This year marks the 52nd anniversary of Earth Day - an annual campaign that calls attention to the many threats to our planet from human kind and urges each of us to act as better Earth stewards . This week, Kathy tag teams with her podcast producer, Clare O’Brien, to talk about the connection between factory farming and climate change. Today, the two discuss:

• How animal agriculture is one of the top causes of climate change - and why it’s so difficult to find exact data of its impact
• The devastating impact of methane, a greenhouse gas 10x more destructive than carbon dioxide, produced by cows who are used for meat and dairy products
• a brief history of Earth Day, dating back to its origins as a protest in the early 1970s
• The effects climate change has had on the Catskill Animal Sanctuary property, including heat waves that canceled events and ice storms and “microbursts” that have destroyed dozens of trees
• The urgency of adopting a plant-based diet and utilizing the power of influence, rather than waiting for corporations or the government to battle climate change effectively

Find the Earth as an Apple experiment here.

Some recommendations from Kathy:

• Our Great National Parks with President Barack Obama
• Cowspiracy
• Eating Our Way to Extinction
• Eating Animals

Connect with Kathy Stevens:

• Facebook: Kathy Stevens, Catskill Animal Sanctuary
• Twitter: @CASanctuary
• Books: Where the Blind Horse Sings
• Website: CASanctuary.org
• Instagram: @catskill_animal_sanctuary
• YouTube: Catskill Animal Sanctuary