The Cautious Climate Optimist

In this first episode of our six-part series focusing on ocean-climate research, we reconnect with Miriam Zitner, of Carbon to Sea Canada, who kindly walks us through what's new in the field of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE), which is, in a roundabout way, a method whereby we help oceans (and in some cases, rivers) increase their ability to help us fight climate change by lowering the acid...

Okay, so this one's long overdue, and in terms of our mandate here at the podcast, of covering good new climate initiatives, the Ecology Action Centre work clicks that box, big time. Maggy Burns, the Centre's Exec. Direc. is a lovely person with an easy manner but a steely spine, it would appear, with regards to what she holds most dear...the natural environment here in Nova Scotia, and th...

Yet another amazing climate warrior fighting the good fight. Today, it's the lovely Will Burt, who, through his work with Halifax's Planetary Tech, is putting in long hours to give our ailing oceans a boost by adding what is essentially huge amounts of antacid to the water. Thank goodness for the big brains and big ideas of the world's researchers and scientists. You won't want to...

Today's chat is yet another amazing dive into the myriad possibilities for clean energy optimism in our province. Dan Roscoe of Roswall Dev. joins me to talk all things wind and wind turbines, with all the potential those turbines hold to help get us all using 100 % clean wind energy sooner than you think. The key, he says, is local ownership and distributed generation. And he puts his money where...

Halifax's Miriam Zitner is a powerhouse of a person - a live spark of optimism and enthusiasm backed up by action. In today's episode, Miriam and I discuss everything from her motorcycle trip across India and Nepal to her work bringing a women's soccer club to Halifax - the Halifax Tides - and her enthusiastic involvement with the Nova Scotia chapter of The Women's Equity Lab . And, lastly, and th...

T oday I chat with Eddie Halfyard, a research scientist with a passion for fish, water quality, and removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Nothing short of a miraculous, game-changing, and yes, serendipitous find, is what Halfyard and fellow researcher, Professor Shannon Sterling discovered as they worked to improve water quality for NS salmon. And as with many great discoveries, an unexpected positive...

A great chat with research scientist, Wayne Groszko - head of the Energy Research team at Nova Scotia Community College's Applied Research department. Wayne and I chat about the importance of portable mini wind turbines, how to turn abandoned mines into huge green energy storage tanks, and everything in between. A super smart guy with a really fun, really important job - taking smart green ide...

Join me for a chat with Joe Nickerson, from Halifax's coolest development company, Sidewalk. At Sidewalk, Joe and his partner Elliot are all about creating and revitalizing otherwise languishing urban neighbourhoods, as well as giving new life to old concrete buildings instead of building new. In so doing they both help the environment while also preserving the history and character intrinsica...

Well, what a fabulous guy, and an even better mayor, from all accounts. Join me as I have an open and frank chat with one of the province's most popular mayors. We cover everything from the oh so smart decision to purchase Ford Lightening EV trucks - both financially and in terms of the environment - and go off script to chat about the town's K9 (and no, my Scottish Terrier likely wouldn't be much...

A conversation with Kevin Boutilier, Manager of Clean Energy with HalifACT, Halifax's long-term climate plan. During the podcast we talk about where things are at the five-year anniversary point for the plan, wins and challenges, as well as his hopes going forward - specifically around meeting HalifACT targets. Kevin talks about the importance of partnerships in achieving challenging goals - s...

The Cautious Climate Optimist came out of a desire to share conversations with the inspiring individuals behind many of the climate stories we’ve covered in Climate Story Network. In 2025, with Climate Stories Atlantic, we'll be delivering a podcast for more personal and in-depth conversations with some of the people behind the projects helping us reach carbon reduction targets. Our goal is to...