It’s projected that by 2050, 7 out of 10 people in the world will live in urban areas, totaling 6 and half billion people. The ecological footprint of these cities will be vast, and the more we can do to make these areas self-sufficient, the more habitable the entire planet will be. Today’s guest offers a novel solution to this challenge. Inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the stratification of an old-growth forest, Dr. Jennifer Bousselot studies the benefits of combining solar panels with green roofs. This method - called agrivoltaics -  brings agriculture and photovoltaics together in a shared space. Growing food under the shade of solar panels has some surprising benefits, which are being revealed through research institutions like Colorado State University, where Dr. Bousselot serves as a professor of horticulture and landscape architecture.

In her 2020 TED Talk, Dr. Bousselot coined the term “rooftop agrivoltaics”, referring to an innovative approach that integrates solar panels with green roofs. I recently toured the rooftop agrivoltaics site at CSU Spur, one of several agrivoltaics projects that Dr. Bousselot oversees. Touring this site gave me a new perspective on how rooftops can be utilized to produce energy, grow food, manage stormwater, and cool our cities. This conversation is for anyone curious about renewable energy, urban agriculture, green roofs, or sustainable design. Whether you are just discovering agrivoltaics or are already invested in the intersection of energy and ecology, I think you will find this conversation illuminating. Please enjoy!

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Episode Links:

• CSU Spur Agrivoltaics
• NREL
• Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
• Journal of Living Architecture

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If you enjoyed today’s episode, please like the show and follow wherever you get your podcasts.

For additional features like video, you can find transcribed versions of this and future episodes at my personal Substack, Echoing Earth.

The music for this podcast is Siesta by Ikson, part of the “Tell Your Story” project—a library of free music for content creators. Visit ikson.com to explore the full catalog.

If you want to understand Colorado and the American Southwest, you have to understand our most limited and valuable resource - WATER. That’s why I am excited to share this conversation with Blake Mamich, a water conservation expert and Program Director for the Colorado Water Trust. The Colorado Water Trust is a homegrown nonprofit that focuses on instream water flow restoration, a topic that Blake expounds on throughout this interview. Blake has been working for the Trust since 2022, focusing on streamflow restoration and reservoir release projects.

This interview is an overview of not just the work of the Colorado Water Trust, but of broader water policy and conservation in Colorado. I put Blake on the spot throughout this conversation, with a broad range of questions about water in Colorado. Some of the ground we cover includes the history of water rights, beneficial uses of water, key projects the Trust is currently working on, and a notable water rights acquisition currently going down on the Western slope with a price tag just under $100 million.

While this conversation is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to the topic of water in Colorado, I am heartened to know that there is an organization out there doing deep water conservation work at a time when there is so much upheaval, specifically in terms of environmental regulation and investment in ecological health.

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Colorado Water Trust

Donate to the Trust - Anyone who signs up for a monthly recurring donation gets a free Water Trust hat!

Colorado Rapids - Colorado Water Trust is the Colorado Rapids official community partner this season and will be featured in their April 12th game. Come cheer on the Raptors and learn more about CWT!

⁠RiverBank⁠ - The main event this year is held September 30th at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Join the fun and check out the Fall displays!

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If you enjoyed today’s episode, please like the show and follow wherever you get your podcasts.

For additional features like video, you can find transcribed versions of this and future episodes at my personal Substack, Echoing Earth.

The music for this podcast is Siesta by Ikson, part of the “Tell Your Story” project—a library of free music for content creators. Visit ikson.com to explore the full catalog.

Photo Credit - Yampa River / Eliza Nolte

Today I am talking with Natural Builder, Tim White. I met Tim at the Crestone Energy Fair in Crestone, Colorado, an eclectic town where I was introduced to natural building materials and techniques. Tim has been in the natural building industry for almost 30 years. During the Fair, Tim gave a talk onClay Plasters, and I was hit with more truth bombs about the built environment in that one talk than I had ever been. All of it made intuitive sense, and Tim clearly had a plethora of knowledge to offer on the topic. Backed by hard science through his studies in anthropology and archaeology, Tim distilled many health and environmental issues down to a simple dichotomy: conventional building materials versus monolithic organic (natural) materials.

