What are ‘Climate Solutions’?
What are Climate Solutions?
The Collider, Asheville, NC - May 2024
You’ll notice that under the “The Collider” logo sits the tagline, “Market-Driven Climate Solutions.” This is, in fact, what we at The Collider are all about.
Now, “market-driven climate solutions” almost sounds like a phrase that should theoretically make sense. It may even cause some people to nod appreciatively.
But time after time, even those who have some understanding of what we’re about will come back to us and say, “So, what exactly does that mean?”
It’s a great question and one we hope to answer in this post.
What are climate solutions?
First, a climate solution is anything—whether a product, service, consult, or something else—that helps clients solve climate-related problems. Aside from being extremely general (which it is), this definition may satisfy some people, but maybe not others.
Digging a little deeper, some may ask: “Are ‘climate-related problems’ the same as ‘the problems of climate change’? Isn’t climate change an enormous problem to tackle? Are you guys really solving climate change?”
In short: No, we are not solving climate change itself.
Think of “climate-related problems” as the set of risks and opportunities that are posed to literally everyone and everything as a result of climate change. To different people, these risks and opportunities can take different forms. Climate solutions, then, are their corresponding set of solutions.
Another way to think of it is this: Climate solutions are products and services that help people treat the symptoms of climate change they’re impacted by.
The fact that our mission is not targeted directly at climate change is just the tip of the iceberg. The beauty of climate solutions is that, at the same time that they alleviate climate change impacts, they usually happen to combat the root causes of climate change anyway.
Why market-driven?
The “market-driven” adjective comes into play when we begin focusing on why anyone would buy climate solutions.
At The Collider, we believe that market forces will inevitably drive the demand for climate solutions due to the ubiquitous nature of climate effects and the immediate, tangible risks they pose. The fact that no one is immune from climate change bodes well for the climate solutions sector, which, though nascent, is set to be an incredibly useful service industry as businesses, government, academia, and nonprofit alike adjust to the new climate paradigm.
Why do we believe this? What makes us so confident that climate change is setting new boundaries and goals for the connected world? Let’s go through some brief examples to help us visualize the risks and opportunities. There exist:
Physical damage risks, as with climate-induced severe storms like Katrina and Sandy that damage tens (even hundreds) of billions of dollars of our cities.
Natural resource risks, as when droughts drive shortages and drive up prices along the supply chain, hurting the coffee industry and coffee drinkers’ wallets alike.
Financial asset risk, as when an enormous portion of the world’s investments are invested in climate-impacted assets like fossil fuels. (To millennials: Have you ever considered that your pension funds are so heavily invested in fossil fuels that climate change threatens your retirement plans?)
Branding risks, where failing to take a stance on climate change can hurt your reputation in the professional world.
Climate change also presents many opportunities for all people to build off of—climate solutions can also help you exploit these favorable circumstances. There exist:
Energy efficiency opportunities, as when switching to renewable electricity generation or energy-efficient appliances shows up positively on the checkbook.
Branding opportunities, mirroring branding risks, wherein positioning yourself as a climate action-taker can actually provide reputational benefits.
Innovation opportunities, wherein those who can help address pressing climate needs in new ways stand to become society’s leading innovators.
A lot of our modern-day economy is all about mitigating risk and maximizing opportunity. Everyone loves value generation, which is exactly what The Collider is about. Who, then, wouldn’t want to learn about market-driven climate solutions?
Differentiating climate services
There exists a boatload of literature on “climate services,” which is so similar in wording to “climate solutions” that you may think they’re the same thing.
They’re related, but not quite the same. Let’s try to clear it up.
The way we’ve defined “climate solutions” is that “solutions” are very broad. Climate services, on the other hand, refer to a specific subset of climate solutions, namely, scientific data and information that can help a person or organization make climate-related decisions.
More formally, the Global Framework for Climate Services, an international partnership of government and organizations, defines climate services to be “climate information in a way that assists decision making by individuals and organizations.”
Essentially, climate solutions can be anything from energy efficiency advice, to solar panel financing and installations, to climate risk management consultants, to environmental regulation compliance firms, to name just a few examples.
Climate services basically refers to big climate data, and is included within climate solutions. Here at The Collider, we’re committed to promoting both and encouraging partnerships between the two.
What the Heck is Climate Tech?
You may have heard us talking a lot about climate tech. But what the heck is it?
The Collider, Asheville, NC - May 2024
You may have heard us talking a lot about climate tech. But what the heck is it?
Climate tech is a rapidly emerging industry in which data-driven products are developed to enable communities, companies, and governments to understand their risk and exposure to the effects of climate change and take action to adapt and become resilient.
Climate tech’s starting point is the clear-eyed recognition that climate change has already begun and there is not a moment to lose in preparing our civilization for its impacts. Some climate tech solutions are industry-specific like those for agriculture, insurance, and health. Others span multiple industries and sectors like those for supply chain or asset management. Solutions come in many forms including software-as-a-service (SaaS), application programming interfaces (API), internet-of-things (IoT), and physical satellites and sensors.
What Makes a Company Climate Tech?
Climate tech companies have one or more of these characteristics:
Integration of weather and climate data — whether it’s historical, near-real-time, climate models, or some combination — to produce actionable intelligence.
Contribution to existing weather and climate datasets.
Generation and distribution of scientifically sound new weather and climate data and information.
Note that clean energy — like solar, wind, and biofuel — startups do not qualify as climate tech under this definition.
An Example of a Climate-Tech Startup
One example of a climate-tech startup is The Climate Service. Their software blends climatic and econometric models to enable corporations and their investors to understand, in financial terms, company-specific exposure to climate risks such as sea level rise, wildfires, and flooding.
Think your solution or startup might fall under climate tech? Use our infographic to find out.
Breathe Easier in a Changing Climate
Breathe Easier in a Changing Climate
The Collider, Asheville, NC - October 2019
Worldwide, one out of every 13 people suffers from asthma, according to the Center for Disease Control. The chronic medical condition accounts for nearly 10 million doctor’s office visits each year, and asthma-related health and work costs exceed $80 billion annually. DailyBreath, a mobile app currently available for iOS users, was created to help those most vulnerable to outdoor conditions avoid their asthma and allergy triggers.
Indigenous Communities in Arctic Hit Hardest by Climate Change
Indigenous Communities in Arctic Hit Hardest by Climate Change
The Collider, Asheville, NC - November 2019
The environmental cost of doing “business as usual” is frequently externalized to indigenous communities. Of these indigenous populations, none are feeling the effects of climate change quite as directly as those in the Arctic. At the moment, multiple Collider members are working to address climate issues facing indigenous Arctic communities.
Informing Climate-Smart Real Estate
Informing Climate-smart Real Estate
The Collider, Asheville, NC - November 2019
While nationally the real estate spotlight is on sea level rise, Western North Carolina residents must instead contend with climate change effects like increased flooding, landslides, and wildfires. Dr. Doug Bruggeman, a member of The Collider in Asheville and a Realtor with National Land Realty, started EcoReal Academy in order to educate real estate agents on threats like these posed by climate change to personal property.
Starting the Conversation
Starting the Conversation
The Collider, Asheville, NC - November 2019
Climate change isn’t always obvious; in fact, it can sometimes be downright difficult to describe, especially when trying to explain its threats to human health. But this difficulty makes it all the more important to understand. The Western North Carolina Health and Climate Working Group is engaging public health leaders in climate change action. What’s more, integrating climate change into the realm of health care has the opportunity to provide a multitude of co-benefits.
Predicting the Future of Food
Predicting the Future of Food
The Collider, Asheville, NC - November 2019
Changes in Earth’s climate due to global warming are altering the ability of arable regions to produce key crops. Monitoring the impacts of climate events on global crop supply is becoming increasingly important, which is why Collider member and Prescient Weather’s CEO Dr. Jan Dutton created CropProphet. CropProphet forecasting provides the most accurate, up-to-date, and multi-perspective weather-based crop yields possible to enable risk management within agricultural trading markets.
Water Connects Us All
Water Connects Us All
The Collider, Asheville, NC - December 2019
Back when the Cherokee named the French Broad the “Long Man” and its tributaries the “Chattering Children,” it was teeming with biodiversity. Today, the French Broad River and many of its tributaries struggle with pollution. RiverLink, an Asheville-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the environmental and economic vitality of the French Broad River and its watershed, has partnered with the City of Asheville to find ways to restore the section of watershed that drains through Asheville’s River Arts District (RAD). Assisted by Collider member Blue Earth, The project team is working to create a restoration plan that not only meets all of the requirements of an EPA watershed plan, but also one that celebrates the uniqueness of the RAD Watershed and its diverse community.
Climate Tech Startup Ecobot Saves Wetlands
Climate Tech Startup Ecobot Saves Wetlands
The Collider, Asheville, NC - January 2020
Wetlands are critical to ecosystems in that they protect people, infrastructure, and assets from stormwater during an extreme weather event, reduce the impact of sea level rise, and sequester carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere — all increasingly vital defense benefits as storms become stronger and more severe, and flooding increases across the world. In short, wetlands help humans and ecosystems withstand and adapt to a changing climate.
