The Cautious Climate Optimist

A great chat with research scientist, Wayne Groszko - head of the Energy Research team at Nova Scotia Community College's Applied Research department. Wayne and I chat about the importance of portable mini wind turbines, how to turn abandoned mines into huge green energy storage tanks, and everything in between. A super smart guy with a really fun, really important job - taking smart green ideas and helping to make them real.

Join me for a chat with Joe Nickerson, from Halifax's coolest development company, Sidewalk. At Sidewalk, Joe and his partner Elliot are all about creating and revitalizing otherwise languishing urban neighbourhoods, as well as giving new life to old concrete buildings instead of building new. In so doing they both help the environment while also preserving the history and character intrinsically found in the cities' older buildings . A really interesting look into what could be a greener development option for us going forward.

Well, what a fabulous guy, and an even better mayor, from all accounts. Join me as I have an open and frank chat with one of the province's most popular mayors. We cover everything from the oh so smart decision to purchase Ford Lightening EV trucks - both financially and in terms of the environment - and go off script to chat about the town's K9 (and no, my Scottish Terrier likely wouldn't be much of an asset to the unit). We finish on an inspiring message from David Mitchell on how we get through our current tough and worrisome times with good old fashioned Canadian grit and fortitude. Thanks for listening and enjoy the show!

A conversation with Kevin Boutilier, Manager of Clean Energy with HalifACT, Halifax's long-term climate plan. During the podcast we talk about where things are at the five-year anniversary point for the plan, wins and challenges, as well as his hopes going forward - specifically around meeting HalifACT targets. Kevin talks about the importance of partnerships in achieving challenging goals - some of the more integral ones being with both the province and developers. We talk about how he's handling things - both personally and professionally - during the current geopolitical climate and what that may mean for the work of climate mitigation. All that, and much more, including the expansion of EV charging infrastructure around HRM.

The Cautious Climate Optimist came out of a desire to share conversations with the inspiring individuals behind many of the climate stories we’ve covered in Climate Story Network. In 2025, with Climate Stories Atlantic, we'll be delivering a podcast for more personal and in-depth conversations with some of the people behind the projects helping us reach carbon reduction targets. Our goal is to fight climate anxiety with stories that help foster climate hope, and this podcast aims to continue that important work — all wrapped up in frank and interesting conversations. For more info, visit us at climatestoriesatlantic.ca (First podcast and new site coming end of February 2025.)