Providing Clean Energy to Communities During Emergencies

Providing Clean Energy to Communities During Emergencies

Oscar

I love writing about clean energy, in part because I meet passionate people who are helping others. Oscar Ruiz is one of them. Here’s a story about how he helped out during the most recent energy crisis in Texas, a crisis that left more than 3 million people without power, and in some cases, water.  This story is for Microgrid …

Kids Getting Sick, Anxious, Depressed from Lack of Exercise: Podcast

Kids Getting Sick, Anxious, Depressed from Lack of Exercise: Podcast

lack of exercise

To protect both their physical and mental health, kids need to get exercise and take part in outdoor play, says Dr. Dan O’Neill, author of “Survival of the Fit.” I interviewed him recently for my youth sports podcast and learned that his book is an important wake-up call.

Twenty percent of kids are obese, and develop ailments such as diabetes, …

This Immigrant’s Success Spurred by Jamaica’s Way of Life

This Immigrant’s Success Spurred by Jamaica’s Way of Life

The star student was in trouble.

Michael Taylor was a sophomore at an elite Jamaican high school, Campion College, which had welcomed him as a freshman after he scored in the top one percent on an entrance exam, earning a coveted government scholarship.

He had a reputation for being a math whiz.

But one day during the Jamaican equivalent of …

Becoming a Citizen of the Community: The Immigrant Story

Becoming a Citizen of the Community: The Immigrant Story

It wasn’t enough for Prasenjit Tito Chowdhury to enroll in a prestigious U.S. engineering program, then land a job at Intel, one of Oregon’s most well-known employers.

No, after coming to America, the native of Bangladesh wanted more than simply working each day to pay his bills.

“I wanted to be a citizen of the community,” he says.

And he …

Learning How to Wing it, Feel Uncomfortable in Youth Sports

Learning How to Wing it, Feel Uncomfortable in Youth Sports

 

For my youth sports podcast, Ultimate Sports Parent Radio, I recently interviewed Brian Levenson, a mental performance coach and author of “Shift Your Mind.”

He described how athletes benefit from “strong” or inner skills such as empathy and teamwork.

“We want to shift the narrative about so-called soft skills–skills like empathy, leadership and communication. We’re on a mission to …

Dreamer Pleads for a Pathway to Citizenship: Latest Piece for The Immigrant Story

Dreamer Pleads for a Pathway to Citizenship: Latest Piece for The Immigrant Story

 

“I hope there is a pathway to citizenship that gives us finally our freedom to live our lives the way we choose,” says Azucena Javier-Marquez, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient.

“I’m hoping that they finally stop playing with our lives.”

Read the story here:

Pleading for a Pathway to Citizenship

Latest Immigrant Story Piece: From Zim Kid to COVID-19 Advisor

Latest Immigrant Story Piece: From Zim Kid to COVID-19 Advisor

In my latest piece for The Immigrant Story, I profile a young man from Zimbabwe who came to the US with a dream of going to college and making a difference in others’ lives. Now he’s realizing his dream as a physician in Portland and a COVID-19 Advisor for the Oregon Health Authority.

When Bukhosi Dube recently took a big …

Warning: My Son Will Roast You

Warning: My Son Will Roast You

Being a single mom has its challenges. But being a dating single mom is even more difficult. I’m often caught between my date or boyfriend and my son.

Here’s a story, “Warning: My Son Will Roast You,” recently published in a dating issue from Beyond Words Literary Magazine.

“I am the tugboat, you’re The Queen Elizabeth,” my boyfriend, Rick, told

What’s it Like to Drive a Tesla 1,600 Miles? Explosion Fears, Hostile Strangers &….

What’s it Like to Drive a Tesla 1,600 Miles? Explosion Fears, Hostile Strangers &….

Explosion Fears, Hostile Strangers and Other Hazards of a 1,600-Mile Tesla Journey

drive a Tesla
By Lisa Cohn

Before I drove my new Tesla from Portland, Ore. to Whitefish Montana, I tried to travel in a Volkswagen e-Golf.

I impulsively leased a Volkswagen e-Golf in 2015 after learning that leases were going for low rates.

The modest and zippy e-Golf, it turned out, …

Editorial in the Oregonian: Power Outages, Climate Threats Should Prompt Action

Editorial in the Oregonian: Power Outages, Climate Threats Should Prompt Action

By Lisa Cohn
Lisa Cohn

My good friend Elisa Wood and I are editors and founders of a news site that focuses on distributed energy. Here’s an editorial we wrote for the Oregonian about why Oregon and states across the country need to take action by installing more distributed energy.

 

Power Outages, Climate Threats Should Spark Oregon Action on Off-Grid Alternatives