Category Archives: It’s Hot In Here

Distilled Spirits, the Michigan Way

Distilled Spirits, the Michigan Way

 
 
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Our hosts Alex Truelove, Ed Waisanen, and Bailey Schneider  wrapped up our three part series, “Please, Drink Sustainably” with a vibrant discussion on distilled spirits with distiller and marketing director at Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks, Michigan, Nick Yoder, and co-owner and operator of Cafe Zola in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Alan Zakalik.

Journeyman Distillery is an Organic Spirits Distillery, located in the EK Warren Historic Featherbone Factory, in Three Oaks, Michigan. They offer a variety of organic spirits such as vodka, gin and rum but mainly focus on whiskey.  The spirits are distilled, bottled, labeled, and packaged at their distillery. Journeyman Distillery puts a strong emphasis on maintaining sustainability in their practices from their location in a historic reclaimed factory to their spirits. This distillery started four years ago and has focused on being a sustainable and innovative business ever since. The spirits are made using certified organic ingredients sourced from the local farmers. The Journeyman Distillery Tasting Room offers a variety of food items, all made with organic ingredients from local farms.

Screen Shot 2015-11-22 at 10.31.31 PMNick helps Journeyman Distillery share the tales of its journey with the world. Nick is in charge of raising customer awareness and bringing consumers to the distillery to experience the spirits first hand. He pridefully proclaims to have extensive knowledge of spirits from his experience of distilling once a week.

Screen Shot 2015-11-22 at 10.32.03 PMAlan Zakalik has owned and operated Café Zola alongside Hediye Batu since 1996.  Alan and Hediye deliberately choose their suppliers to ensure that they serve the highest possible quality of food and beverages. Alan emphasizes that they try to buy local and organic when possible. Café Zola has an exquisite bar menu and serves many craft liqueurs. Alan discussed traditional polish cherry liqueur making, something that anyone can do at home.

Sustainability in the local alcohol industry has remained a constant throughout this series. Producing distilled spirits requires more energy than beer and wine production, and almost of the water used in the distillation process ends up as waste. To combat this, many local distillers are purchasing grain from local organic farmers, reusing liqueur barrels, and turning their waste into energy.

A Cultural Shift to Conservation: Craft Beer in Michigan

A Cultural Shift to Conservation: Craft Beer in Michigan

 
 
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In this first episode of our three part series called “Please, Drink Sustainably,” our guests Kris Spaulding, co-founder of Brewery Vivant, and Brian Tennis, owner and operator of the Michigan Hop Alliance taught hosts Harry Rice, Becca Baylor, Ed Waisanen, and Alex Truelove all about the sustainability innovations in beer production happening right here in the mitten.

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Cherries of Change: Adaptation by Michigan Farmers

Cherries of Change: Adaptation by Michigan Farmers

 
 
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20151030_132737It’s the finale of our three part series on climate change. This week our hosts Becca Baylor, Ed Waisanen, and Alex Truelove investigate the implications of climate change on agriculture, especially on cherries in northern Michigan.  They are joined on the phone by Jim Nugent, the director of the Leelanau Conservancy; Nikki Rothwell, the coordinator of the Northwestern Michigan Horticultural Research Station; and in studio by Dr. Paige Fischer,  Assistant Professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment.
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City Limits to Climate Change: Climate Justice from neighborhoods to negotiations

City Limits to Climate Change: Climate Justice from neighborhoods to negotiations

 
 
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Today’s show, the second in a three part climate change series, discusses climate justice in cities from Detroit to Paris, site of the upcoming United Nations Conference of Parties on  Climate Change. In other news, the studio may just never have been this hot before; we were tempted to pour our water over our heads.
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Small Islands, Rising Seas

Small Islands, Rising Seas

 
 
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This week’s show begins a three part series on the topic of climate change. The first show in the set discusses the vulnerability of small islands. The second will consider cities as places that also reflect unjust risk distribution and vulnerability (whether through heat islands, or other phenomena). The third will consider climate adaptation strategies of Michigan’s cherry and grape producers.

Today’s island tour was conceived initially and researched by a team of UM Students including Miriam Butler, Matt Edelstein, Franny Melampy, Justin Petersmark, and Ella Tutlis . It comes to you through the voices of Dr. Rebecca Hardin (also known as Rebecca in the studio) Ed Waisanen, a first year SNRE masters student, and Harry Rice, a senior in Program in the Environment. There were quite a few good laughs in the segment, many stemming from the infamous teal shorts worn by Harry (see below) on such a cold fall day—islands ho!
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Flourishing within Limits to Growth

Flourishing within Limits to Growth

 
 
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This week we are on the phone with Dr. Brian D. Fath, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Towson University, and a major contributor to the newly published book, Flourishing Within Limits to Growth: Following nature’s way. We are joined in the studio by Joey Zhouyuan Li, a Ph.D student in the School of Environment at Tsinghua University, China, who is currently a visiting scholar at Towson under Professor Fath. We also welcome two new additions to the IHIH team: first-year SNRE master’s students Alex Truelove and Ed Waisanen. Alex recently transitioned to SNRE from a career in music and is studying Sustainable Systems at SNRE. Ed is an Ann Arbor native who has recently returned to Michigan to study Environmental Policy and Planning.

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Camp Davis Rocky Mountain Field Station

Camp Davis Rocky Mountain Field Station

 
 
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About Camp Davis

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Cabins at Camp Davis

Nestled in the mountains 19 miles south of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and tucked between the Hoback River and Bridger Teton National Forest,  Camp Davis Rocky Mountain Field Station is a research and teaching facility owned and operated by the University of Michigan and managed by the Department of Earth & Environmental Science. Camp Davis has provided an unparalleled learning experience each summer since 1929. Camp Davis offers courses in Introductory Geology, Geological Mapping, Ecosystem Science and the History and Literature of the West. Located within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and nearby Grand Teton National Park, our location provides a wealth of instructional opportunities. Continue reading Camp Davis Rocky Mountain Field Station

Fun with Fungi

Fun with Fungi

 
 
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This week our special in studio guest is Philip Tedischi, Past President and current Vice President of the Michigan Mushroom Hunters Club, Phil is a “real fungi.” We learned during our time in studio that he served as engineer for WCBN FM back in his days as an undergraduate at UM in the 1960s, but also boasts a total of 5 advanced degrees from the university of MI, including a PhD in Computer Science. Phil was joined on the mike by contemporary DJ Rodney, a Saline, MI resident who stopped on his way out of the studios after his show to ask a few choice questions about Morrell mushrooms. Tune in and learn along with Rodney! Phil is a real authority, and leads mushroom hunts on many fall weekends.

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Fukushima and Fisheries: Responses to Environmental Disaster in Contemporary Japan

Fukushima and Fisheries: Responses to Environmental Disaster in Contemporary Japan

 
 
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This week we have two very special guests in studio with us, and one on the phone lines, to talk about Environmental Disaster, Fisheries, and the Future in Japan.

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First up, Satsuki Takahashi, is an environmental Anthropologist who is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at George Mason University. Dr. Takahashi is the latest in a long line of self-described “Girl Fish Geeks” on It’s Hot in Here (cf. Ellen Spooner on wrangling Muskies on Lake Saint Claire, and Jennifer Johnson who Continue reading Fukushima and Fisheries: Responses to Environmental Disaster in Contemporary Japan

Science and Social Conflicts in Climate Planning: The View from Ethiopia

Science and Social Conflicts in Climate Planning: The View from Ethiopia

 
 
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This show brings lively conversation on the challenges of climate change planning, both in Ethiopia and across the diverse governance landscapes of East and North Africa. Tied  with the Gala case study on climate adaptation in Ethiopia  this podcast explores the complexity of crafting effective and equitable adaptation policy. Specifically, we ask how national adaptation plans are made? By and for whom? What are the decision-making criteria? And what could these criteria fail to account for? Bringing together legal, economic, anthropological, and environmental expertise, we take adaptation policy as the starting point for broad-ranging dialogue on climate change impacts, social conflict across ethno-linguistic groups, and national planning as a tool that can either address or worsen marginalization.

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