The Green Blueprint

In the global north, 15% of the earth’s surface is covered in permafrost. Permafrost is a frozen layer of rocks, soil, ice and partially decomposed plants – and it's a massive carbon sink.Permafrost contains 1.5 trillion tons of carbon. That's twice the amount currently in our atmosphere. And, no surprise, climate change is melting it at an accelerated rate.The decline of permafrost is bad for the atmosphere and for Arctic communities. And because it’s historically been so difficult to predict, the climate impact is not being considered by policymakers.New research could change our understanding of the problem. This week, we’ll talk with a scientist who’s trying to fill the gaps in our knowledge about the climate impact of permafrost. Guest: Dr. Sue Natali, an arctic ecologist who leads the Woodwell Climate Arctic Program. Read about her Permafrost Pathways research.The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.The Carbon Copy is supported by GridX. GridX provides invaluable business insight that improves the uptake of the programs, products and services needed to decarbonize. Delivering on our clean energy future is complex. GridX exists to simplify the journey. Learn more.

The term of art for climate goals in the utility business is "net-zero." It's an accounting term. It means on balance, an electric utility is removing as much carbon from the atmosphere as it's adding.But how do you get to actual zero emissions? To eliminate them from the grid entirely?That is what the Sacramento Municipal Utility District – known as SMUD – is trying to do by 2030. But it can’t hit that target without the help of customers.So what would the customer-empowered energy transition look like? In this episode, produced in collaboration with Oracle Energy and Water, we're exploring how technology advancements and the urgency of climate change are putting customers at the center of decarbonization.Stephen Lacey sat down with SMUD CEO Paul Lau and Oracle’s Matt O'Keefe to talk about the trend.To learn more about Oracle’s vision, visit go.oracle.com/energyofeveryone.

This week, we’re offering up an episode of Post Script Media's new podcast, Hot Buttons.Your Instagram and TikTok feed are probably littered with feel-good ads for clothes and shoes made from recycled bottles. But they aren’t the solution you think. In this episode, co-hosts Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe and Shilla Kim-Parker dig into the greenwashing behind clothes made from plastic.If you like what you hear, subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts.Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

It was a particularly busy – and consequential – June for the Supreme Court. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court decided that the Environmental Protection Agency has overstepped its authority in regulating heat trapping gasses from power plants.This is an odd case involving an interpretation of a 1970s law that set the foundation for a climate regulation that doesn't even exist. In this episode, we’ll look at what led to the Supreme Court to take up the case.Now that the high court has restricted how America's environmental cop can enforce climate pollution rules, how severe are the consequences? And where can federal agencies continue to make progress?Guest: Niina Farah, Climate Law and Policy Reporter @ E&E news. The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.The Carbon Copy is supported by GridX. GridX provides invaluable business insight that improves the uptake of the programs, products and services needed to decarbonize. Delivering on our clean energy future is complex. GridX exists to simplify the journey. Learn more.

Heat pumps are the hot new thing in climate tech right now. The fastest way we can slash emissions out of the economy is to electrify as much as possible. And the fastest way to electrify is to deploy heat pumps.If we want to decarbonize our homes quickly, we need to start replacing existing HVAC systems. A good place to start: installing heat pumps instead of conventional central air conditioners.Turns out, the cost of making a two-way heat pump instead of an air conditioning unit is only a few hundred dollars per unit. What if the government incentivized manufacturers to make the switch?Every minute, 12 central air conditioning units are installed or swapped out at homes across America. That's 18,000 per week. Turning those one-way AC units into two-way heat pumps could help electrify millions of homes every year. A new federal bill could be the answer. Guests: Nate “the house whisperer” Adams, CEO of HVAC 2.0.  Alexander Gard-Murray, a Political Economist at Brown University's Climate Solutions Lab.  The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.The Carbon Copy is supported by Nextracker. Nextracker’s technology platform has delivered more than 50 gigawatts of zero-emission solar power plants across the globe. Nextracker is developing a data-driven framework to become the most sustainable solar tracker company in the world – with a focus on a truly transparent supply chain. Visit nextracker.com/sustainability to learn more.The Carbon Copy is supported by Scale Microgrid Solutions, your comprehensive source for all distributed energy financing. Distributed generation can be complex. Scale makes financing it easy. Visit scalecapitalsolutions.com to learn more.

A version of this episode originally ran on Catalyst w/ Shayle Kann.Stock markets are in decline. Inflation is on the rise. Interest rates are up. Private tech companies are laying off workers.Is this the long-awaited market correction that never quite materialized during the bull market of the last 13 years?And what does it mean for climate tech?In this episode, Shayle talks to Saloni Multani, a partner at Galvanize Climate Solutions and former chief financial officer for Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign.Shayle and Saloni place the current moment in historical context. They cover the recent wave of low-cost capital that poured into climate tech and the low interest rates that gave renewables an advantage over fossil-fuel investments. The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.The Carbon Copy is supported by Nextracker. Nextracker’s technology platform has delivered more than 50 gigawatts of zero-emission solar power plants across the globe. Nextracker is developing a data-driven framework to become the most sustainable solar tracker company in the world – with a focus on a truly transparent supply chain. Visit nextracker.com/sustainability to learn more.The Carbon Copy is supported by Scale Microgrid Solutions, your comprehensive source for all distributed energy financing. Distributed generation can be complex. Scale makes financing it easy. Visit scalecapitalsolutions.com to learn more.

