The Renewable Generation

Welcome to the Season Finale of The Renewable Generation! 10 episodes up, 10 episodes down! Joining us this week is Mara Midiere: a Master in Sustainability, Science and Policy from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and a junior project leader at diep working on 5th generation district heating and cooling. We hear about her journey, breaking into the climate space with a liberal arts background, all the way to Glasgow and COP26.  We want to thank our listeners for joining us this season. Kelly and Steve will be taking a break, but stay tuned to hear updates next year about Season 4. 

This week, we are graced with an expert young person - Benny Corona! Benny has a Master of Public Policy coming from UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy, and has represented California's Central Valley in various capacities at the federal, state, and local level.  Agriculture makes up about 10% of all GHG emissions. California's Central Valley is one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world. In this episode, Benny gives us his perspective on sustainable agriculture in CA, how CA is leading the world, and how it is falling short on its ambitions.

In this episode, Steve and Kelly chat with Bonnie Gurry and Elizabeth Landau, co-founders of GreenPortfolio, a tool that helps individuals use their financial portfolios to support climate action. We chat about how Bonnie and Elizabeth got started in sustainability, their journey to founding a company, what it's like to be a female founder, and much more.  Learn more about GreenPortfolio by visiting https://greenportfolio.com/.

You know it, you love it.. no not slam-dunking the political left, it's Lithium-Ion batteries!   This week we are soaking up the sun... and wind.. and hydro... and dirty energy as well?? Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are a keystone technology that helps solve renewable energy's intermittency problem. But batteries are not strictly clean energy devices. They also help support the grid in technology-agnostic ways by providing lightning quick voltage and frequency support.   Listen to us rant about Lithium-ion batteries, its technological competitors, the market solution it provides, and more!

This week on The Renewable Generation, Kelly and Steve cover "Biden Bucks" and a $1 trillion infrastructure package that stands as the US's last chance to pass meaningful climate policy for a decade.

And we're back! Introducing Season 3 of The Renewable Generation, now with an official sponsor from Bright Power, Inc. There are quite a few changes with our lies, the show, as well as with the state of climate action since we last spoke.   This week, Steve and Kelly lead with science. The new IPCC report has come out, which represents the absolute best data and models to predict what's to come in the next century. What does it entail?   Working on climate issues means you are constantly In Your Feelings. We open up on how to deal with this.

This week on The Renewable Generation... the gang discusses the Blockchain, NFT's, Bitcoin, and other popular cryptocurrencies in regards to their environmental and economic impact. 

In this episode of The Renewable Generation... the gang talks about MEAT, its relation to culture and masculinity, and its impact on our environment.

In this episode of The Renewable Generation, the gang delves into the energy crisis in Texas and receives a SHOCKING call from a SURPRISE guest.

In this episode of The Renewable Generation, the gang comes back after a two-month hiatus to discuss the climate-related executive orders passed under the Biden-Harris administration thus far. They also delve into further policy action that can be taken by our leaders in congress and introduce a new segment.

This week the gang discusses their thoughts and emotions regarding the US presidential election. Then, they say goodbye for a while...

In this episode, Steve, Kelly, and policy expert Peter Cavan unpack the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent passing of Order 2222: The DER Order.

This week on The Renewable Generation: Steven takes a front seat to detail the recent surge in wildfires, particularly on the West Coast of the United States. 

In this week's episode, Steven is on vacation, which gives Evan the perfect opportunity to tricky Kelly into talking about Hollywood with him for half an hour. Kelly also pitches her reality TV show with a sustainable twist.

In this episode, Steven and Kelly enter the thunderdome to battle it out regarding Steven's Elon infatuation. We try to keep this episode on the rails by framing this debate through the future of transportation.

In this week's episode of The Renewable Generation we discuss diversity in the energy business from ethics, economic, and political perspectives. Somehow amongst all of this we find time to bring up Zac Efron and, yet again, Elon Musk.

In this episode, the gang discusses what it means to be a company leading on sustainability in 2020, which companies are earning their stripes, and which have some work to do.

This week on The Renewable Generation, the gang discusses the Democrats' attempts to bring progressive and centrist members of the party together with the Biden - Bernie climate coalition. The gang also discusses the recent successes in halting further pipeline construction, particularly the Dakota Access Pipeline which was controversially set to be built over Sioux land. 

In this episode, we discuss complex feelings in regard to our nationality as Americans. The conversation feels chaotic throughout, but moments of insight and clarity shine through every so often. What's more American than that?

We discuss the regulatory policies that have shaped the US power grid and predict how the grid may evolve in the future with the introduction of microgrids, smart grids, and expanded interconnection. 

We discuss the history of the centralized electric grid and how its paradigms are shifting as more renewables and distributed energy resources come onto the grid. We also affirm environmental justice's role in this transition. 

In this episode of The Renewable Generation, it's just the OG gang -- and we're talking about electric vehicles. CW: Elon Musk.

In this episode we interview the President and Co-Founder of Chicago Eco House, Quilen Blackwell. Chicago Eco House's mission is to train inner-city youth in sustainable social enterprises to alleviate poverty. The Eco House has won several awards for its work including the UL Innovation Education Award, Delta Institute BOOST Award, and the Keep Chicago Beautiful Community Vision Award. Website linked below! https://www.chicagoecohouse.org/

Black Lives Matter. Police brutality is just the most egregious example of systemic racism rearing its head today, but the issues go much deeper. Systemic racism includes environmental racism and racial justice includes environmental justice. In this episode, we discuss recent instances of police brutality, the role of an ally in the fight for racial and environmental justice, and get a history lesson on environmental justice from our friend, Serena Patel.

In this episode we host our first ever guest -- Holly Beale! Holly is a Program Manager for Datacenter Environmental Sustainability at Microsoft and was recognized on Green Biz's 30 Under 30 list in 2019. We ask her how she started working in sustainability and about the mentors and lessons that shaped her path. 

We are currently living in unprecedented times. How has this pandemic influenced the other looming threat to human life, climate change? What do the two have in common? All that and more this week on The Renewable Generation...

In many European countries, the fight against climate change does not create a divide between party lines. It brings them together. So, why is climate change not a bipartisan issue in the United States? And what can we do to inspire change? This and more on this week's episode of The Renewable Generation...

The Renewable Generation's first episode - featuring a Climate 101 lesson and a discussion on the merits of individual and collective action in halting climate change. Recorded during a live zoom session for UC Berkeley's ESW: Earth Hacks event.