Tag Archives: Renewable Energy

Daniel Kammen: Electricity For All, Part I

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DanKammenHow easy it is to take our electrified world for granted. Right now about 1.2 billion people or about 20% of the global population live without access to electricity. These people can’t read at night, or power their phones to communicate or conduct crucial e-commerce. What if that 20% could access energy, though? How transformative could that be for those 1.2 billion lives? But wait, would that mean a corresponding 20% hike in greenhouse gas emissions? Read the show transcript

The Latest In Sun Roofs

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solar carIf you own an electric vehicle and you have solar panels on your house, you can drive around powered entirely by renewable energy. But what can EV owners who don’t have solar on their homes do to make sure they’re as green as can be? Mike Tinskey and his colleagues at Ford Motor Co. are trying to tackle that problem head on. Ford’s promising new C-Max Solar Energi Concept car has solar panels built right into the roof.

Today on Sea Change Radio host Alex Wise talks with Tinskey about how magnification technology borrowed from 19th Century lighthouses could be a key to making solar cars a practical reality, how Ford culture has changed in the last decade to embrace efficiency and ecological innovation, as well as the ins and outs of Flex Fuel technology.

Andrew Winston on “The Big Pivot”

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AndrewWinstonWhen we think of resiliency, we usually think of a gritty, comeback story, or a resilient economy – but can a company be resilient too? If you consider that, of the world’s 100 largest economies in terms of revenue, 37 of them are corporations, making companies more resilient starts to make more sense.

This week’s guest on Sea Change Radio, Andrew Winston is a sustainability consultant and author who is working to make big corporations understand that they have just as much of an obligation to the planet and community as they do to their shareholders. He and host Alex Wise discuss what Winston dubs The Big Pivot, the need for these large corporations, just like many countries, to use science-based goals to reduce their carbon footprint, embrace renewable energy, and to develop a green strategy that is much more than just window-dressing.

David MacKay & Michael Kyes: Sustainable Policy Great and Small

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DavidMackayMichaelKyesIs living sustainably a plausible proposition? That’s the crucial question today’s first guest on Sea Change Radio, David MacKay, is trying to answer. MacKay, the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department of Energy and Climate Change in Great Britain and the author of the seminal work, “Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air,” is one of the most important figures in the environmental policy field. A physicist and information theorist, MacKay is a master of breaking down the numbers for us all to better assess the planet’s renewable energy options. He discusses his pro-nuclear stance and his advocacy for the development of carbon capture and storage technology, which remains unpopular in many environmental circles. Next, host Alex Wise speaks with the Mayor of Sebastopol, California, Michael Kyes, who has advanced environmental policy in his own way – the small  town recently passed an ordinance requiring all new homes to be solar-equipped.

Matt Wasson: A Mountain Hugger on the Myth of “Clean Coal”

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Do you cringe when you hear the term “clean coal?” Our guest this week on Sea Change Radio feels that this term is not only an oxymoron it’s offensive to the many communities all over the world who are forced to live with the devastating environmental and health impacts of this multi-billion dollar industry. Politicians, by contrast, seem to like the term, “clean coal” quite a bit. As someone who is in favor of renewable energy, when you watch progressive and conservative candidates arguing about who is a better ally to the coal industry do you sometimes think, “what would it sound like if someone took on coal in one of these debates?” Well, today Matt Wasson, an ecologist and the director of programs for Appalachian Voices, answers this question. Listen now as he talks to host Alex Wise to confront conventional wisdom, refute the politicians, and tell it like it is.

Winds of Change: Congressman Jerry McNerney & Michael Payne

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This week on Sea Change Radio, Part 2 of our 2-part series on wind power. First, we hear again from US Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-11), the only member of either House who’s also a wind power engineer. Next, the US is lagging far behind Europe in the move toward renewable energy sources. To find out why, host Alex Wise talks once more to Michael Payne, a veteran wind power executive who’s served as Shell WindEnergy’s General Manager of Europe & Asia as well as a Director at Enron Wind. Payne offers his perspective on the policy and business factors that will help direct the winds of change.Read the show transcript

Whose Commonwealth Is It?

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Welcome to the final episode in our Sea Change series, Back to the Future. Journalist and policy strategist David Bollier tells us about the idea of the commons; wind energy expert Patrick Quinlan talks about wind power in Massachusetts and how it has become a battleground over competing definitions of the commons; wind developer Dan Juhl talks about community wind power; and historian Kerry Buckley sums up the lessons of our series. Read the show transcript

Sustainable Schools: Education Goes Green

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This edition of Sea Change Radio studies sustainable education.  Co-Host Bill Baue speaks with Sustainable Endowments Institute Executive Director Mark Orlowski about the College Sustainability Report Card.  Co-Host Kelsey Flynn then chats with Josh Stoffel, the new Sustainability Coordinator here at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where we produce Sea Change Radio, and Monty Archbald, chair of the Green Campus Committee at Greenfield Community College.  And finally, Bill talks with Neil Drobny of the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University.

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The Next Generation in Green Jobs and Energy Efficiency

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Sea Change Radio explores on-the-ground work in green collar jobs and energy efficiency retrofits.  Francesca Rheannon speaks with Patricia Moss, Project Manager of  Groundwork Springfield, and the Green Team of teens and young adults working in green jobs.  And Bill Baue speaks with Adin Maynard, Director of Operations at Cozy Home Performance, about the company’s participation in the Weatherization Assistance Program for low-income homeowners and its move into deep energy retrofits for mid- and upper-income homeowners.

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Adin Maynard on Government Support for Energy Efficiency

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AdinMaynardSea Change Co-Host Bill Baue speaks with Adin Maynard, Director of Operations at Cozy Home Performance, about the company’s participation in the Weatherization Assistance Program for low-income homeowners and its move into deep energy retrofits for mid- and upper-income homeowners.  

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