

Climate One
Climate One from The Commonwealth Club
We’re living through a climate emergency; addressing this crisis begins by talking about it. Co-Hosts Greg Dalton, Ariana Brocious and Kousha Navidar bring you empowering conversations that connect all aspects of the challenge — the scary and the exciting, the individual and the systemic. Join us.Subscribe to Climate One on Patreon for access to ad-free episodes.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 14, 2020 • 53min
Building a Resilient Tomorrow
Climate-fueled floods, fires and droughts have devastated America’s cities and rural areas. Our natural response is to regroup, recover and rebuild. But should we instead be preparing for managed retreat? In her book Building a Resilient Tomorrow: How to Prepare for the Coming Climate Disruption, Alice Hill warns that the consequences of failing to prepare for further global warming will be staggering. How will we manage the costs of the growing climate threat? Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Alice Hill, Senior Fellow for Climate Change Policy, Council on Foreign Relations, co-author, Building a Resilient Tomorrow: How to Prepare for the Coming Climate Disruption (Oxford University Press, 2019) Sherri Goodman, Senior Strategist, The Center for Climate & Security; Former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Environmental Security) Janet Ruiz, Strategic Communication Director, Insurance Information Institute This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on January 27, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 7, 2020 • 52min
Driving Forces: How Climate Fuels Human Migration
From the first humans to venture out of Africa 60,000 years ago to the displaced refugees of today, migration has always been a part of human life. And in parts of the world where immediate threats include violence and poverty, climate change probably isn't a driving motivation to leave home.
But with erratic weather, extended droughts, and resource scarcity fueling political conflict and pressures on vulnerable rural livelihoods, it's impossible to leave climate out of the conversation. How is climate change fueling the mass movement of humans around the world, and what does that mean for national security and economies?
Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.
Guests:
Paul Salopek, Journalist and National Geographic Fellow
Dina Ionesco, Head of the Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) Division at the UN Migration Agency (IOM)
Francesco Femia, Co-Founder, The Center for Climate and Security
Oscar Chacon, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Alianza Americas
Lauren Markham, Author, The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life
Parts of this program were recorded at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco.
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Jan 31, 2020 • 52min
What is a Just Transition?
Our nation’s dependence on fossil fuels has led to climate disruption and inequality. Underserved communities are the ones most harmed by pollution, lack of green space and heat-related illness. Transitioning to clean energy would seem to be the obvious answer. But in the process of trying to right old wrongs, do we risk leaving some communities behind? What does a just transition to a cleaner, greener economy look like?
Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.
Guests:
Vien Truong, Principal, Truong & Associates
Darryl Molina Sarmiento, Executive Director, Communities for a Better Environment
Kevin de León, President pro Tempore Emeritus, California State Senate
This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on January 14, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 24, 2020 • 52min
REWIND: Drawdown / Solving Climate Change
When it comes to cutting carbon pollution, where do we start? Today’s solutions are doable, but daunting: decrease global meat consumption, improve family planning, shut down coal-fired power plants, or expand solar energy. Some countries have taken concrete steps to replace fossil fuels with nuclear, hydro and renewable energy, but the absence of U.S. climate leadership is causing heads of state to ease off their goals. What are the most impactful steps we can take individually and collectively to reduce our impact on the planet?
Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.
Guests:
Part One
Kate Brandt, Sustainability Officer, Google
Jonathan Foley, Executive Director, Project Drawdown
Lois Quam, U.S. Chief Executive Officer, Pathfinder International
Part Two
Sonia Aggarwal, Vice President, Energy Innovation
Joshua Goldstein, Professor Emeritus of International Relations, American University
Staffan Qvist, Energy Consultant
Part One of this program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on July 11, 2019, and originally aired on August 2, 2019.
Part Two was recorded at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on January 17, 2019, and originally aired on February 3, 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 17, 2020 • 52min
REWIND: Exploring Climate Psychology / Getting Outside in the Digital Age
We all know about the environmental effects of climate change. But what about its impact on our mental health? Therapists report that their patients are exhibiting symptoms of what they call “climate anxiety” – loss of sleep, changes in appetite, feelings of grief, anger and hopelessness. One way to cope with the stress and depression brought on by global warming is to get out into the natural world. Two Climate One discussions from the past year explore the psychology of climate change and highlight the importance of reconnecting with nature to maintain physical and mental well-being.
Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.
