Care More Be Better: A Podcast For Sustainable Social Impact and Regeneration

Cutting emissions is the first job, but scientists say we also need to remove carbon that is already in the air, and how we do it will decide whether people trust it. Ugbaad Kosar brings a human-rights lens to the question, shaped by the 2011 drought and famine that reached her family in Somalia. In this conversation she explains the range of carbon removal approaches, from soil and forests to direct air capture and the ocean, and why the land-based options may be the ones ready to go today. She also makes the case that community input is not a courtesy but a requirement, with data centers as a real-time lesson, and shares what Carbon180's CORE framework asks of anyone building a project. You will leave with practical ways to get informed and speak up when a project is proposed near you.

Show Note:

00:00 – Why Land-Based Carbon Removal Benefits Go Beyond Carbon

00:28 – Introduction to Care More Be Better

00:47 – Meet Ugbaad Kosar: Equity and Justice at Carbon180

02:26 – Ugbaad’s Journey Into Climate Science and Environmental Justice

06:07 – What Is Carbon Removal and Why Do We Need It?

08:01 – Why Carbon Removal Must Work Alongside Emissions Reduction

09:50 – Iceland’s Circular Carbon Removal and Algae Project

14:14 – Why Carbon Removal Requires a Portfolio of Solutions

15:10 – Exploring Carbon Removal Technologies and Their Potential

18:00 – Land-Based Carbon Removal: Practical Solutions We Can Scale Today

22:03 – Ocean-Based Carbon Removal: Opportunities and Uncertainties

25:48 – The Hidden Benefits of Regenerative Agriculture

26:32 – Technology-Based Carbon Removal and Community Benefits

28:34 – What Data Centers Teach Us About Community Engagement

32:05 – Creating Meaningful Benefits for Local Communities

37:47 – Supporting Farmers Through the Transition to Regenerative Practices

39:55 – Building Equity and Justice Into Carbon Removal

40:16 – Carbon180’s Community Regranting Program

43:15 – Bringing Science, Innovation, Equity, and Justice Together

47:23 – Introducing the CORE Carbon Removal Framework

50:56 – Transparency and Accountability in Climate Projects

52:46 – How Individuals Can Support Responsible Carbon Removal

55:11 – What Gives Ugbaad Hope for the Future?

56:37 – Closing Thoughts and Supporting Prescott College

About Ugbaad Kosar

Ugbaad Kosar is the Director of Equity and Justice at Carbon180, where she leads the organization's equity and justice program. Her work focuses on ensuring that carbon removal is credible, accountable, and shaped by the communities most impacted by climate solutions.
With more than eight years of interdisciplinary experience in environmental science research, policy development, advocacy, and data analysis, Ugbaad works to advance inclusive and equitable climate policy. Previously, she worked for the City of Ottawa, informing municipal and provincial environmental legislation, and developed policy for both a grassroots organization and the City of Edmonton.

Ugbaad holds a dual Master of Science in forest sciences and renewable resource management from the University of Alberta and the University of Freiburg, as well as a bachelor's degree from Carleton University. Her writing has appeared in The Hill and Electricity Journal.

Connect with Ugbaad Kosar

Carbon180

Ugbaad Kosar on LinkedIn

Learn More

The CORE Carbon Removal Framework

Introducing the CORE Carbon Removal Framework

Carbon180 also publishes The Carbon Copy, a weekly news roundup, at Carbon180.org.
CONNECT & SUPPORT CARE MORE BE BETTER
Substack: https://caremorebebetter.substack.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/caremorebebetter
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@caremorebebetter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caremorebebetter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CareMoreBeBetter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-more-be-better
CAUSE PARTNER: If you value open dialogue, sustainability, and social equity, I invite you to support our new cause partner —Prescott College. To learn more about this effort and to support the show, visit: https://caremorebebetter.com/support/

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This week, we’re sharing a bonus episode from Care More Be Better’s unfiltered sibling show, Care Less Be Worse: The Environmental News Rant. This version has been edited for language.

In 2026, we lost some of the people who made a better world feel possible, and in a single 24-hour stretch this week, we lost three of them. Corinna honors seven allies who spent their lives protecting the land, the animals, the workers, and the communities living in the shadow of smokestacks.

Anthony Head championed animal rescue alongside his late partner, animal welfare campaigner Sarah Fisher. Dolly Parton helped create a sanctuary for bald eagles and showed up for her neighbors when wildfires swept through the Smoky Mountains. Wendell Berry installed solar panels in coal country and protested strip mining well into his late seventies. Gloria Steinem reminded us that our movements are “linked, not ranked.” Patrick Stewart warned that our planet’s decline was accelerating and called for a new Star Trek to remind us what humanity could be. Dolores Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers, fought for the people who feed us, and gave us “Sí se puede.” And Desmond D’Sa, the Goldman Prize-winning activist, spent more than 30 years fighting refinery pollution in South Durban, even after his home was firebombed.

This episode begins in grief and ends with a call to carry their work forward. As Dolores Huerta put it: don’t wait to be invited, step in. Election Day is Tuesday. Find your voting information at vote.gov.

