Energy Innovation Needs Women – Katie Mehnert, Pink Petro

“Your biggest challenge is your biggest opportunity. Get people into the system so they can change the culture and the industry to clean energy” – Katie Mehnert on Green Connections Radio podcast.
At the 2020 World Economic Forum where global leaders across industry gather in Davos, Switzerland every January, climate change took “center stage,” as The New York Times headline put it. A key topic of debate was the conundrum of providing clean energy to everyone on the planet and it is abundantly clear much more rapid innovation is needed, including of the oil and gas sector. But how?
Listen to Katie Mehnert, who spent 20 years in the oil and gas sector and remains devoted to it, in this surprisingly candid interview on Green Connections Radio podcast with Joan Michelson. Katie passionately lays out the urgent need for the sector to innovate and why bringing more women into the industry is key. Katie left a job in Big Oil that she loved to start Pink Petro to get more women into energy industry leadership.

Why Place Matters – Stacy Jupiter, MacArthur “Genius” Winner 2019

As world leaders and climate leaders, scientists and activists gather to address solutions to the climate crisis, Dr. Stacy Jupiter has a novel perspective on what communities need to address in those climate resilience plans – and in driving change.  She just won a MacArthur “Genius” award for it. Listen to Stacy explain to Green Connections Radio host Joan Michelson why our sense of a place and its culture are just as vital to our well-being as clean water and food, especially in many countries like Melanesia, where she is currently working.

Adapting to Climate Change – Beth Gibbons, Adaptation Professionals

Local leaders are managing the very real devastation to their communities and economies caused by extreme weather events, while much-needed resources from the federal government are tied up in political wrangling over whether climate change is real.  
The people on the ground dealing with these effects are called “adaptation professionals,” so Green Connections Radio host Joan Michelson went to them to find out what’s happening on the ground. Listen to her startling conversation with Beth Gibbons, Executive Director of Adaptation Professionals for great insights on all sides of this life-threatening, economy-threatening, polarizing issue.

Climate as National Security Issue – Sherri Goodman, Former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense

With a new Secretary of Defense coming in, and an Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, it’s important to remember the national security implications of climate change. Listen to Joan Michelson’s fascinating (and a bit frightening) interview with former Deputy Secretary of Defense, and former Senior Vice President and General Counsel and Military Advisor at CNA, a top national security think tank, Sherri Goodman on how climate relates to national security.

Climate Resilience – Climate Scientist Rawlings Miller on How to Prepare for Climate Change

Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of some natural disasters….. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strongly recommends that pre­-incident planning be documented,” says a brand new report from the EPA. In other words: prepare for the imminent consequences of climate change-related natural disasters and extreme weather events.  But how? And, how can your community improve its infrastructure at the same time? Listen to Rawlings Miller, a climate scientist and principal in the WSP advisory firm in this information-packed interview with Joan Michelson on Green Connections Radio podcast.

How Parks Mitigate Climate Change – Diane Regas, Trust for Public Land

“It’s really important that we think about cooling the areas where people are living, working and playing, and parks do that,” Diane Regas Whether you hang out in your local park with your kids or dogs enjoy reading on a park bench, or hiking in a national park this spring, you probably didn’t realize the… Continue reading How Parks Mitigate Climate Change – Diane Regas, Trust for Public Land

Earth Day & Data Science – Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network

“It’s really about voting…Commit to the greenest candidate you can. Period. For any office. Board of supervisors. School boards. Mayors. City Councils. It’s all about politics. We’ve got the technology. We’ve got the capacity We have brilliant people, but…It’s about voting.”Kathleen Rogers on Green Connections Radio. For Earth Day’s 50th, listen to Earth Day Network president, Kathleen Rogers talk with Green Connections Radio host Joan Michelson about the top issues and novel ways they are engaging people today on environmental issues.

Leading Global Change – Kathy Calvin, Pres./CEO UN Foundation

The Global Leadership Awards Dinner at Gotham Hall in New York, Wednesday, October 18, 2017. (Stuart Ramson/AP Images for United Nations Foundation)

“We live at a time of unparalleled opportunity and progress… It’s the best time in the world’s history to be born female. That said, the challenges ahead are so much more tricky and complicated and complex….” Kathy Calvin, CEO on Green Connections Radio Women are the Front Line of Solutions to Global Challenges, Especially Climate… Continue reading Leading Global Change – Kathy Calvin, Pres./CEO UN Foundation

Warning Lights Flashing – Michele Wucker, “The Gray Rhino” Author

Why do we miss potentially dangerous trends, “a series of warnings and visible evidence”? It might be climate change, water scarcity, an infrastructure that is falling apart beneath our feet, terrorist threats, or an approaching business competitor or trend we had ignored, for example. How do we train ourselves to seepotential dangers we’re missing early enough to address them? Listen to author and global business strategy leader Michele Wucker with Green Connections Radio.

Congress & Clean Energy – Lynn Abramson, Clean Energy Business Network

Due to COVID-19’s economic crisis, the energy sector has experienced the worst downturn since WWII, according to the head of the International Energy Agency.  And, we need to mitigate the impact of climate change. Yet, at a time when our lives literally depend upon energy for hospitals, essential services like grocery stores and pharmacies, and on emergency… Continue reading Congress & Clean Energy – Lynn Abramson, Clean Energy Business Network