Ecobot, a mobile application created by Collider members Jeremy Schewe and Lee Lance, is helping wetland scientists and ecologists gather data on wetlands across the United States 50 percent more efficiently than traditional methods. By connecting this data to planners and geospatial ecologists working on resilience models, Ecobot is building climate resilience for future generations.
Can You Solve the Climate Crisis?
Can You Solve the Climate Crisis?
A screenshot of the En-ROADS climate simulation tool in action.
By Mickey Snowden, Communications Specialist at The Collider, Asheville, NC - January 2020
Climate Interactive’s new climate simulator tool reveals what it will actually take to limit global warming to 1.5C by allowing users to role-play real policy decisions
Inconjunction with MIT Sloan, Climate Interactive released their brand-new En-ROADS tool, a cutting-edge online climate policy simulator that allows its users a chance to test a myriad of climate policy solutions in real-time and visualize a variety of climate impacts, at 2019’s COP25.
En-ROADS - Climate Interactive
En-ROADS is a System Dynamics model with origins in the MIT PhD theses of Dr. John Sterman and Dr. Tom Fiddaman. Recent…
The United Nations’ 25th Climate Change Conference, aka COP 25 (the 25th Conference of the Parties), was held in Madrid, Spain this past December. The purpose of this annual conference is to assess and accelerate each country’s efforts at addressing climate change in order to reach the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement — namely limiting global warming well below two degrees Celsius (2C) above pre-industrial levels with strong encouragement to reduce warming below 1.5C.
Climate Interactive is a think tank focused on building the kind of climate action needed to meet these goals through its hands-on climate simulators, games, workshops, and seminars. Founded by Co-Directors Andrew Jones and Dr. Elizabeth Sawin in 2010, Climate Interactive’s tools connect everyone from policymakers to laypeople with real, feasible climate solutions. The organization has had its second home at The Collider since 2016 where they have led climate simulation workshops and seminars for the Asheville public and developed their tools and resources for the wider world.
Ellie Johnston, Climate Interactive’s Climate and Energy Lead, says the value of En-ROADS lies in its accessibility — by adjusting emissions levels based on specific sectors like energy, land use, consumption and agriculture, policymakers can see the global impacts that greenhouse gases have on our climate.
Both Jones and Johnston were present at COP25 this year, along with nearly 27,000 other attendees. Johnston says that Climate Interactive showed up with the aim to showcase how their tools can build both ambition and action to help governments and their countries reach the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreements.
From left to right: Andrew Jones, Ellie Johnston, and Bindu Bhandari of Climate Interactive at COP25 in Madrid. Photo courtesy Climate Interactive.
“Our tools can show governments that they have less time to reduce emissions than they may have thought. Bold action is needed now, and tools like En-ROADS substantiate this urgency by illuminating scientific research,” Johnston says.
Amy Harder, Energy Reporter for the news site Axios, called En-ROADS a “choose your own climate and energy adventure.” Unlike other climate modeling tools, En-ROADS was designed to be used by everyone from K-12 schools to churches — not just science researchers steeped in intimidating climate data. That being said, Johnston is clear that the tool’s primary audience is policymakers and business leaders who are in a place to make far-reaching decisions regarding climate change.
These decisions will have to be made sooner rather than later. The UN Environmental Programme’s annual Emissions Gap Report calls for a five-fold increase in emissions reductions over the next decade in order to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. That’s a 7.6 percent reduction each year. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 2018 report on global warming is clear that a 1.5C rise in global temperature will still come with a host of negative consequences, but a 2C temperature increase could present detrimental risks to crops, water, biodiversity, ecosystems, and ultimately human health and wellbeing.
According to Johnston, this only reinforces the need for more people to get their hands on En-ROADS. “In many ways, we are getting caught flat-footed in addressing climate change. There is a growing awareness around the issue, and an increase in people who want to take action, but many aren’t sure what it will take to mitigate the effects of climate change.”
En-ROADS (on the right-hand screen) being demoed at COP25. Photo courtesy Climate Interactive.
When it comes to analytics tools, there are many models available all over the world, but most aren’t made to be shared publicly in an interactive format. Johnston says Climate Interactive built En-ROADS around Senior Advisor and MIT Sloan Professor John Sterman’s adage that “Research shows that showing people research does not work.” In this effort to address climate change, the organization has found that facilitating interactive experiences that put people in a position to experience the full scale of action needed to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions is the best way to get people involved.
“It’s a small group of people who want to sit down and learn to use a computer model on their own. It’s a much larger group who is willing to show up to an event and have other people guide them through how to use that model,” Johnston says.
Young people participate in an En-ROADS Climate Action Simulation game during UN climate meetings in New York City. Photo courtesy Climate Interactive.
Climate Interactive knew that building a tool wasn’t solely enough, so the organization also created two hands-on experiences that can be led with groups in conjunction with En-ROADS: the En-ROADS Climate Workshop and the Climate Action Simulation game. Both the Climate Workshop and the Simulation game give people with little to no knowledge of climate change the chance to role-play a president or other policymaker who must make decisions that will directly affect the Earth’s climate.
“These experiences are completely unique and eye-opening for everyone. Participants will find out very quickly that cutting our global emissions is not an easy task,” Johnston says.
Explore ways to use En-ROADS on your own or in a group, and learn how you can lead your own En-ROADS event by visiting the tool’s webpage.
Bringing Climate Data to Life
Bringing Climate Data to Life
By Mickey Snowden, Communications Specialist at The Collider, Asheville, NC - March 2020
As Communications Liaison with The Collider, I have the unique pleasure of talking with our various members and partners about their newest climate products, services, and technologies. This week, I sat down with Dave Michelson, software designer at the University of North Carolina at Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC), and LuAnn Dahlman, science writer with NOAA’s Climate Program Office. We discussed their work on the latest update to the Climate Explorer — a web tool that provides interactive graphs and maps of climate information for every county in the contiguous United States — which was released at the end of January with the help of Collider members NEMAC and FernLeaf Interactive.
The Quiz Show that’s Tackling Climate Change
The Quiz Show that’s Tackling Climate Change
Photo courtesy Luca Zanon on Unsplash.
By Mickey Snowden, Communications Specialist at The Collider, Asheville, NC - March 2020
The Let’s Explore Africa competition is informing audiences about Africa’s impending climate issues and how each of us can make a difference.
Although Africa is the second-largest continent in the world, it remains largely unknown to many living outside its borders. This lack of information is what inspired educator and accountant Dr. Sandra Frempong to write her book, Let’s Explore Africa: Nations, Landmarks, and Cultural Resources. Through her research process, Frempong continued to develop questions about the continent and realized that creating an interactive quiz show could be the ideal way to engage learners.
The first competition was sponsored by Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in Asheville, North Carolina, and the very first Let’s Explore Africa championship was sponsored by and held at Duke University in Durham. The Let’s Explore Africa competition has since spread to cities throughout the US, where students and adults of all backgrounds participate. The Collider, a climate innovation business center, has the pleasure of hosting the show at its downtown location where members and staff often participate.
Collider staff (Mickey Snowdon, left, and Miles Kish, right) and members (Jeremy Schewe of Ecobot, middle) participate in a Let’s Explore Africa competition at The Collider in December 2019. Photo courtesy Let’s Explore Africa.
When coronavirus has subsided, countries across the world will be scrambling to resurrect their economies, and they will be looking at the US as an example. If we return to “business as usual” — or worse, unrestricted economic growth at all costs — it will not only undo years of environmental policy but set a precedent for the rest of the globe.
Climate Entrepreneurs
Climate entrepreneurs need to find creative ways to stimulate the economy without contributing heavily to greenhouse gas emissions, undoubtedly an arduous task. But it is climate professionals who are most poised to provide solutions that will not only support the economy but advance progress on the climate crisis. Development of widespread clean energy projects could help us flatten our greenhouse gas emissions curve (which, by the way, doesn’t look so good even with the COVID-19 drop), and new software and technologies could provide users with the tools necessary to reduce our environmental impact and build climate resilience.
The African organization, Madiba & Nature, builds “Ecoboats” from reclaimed plastic bottles. These boats are lighter and significantly less expensive than the wooden canoes traditionally used by fishermen in Cameroon. Photo courtesy World Economic Forum Live.
What sorts of things can contestants expect to learn about Africa? Here’s a sampling:
It wouldn’t truly be a quiz on Africa if contestants weren’t asked about some basic African geography including names and locations of various countries and their capitals, plus natural features like rivers, lakes, and mountains.
Africa has more religions than scholars can keep track of, many of which fall under animism — the belief that all objects, even inanimate ones like stones, are living. Many African societies are also polytheistic, meaning they worship multiple gods. Let’s Explore Africa doesn’t delve deeply into African religions, but it’s worthwhile for contestants to brush up on which ones dominate which countries.
Understanding Africa’s natural resources are key to understanding the continent’s current and historical political atmosphere. Africa has an abundance of oil and gas, uranium, diamonds, tea, coffee, rare earth minerals, phosphates, and other resources. These resources are highly sought after, and as a result, inter-tribal conflict is common, as is environmental and economic instability.
Africa houses over 65 percent of the world’s arable land and more than 10 percent of its internal fresh water.
It’s difficult to discuss Africa’s politics and natural resources without mentioning the threat that climate change poses to the continent. According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Africa will be affected by climate change more severely than anywhere else in the world, despite the fact that it contributes the least greenhouse gas emissions of any of the world’s continents. In fact, Africans are already feeling the impacts of extreme heat, drought, flooding, landslides, and desertification.
Climate change is predicted to negatively impact crop yields and water security in the coming decades, problems that will affect the majority of Africans. According to the non-partisan research group, Afrobarometer, residents cite drought as the most significant weather pattern threatening agriculture on the continent.
A mother tends her plants in Sierra Leone. Photo courtesy Annie Spratt on Unsplash.
Decreased rainfall could affect African rainforests in unprecedented ways. Since these forests are literally the “lungs” of our planet in terms of carbon sequestration and oxygen production, any impacts on forest health will likely be dire.
Energy and agriculture demands are already straining the continent’s water sources, and population and economic development will exacerbate these needs. Unfortunately, climate change is expected to negatively affect water supplies through evaporative losses.
It is this urgency that has motivated Frempong to begin incorporating climate-specific questions into the show’s format in order to engage people of all ages and backgrounds on this universal issue. She says that being able to identify the threats climate change poses to Africa will give people a starting point for thinking of ways to mitigate their climate footprint and help the continent build resilience.
Let’s Explore Africa is currently held on the last Friday of every month (except for November and December) at The Collider in downtown Asheville beginning at 5 PM. Follow the link below to learn more and register for the next competition.
Climate Entrepreneurs Needed Now More than Ever
Climate Entrepreneurs Needed Now More than Ever
The Collider’s lobby is always buzzing with activity. Photo courtesy The Collider.
By Mickey Snowden, Communications Specialist at The Collider, Asheville, NC - April 2020
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s clear that climate entrepreneurs will play a critical role in responsible economic stimulation.
Author of The Lean Startup model, Eric Ries, defines a startup as “a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.” That’s exactly what is needed in a post-coronavirus world. After a major disruption such as a war, a natural disaster, or, in this case, a pandemic, visionary leaders are needed to provide a strong path forward. Because of their unique ability to innovate in times of chaos, these visionaries often take the form of entrepreneurs.
To highlight this fact, consider these businesses started by veterans:
John Pemberton started Coca-Cola after he was wounded in the Civil War.
Bill Bowerman founded Nike in 1964 after serving as a Commander in WWII.
Frederick W. Smith launched FedEx after achieving the rank of Marine Corps Captain.
But you don’t have to be a war veteran to start a successful business. In the age of coronavirus, we’re all veterans of a pandemic that has completely uprooted our most basic means of living. This setting provides the perfect opportunity for courageous individuals to design businesses that promote mitigation, adaptation, and resilience to climate change.
Lessons from COVID-19
One positive outcome of coronavirus has been an overall reduction in our collective ecological footprint. We’ve all seen the headlines: “Carbon emissions from fossil fuels could fall by 2.5bn tonnes in 2020”; “Coronavirus could trigger ‘largest ever annual fall in CO2’”; “Coyotes, bobcats and bears: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park”.
With humans around the world staying inside their homes, wildlife has surged, greenhouse gas emissions have dropped, and people are connecting with nature.
But the point here isn’t to capitalize on a pandemic, it’s to encourage entrepreneurs in the climate industry to propel the positive environmental momentum that coronavirus has inadvertently built. We need entrepreneurs who are able to clearly identify the connections between climate change, public health, environmental injustice, and socioeconomic disparities to create businesses that are capable of addressing these issues in tandem.
Dispelling “Business as Usual”
Air pollution in Wuhan decreased significantly over the month of February when its residents were quarantined, but nitrogen dioxide emissions have begun to climb again since stay-at-home restrictions were lifted in the city. The UN’s Framework on Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) has postponed its 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) climate discussions to October 2020, and the EPA is temporarily waiving environmental regulations for industries affected by coronavirus after pressure from the oil industry.
Levels of nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant caused by burning fuel, dropped significantly around Wuhan and Beijing in February but have slowly begun to increase. Photo courtesy NASA Earth Observatory.
When coronavirus has subsided, countries across the world will be scrambling to resurrect their economies, and they will be looking at the US as an example. If we return to “business as usual” — or worse, unrestricted economic growth at all costs — it will not only undo years of environmental policy but set a precedent for the rest of the globe.
Climate Entrepreneurs
Climate entrepreneurs need to find creative ways to stimulate the economy without contributing heavily to greenhouse gas emissions, undoubtedly an arduous task. But it is climate professionals who are most poised to provide solutions that will not only support the economy but advance progress on the climate crisis. Development of widespread clean energy projects could help us flatten our greenhouse gas emissions curve (which, by the way, doesn’t look so good even with the COVID-19 drop), and new software and technologies could provide users with the tools necessary to reduce our environmental impact and build climate resilience.
Monthly mean carbon dioxide levels measured at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii have been increasing rapidly for decades. Photo courtesy NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory.ft) and me, Lindsey (right).
After the 2008 financial collapse, tech companies like Uber and Airbnb redefined the way the world travels and allowed anyone with a car or an extra bedroom to make money on their own terms. Following the coronavirus outbreak, a similar opportunity is present within the climate sector.
Here are some areas ripe for climate entrepreneurship in a post-coronavirus world:
Renewable energy. In order to jumpstart our economy without burning fossil fuels, renewable energies will play a critical role in economic development post-coronavirus. Solar CrowdSource, a company based in Atlanta, Georgia, connects residents within communities to group-purchase solar energy and battery storage to reduce their costs. The company’s Solarize program is uniquely geared towards implementing crowdsourced solar projects for nonprofits, creating greener, healthier, and more equitable communities. Solar CrowdSource is an example of a small business meeting growing energy demands in an environmentally and socially conscious way.
Climate modeling. Climate Interactive, a think tank with offices in MIT and Asheville, North Carolina, develops climate simulators that are used by everyone from educators to policymakers. The organization’s first simulator, C-ROADS, was developed to help countries determine how to meet their UN climate pledges and highlight the gap between their goals and their actual emissions. Climate Interactive’s newest simulator, En-ROADS, organizes factors contributing to greenhouse gas emissions into sectors including energy supply, transportation, buildings and industry, land and industry, and carbon removal. Climate modeling for governments, public organizations, and private companies has huge financial potential.
Agriculture. A changing climate presents a multitude of challenges to the agricultural sector. Increased drought and extreme precipitation make it increasingly difficult to predict crop yields and can decimate food supplies everywhere. CropProphet is an agribusiness that monitors the effects of climate change on global crop supply. CropProphet is a big data analytics tool that forecasts yields and production for some of the world’s most consumed crops such as corn, soy, and winter wheat. By combining cutting-edge technology and climate data, CropProphet provides extremely accurate information on growing data and weather patterns for businesses and governments throughout the world. The future of food is undoubtedly linked to changes in our Earth’s climate, presenting an opportunity for data-savvy entrepreneurs.
Resilience-building. In lieu of any national climate resilience plans, cities across the country are taking the matter into their own hands by contracting with private and public firms. The University of North Carolina at Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC) and FernLeaf Interactive form a private-public partnership (NEMAC-FernLeaf) to help cities like Charleston, South Carolina and West Palm Beach, Florida build resilience to flooding and other climate-stressors. Climate adaptation and resilience planning have been growing rapidly for over a decade among cities across the world (e.g. Durban, London, Rotterdam, Quito, etc.), and this field will likely continue to flourish in the coming years.
With economic growth likely to precede federal climate action following COVID-19, entrepreneurs need to take climate change into their own hands. The climate industry is uniquely poised to stimulate the global economy in a way never seen before.
Mickey Snowdon is the Communications Liaison for The Collider, a member-driven organization advancing climate solutions so that all can mitigate, adapt, and thrive in a changing climate. Located just steps away from NOAA in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, The Collider is a hub for climate innovation and entrepreneurship.
Making Connections at The Collider
Making Connections at The Collider
The Collider’s lobby is always buzzing with activity. Photo courtesy The Collider.
By Lindsey Nystrom, Communications Specialist at The Collider, Asheville, NC - May 2020
I’ve been working at UNC Asheville’s NEMAC — the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center, an applied research center of that university and a key member of The Collider — for about a year and a half as a GIS Intern. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, I’d been doing a lot of my work at The Collider.
The NC Climate Science Report, released in March 2020, provides an assessment of historical climate trends and potential future climate change in the state assuming a “business as usual” approach to greenhouse gas emissions. Photo courtesy of NCICS.
Maycock worked on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on 1.5°C of Global Warming, which he says was very high level and technical. He explains that the IPCC works in six-to-seven-year cycles and performs a full suite of assessments of climate science, impacts, and mitigation efforts. As part of the current report cycle, the IPCC produced three special reports, including the 1.5°C report — which Maycock says was basically a response to the Paris Agreements’ formalized warming targets of 2°C and 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures. The report explored whether or not it’s possible to limit global warming to these temperatures, what the different impacts would be between the two warming scenarios, and what is needed to meet each goal.
Along with the USGCRP team, NCICS also supported the 2016 report, The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment (known commonly as the Climate and Health Assessment). The Climate and Health Assessment expanded on the Third National Climate Assessment’s chapter on human health and elaborated on four major threats: Temperature-related deaths and Illnesses, air quality impacts, vector-borne diseases, and water-related illnesses.
Jim Fox (center), the recently retired director of NEMAC and a Collider board member, with former NEMAC intern Metis Meloche (left) and me, Lindsey (right).
I appreciate that every face I see there is a friendly one, and I get to meet new people all the time! There is a shared understanding of the urgency and importance of climate work and inclusiveness in the content of the work itself. Each week, The Collider hosts its Climate Community Coffee Hour, which functions as both a networking event and an opportunity for community building. It’s one of my favorite parts of the week because I get to talk to people about their work and see their passion for what they do. As someone new to Asheville and the professional world, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to get to know the community and the work being done within it.
I’ve met so many wonderful people with great ideas that I decided to ask a few of them to describe why they love The Collider in hopes of sharing the awesomeness that goes on here!
Kelsey, hugging a tree. It’s what she likes to do. Photo courtesy Kelsey Hall.
Kelsey was one of the first people I met in Asheville, and she is now both a good friend and a daily dose of inspiration! She started as a Collider volunteer during her freshman year at UNCA, worked part-time as The Collider’s Events Assistant, interned with Collider member FernLeaf Interactive, and is currently interning with NEMAC. She is the epitome of The Collider’s power to connect and grow professional relationships to create meaningful, important products for our planet. Here’s what she had to say:
What is your role at The Collider and how did you end up here?
The Collider is actually one of the reasons I moved to Asheville.
I was looking at opportunities in Asheville for internships, careers, community engagement, etc., compared to other colleges and universities I was considering. I found out about The Collider through NEMAC, which was linked on the UNCA Environmental Studies department website. I then came to learn about NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information and how Asheville was a major climate hub in the US. I saw that Asheville had a lot of incredible opportunities to offer in regards to climate studies and career options, so I decided on UNC Asheville.
I started volunteering at The Collider in January of 2018 at their ClimateCon conference, then eagerly signed up to volunteer once a week. I demonstrated a dedication and passion for the space and work, so I was hired as the Events Assistant three months later. For almost a year and a half, I spent a lot of time at The Collider as a part-time employee, booking and organizing event logistics.
I engaged with so many incredible people and community organizations through this work, but I also created relationships with many Collider members just from working in the space. This is how I met the good folks at NEMAC and learned about their important work. Knowing my academic and professional interests, Ian Johnson mentioned to me one day that a GIS internship was opening up and encouraged me to apply. I started at NEMAC in April 2019 and worked on the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation coastal resilience assessment project through the summer. It was truly a rewarding experience.
This past fall, I decided to shift my focus at NEMAC to something more aligned with my interest in science communication and climate policy. The NEMAC staff was so supportive of my desire to explore a new area of work that I was re-hired as a Climate Resilience intern for both NEMAC and FernLeaf (November 2019–February 2020).
If you summed up The Collider in just a few words, what would they be?
Supportive, driven, collaborative, visionaries, innovative
How does The Collider help you succeed in your work?
All of the experiences I’ve had at The Collider have supported me both professionally and personally. I’ve learned so much during the past couple of years, and I’ve gained incredible professional experiences and connections.
What is your favorite memory of The Collider?
Climate Con and Climate City Expo were some of the most memorable experiences for me at The Collider. It was such an awesome experience to see the whole Collider community come together to pull it off. I learned so much and met so many amazing people!
Ginger Kowal is an ecologist, software developer, and potato peeler. Image courtesy Ginger Kowal.
Ginger Kowal
I met Ginger at one of The Collider’s Coffee Hours. A NEMAC colleague introduced us, but I had heard her name praised many times before! Ginger is an ecologist and developer of open-source analytics tools, and works remotely for the Natural Capital Project based at Stanford University. You can see her portfolio here.
What is your role at The Collider and how did you end up here?
I work in The Collider’s co-work space. I like being a part of the community and appreciate how informal it is. I try to make the Coffee Hour every Friday, and I attended the open house event in March, which was terrific. I work remotely for a research group based out of Stanford, and I’m the only one here in Asheville. It’s called the Natural Capital Project (NatCap), and it’s really neat! We do research and make software to help capture the value of nature for human well-being. We study ecosystem services and make models that quantify ecosystem services. I’ve been working for NatCap for almost six years and have been working remotely for most of that time. I just started working from The Collider last fall, and I wish I had joined much sooner. It’s been so awesome both personally and professionally to work there — I’d highly recommend it.
I have a lot of work to do on my own, so I really appreciate the balance and availability of Get-Shit-Done-Time with spontaneous conversations and spaces that feel more personal. Usually if I’m in [the co-work space] looking at my computer, I get my work done and it’s quiet and productive, but I appreciate that there is also space to hang out. I always end up engaging in conversations with folks in the kitchen area, which I enjoy. The people who work at The Collider are amazing, and their personal stories and work are fascinating.
Sometimes it can be lonely working remotely because all of my colleagues are far away, but interacting with others at The Collider has been really good for my mental health. I grew up in Asheville and would love to have my work based here, but it hasn’t happened because the opportunities for my line of work are elsewhere. When choosing places to work from, knew I wanted to connect with other people who are working on environmental issues, software development and data work, and are interested in open-source software. So I asked myself, “Where are those people in Western North Carolina?” The answer was obvious: The Collider!
How would you sum up the Collider in just a few words?
Beautiful space, inspiring, pleasure to spend time here, community of good people who are simultaneously tied together by common interests and shared values. By joining The Collider, you can count on meeting a diverse group of people who share your core values but come at common issues from various angles.
How does the Collider help you succeed in your work?
Human interaction! I went to UNCA with fellow Collider member Ellie Johnston, Climate and Energy Lead for Climate Interactive, before we worked together at The Collider. I’ve been really inspired by Climate Interactive’s climate modeling tools. I also develop models and there are a lot of similarities between our work and theirs, but there are also some major differences. Most of our models are on the prescriptive side, meaning they provide an exact answer or a map. People may ask, “What’s the change in carbon storage or sediment load with this landscape change?” Unfortunately sometimes our models are not as effective as they could be because people are looking to them for that specific answer. Climate Interactive’s En-ROADS climate model is more of a conversation starter and an educational tool. I’m excited to apply some of the social aspects that En-ROADS provides to my organization’s models. It’s been helpful for me to have Climate Interactive as an example of a way to do my work differently and inform decisions and social processes.
Ellie, NEMAC’s Dave Michelson, and my own awareness from the press and community drew me to The Collider. Ellie and I would go hiking together but never talked about work, so it’s been interesting to learn about their tool and see it evolve. I’m incredibly proud of Climate Interactive — in fact, I just told some of my colleagues about En-ROADS and how it was developed here in Asheville and at MIT. It’s great to be able to discuss common interests, products, and services with my peers.
The neat thing about The Collider is that most of us who work here are connected to bigger networks in and beyond Asheville. There’s this common misconception that climate and data work isn’t being done in Asheville, and The Collider proves that’s not true. I am constantly saying to myself, “Wow! I didn’t know people are doing that in Asheville!” And that’s awesome!
What is your favorite memory of The Collider?
Most days when I come home from work I tell my husband, “I met this really cool person today!” That happens all the time! One day, in the kitchen, Jim Fox from NEMAC was heating up lunch at the same time as me and I hadn’t introduced myself to him, but somebody said, “Hey Ginger!” and he looked at me and said, “Ginger…were you a NEMAC intern?” He remembered me from way back in the day! That was really special.
Last thoughts?
I think the importance of face-to-face conversations is obvious if you’re working from home or remotely, and it’s what many people probably need more of in their lives. Conversations about things that matter and important problems that we need to address collectively, like climate change, need to happen face-to-face. Having ways to get together and have meaningful conversations is critical right now, and having a venue and community to have these discussions is priceless. The Collider is good for Asheville and good for the world.
Jane Margaret and her awesome smile out hiking. Image courtesy Jane Margaret Bell.
Jane Margaret Bell
Jane Margaret came to The Collider in the fall of 2019. She works at Ecosystem Services (ES), a company based out of Charlottesville, Virginia, as an Ecological Restoration Designer. Jane Margaret and I also met at one of The Collider’s Coffee Hours. She is always someone I can look to for a smile!
What is your role at The Collider and how did you end up here?
I’m here because I wanted to work in a co-working space after I was switched into a remote position. I was first hired to be part of a startup office that was in Weaverville. My co-worker at the time left the company, and we decided to close our office location until another engineer could be hired.
At the time, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep my job in Asheville and work remotely, and I started looking for other opportunities. I spent a lot of time having casual interviews with other companies about potential job opportunities, and every time the conversation shifted to collaboration and opportunities to work together. A number of organizations really wanted ES to stay and continue to thrive here in Western North Carolina, and Blue Earth was a big one. I knew Tim Ormond, co-founder of Blue Earth, because I had worked with him before, and I had heard about his organization’s fantastic mission. They were at the top of my list to reach out to.
The situation of me losing my job, or thinking I would, led me to develop many new collaborations. From the beginning I kept thinking I needed to be at The Collider. This is where I belong and where I can network and collaborate, and ES especially needs to be here to help facilitate our relationship with Blue Earth and other similar companies.
I worked remotely for about eight months, but it felt like forever. Eventually, we hired Amy Longcrier and decided to open an office again. We moved to The Collider, and since day one The Collider has been exactly what I needed and thought it was going to be.
It provides an environment that is inspiring and structured and makes me feel excited to leave my house and be productive each day. It helps me mentally get into the groove of my work.
The startup culture supports people that are deeply dedicated to what they are doing. I like that everyone has independence and seems happy in their work. There are a lot of visionary people here that see the big picture and want to stop the climate crisis, which is exciting for someone like me who has felt siloed and stifled in my own work at times. Before I struggled to feel like other people understood my ideas, and I didn’t have much of a networking or professional social outlet, but at The Collider, I have definitely found what I was looking for.
If you summed up The Collider in just a few words, what would they be?
A climate-centered co-working space that is a community of businesses and researchers and institutes, many working directly or indirectly to solve climate-related problems. It’s also an important events space because of the availability of public presentations and movies to the public. I love going to those events and inviting friends because it can feel isolating to do this work. The community engagement is really helpful on that front too. I appreciate that The Collider has a lot of science-heavy events that are really well communicated to the public.
How does The Collider help you succeed in your work?
Having a professional, modern office space shows that we are invested in the community and helps us present professionally to clients. It’s more of a feeling than a tangible thing. I want my clients and partners to feel comfortable and also energized when we have meetings, and I’m happy to say The Collider makes a great first impression! It’s helpful to come to a space like this on a low-energy day and have my spirits lifted through the people and the space around me.
What is your favorite memory at the Collider?
The public presentations have been amazing. The presentation of NEMAC+FernLeaf with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy about developing a dataset and hotspots that guide conservation work was a really cool integration of different types of data. A lot of what was driving their work was geologic data and the presence of steep slopes and rocky outcroppings, which I hadn’t thought of previously, so that was really fascinating.
I’d love to see my company move towards more resilience-related planning and analysis. Low-impact urban development and green stormwater management are also really important to me, and I think a lot of people at The Collider have experience and knowledge on that subject which could potentially be very helpful. The question is how do we turn our concrete jungle into a living ecosystem? I’m excited to engage the The Collider network in order to answer that question!
This is just a sampling of the extraordinary people who come together to do great things at The Collider. There is amazing work being done here, and despite interruptions (eh em…a global pandemic), we’ve been able to continue making the world a more climate-conscious place. From the conversations we have while microwaving our lunch to well-planned community events, The Collider is a home for anyone interested and passionate about our planet and connecting with others.
The Institute Putting Climate Data to Work
The Institute Putting Climate Data to Work
By Mickey Snowden, Communications Specialist at The Collider, Asheville, NC - July 2020
The North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies is responsible for co-creating assessments on climate change that influence policy and make scientific reports digestible to the public.
Why Climate City?
Asheville gained the nickname “Climate City” because it is home to two climate powerhouses: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) — one of the largest repositories of climate data on Earth — and the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies (NCICS), a NOAA cooperative institute and research arm of NC State University. Both of these institutes are located in the Veach-Baley Federal Building in downtown Asheville, just steps away from The Collider.
Jared Rennie is a Collider member and Research Meteorologist with NCICS who owns his own weather company, Rennie Weather. Rennie explains that NCICS is essentially a long-term academic partner to NOAA. Most of NCICS’ day-to-day activities support NOAA’s work, including building datasets, creating products, monitoring climate, and conducting research. NCICS also works with the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Department of Defense, and the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change.
Tom Maycock is also a Collider member, the Science Public Information Officer for NCICS, and a Science Editor for the National Climate Assessments (NCAs), which are produced through the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) in conjunction with NCEI. The NCA is a periodic survey of climate change established by the Global Change Research Act of 1990. These scientific assessments inform climate news in the US and beyond and help guide environmental policy.
“When our work gets picked up by the media, people who otherwise wouldn’t know about some of the climate issues we work on are able to learn about them. It takes that information out of the academic realm and exposes it to a public audience,” Maycock says.
The Wide Array of NCICS’ Projects
NCICS provides most of the staff for NCEI’s Technical Support Unit (TSU), which supports the USGCRP’s climate reports. The most recent of these reports was the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which came out in 2017/18 in two volumes. The first volume laid out the science and the second explained the specific impacts on economic sectors and regions. The National Climate Assessments bring together over 300 authors from across the country including federal employees and academics from the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Defense, NASA, and others. Maycock says it takes multiple years to produce an assessment, and the USGCRP is federally required to produce one every four years for Congress and the president.
The TSU, under the direction of lead scientist Dr. Kenneth Kunkel, also created State Climate Summaries to accompany the Nation Climate Assessments. According to Maycock, “It’s been a real effort to make the National Climate Assessments as accessible as possible,” which is why these summary materials are so important. He explains that each report comes with an executive summary that helps non-specialists digest the material. In addition to making the assessments more accessible, Maycock says NCICS has seen an increase in press coverage due to the summaries. NCICS also released The North Carolina Climate Science Report on March 11, 2020, which supports Governor Cooper’s Executive Order 80 (EO80) by providing peer-reviewed, scientific climate analyses.
The NC Climate Science Report, released in March 2020, provides an assessment of historical climate trends and potential future climate change in the state assuming a “business as usual” approach to greenhouse gas emissions. Photo courtesy of NCICS.
Maycock worked on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on 1.5°C of Global Warming, which he says was very high level and technical. He explains that the IPCC works in six-to-seven-year cycles and performs a full suite of assessments of climate science, impacts, and mitigation efforts. As part of the current report cycle, the IPCC produced three special reports, including the 1.5°C report — which Maycock says was basically a response to the Paris Agreements’ formalized warming targets of 2°C and 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures. The report explored whether or not it’s possible to limit global warming to these temperatures, what the different impacts would be between the two warming scenarios, and what is needed to meet each goal.
Along with the USGCRP team, NCICS also supported the 2016 report, The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment (known commonly as the Climate and Health Assessment). The Climate and Health Assessment expanded on the Third National Climate Assessment’s chapter on human health and elaborated on four major threats: Temperature-related deaths and Illnesses, air quality impacts, vector-borne diseases, and water-related illnesses.
Maycock served as the Technical Support Unit’s project manager and lead editor for the USGCRP’s 2016 assessment of the impacts of climate change on human health. Photo courtesy of the USGCRP.
Heat and Health
Lately, Rennie has been researching the impacts of heat on human health and what this will mean for a warming planet. According to the US Climate Resilience Toolkit, extreme heat in the US is “deadlier than all other natural disasters combined,” and will worsen due to climate change. Heat strains ones’ cardiovascular system, making excessively hot days harder for those with heart disease because the more constricted one’s cardiovascular system is, the more difficult it is for them to regulate their body temperature. Heat-related health risks such as heat stress and heat stroke are predicted to increase with future temperatures.
Extreme heat in the US is “deadlier than all other natural disasters combined,” and will worsen due to climate change.
Heat also negatively affects air quality, exacerbating respiratory illnesses such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and aggravating allergies. Air pollution associated with the rapid commercial development of the Southeast contributes to aeroallergens, and higher CO2 emissions expedite the growth of allergenic plants such as ragweed and cause them to produce more pollen.
Rennie says nighttime temperatures are warming significantly more than daytime temperatures in the Southeast, a phenomenon that is largely overlooked. Humidity is a major contributing factor to the increases in nighttime temperatures, but it is difficult to measure, and humidity measurements only date back to the mid-1970s. Rennie says that when people ask him why they should care about warmer nighttime temperatures if they’re asleep,
“I tell them, sure, you may be sleeping, but your air conditioner isn’t. Duke Energy cares big-time that energy demand is increasing during the night, and it’s only going to continue to increase by the end of the century.”
This map shows the number of nighttime heat events in the US since 1991. The darker colors show that temperatures have increased the most in the Southeast. Image courtesy of Jared Rennie.
The most popular method of measuring heat is via the Heat Index, which was developed by the National Weather Service about 20 years ago. However, Rennie says the Heat Index has serious flaws; it doesn’t do well in semi-arid conditions like the western US and it only incorporates temperature and humidity into its measurements. The WetBulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index, on the other hand, also considers variables like solar radiation and wind, both of which play a significant role in an individual’s ability to regulate their body temperature. Solar radiation is the effect of the sun shining on a surface, making the temperature feel much hotter than it actually is, while wind can help evaporate sweat off of the skin, creating a cooling process for the body.
According to Rennie, the WBGT index has become increasingly popular in the last few years and is used by organizations such as OSHA, the US Military, regional weather services, and high school sports administrations who work directly in sunlight and want a more accurate heat assessment.
Rennie is on the science team of the US Climate Reference Network (USCRN), an NCEI network of about 100 climate monitoring stations across the contiguous US. These stations differ from weather stations in that they were purposefully built in areas that wouldn’t be affected by urbanization for the next 50 years. Each station was built with “triple redundancy,” meaning they all have three different thermometers to ensure accuracy and prevent data gaps. The USCRN decided that since it already has measurements for the variables that make up WBGT, it could generate its own index. Rennie and his NCICS team validated the USCRN’s index with other networks’ indices. Rennie says NCICS is now working with partners at The National Weather Service, Florida State University, the University of Arizona, and the Korey Stringer Institute in Connecticut to create a gridded product that would provide WBGT data for all of the US. Rennie says there is potential for such a product to be used in the private sector via a private-public partnership.
According to the USGCRP’s Climate and Health Assessment, nearly 10,000 Americans die from extreme heat each year. This number is projected to double by 2050, and climate change is expected to increase death rates by between 3.5–4% by the end of the century, most of which will occur within poor communities. The more accurately organizations like NCICS can measure the real feel of heat and communicate them to the public, the better we can understand the true costs of climate change — environmentally, physically, and economically.
Climate change is expected to increase death rates by between 3.5–4% by the end of the century, most of which will occur within poor communities.
Extreme heat will disproportionately affect poor and non-white communities, athletes, and outdoor workers (pictured here) in the coming years. Photo courtesy of the USDA by Bob Nichols.
COVID-19 is a Climate Issue
Maycock says that climate change has the potential to cause shifts in ecosystems which could increase the prevalence of communicable diseases. He points to the way humans interact with our environment — specifically the way we overbuild our cities — as further influencing the likelihood of diseases. To this end, NCICS is currently studying COVID-19’s sensitivity to factors such as temperature, humidity, and solar radiation. Maycock suggests that there are lessons that can be learned from the successes and failures of the climate movement in terms of communicating science and uncertainty, and how expert judgment is conveyed and received.
“It’s disconcerting when science expertise and academic rigor are discounted in the face of a serious challenge, and I think that feels all too familiar to folks who deal with climate change.”
Dr. Jennifer Runkle, an Environmental Epidemiologist with NCICS, worked with county officials and public health partners to develop the first COVID-19 “self-checker” tool. The tool, available freely online, allows adults to not only check their symptoms against those of COVID-19, but also opt-in for daily monitoring from health officials. The tool also enables officials to observe barriers to testing.
Maycock says there are important parallels between COVID-19 and climate change, but the two crises are on different scales. COVID-19 is an immediate threat that demands an immediate response, while climate change is a longer-term threat with potentially severe effects that is existential to many people. Because of climate change’s ambiguity, it is usually the first issue to get back-burnered when a bigger crisis (like a pandemic) arises.
According to Maycock, there is an opportunity to incorporate climate change initiatives into COVID-19 recovery.
“We’ve seen emissions drop and air quality improve. If we were to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and increase renewable energy development, we might be able to experience some of those health and environmental benefits on a long-term scale,” he says.
However, Maycock is clear that short-term emergency planning is not how our society should be making these structural changes. He points out that since emissions that cause climate change directly impact human health, the pandemic could help people understand this interconnectedness.
“This pandemic could help society improve how we plan, invest, and recover from economic problems. I think it’s important that we keep climate change in mind as we think about investments. If you have a decision to make, and one option has both short-term and longer-term benefits, choose that option.”
He adds that the earlier policymakers start these changes, the less likely we are to have future emergency disruptions.
The Collider’s Role
Asheville has been central to the creation of the National Climate Assessments over the years. “Some of the scientists, communications staff, and other people I’ve worked with here have been involved in the assessments dating back to the first one in the late 1990s,” Maycock says.
One of the organizations that has collaborated with NCICS on several climate assessments is the University of North Carolina at Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC), The Collider’s anchor tenant.
Former NEMAC Director and Collider member, Jim Fox, collaborates with Collider board member and former Chief of Data Access Branch at NOAA’s NCEI, Steve Del Greco, in The Collider’s lobby. Photo courtesy of the author.
Rennie explains that The Collider has expanded his personal and professional networks by giving him a place to discuss his work outside of an academic audience. Rennie says he sees The Collider as being able to help NCICS find entrepreneurs, companies, and organizations to collaborate on projects with. “Everyone at The Collider is focused on climate and something else. I think The Collider provides the opportunity to find that something else.”
At the Intersection of What’s Known and What’s Possible
At the Intersection of What’s Known and What’s Possible
Asheville, NC - July 2020
HOW DO YOU CHANGE A WORLD WITH A CHANGING CLIMATE?
YOU MENTOR THE CHANGE MAKERS, WORK AT THE INTERSECTIONS AND BOUNDARIES OF KNOWLEDGE CREATION, AND GO OUT INTO THE WORLD AND APPLY WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED TO REAL, MEANINGFUL ACTION.
Recently, Collider members Fernleaf Interactive, NEMAC, and Collider staff were interviewed for a piece in UNC Asheville’s magazine, exploring the multitude of ways in which NEMAC+Fernleaf work to expand the boundaries of scientific knowledge and make complex data accessible to a wider audience.
From its beginning, The Collider has always maintained a close relationship with UNC Asheville, and we’re thrilled to see this connection blossom as the public grows more aware and interested in the climate work being done here in Asheville.
Breaking the Stigma: Making Solar Affordable for All
Breaking the Stigma: Making Solar Affordable for All
By: Mickey Snowden, Communications Specialist at The Collider in Asheville, NC - July 2021
Solar CrowdSource reduces the cost of solar energy for all through group purchasing, philanthropy, and investor funding.
Although you may have never heard of them, Solarize campaigns have been around for more than a decade. Solarize campaigns utilize group purchasing power to significantly reduce the costs of solar energy and storage for a community. If you want to implement solar on a community-wide scale, starting a Solarize campaign brings stakeholders together and provides a platform to generate the necessary momentum to increase solar installations.
Collider member Solar CrowdSource (SCS) is a startup company based just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, that facilitates the Solarize concept through leveraging resources and experiences gained from other communities. SCS simplifies the community solar purchasing process from start to finish by involving community partners. The company was founded in 2016 by Don Moreland, a former Chair of the Georgia Solar Energy Association and solar industry veteran, with the mission of making solar affordable for every community.
www.solarcrowdsource.com
Ken Haldin, SCS’s Development Partner (left), Don Moreland, SCS’s Founder (center), and Brad Camrud, donor of Solarize St. John grants (right), present their Solarize St. John campaign in 2019. Photo courtesy of Solar Crowdsource.
One of the greatest benefits of SCS is that it doesn’t extend any costs to its participating communities, governments or utilities. “Solar CrowdSource’s model is self-funding because it utilizes a small portion of any Solarize campaign’s sales,” explains Ken Haldin, SCS’s Asheville-based development partner. “There are no upfront costs. It’s just a matter of everyone involved in a community agreeing to go through a bulk-purchasing process together.”
Solar panels cover hillside homes in St. John. Photo courtesy of St. John Tradewinds.
Moreland found that it’s very difficult for an individual or group to start and fully manage a grassroots Solarize campaign on their own. SCS makes it easy for organizations, governments, NGOs, and resident groups who want to implement a Solarize campaign but don’t have the experience, tools, and platform needed to do so. Haldin puts SCS’s role simply: “Solar CrowdSource creates more [Solarize] campaigns faster with less burden on the community, which is what we all want.”
Lowering the Cost
From its inception, SCS had been offering its platform to any community that desired to implement a Solarize campaign. More recently, SCS has begun adding to this model by developing approaches to assist low- or moderate-income (LMI) citizens within communities to “go solar.” SCS’s model already works to bring down the cost of solar through bulk purchasing, but the company has begun to use crowdfunding and other philanthropic methods to further reduce costs for LMI residents who would otherwise be unable to afford solar and battery installations.
“It’s clear that if you don’t have the means to purchase solar, even at a discount, you’re on the sidelines. Our efforts as of 2019 are to extend deeper and wider to participants by bringing in outside capital,” Haldin says.
SCS’s crowdfunding model can be fueled by donations and/or charitable investments, depending on the campaign. Haldin says individual investments haven’t been injected into a campaign yet but they are “the next frontier.” He says there are likely plenty of donor organizations that may want to pool their money and reduce the cost of solar energy.
The US Virgin Islands: A Case Study
Solar CrowdSource implemented its first donation-based campaign on St. John in the US Virgin Islands (USVI) in early 2019. The USVI is located in a very high-cost energy setting, with a per capita energy usage averaging seven times higher than in the contiguous US. Income is lower in the USVI and energy is significantly more expensive, which means the energy burden that low-income families face is more than twice as much for electricity as mainland families. A seed donation of $55,000 from one generous individual provided grants that enabled four St. John-based solar installer companies to significantly discount their products and services. To date, this campaign enabled 22 island residents to have solar and battery equipment more affordably installed in their homes.
In just a year, SCS created $438,000 in clean energy infrastructure on St. John, including 200,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of solar energy per year and nearly 294 kWh of battery storage. These installations will prevent 261,500 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere annually and is equal to more than 3,800 trees cleaning the air.
SCS’s solar installations on St. John have also made their residents energy independent, increasing their resilience to future storms. In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria decimated the island, damaging almost 75 percent of LMI homes. Residents were left without power for months because St. John’s electricity distribution grid was nearly destroyed. The 294 kWh of battery storage ensures people will have a backup power source in case another disaster strikes.
