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Welcome to the 5th and final episode of our series, 53 Miles of Maine, covering a very controversial transmission line to run through Maine carrying hydropower electricity from Canada into the New England grid that was approved by state and federal regulators but stalled by a pubic referendum.
Throughout this series, we have covered several different larger themes from this story that are playing out all over the country as it relates to our clean energy transition. We encourage everyone to check those out if you haven't already.
In this 5th and final episode, we have a special conversation I moderated between someone from each side of the debate over this project. Sandra Howard and Anthony Moffa, who stand against and for the project respectively, agreed to sit down together to discuss these larger themes after hearing the first 4 episodes. It is a rarity these days that we get people on opposite sides of any polarizing and emotional issue to sit down and talk, so I'm so grateful to both Sandra and Anthony for taking the time.
Our hope is that this can serve as a reminder that discussion and discord are so valuable in finding our way through this incredibly complex but equally critical transition off of fossil fuels in the years and decades ahead.
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Today in Episode 4 of 53 Miles of Maine, we dive into the role competitive energy companies, such as NextEra, played in supporting the opposition efforts to the New England Clean Energy Connect.
In doing so we’ll breakdown the playbook pioneered by fossil fuel giant Koch Industries that is being used by big energy companies all over the country to stall or support opposition to projects that are not their own.
Whether or not that applied here in Maine and if so, how influential it was in the ultimate outcome is a subject for much debate and discussion. Supporters of the NECEC believe it played a significant role, while the frontline of the opposition cite that they only needed the funding from competitive energy companies in order to keep up with the marketing spend of Hydro Quebec and the NECEC.
All that and more today in Episode 4.
As a recap for the series so far:
Episode 1: Overview and timeline for the NECEC and how and why it got shut down in Maine Episode 2: The growing conflict between renewable energy advocates and environmental conservationists Episode 3: How and why our renewable energy transition will be decided at the Local level Episode 4: The tools big energy companies use to shut down competitive renewable projects and if that applied in Maine Episode 5: Final Recap, Coming Soon -
Episodi mancanti?
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Welcome back to 53 Miles in Maine, our 5-part series covering a controversial clean energy project that got shut down by a pubic referendum in Maine in November 2021 and is now being decided in the courts.
In this series, we are looking into what happened in Maine as a lens into 3 broader themes impacting our much needed transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy when it comes to our electricity grid.
In Episode 1, we provided a detailed timeline of what took place in Maine In Episode 2, we discussed why Environmental Activists & Clean Energy Advocates are increasingly at odds with these projects And now here, in Episode 3, we are discussing why and how these big Clean Energy Projects are shifting from a solely Regulatory review process to a hybrid of a Regulatory + Public Review and how that played out here in MaineIn Episode 4, coming next, we will tackle our 3rd and final theme, the playbook big energy companies are using to stall and block clean energy projects that are not their own
The regulator system designed to govern these types of projects was not really built for the variety and volume we are seeing now as we shift of fossil fuels, let alone the new world order we are in where everything also needs to go through the court of public opinion. In the case of the New England Clean Energy Connect in Maine, they checked all of the regulatory boxes but were unable to convince the public.
This is especially important for renewable energy and the infrastructure needed to support it because so many of these projects will live and die at the hands of local support.
There are a lot of lessons learned here and we aim to bring this out to the forefront.
Here are a few documents and studies that are referenced or in support of the conversations in this episode:
Nationwide Local Infrastructure Study -
Welcome to the 2nd episode in our 5-part series covering a controversial clean energy project in Maine. It’s a hydropower initiative that initially got approved by state and federal agencies, then voted down in a public referendum, and now being determined in Maine’s courts. While the project was is taking hydropower from Canada and moving it into the New England electricity grid via a commercial deal with Massachusetts, it relies on moving all that energy through the state of Maine.
We are not going to answer if we think the project should move forward or not. Rather, we are using the Maine story to provide a lens into 3 distinct themes that are playing out all over the country in our shift to renewable energy.
You will hear from folks who both support and oppose this project throughout the series. A reminder that Episode 1 provides a detailed timeline of what happened in Maine, so if you have not listened that yet, please do!
In this episode, we dive into 1 of those 3 key issues: THE GROWING TENSION BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS AND CLEAN ENERGY ADVOCATES
While both sides are very much for saving this planet and addressing our climate crisis with urgency, there are differing opinions over what renewable energy sources we prioritize, how we get there, and what environmental trade-offs we can accept along the way.
As always, reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions or comments.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter as well here
Thanks!
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Welcome to Part 1 of our 5-part series covering a very controversial renewable energy project that got shut down in a public referendum in Maine despite previously getting approval from state and federal regulators.
While this energy was being purchased by the state of Massachusetts and generated by a hydropower company in Canada, it would require transmitting the energy through the state of Maine and thus in order to build out that transmission it needed Maine’s approval to move forward.
Supporters of this project call it the New England Clean Energy Connect. Opposition groups call it the CMP Corridor. Just the difference in naming alone tells you a lot about their respective viewpoints.
You’re going to hear throughout this series from folks on both sides of this particular initiative. But the reason we are covering it here at Animalia is not because we are taking our own stance on whether or not this project should move forward - we purposely leave that a bit open ended and we shall see how it plays out in the courts - but rather to use it as a lens into 3 larger issues playing out across the country as we grabble with figuring out how to shift from fossil fuel power generation to renewable generation.
In Episodes 2-4, we will cover each of those in detail.
In Episode 2, we will dive into the battle brewing between Environmental Activists & Clean Energy Advocates. All forms of energy, including renewables, have environmental trade-offs. Evaluating where and when they are worth taking is increasingly becoming complex and divisive, creating tension between environmental activists and clean energy advocates, despite both camps wanting to get off fossil fuels and save this planet. In Episode 3, we will explore why the most critical decisions ahead in our transition off of fossil fuels are very much happening at the local level because of the land use and infrastructure needed for scaling renewable power generation. We can no longer just rely on regulatory approval, and need to increasingly engage the public and get their buy in sooner than later. In Episode 4, we will look at how big energy companies around the country are using social media, marketing, and propaganda to stall clean energy projects. In all cases this is to protect their own business interests, be it fossil fuels or their own renewables. In the case of this project in Maine, there were big energy companies on both sides with renewable and fossil fuels interests when you roll things up to parent company levels. How and why did 3 big energy companies seemingly not involved get involved and support the opposition to help build the public pushback?Then in Episode 5 we will do a recap with key takeaways.
Here are some reference materials to read up further on this story. Feel free to reach out with any quesitons!
Documentation of the State level regulatory hearing Documentation of the Federal level regulatory hearing Article questioning claims of those behind the project Live radio debate between the NRCM and the NECEC Some info on Northern Pass project that preceded this one -
The Northern Rangelands Trust, or NRT, is one of the largest conservation organizations in the world, setting up community conservations across nearly 10% of Kenya.
Last year, they were called out in a scathing report from the Oakland Institute called Stealth Game, which put forth many allegations of wrongful behavior within the NRT, an organization backed by several household names such as The Nature Conservancy & The World Wildlife Fund.
While the NRT adamantly denies these allegations and is working on developing it’s own internal study, this report highlights a conversation we need to have about the Western Colonial model of wildlife conservation and why it needs to change if we are ever going to reach true climate justice.
What are those solutions and why are these allegations against the NRT so concerning? I sit down with Oakland Institute founder and executive director Anuradha Mittal in today’s episode.
SUPPORING CONTENT
Again I encourage you all to evaluate this story for yourselves. These allegations have been denied by the NRT. The Report provides many detailed examples but the NRT provides details of their own to counter them. Here are the relevant materials:
The Complete Stealth Game Report
Oakland & NRT Exchange
NRT Annual Report
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If you care about this planet and are worried about where things are heading when it comes to global warming and biodiversity collapse, well, you're not alone. You've probably experienced some forms of climate anxiety or eco-anxiety because you care.