Remembering them

Patrick Stewart (NPR): https://www.npr.org/2026/10/29/1230906945/patrick-stewart-dead

Dolores Huerta (TIME): https://time.com/article/2026/10/28/dolores-huerta-dies/

Desmond D’Sa (Mail & Guardian): https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2026-10-29-desmond-d-sa-fearless-champion-of-environmental-justice-dies-in-crash/

Gloria Steinem (ABC News): https://abcnews.com/US/feminist-icon-journalist-gloria-steinem-dies/story?id=82183161

Wendell Berry (The Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/sep/01/wendell-berry-us-author-dead

Dolly Parton (NPR): https://www.npr.org/2026/08/25/nx-s1-3650175/dolly-parton-obituary

Anthony Head (Playbill): https://playbill.com/article/stage-and-screen-actor-anthony-head-has-died-at-72

For the uncensored version, follow Care Less Be Worse:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/care-less-be-worse-the-environmental-news-rant/id6826374983
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ma3uZooZf1pQ4jdmG2Oy8
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/61e2aca8-9f31-45a0-809a-06190c56b559/care-less-be-worse-the-environmental-news-rant
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-care-less-be-worse-the-env-348283076

Rant there. Recover here. Join our circle at https://caremorebebetter.com and @caremorebebetter.

Get a story that fired you up? Send it to rant@carelessbeworse.com.
Background music courtesy of Arches Audio’s free song of the week, June 8, 2021.

CONNECT & SUPPORT CARE MORE BE BETTER
Substack: https://caremorebebetter.substack.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/caremorebebetter
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@caremorebebetter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caremorebebetter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CareMoreBeBetter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-more-be-better
CAUSE PARTNER: If you value open dialogue, sustainability, and social equity, I invite you to support our new cause partner —Prescott College. To learn more about this effort and to support the show, visit: https://caremorebebetter.com/support/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, we’re sharing a bonus episode from Care More Be Better’s unfiltered sibling show, Care Less Be Worse: The Environmental News Rant. This version has been bleeped for this feed.

For the uncensored version and a full list of sources, follow Care Less Be Worse:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/care-less-be-worse-the-environmental-news-rant/id6826374983
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ma3uZooZf1pQ4jdmG2Oy8
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/61e2aca8-9f31-45a0-809a-06190c56b559/care-less-be-worse-the-environmental-news-rant
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-care-less-be-worse-the-env-348283076
SHOW NOTES:
Caring deeply about the world means getting angry sometimes, too. In this episode, Corinna gets personal about one of the least-covered costs of climate change: the bill that comes after the fire and the flood. She shares what it’s been like to live in the Santa Cruz Mountains since the CZU Lightning Complex in 2020, to watch friends lose their homes and their insurance, to have her home office flood three times during the atmospheric rivers of 2022 to 2023, and to see her fire insurance premium more than quadruple since 2009.

She also looks at this week’s king tide flooding in Marin, a potentially record-breaking El Niño, the latest California FAIR Plan rate hike, rising construction costs, the shrinking federal disaster safety net, and why so many homeowners still aren’t connecting their rising insurance bills to a warming planet.

It’s raw, it’s personal, and it ends with a fiery call to action ahead of Election Day. Find your voting information at vote.gov.

Key sources from this episode

California FAIR Plan rate hike (KQED): https://www.kqed.org/news/12094860/california-fair-plan-announces-29-1-rate-hike-for-homeowners-this-fall

What climate change costs U.S. households (MIT Sloan): https://mitsloan.mit.edu/press/why-climate-change-costing-u-s-households-hundreds-dollars-a-year

NOAA 2026 to 2027 Winter Outlook: https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/el-nino-looms-large-over-us-winter-outlook

Marin flooding as a preview of El Niño winter (NBC Bay Area): https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/marin-county-flooding-high-tides-el-nino/4164618/

Background music courtesy of Arches Audio’s free song of the week, June 8, 2021.

Rant there. Recover here. Next week, we’re back with more conversations with the people building a better future.

Join our circle at https://caremorebebetter.com and @caremorebebetter.

CONNECT & SUPPORT CARE MORE BE BETTER
Substack: https://caremorebebetter.substack.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/caremorebebetter
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@caremorebebetter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caremorebebetter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CareMoreBeBetter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-more-be-better
CAUSE PARTNER: If you value open dialogue, sustainability, and social equity, I invite you to support our new cause partner —Prescott College. To learn more about this effort and to support the show, visit: https://caremorebebetter.com/support/

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Feeling discouraged about politics does not have to mean tuning out. Jenna Spinelle has spent years telling the stories of ordinary people who saw a problem, found like-minded neighbors, and started working on it, whether or not they won. In this conversation, Jenna traces her path from local newspapers and Penn State admissions to building a network of democracy podcasts, explains why city councils and school boards are the most accessible place to start, and shares what she is learning while writing a book about the democracy reform movement. You will leave with a short list of organizations, books, and one-hour actions that make participation feel doable.

Episode Blog is here: https://caremorebebetter.com/democracy-works-when-we-do-hope-reform-and-how-to-get-involved-with-jenna-spinelle/

Topics Covered

[00:00] Intro

[02:30] Jenna's path from print journalism and Penn State admissions to the McCourtney Institute and Democracy Works

[03:38] How The Democracy Group network came together, and why Care More Be Better is now part of it

[05:02]Registering voters as a college freshman in 2004 and how student engagement has changed

[07:33]Holding hope and concern at the same time, and limiting news to protect your mental health

[10:00] Why local government (city council, school board) is where you are most likely to effect change

[12:51] Stories from When the People Decide: everyday people working on grassroots democracy reform

[15:33] Ballot measures as a messy but useful tool, and the Citizens Initiative Review

[17:20] Why the 25th and 26th Amendment stories show that one person can start something

[20:07] A Florida resident who raised concerns about Flock cameras with his city council

[22:22] Jenna's forthcoming book and the 96% of Americans frustrated with the status quo (Pew)

[25:40] Umbrella organizations to start with: National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers, Bridge Alliance, iCivics

[28:02] Finding common ground on clean air, clean water, and public lands, and Jenna's work with Common Ground USA

[30:27]Low-lift ways to connect: democracy happy hours, Zoom and Slack groups, and Podcast Brunch Club

[33:02] If you have one hour this month: preview your ballot, plan to vote, learn about being a poll worker

[35:30] Why Jenna is hopeful about Gen Z, and her Agora Institute project connecting creators and democracy organizations

[38:00] Five-year outlook: campaign finance reform, open primaries, ranked choice voting, and the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

[40:20] Ranked choice voting explained in plain language

[44:50] A closing challenge: pick something that matters to you and join with your neighbors

Resources and Links

Jenna Spinelle: https://jennaspinelle.com/

The Democracy Group: https://democracygroup.org/

NOTE: Get a free guide from The Democracy Group: nine ways to take action as a citizen
(when you subscribe on their website)

When the People Decide: https://democracygroup.org/shows/when-the-people-decide

Democracy Works: https://www.democracyworkspodcast.com/

National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers: https://www.nonpartisanreformers.org/

Bridge Alliance: https://www.bridgealliance.us/

iCivics: https://www.icivics.org/

Vote411 (League of Women Voters): https://www.vote411.org/

Ballotpedia sample ballot lookup: https://ballotpedia.org/Sample_ballot_lookup_tools

Katharine Hayhoe: https://www.katharinehayhoe.com/

Common Ground USA https://www.cg-usa.org/

The Pennsylvania Resilient State Working Group: https://www.resilientpa.org/

I Never Thought of It That Way by Monica Guzman

High Conflict by Amanda Ripley

Citizens Initiative Review: https://healthydemocracy.org/home/services/cir/

Podcast Brunch Club: https://podcastbrunchclub.com/

CONNECT & SUPPORT CARE MORE BE BETTER
Substack: https://caremorebebetter.substack.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/caremorebebetter
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@caremorebebetter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caremorebebetter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CareMoreBeBetter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-more-be-better
CAUSE PARTNER: If you value open dialogue, sustainability, and social equity, I invite you to support our new cause partner —Prescott College. To learn more about this effort and to support the show, visit: https://caremorebebetter.com/support/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Care More Be Better has always been about hope: amplifying the scientists, activists, and changemakers building a more sustainable, regenerative future. That isn’t changing. New interviews will keep arriving here every week.

But caring deeply about the world also means getting angry about what’s happening to it. So I’ve launched a new companion show, Care Less Be Worse: The Environmental News Rant, a raw, unedited space where I take the gloves off about the news that’s wrecking our natural world and our communities. Environmental rollbacks, public lands on the auction block, a billionaire class racing to care less while the rest of us live with the consequences. If you’ve ever finished a news story wanting to scream, this show is for you.

In this bonus episode, you’ll hear the trailer that sets the tone for what’s coming. Fair warning: it’s explicit, and it’s meant to be. Care Less Be Worse is where I process the rage so that here, at Care More Be Better, we can keep focusing on solutions.

Rant there. Recover here.

Follow Care Less Be Worse:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/care-less-be-worse-the-environmental-news-rant/id6826374983
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ma3uZooZf1pQ4jdmG2Oy8
iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-care-less-be-worse-the-env-348283076
Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/61e2aca8-9f31-45a0-809a-06190c56b559/care-less-be-worse-the-environmental-news-rant

Send stories that fire you up to careless@circleb.co.

As November approaches, build your plan and make sure your voice and your vote count. Find your state’s voting information at https://vote.gov.

Background music courtesy of Arches Audio’s free song of the week, June 8, 2021.

CONNECT & SUPPORT CARE MORE BE BETTER
Substack: https://caremorebebetter.substack.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/caremorebebetter
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@caremorebebetter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caremorebebetter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CareMoreBeBetter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-more-be-better
CAUSE PARTNER: If you value open dialogue, sustainability, and social equity, I invite you to support our new cause partner —Prescott College. To learn more about this effort and to support the show, visit: https://caremorebebetter.com/support/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.