Cool Solutions

Series produced by Wendy Ring

Series image

Documentary series about US communities taking climate action from the bottom up.

Documentary series about US communities taking climate action from the bottom up. No polar bears, just people getting together where they live to create workable local solutions. Half inspiration and half "how-to" information, our stories are a shot of positive energy for listeners wondering "What can I do?"


17 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Minnesota, the Solar Garden State
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Caption: Leech Lake solar array
For the 3 out of 4 Americans who can't put solar panels on their roofs, community solar gardens are a way to save money now and be part of building...

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio] and KICI


  • Added: Nov 10, 2019
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 2
Sprouting from the Rooftops
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Piece image
Joining a local solar cooperative makes it easier and cheaper to add solar panels to your home.

Bought by KICI, WFHB, and KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio]


  • Added: Oct 09, 2019
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 3
Free Lyfts
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Caption: Sebastopol's free electric bus
Rural bus systems turn challenges into strengths by going fare free.

Bought by KICI, WFHB, KRZA, and KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio]


  • Added: Sep 10, 2019
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 4
Waste Not, Warm Not
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Caption: Food Rescuers, Credit: Food Rescue US
Smartphone app turns food waste to meals instead of methane.

Bought by KICI, WFHB, and KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio]


  • Added: Aug 06, 2019
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 3
The Healing Power of Trees
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Caption: Volunteers planting trees in Louisville
Health researchers are planting 8,000 trees in Louisville to learn how trees prevent cardiac death. No crystals and woo woo. This is solid scienc...

Bought by KICI, WFHB, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], and 'The Sea'


  • Added: Jul 09, 2019
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 4
So Good To Not Feel Alone
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Piece image
Community residents, longshoremen, small businesspeople, tribes and environmentalists got together and stopped a massive oil by rail terminal in Va...

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WFHB, KRZA, and KMRE-LP


  • Added: Jun 09, 2019
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 4
Small Town Whups Big Oil: "You don't threaten Mainers"
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Caption: Citizens celebrate passage of Clear Skies Ordinance, Credit: Dan Wood
Despite millions of dollars of pressure from Shell, Exxon, and the American Petroleum Institute, the small city of South Portland, Maine stops the...

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WFHB, KMRE-LP, and KRZA


  • Added: May 09, 2019
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 4
Street Lights Unplugged
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Caption: Beaumont solar street lights
Solar street lights are local clean energy that can be installed in a day.

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WFHB, KGNU, KMRE-LP, and KRZA


  • Added: Apr 11, 2019
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 5
A Quiet Clean Energy Revolution
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Caption: Turn out for city council vote on 100%
A different kind of organizing leads Norman OK and Hanover NH to vote unanimously for 100% clean energy.

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WFHB, KMRE-LP, and KRZA


  • Added: Mar 11, 2019
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 4
People Over Parking Lots
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Caption: Half empty lot on Black Friday, Credit: Strong Towns
Fayetteville Arkansas and Buffalo NY stopped requiring off-street parking and found that walkable shopping districts boost local business. Its some...

Bought by WFHB, KMRE-LP, and KRZA


  • Added: Feb 10, 2019
  • Length: 27:59
  • Purchases: 3
Stopping the Gentrification Train
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Caption: Evans Station Lofts
Making neighborhoods sustainable makes them desirable and rising prices push old residents out. Community land trusts in Denver CO and Burlington ...

Bought by WFHB, KGNU, and KMRE-LP


  • Added: Jan 10, 2019
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 3
Riding into the Future
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Piece image
Want a bike lane? Then go out and paint one on the road. Citizens in Macon redesigned downtown streets to show their city what the future can be....

Bought by WFHB, KMRE-LP, WRGY, and RadioFreePalmer


  • Added: Dec 10, 2018
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 4
Rising Green From the Ashes
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Piece image
Wildfire victims rebuild all solar, all electric homes with help from their community energy program. Hear one family's story, learn what makes a h...

Bought by KGNU, WFHB, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KMRE-LP, RadioFreePalmer and more


  • Added: Oct 13, 2018
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 6
A Lungful of Diesel Exhaust is No Way to Start the School Day
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Piece image
Our aging US fleet of diesel school buses exposes kids to toxic fumes, inside and out. Twin Rivers Unified School District is one of the first in t...

Bought by WFHB, KMRE-LP, and WRGY


  • Added: Sep 19, 2018
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 3
Batteries Save the Day
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Caption: Installing battery in Sterling
A story of 3 towns who find that storing solar energy in giant batteries is cheaper and safer than power plants.

Bought by WFHB and KMRE-LP


  • Added: Jun 24, 2018
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 2
From Scraps to Riches
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Piece image
Stories of 3 eco-entrepreneurs in Boston, Chicago, and San Diego who divert food waste from landfills and turn it into income, jobs, and fertile so...

Bought by WFHB, KMRE-LP, KFOI Radio, and KMXT


  • Added: May 07, 2018
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 4
The Animal's Day Off
From: Wendy Ring
Series: Cool Solutions
Piece image
School cafeterias across the nation are improving their students' health and their futures by serving more plant-based meals.

Bought by WFHB, KMRE-LP, KFOI Radio, and KVSC


  • Added: Feb 07, 2018
  • Length: 28:08
  • Purchases: 4

Playlists That Feature This Series: