Podcasts about energy sustainability

This week's guest is Jerrod Mounce, Vice President of Energy & Sustainability at JB Hunt.  Our conversation focuses on JB Hunt's sustainability initiatives and the broader landscape of alternative fuels in trucking.  Jerrod discusses his 26-year career at JB Hunt, detailing his shift from operations to a focus on fuel efficiency and sustainability. He highlights the complexities of fuel surcharge programs and JB Hunt's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 32% by 2034. The conversation explores the challenges and opportunities in transitioning to alternative energy platforms, such as electric and natural gas, and the importance of a "polyfuel" approach. Jerrod emphasizes the need for technological advancements in battery technology, considering economic factors, and achieving carbon reduction targets. Finally we discuss the role drivers and technology play in fuel efficiency.

Ben Cook says energy sustainability hasn't been a key focus as Americans penny-pinch their budgets. However, energy output can increase under a new Trump administration, noting the United States is now the number one producer of oil. Ben explains why he labels Exxon Mobil (XOM), Suncor Energy (SU) and Cheniere Energy (LNG) as his top picks in the space. ======== Schwab Network ======== Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribe Download the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185 Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7 Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watch Watch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-explore Watch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/ Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetwork Follow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetwork Follow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

As the world shifts towards clean energy, how is the oil and gas industry keeping up? In this episode, we explore Deloitte's latest report on 2025 oil and gas trends and uncover four key developments transforming the energy sector:Repurposing Traditional Assets:How companies are leveraging existing infrastructure to support renewable energy projects like biofuels and carbon capture.Digital Transformation:The role of AI and data integration in optimizing operations, improving decision-making, and navigating disruptions.Power of Partnerships:How collaboration between legacy energy giants and innovative startups is accelerating the clean energy transition.The Race to Net Zero:The challenges of balancing energy security with sustainability and the push for renewable alternatives like hydrogen and biofuels.What You'll Learn:The role of AI and digital platforms in modernizing energy operations.Why partnerships are critical for accelerating clean energy innovation.How oil and gas companies are shifting their strategies to achieve net-zero goals.Whether you're a clean energy advocate, an industry professional, or just curious about the future of energy, this episode will give you insights into the seismic shifts redefining one of the world's most essential industries.How do you see the future of oil and gas shaping up? Share your thoughts and join the conversation on sustainable energy. Don't forget to subscribe for more episodes unpacking the forces shaping our world!

An episode revolving around the challenges and transitions in the energy sector in Nigeria, specifically focusing on the affordability and accessibility of clean energy solutions. Our able guest, C. Uche Onyilofor, highlights the expensive nature of clean energy options such as solar panels and the limited access for the average Nigerian. The discussion also delves into the government's role in providing sustainable energy solutions and the need for accountability and action in addressing environmental issues such as waste management and pollution. The episode also addresses the impact of government policies and decisions on the energy sector, particularly in relation to refineries and fuel prices. Tune in to a thought-provoking discussion on the challenges and opportunities in the energy sector in Nigeria and the importance in addressing environmental issues.

When Susan Nickey started her career in banking, few people saw a future in financing renewables. It wasn't even a sector yet! Today, as EVP & Chief Client Officer for climate positive investment firm HASI and the Board Chair of the American Clean Power Association, Susan is working to advance clean energy from a stronger position: with renewables now mainstream, low cost, and competitive. Barbara opens this conversation by delving into Susan's career as they explore clean power's past and future. Key questions answered include: What needs to be done to get the clean energy transition moving faster? And what's the role of renewables as electricity demand surges to support a data center boom driven by generative AI? This episode will get you up to speed on the last energy trends impacting the energy transition and energy security. Get ready to learn why innovation with financing is as important as technology development and R&D. You'll also learn how permitting reform and workforce development can further catalyze the massive private sector investment in clean energy spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act. 

All over the world, we are seeing Climate change impact people's lives. The scope and complexity of the problem is massive, and solutions are often hard to implement. However, we know that Renewable energy, circular economies and sustainable practices all play a role, and that corporations, governments and the public are all stakeholders here.To talk to us about the interconnectedness of Real Estate and climate change, we have with us today Ms. Tanya Singhal, an industry expert with over 15 years of experience in the climate technology and renewable energy sector. An IIT Delhi alumnus, Ms. Singhal's professional journey began with the Boston Consulting Group, but soon transitioned to entrepreneurship with her founding SolarArise - a solar asset management company. During her tenure at SolarArise, the company was responsible for developing over half a gigawatt (GW) of solar projects across seven states in India, that went on to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. Today Ms. Singhal has embarked on a new mission with Mynzo Carbon, which stands for MyNetZerO. Mynzo leverages technology to automatically measure emissions, create individual climate identities, and provide personalized nudges for reducing carbon footprints. The vision extends further with My-Forest, a project aimed at carbon recapture to achieve net-zero emissions.In today's episode, we talk about the changes in the renewable energy market in India, the various stakeholders when it comes to climate action, and how each of them can play their part in helping to mitigate the problem.So get ready for some Concrete Conversations!Have questions about Real Estate? Or topic you would love to hear more about on the Podcast? Connect with Concrete Conversations - The Indian Real Estate Podcast through the links below!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theindianrealestatepodcast/LinkedIn :https://www.linkedin.com/company/concrete-conversationsYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXn-Aw24pqfmULyym7hCi6Q

Embark on an enlightening stroll through the complex world of commercial real estate with Michael Van Every, the mastermind behind Republic Urban Properties. Michael's transformation from a career in local politics to a pivotal role in California's urban development provides an intriguing backdrop to our latest episode. He candidly unpacks the delicate interplay between residential and commercial realms, and shares the strategies his team employs as they navigate the fast-approaching future of 2025, always with an eye on innovative growth and community integration.Our conversation with Michael takes a deep look at the nuanced challenges within the commercial sector, particularly the symbiosis of small businesses and their commercial landlords. We examine the impact of economic shifts such as the pandemic aftershocks and interest rate hikes, probing into what these mean for the vitality of retail and office spaces. Not shying away from personal stories, Michael illustrates the financial tightrope walked by all parties involved, providing insight into the collaborative efforts required to breathe life and success into commercial developments.As we peer into the evolving intersection of technology and sustainability, Michael helps us navigate California's green initiatives and their profound effects on the real estate landscape. We discuss the state's electric vehicle mandates, the innovative repurposing of old infrastructures, and Tesla's burgeoning impact on the solar and battery markets. Wrapping up, we explore the promise of Build for Rent townhomes and the seasonal trends that shape the real estate market, offering a glimpse of the dynamic future that lies ahead for developers, consumers, and the environment alike. Join us for a session rich with expertise and forward-thinking dialogue, perfect for anyone with a stake in the urban tapestry of tomorrow.Website:https://www.republicfamilyofcompanies.com/companies/republic-urban-propertiesHighlights:(01:29 - 03:42) Building Cities(08:21 - 09:32) Commercial Real Estate(18:43 - 19:32) Innovative Multi-Use Real Estate Developments(25:12 - 27:30) Smart Growth Projects in California(30:39 - 32:04) Investment in Electric Car Infrastructure(43:04 - 44:19) Solar Companies as Value Add Partners(48:23 - 49:44) Build for Rent Townhomes With Amenities(59:19 - 01:00:52) Dreams of Commercial Real Estate SuccessChapters(00:03) - Commercial Real Estate Trends and Challenges(18:43) - Challenges in Commercial Real Estate(26:24) - Smart and Sustainable Real Estate Development(33:23) - Commercial Real Estate and Energy Sustainability(45:37) - Future of Mid-Density Real Estate(01:00:17) - Navigating Real Estate OpportunitiesCommercial Real Estate, California, Urban Development, Retail, Office Spaces, Economic Shifts, Pandemic, Interest Rates, Sustainability, Green Initiatives, Electric Vehicles, Tesla, Solar and Battery Markets, Build for Rent, Mid-Density Real Estate, Capital Markets, Construction Defect Liability Laws, Short-Term Rentals, Land Acquisition, Dreaming Big, San Francisco

At its recent Net Zero Forum, Smart Energy Decisions conducted live interviews with energy customers at various stages of their decarbonization strategies. This episode of the Heard at NZF mini-series features interviews with energy customers in the commercial space. The guests are Joshua Witte, Director of Energy Sustainability and ESG at Dollar Tree stores, Rebecca Hensley, Senior Manager of Environment Programs at CSX, and Gary Hilber, Chief Sustainability Officer at Local Bounti. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... Dollar Tree's first steps in sustainability [01:42] Landlord and internal buy-in [06:48] CSX Transportation's emission reduction efforts [11:49] Renewable diesel and alternative fuels in the rail industry [13:50] Local Bounti's sustainable commitment [17:36] Sustainability progress in agriculture [25:39] Find detailed show notes here   Resources & People Mentioned Dollar Tree, Inc. CSX Local Bounti

Welcome to a pivotal episode of the "Insiders Guide to Energy" series, titled "Electric Fleet Evolution: Corporate EV Strategies with Expert David Watts." This insightful and timely discussion delves into the rapidly evolving landscape of electric vehicles (EVs) in the corporate world. Our special guest, David Watts, a seasoned expert in fleet product management for electric vehicles at Volkswagen Financial Services fleet, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table.**Key Discussion Points**The episode kicks off with a comprehensive overview of the current state of electric vehicle adoption in corporate fleets. We explore the challenges and opportunities businesses face in transitioning from traditional internal combustion engine vehicles to electric models. David Watts shares his expert insights on various aspects of this transition, including the impact of government policies, tax incentives, and the evolving technology of EVs.One of the highlights of the episode is the discussion around the economic and environmental motivations driving companies towards EV adoption. David elaborates on how businesses are balancing the desire for sustainability with practical economic considerations. This segment is particularly informative for decision-makers in corporations considering the shift to electric fleets.**Challenges in Electrification of Fleets**David Watts provides an in-depth analysis of the obstacles businesses encounter in electrifying their fleets. He addresses common concerns such as vehicle range, charging infrastructure, and the overall cost implications. The conversation goes deeper into how these challenges differ for various types of vehicles, particularly focusing on vans and larger commercial vehicles. This part of the episode is crucial for understanding the complexities involved in fleet electrification and offers practical advice for overcoming these hurdles.**The Role of Government Policies and Subsidies**A significant portion of the discussion is dedicated to examining the role of government initiatives in encouraging EV adoption. David Watts sheds light on how subsidies and tax incentives have historically influenced business decisions regarding electric fleets. He also touches upon the ideal timing for phasing out these subsidies to ensure a smooth transition to a more sustainable fleet without disrupting the market.**Fleet Management Insights**Listeners will gain valuable insights into the nuances of fleet management in the context of EVs. David Watts breaks down the concept of total cost of ownership for electric vehicles compared to traditional vehicles. This discussion is particularly beneficial for those in fleet management, providing a clearer understanding of the financial dynamics at play.**The Future of Electric Fleets**Looking ahead, David Watts offers his predictions for the future of electric vehicles in corporate fleets. He speculates on advancements in battery technology, the potential role of alternative energy sources like hydrogen fuel cells, and the long-term impact of these technologies on fleet management strategies.**Audience Engagement and Takeaways**The episode encourages audience engagement, inviting listeners to ponder the future of transportation and the role of EVs in reshaping corporate mobility. The insights shared by David Watts are not just theoretical but grounded in real-world experiences and current market trends. This makes the episode a must-listen for professionals in the automotive, energy, and corporate sectors, as well as anyone interested in the future of transportation.**Conclusion**In conclusion, "Electric Fleet Evolution: Corporate EV Strategies with Expert David Watts" is an essential episode for understanding the complexities and opportunities in the transition to electric fleets.

In the latest episode of Innovation Storytellers Show, I had the pleasure of talking with Wade Bitaraf, the Founder of Energy & Sustainability at Plug and Play. Our conversation is a deep dive into the transformative role of startups in reshaping the energy sector, particularly the oil and gas industry, at a time when the world is grappling with climate change. Wade brings to the table a wealth of experience from Plug and Play, an organization that stands out for its unique approach in helping startups gain significant traction in the open market. We discuss the nuances of how these startups are not just working with big companies but also forming synergies with smaller businesses and tapping into larger networks for inspiration and contacts. A significant part of our discussion revolves around the technological advancements in the oil and gas industry. Wade elaborates on how data analytics, sensors, and software are revolutionizing operations, enhancing efficiency in warehouse and supply chain management, and more importantly, paving the way for a sustainable future. He highlights the critical impact of these innovations in reducing emissions and moving towards the global goal of net-zero carbon. Wade sheds light on the importance of cross-industry collaboration. The journey to reducing emissions and accounting for them isn't a solo endeavor for the oil and gas sector. It requires a concerted effort, involving electric utilities and the broader energy industry, to make meaningful progress. One of the most striking points Wade makes is about the evolution of the innovation landscape. Sustainability goals, which were once peripheral considerations, are now at the forefront of corporate innovation strategies. This shift is not just a trend but a necessity, as we see chief innovation officers increasingly incorporating climate goals into their agendas. As we wrap up our conversation, Wade reflects on the exciting opportunities that lie ahead. The prototypes and projects emerging in this space are not just about innovation for innovation's sake; they are about innovating to save our planet. It's a narrative that's becoming more prevalent, and rightfully so, as we witness sustainability and innovation walking hand in hand, charting a path for a better future.  

Today we'll hear from Joshua Witte, Director of Energy, Sustainability, and ESG at Dollar Tree Stores. Dollar Tree is a Fortune 150 company and one of the nation's leading value retailers. They offer a wide selection of products at extremely competitive prices. At Dollar Tree, Joshua brings his experience in facilities/construction management and consulting, store and fixture design to drive sustainability in the brand.Guest Bio:Josh is a facilities, Sustainability and Construction/Design professional with over 25 years experience in the industry. He has a wide variety of experience in facilities/construction management and consulting, store and fixture design, sustainability, building operations, customer/vendor relations, multi-million dollar project management, merchandising, commercial and industrial sales, real estate asset management and contract negotiation.Guest Quote:“We call it the three Ps in sustainability: people, planet, profit. And if you can blend all three of those together, it becomes table stakes for any organization that wants to be serious and continue moving forward.”Timestamps:00:00 - Intro00:25 - Josh's Role02:25 - Getting into Sustainability06:56 - Dollar Tree's North Star13:09 - Rising Consumer Expectations14:22 - Where's your company going?23:35 - Impact of Young Customers29:55 - Future Forward37:25 - Sustainability at HomeSponsor:ServiceChannel brings you peace of mind through peak facilities performance.Rest easy knowing your locations are:Offering the best possible guest experienceLiving up to brand standardsOperating with minimal downtimeServiceChannel partners with more than 500 leading brands globally to provide visibility across operations, the flexibility to grow and adapt to consumer expectations, and accelerated performance from their asset fleet and service providers.Links:Connect with Josh Witte on LinkedInConnect with Sid Shetty on LinkedinCheck out the ServiceChannel Website

This episode features clips from this year's Weinberg College Career Summit alumni panels where a few alumni share stories about some of their most impactful classes and how those classes helped them in their future careers. Alumni from our Energy & Sustainability and Startups & Entrepreneurship alumni panels talked about an array of classes that helped them form arguments and think differently about their industries. ·         Timestamps: 0:00: Introduction 0:45: Impactful Sustainability Classes with Ariel Drehobl '12 and Mark Silberg '14 3:55: Impactful Entrepreneurship Classes with Jin Hwang ‘01 5:55: Outro https://weinberg.northwestern.edu/after-graduation/student-alumni-connections/whats-new/2023-2024/career-summit-2023-final.html   

In this episode of the Mark Moss Show, we delve deep into the stark realities of the green transition. From the unexpected stumbles in EV rollouts to the questionable sustainability of renewable energy, we shed light on the heavy reliance on government subsidies and taxpayer funds. Is there more to carbon markets than meets the eye? And who's truly steering this eco-agenda? We also uncover potential beneficiaries as the green tide recedes, with an eye on nuclear and traditional oil/gas sectors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greengage provides e-money accounts for small & medium size enterprises, high net worth investors and digital asset firms. They leverage latest technologies, including blockchain, to unlock new funding & liquidity- game changing for many SMEs- which are fundamentally underserved by traditional financial services. As a client of Greengage, you'll have a dedicated relationship manager— yes, a real person who will listen. Getting started with Greengage is easy. Trust me, I've gone through the process myself & it's been really simple and quick. If you are seeking a more personalized experience in managing your accounts in the digital space, I genuinely encourage you to check out Greengage. And here's a little bonus for you, my wonderful listeners: Use the code 'FOX10' when signing up to enjoy a 10% discount on their first years' fee (*on corporate accounts only) - https://www.greengage.co/emoney-accou...

Join Justin on "Wicked Energy with JG," as he converses with Mark Rossano, founder of C6 Capital Holdings and host of the Primary Vision Network. This episode focuses on climate change's impact on food security and agriculture, spotlighting SulTech, an eco-friendly fertilizer from energy sector byproducts. The discussion features TenEx Technologies, a company streamlining oil extraction, and explores investment opportunities in sustainable energy infrastructure, including renewable diesel and resource recovery from waste. Rossano provides insights on his shows covering the energy industry, global economy, and U.S.-China relations. He emphasizes the need for U.S. to diversify crude oil sources and explore domestic energy options. The conversation explores changes in U.S. oil production, with focus on the Permian Basin, and outlines challenges faced by U.S. oil companies. The episode wraps up with a discussion on podcasting's value for B2B businesses, emphasizing its role in building brand authority and customer engagement. Join the enlightening talk on the crossroads of climate change, energy, and sustainability. If you are interested in learning more or connecting, see the links below: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-rossano-6a17419/ Website: https://www.c6capitalholdings.com/ YouTube: https://primaryvision.co/videos/ Show Sponsors TenEx Technologies TenEx Technologies is a leading provider of nanotechnology-based products for the oil & gas industry. Their products are designed to improve the production of oil and gas wells, and they have been shown to be effective in a variety of field applications. Some of their key products include: NanoCLEAR: Tailored nanofluids to improve production of new completions and existing wells MicroHOLD: Cost-Effective Microparticle Slurry designed to improve frac efficiency and well production NoHIT: Innovative frac hit mitigation technology via in situ pressurization reaction SandBOND: Sand consolidation chemical solution CeraFLO: Greener, cost-effective proprietary blends to eliminate paraffin issues Website: https://www.tenextechnologies.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tenextechnologies/ InflowControl InflowControl is a technology company that helps oil companies improve the efficiency of oil production while reducing the industry's environmental impact with their Autonomous Inflow Control Valve (AICV®). This breakthrough technology improves oil production by reducing unwanted gas and water which enables mature oil fields to be more profitable by supporting oil production from zones that would have typically been bypassed. This provides oil companies and its stakeholders with Lower Carbon Oil and higher profitability. To learn more, visit the links below: Website: www.inflowcontrol.no LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inflowcontrol-as/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqdgIooQhYtUBo-auUlYw-Q Wicked Energy For more info on Wicked Energy, please visit www.wickedenergy.io. For the video version, please visit the Wicked Energy YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL5PSzLBnSb7u1HD1xmLOJg If you or your company are interested in starting a podcast, visit https://www.wickedenergy.io/free-guide for a free guide on creating a successful podcast. Lastly, if you have any topics or guests you'd like to hear on the show, please email me at justin@wickedenergy.io or send me a message on LinkedIn.

Prepare for an engaging and enlightening episode of Sustain AI Planet, where we delve into the extraordinary experiences of Congresswoman Marinette Miller-Meeks. With an illustrious 24-year career in the US Army, a thriving private practice as an esteemed ophthalmologist, and her current role as an Iowa Congresswoman, she exemplifies the qualities of adaptability and open-mindedness essential for thriving in an ever-changing landscape.   Congresswoman Meeks graciously shares her compelling narrative, shaped by her upbringing in a military family, her profound dedication to the medical field, and the transformative power of education. But beyond personal inspiration, this episode ventures into critical topics such as sustainability, artificial intelligence, and energy generation. Congresswoman Meeks emphasizes the imperative of collaboration between Republicans and Democrats to meet the world's growing demand for abundant, affordable, sustainable, and secure energy. With a nuanced understanding of the complexities, she delves into the significance of domestic sourcing for rare earth elements and other essential resources, reducing our reliance on potentially adversarial nations. Additionally, she sheds light on the vast potential of renewable energy sources, extending beyond wind and solar, and explores the fascinating realm of biofuels and their transformative impact on water purity, soil quality, and the reduction of fertilizers and pesticides.   Join us for an episode bursting with hope, innovation, and collaborative spirit. Together, let's unlock the limitless possibilities that lie ahead in our quest for a sustainable and prosperous future.   Quotes “We all want a cleaner, healthier planet for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren. But we need to do so in a way that allows us to compete economically around the world. (11:40 | Marinette Miller-Meeks) “It's just support and acknowledgement that we need increased energy. How do we do that in a pragmatic way and utilize all the resources we have in the United States and especially not be dependent on adversarial countries for rare earth elements, cobalt, lithium, the rare earth, copper, when we can source those in the United States.” (19:26 | Marinette Miller Meeks) “I would just like to let people know that the world is dynamic, that knowledge increases, that our world and our globe is much more resilient, sort of like human beings are much more resilient than we give them credit for.”  (25:34 | Marinette Miller-Meeks) #SustainAIPlanet #Sustainability #ArtificialIntelligence #ClimateAction #Resilience #GenerationalImpact #sustainableenergy #rareearthminerals #biochar #EvolvingWorld #FutureForward   Links Connect with Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks: https://millermeeks.house.gov/ https://millermeeks.house.gov/issues/energy Connect with Dylan: Website: https://www.sustainaiplanet.com Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

In this episode, we dive into the misunderstood realm of nuclear energy and the unexpected potential lying in what we have long considered waste. We discuss how advanced technologies are transforming our approach to spent nuclear fuel, opening doors to a powerful, perhaps surprising, energy source.Then, we pivot towards popular renewables – solar and wind energy. These green powerhouses aren't just sunshine and breezes. We explore the lesser-known aspect of renewable energy production: excess power. From solar panels to wind turbine blades, what do these technologies do with their excess energy.Join us as we unmask the realities of these energy sources, breaking down complex concepts into digestible insights. One man's trash really can be another man's treasure!Support the showLet's get into it!Follow us!Email us: TheCatchupCast@Gmail.com

This episode features a conversation between Phil Dillard, Founder of Thruline Networks, and Corey Blumenthal, Sustainability Specialist at Shake Shack. Corey spent years in public relations, witnessing firsthand the influence businesses have in driving social and environmental change. Her work inspired her to return to school to complete a Master's in Energy & Sustainability from Northwestern University, concentrating on sustainable food systems, and leading her to her current role.In this episode, Corey talks about the importance of breaking down food sustainability into digestible pieces, no pun intended. She brings to light the current talent gap in the sustainability field, the urgency of empowering people to act now, and provides a glimpse into the future of corporate social responsibility and impact.—Guest Quotes“In business practice, sustainability is good business. It's efficiency, it drives revenue based on this efficiency. It drives consumer retention, it drives employee retention. I think it's just generally good business and I imagine especially with, hopefully, policy regulations, it's going to be something that isn't just a nice to have, but a requirement for organizations. And I do see that happening, fingers crossed, hopefully sometime in the near future, which goes back to collaboration. You know, we need to have cross industry, we need to have cross sector, private, public. This isn't something we can solve climate change as a silo.” - Corey BlumenthalEpisode Timestamps(00:46) Corey's current role and background(07:24) The talent gap in sustainability(09:18) Making discussing sustainability easily digestible(14:46) Consumer responses to sustainability(16:43) The DNA of Shake Shack, it's mission and structure(25:58) Micro versus macro sustainability issues(34:04) The philosophy and cost behind eating sustainably(35:41) Unpacking sustainability(42:50) Quick hit questionsLinksCorey Blumenthal's LinkedInPhil Dillard's LinkedInThruline Networks

Are you interested in learning about energy sustainability and building code regulations? Then you won't want to miss this episode of ICC Region One Radio featuring Chris Olvera, the supervisor of the Outreach and Education Unit in the Building Standards Office of the California Energy Commission. Host Tim Spears delves into a range of topics with Chris, including his background, the educational opportunities and resources provided by the California Energy Commission, emergency preparedness relating to energy disruptions, and more. Chris's expertise and experience make for an informative and engaging discussion that you won't want to miss. Watch now to expand your knowledge and understanding of this important topic. ORC direct link at 26:43 - https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/programs/building-energy-efficiency-standards/online-resource-center Utility links at 31:04 Energy Code Ace - https://energycodeace.com/ BayREN - https://www.bayren.org/events-training 3C-REN - https://www.3c-ren.org/on-demand-trainings/ Climate Zone maps and tools link at 42:10 - https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/programs/building-energy-efficiency-standards/climate-zone-tool-maps-and Inflation Reduction Act and Energy Rebates link at 49:17 - https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/programs/inflation-reduction-act-residential-energy-rebate-programs-california 2025 Utility Stakeholder Workshops link at 55:09 - https://title24stakeholders.com/ Modernizing Energy Code, HERS, documents direct link at 56:36 - https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/programs/building-energy-efficiency-standards/2022-building-energy-efficiency-0 CEC Subscriptions link at 57:02 - https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/CNRA/signup/31895

Most of the global population recognizes we are in an accelerating transition to sustainable societies and environments. But what will that look like? Will life be more challenging; more comfortable; perhaps a combination? Dr. Byrne will discuss the society of the future. What do we have to do with energy and sustainability to achieve reasonably stable regional and global environments. Speaker: James Byrne James Byrne is Professor Emeritus, University of Lethbridge. He continues an active research program in climate, change solutions, renewable energy, transitions, and society scale sustainability.

Sustainability… It is as prevalent a topic in the process industries as it is anywhere in the world today. In this episode of Digitalization Tech Talks we discuss the topic of energy sustainability and explore how process analytics can be used as part of a digitalization strategy to assist manufacturers in their transition to net zero. This is possible using process analytical measurement devices, such as gas chromatographs, oxygen analyzers, and environmental emission monitoring systems, that collect data that can be analyzed through digitalization tools to generate important KPIs related to maintenance, reliability, and calibration and displayed in a dashboard format that alerts plant personnel when action is needed. Additionally, data from a company's fleet of plants can be combined for a single overall corporate-wide analysis.Video: Analyzer System Manager from Siemens (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXbMgQm2qHc)Website: Analyzer System Manager (https://new.siemens.com/us/en/products/automation/process-analytics/communication-and-software.html)Website: United Airlines Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) program (https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/company/responsibility/sustainable-aviation-fuel.html)Website: Shell is constructing multiple projects to turn organic waste into renewable natural gas (RNG) (https://www.shell.us/energy-and-innovation/shell-downstream-renewable-natural-gas-biomethane-explained.html)Website: MAXUM Edition II – Efficiency meets unsurpassed performance (https://new.siemens.com/us/en/products/automation/process-analytics/process-gas-chromatograph.html)Contact us:George Thomas (george.thomas@siemens.com)Al Kania (alfred.kania@siemens.com)Don Mack (mack.donald@siemens.com)Jonas Norinder (jonas.norinder@siemens.com)

We are responsible for our words and actions. We are not responsible for others, except as a parent. But, even when raising children, we strive to be what we want our children to become. Being an example is difficult enough. To show what we want, we must choose to look out for our reactions, acknowledging when we recognize our biases, nafs, traumas and habits. It is not our job to point those facets out to others. Nor are we meant to solve other's problems, unless this is part of friendship, family or your job as a qualified therapist.Most of us are not aware of what is happening with our energy. It is quite common to leak out our own state of despair, confusion or anger. We create a field of energy wherever we are. It is similar to a smell, it is just not detectable the same way. It is a feeling. This impacts inwards and outwards. That is why the first order of business for any mature person is to determine what are your problems (nafs), and what is not you.Each person we meet brings their own energy into the room. It is not ours, nor our responsibility to change it. We are responsible for how we react to others. If Randall stomps in, angry about his boss, well, it's not our boss. The lesson belongs to Randall. He is either open to learning the lesson (not our job), or he is not. He may assume the victim position. That's his choice. We can choose to remain centered, and listen with our heart to his complaints. Or we can leave the room. What does your heart say?If energy is work, then let's apply that not just to our jobs, but also to our personal output of energy. Every morning we reboot, with an opportunity to do better today. We are not used to thinking that the energy we use to interact with others and our self is our responsibility. As we tune in to our inner and outer sensors, we will notice increasing subtleties. There will be high and low energies throughout the day, and it will change according to what we eat and drink, as well as what is happening in your inner world. It will vary according to place (the beach), time (early morning) or weather (heavy rain). It will fluctuate according to events and people. It is still your responsibility to choose how you will react.To accept, witness and learn more about our own input and output of vitality is a sure way of becoming more mature as a Human Being.Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners,We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing services. We believe the message should be free, but it costs equipment, rental, services, software and hardware to get this to you. Thank you for choosing our podcast amongst all the millions available. If Support the show

Hey Climate Confident listeners! Welcome  to this week's episode of the Climate Confident podcast, where we dive into the world of climate solutions and explore the latest developments in the fight against climate change.In this episode, I was joined by Emily Pontecorvo, a reporter for Grist, who shared her expertise on the topic of green hydrogen. We explored what green hydrogen is, how it's produced, and its potential to be a game-changer in the fight against climate change.Emily also shed light on the EU Green Hydrogen Rules, which aim to define green hydrogen and its eligibility for subsidies. We discussed the three criteria the EU has set for green hydrogen: additionality, regionality, and time matching, and the controversy surrounding the monthly time matching requirement.Emily also touched on the potential uses of hydrogen and the gas industry's push to make hydrogen the future fuel for heating homes. She explained the challenges and limitations of this idea, and why it may not make economic sense.Overall, this was a fascinating conversation that provided a lot of insights into the world of green hydrogen and its potential to make a positive impact on the environment.Here is the link to Michael Liebreich's Hydrogen Ladder that we referenced in the episode.If you want to learn more about Emily and her work, be sure to check out her reporting on grist.org and follow her on Twitter at @EmilyPont.Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Climate Confident podcast! See you in the next one!Podcast supportersI'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's generous supporters: Lorcan Sheehan Hal Good Jerry Sweeney Christophe Kottelat And remember you too can Support the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one.ContactIf you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. CreditsMusic credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna JuniperThanks for listening, and remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!

