Saving the World From Bad Ideas

• Bad Idea #16 "let's ditch intensive farming" with Michael Grunwald

  🔍 Episode Summary:Is industrial agriculture the villain it's made out to be? In this episode of Saving the World from Bad Ideas, Mark Lynas sits down with award-winning journalist and author Michael Grunwald to explore Bad Idea #16: "We need to ditch intensive agriculture."Grunwald, whose latest book We Are Eating the Earth dives deep into the global land crisis, makes the provocative case that abandoning intensive agriculture in favour of romanticised low-yield farming could be catastrophic for both climate and biodiversity. They unpack the real trade-offs behind organic and regenerative farming, expose the hidden environmental costs of biofuels and biomass, and explain why yield and land-use efficiency must be at the heart of any serious green food policy.If you're passionate about climate, nature, or what ends up on your plate, this conversation will challenge your assumptions — and give you new tools for thinking about agriculture, food systems, and the future of the planet.🧠 Topics Discussed:● 🗺️ Why land, not just carbon, is the key environmental constraint of our time● 🌽 Corn ethanol, biomass power and the case against biofuels●🕵️How global institutions like the IPCC got food and land use wrong● 🤔 The myth of regenerative agriculture as a climate solution●🥩 Beef, land use and the real environmental cost of meat● 🌾 Why high-yield agriculture is essential to save nature● 🧬 Cultivated meat, GMOs and other high-tech food fixes● 🤯 Sri Lanka's organic farming disaster: a cautionary tale● 🌍 The moral case for better — not just different — agriculture👨‍🏫 Guest Bio:Michael Grunwald is a long-time investigative journalist and bestselling author of The Swamp and The New New Deal. His new book, We Are Eating the Earth, tackles the global agricultural land crunch and the myths we tell ourselves about food, farming, and the environment. A former senior writer for Politico, Time, and The Washington Post, Grunwald lives in Miami and has received numerous awards for his reporting.📚 Recommended Reading & Resources: We Are Eating the Earth – Michael Grunwald💬 Quote Highlights:"Every farm, even the most romantic organic one, is a kind of environmental crime scene." — Michael Grunwald"The idea that regenerative ag can reverse climate change is a nice story — but it's not backed by science or math." — Michael Grunwald"The goal isn't to make farming pretty. The goal is to make food with less land, so we can spare nature." — Michael Grunwald"If we don’t double yields again, we’re going to need a second planet." — Michael Grunwald🌐 About WePlanet:WePlanet is a global citizen and science movement challenging bad ideas and championing evidence-based solutions for climate, nature, and human development. Learn more at weplanet.org.📥 Join the Conversation:💬 Feedback or questions? Email: [email protected]📩 Subscribe to new episodes: weplanet.org/podcast👁️ Follow us on Twitter/X: @weplanetint

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• SPECIAL: Bad Idea #15 "Just Stop Cooking" with Patricia Nanteza

