On September 24, Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer took executive action that, among other things, sets a goal for Michigan to be carbon neutral by 2050 and cuts climate emissions 28% by 2025. This bold goal makes Michigan a national leader on climate. A  Council on Climate Solutions is now beginning to meet to create and implement a plan for achieving this ambitious goal.

In this episode, we talk to Douglas Jester, a partner at 5 Lakes Energy and one of the most knowledgeable energy experts in the state, about what achieving carbon neutrality for Michigan’s entire economy means, and what we need to do in the shorter term to be on track to meet this goal. We also talk about the devastating power outages that happened recently in Texas, and his work on the UP Energy Task Force - including how the UP can transition to clean electric heat sources and save money.

Speaking of Resilience is created by the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities and the Michigan Climate Action Network. This episode was produced by Taylor Cramer of Cold Shower Media in collaboration with Nick Loud of the Boardman Review, and hosted by Kate Madigan.