There's a heat pump revolution happening in Maine. Already over 100,000 of the 600,000 homes in Maine have heat pumps, and their plan is to be over 300,000 by 2027. One out of every 14 heat pumps in the U.S. is going to Maine, though it is only 0.42% of the US's population. We talk to Andy Meyer, Senior Program Manager at Efficiency Maine, to learn how they've done it, and how it's saving Maine residents a lot of money, even in a cold-weather climate. Resource Efficiency Maine website ..read more

Lincoln Nebraska may not be the first city that comes to mind when you think of climate action, but maybe it should be. We interview Kim Morrow, Chief Sustainability Officer for Lincoln, about some exciting city programs, including EV infrastructure, an innovative approach to Rental Rehabilitation using Tax Increment Financing (TIF), heat pump rebates, and biochar as well as their efforts on the EPA's Climate Pollution Reduction Grants.   Resources Resilient Lincoln web page (Resilient Lincoln is the name of the Mayor's priority initiative that involves implementing the Climate Acti ..read more

There's a lot of exciting things happening in the world of geothermal power. We explore geothermal in general and examine a novel approach leveraging groundwater to substantially reduce the footprint needed. We interview Darcy Solutions CTO Dan King about how their technology is being used by some cities to provide carbon free heating and cooling. Resources: Darcy Solutions website Water Well Journal explanatory article ..read more

Abby, Larry, and Isaiah review 2023 and talk about what's coming in 2024 ..read more

On the shores of Lake Superior, Duluth has received publicity as a "climate proof city" though faces distinct challenges with its cold weather climate. With grants, they are pursuing exciting approaches to creating a geothermal district heating system from their waste water treatment plant and separately, creating resilience in their building stock with solar plus storage and microgrids. We interview Sustainability Officer Mindy Branley,  Community Resilience Project Coordinator Bret Crecelius, and Americorps service member Ella Stewart about Duluth's unique 5-year at a time approach to c ..read more

Groundswell's exciting SOUL (Save On Utilities Long term) program is rolling out right now in LaGrange, GA. SOUL is a Pay As You Save model that reduces utility bills by improving home energy efficiency, without upfront costs. It prioritizes households with lower incomes and high energy burdens. We interview Nicole Sonderegger of Groundswell and Leon Childs of Groundswell and a City Councilmember in LaGrange about how the program works and the lives it is changing. Resources Groundswell SOUL program website LaGrange SOUL program City of LaGrange website ..read more

Regenerative Agriculture can improve soil health and water quality, sequester carbon, and increase farmer profits. It has become a key part of Boulder County's climate action. We interview Natural Capitalism Solutions President Hunter Lovins to understand regenerative agriculture's potential, and Boulder County Sustainability Office Director Susie Strife and Sustainability Strategist Tim Broderick to learn about some of the exciting actions underway in the county. Resources OSCAR - Boulder County Office of Sustainability Natural Capitalism Solutions - website Boulder County Carbon Removal Pla ..read more

Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) empowers local elected officials and civic leaders to fight the climate crisis, with a special focus on lawmakers who are veterans. With leaders from all 50 states and Puerto Rico, EOPA is an organizing force for local officials to increase their impact in their own communities as well as on regional and national issues. We interview co-founders Alex Cornell du Houx, and Dominic Frongillo about their programs and some of their work, including banning fracking in NY, supporting offshore wind, and fighting for environmental justice. EOPA is also City C ..read more

Larry recently visited Saerbeck, a village in northwest Germany that has done incredible things with renewable energy, biogas, and now green hydrogen. We interview Martin Sammler, Manager of Saerbeck's Climate Action Department, about how this village of 7200 people is producing 4 times the energy it needs with renewables, is planning to decarbonize its heating system by 2030, and is becoming a proving ground for the production of green hydrogen and electrolyzers. Resources Saerbeck - climate projects backgrounder (English) Saerbeck website (in German) Climate Community Saerbeck Enapter's Sae ..read more

With this summer of one climate disaster after another, Abby and Larry talk about how they deal with the depressing parts of climate change, and especially, what gives them hope ..read more