Cool Solutions: Stories of climate action from the bottom up

This year's Farm Bill will determine whether US agriculture cuts its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. Republicans want to divert $20 billion away from agricultural climate solutions. Farmers who've adopted these practices say they increase soil carbon and climate resilience. We hear stories from farmers about compost, cover crops, prescribed grazing, and more. Sustainable agriculture advo...

The David who fought Goliath had two sisters. This is the modern day story about two women taking on a giant. They started alone, standing up against a huge multinational petrochemical corporation, and won. Diane Wilson, a fisherwoman from Seadrift Texas, won the largest ever penalty in a citizen clean water lawsuit, defending her bay from plastic pollution. Sharon Lavigne of St James Parish, Loui...

When we fix what we have, we reduce emissions, and strengthen communities.  80% of the carbon pollution from our laptops, cell phones, and appliances is embodied carbon, emitted before we even open the box.  A return to repair means changing our culture and challenging corporate monopoly. We have stories about a repair cafe in Chicago and a coalition of Minnesota techies and farmers who overcame c...

80% of the buildings that will be here in 2050 are already here, producing 30% of our greenhouse gas emissions. Uber sustainable new construction is cool, but the big carbon reductions will come from electrifying old buildings. Chicago plans to retrofit 80,000 homes in the next 7 years. A research collaboration between the city, community organizations, a utility, and the National Renewable Energy...

A pilot study replacing gas stoves with induction stoves in a public housing building in the South Bronx did the expected and decreased indoor air pollution. Two unexpected discoveries were the popularity of the induction stoves and that the building's old wiring could only deliver enough juice to replace stoves in a fraction of the apartments. Replacing all the gas stoves with induction stoves an...

"When I read in 2020 that Colorado ran a pilot program to give away just 13 e-bikes, I scoffed. What difference could that possibly make? Now I have to eat my bike helmet." - Wendy Ring, Cool Solutions Producer and Host.  Turns out that mini-pilot laid the foundation for Denver's wildly successful e-bike program by proving that e-bikes cut car trips and emissions and that low income folks want to...

With growing conflicts over solar development on farm land, dual use may provide middle ground and enough income to help small farmers keep farming. That's how Byron Kominek found himself putting a solar garden on one of his hay fields and hosting teams of agrivoltaic researchers. Colorado farmers Byron Kominek and Liza McConnell and Jordan Macknick, head of agrivoltaic research at the National Re...

Meet a retiree in rural OR and a group of millennials in WA who are spreading community owned solar projects across their states.  

A small group of garment workers, tired of factory wage theft, organized and won passage of a law that makes fashion brands responsible for unpaid wages. Hourly pay went from a shameful $5 an hour to a minimum of $15 an hour. Now a similar bill is going to Congress.

Part One of a mini-series exploring potential pathways to a sustainable garment industry. We explore some routes to slow fashion: restoring regional wool production in Pennsylvania, curbside pickup of used clothes in Massachusetts, second hand clothes, and raising garment worker wages     

A Michigan environmental justice coalition is putting the "public" back in their state's Public Service Commission; closing coal plants, stopping new gas plants, and elevating the welfare of low income communities.

For decades university departments, liberally lubricated with fossil fuel dollars, have been turning out research that adds a scholarly veneer to the industry's policy agenda. First that was opposing the regulation of oil and gas; now it's promoting carbon capture so they can keep selling their product. Students and faculty are shining a light on fossil fuel infiltration of academia and organizing...

Solar coops bridge the partisan divide, raising panels on rooftops and building a broad movement to transform our energy system. Solar United Neighbors provides the technical know how, community groups do the organizing, and together they're removing the practical and political barriers to a clean energy transition. It's a movement which brings together conservatives and progressives and they're w...

With federal climate policy blocked by Congress and the Supreme Court, we look at opportunities to advance climate action at state and local levels. Caroline Spears explains how the Climate Cabinet uses big data to find pivotal elections and help pro climate candidates win. Nathaniel Stinnett of the Environmental Voter Project explains why state and local elections are a great opportunity for the...

What did it take to get the wealthiest university in the world to break ties with the fossil fuel industry?    9 years and the combined force of students, faculty, and alumni engaged in everything from scholarly debate, to civil disobedience, to legal action.  In the end, Harvard's divestment was most likely due to fear of having its own reputation besmirched by association with an already stigmat...

The inter-tribal charging network will connect upper midwest reservations with jobs, opportunities, healing, and each other.  Project leaders Robert Blake of Native Sun (Red Lake Ojibwe) and Joseph McNeill of SAGE (Standing Rock Sioux) talk about connections: to environmental and economic justice, clean energy, eagles, dreams, and more.   We explore other barriers to rural EV adoption with Matt Fi...

Activists accelerate states' switch to clean big rigs.  A story about the power of coming together and speaking out for climate and justice.

Bill McKibben launches new climate group for seniors. Doctors devoting their retirement years to climate action talk about what motivates them and how they found their place in the movement. Their activities range from registering low income patients to vote to getting arrested over pipelines. Bill McKibben introduces Third Act, a new climate organization for seniors, and explains why this demogra...

We talk with former contract  farmers for Tyson, Perdue, and Pilgrim's Pride;   the founder of a farmers' cooperative that outperforms Big Meat by a mile, and an animal welfare organization turning chicken houses into grow houses.  

Two January diet challenges are remarkably effective at enticing people to try (and keep eating) more plant based meals.      A 31 day vegan pledge gives our co-hosts a push to try new things.

We take a deep dive into dairy digesters: their impact on farms, climate, and communities; and the intersections between Big Gas, Big Ag, and government programs which are driving their proliferation. To get to the bottom of this complex topic, we had to talk to a lot of people. Storytellers: John Hanselman -Vanguard Renewables Natasha Duarte -Composting Association of Vermont Brenda Platt- Instit...

In Vermont it's now illegal to throw your apple core in the trash. Vermont's Universal Recycling Law aka "the landfill ban" went into effect last year. It cuts landfill methane by diverting food to feed the hungry and the soil, as well as banning other recyclables.  How did they do that? How is it going?  What does it matter where that apple decomposes?  A soil scientist, 2 farmer-composters, the...

An innovative community energy center, cities with natural gas bans, and a crusading HVAC contractor are all on a mission to electrify our homes.  To be zero carbon by 2050,  we have to start now and retrofit millions of buildings each year.

There's a movement to close accounts at big Wall Street banks and move money to smaller banks with better values.

Most folks don't want to get down and nerdy about climate solutions, but what if we could make it fun? Co host Wendy Ring decides to make a game. She talks with a climate scientist, a professional game designer and a mechanical engineer who are each designing other climate games, to get previews and explore  how games could mobilize players into action. Co host Brian Curtis joins a group playing W...