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Happy Planet Wednesday!

Join us as we explore the intersection of historic preservation and climate action with Joie Grandbois, Director of Sustainability at Historic New England. Discover how preserving historic buildings can contribute to sustainability, resilience, and climate education, and learn practical strategies for making historic sites more eco-friendly.


 keywords

historic preservation, sustainability, climate action, historic New England, resilience, energy efficiency, climate education, embodied carbon, preservation easements, community engagement


 key  topics

Intersection of historic preservation and climate action
Energy efficiency upgrades in historic buildings
Resilience planning for historic sites
Community engagement in climate initiatives
Innovative sustainability strategies for preservation


 
"Simple steps can dramatically reduce energy loss"
"Upgrading gutters can prevent flooding and damage"
"Local action drives global change"


Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Context
02:44 Historic New England's Mission and Role
04:10 Preservation and Climate Action
09:51 The Value of Historic Buildings
16:22 Historic House Easements and Their Significance
20:16 Shifting Perspectives on Sustainability in Preservation
23:22 Sustainability Initiatives Across New England
26:05 Climate Action Goals and Strategies
27:37 Site-Specific Climate Action Planning
32:18 Communicating Climate Action to Visitors
42:05 Personal Journey into Sustainability and Preservation
49:37 Optimism for the Future of Climate Action

 resources

Historic New England - https://www.historicnewengland.org/
Yale Climate Communication - https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/
Portland History Docents Program - https://portlandhistory.org/

 guest links

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joie-grandbois/

Support the show

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 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

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In my part of the world, North Atlantic right whales are a critically endangered species with an estimated population of fewer than 360 remaining individuals. 

Most of these deaths in New England and along the East coast are human-induced, overwhelmingly driven by vessel strikes and entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Over 85% of right whales are estimated to be entangled in fishing gear at least once in their lives, and whales are frequently struck by boats of all sizes.

Managing this situation has been challenging for all. But could AI powered data solve the problem? Our guest today, Emily Charry Tissier thinks so. 

Emily is a data specialist who hails from Montreal, Canada. In this episode, she describes how her company, Whale Seeker, harnesses the power of AI to analyze captured marine mammal data, improving marine navigation, and protecting these vital and beloved animals.

Emily Charry Tissier

Whale Seeker

Support the show

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 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

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Welcome back to the podcast where we celebrate innovation for our happy planet. 

Today we are meeting with Jeff Parmelee, Teaching Professor at the School of Biological Sciences at University of New England's College of Arts and Sciences. 

Jeff is an evolutionary biologist and ecologist interested in amphibians and reptiles. He teaches anatomy, physiology, and herpetology (the branch of zoology concerning reptiles and amphibians), as well as my favorite, the natural history of the Galapagos. Jeff also serves on the board of Maine Big Night, which he's here to speak about today.

https://www.une.edu/people/jeffrey-parmelee

https://mainebignight.org/

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

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Welcome to the podcast where we celebrate innovation for a happy planet. I am your host, Abigail Carroll.

What is going on with American farmed seaweed? That is the question we are asking this week.

We’ve heard a lot about it. For some time, everyone in the blue economy was touting its health benefits and umami flavour. Specialty seaweed food startups were getting on grocery store shelves nation-wide - and that is no small feat. It certainly is a good crop to farm as well. It's a winter crop that matures in a matter of month with no fresh water and light maintenance. (At least compared to oysters!) .

But then these seaweed food companies started to shutter. If you remember Courtney Boyd Rey was on the podcast -- she told us the sad story about AKUA’s struggles. And last fall we heard from a turnaround specialist trying revive Maine’s celebrated Atlantic Sea Farms. Most recently they succumbed, as did another known seaweed food startup.

So what happened and is there still a market for the seaweed we’re now cultivating along our coast? 

Sam Garwin from GREENWAVE is here to say she’s still an optimist. She has a hunch about what went wrong and is bullish about where the market can get it right. 

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

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 In the interest of Global Exchange, I have focused on having podcast guests from all over the planet. But today's guest comes from just a few miles away. Will Kochtitzky is an assistant professor at the University of New England in my hometown in Maine. Will's specialty is observing and quantifying the impacts of climate change on planet Earth. Having worked in equatorial and polar regions, as well as on some of the tallest mountains and along our changing coastlines, will, has a very broad perspective on the subject.

Today he focuses on engaging and training University of New England's undergraduates to understand the consequences of climate change. He is also preparing them for work in this sector by providing them with hands-on opportunities to enhance climate resilience in their local college community. 

A note to listeners who are further a note to listeners who are further flung the New England: in this podcast, we speak about a series of memorable winter storms that walloped Maine's coastline a couple of years ago, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and serving as a stark reminder of the precariousness of life as we know it along our treasured coastlines.

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

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Happy Planet Wednesday!

Did you know that the muscle, the snail and the octopus share a common feature? The esophagus runs through the brain. 

Today we are traveling to the Netherlands, where we meet Mieke Roth and Paul Schilperoord of Anitomical, B.V., a company addressing an educational market with new tools to facilitate the study of animal anatomy, thanks to their intricate 3D digital renderings. Mika and Paul are starting with marine life, including mussels, sea squirts, and more, but they hope to grow their library to encompass much of the animal kingdom.

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

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It’s Happy Planet Wednesday!

Today I'm joined by Mead Krówka from REEF (Reef Environmental Education Foundation), a marine conservation nonprofit based in Key Largo that connects people directly to ocean protection through hands-on citizen science. You might want to become one and join one of their Field Survey trips around the world. Sounds like a good vacation to me.

From tracking fish populations worldwide to leading efforts against invasive lionfish, Reef is turning everyday ocean lovers into powerful stewards of our reefs. The phenomenal amount of marine data collected is available on their searchable online database. 

With the help of people like you and me, Reef is shaping the future of marine conservation.

https://www.reef.org/

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

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Happy Planet Wednesday! 

If you've ever drawn inspiration from nature, this is the podcast for you. 

Our guest this week is Sidney Rostan, a Paris-based entrepreneur and biomimicry expert. If you remember from one of our first podcasts, biomimicry is the design and production of solutions that are modeled on biological entities and processes. 

Sidney's engineering firm, BIOXEGY, proposes industrial engineering solutions that are uniquely designed to mimic nature. He says solutions modeled after nature have many advantages, including better sustainability, and the benefit of thousands of years of nature's fine-tuning. 

To listen, tune into Happy Planet on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

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Welcome to the 70th episode of Happy Planet podcast. This is the podcast where we celebrate innovation for a happy planet.

This week we are traveling to Alberta, Canada to speak with Rob Avis, co-founder of 5th World, a Canadian startup focused on regenerative living. 

5th World  designs and builds  self-sufficient homesteads, greenhouses and combined food, water, and energy systems we can live and work more synergistically with nature. Rob has powerful backers and big ambitions. Their end goal? Planetary regeneration within a generation. 

https://5thworld.com/

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

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Happy Planet Wednesday!

You might want to listen to this podcast before you pour yourself that cherished morning cup of coffee....

Our guest today is Etelle Higonnet, a French-born, Yale Law School graduate, living in Denmark, who set out to make coffee more environmentally friendly through her organization COFFEE WATCH. 

What she discovered was that environmental degradation was just the tip of the iceberg. The coffee industry is fraught with human injustices as well including human trafficking, child labor, and slavery. 

Despite these horrors, Etelle is confident that she can make a difference by getting all of us to vote with our pocketbooks and put pressure on our local governments. 

Can we have our coffee and our happy planet too? Tune in to hear it from Etelle.

Coffee Watch
Etelle Higonnet

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

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Happy Planet Wednesday!

If you have ever wanted to lift the veil on New England's mysterious working waterfront, this is the podcast for you. Our guest today is Bill Gerencer, a veteran of 40+ years on the New England Working Waterfront.

 Bill served as lobsterman commercial fisherman, fish buyer, salesperson, corporate trainer, fisheries management advisor, and in retirement, a part-time oyster farmer. I have known Bill for years as he used to buy oysters from me on behalf of Boston-based Foley Fish, when it was still a century-old, family-run business.

Bill has recently written a candid memoir titled, Working Waterfront, a Fish Tale. With humour and insight, it dives into everything from near-death experiences on fishing boats to Seaport bar brawls to regulating the fisheries. The tone is Hemmingway-esque, straightforward but soulful. Each chapter ends with a fittingly rough-and-ready seafood recipe.

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

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There's nothing we like more than a comeback kid.

While 98% of total farm seaweed in the world comes from Asia, over the past decade, entrepreneurs in the US, Europe and Africa have been trying to change that by producing locally-grown, high-quality seaweed for their domestic markets.

I've met a number of these entrepreneurs and it's not easy. Once you master aquaculture, you have to find a market, and that is proving to be a challenge. Some of these companies have gone bottom up.

A few months ago, we thought Maine-based, Atlantic Sea Farms, commonly referred to as ASF, was going to live a similar fate. Right out of the gate, it seemed like nothing could hold it back. ASF raised millions of dollars and made an incredible splash in the national media, but they just couldn't become profitable.

ASF shareholders, however, refused to shutter the company. They opted to restructure and brought in turnaround specialist Barrett Wood. 

Barrett joins us today to tell us how he is breathing new life into the company and paving a way to profitability. 

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

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Every day we see more devastating news coming out of on the wars in Gaza and the Ukraine. We see photos of cities and towns turned into piles of rubble and people who have lost their loved ones, their homes and their livelihoods.

But there are other insidious ramifications of these wars that we seldom discuss. And those are the effects on the environment. To discuss this, ellie Kinney joins us this week from the UK based organization, conflict and Environment Observatory. This organization was launched in 2018 with the primary goal of increasing awareness and understanding of the environmental and derived humanitarian consequences of conflicts and military activities.

https://ceobs.org/

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

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Our guest today is Alison Cove, founder of USEFULL, a circular reuse solution that partners with college campuses to make student takeout meals a zero-waste and microplastic-free experience. 

With a business focused on domestic health and circularity, Alison never thought she’d be so affected by global affairs. She has navigated her burgeoning business through disruptions caused by a global pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the constantly changing tariff schedules. Alison has shown resilience at every impact.... 

Alison Cove

Usefull

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

 Promotional and program partners include ...

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 Today's guest is Paul Holthus. Paul is a blue economy visionary. He is the founding president and CEO Emirati of the World Ocean Council, affectionately called the WOC. Founded in 2008, long before anyone was talking about the blue economy, WOC's aim is to unite ocean industries in order to support cooperative corporate ocean responsibility. 

Paul discusses his path to founding the WOC, the organization's role and priorities, where are the big ocean opportunities, and the new challenges presented by a challenging political landscape. 

https://worldoceancouncil.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-holthus-81b10b8/

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

 I'd like to thank our sponsors:

 Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

 Promotional and program partners include ...