City Climate Corner

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Latest Episodes:

Street Theater & Climate Change: Flood Sensor Aunty Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

In our final scheduled episode, we talk both about the horrible things happening in our home (Minneapolis), and the inspiring (and high-energy) community building work of Sabina Sethi Unni, who has created a street theater play about flood sensors. Yes - flood sensors. Specifically, a flood sensor working in a chai shop. Sabina is on to something here - having strong community connections can be the difference between life and death during extreme weather events. We are also seeing the importance of those kind of connections in Minnesota right now, with the trauma being inflicted by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Resources:

Flood Sensor Aunty website
Sabina Sethi Unni website
Article about Flood Sensor Aunty

Youth Climate Literacy for a Changing World Dec 22, 2025

Show notes

Future Climate Collective was founded to equip youth with knowledge and skills to be prepared for a changing world. We interview Board Director and Founder Dominique Johnson about this exciting new effort in Oregon, the curriculum they've put together, and how youth are getting involved. Make sure to listen for info about the upcoming Climathon - a young person's "hackathon for climate solutions."

Resources

Future Climate Collective website

Germany & Municipal Heat Plans Feb 12, 2025

Show notes

You've heard about a climate action plan, but what about a municipal heat plan? In January 2024, Germany passed a law requiring every municipality to develop a heat plan to decarbonize heating. We interview Paula Möhring, Senior Consultant at Hamburg Institut Consulting GmbH, about the ongoing transformation of the heating sector in Germany. She has been working with municipalities across Germany on heat plans. Larry met Paula on a November clean energy trip organized by the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment.

Resources: (Some of these will require google translate or something like it)

City Climate Corner - 60 Best Climate Change podcasts (we're #24!)
Heat map of Norderstedt - 84,000 population, near Hamburg. Copyright HIC Hamburg Institut Comsulting GmbH.
- Expansion of the grid is in light orange (Wärmenetzausbaugebiete)
- Examination areas where it is not yet clear are in pink (Prüfgebiete).
- Dark Orange are existing district heating grids.
- White is decentralized heating (e.g. heat pumps)
Heat Planning and heat transition in Denmark - comprehensive report (English): Organisational Structures in the Danish District Heating ...Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena)https://www.dena.de › Projektportrait › CoLAB
Act on Heat Planning and Decarbonization of District Heating (in German, translate in Browser) WPG - nichtamtliches Inhaltsverzeichnis
"Energy in Buildings Act“ / Act on Energy Conservation and the Use of Renewable Energies for Heating and Cooling in Buildings (in German, translate in Browser) GEG - nichtamtliches Inhaltsverzeichnis
Official Guidelines for Heat Planning in Germany (German, pdf) via this site: https://www.bmwsb.bund.de/Webs/BMWSB/DE/themen/stadt-wohnen/WPG/WPG-node.html
Example 1 of Heat Planning City of Hamburg: https://www.hamburg.de/politik-und-verwaltung/behoerden/bukea/themen/energie/kommunale-waermeplanung
Example 2 of Heat Planning City of Norderstedt: https://www.norderstedt.de/Aktuelles-und-Service/Aktuelle-Projekte/W%C3%A4rmeplanung-/
Example 3 of Heat Planning City of Freiburg https://www.freiburg.de/pb/1847688.html
Evaluation of 136 existing heat plans in Baden-Württemberg, south-west Germany (German pdf): https://www.ifeu.de/fileadmin/uploads/Publikationen/Energie/Waermegipfel/2024-10-21_Waermegipfel_Auswertung_Waermeplaene_ifeu.pdf

Crookston MN: Rural community energy transition Oct 22, 2024

Show notes

Crookston is a 7000+ person community in the northwest corner of Minnesota that has big ambitions to improve the life of its residents by leveraging the clean energy transition. We interview City Council Member Tim Lenard, Exec. Director of Crookston Housing Development Karie Kirshbaum, Exec. Director of NW MN Regional Sustainable Development Program Shannon Stassen, and John Vaughn, Fresh Energy's Managing Director of Community Development to learn about the Empower Crookston effort and how it spawned an I Love Crookston program.

Resources

Empower Crookston website
City of Crookston website
Minnesota information on local climate action grants
Fresh Energy website

Equity in Energy Sep 13, 2024

Show notes

The negative impacts of the fossil-fuel based energy system and policies have disproportionately harmed and burdened low-income and BIPOC communities. As we transition to a clean energy economy, how do we make sure that what we put in place is equitable and just? We interview Michelle Vigen Ralston, Principal and Founder at Common Spark Consulting, about the work her team does with cities, counties, advocates, and other organizations to facilitate the creation of equitable energy policy.

Resources

Youngstown OH: Electric bike share Jun 04, 2024

Show notes

YoGo BikeShare is launching a new 100% e-bike micro-mobility platform in Youngstown, a city of about 60,000 in population. We interview YoGo President Ronnel Elkins and VP of Operations Corey Patrick, and learn about their vision, the obstacles they've faced, and how the service will address the first and last mile problem of public transportation.

Resources:

YoGo website
Bikeshare in Youngstown gets rolling - article in The Vindicator
‘These are your bikes:’ City celebrates start of YoGo Bikeshare in Youngstown article in Mahoning Matters

Maine: Heat Pumps Everywhere! May 07, 2024

Show notes

There's a heat pump revolution happening in Maine. Already over 100,000 of the 600,000 homes in Maine have heat pumps, and their plan is to be over 300,000 by 2027. One out of every 14 heat pumps in the U.S. is going to Maine, though it is only 0.42% of the US's population. We talk to Andy Meyer, Senior Program Manager at Efficiency Maine, to learn how they've done it, and how it's saving Maine residents a lot of money, even in a cold-weather climate.

Resource

Efficiency Maine website

Lincoln NE: Comprehensive Climate Action in the Heartland Apr 04, 2024

Show notes

Lincoln Nebraska may not be the first city that comes to mind when you think of climate action, but maybe it should be. We interview Kim Morrow, Chief Sustainability Officer for Lincoln, about some exciting city programs, including EV infrastructure, an innovative approach to Rental Rehabilitation using Tax Increment Financing (TIF), heat pump rebates, and biochar as well as their efforts on the EPA's Climate Pollution Reduction Grants.

Resources

Resilient Lincoln web page (Resilient Lincoln is the name of the Mayor's priority initiative that involves implementing the Climate Action Plan)
Lincoln's Vision for a Climate-Smart Future (this is the background study behind the Climate Action Plan)
Climate Action Plan
EV Readiness Plan
Press release regarding the Rental Rehabilitation Program
Heat pump incentive program
Lincoln Biochar Initiative
Local Food Plan

Geothermal power & groundwater Mar 05, 2024

Show notes

There's a lot of exciting things happening in the world of geothermal power. We explore geothermal in general and examine a novel approach leveraging groundwater to substantially reduce the footprint needed. We interview Darcy Solutions CTO Dan King about how their technology is being used by some cities to provide carbon free heating and cooling.

Resources: