Supercool

While saving the Amazon grabs headlines, the trees right outside your front door shape your life in important ways. The more trees in your city neighborhood, the less crime, the fewer prescriptions for antidepressants, and the lower rates of asthma, childhood leukemia, and other immune diseases. These leafy giants affect everything from healthier newborns to longer life expectancy to higher property values.  Geoffrey Donovan, an urban forester and economist with the U.S. Forest Service, joins the show. His groundbreaking research over the two decades is reshaping how urban planners and policymakers think about the essential public health and economic role of trees in city life.Show Links:Guest: Geoffrey DonovanOrganization: U.S. Forest ServiceGrant Program: U.S. Forest Service's Urban and Community Forest Program For more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Instagram and LinkedIn

Garbage trucks have gone missing in cities around the world. In neighborhoods from London to Barcelona and Singapore to Seoul, their unmistakable sight, sound, and smell are notably absent. The reason? Trash has gone underground, whisked away through a hidden network of pneumatic pipes—no trucks, no noise, no stench. If this sounds like the future, it is. But this particular slice was invented in the 1960s by Swedish company Envac. The company’s CEO, Joakim Karlsson, joins Supercool to discuss how Envac is taking trash removal to a whole new dimension.Show Links:Guest: Joakim KarlssonCompany: EnvacConference Video: Joakim Karlsson on stage in Rio de Janeiro at The Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII Institute)  For more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Instagram and LinkedIn

Marshall Gobuty didn’t set out to build green when he became a real estate developer in his 50s. After a successful career in the clothing and furnishings industries, he sought to establish credibility in Florida’s competitive housing market. LEED certification presented the perfect opportunity. But Gobuty didn’t stop at meeting the minimum. His first project, Mirabella, became the first LEED Platinum Certified residential community in the U.S. His next development, Hunters Point, became the first LEED Zero Energy Certified community in the world. Sometimes, it takes an outsider to push an industry beyond its norms and conventions. Gobuty is building sustainable neighborhoods and communities many could hardly imagine—until now.Show Links:Guest: Marshall GobutyCompany: Pearl HomesResidential Development: Hunters PointGreen Building Resources: U.S. Green Building Council and RESNET For more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Instagram and LinkedIn

Fresh out of grad school, Kyle Wagenschutz was hired by the mayor of Memphis, TN, and given a daunting task: prevent the city from being named the "Worst Place to Bicycle in America" by Bicycling Magazine for a third year in a row. Kyle succeeded. Five years (and over a hundred miles of bike lanes) later, Memphis was recognized as a national leader, and Kyle was honored at the White House as a Champion of Change. Kyle took his insights to other cities and accomplished the near impossible: he enabled them to build safe, convenient, protected bike lanes in months, not decades. He joins Supercool this week to share the playbook.Show Links:Guest: Kyle WagenschutzOrganization: City ThreadGrant Program for Cities: Accelerated Mobility Playbook (Applications Open Until 11/20/24)Project: The Final MileFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Instagram and LinkedIn

Stanford professor Mark Jacobson wasn’t just dreaming of a world powered by renewable energy back in 2009—he was doing the math and architecting the plan. Jacobson teamed up with actor-turned-eco-hero Mark Ruffalo to co-found The Solutions Project with a mission to transition the world to 100% renewables by 2035.  As Jacobson's vision took root, states and cities began making 100% renewable pledges. By 2019, his idea had reached Capitol Hill when AOC and Senator Markey introduced the Green New Deal. Jacobson’s message? We can pull it off, it’ll save us trillions, and spare millions of lives. Plus, if you’re lucky enough to live in just about any state that’s ahead of the curve, you’re already paying some of the lowest energy bills in the country. Show Links:Guest: Mark Jacobson (Stanford University, LinkedIn, Wikipedia)Book: No Miracles Needed: How Today's Technology Can Save Our Climate and Clean Our Air Organization: The Solutions ProjectArticle: Scientific American - A Plan to Power 100% of the Planet with RenewablesBackground data: U.S. Covid-relief spending For more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Instagram and LinkedIn

At Holabird Academy and Graceland Park, two net-zero energy Baltimore public schools, the future is already in session. Solar panels line the roofs, geothermal wells lie below the ballfields, and energy-efficient features keep these buildings running entirely on renewable power. But while these schools are a win for the planet, the real story is how they’re transforming the lives of everyone who steps inside—students, teachers, administrators, and the surrounding community. Stephanie Novak Pappas, the award-winning Principal of Holabird Academy, joins the conversation along with Amy Upton, Director of Environmental Design and Principal at Grimm & Parker Architects, the visionary behind these modern, sustainable, 21st-century schools where carbon emissions are down and performance is up.Show Links:Guests: Stephanie Novak Pappas and Amy UptonSchool: Holabird AcademyCompany: Grimm + Parker Architects (see the Holabird project)For more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon and improve modern life, subscribe to our newsletter.

Cities are in a race against time to cut carbon, and the stakes are high. Responsible for 70% of global emissions, urban centers around the world are stepping up. At the heart of this global movement are mayors. Through C40 Cities—a network of nearly 100 leading cities—mayors are sharing, learning, and spreading the most effective climate solutions worldwide. David Miller served as Mayor of Toronto from 2003-2010, where he transformed the city into a climate leader with a strategy rooted in innovation, inclusion, and opportunity. Now, as a Managing Director at C40, David is guiding cities toward a sustainable future—where addressing climate change also means improving city life.Show Links:Guest: David MillerOrganization: C40 CitiesPodcast: Cities 1.5, hosted by David Miller and produced by the University of Toronto Press. It features progressive policy conversations with urban leaders taking action to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees.Book: Solved: How the Great Cities of the World are Fixing the Climate CrisisFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Instagram and LinkedIn

Across America, a quiet revolution is unfolding—autonomous electric mowers are gliding silently across parks, ballfields, and backyards. These zero-emission machines couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Lawn care and gardening account for 4-5% of the U.S.'s total greenhouse gas emissions—a staggering number for a single industry. Adam Sloan is the founder and CEO of Greener, which provides climate-friendly robots to landscaping companies that install them in customers' backyards. Hundreds are in the field. More on the way. Landscapers love the mowers because they free up time for more skilled tasks. Homeowners love them because their lawns look pristine. And neighborhoods? Well, they finally get their peaceful, quiet Saturday mornings back.Show Links:Guest: Adam SloanCompany: GreenerFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Instagram and LinkedIn

Geothermal energy's roots in America run deep. Before the Wright Brothers took flight and the first Ford Model-T rolled off the assembly line, residents of Boise, Idaho, were heating their homes with geothermal energy. Today, Boise’s system heats over 100 buildings and six million square feet in the downtown core and even pulls off some supercool feats—like melting snow off sidewalks in the winter. In Boise, you can wash your clothes at a geothermal-heated laundromat, swim in a geothermal-heated pool at the YMCA, and buy flowers grown in a geothermal-heated greenhouse. Tina Riley manages Boise’s geothermal system—the largest of its kind in the U.S.Show Links:Guest: Tina Riley Climate Initiative: Geothermal Energy in Boise, IdahoFor more Supercool climate solutions that cut carbon, improve modern life, and shape the new low carbon economy, subscribe to the podcast plus:* Youtube Channel* Weekly Newsletter* Instagram and LinkedIn

After a determined two-year campaign, thirty Denver Public Schools (DPS) students convinced the School Board of Education to approve a climate policy to make the school district a national leader in climate action. LeeAnn Kittle, Executive Director of Sustainability for Denver Public Schools, now leads the charge, overseeing the Climate Action Plan, which already saves the district $5 million annually through carbon-cutting initiatives. LeeAnn joins host Josh Dorfman to discuss what it takes to guide a large organization toward ever-greater climate goals. Riley Loveland Falvey, Associate Director at the New Buildings Institute, also joins the conversation to discuss how districts and students nationwide are collaborating and stepping up to build a supercool, climate-forward future.Show Links:Guests: LeeAnn Kittle and Reilly Loveland FalveyInitiative: Denver Public Schools Climate Action PlanOrganization: New Buildings InstituteDiscover more Supercool climate solutions. Subscribe to our newsletter.