Second Nature

The word "clean" on your shampoo bottle means exactly nothing — legally, anyway. The U.S. has taken so long to update regulations that it's created a huge gap between what consumers want — products without toxic chemicals — and what the government regulates. This means only a small portion of toxic chemicals used in manufacturing are actually regulated at a national level. Folks like advocate and author Lindsay Dahl have been working for decades to close this gap, passing dozens of laws in the process. But the regulatory gap has left space for a "clean" industry to emerge, and rack up lots of cash. The "clean" beauty industry alone is worth $7 billion.
In this episode, we talk to Lindsay Dahl about how we've gone this far without adequate toxicity regulation and how to shop smarter, we hear how big beauty brands have pushed back against regulation, we find out how to use our voices for federal-level change, and we hear how our community is navigating this tricky landscape.
If you want to check out any of the orgs Lindsay mentioned, you can find some here, and the full list is in her book, Cleaning House: 

Toxic Free Future
Natural Resources Defense Council
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Working Group
Saferstates.org 
 
Episode rundown:

(00:36) - Why is this my job?

(01:49) - The history of chemical regulation

(05:49) - What does “clean” mean to you?

(12:06) - The fight rid our homes of toxic chemicals

(29:24) - Following the money

(38:17) - What you can do

(40:14) - Community Classified

📱 Want to make your money count? Download the Commons app .
🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.
📞 Want to submit to the show? We'd love to hear from you!
📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits
Listener contributions: Anna, Darice Chang, Nyiah, Kayla Joy , Sawyer, Grace Hebert, Dom Altomari
Research: Makenna McBrierty
Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

Your workout leggings, your morning commute, and the fertilizer to grow your food — what do they have in common? They're all fossil fuel legacies of war. In this episode, we connect the dots between the military and the climate crisis, tracing how wartime decisions made decades ago still shape and pollute our everyday lives.
We sit down with Neta C. Crawford, professor of international relations at the University of St. Andrews and author of The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War, to unpack a staggering blind spot in our global emissions picture: the military. We also follow the money with Commons co-founder Sanchali Pal to understand how the U.S. kept military missions out of the Kyoto Protocol, and what that means for climate targets today. We also hear how our community feels about using their money to avoid funding wars they don't support. 
Episode rundown:

(00:22) - The US military is the world's single largest institutional fossil fuel consumer.

(01:31) - War's Industrial Afterlife: Nylon, fertilizer, and freeways.

(05:55) - Community action: from campus divestment campaigns to rethinking their everyday spending.

(09:02) - A deep dive into military emissions, hidden history, and the case for diplomacy.

(38:07) - Following the Money: How Big Oil lobbied to keep military emissions off the global books

(44:18) - Your vote and your wallet are more powerful climate tools than you think.

(46:10) - Community Classified: Citizens’ Climate Lobby

📱 Want to make your money count? Download the Commons app .
🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.
📞 Want to submit to the show? We'd love to hear from you!
📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits
Listener contributions: Braden Marazzo-Nowicki, Diana Holguin, Drew, Julia Nolasco, Fionaa Bhatia, Nicole Collins
Research: Makenna McBrierty
Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

[This episode originally aired June 19, 2024] Composting is one of the easiest, most rewarding climate actions. You get to repurpose food waste, save money on fertilizer, and give back to the soil. Plus, there are so many ways to do it! On this episode, you'll get a straightforward explanation of how composting works and all the inspiration and guidance you need to start composting — no matter where you live. Listen in to hear:
Our community's firsthand advice for composting in any living situation
Your composting questions answered by Dr. Sheridan Ross of Compton Community Garden
The carbon impact of composting our food waste
📱 Want to make your money count? Download the Commons app .
🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.
📞 Want to submit to the show? We'd love to hear from you!
📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode credits
Listener contributions: Nicole Collins, Joëlle Provost , Lindsay Kerns, Bo Meisl, Sameera Mokkarala, Melissa Athina, Yolanda Gonzalez, Gracon Ladd, and Daniel Goh‍
Featured guests: Dr. Sheridan Ross and Sanchali Seth Pal‍
Editing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍
Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

In a world that tries to get us to shop fast, slowing down our shopping is an act of resistance. In this community episode, our listeners share how slowing down their shopping habits saved them money, cut down on waste, and made them appreciate their stuff any more.
 
Episode rundown:

(00:00) - Why is slow shopping important?

(03:07) - Slow shopping tips from our community

(11:25) - Reflections on slow shopping

📱 Want to make your money count? Download the Commons app .
🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.
📞 Want to submit to the show? We'd love to hear from you!
📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits
Listener contributions: Grace Kinney-Broderick, Grace Hebert, Molly Barton, Sophia Anderson, Keionna Spalding, Gaby Beaudoin
Research: Makenna McBrierty
Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

The aviation industry has gotten twice as fuel-efficient since 1990, and emissions have still quadrupled. In this episode, we reckon with the guilt of flying, tracing it from economy class all the way up to private jets, where a handful of ultra-wealthy passengers emit up to 500 times more carbon than the average person annually. Plus, we dig into sustainable aviation fuel with Alyssa Norris from Aether Fuels and what it would actually take to make flying something we don't have to feel guilty about.
Episode rundown:

(00:35) - Should we feel guilty about flying?

(03:12) - Our flying footprint

(05:17) - Reckoning with guilty consciences

(09:52) - What is SAF and why aren’t all planes using it?

(27:19) - Following the money from private jets to economy

(37:08) - Individual actions for systemic change

📱 Want to make your money count? Download the Commons app .
🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.
📞 Want to submit to the show? We'd love to hear from you!
📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits
Listener contributions: Lorena, Morgan Gallagher, Bruno Olmedo Quiroga, Darice  Chang, Jessica Tucker, Kayla Joy , Lena, Dom Altomari
Research: Makenna McBrierty
Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham