Doctor Renewable
Doctor Renewable is a radio show promoting energy literacy where we discuss how to transition the earth to renewable energy using mainly recent sunlight. We navigate renewable energy and climate change, while addressing misconceptions. Of importance, we apply critical thinking so that people can make more informed decisions. For example, promoting using more fossil fuels in the era of climate change may not be what you support and want for your children and grandchildren. The show’s hosts use humor and repetition to help retain the information. The show is structured around THE RED CUP, an energy policy that makes sense to enable the energy transition to significantly reduce the risk of nature imposing a feedback loop that would affect biodiversity across the globe.
Past Broadcasts
| Date | Links |
|---|---|
| December 1, 2023 – 035–Robert and Eric cover two news stores. The first story is exciting as Europe is passing the 40% renewable energy ratio and is discussing reaching 45% by 2030. This tells us that, with time, we will reach a tipping point and the benchmark will not be net zero but the percentage of renewables. It is critical to solve climate change to talk of the percentage of renewables as the benchmark and using THE RED CUP to increase it. This does not negate the use of fossil fuels during the transition. The second article is about a windmill technology that is designed to go besides highways to charge cars. Eric reviews these articles considering THE RED CUP and his background in renewable energy. | |
| November 24, 2023 – 034–Robert brings newspaper article regarding a study by the city of Winnipeg to use photovoltaic on its civic buildings. The city hired Lorain which we interviewed in Episode 9. The article discusses how the city could use PV to address part of their loads. For the city, adding PV means that it can generate more of its own power, especially in summer. Any electricity it does not need to buy from the utility can be used on the export market to displace coal and natural gas, as climate change does not have political boundaries. Later, Eric interviews two young people and asks them questions about climate change. These street talk interviews are to take the pulse of the nation, especially the younger generation who will be left holding the bag to fix what our generation using many different strategies avoided doing. | |
| November 17, 2023 – 033–Eric continues to review the book by Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin entitled “Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal,” and discusses with Robert what are the important aspects and failings of this book. The authors call for improved energy efficiency and to add renewables, which is in line with THE RED CUP, where RED stands for more renewables, increased efficiency, and less energy demand. Where there is a departure is the book’s focus is on net zero which decreases energy efficiency and then adding traditional causes that Noam has championed throughout his life like social justice and equality. Trying to solve multiple problems at once removes from the actual task of avoiding biodiversity loss by implementing THE RED CUP. We require to switch to a world that uses renewable energy with careful attention to energy efficiency once renewable energy is converted into a commodity like electricity and hot water and reduce energy demand through social change behavior like living in a smaller house. | |
| November 10, 2023 – 032—Robert and Eric interview Terry Zdan who worked as an information specialist for Manitoba Infrastructure Transportation on policies, programs and projects designed to address climate change. He labeled himself as a “Policyologist", a specialist in policy formulation, implementation, and analysis. On-road transportation accounts for a third of the man-made greenhouse gasses emitted in the province. Collectively Manitoban's spend over $5 Billion per year on purchasing and burning transportation fuels. Terry's passion for addressing climate change revealed to him that despite the opportunities of alternative sustainable transportation technologies, there are a lot of technical, economic, institutional, legal, educational, political, and challenges to adopt new technologies and reducing emissions in the transportation sector. Terry learned that partnerships beyond the transportation sector are required to reduce transportation GHGs. | |
| November 3, 2023 – 031–Robert and Eric interview Robert Yonza who has an electric utility background where he participated in utility sponsored meetings on electric vehicles like EPRI and CEATI. Mr. Yonza has worked hard to advance the adoption of electric vehicles. He invested early in Tesla and has been driving his own Tesla car for many years. He discusses EV adoption rates and his experience driving his Tesla car. He loves over the air updates, having himself made product suggestions and seen it implemented a few days later in his Tesla car. Mr. Yonza addresses misconception on electric vehicles and the negative publicity that electric vehicle gets through poor knowledge of the public. | |
| October 27, 2023 – 030–Robert and Eric interview Rob Paola, a retired meteorologist who worked studying weather patterns. Rob is passionate about extreme weather and climate issues including the increasing threat of climate change. For example, ice caps have a large impact on earth’s temperature and are vital to the stability of the earth's climate. South and north pole ice caps regulate earth’s temperature keeping it relatively cool and stable. As we lose the ice caps due to global warming from burning of fossil fuels, this will have a significant impact on future global warming. Once you lose the cooling effect of ice caps, global warming will accelerate, leading to a series of global impacts that will fundamentally transform society and ecosystems worldwide. Without ice caps, weather and life will become much different on earth. | |
| October 20, 2023 – 029–Robert and Eric interview the leader of the green party in Manitoba, Janine Gibson. Robert asks why people are not proactive on climate change. Janine discusses why people are not adopting an environmentally responsible life as they often decide not to contribute to the energy transition and a sustainable future. It is important not to just focus on taking from mother earth—and seeing just what is in front of us. Our political structures are not favorable to help us address the climate change crisis. A critical aspect of policy is to stop funding the fossil fuel industry, through subsidies, including stop expanding university research to use more fossil fuels and thus promote band aid solutions to our environmental crisis. Janine discusses how she has been running her own home using only recent sunlight using photovoltaic. | |
| October 13, 2023 – 028–Robert and Eric interview a retired public utility person, Ray Boris, who worked for many years supporting farmers reduce their energy demand. Ray discusses the need to find ways to productively use surplus renewable electricity when available in Manitoba. Ray still works with farmers not to increase their consumption of on-farm fossil fuels. Listening to Ray talk of what he perceives of what is going on, we do not get a feeling that the public utility is proactive to reduce fossil fuel use in Manitoba, increase the percentage of the renewable energy ratio in Manitoba, and improve how the province can better address climate change. | |
| October 6, 2023 – 027–Eric reviews the book by Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin entitled “Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal.” Eric only has time to discuss the book’s preamble which summarizes the Green New Deal in the words of the authors. After investigation, the Green New Deal summary in the preamble is different than the official document. Eric points out the critical failure of how the authors summarize the Green New Deal. The authors first present net zero as the goal, not realizing that it decreases energy efficiency which contradicts their second point demanding for a radical energy efficiency improvement. You cannot achieve both together. | |
| September 29, 2023 – 026 –Robert and Eric interview Andrea Kraj who runs a consulting company in renewable energy. Her company, Core Energy, works on integration of renewable energy systems in communities which mirrors her PhD dissertation. Andrea relates her experience working in renewable energy and the challenges that lay ahead. Andrea also has her own podcast on women working in technical fields and the obstacles they face. | |
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