Renewable Energy as Love: Bob Blake on Grief, Healing and Solar

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?

Bob Blake, the owner of the Minneapolis-based solar developer Solar Bear, is here to answer these questions today. Bob’s introduction to the world of solar, and even his interest in the climate crisis, was anything but conventional. While he was mourning the loss of his brother, he kept seeing an image of a polar bear - which he perceived as his late brother's spiritual return – and it inspired him. After his brother’s death, Bob became a surrogate father to nieces and nephews, and was confronted with the thought of their futures.

Bob thought he might as well try to tackle this whole climate change thang for their sake, thinking it would be as easy as checking it off the to-do list. What started as a business plan for a college class about a solar company became his life-saving purpose (obsession!) that evolved into climate action.

He now runs Solar Bear and Native Sun Community Power Development. Blake shares updates on projects like electric school buses, EV infrastructure, and e-bike grants for Red Lake. One of my favs? The Solar Cub program—an open-source, culture- and language-integrated STEM curriculum expanding across grades and communities. He also discusses creating workforce development opportunities for formerly incarcerated citizens and military veterans.

To say Bob is inspiring is an understatement. A lesson I can’t stop thinking about from this episode: his empathy when facing pushback, mistrust, or misinformation about the climate crisis and renewable energy.

Listen now to find out how Bob has been unwinding lately!

Find out more about Solar Bear and Native Sun Community Power Development.

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Music produced by M Baxley of Bear Witness Media