Guests:
Part One:
Renee Lertzman, Climate Engagement Strategist; Author, Environmental Melancholia: Psychoanalytic Dimensions of Engagement (Routledge, 2016)
Leslie Davenport, Psychotherapist; Author, Emotional Resiliency in the Era of Climate Change: A Clinician’s Guide (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2017)
Bryant Welch, Clinical Psychologist; Author, State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind (2018)
Part Two:
Phil Ginsburg, General Manager, San Francisco Recreation and Parks
Rebecca Johnson, Co-Director, Citizen Science at the California Academy of Sciences
Nooshin Razani, Pediatrician and Founder/Director of the Center for Nature and Health at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland
Part One of this program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on November 29, 2018, and originally aired on December 16, 2018.
Part Two was recorded at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on March 15, 2019, and originally aired on March 22, 2019.
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Jan 10, 2020 • 52min
Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have
Everyday choices – like deciding which shirt to buy or on which platform to binge-watch shows on – may impact the planet more than you think. Tatiana's Schlossberg's new book Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have, looks at how seemingly small choices can have a big impact on the climate. We sit down with experts in the fashion and energy sectors, two industries with a big carbon footprint, to see how far individual actions can take us – and when it's up to companies and producers to take the lead.
Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.
Guests:
Miranda Ballentine, CEO, Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance
Rebecca Burgess, Founder and Director, Fibershed
Gary Cook, Senior Corporate Campaigner, Greenpeace
Amina Razvi, Executive Director, Sustainable Apparel Coalition
Tatiana Schlossberg, Author, Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have
Parts of this program were recorded at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 3, 2020 • 52min
Dr. Robert Bullard: The Father of Environmental Justice
Often described as the father of environmental justice, Dr. Robert Bullard has written several seminal books on the subject and is known for his work highlighting pollution on minority communities and speaking up against environmental racism in the 1970-1980s. Climate One honors Robert Bullard with the ninth annual Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication.
Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.
Guests:
Robert Bullard, Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy, Texas Southern University
Adrianna Quintero, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Energy Foundation
This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on December 12, 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 27, 2019 • 53min
The Big Climate Stories of 2019
2019 saw a number of significant events in the climate world. Wildfires, floods, wind and extreme weather continued to batter the nation from California to Florida. There were firestorms in Congress and Tweetstorms from the White House. The rise of the youth climate movement, the advance of electric cars...and the emergence of climate as a top-tier campaign issue. Two reporters who cover the climate beat discuss the stories dominated their news feeds this year - and the ones that aren’t getting heard.
Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.
Guests:
Coral Davenport Reporter, Energy and Environmental Policy Reporter, New York Times
David Roberts, Energy and Climate Change Reporter, Vox
This program was recorded at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco.
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Dec 20, 2019 • 52min
Blackout
The 2018 Camp Fire was one of the most destructive in California’s history, resulting in over eighty deaths and destroying the town of Paradise. Dry weather and hot winds fanned the flames - but the spark that lit them came from a faulty transmission line. That and other wildfires have been found to be the result of negligence on the part of California’s biggest utility, PG&E. Their solution? Pulling the plug on millions of customers. But who pays the bill? And with PG&E facing bankruptcy, how will California power its future?
Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.
Guests:
Russell Gold, Reporter, Wall Street Journal
JD Morris, Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle
Catherine Wolfram, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Chair of the Faculty; Cora Jane Flood Professor of Business Administration, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley
Emily Wimberger, Climate Economist, Rhodium Group
Loretta Lynch, Former Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission
Danny Kennedy, Managing Director, California Clean Energy Fund
Portions of this program were recorded at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco.
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Dec 13, 2019 • 53min
Rewind: Jonathan Safran Foer and David Wallace-Wells
A look back at conversations with two writers confronting the climate challenge in 2019. In The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming, David-Wallace Wells allows fear — along with a storyteller’s appreciation for the human drama involved — to move him out of climate complacency. In We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast, Jonathan Safran Foer asks how individuals can change their behavior to create new climate-sensitive social norms.
Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.
Guests:
Katharine Hayhoe, Professor and Director, Climate Science Center, Texas Tech University
Jonathan Safran Foer, Author, We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast
David Wallace-Wells, Deputy Editor, New York Magazine; Author, The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming
Helene York, Chief Procurement Officer, Guckenheimer Enterprises; Faculty Member, Food Business School, Culinary Institute of America
Portions of this program were originally broadcast on June 28, 2019 and October 4, 2019.
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