Hello beloved subscribers!
It’s been a while since I’ve spoken with you directly. I’ve been cranking out podcasts like crazy — more than any human being could be reasonably asked to consume, some might say — and falling a little behind on community threads and such. By way of asking forgiveness, here’s a picture of Abner.
I’ve got a lot to tell you about the upcoming month, but let me start by introducing Nate, who I recently hired to, among other things, think about how to improve this operation. You’ll likely see his name pop up in comments occasionally, he’ll answer your customer-service type questions, and he’ll be thinking about cool new ways to convey Volts content (thank him for the monthly best-of episodes). You can reach him at nate@volts.wtf.
First up, an upcoming event: I’ll be talking with climate policy analyst and author Leah Stokes about her new book, “The Carbon Wave: A Story of Democracy, Parenthood, and the Race to Protect Our Planet,” on stage at Seattle’s Town Hall on Monday Sep. 14, at 7:30pm. (Doors at 6:30 — you can buy tickets here.)
The book is about the fight for the Inflation Reduction Act, which took so long that several of the book’s protagonists had kids before it passed, including Stokes herself. (Twins!) You should come to this, it’s going to be fun.
🎉 The first ten paid subscribers who write to Nate expressing interest can get a free ticket to the event!
On Sept. 20, I’m heading out to New York City for Climate Week. I always look forward to this. As a hermit in Seattle, it’s nice to meet up with friends in the real world and I love walking and cycling around the streets of Manhattan. There’s no place like it.
Over the course of the week I’ll be involved in four (at least so far) events. If you’re in NYC, drop by and say hi!
At 9am on Tuesday the 22nd, I’ll be on a panel on the subject of “Data Centers: Community-Led Advocacy to Real Solutions,” at an event convened by the Southern Environmental Law Center. SELC Executive Director DJ Gerken will moderate and the other three participants will be the legendary Bill McKibben, Abre’ Conner of NAACP, and LaTricea Adams of Young, Gifted and Green. You can register for the event here or sign up to watch it virtually here.
At 3:50pm on the 22nd, I will be interviewing Matt Traldi of the organization Greenlight America, a nonprofit that “supports local groups and volunteers who want to get utility-scale clean energy projects built in their communities.” We’ll be at an event called “Rural America & The Clean Energy Transition,” put on by Canary Media, which goes from 12pm to 7pm and is jam-packed with great stuff. You can reserve a spot here. (My previous conversation with Traldi on Volts.)
From 9am to 1pm on Wednesday the 23rd, Climate Mayors will be holding its annual leadership forum. At some point in that, I will be leading a discussion with Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and Sunrun CEO Mary Powell on the current clean energy landscape and opportunities for mayors to lead. Not sure of the precise timing, or how to register — I’ll update the web version of this post (and post to Bluesky) when I find out.
At 12:45pm on Thursday the 24th, I will appear with journalist Maxine Joselow of the New York Times in a discussion about opportunities for clean energy progress across the political divide, moderated by the Institute for Policy Integrity. Their event — ”Climate, Energy, and the Political Divide” — will run from 10:30am to 4pm and it’s also full of great stuff. You can register here.
So that’s that for Climate Week. Want to hear something crazy?
From NYC, I am flying straight to Copenhagen, Denmark, where I will embark on a week-long tour of the country’s “groundbreaking integrated infrastructure projects.” It’s meant to show off “industrial symbiosis,” an approach to development “where one sector’s wastes — energy, water, and materials — become valuable resources for other businesses.” The itinerary is wild — I’m going to be traveling all over the country. I may also record a pod or two!
To be honest, at my advancing age I regard the idea of two straight weeks of work-related travel with no small amount of dread — not least because my previous attempt at international travel was cut short by an emergency appendectomy — but when the opportunity came up to join this thing, I knew I couldn’t pass it up. Denmark! Det er for vildt!
Anyway, that’s my upcoming month. Exhausting to contemplate! I’m going to record enough pods to cover my absence, so you shouldn’t hear any difference, but I thought you might like to know what I’m up to.
I’m going to miss Mabel though.
🎁 One other thing: September 12 is my birthday. Would you like to do something nice for me? Sign up for a paid subscription to Volts. I have no ads, no sponsors, no institutional backing of any kind. My sole income comes from folks who find the work I do valuable enough to pay the price of a coffee per month to keep it going. Become one of them and you will make this my best birthday yet.
Already a paid-up member of the Volts clan? You could always give a subscription as a gift to someone you think might be interested. A gift to someone else as a gift to me! Gift squared, if you will.
Mange hilsner,
DR
That's quote a schedule David! Look forward to (hopefully) seeing you in NY! Jealous for that Denmark trip!