Solar CrowdSource is extending their Solarize St. John campaign into 2020, offering a new round of 10 grants of up to $2,750 each for local residents and property owners on the island. As in 2019, a donation has catalyzed the 2020 campaign. The island is working with local nonprofits to help identify eligible LMI participants and projects.
Western Area Power repairs downed power lines in the wake of Hurricane Maria in the US Virgin Islands. Photo courtesy of Western Area Power via Flickr.
Solarize in the Age of COVID-19
While COVID-19 has shaken up just about every facet of our lives, Solar CrowdSource has continued to thrive. A large reason for this is because residents feel safe collectively purchasing solar power with their neighbors and with the involvement of community groups and nonprofits they know and trust. Haldin says this trust accelerates the purchasing process and removes its uncertainties.
The pandemic has raised significant attention around improvements in air pollution and environmental quality, but it has also raised speculation about where environmental policy will fit into post-COVID recovery. Haldin is hopeful that solar energy will proliferate in the coming years. “We are not seeing a significant drop off in interest due to COVID-19,” he says. “In fact, we suspect that some people are more interested in solar and storage during these uncertain times.”
Here are a few of the company’s campaign highlights during the pandemic:
Solarize Athens, GA: At the end of April 2020, SCS had 21 contracts signed, totaling 107kW of solar energy and 81kWh of battery storage.
Solarize Decatur-South DeKalb, GA: As of June 2020, this campaign had 12 contracts signed, totalling 92kW of solar energy and 27kWh of battery storage. The first installation was in the Mayor of Decatur’s house.Thankfully, Haldin says, permitting and solar installations haven’t been severely impacted since the services needed to implement solar are considered essential. He also says that stakeholder meetings and launch events have increased in size via Zoom.
Next Steps
Solar CrowdSource started in Georgia and expanded to the Caribbean, and now Haldin says they have their sights set on the Carolinas, where there’s already huge interest. “Thanks to The Collider, we have really been able to rapidly meet and network with people who have similar missions and interests instead of cold-calling to introduce ourselves, which has meant all the difference,” he says. “Ultimately, we want to help every community, government, business, and organization meet their renewable energy targets.”
By Dr. Anne Waple:Five years ago this month, The Collider officially opened its doors in Asheville.
The Collider’s first decade: 5 years ago to 5 years in the future
By: Dr. Ann Waple, CEO of Earth’s Next Chapter & Member at The Collider - April 2021
Conceived as a co-working space and accelerator for climate-related businesses and organizations, it’s beautiful floor-to-ceiling west windows looked out on a great view in 2016: the Western North Carolina mountains, and a growing membership dedicated to solving our most pressing global problem while bringing economic opportunity to our town.
So, how has that view changed over the last five years? And how might it change in the next five years?
In 2016, The Collider was already a product of more than 10 years of grassroots organizing around economic opportunity, sustainability-focused local development, and philanthropic support. This effort was driven in part by the growing recognition and reputation of Asheville as a center of climate change expertise. Since 1953, Asheville has hosted the world’s largest repository of weather and climate information (run by NOAA), and by 2016, was contributing ever-more important and visible expertise to national and global climate research, data management, and climate services.
In 2021, it’s safe to say that private sector climate services are growing rapidly in number and importance, and looking back, it seems like a natural step to support this growth right here in Asheville alongside the federal climate data center. But a decade or more ago, the industry’s growth was by no means obvious. The Collider in 2021 is very much rooted in the creativity, foresight, investment — and dedication — of a handful of local troublemakers! And still, there has been significant evolution in the last five years since its official inception, and the Collider has had to weather (pun intended!) multiple challenges.
So, with the backdrop of a growing climate industry, what are the main ways the Collider has already played a role in supporting the local and not-so-local members of the climate services community, and where might it be in another five years?
A Thriving Network
The collaborative nature of the Collider has always been the cornerstone of its philosophy — understanding that the knowledge about and the solutions for climate change are bigger than any one sector can generate. Plus, collaboration is just more fun and creative (both necessary elements for solving climate change), and the members have always had a positive, generative network in mind. In 2020, the Collider got even more serious about creating a generative network, and the members themselves began providing the bulk of the strategic direction. While the network has strengthened throughout the last five years, the hope is that it will very much continue to grow and evolve as our response to climate change does the same.
This network is intended to support the members that are scattered all over the US, but in particular, promote the growth of climate services right here in Asheville, as well as to serve our partner organizations in town.
The collaborative nature of the Collider has always been the cornerstone of its philosophy — understanding that the knowledge about and the solutions for climate change are bigger than any one sector can generate.
In another five years, the hope is that more businesses and organizations choose to locate their HQs in Asheville, and that both the local and the national scale of The Collider’s network will be recognized as an authoritative hub for climate solutions across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.
Local Economic Contributions
As the number of businesses and organizations increase and as many of those businesses have become more successful, the Collider has provided an increasing positive local economic impact.
Although the Collider hasn’t tracked the specific revenue of its businesses and organizations (something to consider for the next five years!), it’s estimated that the Collider members have grossed between $5–10m, not including the government contracts or NOAA’s Cooperative Institute, which is part of the UNC system. This is a baseline number and is projected to rise quite sharply in the next several years. Obviously, this helps the local economy directly, but there is also more indirect support to help make sure that Asheville’s economy can be a sustainable and climate-resilient one, with lots of local expertise to draw on.
Asheville on the National Climate Stage
As a collaborative network, Asheville is getting significant recognition as a hub of climate expertise, so much so that Asheville has started to be referred to as Climate City. In addition, several of the businesses and organizations in The Collider work at national and international levels and have their own impressive reputation.
For example, Climate Interactive, a nonprofit, regularly contributes its climate scenario graphics and analysis to the New York Times, and to international discussions, such as at the Paris Conference of Parties — the meeting at which the Paris Accord was signed. NEMAC-Fernleaf has been the main developer on the US Climate Resilience Toolkit — a key resource for cities and businesses looking to prepare for climate impacts. The US National Climate Assessment has benefitted from several Collider member contributions, and companies such as EcoBot are generating investment capital to serve clients all over the US with how to monitor, manage, and safely use wetlands.
Community Events and Education
Allied with the beautiful space on the 4th floor of the Wells Fargo Building, the Collider has hosted more than 150 events in its short history — from publicly-accessible ‘science pubs’, to large conferences (e.g. ClimateCon), to movie nights, hackathons and much more. Although COVID-19 has put a temporary halt to the in-person events, online meetings have still occurred and the Collider envisages opening the space back up to public events again later in 2021.
It is hoped that the Collider can become a local ‘go-to’ space for professional and public events alike. As the Asheville and surrounding communities drive towards their ambitious climate and sustainability goals in the next few years and decades, the Collider can become a place for locals and visitors to connect knowledge and action — becoming not only better educated about the world and our human systems, but also more inspired to participate.
A Focus on Opportunity
Much of the talk around climate change is…well, a little harrowing if we’re honest. Certainly the problems loom large and the changes required can seem a little daunting. However, change is already occurring rapidly — globally, nationally, and most obviously, at city and state scales. Asheville and The Collider is already building a reputation for being at the forefront of supporting positive change, and we see this only growing. Technological innovation, climate service models, data and scientific support, communications expertise, are all housed in organizational members of the Collider.
Reports in recent years (e.g. from investment giants such as BlackRock, and Bank of America, or from US-based nonprofits such as GreenBiz and CERES) have all indicated that industries and organizations that fully include climate change in their planning and operations are going to do better financially (and obviously also have a more positive impact on climate). Federal investment in renewables, and sustainable infrastructure is about to take off, and states and cities have already made bold commitments that will ensure the demand for climate services will grow in the next five years and beyond.
As the Asheville and surrounding communities drive towards their ambitious climate and sustainability goals in the next few years and decades, the Collider can become a place for locals and visitors to connect knowledge and action.
We think that the Collider couldn’t be better positioned to help bring the needed creative solutions to the challenge of climate change, AND increase the financial and reputational well-being of its members and the Western North Carolina region.
Dr. Anne Waple is the founder and CEO of Earth’s Next Chapter, with more than 20 years experience working in the public and private sector of the climate industry. She has been a member of The Collider since its founding.
DailyBreath launches on App and Google Play Stores
DailyBreath launches on App and Google Play Stores
Michael Neugebauer/the Jane Goodall Institute
Asheville, NC - April 2021
When Eric Klos, CEO of DailyBreath, LLC, envisioned developing a platform for delivering environmental insights to patients with respiratory conditions, it started with a foundational hypothesis. The confluence of weather, allergens, and irritants uniquely impacts each individual and this confluence could be ascertained in relation to a person’s symptoms to provide insights that would support efforts to reduce or avoid potentially preventable asthma attacks. To validate the hypothesis, Eric needed a partner, an expert in climate science, that would do a literature review of study-based evidence to show increased asthma incidences when specific weather and environmental thresholds were met.
“Once I realized my need for climate science expertise, because of my background working with the federal government, I was aware of NOAA’s National Climate Data Center, now called the National Center for Environmental Information, located in Asheville, NC,” Eric stated.
He further elaborated, “I knew that Asheville was the place to start if I was going to connect with climate expertise and correlate our changing climate with environmental factors that impact respiratory health.
With only a reach out to Marjorie McGuirk of CASE Consultants International, Eric was able to find his climate science expert. The foundation for the DailyBreath Forecast is climate science research by CASE Consultants International, that informed development of the DailyBreath Risk Index. While DailyBreath has iterated through a prototype and now a product widely available, climate change impacts on respiratory health daily are being more understood and extreme weather events like wildfires or flooding are having residual impacts that ultimately cause problems for those with respiratory conditions.
“As I engaged the climate science community through The Collider, including a workshop on Climate and Respiratory Health in late 2017, the discussion of climate change, environmental factors, and respiratory health made it clearer and clearer that climate adaptation and preventative health and wellness are joined at the hip”, Eric stated. People are increasingly aware of their indoor and outdoor air quality and its impact on their health and wellness. They have also linked their own personal experience outdoors with the local environmental conditions in their community. They understand that efforts to curb pollution and support clean air are important for creating healthier communities. DailyBreath, in conjunction with CASE Consultants International, continues to explore Climate and Health as the Collider explores sector impacts of climate change and supports the translation of climate science into solutions that will mitigate climate change, create climate resilient communities, and help every individual adapt to our changing climate.
DailyBreath has been a Collider member since its inception and continues to partner with both Collider members and Asheville technical resources to foster the emerging climate solutions leadership of ‘Climate City’. DailyBreath and the Collider continues to seek academic partnerships, corporate partners, and climate entrepreneurs to collaborate on innovative climate solutions for our changing world.
Minding the Tragic Gap: COP26 left me reeling in the gap between possibility and reality.
Minding the Tragic Gap: COP26 left me reeling in the gap between possibility and reality.
By: Written by Allison Whitaker, Marketing Director for With Many Roots & Collider Member - Dec 2021
“By the tragic gap I mean the gap between the hard realities around us and what we know is possible — not because we wish it were so, but because we’ve seen it with our own eyes.” ~ Parker J. Palmer
“How was COP?” is the wrong question I think. There are a million and one different ways to experience it and far too many events to keep track of.
“How was your COP?” is the more accurate question, so that’s the one I’ll answer.
In a few words, my COP was: validating, exhausting, inspiring, and disappointing.
First, some history. What’s the purpose of COP and what does the 26 stand for? In 1992 the UN realized that nations of the world would have to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists had linked these gasses with warming global temperatures and the gasses were being released at exponential rates. I was 5 years old. They met at the Earth Summit in Rio De Janiero in ’92 which led to the 1994 creation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). By then, I was 7. Every year since, with the exception of 2020, delegates from countries around the world have met to agree on commitments to address climate change. That’s where the 26 comes from, it’s simply the number of meetings. Previous COP achievements include The Kyoto Protocol signed in ’97 which ran from 2005–2020. It was the first time countries began to put in place the things they agreed to. In 2015 the Paris Agreement picked up where the Kyoto Protocol left off and notably included a temperature target. The way it’s written “to keep the rise in mean global temperature to well below 2 °C (3.6 °F) above pre-industrial levels, and preferably limit the increase to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F)” is indicative of the nuanced language these negotiations grapple with.
If you followed the math, you’d know I’m now 35. I’ve spent most of those years thinking that because I’m not a politician or scientist, I didn’t have much influence. That began to shift when I realized that my skillset — communications — was actually quite useful in helping people understand climate science. But still, I wasn’t sure if I should go to COP. I’m not a delegate, it’s still a pandemic, and I wasn’t quite sure how it all worked. Then I began to think about historical movements for social change. If I’ve learned anything from them, it’s that numbers matter. Conversations matter. Showing up matters. So that’s how I ended up on a train to Glasgow in November 2021. It would be a COVID COP, which meant daily rapid tests and proof of negative results were required to get into most events. Masks were mandatory.
I spent most of my time in events arranged outside of the official COP26 hubbub. There were so many events to choose from and the fear of missing out lead to my colleague and me creating a detailed spreadsheet. Despite the hard work, I’d gone rogue by day 2. My week started with a morning at the COP26 Coalition People’s Summit for Climate Justice learning the 101 on intersectionality. That was followed by an inspiring afternoon with the Climate Interactive team and fellow Ambassadors. Tuesday morning morphed into an entire day at the She Changes Climate Champions of Solutions event, Wednesday was a day full of awe and inspiration at The New York Times Climate Hub, Thursday and Friday were spent at the COP26 Green Zone checking out the exhibits and spreading climate education with The Climate Fresk. It was a full week of inspiration, I wrote more about it here. By Saturday, I was home again. I sat absolutely exhausted physically and mentally, in a bouldering gym and watched the final proceedings on a smartphone screen. It took a week to regain my energy and process what felt like whiplash too.
The agreements had come in strong and fast in the first week. Methane reduction pledges — a great high-impact solution. A pledge to end deforestation by 2030 by some key players including Brazil, steward of the Amazon rainforest. The president of Barbados delivered a powerful speech; Boris Johnson compared climate change to a Bond villain; David Attenborough rallied us all. There were appearances by Prince William, President Obama, and Emma Watson. But by the final day, the most binding agreements were weakened at the last minute, triggering a heartfelt apology from COP26 President, Alok Sharma.
The commitments made in Glasgow are estimated to put the world on track for 2.4 °C temperature rise. A world this much hotter will see island nations at risk of disappearing, stripping the citizens of their homes, their history, and their way of life. In fact, around 275 million people will be displaced as their homes will be below high tide. The ocean will be more acidic, dissolving plankton shells causing ripples felt all the way up the ocean food chain. This will have a huge impact on the 3.3 billion people who rely on the ocean for 20% of their average intake of protein. Food on land isn’t safe either. This level of warming will cause more than 3x lower corn and wheat yield, and 2 times lower rice yield. There will be more potent hurricanes and tornadoes. Extreme heat will account for 2.5 times as many deaths worldwide as it does today. It’s not just the humans that will suffer, wildlife will too. Insects, the unpaid labor of agriculture, will lose 31% of their range. Mammals, our closest genetic relatives, will lose 13%. Data from En-ROADS. The overall impacts in the examples above are still less bad than the “head in the sand” scenario. Good, but not good enough. We are capable of more.
I’m not sure if it was optimism or naivety, but I expected this year to be the one that brought about radical change. Of course, it didn’t happen that way. And frankly, I’m realizing that the radical change that’s needed never could come about from the way these agreements are made. They are decided based on consensus allowing the bar to be set by the least ambitious parties. This is where a framework I’ve been thinking about a lot recently becomes relevant. Taking a look at the bigger scheme of things where do governmental pledges lie? I think the triangle of inaction does a pretty good job at revealing the role of different change entities. It posits that governments alone won’t (can’t) move fast enough; citizens alone can’t individually make the changes needed, and corporations are using the wrong metrics for success. The easy thing for each of these entities to do is point the blame at each other. Or, if you flip it, each of these entities can push the others to do more.
My time at COP had been spent in spaces full of inspiration, hope, and stubborn optimism. My idea of what was possible had stretched based on the sheer number of committed people who’d shown up, arranged events, and talked about it. I’d spent time with activists, young people, and change makers, but I hadn’t spent time with the decision-makers. So what are the metrics for success for a COP? Is any forward movement worth celebrating? For me, the answer is yes, it’s something even if it’s still not enough. Celebrate today, push tomorrow.
There’s a concept for this “not enough” space, it’s called the tragic gap. It is holding the tension between what is and what’s possible. Imagine stretching a rubber band between two hands.
According to Parker Palmer, founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal, the tragic gap is what’s happening when we’re standing between hard reality and what we know is possible. It means holding the discomfort, regenerating our resilience, reveling in the good, sowing seeds for the future we want. Minding the gap means taking care not to fall out on either side. On one side, there’s cynicism — we’re so screwed. On the other side, idealism — everything is going to be fi-i-i-ne. Palmer argues that while these two positions may seem to be opposites, they’re actually quite similar. Both positions take us out of the action — out of the Tragic Gap. The challenge is finding our own way to hold what might be two radical opposites and continue to move forward step by step. To stay in the action. Managing to hold this space doesn’t guarantee that we’ll fix it all tomorrow. Rarely in history have the people standing in the tragic gap seen the final resolution. This is a long game.
For me, standing in the tragic gap is saying: this COP didn’t fix everything but it did move some things forward. Can you believe 30,000 people showed up in Glasgow to add their voices? What an incredible world we could create by implementing solutions shared here? How might I create longing for the world that’s possible?
I’ve come to realize that I occupy the tragic gap a lot. In my work, I bring robust data, packaged in story, delivered with empathy to decision-makers who want to better understand the science and solutions. The impacts and challenges of climate change are hard realities to grapple with. I’m seeing, however, that understanding can be a bridge to see the other side of the gap — the possibility. Almost everyone I spoke to in Glasgow had moments where everything shifted and they started to understand what could be. So I’ll continue to mind the gap, and work to bring about longing for the world that is possible.