This episode, we’re going to discuss the housing crisis in Canada, and how we could do much better by simply getting out of the way and allowing people to build their own homes from used materials. As with most contemporary problems, the solution often is hidden in the past.

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.

Will single family homes soon become a rarity? Condos are not necessarily the lowest carbon alternative. In this episode, we compare the carbon footprint of living in houses, townhouses and condos.

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.

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.

This week, we’re going to discuss the subject of declining fertility rates, and the potential impacts that will have on climate change and society.

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.

Heat pumps typically only work when the outside temperature is above -25 C or so. Today, we're tackling heat pumps, and how they handle the winter.

Imagine a world powered by clean, abundant energy. No more fossil fuels, no more dams. This is the promise of nuclear fusion, a technology that harnesses the power of the sun right here on Earth. In this episode of The Climate Realist, we're diving into the world of fusion. We'll explore how it works, compare it to traditional nuclear fission, and discuss the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. This isn't a future fantasy. Scientists are now making significant progress in developing fusion reactors, and it could be the key to solving the climate crisis. But there are still hurdles to overcome.

The food that we all waste turns out to be a major contributor to climate change. This episode of The Climate Realist podcast goes over how you can personally help, and save money at the same time by reducing your grocery bills. Some good articles to read on the subject are: From the UN food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): Food wastage footprint From the World Wildlife Fund (WWF): Fight climate change by preventing food waste From the US Department of Agriculture (USDA): Food Waste and its Links to Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change From the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): From Farm to Kitchen: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste