Intermission is over; I am back from my whirlwind trip, which took me to Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy.
The highlights of my amazing vacation:
- Budapest is so vibrant. Everyone we talked to was excited about the election a few weeks ago and wanted to share their enthusiasm with us.
- Likewise, the city of Belgrade was such an unexpected surprise. Beautiful architecture. Lovely people. And Serbian wine is delicious. (Their national spirit, however, was not.)
- Pasta swirled in a pecorino cheese wheel, done tableside, in Rome, was an excellent way to end the week.
I’m on the jet lag struggle bus (and am going through Italian pizza, cobblestone streets, and charming city centers with no cars withdrawal) so apologies in advance for any typos or meandering thoguhts!
The power and potential of geothermal energy
Leveraging the expertise of the oil and gas industry to scale geothermal energy, Project Innerspace (get it? opposite of outer space) is poised to rapidly provide the world with unprecedented levels of clean, geothermal power. For example, if we drill for geothermal energy at the rate we currently drill for oil and gas, by 2050 up to 77 percent of global demand for electricity and over 100 percent of global demand for heat can be supplied by geothermal, without the doom and gloom talk.
In this episode, Jamie Beard, Project Innerspace’s founder and executive director, shares her confidence in our ability to forge the missing links to tap into geothermal energy’s abundance.
Jamie’s episode dropped while I was in… let’s see… Serbia.
Continuing to play catch up, here is this week’s episode, which dropped while I was in Rome.
A listener request… and one of our new favorite people!
Have you ever thought about the impacts of the clean energy economy on rural communities? People with jobs in extractive industries? Those needing relocation due to climate impacts?
Matt Glazewski thinks about these impacts daily.
The director of the Washington Climate Corps Network, which is working to create a climate resilient Washington state through enterprising service projects, community partnership, and investments in the next generation of environmental leaders, Matt leads this network connecting people and organizations with funding, training, and shared resources to strengthen local capacity for climate solutions.
As you will hear, Matt’s approach is truly collaborative and inclusive. Here in the other Washington, Washington, DC, people tend to tell folks, this is what you have to do without engaging in the process. That is the opposite of what the Washington Climate Corps Network is doing.
Coming up next week… a podcasting interlude as I regroup on content for the remainder of season 12!
Our ears are ringing
A most excellent team of mountain west writers was published in FIVE Montana papers with an op-ed that quotes our own Bob Inglis. While I’m linking them below so you can see how impressive it is, they all have a paywall, so you’ll have to reach out for the pdf.
Bob in the wild
I wasn’t the only one traveling last week. Look at Bob at Presbyterian College, where he met with conservative students and had meaningful conversations about free market climate solutions.
Be the change
republicEn.org was recently featured as a resource in the C-Change Conversations B-Change Blog about ways to volunteer for the good of climate progress. Share this with your friends looking for how they can make a difference! (The piece also appeared in The Invading Sea.)
C-Change Conversations strives to improve understanding about the science, effects, and risks of climate change through discussion and engagement. You can check out their library of blogs here.
That’s it for your trusty jet-lagged writer friend. See you next week!