Cambridge, MA is where my environmental career began. During the summer of my junior year in college, I worked as in intern at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, researching the geology of the WR Grace site in Acton, MA and drafting one section of a report that Harvard submitted to the EPA, as part of a Superfund study.

The next summer, I was out west, at Stanford's Dept of Applied Earth Sciences, helping grad students with their study of the Salinas Valley and how to best protect it from sea water intrusion. That was my first exposure to computer modeling and how it could be used to predict various environmental outcomes, depending on changing conditions.

From those early college opportunities to do real-world field research to my environmental teaching and writing, I've had a lot of amazing experiences which I reminisce about every year around Earth Day.

I returned this month to Harvard to share “Planet Power” with Professor Michael Aziz. He's the University's Boss when it comes to climate, renewable energy and battery storage solutions. When we met at Pierce Hall, Prof. Aziz agreed to join me at a Harvard Coop signing event for the book (deets to follow) and to sit down with me to discuss his groundbreaking battery storage work. So might there be another children's book in my future focusing on the ways we can store Earth's renewable power? I'm hoping so!

Please click here to read about Aziz's start-up company, Quino, which doesn't rely on lithium mining for its battery storage technology. And follow Dr. Aziz on Twitter!

Wishing you all a very Happy Earth Week ahead!