We’re more than three months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and you don’t have to look far beyond your local gas station to see the global impact – the average price of a gallon of gasoline topped $5 this week. The conflict has complicated the flow of energy at a time when supply chains were already jumbled up because of COVID. But it’s not just oil. The war is leaving its mark on all kinds of commodities – including the global supplies of minerals and metals.Geopolitical shifts are causing high spikes in prices of lithium and nickel, two key components of the lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars.But this supply mess could actually be boosting a positive trend in the battery space: Battery recycling. This week: Batteries are a pillar of the zero-carbon economy. But are they sustainable? And will technical advancements and geopolitical shifts alter the battery-based economy for the better?Guests: Julian Spector is a Senior Reporter with Canary Media. Check out his latest report on battery recycling. And you can access all of Canary’s recycling week coverage here.  The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.The Carbon Copy is supported by Nextracker. Nextracker’s technology platform has delivered more than 50 gigawatts of zero-emission solar power plants across the globe. Nextracker is developing a data-driven framework to become the most sustainable solar tracker company in the world – with a focus on a truly transparent supply chain. Visit nextracker.com/sustainability to learn more.The Carbon Copy is supported by Scale Microgrid Solutions, your comprehensive source for all distributed energy financing. Distributed generation can be complex. Scale makes financing it easy. Visit scalecapitalsolutions.com to learn more.

We're presenting a trailer for our newest show from Post Script Media, called Hot Buttons.The demand for sustainability has come for the fashion industry. Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker are here to talk about it.Hot Buttons features weekly observations and lively debate about the future of the fashion industry as it reckons with its impact on the climate, natural resources, and worker rights. It's about the culture of fashion, the high-stakes decisions inside the industry, and how we rethink the very idea of growth.Subscribe to Hot Buttons on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get podcasts. Episodes drop every Thursday starting June 16.

Five years ago, Puerto Rico's grid was decimated by Hurricane Maria. Out of the destruction, many hoped that Puerto Rico's new grid could be built around solar and batteries – replacing centralized gas, coal, and oil plants connected with remote transmission lines.That’s not how the recovery played out. Today, Puerto Rico still relies heavily on centralized fossil fuels. And the island’s utility is still facing long blackouts and accusations of mismanagement.But a bottom-up movement has emerged supporting tens of thousands of rooftop solar and battery installations. These systems are being installed with minimal support from the government. Will this distributed energy help make Puerto Rico more resilient? Or will the island lock in more fossil fuels?We'll speak with Canary Media reporter Maria Gallucci, who just got back from a reporting trip there. Read her feature.The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.The Carbon Copy is supported by Nextracker. Nextracker’s technology platform has delivered more than 50 gigawatts of zero-emission solar power plants across the globe. Nextracker is developing a data-driven framework to become the most sustainable solar tracker company in the world – with a focus on a truly transparent supply chain. Visit nextracker.com/sustainability to learn more.The Carbon Copy is supported by Scale Microgrid Solutions, your comprehensive source for all distributed energy financing. Distributed generation can be complex. Scale makes financing it easy. Visit scalecapitalsolutions.com to learn more.

In December 2021, Senator Joe Manchin appeared on Fox News to announce that he would not vote for Joe Biden’s signature climate plan, Build Back Better. The reason he cited? A score given by the Congressional Budget Office.The Congressional Budget Office – or CBO for short – is the most important government agency you’ve never heard of. It acts as a budget referee, giving legislation a score on how it will impact the economy and the federal budget. Senator Chuck Grassley once called the CBO “God” on Capitol Hill. Its scores determine which legislation passes and which legislation dies. But there’s one big catch. The CBO is systematically leaving out the impacts of climate change and carbon pollution on the economy – and stacking the deck against climate legislation. Lawmakers have the power to change it. Will they?Guests:  Dr. Mark Paul is an assistant professor of economics and environmental studies at New College of Florida. You can read his article about the CBO in Noema. The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.The Carbon Copy is supported by Nextracker. Nextracker’s technology platform has delivered more than 50 gigawatts of zero-emission solar power plants across the globe. Nextracker is developing a data-driven framework to become the most sustainable solar tracker company in the world – with a focus on a truly transparent supply chain. Visit nextracker.com/sustainability to learn more.The Carbon Copy is supported by Scale Microgrid Solutions, your comprehensive source for all distributed energy financing. Distributed generation can be complex. Scale makes financing it easy. Visit scalecapitalsolutions.com to learn more.