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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For over a century, coal fueled much of the country and served as the economic backbone for many rural communities. But with the rise of more affordable wind and solar energy, coal is in decline, leaving these towns increasingly vulnerable. As jobs disappear, coal-dependent communities are faced with the threat of economic collapse and depopulation. 

To adapt, many are working to diversify their economies, seeking new industries and opportunities for the future. Today, we’ll visit coal communities across the country, where locals and leaders are actively exploring ways to rebuild and ensure no one is left behind in the energy transition.

This episode also features field reporting from Climate One and Caitlin Tan of Wyoming Public Media on the transition from coal to nuclear power in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

Guests:

Chris Levesque, CEO, TerraPower

Brian Muir, Kemmerer City Administrator

Tony Skrelunas, Executive Director of the Division of Economic Development, Navajo Nation

Mike Eisenfeld, Energy and Climate Program Manager, San Juan Citizens Alliance

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On the surface, climate policy couldn’t face a worse future than under a second Trump administration. As a candidate, Trump said on his first day back in office: “I want to drill, drill, drill.” So, what are environmental organizations, including those aligned with the Republican party, doing to keep making progress on addressing climate change? And what do Trump’s cabinet picks say about the incoming administration’s attitude toward energy policy? 

Guests: 

Abigail Dillen, President, Earthjustice

Heather Reams, President, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions

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A brief correction was made to this episode on 29 December 2024.

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Globally, one-third of food produced every year is wasted. That’s enough to feed about 2 billion people — twice the number of people who are undernourished. The global food system also accounts for a whopping one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. These two problems — waste and emissions — are intricately linked: Climate disruption exacerbates food insecurity. And industrial food production contributes to the climate crisis. When food is wasted, it’s also a waste of land, water and energy.

In this episode, we talk with experts about how to fix the broken system and hear from some of the people on the ground recovering food before it goes to waste. How can we address both climate and food insecurity at the same time? 

This episode also features a news story produced by Harvest Public Media contributor Peter Medlin, a reporter with WNIJ Northern Public Radio.

Guests:

Dawn King, Senior Lecturer, Brown University

Lisa Moon, CEO, The Global Food Banking Network

Norma Alonso, ABACO, Cooperation Manager 

James Leyson, Managing Director for Global Impact and Operations, Scholars of Sustenance

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🦃 Happy Thanksgiving!

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Climate advocacy is a dangerous business. According to Global Witness, every week, somewhere in the world, between three and four environmental activists are killed. And even when they don’t suffer bodily harm, they are routinely arrested and jailed for speaking out. They are also sued in civil cases, bogging them down for years or even bankrupting them and their families. 

Each personal story in this episode is unique, but the physical threats and legal weapons fossil fuel companies and governments wield against them are eerily similar. And yet, the voices of climate defenders will not be silenced.

Guests: 

Alfred Brownell, Founding President, Global Climate Legal Defense (CliDef) 

Laura Furones, Senior Advisor, Land and Environmental Defenders Campaign, Global Witness

Nicole Figueiredo de Oliveira, Executive Director, Arayara

Sarah Benn, Medical Doctor and Climate Activist

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For the third year in a row, the world’s most important climate conference is taking place in a country whose largest source of export revenue is fossil fuel. This year, over 190 countries are assembling in Baku, Azerbaijan. And despite nearly 30 years of pledges and promises, the UN’s recent Emissions Gap Report shows virtually every country failing to deliver on its promises.

Ever since the Paris Agreement was signed at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP), the focus of this annual meeting has been implementation: How can the nations of the world possibly deliver on their promises to cut emissions when the economic interests in doing so aren’t aligned? In the meantime, the poorest countries, who contributed least to the problem, are getting hit hardest by devastating climate impacts, like droughts, floods, and the resulting poverty and civil unrest. COP29 is being billed as “the finance COP.” So, what do the richest owe the poorest?

Guests: 

Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Climate Justice Activist

Todd Stern, Former United States Special Envoy for Climate Change

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When it comes to communicating climate science, weathercasters are uniquely positioned to connect the facts to viewers’ experiences. TV meteorologists are trusted members of their communities, and they’re often the only scientists the general public hears from regularly. How they communicate can shape public understanding and depoliticize a topic that has become disturbingly divisive.

But in some parts of the country, politics continues to get in the way of the facts. So how do weathercasters effectively communicate weather and climate information in a way that resonates across political lines? 

Guests:

John Morales, Hurricane Specialist, WTVJ NBC6 Miami

Bernadette Woods Placky, Climate Central Chief Meteorologist, Climate Matters Director; VP of Engagement

Chris Gloninger, Senior Climate Scientist, Woods Hole Group, Inc.

Amber Sullins, Chief Meteorologist, ABC15 Phoenix

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