Our conventional wisdom tells us that modern materials are durable, reliable, and safe. In fact, conventional building materials are toxic, highly combustible, and create over 30% of the world’s waste. The archaeological record shows that humans have used natural building materials for millenia. Their use is circular, sustainable, better for our health, and aesthetically pleasing. In fact, the techniques that Tim describes in this episode create temperature and humidity controlled environments that are livable without use of a thermostat. I invite you stoke your curiosity at the hearthside of Tim’s abundant wisdom on the benefits that natural building brings to humankind. Please enjoy.__________

• Texas Healthy Homes
• [email protected]⁠
• Bruce King New Carbon Architecture
• American Clay
• Northern Colorado Hemp Expo
• Chris Magwood -Beam Estimator - Calculating your Home’s Carbon Footprint
• Hemp and Block
• Living Spaces
• Rocky Mountain Joinery

1:45 - What is Natural Building?

16:15 - Applications for a Conventional Builder

18:21 - Materials

23:45 - Hondo Project

30:59 - Toxins in the Built Environment

35:51 - Optimizing Your Health

38:56 - Problems in Conventional Building

39:52 - Building Codes

49:39 - Scaling Natural Building

57:53 - Ayahuasca Temple (Spring Construction)

1:02:45 - Unconditioning

1:06:05 - Final Thoughts & Recs __________

If you enjoyed today’s episode and found it insightful, please like the show and follow wherever you get your podcasts. A special thank-you to the⁠Crestone Energy Fair⁠ for providing hands-on workshops, tours, and panel discussions on natural building.

The music for this podcast is Siesta by Ikson, part of the “Tell Your Story” project—a library of free music for content creators. Visit⁠ ikson.com⁠ to explore the full catalog.

The truth is out there, but unveiling it is a meticulous and tiresome process that few choose to undertake.

With his new documentary,Half-Life of Memory, Jeff Gipe has taken on a historical act of environmental injustice that, according to notable activists, is perpetuated to this day.

Rocky Flats nuclear manufacturing plant operated from 1952 until 1989, when it was raided by the FBI. This was the first time a Federal warrant was served to another branch of the Federal government. The plant produced atomic "triggers", which are the explosive cores of nuclear warheads. In 1992, the plant was officially closed, marking the beginning of the remediation period.

Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge is now open for recreation, and plans are underway to build a recreation path that connects the refuge with Rocky Mountain National Park in the West to Rocky Mountain Arsenal in the East. This all comes at a time when Los Alamos has reopened to produce nuclear “pits”, and the US is on its way to produce 80 nuclear warheads per year by 2030.

Has the Rocky Flats site truly been “remediated”, or is this bureaucratic sleight of hand? 

This is a story about the fallout that occurs before the global catastrophe. About the plant workers, the unwavering FBI agent who led the raid, the health officials, scientists, politicians, and those who unwittingly moved downwind of a nuclear plant and now suffer irreversible consequences.

This is a story about the Half-Life of Memory, a film that tells difficult truths about the local consequences of global conflict. If you take nothing else from today's episode, please take this to heart -you need to see this remarkable film.

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Colorado Environmental Film Festival: 2/23 @ 3:30 pm

https://www.halflifeofmemory.com (Rent or Own)

The Struggle to Remember the Nuclear West by Hannah Nordhaus

Rocky Flats Downwinders

Rocky Flats Right to Know

Full Body Burden - by Kristen Iversen

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If you enjoyed today’s episode and found it insightful, please share it with your friends and family. A special thank-you to the Denver Film Festival and Sie Film Center for screening Half-Life of Memory and spreading awareness on this important topic.

The music for this podcast is Siesta by Ikson, part of the “Tell Your Story” project—a library of free music for content creators. Visit ikson.com to explore the full catalog.

Welcome to Science Matters Colorado, the podcast that explores the environmental issues shaping our beautiful state. Each episode, I talk with experts to help you understand the challenges we face and celebrate the natural wonders we strive to protect.

