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This episode deals with some heavy material involving injustice, prejudice, and mistreatment. These topics and inextricably linked to climate change for a variety of reasons, which will be explained in the episode. We cannot solve climate change, if we are not united in this goal, and social issues like racism, sexism, and Indigenous oppression drive people apart and prevent effective action on climate. We must deal with this now, and do it quickly, which is why this episode is so important. At this show, we recognize that we will never understand the hardship of groups in which we do not have experience, but through this show, we try to learn and develop an understanding. If you have any objections or topics of discussion following this episode, please reach out via links below:

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Greenwashing involves techniques and rhetoric that companies use to convince the public that they are doing more good for the planet and its people than they actually are. It is a deception designed to extract more money from their customers by placating their worries with false promises. It misleads consumer decisions and slows climate action by promoting a false sense of security and encouraging complacency. Though there really is no way to prevent greenwashing, there are ways to uncover it and use that information to make better-informed decisions on what you buy and from whom. This episode will explain greenwashing using examples and make some suggestion son how to avoid being pulled in by it. Check the links below for more info:

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The textile industry is not only a prominent sector of society, but an essential one. Textiles are used for pretty much everything, not the least of which is your clothes. Unfortunately, this sector also has a pretty substantial carbon impact and an even bigger impact when considering other environmental factors. The combination of these two facts means that the textile industry absolutely has to decarbonize and modernize ASAP. We cannot simply eliminate textile use like we can with fossil fuel uses like cars. Instead, we need to focus on minimizing environmental impact by using new technologies and methods that make textile production more sustainable. So in this episode, we will explore the parts of the textile industry have the biggest impact on our planet, and how we can best prevent those consequences by making better decisions. Enjoy the links below if you want more info:

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We’ve finally gone through everything there is to cover for both the history and technology that Iceland is built on. In this final episode, we have to explore the Iceland of today. Because Iceland took care of some of the most significant climate issues decades ago, it’s fascinating to see the next objectives, once the main ones are taken care of. Watching Iceland set ambitious climate and environmental goals, only to continue adjusting for more ambitious ones and encourage other nations to do the same is simply inspiring. This is why the world has to look to Iceland for guidance in the coming decades. They’ve succeeded once, and in the intervening decades, they have only expanded their environmental conscious to further support the health of our planet. I hope you enjoy this final episode of this series, and you come away feeling inspired and empowered by the country of Iceland. Links are below for more info:

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Climate sector buzzword and an absolute necessity for a sustainable future, electrification has become a popular topic in recent years. Electrification is the process of transitioning from the use of fossil fuels at the point of use, to electricity, with the most obvious example being buying an electric car. The goal of this episode is to delve into why electrification is an important step for climate action and to show you how we can do it. To summarize, electric mechanisms are generally more efficient than fossil fuel-based systems, and electrification is essential to reducing emissions in concert with the decarbonization of the energy grid. For more information, listen to the episode and check out the links below!

The downfall of ICE – https://insideevs.com/features/392202/ice-vs-ev-inefficient-combustion-engine/

The EV advantage – https://cleantechnica.com/2018/03/10/electric-car-myth-buster-efficiency/

https://www.rff.org/publications/explainers/electrification-101/

https://cleanenergycanada.org/electrification-matters-now/

Innovating a Bright Future is the podcast that brings together technology and climate action in an engaging interview format that showcases some of the most interesting initiatives taking place across the globe. If you are someone who cares about climate change but you’re tired of hearing about how the world is going to explode in a few short years if we don’t do something soon (What does that even mean?), then this podcast is for you. We stay away from divisive politics and meaningless numbers with no context, and instead, I interview climate action leaders implementing revolutionary ideas that are helping to reduce our impact on the world around us. Listen to this podcast to learn, be inspired, and find new ideas to look into even more. If you are interested in getting involved, please use any of the contacts or social media listed below, and look into the links below for actionable things you can do right now.

Who am I?

