In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Sambuddha Misra, a chemical oceanographer, associate professor of earth sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, and the chief scientist at Alt Carbon. Dr. Misra has spent two decades studying how chemical weathering shapes the planet's climate over millions of years, and is now actively applying that science to draw down atmospheric carbon at scale.

Alt Carbon's Darjeeling Revival Project is spreading finely crushed basalt, a byproduct of the Indian construction industry, across tens of thousands of acres of Himalayan tea estates. We explore the surprisingly elegant chain of geochemistry that removes CO2 from the air, supplies crucial micronutrients to degraded agricultural soils, and ultimately pushes alkalinity into the Bay of Bengal to buffer against ocean acidification.

Some topics we cover:

• The Geochemistry of Accelerated Weathering: The literal mechanics of how crushed basalt, rainwater, and atmospheric CO2 interact to compress a million-year geological process into a single commercial cycle.

• Agricultural Yields and the Human Element: Why the physical application of basalt is done entirely by hand, and how this process is driving incredible crop yield increases in degraded soils.

• Measurement Bottlenecks and the Reality of Scaling: The grueling structural reality of verifying commercial carbon credits. Dr. Misra breaks down the exact science of tracking elements in open soil profiles, and why scaling this project will require inventing entirely new measurement technologies.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Alt Carbon: ⁠altcarbon.com⁠

  • The Darjeeling Revival Project: ⁠⁠⁠altcarbon.com⁠⁠⁠

• Isometric Registry: ⁠isometric.com⁠

  Indian Institute of Science: ⁠https://iisc.ac.in/⁠

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Thanks as always to our Producer, Emily Pokou.

In this special episode, we depart from our usual format and partner with Jan Maisenbacher from the Ocean Collaborations podcast to sit down with Alice Guittard, who has spent the last five years with the Bridge Project focusing on the active management of a transboundary ecosystem: the Black Sea.

The Bridge Black Sea Project was designed to advance knowledge, deliver research, and empower citizens to build a sustainable, climate-neutral blue economy. We explore the massive environmental challenges facing the sea, a marine ecosystem bordered by six nations and fed by the watersheds of more than twenty others. This conversation also examines the realities and logistical hurdles of attempting international scientific collaboration in the middle of an active war. Some topics we cover:

• The Tragedy of the Commons: The inherent risk when a shared resource collapses because individual actors are incentivized to exploit it simultaneously. This requires strict cooperation to prevent ecosystem failure.

• Environmental Casualties of War: The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in 2023 resulted in over fifty deaths, tens of thousands of displaced people, and impacted drinking water for over 700,000 individuals. It also released decades of accumulated agricultural chemicals and heavy metals directly into the sea.

• Data Blind Spots and Scientific Embargos: Severing ties with Russian researchers effectively blinded one-fifth of the Black Sea's monitoring network. We openly weigh the friction between transnational scientific preservation and geopolitical policy decisions.

Special thanks to ⁠Jan Maisenbacher⁠ from the Ocean Collaborations podcast for facilitating this conversation, and thank you to our new co-producer, ⁠Emily Pokou who is helping take the show to new heights. Stay tuned for everymore interesting storytelling.

Projects & Tools Mentioned:

• Bridge Black Sea Project: bridgeblacksea.org

• The Black Sea Digital Twin of Ocean: bridgeblacksea.org/index.php/black-sea-dto

• European Digital Twin of the Ocean: edito.eu

• The Black Sea Blue Economy Observatory: blackseabeo.eu

• BRIDGE-BS Living Labs: bridgeblacksea.org/index.php/living-labs

• The Coalition of cities, regions, islands, and ports for the Mission Ocean and Waters: co-waters.eu/coalition

Organizations & Media:

• IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature): iucn.org

• Ocean Collaborations Podcast: ⁠Apple Podcasts Link

• A Light in the Black: Keep an eye out for updates on our upcoming documentary. ⁠Trailer and more here⁠.

In this episode of REEF Roundup we sit down with Oxford legal scholar Sarah Levy and legendary frontline conservationist Captain Paul Watson to discuss their new book, The Only Flag Worth Flying. In it they challenge the assumption that law enforcement belongs solely to the nation-state, arguing that when governments abandon their duty to protect marine ecosystems, direct action by non-state actors becomes both justified and necessary.

This conversation explores environmental law, the weaponization of the legal system against conservationists, and the extents to which some people are ready to go in order to save our oceans.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The Illusion of Protection: The difference between hard and soft law in international environmental agreements, and why treaties like the High Seas Treaty remain meaningless without enforcement.

  
  

• Embracing the Pirate Identity: How historical pirates and privateers bypassed bureaucracy to achieve results, and why being a "pirate" is an appropriate response to a broken legal system.

  
  

• The Post-State World Order: Examining the breakdown of the traditional rules-based order and the rising necessity for NGOs and civil society to push forward, even without permission.

  
  

• Aggressive Nonviolence and Legal Precedent: Captain Watson's strategy of intervening to uphold international conservation law, such as using the UN World Charter for Nature to win legal acquittals after sinking illegal whaling vessels.

  
  

• Weaponizing the Law: How the legal system, including Interpol red notices, is used by exploitative industries to target effective conservationists and whistleblowers.

  
  

• The Upcoming Krill Campaign: Details on the Paul Watson Foundation's imminent expedition to confront the Norwegian and Chinese krill fishery in the Southern Ocean to provoke an international legal precedent.

  
  

• The Power of the Present: Wisdom from American Indian Movement leader Russell Means on focusing entirely on doing the right thing in the present rather than worrying about the odds of winning.

  
  

About Our Guests:

• Sarah Levy: An Oxford legal scholar whose work bridges the gap between socio-legal methods, indigenous rights, and environmental law. She is currently finalizing her PhD focusing on seal hunting activities in Canada.

  
  

• Captain Paul Watson: A frontline conservationist and the founder of both the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation. He has spent over 50 years defending marine wildlife through direct action.

  
  

Resources Mentioned:

• The Only Flag Worth Flying by Sarah Levy and Paul Watson, available via Routledge and major booksellers.

  
  

• The Captain Paul Watson Foundation at paulwatsonfoundation.org.

  
  

• UN World Charter for Nature.

  
  

• BBNJ Agreement / High Seas Treaty.