The Climate Pod

Latest Episodes:

The Bizarre Connection Between Coronavirus and Air Pollution Mar 25, 2020

Show notes

This week, we look at the very strange relationship between air pollution and COVID-19. Dr. Marshall Burke, Stanford University Earth System Science Professor and Deputy Director of Center on Food Security and the Environment, explains his piece "COVID-19 reduces economic activity, which reduces pollution, which saves lives." What happens when you calculate the health impacts of the drop of emissions? Dr. Burke explains.

Then, Dr. Sara De Matteis, Associate Professor in Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Cagliari University in Cagliari, Italy, talks about how the long-term exposure to air pollution impacts COVID-19 patients. Can air pollution make the coronavirus more deadly?

As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more!

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Further Reading:

Air pollution likely to increase coronavirus death rate, warn experts by Damian Carrington

Coronavirus Sparks New Climate Change Fears (w/ TIME's Justin Worland and GreenBiz's Joel Makower) Mar 18, 2020

Show notes

How is the novel coronavirus creating new concerns in the fight against climate change? This week, we dig into the subject with a couple of great guests.

First, TIME's Justin Worland joins the show to talk about how the global pandemic could impact international negotiations, the Paris Agreement, oil price wars, and climate activism.

Then, Joel Makower, chairman and co-founder of GreenBiz, tells how he'd like to see our response to the coronavirus favor sustainability and making businesses more green. How can we build a better future out of this mess? He gives some tips to charting that path.

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Further Reading:

How Coronavirus Could Set Back the Fight Against Climate Change by Justin Worland

COVID-19 and climate change: A healthy dose of reality by Joel Makower

Answers to Six Key Questions About the Oil Price Collapse by Justin Worland

Rep. Sean Casten on Fighting For Climate in Congress| Washington Post's Chris Mooney on the Coronavirus and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Mar 11, 2020

Show notes

This week, we talk to Rep Sean Casten (D-IL) about his career as an energy entrepreneur before joining Congress, how climate change factored into his decision to run for a House seat in 2018, and what bills he is sponsoring to address the issue.

Then, Washington Post's Chris Mooney joins the show to discuss how the coronavirus is impacting global greenhouse emissions. What does this mean in both the long-term and short-term? Chris tells about his reporting on the subject.

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Further Reading:

Coronavirus could halt the world's emissions growth. Not that we should feel good about that. by Chris Mooney, Brady Dennis, and John Muyskens

Julian Brave NoiseCat on the Green New Deal, Changing Climate Policy, and Much More | Plus Conversations on National Security in a Climate Crisis and the Oregon GOP Walkout Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

This week, we talk to Julian Brave NoiseCat about a variety of climate issues. He tell us about his journey to the climate movement, how the Green New Deal developed, how the Democratic Primary process has influenced climate policy, and how the experience of Indigenous communities should help inform our adaptation to the climate crisis.

Plus, The Hill's Rebecca Klar discusses a recent study that examines some of the national security concerns that we face as global temperatures warm.

And returning guest Chad The Bird interviews climate activist Brian Ettling about the GOP walkout in Oregon. What the hell is going on there?

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Further Reading:

THE FINGERPRINTS OF THE GREEN NEW DEAL ARE ALL OVER THE CLEAN FUTURE ACT by Julian Brave NoiseCat, Leah C. Stokes and Narayan Subramanian

Report warns climate change could become 'catastrophic' global, national security threat by Rebecca Klar

Oregon Republicans are subverting democracy by running away. Again. by David Roberts

Rising Sea Levels, Coastal Erosion: New Report Says Half the World's Sandy Beaches at Risk From Climate Change By 2100 by Frank Jordans

National Environmental Protection Act Under Threat | Plus Sunrise Scientists Explain Their Support For A Green New Deal (w/ WE ACT's Kerene Tayloe, Sunrise Scientist's Isaac Larkin, and Dr. Emily Grubert) Feb 29, 2020

Show notes

This week, a coalition headed to Washington D.C. to try to halt changes to the National Environmental Protection Act. WE ACT's Kerene Tayloe, Director of Federal Legislative Affairs, was part of the coalition and joins the show to explain what is under threat, how to oppose the changes, and what WE ACT is doing as an organization to help support environmental justice.

