Climate One

Wildfires are nothing new – they’ve been part of the west’s ecology for millennia. But burning fossil fuels and suppressing the burning of forests over the past century have led to larger, more frequent and ever-more catastrophic wildfires. And burning trees release carbon dioxide. California’s fires now are so big and fierce that they threaten to erase the state’s progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And even for those miles from the flames, the smoke from raging wildfires presents an extra danger in the age of coronavirus. "How and when exposure to wildfire smoke increases the likelihood of infection with COVID-19, we’re still trying to figure that out," says Vin Gupta of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. "But there is a clear symmetry between exposure and the likelihood of infection." Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Part 1: Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary of Natural Resources Julie Cart, Reporter, CalMatters Part 2: Leroy Westerling, Professor of Management of Complex Systems, University of California Merced Part 3: Vin Gupta, Affiliate Assistant Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington Additional speaker: Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Director of the Northern California Prescribed Fire Council. This episode was recorded in August 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The cost and health burdens of electricity production have long been higher for low-income communities of color than for wealthy white ones. But for many of those communities the fossil fuel industry is also a source of jobs, tax dollars, and cheap energy. “It makes it difficult for anyone to speak out against the hand that’s feeding them,” says Ivan Penn, Alternative Energy Reporter for the New York Times. “The NAACP would typically support the positions of the utility companies.” So is the industry an example of community leadership, manipulative greenwashing — or something in between? Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Speakers: Derrick Hollie, President, Reaching America Jacqueline Patterson, Director, NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program Ivan Penn, Alternative Energy Reporter, The New York Times Vien Truong, Climate Justice Director, Tom Steyer PAC Additional Speaker: Andres Soto, Richmond Community Organizer, Communities for a Better Environment This program was recorded via video on August 11, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can art help us process our changing climate? The story of climate change is typically told in the language of facts and figures, graphs and charts. But through dance, music, sculpture and other media, artists can reach people on a deeper and more emotional level, designing cultural moments that can bring us together - and bring us to tears. Choreographer Alonzo King sees the union of art and science as the perfect balancing act. “There is nothing that exists that you can create that does not have science -- it's impossible,” says King. “There's nothing that doesn't have music. It's impossible.” A conversation about art, beauty and humanity in the age of climate disruption. Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Alonzo King, Choreographer and Founder, LINES Ballet Nora Lawrence, Senior Curator, Storm King Art Center Additional Speaker: Adam Schoenberg, Composer This program was generously underwritten by the Sidney E. Frank Foundation and was recorded via video on August 6, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coronavirus outbreaks in food markets, food plants, and farmworker communities have impacted food access and put a spotlight on food insecurity. Farmers are hurting as supply chains for fresh, perishable foods shrivel, while food banks have seen a surge in demand that has required distribution support from the National Guard. “Farmers saw a lot of increased demand direct to consumer, which requires extra labor, extra packaging -- just so much time essentially creating a whole new business model,” says Lisa Held, Senior Reporter with Civil Eats. Will COVID-19 change our food system for good? Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Lisa Held, Senior Policy Reporter, Civil Eats Karen Ross, Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture Helene York, Professor, Food Business School, Culinary Institute of America Additional speakers: Shay Myers, CEO, Owyhee Produce Gabriel Morales, Program Director, Brandworkers This program was recorded via video on July 30, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miami may be the poster child of rising waters in the U.S., but further inland, states are grappling with torrential flooding that is becoming the new norm. The Great Flood of 2019 caused destroyed acres of farmland and caused billions in damage throughout the Midwest. And scientists predict that there’s more climate-related precipitation to come. What does that mean for America’s aging infrastructure? “It’s absolutely going to fail for future climate events,” warns Martha Shulski of the Nebraska State Climate Office. “If you're not planning for the climate of 2040 or 2060 then there's going to be failure. There's going to be impacts in a very extreme way perhaps.” What happens when there is too much water — or not enough? “The problem with water is we treat it as if it’s, you know, inexhaustible,” says Betsy Otto, Global Water Director at the World Resources Institute. How are companies and communities planning for a future of water saturation and scarcity? Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Julia Kumari Drapkin, CEO and Founder, ISeeChange Ed Kearns, Chief Data Officer, First Street Foundation Martha Shulski, Director, Nebraska State Climate Office; Nebraska State Climatologist Betsy Otto, Global Water Director, World Resources Institute Additional interview: Jack Mulliken, farmer in Northeast Nebraska This program was recorded on July 28 and August 4, 2020, and is generously underwritten by the Water Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long before the coronavirus began disrupting America’s trillion-dollar meat industry, lab-grown proteins were upending the way we consume chicken, pork, and beef. With an environmental footprint far smaller than traditional animal agriculture, are cell-cultured and plant-based meat products — now on the menus of major chains like Burger King — still the future of food? "While no one should reasonably be expected to eat a thousand dollar, million dollar burger, so too should we really be questioning the concept of a dollar burger," says Sophie Egan, author of How to Be a Conscious Eater: Making Food Choices That Are Good for You, Others, and the Planet. Will food science and tech help us make better-informed decisions for our bodies and the planet, or do we need to get back to basics? Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Sophie Egan, Author, How to Be a Conscious Eater: Making Food Choices That Are Good for You, Others, and the Planet Chase Purdy, Author, Billion Dollar Burger: Inside Big Tech’s Race for the Future of Food Additional Speaker: Riana Lynn, CEO of Journey Foods This program was recorded via video on July 9, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Science has given us a realistic picture of what Earth will look like with unmitigated climate change: increased extreme weather events, crippled economies, and a world where those with the least are the hardest hit. By creating community and sharing feelings of fear and determination, “you can rely on each other and feed off each other…having an ecosystem of all these different people and entities and organizations that are involved in this great transformation effort is so critical,” says Project Drawdown VP Katharine Wilkinson. What would a radically re-envisioned future look like? What solutions do we need to replace tomorrow’s doom-and-gloom projections with thriving equitable cities, renewed political consciousness and carbon-free economies? A conversation on reimagining our role in creating climate solutions. Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Eric Holthaus, Author, The Future Earth: A Radical Vision for What's Possible in the Age of Warming (HarperOne, 2020) Katharine Wilkinson, Vice President, Project Drawdown Additional Speaker: Michael Méndez, assistant professor of environmental planning and policy at the University of California, Irvine This program was recorded via video on July 21, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many of us, the story of the American wilderness begins when Europeans arrived on these shores and began conquering it. The wide open spaces of the American West loom large in our country’s mythology. But what often gets written out is the history and culture of those native societies who were here to begin with - and whose relationship to this land is very different. In some places like Jackson Hole, Wyoming, one-percenters contribute generously to preserve and protect the pristine wilderness they love, while the people who work for them are often struggling, working two or three jobs. “The idea of ...giving your time and philanthropy to protect nature is through this elite sort of white lens that can be based on, you know, this romanticized view of nature,” Farrell says. “And a nature that for example for Yellowstone had to remove certain people to create that Eden.” How are public and private land interests competing in the American West? Can conservation and recreation coalesce in a way that is inclusive of all communities? Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Dina Gilio-Whitaker, American Indian Studies Lecturer, California State University San Marcos Justin Farrell, Author, Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West (Princeton University Press, 2020) Diane Regas, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Trust for Public Land Additional interview: Jessica Newton, Founder, Vibe Tribe Adventures This program was recorded via video on July 7, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to cut U.S. carbon emissions by 7.5% in 2020 — exactly the rate needed globally to meet the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. Can other major economies like China and Europe make plans to decarbonize at the same rate without throwing their economies over a cliff? What happens when the world’s top clean energy exporters are also the top greenhouse gas emitters? With post-COVID economic recovery plans taking precedence, will the transition to a clean economy be pushed to the back burner? Guests: John Kerry, Former U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Justin Wu, Head of Asia-Pacific, Bloomberg NEF David Sandalow, Inaugural Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University Julia Poliscanova, Senior Director of Vehicles & E-mobility, Transport & Environment Lisa Fischer, Senior Policy Advisor, E3G This program was recorded between April 21 and June 26, 2020.Visit our website for complete show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Racism, police and the pandemic are dominating hearts and headlines, but will they translate to votes in national and regional elections? One study found wavering Trump voters rank immigration and climate change as top reasons for a possible vote change, but it’s unclear if that will materialize. Other studies contend climate doesn’t even rank on the minds of swing voters. Young, liberal Americans are leading the charge on climate, but Bernie Sanders learned they are more likely to protest than vote. What issues are top of mind for Obama-Trump voters in swing states? How will the Coronavirus and racial justice crises of 2020 impact voters this cycle? Guests: Tiffany Cross, Co-Founder, The Beat DC; Author, Say It Louder! Black Voters, White Narratives, and Saving Our Democracy Rich Thau, President & Co-founder, Engagious Rick Wilson, Republican Political Strategist This program was recorded via video on June 23, 2020.For full show notes, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices