What does grief have to teach us about the environment? What does solar have to teach us about love? And how can a polar bear teach us about renewable energy? Here to answer these questions today is Bob Blake, the owner of the Minneapolis-based solar developer Solar Bear. Bob has a beautiful way of connecting our own healing to the healing of the planet, and he’s doing that through real tangible projects based in community. Blake shares how grief after his brother’s death inspired the “Solar Bear” persona, led him to write a business plan in college, and became a life-saving purpose (obsession!) that evolved into climate action. A lesson Carly can't stop thinking about from this episode: the way Bob uses empathy when facing pushback against renewables. Blake shares updates on projects like electric school buses, EV infrastructure, and e-bike grants for Red Lake, and the Solar Cub program—an open-source, culture- and language-integrated STEM curriculum expanding across grades and communities. He also discusses workforce development for formerly incarcerated citizens and military veterans. To say Bob is inspiring is an understatement.

Learn more about Solar Bear.

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Music produced by M Baxley of Bear Witness Media