Ted and Sierra Flanigan’s Clean Energy Crash Course: Mini Series on International Travels, Part 1
In this episode of Flanigan’s Eco-Logic, father-daughter duo, Ted and Sierra Flanigan host the clean energy crash course mini series focusing on Ted’s international travels.
They introduce the mini series, which will highlight 40 years of international trips, which gave him global perspective on energy issues. This led to 40 years of reporting on these issues and opening people’s eyes to energy innovations and technologies all over the world. They will highlight his experiences from travels to countries including Canada, The Soviet Union, France, Singapore, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Philippines, Thailand, China, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Iceland, and South Korea.
n part 1, Ted begins with the lessons learned from his fulfilling experiences abroad that have enriched his work life. Throughout all his years of international travel, his biggest takeaway is that 98% of the people in the world are good people, and he’s constantly been reassured through human connection and learning from different cultures.
The first trip that Ted and Sierra reminisce on is his works in Canada in the James Bay area around 1985 and the huge hydro Quebec Electric projects there. He also discusses his works in Ontario and working for the City of Toronto as it sought soft path solutions.
The second trip they covered was Moscow at the Global Forum on Sustainable Development in 1988. Ted was asked to attend as a sustainability expert to help guide the forum on behalf of Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI).
Ted concludes with a favorite trip, an experience which was also afforded to him via RMI, in Singapore, and thanks to Lee Eng Lock, that culminated with a side trip into the jungles of Malaysia and the South China Sea. Sierra thanks him for taking a trip down memory lane, and reiterates the idea of being open and receptive to what other cultures have to teach us – which is a lot.