The Climate Realist

Small villages in Europe are a model for sustainable, low carbon living. Crowded urban city living is not always the answer. In this episode, we discuss the low carbon lifestyle of an island village in Croatia along with the Canadian equivalent, the Gulf islands of British Columbia.  #sustainableliving https://lnkd.in/geq9AQmW

Are outdated rules about motorcycle and drivers licenses getting in the way of low carbon transportation? https://lnkd.in/gEqpGPf6

What is the climate cost of demolishing older homes, and sending perfectly good materials to the landfill? We keep hearing we are in a housing crisis in Canada, yet we make building homes more difficult all the time. In this episode, we take some lessons from our parents and grandparents on how to build homes in a sustainable way. https://lnkd.in/gHuEgC-E

On demand transit. Why can’t buses be more like Uber? Transit should be about getting from where you are, to where you want to be. Our transit systems do not need to be huge buses that are either full, or nearly empty. Let’s take a lesson from Uber, and rethink the whole concept of public transit. https://lnkd.in/gUkRdYVb

What is in the future for single family homes?  Condos and Townhouses can be a greener alternative in some cases, but not all. #housing #climatechange — https://lnkd.in/gk2BAuXj

Can Carbon Capture and Storage by the oil companies really be green? In this episode, we talk about about a carbon capture and storage initiative by the oil sands companies, called “The Pathways Alliance”. A group of companies have banded together to develop carbon capture and storage systems, as part of their march towards net-zero emissions from their operations. The key word here is ”operations”. They are not attempting to make their fossil fuel products net-zero when they are burned by customers. Burning would seem to be the entire point of fuel. Some might call this whole project greenwashing, but I take a more balanced point of view. They are certainly putting a lot of money and effort into developing carbon capture and storage systems, and the knowledge and skills acquired will be in big demand in the future, especially if we need to go past net-zero, and be carbon negative Of course, this is all counter-intuitive, because the least carbon intensive use of any oil or coal is to leave it exactly where it is. #climatechange #CarbonCapture -- https://lnkd.in/ggCrXn4X

Our car centric world makes it hard to walk anywhere. In this episode, we discuss how difficult it is to be a pedestrian in many towns and cities, and what we can do about it. Our towns and cities are built around using vehicles. It doesn’t have to remain this way. We discuss many ways to improve pedestrian access without costing a fortune. #transportation #climatechange https://lnkd.in/gMWxisf7

In this episode of The Climate Realist, we discuss the subject of declining fertility rates, and the potential impacts that will have on climate change and society. #climatechange #population https://lnkd.in/e2GubKNm

What happened to all the frogs and butterflies? Have you noticed that over the last few decades, there are far fewer of these creatures around, and much less variety? In this episode, we’ll go over what I’ve noticed, and discuss why this is happening. #climatechange #biodiversity -- https://lnkd.in/gqdBrAQm

Cold enough for you this January? In this episode of The Climate Realist podcast, we delve into whether the Heat Pump systems everyone is talking about actually work in the Canadian Winter, and how backup heating fits in. #heatpump #climatechange See comment for link to the episode.