Eric is a clean energy pioneer and the CDO of Impact Power Solutions, which is the Midwest’s largest commercial solar development company. With more than a dozen years of industry experience, Eric has become an important voice regarding the challenges that we all will face in a world where climate change remains unchecked. But unlike those that might dwell or wallow within the weight of what seems like an insurmountable problem, Eric is focused on solutions... specifically those that the clean tech sector has to offer.  I should also note that Eric is a longtime friend, and beyond that, we spent more than a decade together pursuing our love of music, playing more shows than I can remember, and birthing multiple EPs and albums along the way. But in Eric’s latest creation, he takes to the page... authoring the book CleanWave: A guide to success in the green recovery. Today we reunite within the studio (virtually) to talk about his book and why it’s a guide for what happens next...

We’ve seen it numerous times in film: an unhinged individual popping a single bullet into a revolver, spinning the cylinder, and brazenly raising it to their temple for a game of chance. As a viewer the tension becomes palpable…you feel the beat of your heart… the absence of breath. And between the moment that the revolver kisses the character’s head, and the slow squeeze of the trigger, you’re rocketed to the brink of that thin line between life and death. Of course, I’m describing the game known as Russian roulette. A treacherous game that I assume most humans want to avoid. But what if we’re already playing a game and just don’t know it? This may be the case when it comes to the concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) that produce nearly all the meat that Americans (and others) consume. We could talk about a variety of metaphorical bullets that CAFOs represent, but in the wake of COVID-19’s arrival, let’s focus on flu pandemic.

In 1952 Reader's Digest released an article titled, "Cancer by the Carton". Historically it's pointed to as one of the critical articles that gave rise to public education about the connection of smoking and lung cancer. The article made an impact. The most powerful tobacco executives huddled up and made a game plan to combat the bad press, which started with an advertisement of their own titled, "A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers". And so began decades of lies, deceit, and the careful manufacture of doubt. Unfortunately Big Tobacco's strategies worked well, and others took notice, adopting their playbook. Learn how Big Food may not be so different from Big Tobacco, and how they are carefully crafting doubt in the minds of the populace about their products.

Many of us are disconnected from where our food comes from. When we enter a grocery store, sit in line at a drive-through, or go into a restaurant, food just seems to magically appear. Always. It’s just there. During this episode we'll dispel the magic by diving into how our farms changed, covering items like: farm reduction, monoculture, polyculture, pesticides, factory farming, animal feeding operations, CAFOs, and more. By understanding how our food system has changed, we can begin to see the inherently destructive nature of the current configuration. If you like magic, but never get a little curious about how a trick works, then continue bearing witness to the masterful and destructive illusion of our food system. If, on the other hand, you want to know how this trick works, walk behind the curtain and listen.

Food: What is it? Like most things these days, it seems to be the source of arguments. From what is classified as “food”, to what you should eat, how much of it, and during what interval of the day. It’s an argument between vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, and the parent that desperately wants you to let them eat their burger in peace. It’s the paleo diet verses those seeking the sweet sweet bliss of ketosis. It’s, it’s… really confusing.