The City of Burlington, Vermont’s goal is to reduce, and eventually eliminate, fossil fuel usage. In this podcast series, Burlington’s Director of Sustainability Jennifer Green and her guests will be sharing ways we can all reduce our energy usage for heating, driving, and everything else we plug in.
Episodes
The Legislative Process | Amber Widmayer & Darren Springer
BED Regulatory Specialist Amber Widmayer and General Manager Darren Springer talk about the recent legislative session. Amber and Darren talk about the progress made on the Clean Heat bill, fee structuring for EV drivers, and how they contribute to the legislative process at both the State and Federal level.
City of Burlington Electric Fleet | Lee Perry & Dave Hammond
Our next door neighbors at the Department of Public Works, Lee Perry (Division Director for Maintenance) and Dave Hammond (City Fleet Manager) join us to discuss the successes and challenges of moving our city’s fleet of vehicles to electric.
Latinx In Sustainability | Cristina Garcia
Cristina Garcia is back! This time, she talks about Latinx In Sustainability, an organization she founded out of New York, NY. She talks with us what the group is doing to help underrepresented and under-resourced Latinx communities in an effort to diversify the sustainability workforce.
Vermont Future Fest | Chase Desroches
Essex High School senior Chase Desroches has channeled his passion for sustainability into organizing the first Vermont Future Fest. The festival is taking place in Jeffersonville, Vermont on Wednesday, June 14 at 4:30pm.
Equity In The Community – Ita Meno
In commemoration of Asian American pacific Islander Heritage Month, we speak with Ita Meno, an Indigenous Islander of the CHamoru diaspora, and BED’s first ever Project & Equity Analyst. They bring over a decade of experience working for the City of Burlington (CEDO and the Department Permit & Inspections) to help us bring a fresh perspective to our department’s work and to their work with CQ Strategies. Ita is helping us reach all of our customers including those who may not be able to switch to various Net Zero Energy technologies right now.
Biomass in the Big Picture | Adam Sherman & Betsy Lesnikoski
VEIC Senior Consultant Adam Sherman and BED’s Chief Forester Betsy Lesnikoski discuss the harvesting practices we support
Private vs. public forests; misconceptions surrounding biomass harvesting; how they support the future of Vermont’s forests; and carbon emissions at McNeil Generating Station.
Historic Building Preservation – Mary O’Neil
Principal Planner at the City of Burlington’s Department of Permitting and Inspections. Mary is also a historic preservationist and partnered with BED to develop a guide for owners of historic buildings working to make their buildings Net Zero Energy.
CVOEO | Virginie Diambou
Virginie Diambou, CVOEO’s Racial Equity Director, speaks about the organization’s stated mission to “address fundamental issues of economic, social, racial, and environmental justice” and, specifically, the successes they’ve had in their weatherization program.
The Soda Plant | Steve Conant
Steven Conant, owner of The Soda Plant complex on Pine Street talks about the history of the Soda Plant, today’s diverse assortment of businesses and organizations, and his efforts to reduce fossil fuel usage throughout. Renovations began in 2018 to insulate, weatherize, add heat pump. What’s next?
Home Updates and Champlain Housing Trust | Chip Patullo
South End resident Chip Patullo debunks common concerns about heat pumps, shares great advice on how to start weatherizing your house, and he talks about his work with the Champlain Housing Trust.