Today, we’re diving into the world of mountain lions. Recently, Proposition 127—a ballot measure to ban the hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx in Colorado—failed to pass. However, it sparked curiosity about these incredible predators and their role in our ecosystem. To help us learn more, I’m speaking with local conservationist, hunter, and mountain lion enthusiast, David Neils.

David’s passion for wildlife began in Montana, where he started studying animals seriously at just six years old. Back then, without trail cameras, he used creative methods like tying dental floss across trails to monitor activity. Fascinated by apex predators, he often dreamed about grizzlies, wolves, and mountain lions.

David’s connection with mountain lions deepened during a memorable encounter in Colorado’s Never Summer Wilderness, where he was nudged awake by a male lion. That moment inspired him to dedicate over 20 years to studying these elusive creatures. Spending time weekly in mountain lion habitats, he developed a system to map their activity across the western United States, Canada, and Chile. His 30,000 hours in the field culminated in the creation of a one-on-one Mountain Lion Workshop for those eager to learn his methods.

What sets David’s work apart is his commitment to capturing completely wild footage—no lures, dogs, or other aids are used.

To explore more of David’s incredible work, visit Wildnaturemedia.com.

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If you enjoyed today’s episode and found it insightful, please share it with your friends and family. A special thank-you to the Loveland Mountain Club for hosting a presentation of David’s work and helping to spread awareness about these incredible apex predators.

Get Involved:

Thumbnail, by David Neils, shows the impact of mountain lions on riparian landscapes.

The music for this podcast is Siesta by Ikson, part of the “Tell Your Story” project—a library of free music for content creators. Visit⁠⁠ ikson.com⁠⁠ to explore the full catalog.

Welcome to Science Matters Colorado, the podcast that dives deep into the environmental issues affecting our beautiful state. Each episode, I talk with experts to help you better understand the environmental challenges we face and celebrate the natural wonders we strive to protect.

Today, we're focusing on algal blooms—an issue that has recently caught the attention of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). These blooms are most common in summer, spurred on by high temperatures and abundant sunlight, and they pose a growing concern for water quality and public health.

In this episode, I sit down with Sarah Erickson, a water quality specialist from CDPHE. We’ll discuss the causes and impacts of toxic algae, how these blooms are monitored, and the steps you can take to protect yourself and help reduce their spread.

Though algal blooms are most prevalent in the summer months, the nutrients that fuel them—compounds like nitrogen and phosphorus—are found year-round in many household products. Sarah also shares resources that you can use to check the water quality before heading out for a swim and to report suspected blooms.

CDPHE Resources:

Toxic Algae Dashboard: https://cdphe.colorado.gov/toxic-algae

Report blooms: Tox call number: 303-692-2606  OR email: [email protected]

If you found today’s episode insightful, please share this episode with friends and family. Special thanks to John Michael from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for coordinating this interview today. The music for this podcast is Siesta by Ikson and is a part of the “Tell Your Story” project, a library of free music for content creators. Go to ikson.com to explore the full catalogue.

Welcome to the first episode of Science Matters Colorado, the podcast that explores the environmental issues shaping our beautiful state. I am your host, Alex Hippenhammer.

I thought I would launch this podcast with a speech that has really inspired me to make some changes in my life recently. It is a commencement speech from Paul Hawken, the environmentalist and author. The speech is called “You are brilliant, and earth is hiring”. Hawken addressed the 2009 graduating class at the University of Portland with a call to act on behalf of the Earth itself. In his speech, Hawken invokes the spiritual through the scientific, and speaks to humanity’s collective identity rooted in our relationship to mother Earth. When I read this speech, I am reminded of the wonder, abundance, and beauty that we are granted each day if we pause to recognize it. I am also reminded of the most important work that needs to be done - that of restoring the planet and its systems. Hawken’s speech is a much-needed reminder that our acts of restoration must be rooted in a deep appreciation, and that our divisions are, at most, superficial. As Hawken says, “we are vastly interconnected”.