterman of India 12:53 Universal principles vs. specific tactics13:25 The Tao 14:23 Describing a typical re-hydration project16:26 Why pond liners are not ideal18:27 Building water bodies that fit in with the existing geology and hydrology, as opposed to digging dams in inappropriate spots. "Tying a water body to the natural veins of the Earth."20:48 Zach's thoughts on some aspects of permaculture22:57 Getting your hands dirty. Build models using the soil on your property.24:35 What to do in the suburbs?… Observe your property, create a rain garden, infiltrate the maximum amount of water.26:21 Hügelkultur 27:40 Zach's problem with swales30:14 The process of tapping springs, and why to drink spring water32:35 French drains 33:42 Evidence of revegetation changing climate and increasing rainfall34:44 Willie Smits, and his TED Talk 35:14 Convincing people that water is more important than atmospheric CO2 for climate36:57 Zach's experience in Australia: a perfect example of the watershed death spiral39:45 Zach's film, Elemental Change 42:00 Vicencia Dehasa, Spain 42:14 Tamera, Portugal 42:36 Peter Marshall and Terra Preta Truffles near Braidwood 42:54 Walter Jehne 43:22 Tarun Bharat Sangh, Indian NGO

The ongoing bushfires in south-eastern Australia are a horrible reminder that we need to change the way we’re operating. But I don’t think it’s a simple as trying to reduce carbon emissions. So over the next few weeks, I’m going to talk to some people who have ideas about more tangible and effective ways of managing landscapes, including urban areas, farms and bushland. If we don’t re-instate a functioning water cycle, then things are going to get worse, no matter how much CO2 is in the air. This interview is with Michael Mobbs. Michael is a former environmental lawyer from Sydney who has become known as the “off-grid guy”. Because, in 1996, he began the process of disconnecting his inner-city home in Sydney from mains water, sewage and electricity. Show Notes 01:59 How cities change the water cycle 02:47 Michael’s house 03:49 Michael’s role in the 1993-4 parliamentary inquiry into Sydney’s water 04:43 what does “you can’t do that” actually mean? 06:16 A model of the house is in the Powerhouse Museum’s EcoLogic exhibition: https://maas.museum/event/ecologic/ 06:59 “It’s as though this culture has never landed here” 07:43 the problem with the education system; growing up on a farm 08:29 The Sydney Botanic gardens wastes millions of rainwater every year 09:46 Gutters are the main cause of house fires. Why don’t we use a different design? An example of the gutters Michael describes: https://www.eaveswatersystem.com/ 12:15 Bureaucracies never change 12:15  “If you wanted to set up a society, a culture, that’s doomed to fail, this is the one you would set up.” 13:49 People shouldn’t rely on governments. Do what you can, including catching and using as much rainwater as possible. 14:10 Leaky drains: Michael’s street saves 4 million L of water each year from going to the ocean. Here is a great video he made that shows you how to do it: https://www.sustainablehouse.com.au/community-gardens 16:51 A road garden in Bondi 17:57 Food waste and wasted water 18:57 Buy from farmers’ markets 19:25 Michael’s new project to design a pre-fabricated studio house with attached water treatment and solar electricity systems: contact Michael to learn more https://www.sustainablehouse.com.au/contact 21:13 How the house is resistant to bushfires  21:52 Using recycled timber, eg from “weed” species like camphor laurel 23:01 Michael’s recent travels through many areas in rural Australia 24:30 Do an experiment to catch for one day all the water that you would have normally let drain down the kitchen sink: it will be a lot 25:28 Drinking rainwater: it’s healthy and doesn’t have chlorine, which may be carcinogenic 27:05 In Australia, water utility companies are government-owned, so there is no competition. And the government does not fund research into the effects of chlorine on, for eg, gut health 27:53 Michael’s two books, Sustainable House and Sustainable Food: https://www.sustainablehouse.com.au/products 29:17 Archimedes, Newtown, Einstein: they came upon their insights through their interactions with the world around them 29:40 “The best university, the best reading, is where we walk and talk and see in our own environment, wherever that may be, each day.”

In this episode of the podcast, I speak to Abraham Cambridge. Abe is the founder and CEO of The Sun Exchange, which is an online solar energy marketplace. In short, the company provides a platform to buy solar panels in the sunniest places on earth. When the panels produce electricity, the owners receive payment in bitcoin. In Abe’s words, the company acts as a market maker between solar panel manufacturers, installers, buyers and customers. It’s a great model, because the work they do is accelerating the transition to clean energy while also helping communities and businesses access cheap energy – and also providing a good return on investment for the people providing the capital. The Sun Exchange bypasses the traditional networks of energy and finance using a few innovative new technologies, including bitcoin. And in our conversation, we assume a bit of knowledge about bitcoin. So, if you’re not familiar with it, I can highly recommend doing some reading. I’ve found that learning about bitcoin is actually a great way to learn about the world in general. Because you will touch on topics like history, economics, finance, cryptography, computer science, game theory and psychology. Here are a couple of resources I’ve found useful for understanding the history and technical aspects of Bitcoin: * Digital Gold – Nathaniel Popper* The&nbsp;Bitcoin&nbsp;Standard – Saifedean&nbsp;Ammous* The Internet of Money – Andreas Antonopoulos* The following video by 3blue1brown: * Taylor Pearson has collated more bitcoin resources here* As has Jameson Lopp, here And finally, more bitcoin resources, as well as links to all the books and websites we mention in the episode, can be found in the show notes below. You can find Abe and The Sun Exchange online here: * Twitter: @AbeCambridge and @thesunexchange* YouTube* LinkedIn* Medium SHOW NOTES 02:54 Abe explains the Sun Exchange concept 04:21 The decentralised nature of both solar energy and the bitcoin network 06:58 Abe&#8217;s dealings with the worlds of traditional finance and energy: banks refused to set up accounts for the Sun Exchange 10:31 Why the Sun Exchange uses bitcoin, as opposed to other cryptocurrencies 13:10 Bringing the model of leasing to the solar industry 14:33 The Sun Exchange enables people to own solar panels in areas of the world that are the sunniest – people are not forced to just put panels on their own roofs. 15:38 The energy use and sustainability of bitcoin. Comparing bitcoin energy use to that of the current global financial system. <a href="https://medium.