As the Fed raises interest rates to fight inflation, the economic models they use include energy as a small part of the overall picture. Is that model flawed? Jed Dorsheimer, head of Group Head of Energy & Sustainability at William Blair and former advisor on US Energy Policy to the Obama Administration explains how dependent economic activity is on energy and an innovative framework that takes this into account. You can learn about Jed's work at www.williamblair.com or at www.bpeinstitute.org For additional commentary on this episode and more, sign up for YDHTY's email newsletter at www.ydhty.com/news  

Carlo Pellegrini, Technical Expert in water and energy sustainability o irrigation Technician per Blue Tentacles Titolare di Impianti di irrigazione e agriverde a Trento, che si occupa di progettazioni e realizzazioni di impianti di irrigazione, opera sia nel settore privato che in quello pubblico con Provincia Autonoma di Trento, Comuni e Consorzi di Miglioramento Fondiario. Dal 1999 - oggi è Amministratore di Agriverde s.r.l. e oltre alla normale attività a servizio di privati ed enti pubblici, ha realizzato in particolare il CMF Santa Massenza 40 ettari a goccia con l'automazione di tipo Euroautomation, il Consorzio irriguo di Brentino Belluno 50 ettari punti presa, il CMF Serravalle microirrigazione, CMF Mattarello più di 1000 aste a pioggia lenta, l'estensione del CMF Giaro lustro (Ala - TN) microirrigazione, CMF Cagnò due lotti a pioggia lenta con più di 1000 aste e con l'automazione di tipo Motorola, la trasformazione da pioggia lenta a goccia del Consorzio generale irriguo di Pilcante per una superfice totale di circa 200 ettari, nonché le automazioni oltre che dei consorzi citati del CMF Cembra, Segonzano, Faedo, Civezzano, Sevignano, Lavis, Spini di Gardolo, Zambana, Ravina, Barco di Levico, Tenna, Cognola, Bastie di Ala e Fraveggio montaggio del sistema di centralizzazione degli impianti irrigui della città di Treviso tutto con prodotti della Claber, invece CMF Lasino con Euroautomation con la quale tuttora collabora nell'installazione del sistema centralizzato di telecontrollo degli impianti irrigui della municipalità di Trento e sobborghi. Non ultima la centralizzazione del sistema di irrigazione delle aziende agricole delle Cantine Ferrari - Fratelli Lunelli. Oltre ai temi legati all'irrigazione dal 2007 ho cominciato ad occuparmi anche di idroelettrico con l'installazione di alcune centraline per la produzione di energia in collaborazione con la ditta Ser.ge.ma di Milano occupandoci in particolar modo sia della parte idraulica che dell'automazione, in cui ha svolto il ruolo di responsabile della sicurezza. Bluetentacles - Bolzano -ha sviluppato un sistema di irrigazione di precisione che combina i dati provenienti da centraline meteo, sensori a terra e satelliti per attivare l'irrigazione solo quando serve consentendo un notevole risparmio di acqua e di energia. Dal 1980/1989 è stato dipendente di Tomaselli Irrigazioni s.r.l. a Trento - www.tomaselli-irrigazioni.it e Tecnico installatore per gli impianti di irrigazione e automazione. Tutto è partito da Giugno 1979 quando ha ricevuto il Diploma Perito Agrario presso l'Istituto Tecnico M.A. Bentegodi - Verona. App, siti utili, libri e link smau bluetentacles landscapeindustrycareers waterforlifedecade activesustainability waterfm sostenibilita ecommerce.ilsole24ore Technical Expert in water and energy sustainability o irrigation Technician I tecnici dell'irrigazione forniscono i sistemi di irrigazione che mantengono irrigati colture, parchi, giardini e vari spazi verdi. Inoltre conoscono e comprendono i vari tipi di sistemi di irrigazione e come funzionano, in modo da poter installare il sistema corretto e riparare tutto ciò che non funziona correttamente. Un tecnico dell'irrigazione potrebbe essere responsabile dell'irrigazione di fattorie, parchi, strutture, giardini di hotel o campi da golf. In alcuni casi, a un tecnico esperto di irrigazione potrebbe essere richiesto di progettare un sistema di irrigazione e dovrà soddisfare le esigenze del terreno, nonché eventuali specifiche locali e federali. Molti elementi contribuiscono a un sistema di irrigazione altamente efficiente, come il tempo di irrigazione, il tipo di vegetazione, il suolo e il clima. Problemi come l'irrigazione eccessiva, le perdite sotterranee e la carenza d'acqua sono problemi con cui i tecnici dell'irrigazione potrebbero dover affrontare. In qualità di esperti nella risoluzione dei problemi quando si tratta di acqua e dei danni che può causare, agiscono in modo rapido ed efficiente per mitigare il problema il più rapidamente possibile. I tecnici dell'irrigazione sono abili nell'utilizzare vari tipi di macchinari come falciatrici, trattori o trencher (una macchina che installa linee di irrigazione). Azionano anche programmatori di irrigazione, tubi e teste di irrigazione, oltre a lavorare con tutti i cavi elettrici necessari per far funzionare il sistema. La tecnologia più recente consente ai tecnici dell'irrigazione di monitorare le linee di irrigazione da un computer, in modo che possano trovare un problema più velocemente e anche tenere traccia delle prestazioni del sistema di irrigazione. Un'eccellente tenuta dei registri è essenziale per tutte le attività di gestione dell'irrigazione e per gli ordini completati. I tecnici lavorano anche con i gestori di proprietà o i proprietari per garantire il corretto coordinamento delle attività. Poiché le esigenze di un'azienda o di un'organizzazione possono variare a seconda dell'occasione o della stagione, sono responsabili del mantenimento della comunicazione e di un forte rapporto di lavoro con il proprietario o il gestore. Sebbene siano coinvolti alcuni lavori d'ufficio, come il monitoraggio dei sistemi su un computer, un tecnico dell'irrigazione trascorre la maggior parte del tempo all'aperto, lavorando in tutti i tipi di condizioni meteorologiche.

In a special UNPLUGGED episode, Chris Joslyn and Dave Porter discuss some of the *controversial* topics of the day that drive both politics and the transportation industry. Water, electric, wind, and nuclear energy... where does the average person start when it comes to doing better for the environment? Where do you stand? Let us know!

What You Need to Know about Energy & Sustainability for your Business Featuring Jaison Staab & Suzanne Greene 

Jared Coetzer, head of Investor Relations Harmony

In this show, I interview Marilee Utter, Global Chair of The Counselors of Real Estate, to debut the top ten issues of Real Estate.   ● Inflation and Interest Rates ● Geopolitical Risk ● Hybrid Work and the “Great Decentralization” ● Supply Chain Disruption, Energy: Sustainability, Affordability, & Availability ● Energy: Sustainability, Affordability, & Availability ● Labor Shortage Strain ● The Great Housing Imbalance ● Regulatory Uncertainty ● Cybersecurity Interruptions ● ESG Requirements Forcing Change

Daniel Stonecipher is Head of Revit Electrical and an Electrical and BIM Software Leader at Schneider Electric Energy & Sustainability Services. Mike Petrusky asks Daniel about his journey as a strategic executive technology leader and entrepreneur designing, integrating, developing and delivering BIM/GIS, IWMS, CAFM, AR/VR and IoT based technologies. They discuss the challenges and opportunities for facilities and asset management leaders in our changing built environment and explore some of the technology tools available today. Daniel is also the BIM/GIS Group Leader and Immediate Past President of the IFMA Technology Community where he and Mike first met many years ago. They reminisce about the evolution of the industry and share inspiration for being an Asset Champion in your organization with quotes from both Winston Churchill and Obi-Wan Kenobi! Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstonecipher/ Learn more about the IFMA Technology Community: https://it.ifma.org/ Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikepetrusky/ Learn more about the iOffice + SpaceIQ Asset Division and explore more interviews at: https://www.assetchampion.com/ Share your thoughts with Mike via email: podcast@iOFFICECORP.com  

Ralph Bicknese, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, LEED Fellow is a nationally recognized sustainable design leader with over 40 years of experience and is a principal and co-founder of Hellmuth + Bicknese Architects. His expertise has been demonstrated throughout his career starting with sustainable community committee work with the City of Ames, Iowa in 1980 and most recently on several pioneering projects seeking certification to the Living Building Challenge and/or the LEED Green Building Rating System. Mr. Bicknese has significant experience in all phases of the architectural process including as a principal with complete project responsibility. Ralph's objective is for every act of design and construction to enrich life.   His role as sustainability consultant for The Gateway Arch National Park Arch Visitor Center & Museum is his largest project to date at over $130 million in project cost. It involved a complex international team, and achieved LEED Gold certification in January 2019.   Ralph assisted in the founding of the U.S. Green Building Council - Missouri Gateway Chapter where he served as Chair, Past Chair, Program Chair, Government Advocacy Chair, and as the chapter's Green School Advocate. He was a juror on the USGBC-Minnesota Chapter's 2011 Leadership in Sustainability Awards, served on two Greenbuild Session Selection Committees, the Greenbuild 2005 Program Committee, USGBC Advisory Committee on Haiti Recovery, initiated, helped organize and facilitate the Katrina Charrettes at Greenbuild 2005, and was a contributor to The New Orleans Principles. Ralph is a former board member of the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (Washington, DC) and Vice Chairman of the SMART Sustainable Building Product Committee (Washington, DC), served on the Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District Sustainable Futures Committee, serves on the Maplewood, MO Sustainability Commission, is 2019 Co-chair and Chair-elect of the AIA Materials Knowledge Working Group, a member of the AIA Sustainable Leadership Group and is a frequent mentor, juror, panelist and lecturer for architectural and sustainability courses. He served on Missouri Governor Jay Nixon's Home Building and Residential Energy Efficiency Panel in 2009, served as an Advisor on the State of Missouri MDNR-Department of Energy Missouri Energy Stakeholder Process in 2011, was a peer reviewer for the Public School District's Adherence to Guidelines For Environmentally Sound Practices in 2010 and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's Missouri's Energy Efficiency Potential: Opportunities for Economic Growth and Energy Sustainability in 2011, and worked with State Legislators to establish the Missouri Green Schools Legislative Caucus in 2009.   Ralph is an ardent champion and advocate for transformative green building at local, state and federal levels. He has served and continues to serve on several boards and committees dedicated to widespread sustainability, has participated in several publications and is a frequent mentor, juror and panelist for students at K-12 schools, universities and colleges and frequently lectures on numerous facets of green building. Show Highlights Benefits and support of various trade organizations. Volunteering tips to transform sustainability and your career.  Sneak peek into the AIA and Mindful Materials presentation at the AIA Chicago Conference.  Ralph reflects on some pioneering projects and tackling earlier energy crises.  ​​Ames Sustainability action plan is a model for others to follow. AIA's resources and action committee to “Propel the bell” for practitioners to adopt sustainability. Materials Equity Climate action Framework for design excellence Ten principles Choosing less harmful products to protect “fence line” communities and people within buildings.  Climate Action Equity for a holistic approach and material selection pledge.  EC3 tool and common materials framework to select carbon content products and lifecycle analysis. Ralph's vision of where buildings, regenerative design, and materials will go using nature as a model.  “A huge driving factor is that we really need to be addressing climate action through design. It has to do with operational energy, embodied carbon, and equity. We have to do a better job of making designs more equitable…” -Ralph Bicknese Get the episode transcript here!   Ralph Bicknese's Show Resource and Information Linkedin Tyson Research Center - Washington University in St. Louis Climate Action Plan | City of Ames, IA AIA National Geographic  Scientific American Magazine  The New Yorker Centennial Hawaii Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands Chesapeake Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln  Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to www.gbes.com/join to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes.  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast! Copyright © 2022 GBES

Summary:This week: the next of our ICR Industry Reports. In this mini-series we profile some of ICR's industry experts, and hear about what they're observing at the frontlines of their fields.My guest today is Marc Silverberg, Partner and head of ICR's Energy, Sustainability & Modern Mobility investor relations practice. His team specializes in working with companies across the ESM ecosystem, with focus areas including electric vehicles, battery technology, and renewable energy among others. Marc joined ICR in 2015, bringing with him over 17 years of experience in the capital markets industry. Before coming to ICR, Marc served as a Director of Investments at Oppenheimer, and as Vice President of the energy and equity research team at Barclays and Lehman Brothers. In this episode, I speak with Marc about the biggest challenges he sees facing the companies he works with, how they are thinking about the future, and how sustainability-focused companies can differentiate their ESG stories. Highlights: How Marc's career path led him to ICR (02:32) Marc describes his work in ICR's Energy, Sustainability & Modern Mobility practice (04:41) What are the biggest challenges facing the companies Marc works with today? (06:57) How Marc works with client to develop milestones and long-term goals (10:59) Marc explains how companies in an industry already focused on sustainability can differentiate their ESG stories (13:38) Links:ICR TwitterICR LinkedInICR WebsiteMarc Silverberg LinkedInMarc Silverberg BioFeedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, elizabeth@lowerstreet.co.

“We needed an incredible sophistication at the building level, but we also need to do this in a way that is not just reliable, but also makes sense from an affordability standpoint and more and more makes sense from a sustainability standpoint."—Lincoln BleveansMy HighlightsWhy is building technology important? To the U, to students, to other stakeholders. (7:29)Energy & Sustainability - unpack the goals and initiatives (net zero by 2050) (27:06)What use cases and tech have you implemented? (to get to 90% carbon savings (35:34)How have you made the business case for investment? (46:46)What new tech are you excited about right now? (59:22)Lessons learned - it starts with the people (1:06:44)You can find Lincoln and Gerry on LinkedIn.Watch on YouTube or read on the web.Get full access to Nexus.

In the second of a two-part climate change special, BIT's Head of Energy & Sustainability, Toby Park, sits down with Cambridge University's Professor Theresa Marteau, Moira Nicolson from the Cabinet Office and Valentine Quinio from the Centre for Cities to unpick three of the biggest areas we need to decarbonise to reach Net Zero by 2050: Food, Transport and Energy. We know we cannot achieve Net Zero without behaviour change - the question is, how we can make it happen and devise effective solutions to decarbonise the way we produce and eat food, the way we travel and the way we heat and power our homes.  Our guests discuss the barriers that prevent us from eating more sustainably, uptaking public transport and electric vehicles and switching to green energy suppliers; and the potential levers we can use to change the behaviours of individuals, corporations and governments. Credits: Production and editing by Andy Hetherington Music by Rich O'Brien https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1m3zn3SHmMh3vuR13hkLCP?si=88ed700f455c4dc4

Rochester Mayor Kim Norton talks about a recent trip to Germany to learn about energy sustainability efforts and the quest for a million-dollar grant to fund a workforce development initiative.

About This Episode: John Belizaire's parents escaped Haitian dictatorship and potential death before reuniting and coming to the United States. Since the age of 14 selling floppy discs in high school, John has had an entrepreneurial spirit and interest in technology. He was a recipient of the Intel Scholarship Program and he went on to receive a computer science and engineering degree from Cornell University. When he was 28 years old, he sold his first start-up company for $150 million. He has gone on to become a versatile CEO and serial entrepreneur who has successfully founded and scaled several multi-million dollar technology and fintech companies. He is currently the CEO of Soluna, a computing company helping to shape the future of renewable energy development. His expertise as both a highly effective business leader and technology strategist has enabled his new venture and operational success steering complex initiatives from concept to funding to launch to growth. Find out more about John at: Soluna - www.solunacomputing.com Twitter - @solunapower LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/solunablockchain/ CEO Play Book - www.ceoplaybook.co

Jan Vrins, Segment Leader, Global Energy, Sustainability, and Infrastructure at Guidehouse, advises on developing and implementing policies and strategies in areas such as climate action planning, decarbonization, resiliency, and grid modernization.

Electric vehicles and smart charging infrastructure are poised to play a major role in providing critical energy services to the grid. Smart EV charging can provide intelligent real-time grid balancing and advanced grid support during times of high demand and limited energy supply. It has demonstrated success by operating EVs as “storage on wheels” during the 12 to 15+ hours per day that vehicles typically sit unused.In 2020, California faced the worst fire season in its history and a record heatwave. Enel X's demand response, energy storage, and smart EV charging customers pitched in as part of a statewide effort among commercial and residential energy users to reduce strain on the grid.With the increasing frequency of extreme weather conditions such as the 2020 California heatwave and 2021's winter storms which brought sub-freezing temperatures and power outages to millions across Texas and the U.S., there is an urgent need to expand demand-side distributed energy resources. Enel X enables industrial, commercial, and residential customers to earn cash flows and enhance resilience by supporting grid reliability through mechanisms such as vehicle-grid integration (VGI), automated load management (ALM), participation in dynamic rates, and V2G for backup-power and resiliency in the future.

In 2020, Consumers Energy launched an ambitious Clean Energy Plan to eliminate coal and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. This plan focuses on increasing flexibility to the grid and as part of this effort, Consumers Energy developed and delivered a program in the spring of 2020 to give away Google Nest thermostats to Michigan households during the COVID-19 pandemic to help them save energy and money.Electric customers who received smart thermostats were also pre-enrolled in the Smart Thermostat Program, which shifts energy usage to off-peak hours — while also keeping households comfortable – on a few days each year. Consumers Energy placed more than 50,000 Google Nest thermostats in homes and enrolled 91.6% of eligible customers in the Smart Thermostat Program. Launched in only six weeks, Consumers Energy went above and beyond to help their customers during a pandemic lower their energy bills in a no-cost manner while also furthering its goals of a more flexible grid.The program also served as an important starting point for its winter demand response program focused on natural gas customers -- both residential and businesses -- which launched in the fall of 2020.

There isn't much Charles ‘Chuck' McConnell hasn't seen in his 35 years in the Energy Industry, which makes this one of the more fascinating interviews we've done at The Green Insider. The Executive Director at the Center for Carbon Management and Energy Sustainability for the University of Houston, McConnell goes … The post The Green Insider – Ep. 49 – Charles McConnell – Exec. Dir. – UH Energy appeared first on eRENEWABLE.

#cleanenergy #circulareconomy #sustainability #sap Tom Raftery is a Global VP for SAP, an Innovation Evangelist, Futurist, international Keynote Speaker, and host of The Climate 21, and Digital Supply Chain podcasts. Prior to joining SAP, Tom worked for a number of companies at Group IT Manager/CTO level, and as an Industry Analyst. Tom is also a regular Guest Lecturer at the International Instituto San Telmo Business School in Seville. Tom is also the creator and host of The Digital Supply Chain & Climate 21 podcast discussing global warming, thought leadership, best practices, and the latest innovations in delivering a sustainable supply chain. Check out Tom's weekly newsletter at https://www.getrevue.co/profile/TomRafteryTom is both a Blogger and Podcaster. He writes an award-winning, highest subscribed blog in Ireland (tomraftery.com) https://www.climate21podcast.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomraftery Watch our highest viewed videos: 1-India;s 1st Quantum Computer- https://youtu.be/ldKFbHb8nvQDR R VIJAYARAGHAVAN - PROF & PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR AT TIFR 2-Breakthrough in Age Reversal- -https://youtu.be/214jry8z3d4DR HAROLD KATCHER - CTO NUGENICS RESEARCH 3-Head of Artificial Intelligence-JIO - https://youtu.be/q2yR14rkmZQShailesh Kumar 4-STARTUP FROM INDIA AIMING FOR LEVEL 5 AUTONOMY - SANJEEV SHARMA CEO SWAAYATT ROBOTS -https://youtu.be/Wg7SqmIsSew 5-TRANSHUMANISM & THE FUTURE OF MANKIND - NATASHA VITA-MORE: HUMANITY PLUS -https://youtu.be/OUIJawwR4PY 6-MAN BEHIND GOOGLE QUANTUM SUPREMACY - JOHN MARTINIS -https://youtu.be/Y6ZaeNlVRsE 7-1000 KM RANGE ELECTRIC VEHICLES WITH ALUMINUM AIR FUEL BATTERIES - AKSHAY SINGHAL -https://youtu.be/cUp68Zt6yTI 8-Garima Bharadwaj Chief Strategist IoT & AI at Enlite Research -https://youtu.be/efu3zIhRxEY 9-BANKING 4.0 - BRETT KING FUTURIST, BESTSELLING AUTHOR & FOUNDER MOVEN -https://youtu.be/2bxHAai0UG0 10-E-VTOL & HYPERLOOP- FUTURE OF INDIA"S MOBILITY- SATYANARAYANA CHAKRAVARTHY -https://youtu.be/ZiK0EAelFYY 11-NON-INVASIVE BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE - KRISHNAN THYAGARAJAN -https://youtu.be/fFsGkyW3xc4 12-SATELLITES THE NEW MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR SPACE RACE - MAHESH MURTHY -https://youtu.be/UarOYOLUMGk Connect & Follow us at: https://in.linkedin.com/in/eddieavil https://in.linkedin.com/company/change-transform-india https://www.facebook.com/changetransformindia/ https://twitter.com/intothechange https://www.instagram.com/changetransformindia/

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated challenges faced by hydrocarbon exporters in the Gulf owing to the global push to transition to cleaner energy sources.  In this podcast, Manal Shehabi (OIES) discusses with David Ledesma a recent OIES-KFAS workshop held in April 2021 titled “Energy Transition Post-Pandemic in the Gulf States,” held with support from the Kuwait Foundation […] The post Oxford Energy Podcast – Energy Transition Post-Pandemic in the Gulf: Clean Energy, Sustainability and Hydrogen appeared first on Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

Welcome to another episode of Action and Ambition. Does humanity progress far enough when it comes to sustainability? Humans are the best when it comes to exploiting resources. Our ancestors started with fire, and now we are playing at atomic levels through nuclear means. Humanity’s intelligence is terrifying and a gift at the same time. Dirk Harbecke wants to utilize this intelligence by promoting energy sustainability on electromobility and batteries. Listen to this amazing episode of education, stewardship, and vision! It will be a wonderful conversation and you are going to love this episode.

If you are the one who concerned with energy sustainability, this podcast will answer all your curiosity. President of SPE APU SC, Abdallah El Badaoui, will share his knowledge and incredible experiences during the energy sector and its sustainability for future life. Take your note, and please enjoy the excitement of listening to our SPE ITS SC Podcast!

With 37,000 restaurants in over 100 countries serving 69 million people every day, McDonald's understands how great an impact they have. The last time John spoke with Emma Cox, North American Sustainability Manager at McDonald's Corporation during the 2019 Innovation Summit, the company was primarily focused on energy efficiency within the U.S. Since that beginning, their focus has had a global shift that will positively affect the environment. Listen to hear how McDonald's is changing the world one community at a time. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... McDonald's focus on using its scale for good [2:21] From national to global sustainability [6:15] McDonald's new Global Impact Team [10:32] What's next for McDonald's sustainability? [13:25] The importance of community [20:33] Building a sustainability team [23:18] The beginning of McDonald's and sustainability How did McDonald's start this journey of global sustainability? Emma discusses the first goal McDonald's established as their science-based target. Their goal is to reduce their greenhouse emissions by 36% by the year 2030. Working toward this original project has taught them a lot about what does and doesn't work. This learning process has propelled McDonald's to achieve a wider range of impact.  In 2019, McDonald's announced their first-ever power purchase agreements. In 2020 they made more agreements that equate to 8,000 restaurants worth of electricity. These 1,130 megawatts of wind and solar energy are enough to power 275 million homes! Not only does this progress provide renewable energy, but it also provides thousands of jobs in the communities. Good world for good food McDonald's focus goes beyond just making a good burger. They want to focus on doing more in the world and for their customers. McDonald's wants to find more of what they can do and how they can positively impact the environment. To do this, they've created a Global Impact Team. Part of this team is focused on social impact. Their goal is to find how they can best serve their community and add value to the environment locally. Another aspect of the team is focused on government and policy. They put their efforts into what changes can be made in regulation that will help promote green energy. Finally, the communications and relations part of the team focuses on sharing the mission of working together to make the world better. McDonald's Global Impact Team isn't large. It's a small group of individuals who are passionate about renewable energy goals. Alongside their team, McDonald's consults with experts to make sure that the best, most effective decisions are made. McDonald's example shows that even a small group of people can help guide a company towards a sustainable future. By learning through the process and asking the right people for guidance, any company can make a difference. Sustainability for each community McDonald's has a unique opportunity to bring renewable options to local small businesses and cities. These sustainable options can be accessible in otherwise unavailable places due to the importance McDonald's places on community impact. This connects directly with McDonald's brand purpose to make delicious, feel-good moments for everyone. Customers can feel good about the company they're investing in because they're also helping to create a healthier environment.  For years McDonald's has supported communities through actions like sponsoring Little League teams and hosting community events. Community impact is a huge part of the consideration before placing a McDonald's. Each restaurant location begins by identifying the needs of the community and defining ways to be helpful. By combining this focus with their large scale, McDonald's is helping people, animals, and the environment thrive.  Resources & People Mentioned McDonald's Global Impact Team Connect with Emma Cox Emma Gillespie Cox on LinkedIn Emma Cox is the North American Sustainability Manager at McDonald's Corporation. She leads Renewable Energy globally for the company. Last year, under Emma's leadership, McDonald's announced its first two PPAs, together totaling 380 MW, in the US. She believes McDonald's can use its Scale for Good to transform the renewable energy market. After graduating from Columbia University in New York, she worked for the U.S. Green Building Council specifically on programs, events, and continuing education. From there, she moved to Chicago, where she worked for an energy and sustainability tech start-up called Green Per Square Foot—leading their Business Development & Marketing team. She went on to lead the Energy & Sustainability consulting group for Cushman & Wakefield before eventually ending up at McDonald's, where she has the unique opportunity to use its scale for good. Having worked in many areas within Sustainability, Emma has a diverse skill set but has always had a passion for making the world a better place. At home, she is Mom to two young kids and enjoys traveling whenever they let her get away. Connect With Smart Energy Decisions   https://smartenergydecisions.com Follow them on Facebook Follow them on Twitter Follow them on LinkedIn   Subscribe to Smart Energy Voices   If you're interested in participating in the next edition of the SED Renewable Energy Sourcing Forum taking place on December 7-11, visit smartenergydecisions.com or email our Event Operations Director, Lisa Carroll at lisa@smartenergydecisions.com" Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

With the electric vehicle industry growing exponentially, it is expected to become a major revenue generator for utilities all over the world. As a result, utilities are beginning to explore opportunities to offer end-to-end EV charging solutions to commercial businesses and homeowners, which will enable them to assume a more significant role in the e-mobility industry.In this Dialogue, our guest speaker, Driivz CEO Doron Frenkel will demonstrate how, by owning as well as managing EV chargers and the EV owner relationship, utilities can gain maximum visibility of around the availability and stability of the charger network, real-time control of demand response, and also be able to optimize energy management for depot/home charging.

In this discussion, Michael Brown and Catherine Morehouse will discuss Utility Dive's interviews with power sector experts who are tentatively predicting big changes for the year ahead. Join us to learn what we might expect from the new administration, and how its approach will potentially affect policymakers, regulators, utilities, and other stakeholders.

In this episode I speak with two co-founders who run a sales development agency for tech companies that have enterprise offerings and long sales cycles. These two take an extremely thoughtful approach and go incredibly deep into their breakdown of how they get the attention of higher level prospects in large organizations to get them on sales calls. If you enjoy detailed episodes, you'll enjoy this interview because these two founders have one of the most detailed, thoughtful approaches to their sales process that I have ever seen. Raj and Sud are Co-Founders of InsightCraft. Insightcraft is a global sales as a service company. Both founders have been individual sales contributors for several businesses. With over 30 years of combined experience Raj and Sud know what it takes to drive revenue with direct B2B sales. Free Video: How to Create a Repeatable Process for Generating High-Quality Leads and Predictably Book Your Calendar With Interested Prospects on Autopilot Without Cold Calling or Ads: https://outboundleadaccelerator.com/ Case Study: How to Use Automated Cold Email Marketing to Spend $166.70 and Make $3,435.30 in Profit (2,061% ROI) – Email Templates Included: https://morgandwilliams.com/case-study Join the Facebook Group (B2B SaaS Cold Outreach Mastery): https://morgandwilliams.com/fbgroup --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/morgan-williams0/message

Chris and I pick up with Energy and the pros and cons of many options as scientists continue to expand possibilities while the marketplace and Corporate behemoths and the Central Bankster’s restrict progress because of their financial interests. As an environmental engineer, Chris offers a reality check as to why these fascinating options for renewable energies have pros and cons that are not often addressed. This conversation was over an hour, but packed with great info and will help with broad understanding.

Dr Abdullah Al Abri is the Director of EJAAD. EJAAD is a membership-based virtual collaborative platform where industry, academia and government can interact and engage in energy related research and innovation activities to help solve Oman’s most pressing sustainability challenges._________Anglo Omani Society accounts:Instagram: angloomanisocietyLinkedin: The Anglo-Omani SocietyTwitter: @AngloOmaniSOCFacebook: The Anglo-Omani Society

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is launching its first Podcast on the 3rd August 2020. On the first Monday of each month we will be posting a new themed episode with news, interviews and stories from around the world, hosted by Chartered Engineer and IMechE member Dr Helen Meese.   Take a listen to the trailer to find out more about the August show, which will be focusing on Energy Sustainability and what this will mean to the world following the Covid pandemic.   If you're an engineer, interested in tech or just curious, then click our 'follow' button to get updates on future episode releases. You can find more information about the Institution at www.imeche.org

The Colorado’s EU Center of Excellence at the University of Colorado in Boulder gathered the three climate and energy experts of the EU Delegation to the U.S. for a discussion led by professor KK DuVivier (University of Denver) on the EU’s Green Deal and how the EU and the U.S. can ensure that the pandemic recovery will be sustainable and climate friendly. The event featured Mercedes Garcia Perez (Head of Global Issues and Innovation), Dr. Dagmara Koska (Counselor Climate and Energy), and Irina Markina (Senior Energy Advisor). The discussion was introduced by Felicia Naranjo Martinez, Executive director of the EU Center.

Join Claressa Monteiro, as she speaks to Bernard Esselinckx, President and CEO at Senoko Energy about how the company has incorporated technology to their energy solutions and the company's initiatives in promoting sustainability through its first solar project.

Nick Brown, client portfolio manager, offers a deep dive in key themes of sustainable investing, highlighting our third of four verticals, Clean Water. Transcript Clean Energy & Sustainability; Vertical 3- Clean Water FinalDownload Cushing® Asset Management, LP, which is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Cushing”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Swank Capital, LLC. The information in this report was prepared by Cushing and is current as of the date of this presentation. Opinions represent Cushing’s opinion as of the date of this report and are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to predict or guarantee the future performance of any individual security, market sector or the markets generally. The mention of a specific security is not a recommendation or solicitation to buy or hold that security and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Cushing does not undertake to advise you of any changes in its opinions or the information contained in this report. All information provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon to make an investment decision. This presentation is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities, investment products or investment advisory services. This information is not being provided in a fiduciary capacity and is not intended to recommend any investment policy or investment strategy or take into account the specific objectives or circumstances of any investor. The information contained in this document is the most recent information available to Cushing (except otherwise noted), however all of the information herein is subject to change without notice. Certain information included in this presentation is based on information obtained from sources considered to be reliable, however no representation may be made with respect to the accuracy or completeness of such data.

Transcript Vertical 2- Clean InfrastructureDownload Cushing® Asset Management, LP, which is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Cushing”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Swank Capital, LLC. The information in this report was prepared by Cushing and is current as of the date of this presentation. Opinions represent Cushing’s opinion as of the date of this report and are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to predict or guarantee the future performance of any individual security, market sector or the markets generally. The mention of a specific security is not a recommendation or solicitation to buy or hold that security and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Cushing does not undertake to advise you of any changes in its opinions or the information contained in this report. All information provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon to make an investment decision. This presentation is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities, investment products or investment advisory services. This information is not being provided in a fiduciary capacity and is not intended to recommend any investment policy or investment strategy or take into account the specific objectives or circumstances of any investor. The information contained in this document is the most recent information available to Cushing (except otherwise noted), however all of the information herein is subject to change without notice. Certain information included in this presentation is based on information obtained from sources considered to be reliable, however no representation may be made with respect to the accuracy or completeness of such data. Certain information contained in this presentation may constitute “forward-looking” statements, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “estimate,” or “believe” or other variations thereof. Such statements reflect various assumptions by Cushing concerning anticipated trends or events, which may or may not occur. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events or results may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements. This presentation is not to be reproduced or redistributed to any other person without the prior consent of Cushing.

Vertical 1- Clean Energy TranscriptDownload Cushing® Asset Management, LP, which is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Cushing”) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swank Capital, LLC. All information provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon to make an investment decision. Past performance results relate only to the time periods indicated and are not at indication of, nor a reliable proxy for future performance. This presentation is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities, investment products or investment advisory services. This information is not being provided in a fiduciary capacity and is not intended to recommend any investment policy or investment strategy or take into account the specific objectives or circumstances of any investor. The information contained in this document is the most recent information available to Cushing (except otherwise noted), however all of the information herein is subject to change without notice. Certain information included in this presentation is based on information obtained from sources considered to be reliable, however no representation may be made with respect to the accuracy or completeness of such data. Certain information contained in this presentation may constitute “forward-looking” statements, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “estimate,” or “believe” or other variations thereof. Such statements reflect various assumptions by Cushing concerning anticipated trends or events, which may or may not occur. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events or results may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements. This presentation is not to be reproduced or redistributed to any other person without the prior consent of Cushing®.

Megha Jain is a senior at Granada Hills Charter High School in Los Angeles, California. She is an inventor, avid public speaker, and the founder of the Science Fair & STEM Expo at her school. In her spare time, she enjoys reading The Economist and playing the violin. In college, she hopes to pursue Environmental Engineering and Computer Science in order to study the intersection between AI and Energy Sustainability.For more information go here www.swchit.comTo support Megha you can go to her GoFundMe campaign.The T. Allen Hanes Radio Show - Conversations with Elite Business Leadershttp://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-t-allen-hanes-show/

Meet Toni! She is the City of Huntington Beach's Assistant to the City Manager and the City of Huntington Beach's Energy and Sustainability Manager. GritCycle is now a Huntington Beach Sustainable Green Business and member of the California Green Business Network. We were excited to learn everything that we did during the process and invited her in to get some other insight into living sustainably. For more info on this program visit: https://greenbusinessca.org/ and https://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/business/sustainable-business-certification-program/ Follow us on Instagram: @GritCycle @SmartyCassie @TheGritGuru

The U.S. economy kicked into high gear in 2018, and the results were evident in nearly every energy sector including overall demand, power generation, energy prices and carbon emissions. So, what does this mean for the movement to sustainable energy? In this edition of the Columbia Energy Exchange, host Bill Loveless talks to Lisa Jacobson, the president of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, a coalition of companies and trade associations representing the energy efficiency, natural gas and renewable energy sectors. Every year, the council along with Bloomberg New Energy Finance puts out “Sustainable Energy in America Factbook,” providing annual information on key trends in the U.S. energy sectors. The 2019 edition of the report, the seventh compiled, illustrates the extent to which the U.S. energy picture is changing and what it indicates for the nation’s economy. Lisa has headed the Business Council for Sustainable Energy for about 15 years, after having worked on Capitol Hill as a congressional aide. She is a member of the Department of Energy’s State Energy Efficiency Steering Committee, the U.S. Trade Representative’s Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee, and the Gas Technology Institute’s Public Interest Advisory Committee. She has represented energy industries before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and testified before Congress. In fact, she had just appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee regarding the 2019 factbook when she and Bill spoke at her office in Washington. They talked about the latest findings in the various energy sectors as well as a couple of questions the report raises about energy productivity in the U.S. and the absence of federal policy on climate change.

Nearly 100 U.S. cities of different sizes have made formal commitments to 100 percent renewable energy. In our sixth episode of Voices of 100%, a multi-part series of Local Energy Rules, we feature the small town of Abita Springs, the first city in Louisiana to set such a goal. LeAnn Magee, who chairs the grassroots, volunteer-led Abita Committee for Energy Sustainability that helped pass the town’s resolution, speaks with co-director of ILSR and Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell about the motivations for and approach to Abita Springs’ commitment — starting with municipal buildings and advocating for community solar.… Read More

Guests: Austin Moothart - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-moothart/) - Corda Certification Badge #1 (https://www.youracclaim.com/badges/aef4efb4-d1b2-4e93-b835-495deaebac0a/linked_in) Aishwarya Balaji - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/theaish/) - Twitter (https://twitter.com/the_aish) Links: - Impact Chain Lab site (https://www.impactchainlab.com/) - Five key areas of focus - Energy /Sustainability & Agriculture - Data Ownership & IoT - Manufacturing, Trade & Commerce (Supply chain) - Education, Content & Media - Financial Inclusion - Bystander project - Waze (https://www.waze.com/) - Karthik Bupathi - Co-founder of Impact Chain Lab (https://www.linkedin.com/in/karthik-bupathi-659ba555/) - Aishwarya's TedEx at Fordham (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeIy5rsABBU) - Impact Chain Lab twitter (https://twitter.com/impactchainlab?lang=en) Shownotes: 00:00-05:45 Austin defines what a float is 05:45-29:29 Aishwarya Balaji joins Host: Catherine Rutter - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinemrutter/) - Twitter (https://twitter.com/breadandrutter) music by bensound.com Special Guest: Austin Moothart.

E&S Committee Call Topic: Current Policy Issues and Program Direction for OEI & OEA Speakers: Mr. Michael F. McGhee, Executive Director of the US Army Office of Energy Initiatives (OEI), & Mr. Robert Hughes, Executive Director of US Air Force Office of Energy Assurance (OEA) When: October 4, 2017

"Abita Springs is nestled in the piney woods of St. Tammany Parish, just east of Covington and north of Mandeville. The town has a well-earned reputation for clean are and sparkling clean artesian well water. St. Tammany has a reputation for being one of the most conservative parishes in Louisiana, yet in Abita Springs the Republican mayor and town aldermen have committed to move their town to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. The town is one of just over 100 U.S. municipalities who have signed onto the Sierra Club’s “Ready for 100” pledge to pursue full renewable energy for their communities. The group made a splash at the recent U.S. Conference of Mayors’ meeting in Miami, where tidal flooding has become a reality even while some political leaders profess to be climate change skeptics. LeAnn Magee, founder of Abita Committee for Energy Sustainability, attended the Mayors’ Miami meeting with a small delegation of her co-horts. Abita Springs Mayor Greg Lemons is, it turns out, a long-time Sierra Club member and, MaGee says in the interview, enthusiastically embraced the idea of the town making the commitment to sustainable energy. Some of the town aldermen were skeptical but were won over when they learned that one of elements of the program was conducting an audit of public building energy usage. Helping the town reduce its cost of operating by reducing what it spends on energy had great appeal and the town was off and running. Magee comes by her environmentalism honestly (she’s originally from Oregon but has been a St. Tammany resident for all of this century). Others came to the cause as a result of the anti-fracking fight in St. Tammany that flared over a three-year period when Helis Oil sought to frack in the parish. As a result of that long fight (no fracking occurred after a test well was drilled), some in the St. Tammany anti-fracking movement were looking for something positive to get behind. They found it in the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 movement. Abita Springs is the first Louisiana municipality to sign up for the program. For the naysayers out there, it’s worth noting that having a goal does not mean you’ve accomplished it, but having a goal is essential to accomplishing it. Abita has aimed high, setting a standard that other Louisiana municipalities in this climate change threatened state would do well to emulate. We talk about Abita’s commitment and the thrill of environmentalists advocating for positive change."

DEP is kicking off Air Quality Awareness week, May 1-5, 2017. The purpose of this week is to raise awareness about air pollution, what DEP is doing to reduce the public’s exposure to air pollution, and to encourage everyone to take action to protect themselves and their families from air pollutants. To celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week, Paul Baldauf, Assistant Commissioner of DEP’s Division of Air Quality, Energy & Sustainability, sits down with Bob Bostock to discuss a large piece of the air quality puzzle – energy. For more information on DEP’s efforts for Air Quality Awareness week, and to find out more about DEP’s role in air quality and energy, please visit http://www.nj.gov/dep/cleanairnj/. Like DEP’s Air Quality, Energy and Sustainability page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NJDEPAQES/. Check the air quality in your area by visiting http://www.njaqinow.net/. To learn more about national efforts for Air Quality Awareness Week, please visit https://www3.epa.gov/airnow/airaware/.

The Human Power Generation in Fitness Facilities research project will create a human power generation center at the UC Berkeley Recreational Sports Facilities to develop new technologies and methods for energy conservation and power generation.TranscriptSpeaker 1: Spectrum's next Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 1: Welcome to spectrum the science and technology show on k a l x Berkeley, a biweekly 30 [00:00:30] minute program bringing you interviews featuring bay area scientists and technologists as well as a calendar of local events and news. Speaker 3: Good afternoon. My name is Brad swift and I'm the host of today's show. Our interview is with [inaudible], a fifth year mechanical engineering and Applied Mathematics major at UC Berkeley, who along with Kimberly Lau, launched the human power gym project. After conducting a feasibility study, they are attempting to design and prototype [00:01:00] an elliptical exercise machine for the UC Berkeley recreational sports facility that will generate electricity. Rather than consume it, the generated electricity will be put back into the electrical grid. The project began in the summer of 2009 Maha g talks about her enthusiasm for the project and the challenges to make it a reality. Maha and I are joined by Rick [inaudible] for the interview. This interview is prerecorded and edited. [00:01:30] Maha, could you please explain the project you're working on currently? Speaker 4: Okay, so I'm working on a project titled The Human Pirate Gym Project. It's part of the Berkeley Energy and Sustainability Laboratory in the mechanical engineering department. And the goal of our project is to harness human power from exercise machines currently in the recreational sports facility or the RSF at UC Berkeley. And we're hoping to retrofit and 28 elliptical machines to harness human power and send it back to the electric grid and also work an energy education [00:02:00] campaign to improve energy literacy among the members of the RSF and people who frequent the facility to give them a better idea of sustainability and energy. Speaker 3: How did that idea bubble up for you and the group you're working on this with? Speaker 4: So I'm working on this with a graduate student named Kimberly Lough in the Mechanical Engineering Department under professor at Gugino. We came across it separately. She came across the idea when she's working out in the RSF, seeing all these people burning calories and you know, exercising so much, they must be expending a lot of energy and there must [00:02:30] be a way to harness that. And then I came across the idea because I was reading up about, um, there's a project harnessing children's power to pump water up out of the wells. And in African villages they create like a, a carousel where kids can play on and when they spin around the carousel they're actually pumping water up into a tank. And so I thought, well if kids run around and harness all this energy, why can't we do something like this and the gyms across the u s Speaker 3: and much power do you Speaker 5: expect [00:03:00] to be able to generate from all this? Speaker 4: So unfortunately it's not a lot of power. Um, the RSF uses on the order of 1.5 million kilowatt hours a year and energy consumption and by other things like air conditioning or where's all that go? So actually it's not air conditioning cause we live in a bay area. We don't actually have air conditioning and the RSF cause it stays relatively cool. It's definitely for heating and air circulation and ventilation. And then a good chunk of it goes to lights and actually [00:03:30] powering treadmills, believe it or not. So if we haven't retrofitted 28 elliptical machines, it would harness about 10,000 kilowatt hours a year, which is enough to power a small house but only 1% of what the RSF needs to run its daily use. The treadmill is actually account for about 12% of the energy use at the RSF and not a lot of people know that. So part of our project, we're trying to encourage people to use elliptical machines or other self powered machines that use less power that but give comparable workouts [00:04:00] according to fitness trainers and the hopes that maybe they'll switch over to more ellipticals and the treadmills can be replaced in the RSF cause they actually acquire. I think running on a treadmill for about an hour requires as much energy as doing a load of laundry, washing and drying. Speaker 5: How did the project come together in terms of getting an off the ground funding, all those things. Speaker 4: So two years ago I am part of the UC leads program, which is, I forgot what it stands for, but it's some type of scholarship program at Berkeley that encourages summer research. [00:04:30] So I was funded by them to do a summer research project two years ago and I contacted fresher ag Gino with this idea saying, hey, I'm funded, can I work in your lab with Kimberley? She's really awesome. Wants to work in this project. So the UC leads program funded me for that summer and they've also funded me to continue researching in the fall and of that year, fall 2009 so we researched the feasibility of this and tried to come up with some energy estimates on how much energy we could harness, how much that would cost, what sort of things would need to be in place [00:05:00] to continue actually with the retrofits. And we actually published a paper in a conference and a spring of 2010 with the American Society of mechanical engineers. And after that we started applying for funds through the Green Initiative Fund, the Sigmas I m research honors society and the Chancellors Green, the chancellor's Green Fund cacs, I believe it's called the Chancellor's Advisory Committee for sustainability. And so with all those three funding resources, we have about a little over $17,000 [00:05:30] currently to actually go ahead and build these prototypes and get going with the retrofits at the gym. Speaker 4: Can you talk about your, a conference paper anymore. So what does it, what was it about? So our conference paper was published in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Conference on Energy Sustainability in May of 2010 and it just talked about our feasibility study on the RSF detailing how much power could be harnessed from the RSF, what [00:06:00] percentage of power consumption that accounted for. And it also detailed sort of how long it would take to payback such a system. And it also looked at the light life cycle assessment of the system and life cycle assessment basically means you take into account all the energy required to make the components that you'll be adding to the system and then take a look at how long it would take to payback the co two emissions related to that energy that was put in. So I think we estimated that unfortunately it's relates [00:06:30] to at savings of only a thousand dollars a year in energy consumption because energy is so cheap out here. But if we made CO2 emissions, the metric instead of dollars, the system would pay itself off in like two to three years of CO2 savings. If we assume that the energy generated at the RSF no longer needs to be generated by say PGNE and then taking into account how much CO2 is required for those few components that we have to add to each elliptical. So that was a much less bleak outlook. Speaker 5: [00:07:00] Did you draw on previous attempts to do the same thing? Speaker 4: So we redid a lot of research and a couple other gyms across the nation have retrofitted elliptical machines specifically to harness human power. And we talked to them and we talked to, there's a company called rewrap that actually does commercial retrofits and they approached the RSF also saying that they could do the retrofits before I came onto the project and we talked to those jams and I actually had a chance to visit one of them in [inaudible] at Oregon state. And [00:07:30] for some reason they didn't seem to be completely happy with the setup. For one reason or another, they didn't think it was producing as much energy as they thought. And so based on those interviews I had done with gyms across the nation, we decided to try and come up with our own retrofit. Also, cal poly has done a retrofit of their gym facility and are harnessing power from ellipticals in their own method. Speaker 4: And the gym users there are really, really excited about it and really enjoy it a lot more than people at Oregon State for instance. So that's kind of why we're trying to go [00:08:00] ahead with doing it ourselves. Um, based on interviews and research from other gyms, definitely. And are only the ellipticals being used to generate power. Currently they're the easiest to tap into because they have an onboard generator that will convert your human power movement into resistance, electrical resistance that you feel when you're working out. So it's really easy to tap into them, just remove the resistance mechanism and instead put in something like an inverter to convert the DC power [00:08:30] you're generating to AC power. That can be used and sent back to the grid. Speaker 5: When the cal poly success, was there any attempt to collaborate with them? Speaker 4: We did approach them and ask them for collaboration, but I believe they are, have, they have some sort of patents on their devices now and it's very proprietary and so they're not, they're various hesitant to work with us and so if we create our own solution we're hoping to be much more open about it and sort of spread it around to any universities who want to do this on their own. Jim, [00:09:00] because we've had such a hard time contacting other people for help that we want to make sure it's easier for others. Speaker 6: You are listening to spectrum on the KALX Berkeley, we are talking with Mar Haji, but the human power gym project of which she is a founding member. Speaker 5: What's been the most challenging aspect [00:09:30] of the project? Speaker 4: I think definitely recruiting people for the project because we've seen so many people come and go last year in our teams that has been really hard to get anything done. Um, we really need people who are skilled in electronics and mechanical engineering and unfortunately I don't have a very big electronics background myself and since I'm graduating in December, I have a lot of requirements that I need to meet and I can't give my all to the project as I could two years ago. So it's been really hard to find people who are as motivated or as determined about the [00:10:00] project to go ahead and finish it up and follow it through and hand it off and I, so that's been a big, big challenge I think. Speaker 5: Is that something that you want to do? Do you want to recruit people what he was attempting to do in that vein? Speaker 4: Yeah, we definitely want to recruit people because it's going to take a lot of work and a lot of minds to prototype one elliptical and then expand it to the entire gym. And like I said, since I'm graduating in December, I definitely want to hand off the project to other people to sort of conduct follow up [00:10:30] research. Like okay, if we put these ellipticals and generate power, do people actually learn from this? Do the energy literacy rates go up, do treadmills get useless. There's a whole host of followup research that could be done and hasn't been done yet and definitely has a potential of being published and presented around the nation I think. Speaker 5: So are you mostly interested in recruiting other engineers and how would they sign up? Speaker 4: So I'm interested in [inaudible] definitely recruiting um, upperclassmen engineers but also [00:11:00] people who have experience in signage and education. Cause I know, I don't know how best to reach people or get the knowledge disseminated about all the energy sustainability going on in the RSF. And that would definitely be helpful. And if anyone's interested they can just email RSF energy@gmail.com we'd be happy to have them on board. Speaker 5: All right. Any of your current efforts documented anywhere of Wiki or mainly list or anything like that? Speaker 4: So we have a webpage, hpg.berkeley.edu [00:11:30] needs to be updated for the past couple months. But generally a lot of our documents are there and we also have a [inaudible] website for all the members of the project. And that's how we communicate for papers that need to be read or budgets they need to be updated and that kind of thing. Speaker 5: Do you know if, uh, there are sort of commercial efforts in this too, like commercial? Uh, Speaker 4: so besides outside, outside universities, I guess so universities are really unique in that their gym [00:12:00] facilities are open for so many hours and frequent, so many users. So unfortunately Jim is like 24 hour fitness even though they're open 24 hours, don't see as much throughput of people or patrons that, um, university of do. So there hasn't been a huge push and they're at that direction. I believe there's a handful of them that use at least the re-roof technology. And there's a couple of gyms that are like, I think there's one gym in Hong Kong that's created some type of something called like a human dynamo where four people will bike on [00:12:30] the sort of combined system and move their hands at the same time and that will generate a whole lot of power for the gym. But aside from that, then not much that I know, it seems like a natural for a gym setting is to make it competitive somehow. I know both Oregon State and University of Oregon did retrofits and they sort of had a competition like who can create the most energy. Um, and we hope when we actually retrofit the gym to involve some sort of LCD panel that reads out which elliptical is [00:13:00] generating the most energy, you know, compare it across the gym and everyone can see, oh no like I gotta be 12 like my friends over there or something. Yeah. Speaker 4: What's been the most unexpected thing that's happened in the project? So finding an elliptical machine was really hard. We originally thought that it was this elliptical machine floating around and so to haul on the sixth floor that no one really had, no one really knew who it belonged to. So we thought we'd use that for our project. We had [00:13:30] took a while to track down who the professor was who had it laying around and he gladly donated it to our project. And then when we took it apart, we found out that its internal mechanism was completely different than those used at the gym. It was using less electrical resistance like modern, most ellipticals use in was using more mechanical resistance, um, something much more like a recumbent bicycle. So we were like, well if we prototype on this system it's really not going to be compatible with anything in the gym. Speaker 4: So then we had to contact the gym and try [00:14:00] and track down elliptical that way. And luckily they were after a couple of weeks or months, like everything fell together when we finally got it transported. And transporting those big things is also huge hassle from the RSF all the way down to attra very hall on North side on the social outreach part of it, the behavioral aspect of the project. What's been the challenge there to get that up and running? Um, so we conducted a survey of all the members of [00:14:30] the RSF and I believe something like five or 600 responded, which was great. And they, we post questions such as how much energy do you think x, Y and z machines use? Um, to get an idea of how energy literate people are about the machines at the RSF. And so we have a good base of where we think people could have their education, energy education improved. It's just a matter of figuring out the best way to actually do that. So as a mechanical engineering major, unfortunately I haven't [00:15:00] had to deal very much with energy education or engineering education and we could definitely use people on our project who know perhaps more like the psychology of a situation. Like definitely some sort of analysis on where people move in the RSF and where's the best place to place these things and how can we make them as interactive as possible to increase awareness, stuff like that. Speaker 2: [inaudible]Speaker 6: you are listening [00:15:30] to spectrum on k a l x Berkeley. We are talking with Maharaji but the human powered gym project of which he is a founding member. Speaker 2: [inaudible]Speaker 5: are there any key things that you're learning in doing this that you might not have learned if you hadn't been involved in this project? Speaker 4: Definitely like in Berkeley engineering for the first three, three and a half years [00:16:00] of your educational career. It's very theoretical and this project has given me the advantage of doing something on the side that's much more hands on and applications of my learning at Berkeley. So that's been really awesome. And then working with other people on a project and just knowing how to work in a team is not something that people teach you in class either until you get to the higher level project-based classes and engineering. So that's been really great. And uh, working and collaborating with people, not only in the mechanical engineering department but the directors of the RSF to [00:16:30] TGF and other funding agencies and Co working together to get all that going is like intense. I can only imagine what professors have to go through to get grants written and proposals and then get the actually get that money and use it for their projects. That's been kind of like a mini Speaker 5: many experience with that. How much time do you estimate you spent working on a project? Speaker 4: Well, I've been working on it since summer of 2009 and I work anywhere [00:17:00] from five to 10 hours a week on it. I think pretty consistently with the exception of last summer and this summer because I've been away doing other internships and research projects. But every time I come back to Berkeley it's like, all right, got to get on. I gotta get going again. Speaker 5: And have your summer internships where you haven't been working on the Human Powergen bin and sort of related fields? Speaker 4: Yeah. Last summer I got the chance to go to Oregon State University and do, uh, an inner and study on the interaction [00:17:30] between wave energy devices in the environment, studying what types of organisms might colonize the environment. Cause I hadn't really, really been looked at. And then this summer I got the chance to go to MIT and study, um, fluid dynamics in the ocean engineering lab there. So starting to get a feel for the field and both on the west and the east coast and getting ideas of what professors doing what. So that's been really great. Yeah. Speaker 5: So for this project, you're probably not going to get completed by the time you graduate and if you're able to hand it off, [00:18:00] would you be involved in trying to get additional funding to make that transition happen? Speaker 4: I think at the moment we haven't used much of our funding because we've had a lot of setbacks and getting ellipticals and getting team members. So depending on the stance of the project in December, we would definitely, depending on if we've used a lot of our funds for prototyping or we're still waiting to get people on board to start prototyping, that would probably influence whether or not we apply for more funding. But I mean [00:18:30] more money's always great cause right now the funding we have budgeted, we'll only retrofit 14 of the 28 ellipticals. So if we are to consider doing all 28 we definitely need to look for more funding. I'm just sort of hesitant to do it right now because we don't actually have anything prototyped at the moment and no real product to show before we apply for more funding. Speaker 5: What is it that you like about engineering? What drew you to engineering? Speaker 4: So actually one thought I wanted to be a film major for a really long time [00:19:00] and then I went to a summer program just for like fun. I was like, okay, I'll get out of the house for a month, uh, in mechanical engineering. And they had us like take apart part printer, take apart a blender and like build these little like out of the box robots. You're just like screw a few things in the other and put a battery. And I think just the whole idea of like building things and taking things apart sort of amazed me. And I was always like really good at puzzles and math and so it was like, oh this is like way more fun than making movies. [00:19:30] So that's sort of what drawn me to it. Speaker 5: Has Your work on this project given you a better sense of how what you want to do going forward? Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely. It has encouraged me to look more into alternative forms of energy. That's definitely what I want to do in the future. Unfortunately, it's made me disheartened about human power cause going into the project I thought, Oh yeah, we can just retrofit all the ellipticals and then power the entire gym. We use so much power on a daily basis that that's not [00:20:00] feasible so definitely opens your eyes onto how much power we consume every day and I think this project has been a great stepping stone into the world of alternative energy and I hope to study something like ocean energy and ocean energy extraction for graduate studies in school. Speaker 5: Thanks very much Maha for coming on the show and sharing your experience with us. Speaker 4: No problem. This was awesome. Thanks Speaker 2: [inaudible] [00:20:30] [inaudible] Speaker 5: irregular feature of spectrum is to mention a few of the science and technology events happening locally over the next few weeks. Speaker 7: I am joined for this by Rick Karnofsky every Thursday night at 6:00 PM the California Academy of Sciences. In San Francisco's Golden Gate Park host nightlife at 21 and over event featuring [00:21:00] music, cocktails and learning and mission is $12 or $10 for members. In addition to the regular exhibits and planetarium shows, the cal academy offers theme related special events. The theme for October 13th Nightlife is designed from nature. The biomimicry institute will show off real products inspired by natural forums such as green shield, a low chemical water repellent fabric finish inspired by the microscopic texture of leaves and Formaldehyde free plywood inspired by the adhesive chemistry of intertidal muscles. [00:21:30] Current design soons will show how they incorporate biomimicry into their projects. Also enjoy stilt walking and juggling inspired by Cirque decile a his latest nature theme show totem and catch a screening of the biomimicry documentary. Second Nature. The theme for October 20th Nightlife is the science of voting, a lively roundtable moderated by the bay citizens political writer, Gary Xi, and featuring political aficionados, Alex Clemens from SF usual suspects and [00:22:00] San Francisco state universities, political science professor and outspoken tweeter. Speaker 7: Jason McDaniel. We'll discuss topics such as rank choice voting and how it affects the strategies of San Francisco's May oral candidates, University of San Francisco, professor of American politics, Corey Cook will discuss the science of voting for more information on nightlife and other events at the California Academy of Sciences. Visit their website@www.cal academy.org the October Science at Kow lecture will be given by Dr Peggy Helwig [00:22:30] and is entitled tectonic timebombs earthquakes near and far. She will talk about the earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, New Zealand, Japan, and Virginia as well as the earthquake hazard from faults in our own backyard. Dr Helwig is the operations manager of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory. The lecture is at 11:00 AM on Saturday, October 15th in the genetics and plant biology. Building room 100 [00:23:00] for more details, visit the website science@caldotberkeley.edu Lawrence Berkeley national lab is having a free open house on Saturday, October 15th you could attend from either 10:00 AM to 1230 or from 1230 until 3:00 PM the theme of the show is Cirque de Sciences and the open house will feature exhibits, tours of the advanced light source and guest house performances, hands on science, investigations for children [00:23:30] and lectures on Supernovas, biofuels computing, ancient sounds, plasma beams, indoor air pollution and scientific visualization. There'll be food available for purchase. For more information and to register for this event, visit Speaker 3: www.lbl.gov/open house. The Biosafety Alliance presents a global citizens report on the state of genetically modified organisms. False promises, [00:24:00] failed technologies. These reports highlight scientific research and empirical evidence from around the globe demonstrating how genetically modified seeds and crops have failed to deliver the advertised promises. The Speakers will be Dr Yvan Donnas, Shiva philosopher, environmental activist and ECO feminist. Debbie Barker International Program Director Center for food safety. Miguel LTA Ari, associate professor of agroecology at UC Berkeley. [00:24:30] This event will happen October 13th, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center four zero one Venice Avenue, San Francisco. The event is free and donations are accepted. If you would like to RSVP, go to the website, global state of gmos.eventbrite.com there will also be a press conference [00:25:00] for the reports at the San Francisco City Hall at noon October 13th featuring Dr Vandana, Shiva elected officials and other Speakers Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 3: Now three news stories that caught our attention. Genetically engineered canola growing outside of established cultivation [00:25:30] regions across North Dakota. A study published by the online journal plus one reports the genetically engineered canola endowed with herbicide resistance have been found growing outside of established cultivation regions along road sides across North Dakota. These escaped plants were found statewide and account for 45% of the total roadside plants sampled. Furthermore, populations were found to persist [00:26:00] from year to year and reached thousands of individuals. The authors found that the escaped plants could hybridize with each other to create novel combinations of transgenic traits, and the authors argue that their result more than 10 years after the initial release of genetically engineered canola raises questions of whether adequate oversight and monitoring protocols are in place in the u s to track the environmental impact of biotech products. Berkeley's [00:26:30] own cell Perlmutter is sharing the Nobel Prize in physics with Adam G. Reese of the John Hopkins University and Brian Schmidt of Australian national universities, Mt. Strom Lowe and siding spring observatories pro mudder led the Supernova Speaker 7: cosmology project that in 1998 became one of the two scientific efforts that are credited with discovering the accelerating expansion of the universe and Schmidt led the competing supernova search team. Pearl mudder is UC Berkeley's 22nd Nobel Medal [00:27:00] winner and the ninth winner of the Physics Prize. The discovery of the accelerating expansion has formed theories of the distant future of an ever expanding universe and has alleged the speculation of dark energy that theoretically makes up almost three quarters of the matter and energy of the universe, but it has proven elusive to observe. Perlmutter has recently been working with NASA and the u s department of Energy to build and launch the first space-based observatory designed specifically to understand the nature of dark energy. Speaker 3: [00:27:30] This news item is also a job opening NASA to seek applicants for next astronaut candidate class. In early November, NASA will seek applicants for its next class of astronaut candidates who will support long-duration missions to the International Space Station and future deep space exploration activities. For more information, visit the website, astronauts.nasa.gov a bachelor's degree in engineering, science, or math [00:28:00] and three years of relevant professional experience are required in order to be considered. Typically, successful applicants have significant qualifications in engineering or science or extensive experience flying high performance jet aircraft. After applicant interviews and evaluations, NASA expects to announce the final selections in 2013 and training to begin that August. Additional information about the astronaut candidate program [00:28:30] is available by calling the astronaut selection office at area code (281) 483-5907 Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 6: The music played during the show is written and performed by David lost honor from his album titled Folk and Acoustic Speaker 2: [00:29:00] [inaudible]. Speaker 6: Thank you for listening to spectrum. We're happy to hear from listeners. If you have comments about the show, please send them to SVA meal. Our email address is spectrum dot kalx@yahoo.com join us in two weeks at this same time. Speaker 2: [inaudible]. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Human Power Generation in Fitness Facilities research project will create a human power generation center at the UC Berkeley Recreational Sports Facilities to develop new technologies and methods for energy conservation and power generation.TranscriptSpeaker 1: Spectrum's next Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 1: Welcome to spectrum the science and technology show on k a l x Berkeley, a biweekly 30 [00:00:30] minute program bringing you interviews featuring bay area scientists and technologists as well as a calendar of local events and news. Speaker 3: Good afternoon. My name is Brad swift and I'm the host of today's show. Our interview is with [inaudible], a fifth year mechanical engineering and Applied Mathematics major at UC Berkeley, who along with Kimberly Lau, launched the human power gym project. After conducting a feasibility study, they are attempting to design and prototype [00:01:00] an elliptical exercise machine for the UC Berkeley recreational sports facility that will generate electricity. Rather than consume it, the generated electricity will be put back into the electrical grid. The project began in the summer of 2009 Maha g talks about her enthusiasm for the project and the challenges to make it a reality. Maha and I are joined by Rick [inaudible] for the interview. This interview is prerecorded and edited. [00:01:30] Maha, could you please explain the project you're working on currently? Speaker 4: Okay, so I'm working on a project titled The Human Pirate Gym Project. It's part of the Berkeley Energy and Sustainability Laboratory in the mechanical engineering department. And the goal of our project is to harness human power from exercise machines currently in the recreational sports facility or the RSF at UC Berkeley. And we're hoping to retrofit and 28 elliptical machines to harness human power and send it back to the electric grid and also work an energy education [00:02:00] campaign to improve energy literacy among the members of the RSF and people who frequent the facility to give them a better idea of sustainability and energy. Speaker 3: How did that idea bubble up for you and the group you're working on this with? Speaker 4: So I'm working on this with a graduate student named Kimberly Lough in the Mechanical Engineering Department under professor at Gugino. We came across it separately. She came across the idea when she's working out in the RSF, seeing all these people burning calories and you know, exercising so much, they must be expending a lot of energy and there must [00:02:30] be a way to harness that. And then I came across the idea because I was reading up about, um, there's a project harnessing children's power to pump water up out of the wells. And in African villages they create like a, a carousel where kids can play on and when they spin around the carousel they're actually pumping water up into a tank. And so I thought, well if kids run around and harness all this energy, why can't we do something like this and the gyms across the u s Speaker 3: and much power do you Speaker 5: expect [00:03:00] to be able to generate from all this? Speaker 4: So unfortunately it's not a lot of power. Um, the RSF uses on the order of 1.5 million kilowatt hours a year and energy consumption and by other things like air conditioning or where's all that go? So actually it's not air conditioning cause we live in a bay area. We don't actually have air conditioning and the RSF cause it stays relatively cool. It's definitely for heating and air circulation and ventilation. And then a good chunk of it goes to lights and actually [00:03:30] powering treadmills, believe it or not. So if we haven't retrofitted 28 elliptical machines, it would harness about 10,000 kilowatt hours a year, which is enough to power a small house but only 1% of what the RSF needs to run its daily use. The treadmill is actually account for about 12% of the energy use at the RSF and not a lot of people know that. So part of our project, we're trying to encourage people to use elliptical machines or other self powered machines that use less power that but give comparable workouts [00:04:00] according to fitness trainers and the hopes that maybe they'll switch over to more ellipticals and the treadmills can be replaced in the RSF cause they actually acquire. I think running on a treadmill for about an hour requires as much energy as doing a load of laundry, washing and drying. Speaker 5: How did the project come together in terms of getting an off the ground funding, all those things. Speaker 4: So two years ago I am part of the UC leads program, which is, I forgot what it stands for, but it's some type of scholarship program at Berkeley that encourages summer research. [00:04:30] So I was funded by them to do a summer research project two years ago and I contacted fresher ag Gino with this idea saying, hey, I'm funded, can I work in your lab with Kimberley? She's really awesome. Wants to work in this project. So the UC leads program funded me for that summer and they've also funded me to continue researching in the fall and of that year, fall 2009 so we researched the feasibility of this and tried to come up with some energy estimates on how much energy we could harness, how much that would cost, what sort of things would need to be in place [00:05:00] to continue actually with the retrofits. And we actually published a paper in a conference and a spring of 2010 with the American Society of mechanical engineers. And after that we started applying for funds through the Green Initiative Fund, the Sigmas I m research honors society and the Chancellors Green, the chancellor's Green Fund cacs, I believe it's called the Chancellor's Advisory Committee for sustainability. And so with all those three funding resources, we have about a little over $17,000 [00:05:30] currently to actually go ahead and build these prototypes and get going with the retrofits at the gym. Speaker 4: Can you talk about your, a conference paper anymore. So what does it, what was it about? So our conference paper was published in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Conference on Energy Sustainability in May of 2010 and it just talked about our feasibility study on the RSF detailing how much power could be harnessed from the RSF, what [00:06:00] percentage of power consumption that accounted for. And it also detailed sort of how long it would take to payback such a system. And it also looked at the light life cycle assessment of the system and life cycle assessment basically means you take into account all the energy required to make the components that you'll be adding to the system and then take a look at how long it would take to payback the co two emissions related to that energy that was put in. So I think we estimated that unfortunately it's relates [00:06:30] to at savings of only a thousand dollars a year in energy consumption because energy is so cheap out here. But if we made CO2 emissions, the metric instead of dollars, the system would pay itself off in like two to three years of CO2 savings. If we assume that the energy generated at the RSF no longer needs to be generated by say PGNE and then taking into account how much CO2 is required for those few components that we have to add to each elliptical. So that was a much less bleak outlook. Speaker 5: [00:07:00] Did you draw on previous attempts to do the same thing? Speaker 4: So we redid a lot of research and a couple other gyms across the nation have retrofitted elliptical machines specifically to harness human power. And we talked to them and we talked to, there's a company called rewrap that actually does commercial retrofits and they approached the RSF also saying that they could do the retrofits before I came onto the project and we talked to those jams and I actually had a chance to visit one of them in [inaudible] at Oregon state. And [00:07:30] for some reason they didn't seem to be completely happy with the setup. For one reason or another, they didn't think it was producing as much energy as they thought. And so based on those interviews I had done with gyms across the nation, we decided to try and come up with our own retrofit. Also, cal poly has done a retrofit of their gym facility and are harnessing power from ellipticals in their own method. Speaker 4: And the gym users there are really, really excited about it and really enjoy it a lot more than people at Oregon State for instance. So that's kind of why we're trying to go [00:08:00] ahead with doing it ourselves. Um, based on interviews and research from other gyms, definitely. And are only the ellipticals being used to generate power. Currently they're the easiest to tap into because they have an onboard generator that will convert your human power movement into resistance, electrical resistance that you feel when you're working out. So it's really easy to tap into them, just remove the resistance mechanism and instead put in something like an inverter to convert the DC power [00:08:30] you're generating to AC power. That can be used and sent back to the grid. Speaker 5: When the cal poly success, was there any attempt to collaborate with them? Speaker 4: We did approach them and ask them for collaboration, but I believe they are, have, they have some sort of patents on their devices now and it's very proprietary and so they're not, they're various hesitant to work with us and so if we create our own solution we're hoping to be much more open about it and sort of spread it around to any universities who want to do this on their own. Jim, [00:09:00] because we've had such a hard time contacting other people for help that we want to make sure it's easier for others. Speaker 6: You are listening to spectrum on the KALX Berkeley, we are talking with Mar Haji, but the human power gym project of which she is a founding member. Speaker 5: What's been the most challenging aspect [00:09:30] of the project? Speaker 4: I think definitely recruiting people for the project because we've seen so many people come and go last year in our teams that has been really hard to get anything done. Um, we really need people who are skilled in electronics and mechanical engineering and unfortunately I don't have a very big electronics background myself and since I'm graduating in December, I have a lot of requirements that I need to meet and I can't give my all to the project as I could two years ago. So it's been really hard to find people who are as motivated or as determined about the [00:10:00] project to go ahead and finish it up and follow it through and hand it off and I, so that's been a big, big challenge I think. Speaker 5: Is that something that you want to do? Do you want to recruit people what he was attempting to do in that vein? Speaker 4: Yeah, we definitely want to recruit people because it's going to take a lot of work and a lot of minds to prototype one elliptical and then expand it to the entire gym. And like I said, since I'm graduating in December, I definitely want to hand off the project to other people to sort of conduct follow up [00:10:30] research. Like okay, if we put these ellipticals and generate power, do people actually learn from this? Do the energy literacy rates go up, do treadmills get useless. There's a whole host of followup research that could be done and hasn't been done yet and definitely has a potential of being published and presented around the nation I think. Speaker 5: So are you mostly interested in recruiting other engineers and how would they sign up? Speaker 4: So I'm interested in [inaudible] definitely recruiting um, upperclassmen engineers but also [00:11:00] people who have experience in signage and education. Cause I know, I don't know how best to reach people or get the knowledge disseminated about all the energy sustainability going on in the RSF. And that would definitely be helpful. And if anyone's interested they can just email RSF energy@gmail.com we'd be happy to have them on board. Speaker 5: All right. Any of your current efforts documented anywhere of Wiki or mainly list or anything like that? Speaker 4: So we have a webpage, hpg.berkeley.edu [00:11:30] needs to be updated for the past couple months. But generally a lot of our documents are there and we also have a [inaudible] website for all the members of the project. And that's how we communicate for papers that need to be read or budgets they need to be updated and that kind of thing. Speaker 5: Do you know if, uh, there are sort of commercial efforts in this too, like commercial? Uh, Speaker 4: so besides outside, outside universities, I guess so universities are really unique in that their gym [00:12:00] facilities are open for so many hours and frequent, so many users. So unfortunately Jim is like 24 hour fitness even though they're open 24 hours, don't see as much throughput of people or patrons that, um, university of do. So there hasn't been a huge push and they're at that direction. I believe there's a handful of them that use at least the re-roof technology. And there's a couple of gyms that are like, I think there's one gym in Hong Kong that's created some type of something called like a human dynamo where four people will bike on [00:12:30] the sort of combined system and move their hands at the same time and that will generate a whole lot of power for the gym. But aside from that, then not much that I know, it seems like a natural for a gym setting is to make it competitive somehow. I know both Oregon State and University of Oregon did retrofits and they sort of had a competition like who can create the most energy. Um, and we hope when we actually retrofit the gym to involve some sort of LCD panel that reads out which elliptical is [00:13:00] generating the most energy, you know, compare it across the gym and everyone can see, oh no like I gotta be 12 like my friends over there or something. Yeah. Speaker 4: What's been the most unexpected thing that's happened in the project? So finding an elliptical machine was really hard. We originally thought that it was this elliptical machine floating around and so to haul on the sixth floor that no one really had, no one really knew who it belonged to. So we thought we'd use that for our project. We had [00:13:30] took a while to track down who the professor was who had it laying around and he gladly donated it to our project. And then when we took it apart, we found out that its internal mechanism was completely different than those used at the gym. It was using less electrical resistance like modern, most ellipticals use in was using more mechanical resistance, um, something much more like a recumbent bicycle. So we were like, well if we prototype on this system it's really not going to be compatible with anything in the gym. Speaker 4: So then we had to contact the gym and try [00:14:00] and track down elliptical that way. And luckily they were after a couple of weeks or months, like everything fell together when we finally got it transported. And transporting those big things is also huge hassle from the RSF all the way down to attra very hall on North side on the social outreach part of it, the behavioral aspect of the project. What's been the challenge there to get that up and running? Um, so we conducted a survey of all the members of [00:14:30] the RSF and I believe something like five or 600 responded, which was great. And they, we post questions such as how much energy do you think x, Y and z machines use? Um, to get an idea of how energy literate people are about the machines at the RSF. And so we have a good base of where we think people could have their education, energy education improved. It's just a matter of figuring out the best way to actually do that. So as a mechanical engineering major, unfortunately I haven't [00:15:00] had to deal very much with energy education or engineering education and we could definitely use people on our project who know perhaps more like the psychology of a situation. Like definitely some sort of analysis on where people move in the RSF and where's the best place to place these things and how can we make them as interactive as possible to increase awareness, stuff like that. Speaker 2: [inaudible]Speaker 6: you are listening [00:15:30] to spectrum on k a l x Berkeley. We are talking with Maharaji but the human powered gym project of which he is a founding member. Speaker 2: [inaudible]Speaker 5: are there any key things that you're learning in doing this that you might not have learned if you hadn't been involved in this project? Speaker 4: Definitely like in Berkeley engineering for the first three, three and a half years [00:16:00] of your educational career. It's very theoretical and this project has given me the advantage of doing something on the side that's much more hands on and applications of my learning at Berkeley. So that's been really awesome. And then working with other people on a project and just knowing how to work in a team is not something that people teach you in class either until you get to the higher level project-based classes and engineering. So that's been really great. And uh, working and collaborating with people, not only in the mechanical engineering department but the directors of the RSF to [00:16:30] TGF and other funding agencies and Co working together to get all that going is like intense. I can only imagine what professors have to go through to get grants written and proposals and then get the actually get that money and use it for their projects. That's been kind of like a mini Speaker 5: many experience with that. How much time do you estimate you spent working on a project? Speaker 4: Well, I've been working on it since summer of 2009 and I work anywhere [00:17:00] from five to 10 hours a week on it. I think pretty consistently with the exception of last summer and this summer because I've been away doing other internships and research projects. But every time I come back to Berkeley it's like, all right, got to get on. I gotta get going again. Speaker 5: And have your summer internships where you haven't been working on the Human Powergen bin and sort of related fields? Speaker 4: Yeah. Last summer I got the chance to go to Oregon State University and do, uh, an inner and study on the interaction [00:17:30] between wave energy devices in the environment, studying what types of organisms might colonize the environment. Cause I hadn't really, really been looked at. And then this summer I got the chance to go to MIT and study, um, fluid dynamics in the ocean engineering lab there. So starting to get a feel for the field and both on the west and the east coast and getting ideas of what professors doing what. So that's been really great. Yeah. Speaker 5: So for this project, you're probably not going to get completed by the time you graduate and if you're able to hand it off, [00:18:00] would you be involved in trying to get additional funding to make that transition happen? Speaker 4: I think at the moment we haven't used much of our funding because we've had a lot of setbacks and getting ellipticals and getting team members. So depending on the stance of the project in December, we would definitely, depending on if we've used a lot of our funds for prototyping or we're still waiting to get people on board to start prototyping, that would probably influence whether or not we apply for more funding. But I mean [00:18:30] more money's always great cause right now the funding we have budgeted, we'll only retrofit 14 of the 28 ellipticals. So if we are to consider doing all 28 we definitely need to look for more funding. I'm just sort of hesitant to do it right now because we don't actually have anything prototyped at the moment and no real product to show before we apply for more funding. Speaker 5: What is it that you like about engineering? What drew you to engineering? Speaker 4: So actually one thought I wanted to be a film major for a really long time [00:19:00] and then I went to a summer program just for like fun. I was like, okay, I'll get out of the house for a month, uh, in mechanical engineering. And they had us like take apart part printer, take apart a blender and like build these little like out of the box robots. You're just like screw a few things in the other and put a battery. And I think just the whole idea of like building things and taking things apart sort of amazed me. And I was always like really good at puzzles and math and so it was like, oh this is like way more fun than making movies. [00:19:30] So that's sort of what drawn me to it. Speaker 5: Has Your work on this project given you a better sense of how what you want to do going forward? Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely. It has encouraged me to look more into alternative forms of energy. That's definitely what I want to do in the future. Unfortunately, it's made me disheartened about human power cause going into the project I thought, Oh yeah, we can just retrofit all the ellipticals and then power the entire gym. We use so much power on a daily basis that that's not [00:20:00] feasible so definitely opens your eyes onto how much power we consume every day and I think this project has been a great stepping stone into the world of alternative energy and I hope to study something like ocean energy and ocean energy extraction for graduate studies in school. Speaker 5: Thanks very much Maha for coming on the show and sharing your experience with us. Speaker 4: No problem. This was awesome. Thanks Speaker 2: [inaudible] [00:20:30] [inaudible] Speaker 5: irregular feature of spectrum is to mention a few of the science and technology events happening locally over the next few weeks. Speaker 7: I am joined for this by Rick Karnofsky every Thursday night at 6:00 PM the California Academy of Sciences. In San Francisco's Golden Gate Park host nightlife at 21 and over event featuring [00:21:00] music, cocktails and learning and mission is $12 or $10 for members. In addition to the regular exhibits and planetarium shows, the cal academy offers theme related special events. The theme for October 13th Nightlife is designed from nature. The biomimicry institute will show off real products inspired by natural forums such as green shield, a low chemical water repellent fabric finish inspired by the microscopic texture of leaves and Formaldehyde free plywood inspired by the adhesive chemistry of intertidal muscles. [00:21:30] Current design soons will show how they incorporate biomimicry into their projects. Also enjoy stilt walking and juggling inspired by Cirque decile a his latest nature theme show totem and catch a screening of the biomimicry documentary. Second Nature. The theme for October 20th Nightlife is the science of voting, a lively roundtable moderated by the bay citizens political writer, Gary Xi, and featuring political aficionados, Alex Clemens from SF usual suspects and [00:22:00] San Francisco state universities, political science professor and outspoken tweeter. Speaker 7: Jason McDaniel. We'll discuss topics such as rank choice voting and how it affects the strategies of San Francisco's May oral candidates, University of San Francisco, professor of American politics, Corey Cook will discuss the science of voting for more information on nightlife and other events at the California Academy of Sciences. Visit their website@www.cal academy.org the October Science at Kow lecture will be given by Dr Peggy Helwig [00:22:30] and is entitled tectonic timebombs earthquakes near and far. She will talk about the earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, New Zealand, Japan, and Virginia as well as the earthquake hazard from faults in our own backyard. Dr Helwig is the operations manager of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory. The lecture is at 11:00 AM on Saturday, October 15th in the genetics and plant biology. Building room 100 [00:23:00] for more details, visit the website science@caldotberkeley.edu Lawrence Berkeley national lab is having a free open house on Saturday, October 15th you could attend from either 10:00 AM to 1230 or from 1230 until 3:00 PM the theme of the show is Cirque de Sciences and the open house will feature exhibits, tours of the advanced light source and guest house performances, hands on science, investigations for children [00:23:30] and lectures on Supernovas, biofuels computing, ancient sounds, plasma beams, indoor air pollution and scientific visualization. There'll be food available for purchase. For more information and to register for this event, visit Speaker 3: www.lbl.gov/open house. The Biosafety Alliance presents a global citizens report on the state of genetically modified organisms. False promises, [00:24:00] failed technologies. These reports highlight scientific research and empirical evidence from around the globe demonstrating how genetically modified seeds and crops have failed to deliver the advertised promises. The Speakers will be Dr Yvan Donnas, Shiva philosopher, environmental activist and ECO feminist. Debbie Barker International Program Director Center for food safety. Miguel LTA Ari, associate professor of agroecology at UC Berkeley. [00:24:30] This event will happen October 13th, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center four zero one Venice Avenue, San Francisco. The event is free and donations are accepted. If you would like to RSVP, go to the website, global state of gmos.eventbrite.com there will also be a press conference [00:25:00] for the reports at the San Francisco City Hall at noon October 13th featuring Dr Vandana, Shiva elected officials and other Speakers Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 3: Now three news stories that caught our attention. Genetically engineered canola growing outside of established cultivation [00:25:30] regions across North Dakota. A study published by the online journal plus one reports the genetically engineered canola endowed with herbicide resistance have been found growing outside of established cultivation regions along road sides across North Dakota. These escaped plants were found statewide and account for 45% of the total roadside plants sampled. Furthermore, populations were found to persist [00:26:00] from year to year and reached thousands of individuals. The authors found that the escaped plants could hybridize with each other to create novel combinations of transgenic traits, and the authors argue that their result more than 10 years after the initial release of genetically engineered canola raises questions of whether adequate oversight and monitoring protocols are in place in the u s to track the environmental impact of biotech products. Berkeley's [00:26:30] own cell Perlmutter is sharing the Nobel Prize in physics with Adam G. Reese of the John Hopkins University and Brian Schmidt of Australian national universities, Mt. Strom Lowe and siding spring observatories pro mudder led the Supernova Speaker 7: cosmology project that in 1998 became one of the two scientific efforts that are credited with discovering the accelerating expansion of the universe and Schmidt led the competing supernova search team. Pearl mudder is UC Berkeley's 22nd Nobel Medal [00:27:00] winner and the ninth winner of the Physics Prize. The discovery of the accelerating expansion has formed theories of the distant future of an ever expanding universe and has alleged the speculation of dark energy that theoretically makes up almost three quarters of the matter and energy of the universe, but it has proven elusive to observe. Perlmutter has recently been working with NASA and the u s department of Energy to build and launch the first space-based observatory designed specifically to understand the nature of dark energy. Speaker 3: [00:27:30] This news item is also a job opening NASA to seek applicants for next astronaut candidate class. In early November, NASA will seek applicants for its next class of astronaut candidates who will support long-duration missions to the International Space Station and future deep space exploration activities. For more information, visit the website, astronauts.nasa.gov a bachelor's degree in engineering, science, or math [00:28:00] and three years of relevant professional experience are required in order to be considered. Typically, successful applicants have significant qualifications in engineering or science or extensive experience flying high performance jet aircraft. After applicant interviews and evaluations, NASA expects to announce the final selections in 2013 and training to begin that August. Additional information about the astronaut candidate program [00:28:30] is available by calling the astronaut selection office at area code (281) 483-5907 Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 6: The music played during the show is written and performed by David lost honor from his album titled Folk and Acoustic Speaker 2: [00:29:00] [inaudible]. Speaker 6: Thank you for listening to spectrum. We're happy to hear from listeners. If you have comments about the show, please send them to SVA meal. Our email address is spectrum dot kalx@yahoo.com join us in two weeks at this same time. Speaker 2: [inaudible]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Medicine Hat's Energy Sustainability Department is focused on providing its citizens with energy conservation and renewable energy education, incentives and leadership through a variety of “Hat Smart” initiatives. The mission of the department is to help Medicine Hat reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and position itself to thrive in the post carbon economy. The speaker strongly believes municipal energy strategies should include energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy, as they will play a critical role in the sustainability of all communities in the 21st century. Leadership from provincial and federal governments is also needed and will ultimately be paramount to the success of such strategies. While Lethbridge and Medicine Hat have been friendly rivals for well over a century, they often try to outdo each other. Could it be that Lethbridge is being left in the dust regarding sustainable energy policies? The speaker will explain the issues and offer his perspective. Speaker: Russ Smith Russ Smith is the City of Medicine Hat's Energy Sustainability Manager. He has worked for the City of Medicine Hat the past fifteen years in a variety of roles including extensive financial and strategic planning within the City's Energy division. Russ earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary in 1991.

Medicine Hat's Energy Sustainability Department is focused on providing its citizens with energy conservation and renewable energy education, incentives and leadership through a variety of “Hat Smart” initiatives. The mission of the department is to help Medicine Hat reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and position itself to thrive in the post carbon economy. The speaker strongly believes municipal energy strategies should include energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy, as they will play a critical role in the sustainability of all communities in the 21st century. Leadership from provincial and federal governments is also needed and will ultimately be paramount to the success of such strategies. While Lethbridge and Medicine Hat have been friendly rivals for well over a century, they often try to outdo each other. Could it be that Lethbridge is being left in the dust regarding sustainable energy policies? The speaker will explain the issues and offer his perspective. Speaker: Russ Smith Russ Smith is the City of Medicine Hat's Energy Sustainability Manager. He has worked for the City of Medicine Hat the past fifteen years in a variety of roles including extensive financial and strategic planning within the City's Energy division. Russ earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary in 1991.

Medicine Hat's Energy Sustainability Department is focused on providing its citizens with energy conservation and renewable energy education, incentives and leadership through a variety of “Hat Smart” initiatives. The mission of the department is to help Medicine Hat reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and position itself to thrive in the post carbon economy. The speaker strongly believes municipal energy strategies should include energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy, as they will play a critical role in the sustainability of all communities in the 21st century. Leadership from provincial and federal governments is also needed and will ultimately be paramount to the success of such strategies. While Lethbridge and Medicine Hat have been friendly rivals for well over a century, they often try to outdo each other. Could it be that Lethbridge is being left in the dust regarding sustainable energy policies? The speaker will explain the issues and offer his perspective. Speaker: Russ Smith Russ Smith is the City of Medicine Hat's Energy Sustainability Manager. He has worked for the City of Medicine Hat the past fifteen years in a variety of roles including extensive financial and strategic planning within the City's Energy division. Russ earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary in 1991.