KQED's Forum

Sierra Nevada snowpack, a vital water source for California, could vanish within the next 25 years, according to a new study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. While scientists have tracked and warned about diminishing levels of snow covering the Sierra Nevada for years, the new research provided a more specific timeline about when California could reach a no-snow reality and what that means from a scientific perspective. The study’s authors, however, want their study to not just alarm people, but also push them to change behaviors and policies to slow down or reverse the loss of snow in the Sierras. We’ll talk about how climate change is reducing the Sierra snowpack and what that means for the state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ajwang Rading’s name will appear on the ballot for the first time next fall when he runs to represent California’s 18th Congressional district, which includes parts of San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. Having grown up in and out of homelessness, Rading has a different perspective when it comes to tackling housing and social service issues in Silicon Valley. We talk with Rading about his past and future as part of Forum's First Person series, which profiles local leaders and change-makers who make the Bay Area unique. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fish have a sacred role for the Klamath Tribes in the Klamath Basin, which spans part of Southern Oregon and Northern California. An 1864 treaty gives tribes the "exclusive right of taking fish in the streams and lakes,” but drought and poor water quality are killing the fish and causing a fight over resources between indigenous tribes and white farmers who were promised certain water allocations of their own. A new Fault Lines documentary by Al Jazeera called "When the Water Stopped," delves into the different sides of the conflict that is fueled by climate change, decades of federal land mismanagement and racism. According to activist and Klamath tribal member Joey Gentry, “our water crisis still exists today because of racism against the tribe, and racism against the tribe exists, in part, today because of our water crisis." We'll talk with Gentry and environmental reporter Emma Marris about the ongoing conflict and what it will take to resolve it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The parents of a teenager accused of fatally shooting four classmates and wounding seven other people at a Michigan high school last week were charged with involuntary manslaughter Saturday. Charges against parents in school shootings are rare. But Michigan prosecutor Karen D. McDonald called the actions of the parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, "egregious" based on evidence that they bought the gun for their son and kept it unsecured. We'll talk about parental criminal liability in school shootings, and its potential to prevent gun violence by minors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in what looks to be the beginning of the end of Roe v. Wade, according to legal scholars. If that is the case, and Roe is reversed, there stands to be a number of ripple effects beyond abortion rights, too. In a new article for The Atlantic, "What Roe Could Take Down With It," constitutional law expert Kimberly Wehle writes that "the logic being used against Roe could weaken the legal foundations of many rights Americans value deeply" including laws regulating marriage equality and contraception use, for example. We'll consider the different layers of what's at stake with abortion rights and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With gas-burning vehicles the largest source of California's greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to clean energy sources in transportation is considered key to slowing climate change. In recent weeks California has been allocated a major boost in federal and state funds to expand the electric vehicle charging network. We'll discuss the plans and how much they might move the needle on e-vehicle adoption. We’ll also look at promising new technology to make EV's more attractive and affordable, and innovative proposals for improving charging, including electrified roads that charge the car while you drive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever felt "slipfast" (a longing to melt into a crowd and become invisible)? Or "scabulous" (proud of a certain scar on your body)? Those are some of the many words John Keonig has created for emotions  we've felt all our lives but lacked words to describe. We talk to Keonig about why he says there are vast holes in our emotional lexicon and why it's important for humans to develop a richer language to describe our interior lives. Koenig's new book, more than ten years in the making, is "The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scorpions might be terrifying to most people. But to scientist Lauren Esposito, they are the foundation of her career, which has taken her from a childhood in El Paso, turning over rocks in search of insects, to eventually land her at the California Academy of Sciences. In addition to discovering new species of these arachnids, she’s also become an outspoken advocate for queer scientists. An ongoing exhibit she curated at the California Academy of Sciences celebrates the contributions of LGBTQ+ people. Esposito joins as part of our first person series, which profiles leaders and change-makers in the Bay Area. We’ll talk with her about the organization she founded, 500 Queer Scientists, why she’s drawn to studying scorpions, and how she has so far managed to avoid being stung. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, young athletes only had one major route to the playing professional leagues — playing for an NCAA Division I team. Today, however, talented basketball players have a chance to skip college and go professional in leagues like Overtime Elite, which pays its players six-figure salaries while prepping them for a professional career either in the NBA or abroad. Is this a positive trend that allows athletes to monetize their abilities or is it a youth sports culture taken to the apex of extremes? We’ll talk about professional high school basketball and what it means for the future of the sport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Wednesday, officials in San Francisco confirmed California’s first case of the coronavirus omicron variant. The patient in the case had recently traveled to South Africa, whose scientists first identified the omicron variant and tracked thousands of cases among its population. The emergence of the variant has reinforced concerns about low rates of vaccination in Africa and other developing regions, which have struggled to obtain and administer vaccines for their citizens. We’ll talk about global vaccine inequities and how to expand vaccine access worldwide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices