Podcasts

The City of Austin may have a professional soccer team and stadium soon; but, not without controversy. In October 2017, the owner of the professional soccer team Columbus Crew announced that he is exploring moving the team from Ohio to Austin, citing the desire for a downtown stadium as one of the major drivers motivating his decision. The announcement has been marked by excitement for some (it would be Austin’s first professional sports team) and apprehension by others (who fear Columbus Crew might be seeking public funds or favors from Austin taxpayers and don't want public parkland to be used).

And now, in February 2018 the controversy is over where to locate the stadium considering many factors including environmental and social justice issues.

Our guests were:

• Daniel Llanes, Neighborhood Leader and Activist

• Bill Bunch - Executive Director of the Save Our Springs Alliance

• Josh Babetski - President and Founder of MLS In Austin, an organization that advocates for bring professional soccer to Austin

EARTHx will be the largest Eco-experience on Earth Day 2018 in Dallas. The three-day event will take place April 20 – 22 at the historic Dallas Far Park. There will be over 900 exhibits, indoor and outdoor interactive activities, virtual reality, an environmental film festival, and many other ways to learn how to preserve our natural environment. We spoke with EARTHx organizers Michael Cain and Steven Kornajck about how to attend EARTHx and get involved.

We celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 on Shades of Green.

International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. On this day we celebrate all the many women leaders and extraordinary women in Austin, Texas.

Our guests were:

Shibiya Sabu who is Originally from India, is a Transportation Planner with the Planning Dept. of CH2M, an international engineering consulting firm specializing in water and several layers of Technology and Planning. She focuses on optimizing the transportation flow and facilities to perform better, with projects involving bike-ped planning, corridor planning (at interstate level to FM roads). Her specialty includes sustainable urbanism, multi-modal transportation planning and community engagement. She is also the Chapter lead of the Global Women’s Network at CH2M. She has been doing Henna Professionally for 11 years now at various events, at weddings, and social/communal gathering. And, she was invited to be a Henna Artist at the East Austin Studio Tour.

Hala N. Ballouz has been a lead consultant in the electric power industry since 1991. She is the President of Electric Power Engineers and she has over 20 years of experience in power systems and energy market. Ms. Ballouz is also the former president of the Texas Renewables Energy Alliance (TREIA) and currently serves as board member of several organizations. She is a registered Professional Engineer in several states as well as other countries.

We also had in the studio Janis Bookout and Andrea Alfaro, two influential Austin women representing Earth Day Austin.

We celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 on Shades of Green.

International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. On this day we celebrate all the many women leaders and extraordinary women in Austin, Texas.

Our first guest was:

Shibiya Sabu who is Originally from India, is a Transportation Planner with the Planning Dept. of CH2M, an international engineering consulting firm specializing in water and several layers of Technology and Planning. She focuses on optimizing the transportation flow and facilities to perform better, with projects involving bike-ped planning, corridor planning (at interstate level to FM roads). Her specialty includes sustainable urbanism, multi-modal transportation planning and community engagement. She is also the Chapter lead of the Global Women’s Network at CH2M. She has been doing Henna Professionally for 11 years now at various events, at weddings, and social/communal gathering. And, she was invited to be a Henna Artist at the East Austin Studio Tour.

On Shades of Green we talked about “alternative” electric vehicles… and we don’t mean cars! Instead we discussed the growth of electric Pedi cabs and other alternative vehicles in Austin, Texas.

Our guests was:

Kevin Chandra – Project Lead for Austin Energy’s Electric Vehicles & Emerging Technologies group. He’ll be talking about the city’s new electric-assist Pedi cab pilot program.

'Trump’s Solar Tariff on Imported Solar Panels and The Growth of Solar Power in Texas'

We discussed the impacts of the Solar Tariff on US solar manufacturers, large-scale developers and residential installers. How will affect the market, and will it really help manufacturers in the US? Will in cause a slow-down in the residential and utility-scale solar industry in Austin, and Texas? And, while we are talking to the guests – how is the present and future solar market looking in Texas?

The solar tariff is applied to foreign manufactured solar PV panels at a rate of 30 % in year 1 scaling down to 15 % in year 4. Here is a good link: https://www.cfr.org/article/trumps-solar-tariffs-create-far-more-losers-winners

Our guest were:

Charlie Hemmeline, Executive Director of the Texas Solar Power Association

The Texas Solar Power Association is a statewide industry trade association that promotes the development of solar electric generation in Texas. Our member companies invest in the development of solar photovoltaic products and projects in Texas, cost-competitively serving customers in both wholesale and retail markets. Our membership includes manufacturers, large-scale power plant developers, residential and commercial rooftop integrators, and other Texas companies participating across the full solar photovoltaic supply chain.

