The Green Blueprint
Episodes
A new catalyst for the smart home: electrify everything
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Visions for the energy-smart home of the future haven’t panned out. In the mid-2000s, the internet-enabled consumer dashboard was going to be the ...
The greasy truth behind sustainable aviation fuels
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Canary media senior reporter Maria Gallucci recently took a pretty unconventional road trip – shadowing a truck driver as he drove around New Jersey...
The autonomous car bubble has popped
25 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Five years ago, venture investors, tech companies and automakers were pouring tens of billions of dollars into driverless cars. Tesla, General Motors,...
The make-or-break moment for America’s energy transition
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
America enters 2023 faced with two opposing realities: greenhouse gas emissions are going up, but the opportunity to slash those emissions has never b...
The great electrician shortage
11 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To decarbonize our economy, we need to electrify everything. That means installing millions of heat pumps, EV chargers, electric water heaters, and ro...
Programming note: we're making changes to the show
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Stephen provides some end-of-year updates on the new focus of The Carbon Copy. We’ll be taking a pause until mid-January while we prepare...
A breakout year for carbon removal?
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is the final week of our listener survey. Fill it out for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card. And don’t forget to donate to Canary Medi...
Gas stations vs utilities: battle for the future of charging
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card. Join us on November 30 for a live, virtual episode...
A reality check on corporate sustainability
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card. Join us on November 30 for a live, virtual episode...
The Ike Dike: the biggest civil engineering project in US history
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the cost of living with hurricanes grows, coastal cities across the country are starting to ask the trillion dollar question: what can we build to ...
New York’s clean energy puzzle
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
New York has a puzzle that it needs to solve – fast. In less than a decade, the state is aiming to radically increase renewable electricity generati...
The ‘ecological ponzi scheme’ putting Florida at risk
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Grunwald is an energy and climate journalist who lives in south Florida. He loves Florida. But he also loves to poke fun at Florida's poor pla...
From empty concrete to offshore wind hub?
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, producer Alexandria Herr takes a trip to Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and gets a peek into the future. What is now an empty stretch of concrete s...
Patagonia’s founder gives away the company for climate
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In mid-September, the outdoor clothing company Patagonia posted a 10-second video on Instagram featuring Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard. The camera ...
Puerto Rico’s preventable grid disaster
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in c...
Drought is surfacing lost relics around the world
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in c...
Should we eat bugs, farmed fish, or soy?
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in c...
The ‘tax on God’ dilemma for utilities [partner content]
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Years back, a major municipal utility in the U.S. rolled out a new time-of-use rate for commercial customers. At first, everything seemed fine. Then, ...
Why heat waves become deadly
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Over Labor Day weekend, California was blanketed by a record-breaking heatwave. Fresno reached 113 degrees Fahrenheit, Sacramento, 114 degrees Fahrenh...
The Big Switch: The Race to Green Steel
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re presenting an episode of The Big Switch, a narrative show from Columbia University about how to decarbonize the economy. Steel go...
The frontline of water conflicts: ranching
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Western states are experiencing a megadrought. Water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell are falling hundreds of feet, and shortages on the Colorado R...
America is finally doing something big on climate
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Just a few weeks ago, the Biden administration’s historic climate package looked like it was on the brink of ruin after Senator Joe Manchin walked a...
How bad will Europe's gas crisis get?
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we feature an interview from our friends at Columbia Energy Exchange. Europe’s gas crisis has entered a scary new phase. Last week, the b...
A heat limit ‘no meteorologist thought we would cross’
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last Tuesday, the thermometer at London's Heathrow airport clocked in at 104 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40.2 degrees Celsius. The airport runway melted. M...
Are Biden’s climate ambitions in Congress dead?
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On the Carbon Copy podcast this week: The hits to President Biden's climate ambitions keep on coming. Two years ago, Biden put forward a $2 trillion...
The climate wild card: permafrost
13 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the global north, 15% of the earth’s surface is covered in permafrost. Permafrost is a frozen layer of rocks, soil, ice and partially decomposed ...
The people-centric transition to zero emissions [Partner content]
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The term of art for climate goals in the utility business is "net-zero." It's an accounting term. It means on balance, an electric utility is removing...
Hot Buttons: Is recycled plastic clothing a lie?
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re offering up an episode of Post Script Media's new podcast, Hot Buttons. Your Instagram and TikTok feed are probably littered with f...
How bad is the Supreme Court’s decision on climate?
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It was a particularly busy – and consequential – June for the Supreme Court. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court decided that the Environmental Protectio...
One weird trick to decarbonize your home
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Heat pumps are the hot new thing in climate tech right now. The fastest way we can slash emissions out of the economy is to electrify as much as possi...
Catalyst: Will the bear market hurt clean energy?
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A version of this episode originally ran on Catalyst w/ Shayle Kann. Stock markets are in decline. Inflation is on the rise. Interest rates are up. Pr...
The battery recycling boom
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re more than three months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and you don’t have to look far beyond your local gas station to see the global im...
Introducing Hot Buttons: a new show about sustainable fashion
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're presenting a trailer for our newest show from Post Script Media, called Hot Buttons. The demand for sustainability has come for the fashion indu...
The tension over Puerto Rico’s energy future
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Five years ago, Puerto Rico's grid was decimated by Hurricane Maria. Out of the destruction, many hoped that Puerto Rico's new grid could be built aro...
