
Climate One
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.
Latest episodes

Mar 27, 2020 • 53min
REWIND: Aligning Profits with Planet / The Circular Economy
“How do you move from a place of simply trying to stop bad things and asking instead how would you make products and services in a sustainable manner?” asks Adam Davis of Ecosystem Investment Partners. Is it possible to protect profits and the planet? Despite claims that a win for the environment is a loss for the economy, corporations are finding innovative ways to have it both ways, realizing that protecting watersheds and ecosystems can also protect their business.
Now, innovative companies are “going circular” by transforming how their products are designed, used, and remade. Can a circular economy salvage the climate and save the planet?
Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.
Guests (Part 1):
Gretchen Daily, Professor of Environmental Science, Stanford University
Adam Davis, Managing Partner, Ecosystem Investment Partners
Barbara Grady, Senior Writer, GreenBiz.com
Guests (Part 2):
John Lanier, co-author, “Mid-Course Correction Revisited: The Story and Legacy of a Radical Industrialist and his Quest for Authentic Change” (Chelsea Green, 2019)
Beth Rattner, executive director, Biomimicry Institute
Peter Templeton, president and CEO, Cradle to Cradle Innovation Institute
“Aligning Profits with the Planet” was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco on July 27, 2017
“Can a Circular Economy Salvage the Climate?” was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco on May 7, 2019
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Mar 20, 2020 • 54min
Me vs We: What Matters Most for Climate Action?
Addressing the climate challenge requires incremental and transformational change on both personal and systemic levels. That means altering our personal habits as citizens, consumers, employees and parents. At the same time, society needs to fundamentally modernize the food, transportation, building and energy systems. That mind-blowing amount of change is so daunting, it’s no wonder people want to skip away into the happy land of denial. How should we think about change — and how do our words shape our behavior? Where does change really begin?
Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode.
Guests:
George Lakoff, Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science and Linguistics, UC Berkeley
Amanda Ravenhill, Executive Director, The Buckminster Fuller Institute
Margaret Klein Salamon, Founder and Executive Director, The Climate Mobilization
Additional interviews:
Jonah Gottlieb, Student and Director of Schools for Climate Action
This program was recorded at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on February 26, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 13, 2020 • 56min
What the 2030 Climate Deadline Really Means
For years, scientists have been saying that the climate battle will be won or lost in the next decade. The IPCC has stated that to avoid climate catastrophe, global emissions must be halved by 2030. Politicians and the media have picked up the message; some making it a rallying cry. But is a ten-year goal realistic? What is needed to get people to take notice of -- and take action on -- the climate deadline? Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Chris Field, Faculty Director, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University David Fenton, Founder, Fenton Communications Renee Lertzman, Climate Engagement Strategist and Author This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on February 24, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 6, 2020 • 55min
Big Ideas with Dan Esty and Andy Karsner
Does solving climate change mean re-thinking old top-down approaches and embracing big change at high speed? A half-century after the first Earth Day, some environmental advocates argue it’s time to challenge some of our basic assumptions about climate action. In the new book A Better Planet: 40 Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future, editor and Yale law professor Dan Esty showcases innovative ideas designed to push the boundaries of possible climate solutions from leaders in industry, government, business, and land management. Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Daniel Esty, Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and Yale Law School Andy Karsner, Former Assistant Energy Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy This program was recorded at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on February 10, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 28, 2020 • 55min
Oil and Opioids on Trial
Tobacco companies, opioid suppliers, gun manufacturers and the fossil fuel industry -- all have been brought under fire, and into the courts, for knowingly causing public harm, and even death, with their products. Should corporations be held liable for harmful outcomes like mass shootings, the opioid crisis, and climate change? We all benefit from the energy fossil fuels provide, from the lights we turn on to around-the-world airline flights. How much responsibility falls on the product, and how much on the user? Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Ann Carlson, Environmental Law Professor, Co-Director, Emmett Institute on Climate Change & Environment Co-Director, UCLA Ellen Gilmer, Senior Legal Reporter, Bloomberg News Ted Boutrous, Partner, Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher LLP Scott Segal, Partner, Bracewell Portions of this program were recorded at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 21, 2020 • 54min
Is California’s Climate Progress Going Up in Smoke?
California has been at the forefront of America’s climate fight since Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the country’s first major climate law in 2006. The state’s suite of policies for decarbonizing the economy survived industry-funded attacks in court and at the ballot box, and remained largely consistent under Democratic and Republican governors. But a recent report by Next 10, an independent think tank, indicates the state will meet its 2030 goals 30 years late. Is California really the climate leader it’s purported to be? