Stephanie Marie Seferian's Blog, page 30

The Health Of Our Oceans with Dr. Sylvia Earle

Many of us think of the seaside as a relaxing place to vacation. Water sports and seafood, too, often come to mind when we think about the ways in which oceans improve our lives.

But the reality is that vacations, water sports, and seafood pale in comparison to what oceans *actually* give us, which is, of course, our very existence.

Today I speak with world-renowned oceanographer and National Geographic’s Explorer-At-Large Dr. Sylvia Earle. Dr. Earle has logged over 7,000 hours underwater and sh...

How To Clean Up Your Digital Carbon Footprint

“I want to minimize my digital carbon footprint because I understand that storing old emails in server farms uses a lot of energy.  I have three email accounts with thousands of emails because I’m super lazy about emails.  If I delete 1,000 of the really old unnecessary emails, what’s my annual CO2 savings? If all of your listeners did the same, how much energy could we save? How many cars off the road?”

 

It’s likely you’ve already sent a few emails today. Perhaps you’ve also streamed a video a...

Preparing For Postpartum

It takes a village to raise a child. And in those days and weeks following childbirth? Research finds that mothers benefit from an awful lot of support.

In fact, women who benefit from culturally-embedded support in the fourth trimester report extremely low incidences of baby blues and postpartum mood disorders as opposed to cultures without such support.

Today I’m speaking with postpartum doula and newborn care specialist Gigi Vera Vincent. Gigi is on the show to divulge how we can both honor a...

Rapid Fire Q&A

Listeners often reach out with questions big and small, and so today I’m answering 5 of them in a rapid style format.

 

Here’s a preview of the questions answered in this episode:

[2:15] Which is the better environmental choice: organic produce but wrapped in plastic, or non-organic and plastic-free?

[7:30] How should we best declutter during a pandemic and where should we put our efforts?

[10:45] Should we even bother recycling since so little actually gets recycled?

[14:45] Are Force Of Nature...

Creating Closet Boundaries With Color

Too many choices breeds uncertainty, and excessive clothing options makes getting dressed harder, not easier. But knowing intuitively what looks good on you? Such knowledge simplifies shopping, reduces your environmental impact, and creates a coordinated wardrobe without unnecessary effort.

Today I speak with Jeannie Stith, founder and CEO of Color Guru. Jeannie is an expert at matching people to their ideal color palette so they can look their best and save money. Today we discuss how you can c...

Unhappy Returns

Online shopping has made buying more convenient, sure. But because we can’t touch, feel, and try items on when perusing e-commerce sites, return rates have skyrocketed. Each year in the US alone, shoppers return approximately 3.5 billion products, only 20% of which are actually defective. Spoiler alert: these perfectly new and non-defective items that we return? Workers only very rarely restock them for sale.

Today I divulge what *actually* happens to clothing that we buy online and then return;...

A Better Cup Of (Ethical) Coffee

Most of us don’t tend to think about the environmental or ethical consequences associated with coffee; we just like what we like. And because there’s something about the ritual of drinking coffee that’s so deeply embedded in our daily lives, we often stick with what we’ve always done—and buy the brand we’ve always bought—instead of attempting to brew a more ethical cup of joe.

Today I’m discussing all-things coffee with David Sells, co-founder of organic coffee subscription service Better Ground...

How To Lead A Radical Footprint Life

We tend to frame intentional, eco-friendly living in terms of reduction: Create less trash. Lower that carbon footprint. Tread lighter on our shared planet. But a reduction-centered mindset assumes that we can only be less bad; there’s nothing to be said about forcing tangible good.

What if we reframed the conversation to one that assumes we can leave the planet BETTER than we found it?

Can we give more than we take and, if so, how?

Today I’m speaking with Beth Craig. Beth believes each of us ca...

Listeners Call In! 20+ Minimalist Gift Ideas

When it comes to giving presents, sustainable minimalists understand that less is more and thoughtful is better. Indeed, minimalist holiday gift ideas don’t manifest themselves when walking the mall; you can’t find them by panic buying in the days leading up to Christmas, either.

Need some inspiration? Today I’m thrilled to turn the mic over to you the listeners as you offer up nearly 2 dozen non-consumer gifts for the holiday season.

 

Here’s a preview:

[2:20] Making (and preserving!) memories ...

The Power Of The Purse

Instead of legitimate reform, companies often rebrand their problematic practices as “green,” “woke,” and “ethical.” Not surprisingly, we consumers are both angry and disillusioned by these marketing lies. But when we use our collective purchasing power to fight back, we show our strength. Hence, the power of the purse.

Today I speak with author Tanja Hester. While Tanja doesn’t offer easy solutions or simple answers in our conversation, she does lay a roadmap for making better (not perfect!) mo...