My name is Avry Krywolt, I am a student from Alberta Canada, I am passionate about taking action against climate change, and I am the host of Innovating a Bright Future. I’ve noticed through my own experience that the number of people concerned about climate change is growing quickly. At the same time, the information being presented to the public is, in most cases, a sad sigh of defeat, irrational denialism, or frantic screaming that does no one any good. The fact is that climate change is happening, but it is not hopeless, and you are not powerless. TED speaker and climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe said that “The most important thing you can do for climate change is talk about it.” so let’s talk about it. Let’s learn about solar energy and battery storage, let’s dig into green hydrogen, and wind, and the power of water, and the importance of sustainable energy. Let’s learn and let’s discuss. We aren’t doomed, but we have to work hard in order to keep climate change from wreaking real havoc on our world. So let’s get to work.

Find more information about me and the show at our website – innovatingabrightfuture.com

Get involved:

Become a member of the Alberta Youth Leaders for Environmental Education

Take a step in the right direction with Count Us In

Learn more about climate change + climate action with TED Countdown

Socials

Instagram – https://instagram.com/innovatingabrightfuture?igshid=tq6tfg2l0s7

Twitter – Twitter.com/ainnovating

Support the Show

Patreon – patreon.com/innovatingabrightfuture

Join the Team!

Email innovatingabrightfuture@gmail.com 

Music:

Tech Talk by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4464-tech-talk 

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

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This is a short and sweet episode to accompany the technology episodes this week. This is a bit of a less intense one and has a slightly different format. This is a topic that is important to the show to get across, and as such has less data and journalism to wade through. Instead, this episode is more of a reinforcement of the importance of action. It illustrates the dangers that come with perfection in the climate space, and how best to solve perfectionism using a constant drive for change instead of an unending search for perfection. Hopefully, you get something helpful out of this episode, and you’ve been enjoying this season so far!

Hydropower Is The Lifeblood Of Iceland

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Iceland, Like Canada, has two colossal energy draws in homes and businesses, heat and electricity. Iceland has made the best possible use of its abundant geothermal energy by replacing fossil fuels for heat. Geothermal power, however, doesn’t supply the lion’s share of electricity in Iceland, Hydropower does. Hydropower started early in Iceland and has provided the majority of energy in Iceland since the early energy transition. In this episode, we’re going to go through the process that Iceland took to get to the energy sector success they have today. We’re also going to go through the general technologies that are most relevant to this sector, similar to what we did for the geothermal episode. There was a lot of research for this one, which is all linked below if you want to check them out!

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We are officially entering the technology portion of this show. For the next two episodes, you will learn about the cornerstone technologies that Icealnd’s energy infrastructure is built upon. This episode will give you an in-depth look at the progression of geothermal technology and how it was used in Iceland and across the world throughout its development. As the source of all building heat in Iceland, as well as a large part of their electricity production, geothermal energy has been integral to their success and could be an essential piece of the renewable energy grid in the coming decades. There isn’t much more to say here, it’s all in the show, and if you want some extra reading, take a look at all those links!

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To start off this season’s bonus lineup, we are looking at a topic that will pretty much infiltrate every episode that we do this season. The importance of collective action cannot be overstated, it is the everyday citizen’s most effective method of enacting change on a scale that most individuals would be incapable of. As we explain more in-depth in the episode, collective action is the process of organizing for a cause, bringing people together around a common goal, and using the power of collective representation to force decision-makers to take action. It’s pretty powerful stuff and has led to many a cultural revolution in the past, including the Suffragette movement and the movement for Civil Rights, as well as showing up in more modern movements like BLM and climate action. This stuff is absolutely essential to learn about if you want to take a meaningful role in preventing climate change, so let’s learn! Some helpful links and sources below:

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In this episode we are continuing on with the story of Iceland, starting where we left off last episode, at World War 2. This episode goes into a little more detail on the development of actual energy systems in the country of Iceland throughout the last couple of decades. This is an interesting one because it illustrates the decisions that were made that led the country to the sustainable society that they have today, and why those decisions were made. The hope is that through this story, and through the ideas we explore in the later episodes, those factors and decisions can be extrapolated to the rest of the world in the hopes that similar steps can be taken toward climate action. That is, after all, the point of this season. This episode will finish up the history of Iceland and give you all the context you need to enjoy the episodes following this. Sources are below: