Vacation of a lifetime, here I come…
About a year ago, one of my dear friends put a bold idea on the table: let’s go to the Galapagos Islands in November 2025. My response: a squeal.
We depart for this bucket list trip next week. Fear not—there will be a short WER next week. And as is tradition, this newsletter will take the week of Thanksgiving off to free up your inboxes for Black Friday deals.
I promise a full report upon my return.
This week’s must read: This industrial heat pump is cheaper to run than a boiler. Yes, really (Canary Media)
I was struck by this article about technology that turns heat waste into industrial-grade steam. Industrial heat accounts for about 20 percent of global emissions.
Enter Skyven Technologies, which installs its technology solution for no cost “alongside existing gas boilers. The heat pump taps into the factory’s waste heat, which helps it reach high temperatures with far more efficiency than older technologies. Skyven and the customer split the savings from making cheaper electric steam, but if electricity prices spike, Skyven temporarily switches back to the gas boiler to avoid higher costs.”
Sounds like a win-win to me and yes, I will be asking the startup’s founder to be on the podcast next season.
Hattie Hobart loves to hike…
On the “our team” tab on the Nature is Nonpartisan website, each employee is identified by photo, job title, and political ideology, with the latter crossed out and their favorite outdoor activity penciled in. I think this is a clever way to make their point: nature knows no political party.
Here this week to talk about this concept in greater depth is Hattie Hobart, the organization’s chief of staff. We served on a panel together earlier this year just as she was transitioning into the role, and I have been eager to have her share Nature is Nonpartisan’s mission, success stories, and priorities for 2026.
Coming up next week…
Have you wondered what sort of role farmers can have in climate solutions and conversation practices? Be sure to tune into my conversation with Bob Quinn, a visionary 4th generation Montana farmer, author, renowned scientist, and passionate advocate for sustainable farming. Founder of The Quinn Institute, he works to scale up the number of successful regenerative organic producers and demonstrate that agriculture can be both profitable and a force for good.
Want to hear Bob sing?
Not click bait… I swear! No one was more surprised than I was when I tuned into this podcast, which opened with my boss, Bob Inglis, singing.
(TBH, it wasn’t the first time. We sing happy birthday on our team calls every time another staff person takes a turn around the sun. But still, it was not what I was expecting.)
If all that doesn’t compel you to listen to this episode of the Shocked podcast episode, Climate Disinformation, I don’t know what will. Hosted by Amy Harder, the investigation delves into the disheartening history of climate misinformation. The episode features not only Bob, but our friend John Cook of Skeptical Science, breaking down how and why doubt was so effectively cast on climate science.
Bob’s Corner
A new WER feature, tune in for monthly updates and/or outlook from our trusty leader! Below is his October/November edition.
Dearth Meets Filling Force by Bob Inglis
Several years of “maybe-next-year-I’ll-come-in-person” became “this-year” at the University of Georgia. But we had just one class presentation on the calendar for October 30th—not enough to justify the trip, even though Georgia is a target state and even though UGA is a Morrill Land-Grant college with significant connections to Georgia farmers and right-of-center audiences.
That’s when the dearth of scheduled events met Wen Lee, our newly returned Outreach Director. Wen reached out to—count them—18 student groups on campus. That’s 18 more groups than we would have reached without her. She rallied our wonderful host, Dr. Susana Ferreira, to put us in touch with her UGA colleagues. Wen tracked down folks on social media and skillfully persuaded them via email and text.
Thanks to Wen’s doggedness, it wasn’t just the presentation to Dr. Ferreira’s Environmental Economics class. Wen added a presentation sponsored by four UGA business student clubs. Of the 68 in that audience, almost half identified as right-of-center. Wen also got us a presentation to 82 agribusiness students, well over half of whom identified as right-of-center.
The outreach didn’t stop there. The UGA student newspaper covered the visit with a story in The Red and Black. A film crew interviewed me for a documentary about climate resilience. I had breakfast with the deans and department heads of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; a meet-up with Dr. Marshall Shepherd of the Weather Channel’s Weather Geeks; and a one-on-one with a student leader from a large, local church.
On top of all of that, Wen is following up with two UGA students whom we identified as prospective Outreach Liaisons. They could help us get more right-of-center events in Georgia.
When I wondered whether we had budget for Wen to return to the team, Alex Bozmoski, EVP at DEPLOY/US and cofounder of republicEn, told me, “Bob, it’s a no-brainer. Bring Wen back.” Clearly, he was right! We have budget for Wen and the rest of us (and for the pizza for two of those UGA presentations) only because of our generous donors and supporters. Thank you for making our work possible.
TTFN
I’m off to start overpacking… Kidding! I am under strict instructions to pack light. See you next week (briefly).