Then, the Washington Post published an Op-Ed this week comparing Sen. Bernie Sanders' approach to climate to President Trump's just weeks after refusing to publish an Op-Ed by scientists that support the Green New Deal. We talk to two of the scientists that signed their name to the Op-Ed about the content of the piece, why they wanted it published, and why it's important for scientists to have a voice on the Green New Deal.

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Learn more about WE ACT

Further Reading

Recent responses to climate change reveal the drivers of species extinction and survival by Dr. John J. Weins and Cristian Román-Palacios

Antarctica just hit 65 degrees, its warmest temperature ever recorded by Matthew Cappucci

The viral 'broomstick challenge' always works by Matthew Cappucci

Beware oil execs in environmentalists' clothing - BP could derail real change by Alice Bell

Climate Media in 2020 (w/ Mary Annaïse Heglar and Mark Hertsgaard) Feb 12, 2020

Show notes

This week, we take a look at ways to improve media coverage around the climate crisis with two of the most innovative, important voices in the industry. First, we're joined by Mary Annaïse Heglar, writer and co-host of the Hot Take podcast, a great new show on media criticism on climate coverage. Mary discusses her own approach to climate writing and vision for better coverage this decade.

Then, Mark Hertsgaard, veteran climate journalist and co-creator of Covering Climate Now, discusses his new initiative to foster better media collaboration on covering the crisis and how to make climate issues more prominent in news coverage.

This is a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion!

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Learn more about the Hot Take podcast

Learn more about Covering Climate Now

Felix Salmon on Davos' Hypocrisy Gap and Climate Economics | Rolling Stone's Justin Nobel on the Massive Danger of Toxic Waste from Oil-And-Gas Wells Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

Big show this week! First, Felix Salmon (chief financial correspondent for Axios, Slate's Money podcast, Axios Edge Newsletter) joins the show to discuss why all that talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos may be cheap, why Greta wasn't speaking in a bigger room, where he sees some of the biggest needs for economic policy to address climate change, and how attitudes are changing on the financial prospects of fossil fuel companies. We ask Felix: Is Jim Cramer the Greta Thunberg of financial cable television? (Spoiler alert: he's not).

Then, we talk to Justin Nobel, who's remarkable investigation for the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and Rolling Stone reveals a shocking truth around the dangers we face with toxic waste coming from oil-and-gas wells. The threat is deadly and most of us are simply unaware it exists.

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Learn more about the Economic Hardship Reporting Project

Further Reading:

America's Radioactive Secret by Justin Nobel

Axios Edge: Davos Hypocrisy by Felix Salmon

NASA's Dr. Gavin Schmidt on the 2nd Hottest Year on Record | CCL's Daniel Palken on How To Talk To Conservatives Jan 30, 2020

Show notes

This week, Dr. Gavin Schmidt, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, joins the show to review the results of NASA and NOAA analyses on 2019 climate data. He explains what the second hottest year on record means for an increasingly concerning trend.

Then, Citizens' Climate Lobby's Daniel Palken explains to us about how to talk to conservatives and Republican lawmakers. He discusses what motivates right-leaning voters, how CCL approaches reaching out to this group, and their upcoming event in Washington D.C.

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Further Reading:

NASA, NOAA Analyses Reveal 2019 Second Warmest Year on Record

Trump Removes Pollution Controls on Streams and Wetlands by Coral Davenport in The New York Times

To learn more about Citizens' Climate Lobby's conservative lobby day on The Hill, Feb. 3-4, check out https://citizensclimatelobby.org/ or follow CCL on Twitter.

Buzzfeed Investigates A Former CDC Climate Official | Examining Flooding and Air Pollution in Jakarta (w/ Buzzfeed's Zahra Hirji and Vice's Adi Renaldi) Jan 22, 2020

Show notes

Two interviews this week discussing two major topics we haven't covered on the podcast. First, Zahra Hirji returns to the show to discuss her investigative reporting into George Luber, a former official in the CDC's climate program, and explains what former and current staffers told her about his dismissal.

Then, Vice's Adi Renaldi joins us from Jakarta to talk about the devastating flooding in the Indonesian city, how climate change is impacting Jakarta, and the growing issue of air pollution.

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Further Reading:

How A Bad Boss Remade Himself As A Climate Hero by Zahra Hirji

Jakarta's Flood Are Yet Another Wake-Up Call On Climate Change by Adi Renaldi

It's Not Just Australia - Indonesia is Facing Its Own Climate Disaster by Rachel Ramirez

Australia's Weird Weather Is Getting Even Weather by Umair Irfan