For some, this feeling of worry and concern can be so severe that it can disrupt your life. Maybe you start to worry too much about the things you are buying, about loved ones not caring, or about the doomsday scenarios that lie ahead if we keep on this track. Or maybe you are already experiencing personally the damages from climate change perhaps due to a recent wildfire or flood or tropical storm. Maybe you live in one of the areas in the world dealing with water shortages and poor water quality due to toxic runoffs and droughts.
Here at Animalia, we feel these forms of anxiety all the time. It's normal and ok. It means you care. We just don't want those negative thoughts to consume you.
So today on Animalia, we sit down with Thomas Doherty, one of the leading eco-anxiety psychologists in the field today. Thomas operates a formal clinical practice out of Portland OR, but he is also co-host of a new podcast focused on the intersection of climate change and happiness that we'd highly recommend, called, well, Climate Change & Happiness!
In this episode, we're going to help you better understand these feelings and identify some useful tips such as reframing to help you manage them.
We also want to share a great online support group platform for Climate Anxiety Support called the Good Grief Network, another great resource for you all!
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If you are not already a subscriber to our newsletter, please sign-up today! It's completely free and each week we will unpack a different topic in detail on the climate/biodiversity fronts as well as link out to a curated list of news articles for the week. Straight to your inbox. An easy way to stay informed. Subscribe here.
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Welcome to Season 3 of the Animalia Podcast!
We’re back!
We felt the best way to kickoff this new season would be talking about the Arctic.
As you’re probably aware, the Arctic is melting thanks to global warming. What you may not know is the unique role the Arctic plays in reflecting solar radiation back into space, a critical component keeping this planet as cool as possible. As the Arctic melts however, it also darkens, leading it to absorb more and more sunlight and reflect less and less.
Today we sit down with Dr. Leslie Field & Tom Light of the Arctic Ice Project for a deep dive into what’s happening in the Arctic and their highly ambitious, innovative solution to save it using small microspheres of silica.
You can learn more about this fantastic project, the team behind it, the research to date, and support their work at this link here. If you can make a small donation to advancing this project forward, it would mean a lot to that team.
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If you don’t get the Animalia Newsletter, sign-up here. In the latest version we break down impact the Russian War on Ukraine is having over the global energy transition to renewables. Insightful stories touching how we can not only save this planet, but allow all life to prosper by doing so. We also offering climate citizen science trips too for our subscribers, such as our upcoming expedition to Hawaii to help restore a coral reef.
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The final episode of 2021 and the final episode of Season 2 here on Animalia.
To close things out, I’m going to share my thoughts on 3 different topics that I think are really important for everyone to understand:
The 2 main things we need to do to save this planet Is “Greening” Your Life Important? The Intersection of Climate Justice, Biodiversity Collapse, and Social JusticeFor the only time of the year, you get no experts. No politicians. No CEOs. No scientists. Just me, your host James. I hope you can tolerate being with me for 30 minutes, lol, because I think it will be worth it!
Thank you all so much for a great Season 2. Here’s to Season 3 coming March 1st 2022!
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Today on Animalia we dive into the wonderful, critical world of Kelp! A special type of seaweed that will likely, and hopefully as you’ll learn in this episode, be a cornerstone of our future food supply.
This is because Kelp is a tremendously regenerative species full of nutrition. We also really need our kelp forests, and proper, ethical kelp farming can be a big step forward in protecting them. This is because they are home to thousands of critical marine species, sequester more carbon than terrestrial forests, help improve water quality, and produce a boatload of oxygen.
What is kelp farming exactly? And how do we convince more people to eat it?
Joining us today is Tiffany Stephens, Chief Scientist for Sea Grove Kelp, a kelp farm in Alaska to answer all of our burning kelp questions!
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Welcome to the 5-minute teaser episode about kelp forests and kelp farming! If you are interested in this episode, please go and check out the full version for the in-depth conversation with Tiffany Stephens, Chief Scientist at Sea Grove Kelp. We talk about value and role of kelp forests, the future of kelp farming, and how to introduce kelp more into our diets. All a big part of our shift to a more sustainable, regenerative food system.