David Jankowsky, President, Francis Renewable Energy.

They are a solar developer/installer for large-scale projects as well as residential projects. Their signature project in the Austin area is a large housing development called Wisper Valley where all the homes are planned to be zero energy with solar PV and energy efficiency measures. He will talk about the development and the potential effects of the solar Tariff on his large-scale developments.

Stan Pipkin, Owner and President, Lighthouse Solar

Lighthouse is a local solar installer specializing in commercial and residential buildings. Lighthouse Solar is a solar energy companies and a leader in paving the way for sustainable, renewable energy for homes and businesses. Our mission is to accelerate the switch to clean, renewable, secure, and democratized energy sources while contributing to a clean energy workforce.

On today's show we talked about the Austin Reuse Directory. The Austin Reuse Directory is a project from the Austin EcoNetwork, supported by Austin Resource Recovery, designed to make it as easy as possible for Austinites to find a second home for everyday items. Reuse saves items from the landfill and makes them available to your neighbors, who in turn, can use them again!

Our guests were:

• Rebekka Adams - Bloomers and Frocks: a local vintage thrift store.

• Liza Wilson – Toybrary: like a library, but for toys!

• Terry Cole - Austin Street Youth Ministry a nonprofit organization that serves homeless young people in Austin.

• Rick Lacey - Rick's Refills: he refills printer cartridges, so people don't have to throw them away.

• Christopher Moken - Program Director with Re-Mat: a nonprofit organization dedicated to mattress recycling in Texas.

All of our guests run local reuse businesses or nonprofits that are listed on the Austin Reuse Directory.

Smart Green Energy, and Sustainable Environmental Programs in San Antonio, Texas 1-18-2018

Citizens of San Antonio, Texas and its municipal electric utility CPS Energy are implementing some of the most innovative and forward thinking programs to make their City smart, green, and sustainable for future generations. Our guests spoke passionately about two major initiatives: Anita Ledbetter, Executive Director of Build San Antonio Green and Jill Vassar, the Director of Development and Partnerships for the EPIcenter project.

Build San Antonio Green

The mission of Build San Antonio Green is to protect and enhance the quality of life of the citizens of the metropolitan San Antonio Area by developing standards by which to certify newly constructed and existing structures to green standards, and to provide leadership, expertise, and education for the wise, efficient, and sustainable use of energy and resources. Three nationally recognized programs are: the Green Building Program, Bring Solar Home program, and Community Outreach Events like Solar Fest. It provides valuable resources for the community in each of these areas. Build San Antonio Green is committed to a sustainable, progressive, and renewable San Antonio of tomorrow!

The EPIcenter Project

The EPIcenter project is an initiative to transform an historic power plant in San Antonio into a world class center that will serve as a cradle for invention and a catalyst for clean energy innovation and technological advancement. The project is similar to Austin’s Seaholm EcoDistrict. Founded in 2015, the EPIcenter is a new initiative, launched by CPS Energy and its New Energy Economy partners (NEE), to create a center for energy education and innovation development on the banks of the San Antonio River. The “EPI” stands for “Energy, Partnerships, and Innovation,” and the center will be unique in the country in terms of combining education, research and development, an innovation think tank and energy museum all in one spot.

Climate change will affect cities in many different ways, and not just on the coasts of our continents. Our guests discussed what actions we can take as a society to save our cities, and a new book is out called "Extreme Cities" by Professor Ashley Dawson. Out guests in the KOOP studio were:

Professor Ashley Dawson of City College of New York, is the author of "Extreme Cities". He is the Currie C. and Thomas A. Barron Visiting Professor in the Environment and Humanities at Princeton Environmental Institute.

Bobbie Tsukahara is one of the founders of 350-austin.org

James Cole, with the Democratic Society of America.

The Texas Green Building Marketplace is an on-line directory of qualified green businesses -- design professionals, contractors, suppliers, operations and maintenance companies, and other service professionals -- that make commercial green building projects easier.

Our guest in the studio was Kay McManus, the Administrator for the Texas Green Building Marketplace.