In part two of our interview with Yvon Chouinard, the maverick businessman talks about politics and the irony of living simply in a consumer society. He also rebuffs his brand’s “Pata-Gucci” reputation and explains why he’s started pouring cheap wine down the toilet. ::TreeHugger Radio Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or just listen/right-click to download. Catch part one here. Full text after the jump.

The founder of Patagonia started out when he was little more than a teenager, selling his home-forged climbing hardware to “dirtbagger” mountaineers like himself. Although all he really wanted to do was travel and climb, he had a knack for innovation and invention, and Chouinard Equipment Co. evolved into Patagonia, arguably the most successful outdoor clothing company in history. In his fifty-something years of experimentation, Yvon Chouinard has racked up a list of industry firsts that defies enumeration, yet he describes himself as a reluctant entrepreneur who really just loves to climb, surf, and kayak the wilds of the world, and hopefully save them along the way. ::TreeHugger Radio Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or just listen/right-click to download. Check out part two here. Full text after the jump.

It’s been three years since Sheryl Crow’s last album, and the world has changed a lot in that short time. Crow’s new release, Detours, looks at war, oil, and climate change as hard as it looks at love, heartache, and hope. Sheryl spoke to us from her farm in Tennessee where she’s settled with her young son to live a greener, more peaceful life. She told us about her musical inspirations, her time touring with Laurie David and StopGlobalWarming.org, and even sets the record straight about the infamous one-square-of-toilet-paper remark that had us TreeHuggers scratching our heads. Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or just click here to listen, right-click to download.

In the final portion of our three-part interview with David Orr, the environmental polymath bring us to the 30,000-foot view and points to where hope and optimism must go their separate ways. With his closing thoughts, Orr reminds us that true hope means staring down the barrel of a gun. Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or listen/right-click to download. (Listen to Part One here and Part Two here.) Full text after the jump.

In the second part of our interview, David Orr traces the dirty trail of coal from ravaged Appalachian mountains to the carnage of the Gulf Coast, both of which he knows firsthand. Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or listen/right-click to download. (Listen to Part One here) TreeHugger: The last time that I saw you, David, was down in New Orleans. Global Green, Brad Pitt, and the neighborhood associations of the Lower Ninth Ward were unveiling a green development. Building green in New Orleans is an idea that’s certainly got traction now. But you’ve spoken about a bigger problem which seems to overshadow these sort of steps. Can you tell me about that? David Orr: Well, first of all you have to take your hat off to people like Matt Petersen [of Global Green] and Brad Pitt. There are hundreds of people, thousands of people, that are working to rebuild New Orleans. But there's this remorseless working out of large numbers; all of that effort is going to be in vain sooner or later unless we deal with the big issues of rising seas, which is an attribute of climate change, and the mismanagement of the lower Mississippi.

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