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This is the short, 5-minute (ish) teaser of our episode about de-extinction. Now that the technology has arrived, larger questions loom about whether or not this is a good idea, what the consequences might be good or bad, and the potential role in our biodiversity and climate crises.
We have three incredible scientists joining us for this roundtable discussion:
Dr. Mackenzie Kwak - parasitologist at the University of Singapore Dr. Dave Strayer - ecologist and invasive species expert at the Cary Institute Dr. Lynn Rothschild - astro biologist and evolutionary biologist at Brown UniversityThis was a fascinating and enlightening discussion that you won't want to miss! If you enjoy this teaser version, make sure to check out the full episode!
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Welcome to a very special episode of Animalia. Today we are talking about the merits, ethics, and potential outcomes good and bad with de-extinction. Earlier this year, a company named Colossal announced $15M in funding to create a new hybrid wooly mammoth species with plans of reintroducing them to Siberia in hopes of reviving their grasslands.
Now that the dawn of de-extinction possibilities are upon us, we need to carefully consider how this could play out, and what the positive and negative impacts on our climate and biodiversity crises could be.
We have three incredible scientists joining us for this roundtable discussion:
Dr. Mackenzie Kwak - parasitologist at the University of Singapore Dr. Dave Strayer - ecologist and invasive species expert at the Cary Institute Dr. Lynn Rothschild - astro biologist and evolutionary biologist at Brown UniversityThis was a fascinating and enlightening discussion that you won't want to miss!
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If you have not yet done so, please join our weekly newsletter. It's totally free and every Thursday we will send you 3 stories designed to be consumed in under 10 minutes that will make you a more informed advocate for this planet and addressing our climate and biodiversity crises. Go to www.joinanimalia.com/newsletter.
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One short edit from Dave: In the podcast, he mentioned that humans have doubled the amount of reactive nitrogen on the planet, but he asked to correct this statement as such: that we've doubled the rate of input of reactive N on the planet (i.e., we now add as much reactive N as all natural sources combined). See Figs. 8.1 and 8.2 in Weathers et al. (eds). 2021. Fundamentals of Ecosystem Science. Academic Press.
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Today we are bringing you a very special and valuable discussion with two incredible young climate activists:
Raeesah Nor Mohamed from South Africa Hussein Ali Ghandour from LebanonOver the past few years, you've seen an uptick in protests, marches, and demonstrations from incredible people like Raeesah and Hussein from all over the world. At COP26 in Glasgow, over 100,000 activists made their way outside the event to demonstrate and push for more decisive action from world leaders.
But have you had the chance to actually talk to them? To understand what motivates them to give everything they have to this issue? To sacrifice so much? To listen to their message? To step into their shoes even for a moment? Well today you do. Because Raeesah and Hussein have been kind enough to join us.
I encourage you to share this episode with friends and family so they too can hear the perspectives they probably don't often get to hear, especially from uniquely challenging places in the world such as South Africa & Lebanon.
And please go and follow and support them both online if you can!
Raeesah on Instagram is @pure.rae.of.sunshinee and on Twitter she is @raeesahnm
Hussein on Twitter is @ghandour567Raeesah also wanted us to share a link to the Climate Justice Charter, so I encourage you all to check it out.
https://www.safsc.org.za/climate-justice-charter/
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From now through the end of the year, all the great merch at Animalia is 20% off. All sustainably made with details in the product descriptions, as well as every item sharing between 20 and 65% of profits with non-profit partners fighting to protect life on this planet. Go to shop.joinanimalia.com to get yours today!
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This is the 5-minute summary version of our episode sitting down with New Belgium's Katie Wallace and how the company is pioneering ways to help save this planet, including making a rather horrible version of their flagship beer, Fat Tire, to resemble what beer may taste like if we don't get our act together.
If you are interested in this short summary version, please go and check out the full episode!
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If you have not yet done so, please join our weekly newsletter. It's totally free and every Thursday we will send you 3 stories designed to be consumed in under 10 minutes that will make you a more informed advocate for this planet and addressing our climate and biodiversity crises. Go to www.joinanimalia.com/newsletter.
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Who knew beer could be one of our best levers in climate communications? This week on Animalia, we sit down with Katie Wallace, New Belgium's Director of Social & Environmental Impact, to discuss some of their pioneering approaches to advancing climate action, including making a rather horrible future version of what beer may taste like if we continue to destroy this planet. You probably know New Belgium from their flagship craft beer, Fat Tire. What you might not know is that the company was founded by a former social worker and all the way back in 1999, yes while we were all worried about Y2K, New Belgium was converting their electricity from fossil fuel sourced to wind. So taking action on environmental initiatives is nothing new for them. But seriously...the climate crisis beer....you'll have to hear the episode to find out more.
If you have not yet done so, please join our weekly newsletter. It's totally free and every Thursday we will send you 3 stories designed to be consumed in under 10 minutes that will make you a more informed advocate for this planet and addressing our climate and biodiversity crises. Go to www.joinanimalia.com/newsletter.
Here are links to a couple of the references Katie made in our chat: https://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/0307455777 https://www.amazon.com/Social-Conquest-Earth-Edward-Wilson/dp/0871403633
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This is the 5-minute(ish) summary version of our episode about the biodiversity crisis and it's links to climate justice with anthropologist Eduardo Brondizio.
Eduardo is a professor at Indiana University. He's also Co-Chair of the IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. An organization dedicated to the furthering of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for long term human well being and ecosystem health.
If you are interested in this shortened summary version, please go ahead and check out the full episode!
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Speaking of biodiversity, we are launched a special edition collection of sustainably made hoodie and sweats (100% certified green cotton from Groceries Apparel) to help raise funds and awareness for Polymita snails. A snail endemic to Cuba that is under serious threat and with it, the Cuban forests. Learn more about that project and the team in Cuba fighting to protect these snails here.
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We've long been exploring ways to help people understand the relationship between our climate and biodiversity crises.
Well, who better to do this than an Environmental Anthropologist? After all, theses crises are results of human behavior and systems, and anthropology is the study of that those behaviors and systems.
Eduardo Brondizio is an anthropologist at Indiana University. He's also Co-Chair of the IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. An organization dedicated to the furthering of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for long term human well being and ecosystem health.
This episode should help clarify just how interlinked the issues of biodiversity, climate, and social justice are. As well as why biodiversity has had a bit of a public communications challenge and how to address it.
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Speaking of biodiversity, we are launched a special edition collection of sustainably made hoodie and sweats (100% certified green cotton from Groceries Apparel) to help raise funds and awareness for Polymita snails. A snail endemic to Cuba that is under serious threat and with it, the Cuban forests. Learn more about that project and the team in Cuba fighting to protect these snails here.
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This is the abbreviated, 5-minute teaser version of our episode with Dylan Leazes, who works in Congress, on the need to decarbonize our electricity grid and some of the policy work it will take to get there. If you are interested in hearing more based on this discussion, be sure to check out the Full Episode published just before this.
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If you have not yet done so, please join our weekly newsletter. It's totally free and every Thursday we will send you 3 stories designed to be consumed in under 10 minutes that will make you a more informed advocate for this planet and addressing our climate and biodiversity crises. Go to www.joinanimalia.com/newsletter.
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One of the most important things we can do in order to address climate change is decarbonize our electricity grid. As much as 25-33% of our emissions come from electricity and that is only going to increase as the world becomes more and more electric - from transportation to data centers to currency.
While there are plenty of zero-carbon sources to cover our power needs - wind, solar, hydro, nuclear - the transition is difficult and needs more policy to push it forward.
So today on Animalia we are sitting down with Dylan Leazes to discuss. Dylan works in Congress and spends a large chunk of his time on Energy Policy. He’s just the fella to talk with about how best we can accelerate this work.
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If you have not yet done so, please join our weekly newsletter. It's totally free and every Thursday we will send you 3 stories designed to be consumed in under 10 minutes that will make you a more informed advocate for this planet and addressing our climate and biodiversity crises. Go to www.joinanimalia.com/newsletter.
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