The obscure federal agency hindering climate legislation
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In December 2021, Senator Joe Manchin appeared on Fox News to announce that he would not vote for Joe Biden’s signature climate plan, Build Back Bet...
How air pollution and heat make pregnancy more dangerous
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In early May, a leaked draft opinion showed that the Supreme Court could soon overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. So what does abortion access hav...
Introducing Drilled: Bridge to Nowhere
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We have a bonus episode from our friends at Drilled. The sixth season of Drilled is all about the natural gas industry. In the last decade, the clim...
The hidden history of California oil
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Across California, oil wells pepper residential neighborhoods – often directly next to homes, schools, and businesses. These residential wells hav...
Could Elon Musk’s risky Twitter takeover hurt Tesla?
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A couple of weeks ago, Elon Musk offered around $44 billion to buy Twitter. A few days later, the CEO of the world’s biggest electric car compan...
How one company could crush the US solar industry
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A couple weeks ago, Canary Media’s Eric Wesoff found himself in the parking lot of a company called Auxin Solar. Auxin is a small American solar p...
How bitcoin is keeping zombie power plants alive
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bitcoin mining today uses a half percent of the world's electricity. Every year, as more shipping containers and warehouses full of high-powered compu...
The ‘profound change’ from today’s energy crisis
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1973, when Arab countries cut off petroleum exports to the US, the price of oil quadrupled. People couldn't get access to gasoline. The economy shr...
A historic climate rule from America’s financial regulator
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Support strong climate journalism! Donate to Canary Media to celebrate its one-year anniversary. Public companies have a legal obligation to report a ...
Deadly Bronx fires reveal America’s energy insecurity crisis
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We want to hear from you! Take our quick survey for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card. This will help us bring you more relevant content. In Jan...
The ‘inevitable industries’ that will decarbonize the world [branded content]
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is a branded episode, produced in collaboration with Intersect Power. Sheldon Kimber has spent the last 20 years developing energy projects. He’...
Why ‘maladaptation’ is getting so much attention
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Climate researchers are increasingly using the term “maladaptation” to describe adaptation measures that bring unforeseen negative consequences to...
Russia forces an abrupt climate shift in Washington
11 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden entered the White House promising to use climate solutions as his main tool for raising wages, revitalizing infrastructure, and tackli...
Russia’s war hits energy markets hard
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The civilian and military death toll from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is growing daily. More than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine f...
Will truck lovers go electric?
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Six out of seven car commercials during this year’s Superbowl touted electric vehicles (EVs). That’s up from zero EV ads just four years ago. Fo...
The military’s net-zero aspirations
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Climate change is impacting people’s lives across the globe – from mass migrations to resource conflicts. For the US military, it’s become one o...
Could a ‘green upheaval’ embolden Russia?
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Note: this is a crossover episode between The Carbon Copy and Columbia Energy Exchange. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia is intensifying. Presi...
Greenwashing at the Beijing Olympics
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For the first time ever, the Winter Olympic games will rely entirely on artificial snow. It’s a reality that could become more common as the plane...
The ‘white gold’ land grab for lithium in California
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Batteries are everywhere. In our electronics, our power tools, our electric grid, and in our cars. And almost all those batteries use a lithium-ion ch...
Why US carbon emissions are rising quickly
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Note: this is a crossover episode between The Big Switch and The Carbon Copy. If you like what you hear, consider subscribing to both. When Covid disr...
Adam McKay on how to make a movie about climate change
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Note: this is a crossover episode between Volts and The Carbon Copy. If you like what you hear, consider subscribing to both. Pop culture is increasi...
The risk of ‘unforced error’ in Hawaii’s coal transition
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hawaii wants a carbon-free electric grid by 2045. First, the island of Oahu must replace a major coal plant later this year. But will there be enough ...
Are Biden’s climate ambitions slipping away?
07 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden wants to slash America’s carbon emissions by half in a decade. He can’t achieve that goal without passing Build Back Better, a mas...
Elon Musk is person of the year. What's his Tesla legacy?
22 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Every December, TIME magazine picks an individual or group of people to be the "person of the year." This year, TIME picked a guy who equally inspir...
Your ‘carbon footprint’ is a marketing ruse
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The term “carbon footprint” is everywhere. But it’s not rooted in the environmental movement. It’s rooted in a two-decade corporate marketing ...
Florida is the latest battleground over fossil-fuel phaseouts
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At the start of the year, a city councilman in Tampa, Florida crafted a resolution for 100% clean energy by 2030. The resolution was non-binding and q...
Ithaca’s novel plan to eliminate carbon from buildings
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2019, the Green New Deal became a mobilizing force. Even without federal action, organizers started pushing cities across America to craft their ow...
How the Glasgow climate deal nearly collapsed
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
COP26 ended in Glasgow, Scotland last week with a final deal. It established a framework for reporting emissions and trading carbon credits, called on...
Our oil addiction is worse than ever
12 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When the pandemic shut down the global economy in March of 2020, demand for oil and gas collapsed. It raised questions about whether we'd hit peak dem...
Introducing: The Carbon Copy
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Climate change is not a distant science story. It's a story about how everything in our carbon-based economy works -- and how it's getting re-worked. ...