  SPECIAL: This episode dives into our new campaign, JUST STOP COOKING with WePlanet Africa lead, Patricia Nanteza. 🔍 Episode Summary:What happens when climate policies from the Global North collide with the lived reality of energy poverty in Africa?Mark Lynas is joined by Patricia Nanteza, WePlanet’s Africa Lead, to expose one of the most dangerous and overlooked injustices in climate policy today: the effective ban on clean cooking solutions in sub-Saharan Africa. The message being sent to millions of Africans is clear — just stop cooking.Together they unpack the story behind WePlanet’s new campaign and report, Just Stop Cooking, which reveals how blanket bans on fossil fuel finance, pushed by Global North governments and institutions like the World Bank, are blocking support for LPG. This fuel is one of the only practical clean cooking options available to millions of people right now.The consequences are devastating. Forests are being destroyed, indoor air pollution is killing women and children, and communities are being left with no safe alternatives. All of this is enforced through a climate double standard, backed by Western green NGOs that claim to speak for Africa without ever listening to it.If you believe climate justice means justice for everyone, this episode will challenge what you think you know — and show you why real solutions must come from the ground up.🧠 Topics Discussed:🔥 Why 80% of Africans still rely on wood and charcoal to cook🌲 The link between deforestation and cooking fuels🫁 Indoor air pollution: the silent killer of 700,000 africans each year💀 Carbon monoxide tragedies caused by indoor cooking🔒 How World Bank fossil fuel bans block LPG rollout🌍 Western NGOs pushing unrealistic energy leapfrogging narratives🚫 The hypocrisy of Europe expanding LNG while blocking LPG for Africa📊 The economics of charcoal: an illegal, lucrative, and deforestation-fueled market🧪 Why LPG is the only scalable transitional fuel today🧭 The roadmap to full electrification — but not overnight🤬 The anger and injustice behind Western climate finance decisions👩‍🏫 Guest Bio:Patricia Nanteza is the Africa Lead for WePlanet, based in Uganda. A passionate science communicator, she has spent years advocating for pragmatic, locally appropriate energy and technology policies that serve Africa’s people — not foreign ideology. She previously led biotechnology campaigns across the continent and continues to champion pro-science voices in Africa’s development debates.📚 Recommended Reading & Resources:Just Stop Cooking – WePlanet Report WHO Report: Household Air PollutionIEA Clean Cooking OutlookAfrican Development Bank: Mission 300 Program💬 Quote Highlights:“You tell us: don’t use charcoal, don’t use LPG, and electricity isn’t available. So you’re basically telling Africans: just stop cooking.” — Patricia Nanteza“If you want to help us protect our forests, give us viable alternatives. Right now, that alternative is LPG.” — Patricia Nanteza“Western NGOs campaign for zero fossil fuel investment in Africa — while their own countries build new LNG terminals.” — Mark Lynas“We didn’t cause climate change. But now we’re told to sacrifice our basic right to cook, in the name of solving it.” — Patricia Nanteza🌐 About WePlanet:WePlanet is a global citizen and science movement championing evidence-based solutions for climate, development, and prosperity. We fight bad ideas with better ones. Learn more at weplanet.org.📥 Join the Conversation:💬 Feedback or questions? Email: [email protected] 📬 Subscribe to new episodes: weplanet.org/podcast 🐦 Follow us on Twitter/X: @weplanetint

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• Bad Idea #14 "increasing disaster costs show extreme weather is getting worse" with Roger Pielke Jr

  🔍 Episode Summary:Hurricanes. Floods. Fires. Tornadoes. Are extreme weather disasters getting worse because of climate change — or is that just the story we tell?In this provocative episode, Mark Lynas sits down with climate scientist and policy scholar Roger Pielke Jr., one of the most polarising voices in climate debates over the last 30 years. Roger explains why the costs of disasters are rising — but not primarily because extreme weather is increasing. Instead, it's us — where we build, how we build, and what we place in harm’s way.Together, they unpack why pointing this out has gotten Roger attacked, investigated, and effectively blacklisted in parts of the climate community. They discuss hurricanes, attribution studies, politicisation of science, the breakdown of trust in expertise, and why nuance is often unwelcome in highly charged public debates.This is a must-listen for anyone who cares about evidence-based climate science — and why getting the science right matters, even when it’s inconvenient.🧠 Topics Discussed:🌪️ Why rising disaster costs are mostly driven by exposure, not more extreme weather☣️ The politicisation of hurricanes as climate symbols📉 Why the IPCC still sees no detectable global trend in tropical cyclones🌡️ What extreme weather is linked to climate change (hint: heatwaves & rainfall)🧪 The shaky science behind attribution studies🔥 Why being “accurate but inconvenient” can get you cancelled💰 Roger’s congressional investigation over alleged fossil fuel funding🎯 How the academy became ideologically uniform — and why that’s dangerous🇺🇸 The crisis of public trust in science amid US culture wars🏳️‍🌈 The transgender athlete controversy as another case study in politicised science🧭 How to rebuild trust in expertise after the populist backlash👨‍🏫 Guest Bio:Roger Pielke Jr. is a political scientist, climate policy expert, and Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. For three decades, he has published widely on science, risk, and policy, often challenging simplistic narratives on extreme weather and climate change. He is the author of The Honest Broker and writes extensively on his Substack, also titled The Honest Broker.📚 Recommended Reading & Resources:The Honest Broker – Roger Pielke Jr.Normalizing the Impacts of Disasters – Pielke et al. (original research paper)IPCC AR6 Working Group 1 – Chapter 12 (Extreme Events)World Weather Attribution – attribution study critiques💬 Quote Highlights:“If you want to see the signal of climate change, don’t look at extreme events — look at temperature and precipitation. That’s where the evidence is.” — Roger Pielke Jr.“We’ve built more hotels on the beach. Of course the costs go up when storms hit. That’s exposure, not stronger hurricanes.” — Roger Pielke Jr.“When science becomes partisan, we put a target on our backs. The expert community needs support from everyone — right, left, and centre.” — Roger Pielke Jr.“Evidence-based fairness — not identity politics — is the only way to regulate transgender athletes in sport.” — Roger Pielke Jr.🌐 About WePlanet:WePlanet is a global citizen and science movement challenging bad ideas and championing evidence-based solutions for climate, nature, and human development. Learn more at weplanet.org.📥 Join the Conversation:💬 Feedback or questions? Email: [email protected]📬 Subscribe to new episodes: weplanet.org/podcast🐦 Follow us on Twitter/X: @weplanetint

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• Bad Idea #13 "The Energiewende" with Noah Rettberg

  🔍 Episode Summary:Energiewende — is Germany a shining example of how to lead the global energy transition, or a cautionary tale of how not to do it?In this unnerving episode, Mark Lynas is joined by German energy analyst and activist Noah Jakob Rettberg for a deep dive into one of Europe’s most consequential policy blunders: Germany’s nuclear shutdown.Noah explains how the Energiewende — once celebrated as a green transition — has resulted in skyrocketing electricity prices, energy insecurity, and creeping deindustrialization. He reveals how anti-nuclear ideology within Germany’s Green Party has led to the dismantling of 12.5 GW of clean energy capacity, just when Europe needs it most.They explore whether Germany’s nuclear plants can be restarted, what it would take politically, and why this is not just a fight about energy — but about the very future of liberal democracy in Europe.🧠 Topics Discussed:🇩🇪 The political origins of Germany’s Energiewende and anti-nuclear ideology 💶 The economic fallout: high prices, lost industry, and rising emissions 💡 Why Germany’s electricity consumption is falling — and why that’s not a good sign 🔋 Battery storage, hydrogen myths, and the brutal math of a “Dunkelflaute” 🪓 How decommissioning is erasing 12.5 GW of clean energy — and fast 🔧 The Radiant Energy restart plan: 9 reactors, €15B, 8 years 🧱 What it would take to reverse course legally and politically 🌍 Why this is Europe’s problem, not just Germany’s 🚨 How energy policy could undermine NATO, rearmament, and European stability🧑‍🔬 Guest Bio: Noah Jakob Rettberg is a leading figure in Germany’s pro-nuclear movement and an advisor to Nuklearia. He is a contributor to the Radiant Energy Group’s report on restarting Germany’s nuclear fleet and a frequent commentator on European energy policy.📚 Recommended Reading & Listening:Radiant Energy Group – Report on Nuclear Restarts in GermanyTacheles für die Zukunft – Florian Blümm (DE)The Grim Fairy Tale of German Electricity (one of our DECOUPLE podcast favorites)NukleariaThe Restart German Nuclear ConferenceNoah Rettberg Speech at the Conference📝 Quote Highlights:“Every day that passes is vandalism of clean energy infrastructure.” — Mark Lynas“We don’t even have a tenth of a thousandth of the battery storage needed. And yet they believe we’ll run the grid this way.” — Noah Jakob Rettberg“Europe needs Germany. And a strong Germany needs power. This is a battle for liberal democracy.” — Noah Jakob Rettberg“You could restart nine reactors for less than what they’re spending on hydrogen-ready gas plants.” — Noah Jakob Rettberg🌐 About WePlanet: WePlanet is a citizen and science movement that challenges conventional thinking to defend evidence-based solutions to environmental challenges. Learn more at weplanet.org.📥 Join the Conversation: 💬 Got thoughts on Germany’s energy future? Email us: [email protected] 📬 Sign up for updates: weplanet.org/podcast 📸 Follow us on Twitter: @weplanetint

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• Bad Idea #12 "There’s nothing down there" with Callum Roberts

  🔍 Episode Summary:What if the largest living space on Earth was being plundered before we even understood it?In this timely episode, Mark Lynas speaks with marine conservationist Callum Roberts, Professor at the University of Exeter and lead author of a new Nature commentary calling for full protection of the high seas. They challenge the pervasive (and dangerous) idea that the deep ocean is just a lifeless void — free for mining, overfishing, and exploitation. Callum explains why the high seas cover nearly half the planet’s surface and are a critical part of Earth’s life-support system: absorbing heat, producing oxygen, sequestering carbon, and hosting the largest migration on the planet.From deep-sea mining to human slavery in high-seas fisheries, this is a shocking exposé of the last, vast wilderness on Earth — and why leaving it alone might be the smartest thing we’ve ever done.🧠 Topics Discussed:🌊 What the high seas actually are — and why they cover 43% of Earth’s surface🧬 The astonishing biodiversity of the deep sea, much of it still unknown☠️ Why mining polymetallic nodules could destroy ecosystems forever💥 The false promises of “low-impact” deep-sea extraction💸 Why deep-sea fisheries are only viable due to massive subsidies📉 The case for full protection — not just 30% — of the high seas🔒 The failure of the International Seabed Authority to act as a neutral regulator🐟 What’s really inside your fish fingers (hint: could be 150-year-old deep-sea fish)🧑‍🌾 Why aquaculture may be better — but not if it’s farmed salmon🚨 Slavery, human trafficking, and illegal fishing on the high seas👨‍🏫 Guest Bio:Callum Roberts is Professor of Marine Conservation at the University of Exeter and one of the world’s leading experts on the impact of fishing and human activity on the ocean. His books include The Unnatural History of the Sea and Reef Life, and he sits on the board of the Maldives Coral Institute. His latest work calls for a paradigm shift in how we govern the high seas — toward full ecological protection.📚 Recommended Reading & Resources:Nature Commentary: Protect the High Seas Completely (2024)The Unnatural History of the Sea – Callum RobertsReef Life: An Underwater Memoir – Callum RobertsThe Outlaw Ocean Project – Ian UrbinaManta Trust – High Seas Marine LifeOSPAR Marine Protected Areas💬 Quote Highlights:“The high seas cover 43% of the planet — and yet remain largely unprotected, poorly governed, and misunderstood.” — Callum Roberts“Mining the deep sea is like strip-mining the last untouched rainforest on Earth — except it’s darker, colder, and more mysterious.” — Callum Roberts“Most of what we eat from the deep sea is only possible because we massively subsidize it — often more than the fish are worth.” — Callum Roberts“The ocean is Earth’s life support system — it gives us oxygen, absorbs our heat, and locks away our carbon. We mess with it at our peril.” — Mark Lynas🌐 About WePlanet:WePlanet is a global science-and-citizen movement promoting evidence-based solutions to protect climate, nature, and prosperity. Learn more at weplanet.org.📥 Join the Conversation:Send feedback or questions: [email protected] 📬 Subscribe to new episodes: weplanet.org/podcast 🐦 Follow us on Twitter/X: @weplanetint

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