Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, is suing Greenpeace for $300 million. The pipeline company accuses Greenpeace of criminal behavior — trespassing, vandalism, and assault of construction workers — and inciting riotous behavior by protesters at Standing Rock in 2016.

Greenpeace considers this legal action to be a “SLAPP suit” — a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation — aimed at silencing not just Greenpeace, but civil protests everywhere. The trial is just getting underway in Morton County, North Dakota. In this episode we unpack not just this case, but the broader implications of such suits.

Guests: 

Rolf Skar, National Campaigns Director, Greenpeace

Montgomery Brown, Member, Standing Rock Grassroots

Laura Prather, Chair of First Amendment Practice, Haynes Boone

On March 24, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt and Irina Raicu, Director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center, will speak with Climate One about the development of sustainably powered artificial intelligence. Tickets are on sale through our website.

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From hurricanes on the East Coast to wildfires in LA, to floods in Vermont and storms in Texas, communities across the U.S. are facing a growing number of intense and devastating disasters. There are significant disparities in who has the means to evacuate during a disaster and who has the resources to rebuild once the storm has passed. Long after the immediate impact, the challenges continue, with many left to navigate a slow, complex, and often confusing recovery process. 

As the harsh reality of climate chaos sets in, how can we better integrate community mental health into the disaster recovery process to ensure that emotional and psychological needs are addressed alongside physical rebuilding?

Guests:

Adrienne Heinz, Clinical Research Psychologist, Stanford University School of Medicine

Samantha Montano, Assistant Professor of Emergency Management, Massachusetts Maritime Academy; Author, “Disasterology: Dispatches from The Frontlines of the Climate Crisis”

Ralph Hamlett, Alderman, Canton, North Carolina; Professor Emeritus of Political Communications, Brevard College

Haley Geller, Photo stylist; Pasadena resident

We’re excited to share two upcoming opportunities to see Climate One Live! On February 25, internationally recognized environmental and civil rights activist Catherine Coleman Flowers will join Climate One for a live conversation about the future of environmental justice. 

And on March 24, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt and Irina Raicu, Director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center, will speak with Climate One about the development of sustainably powered artificial intelligence. Tickets to both shows are on sale through our website.

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At this moment, the cheapest way to create electricity is by pointing a solar panel at the sun. That’s good news for the climate. It’s also good news for communities who want to take control of their own electricity generation.

In the heart of Brooklyn, UPROSE is helping to build a solar project that will be owned by the community, provide jobs, and help residents bring down their energy costs. In Puerto Rico, where hurricanes have devastated the power grid, community members are building solar microgrids to provide reliable electricity as the utility has proven they cannot. Meanwhile in conservative rural Virginia, Energy Right is helping farmers and rural communities adopt solar projects, touting a free market message about energy independence and security. 

Guests: 

Elizabeth Yeampierre, Attorney; Executive Director, UPROSE 

Skyler Zunk, CEO and Founder, Energy Right

Arturo Massol-Deyá, Executive Director, Casa Pueblo de Adjuntas

We’re excited to share two upcoming opportunities to see Climate One Live! On February 25, internationally recognized environmental and civil rights activist Catherine Coleman Flowers will join Climate One for a live conversation about the future of environmental justice. And on March 24, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt and Irina Raicu, Director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center, will speak with Climate One about the development of sustainably powered artificial intelligence. Tickets to both shows are on sale through our website.

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month.

For show notes and related links, visit our website.

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When individuals want to take action on climate, it’s often in the form of electrifying a home, voting, or maybe even traditional activism. Those are very important, but we often overlook how individual skills and talents can also make a difference. 

This week we’re highlighting creative forms of climate action. Pattie Gonia is a drag queen, environmentalist and advocate for inclusivity and diversity in the outdoors who struts their message through national parks, in Pride events, and through the halls of Congress. Mike Roberts and Will Hammond Jr. wrote a sultry R&B song that will change the way you think about heat pumps… and an equally stimulating song about the power of geothermal energy. Together, they remind us that we don’t always have to take ourselves too seriously in order for our work to be meaningful and have impact.

Guests:

Pattie Gonia, Drag queen; Environmentalist

Mike Roberts, Musician; Climate advocate

Will Hammond Jr., Educator; Musician

On February 25, internationally recognized environmental and civil rights activist Catherine Coleman Flowers will join Climate One for a live conversation about the future of environmental justice. Join us at noon in San Francisco for a can’t-miss show. Tickets are now available!

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.

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Pattie Gonia image credit Mitchell Overton

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The second Trump administration has hit the ground running. The president has signed a flurry of executive orders targeting everything from birthright citizenship to pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords. This is a far different moment from the first Trump term. The president is more focused, his team is more focused, and energy policy is at the top of their action list.

However, the renewable energy market is also much more mature, and the transition away from fossil fuels has been accelerated by three major climate-related bills passed during the Biden years. In this new political and economic landscape, how do climate advocates need to think and act differently to sustain progress? 

Guests: 

Dana R. Fisher, Director of the Center for Environment, Community, and Equity & Professor, School of International Service, American University

Nathaniel Stinnett, Founder and Executive Director, Environmental Voter Project

Arnab Datta, Director of Infrastructure Policy, Institute for Progress; Managing Director of Policy Implementation, Employ America

On February 25, internationally recognized environmental and civil rights activist Catherine Coleman Flowers will join Climate One for a live conversation about the future of environmental justice. Join us at noon in San Francisco for a can’t-miss show. Tickets are on sale now through our website.

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month.

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The wildfires ravaging Los Angeles have caused incredible destruction — loss of life, thousands of homes and businesses gone or damaged and hundreds of thousands of people displaced. While the scale and speed of these fires may feel unprecedented, the dry, fire-prone foothills around LA burn often. Yet increasingly we see wildfires spurred by climate factors including warmer temperatures and weather whiplash — cycles of heavy precipitation followed by extreme drought.

This week we hear what climate science says about current and future wildfire risk and about ways to support an equitable recovery from such destructive urban disasters.

Guests:

Moira Morel, Cinematographer; Altadena resident

Hugh Safford, Research faculty, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, UC Davis

Andrew Rumbach, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute 

Nick Mott, Multimedia journalist; Author of “This Is Wildfire”

On February 25, internationally recognized environmental and civil rights activist Catherine Coleman Flowers will join Climate One for a live conversation about the future of environmental justice. Join us at noon in San Francisco for a can’t-miss show. Tickets are on sale now through our website.

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If we include personal cars, along with appliances like water heaters, stoves and furnaces, more than 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from individuals at the home level. The good news: no matter where you live, there are steps you can take to make your home cleaner, healthier and more comfortable. 

And thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, there’s now a raft of federal incentives to help homeowners electrify their lives. Electrification has even become a theme on long running home improvement programs like “This Old House.” But with all the new technology and the federal tax credits, where to start? 

Guests: 

Ross Trethewey, Home Technology Expert, “This Old House”

Ari Matusiak, Co-founder, President and CEO, Rewiring America

Edith Buhs, Electrification Coach, Rewiring America; Decarbonization Advisor, Abode Energy Management

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Every year we highlight the work of a scientist who excels in communicating their work to the world. Climate One is delighted to present the 2024 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication to political scientist and energy expert Leah Stokes.

Her rare ability to communicate complex information to both academic audiences and the general public has established her as one of the most influential voices in climate action and clean energy policy. 

“What I've started to think about is not how can I make my impact as small as possible, like a carbon footprint, trying to shrink, but actually how can I make my impact as big as possible by joining with others in campaigns to try to change policies and laws so that we're not just trying to make marginal, incremental improvements on a fossil fuel-based energy system, but actually change the system towards clean electricity,” she says.

Guests:

Leah Stokes, Anton Vonk Associate Professor at UC Santa Barbara; Senior Policy Advisor, Rewiring America; Co-host of the podcast “A Matter of Degrees”

Rebecca Solnit, Author, journalist, and activist

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When most people hear the phrase renewable energy, they imagine fields full of solar panels or giant spinning wind turbines. But another source may be heating up: geothermal. 

Twenty years ago, it was thought that geothermal could provide at most 10% of any given area’s electricity, and only in very limited regions. There were also environmental concerns about depleting groundwater. But new technological advances may have unlocked the potential for scalable geothermal energy just about anywhere. And in a bit of irony, those technological advances came from the oil and gas industry. 

This episode originally aired February 23, 2024, and features content from contributing producer David Condos.

Guests: 

Amanda Kolker, Laboratory Program Manager for Geoscience and Geothermal Technologies, NREL

Jamie Beard, Founder of Project InnerSpace

Lauren McLean, Mayor of Boise

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Plastics are everywhere. And while we’ve known for a long time that plastics and our environment aren’t a good mix, it's becoming apparent that they’re massive climate polluters too. The production of plastics alone produces about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. After what is often a single use, the resulting waste continues releasing the greenhouse gasses ethylene and methane as it breaks apart.

Yet, as petrochemical companies pay lip service ending fuel production, they are pouring resources into plastics production. How do we wrap up our reliance on plastics? 

This episode originally aired on May 10, 2024, following the fourth negotiating session of the Global Plastics Treaty. This update includes a new interview with David Azoulay on the latest treaty negotiations.

Guests: 

Diane Wilson, Founder and Director, San Antonio Bay Waterkeeper

Jane Patton, U.S. Fossil Economy Campaign Manager, Center for International Environmental Law 

Susannah Scott, Professor of Chemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara 

David Azoulay, Director of Environmental Health, Center for International Environmental Law

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2024 set new records for extreme heat around the world in what is already the warmest decade on record. According to the World Meteorological Organization, sea-level rise and ocean heating are accelerating along with the loss of ice from glaciers. We continue to see extreme weather of all kinds wreak havoc on communities across the world. In spite of the growing disruption, countries continue to miss their self-imposed climate targets. And in November, the U.S. re-elected Donald Trump to the presidency, a move that will almost certainly slow the transition to cleaner forms of energy.

And yet, the transition continues. As the year winds down, Climate One hosts Greg Dalton and Ariana Brocious look back upon recent climate progress and pitfalls and revisit some of our most illuminating interviews of 2024.

Guests:

Karen Hao, Contributing Writer, The Atlantic

Shelley Welton, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law and Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy

Justin J. Pearson, District 86 State Representative, Tennessee General Assembly

Aja Barber, Author, “Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change and Consumerism”

Jamie Beard, founder of Project InnerSpace

Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Climate Justice Activist

Tzeporah Berman, Chair, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty

John Morales, Hurricane Specialist, WTVJ NBC6 Miami

Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California

Emily Raboteau, Author, “Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against ‘the Apocalypse’”

Jane Goodall, Ethologist, conservationist

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