Waste Not WHY Not
Episodes
70. COP30 Watch (Nate’s Back?)
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 COP...
69. Finale: Our last episode (for now)
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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. ...
68. Live from COP28, Part 3
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 & Partners...
67. Live from COP28, Part 2
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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, a...
66. Live from COP28, Part 1
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 coo...
65. Regrowing Hope with Tony Rinaudo, the “Forest Maker”
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 fores...
64. A Vegan Story (by students at Minerva University)
03 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s piece is guest-produced by students at Minerva University - a four-year, US accredited college where the students are on semester-abroads al...
63. Lunar New Year updates from Ghost Island Media
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 M...
62. Combating Climate Anxiety with Ocean Mindfulness (Joshua Sam Miller, Sounds Of the Ocean)
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
61. Dispatch from Energy Taiwan
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last month, Taiwan’s largest green energy event took place in Taipei connecting the domestic renewable energy industries with their international co...
60. N8 Take: Everything on Fire Everywhere (But we still have books)
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 c...
59. A Game Show! Circular Economy with Double Dribble, REnato Lab, AIT
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Double Dribble is a fashion & accessories brand that upcycles basketballs. The founders come from product design, but they’re now trying to desi...
58. Coral Resilience: Shashank Keshavmurthy (Academia Sinica)
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 want...
57. Why care about corals (Ep 3)
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
56. Solar Energy Investment 101 with Mark Oei (Kellogg) and Calvin Cheng (PGE Taiwan)
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Solar is - in some places in the world - the cheapest energy, even cheaper than coal and oil with fossil fuel subsidies. Solar is inexpensive, inoffen...
55. EV dirt bikes, supercars, space: Azizi Tucker (Graft EV)
15 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From building dirt bikes to supercars, to something that may or may not be on Mars right now, Azizi Tucker has done it all. Being environmentally cons...
54. Green Buildings with Vivian Loftness (CMU), Lee Carnell (AIT)
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What does “good” look like? And what does “wonderful” look like? What does a “wonderful green building” look like?...
53. One more week
23 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Taiwan's seeing an uptick of COVID the past two weeks. And while that's happening, our new season launch is pushed to May 3. In today's home recording...
New season coming on April 22
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As promised, we’ve new episodes coming to you, starting April 22, Earth Day, aka our third anniversary! Get ready for a 5-part mini series with ...
52. Circular Economy 101 by Angela (Mandarin episode 循環經濟)
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Angela Chao was a rising senior at National Taiwan Univ (NTU) when she made this episode for “In Training 小鬼登島” - a Ghost Island M...
51. N8 installs solar panels
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
California is leading the United States into the solar panel revolution. And spoilers: it’s actually quite boring. Or at least, that's what an O...
50. N8's back in San Diego
14 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
N8's visiting home in San Diego! Don't worry though, the show's not ending, and he promised he will write us regularly. For other environm...
49. Sustainable menstrual products
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we bring back Emily Cardinali on the show! She was our very first editor, and she had really wanted to report on sustainable menstrual prod...
48. Isabel Aagaard (LastObject) on Sustainable Design
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We don’t all have to be sustainability consultants in order to save the environment. You can keep doing what you’re good at - and apply yo...
47. "Taiwan's Green Parties": Dafydd Fell (SOAS University of London)
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s show is a cross over with The Taiwan Take. Taiwan’s next referendum will soon vote on activating the nation’s fourth nuclear...
46. En-ROADS, a climate simulation
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do you enjoy gaming? Do you enjoy surviving our climate apocalypse? Well, good news! You can enjoy both at the same time! Last fall, Nature N8 w...
45. Is Seaspiracy worth seaing? (Not debunking)
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nature N8 is too old and tired to debunk any more bad environmental hogwash baloney. So he’s definitely not debunking Seaspiracy, the new 2021 N...
40. Covid-19 is NOT Climate Change
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
N8’s noticing some viral trends on Twitter, again. This time, media pieces are comparing COVID-19 to Climate Change. (Spoilers: they’re no...
39. Dr. Jasmine Clark (Georgia State Representative, US) at AAAS 2021
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Representative Dr. Jasmine Clark of Georgia is a microbiologist who organized the March for Science in Atlanta and was part of the following wave of s...
38. We dig into e-waste (CEWS, Corporate eWaste Solutions)
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Surprise! Nature N8 embarks on yet another field trip—this time to a waste recycling facility. Specifically, an electronic waste facility. If yo...
37. Solar energy is finally the cheapest in history?
30 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
*in some cases. Here’s another short(er) episode where N8 talks about whatever’s in the news! The International Energy Agency’s annu...
36. Smart windows, happy brains? Piers MacNaughton (View, Inc.)
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nature N8 looks into a smart windows company: View, to chat with Piers MacNaughton. Piers is the Director of Health Strategy at View, a Research Assoc...
35. Will K-pop and anime become carbon neutral?
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nature N8 gives a quick quip about recent news that other Asian countries are going “carbon neutral,” specifically: China, Japan, and Sout...
34. N8’s taking a break! (from pollution)
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
N8’s currently AFK on a trip to Taitung! But don’t worry, we’re still working on episodes while he’s gone, and you can e...
33. Ocean Economics: Jason Scorse (Center for the Blue Economy)
11 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jobs? In this apocalypse? It’s more likely than you think. It’ll also be more likely if we would just PAY ATTENTION to the ocean. That&rsq...
32. "Nature of Nature": Dr. Enric Sala (National Geographic explorer-in-residence)
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nature N8 speaks with Dr. Enric Sala about his new book: "The Nature of Nature - Why We Need the Wild", which lays out precisely how we are integrated...
31. "Two Trees Make a Forest": Jessica J. Lee (author)
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Two Trees Make a Forest" is a mix of nature writing and memoir, that follows the narrator Jessica J. Lee through Taiwan’s landscape and history...
30. Tiny Batteries: Antonio Baclig (Stanford U)
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Renewable energy is the future. But before we get there, we still need to figure out how to store renewable energy properly — and there are a bi...
29. Inside a food lab: Mattson (San Francisco)
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mattson is a food innovation company that creates food for almost all of our favorite grocery stores and restaurants. N8 grabs a bite with Mattson&rsq...
28. Lydia Zepeda (UW–Madison) on Sustainable Food (Live at AAAS 2020)
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Zepeda is a Professor Emeritus of University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on food systems. She gives us a taste of everything food-related from ...
27. Life after CSR: Christine Bader ("The Life I Want")
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nature N8 sits down with Christine Bader, former head of CSR for Amazon, and before that, a long-term employee at BP. What is it like working for gian...
26. Cannabis & sustainability: Jeff Chen (UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative)
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nature N8 sits down with Dr. Jeff Chen, a doctor and entrepreneur who specializes in cannabis research and commercialization. We’ve heard that h...
25. One year anniversary of Waste Not Why Not
22 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s our one-year anniversary! Hurray! We were launched last year on Earth Day as a sarcastic podcast fighting against greenwashing. The show ha...
24. Dr. Jane Lubchenco (former NOAA) (Live at AAAS 2020)
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Honorable Dr. Jane Lubchenco was the appointed Administrator of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) from 2009 to 2013 under U.S...
23. Do ya knowa about NOAA?
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At AAAS, N8 and Emily spoke to the Honorable Dr. Jane Lubchenco, former head of NOAA under US President Obama and current Ocean Goddess. But wait! Tha...
22. Stephan Lewandowsky (U. of Bristol) on science denial & disinformation (Live at AAAS 2020)
24 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nature N8 chats with Professor Stephan Lewandowsky about the psychological nature of science denialism. Professor Lewandowsky is the chair of Cognitiv...
21. N8 the science communicator
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After many educational chats with science educators, N8 makes an educated guess… Maybe he’s a science educator too! This week ...
We went to 5 cities in 2 weeks
02 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nature N8 and producer Emily Y. Wu have just returned from a two-week trip to the U.S. We spoke to a lot of really interesting people and can’t ...
20. Are we over overpopulation?
17 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s common to blame climate change on population growth. Even Dame Jane Goodall recently said so. Nature N8 used to be a population control adv...
19. Cleaning up The Ocean Cleanup (Irene Hofmeijer - L.O.O.P.)
03 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a $35 million problem in the fight to reduce marine plastics. It’s called “The Ocean Cleanup.” You have seen the video...
18. Shopping for carbon offset
14 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nature N8 calculates his carbon footprint and shops for the cheapest offset. But the retail therapy concludes that carbon offsets are very... off. Tre...
17. Plastic straw ban (Ep. 4 Update)
30 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We take another sip from our earlier episode about straws. Since then, Taiwan has introduced its plastic straw ban. But paper straws are still not the...
16. Taiwan's youth climate activist: Liang-Yi Chang (350.org)
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Two things happened this week: 1/ COP (Conference of the Parties - ie the only time countries meet to negotiate climate agreements) just wrapped up in...
15. Radical Change: Nebojsa Nakicenovic (IIASA)
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Anyone can say we need radical change to address the climate crisis, but there’s only one Professor Naki (Nebojsa Nakicenovic). He’s even ...
14. Fashion, trash, EV conversion (Live in Taipei)
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Held in Taipei on August 31st, we talked with Godfrey Ngai, CFO of Xing Mobility - an electric vehicle battery company going after two thirds of the w...
13. Garbage Gab 3: Global trash trade
14 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The US and Europe are dumping trash on developing countries, right? China broke recycling, right? Wrong! Since China stopped taking in foreign re...
12. (Patreon Exclusive) N8’s takes from Climate Week 2019
07 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Climate Week, some call it the most important week of the year, and best of all, Nature N8 was there this time. Each year NGOs, lobbyists, government ...
11. Garbage Gab 2: How America failed at waste - Alex Danovitch (Nothing Left to Waste)
10 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wonder why recycling was better when you were a kid in America? Well, it was. This episode, a trash wizard named Alex Danovitch joins N8 to talk ...
10. Garbage Gab 1: How Taiwan solved waste - Andrew Ryan (Radio Taiwan International)
26 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Nature N8 goes on “Taiwan Insider” to explain how Taiwan turned a 70% waste collection rate into a 60% recycling rate in less than a gener...
9. Does bio-plastic really biodegrade?
12 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
From bio-bags that survive landfills for years to bio-plastics that are actually just polyester, we are awash in confusing disposal messaging. The wor...
8. 100% Renewable Energy: Sam Kimmins (RE100, The Climate Group)
29 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In 2014, IKEA was among the founding members of a global campaign to get the world’s most influential businesses to use 100% renewable power. Known ...
7. Air pollution hurts our brains?
15 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists have seen our brains shrink from long-term exposure to dirty air. In this episode we think through air pollution in a different way. What&r...
6. EV Batteries: Daniel Vickery (Gogoro, head of engineering of batteries & energy systems)
01 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In part 2 of our series on electric vehicles, we focus on light EV and its battery infrastructure. We continue our conversation with Daniel Vickery, h...
5. Are EVs environmental?
17 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Electric vehicles (EV) have made a comeback since the great EV failures of the 1990's. Today, ten countries and a handful of cities around the world h...
4. Plastic Straw Bans (& strawlternatives)
04 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Plastic straws are everywhere. Governments and corporations are beginning to enact straw bans. That's good, right? But does banning plastic straws rea...
3. Coral Murder
20 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Corals are dying. By 2050 we probably won’t have any corals left in our oceans. But a really cool thing about coral is that it regenerates if we...
2. Do beach cleanups clean up?
05 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In 2017, 20-million pounds of litter was collected around the world on International Coastal Cleanup day. Do beach clean ups actually work? And if not...
1. Greenwashing (welcome to the show)
09 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
For this maiden voyage episode, we give you a sampling of the greatest viral hits of green-wash, to let you know what to expect on this journey into t...