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Nicole Hernandez left Tennessee and her teaching career during the pandemic to begin a new life with her family here in Vermont. She soon found the Vermont Works For Women Trailblazers program and studied various energy-related trades including forestry.

Tony Nguyen drives over 40,000 miles a year delivering pizza for a living and taking road trips with his son. Tony shares his research on how much money he saves driving his Tesla over his old internal combustion engine car. We also discuss EV rebates available to Burlingtonians including Mileagesmart that supports low- and moderate-income Vermonters.

UVM professor and climate scientist Dr. Amy Seidl has written two books on climate change. She talks about adaptation and resilience from an evolutionary biology perspective. How has life adapted to our changing climate and how can we prevent the adverse effects.

Jeff Padgett is a Division Director at Burlington’s Department of Public Works. As a neighbor he has worked to move his Burlington home to Net Zero Energy and away from fossil fuels. We will talk about the steps he has taken in recent years as a homeowner. 

Winter is not too far off. Is it ever far off in Vermont? So now is as good a time as any to start preparing. Today, we’re talking weatherization with Tim Perrin, Manager of Energy Efficiency and Innovation at VGS. Like BED, VGS is an Energy Efficiency Utility with their own staff of energy experts dedicated to helping Burlingtonians find ways to save energy and money.

Sophia Donforth, Executive Director at VEEP – Vermont Energy Education Program, talks about their programs that guide K-12 students and teachers in developing a deep understanding of energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy technologies, and climate change. She also discusses the kits and other classroom materials they make available to Vermont (and NH!) classrooms.

About 90% of people who live in Burlington live within 1,500 steps or a short 15-minute walk of a market. While grocery shopping is a universal task, most people are in the habit of driving to the grocery store. Debra Sachs came by our studio to discuss Walk to Shop, a non-profit program that offers shopping trolleys at cost – or fully subsidized to many Burlingtonians in need.

Peggy O’Neill-Vivanco from the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition talks about residential and commercial advantages of switching your lawn care to electric tools. O’Neill-Vivanco and host Jennifer Green also discuss the many rebates available for helping Burlingtonians make the switch.

Burlington High Schoolers Chenoa and Finley discuss their semester in the innovative Burlington City and Lake program learning about how every aspect of the city affect our lives.

Sebbi Wu, Climate and Equity Advocate at VPIRG, and BED GM Darren Springer discuss the City of Burlington charter change that affects new construction. They also talk about the equity ballot question, our new Net Zero Energy yard signs, and the new rental weatherization policy.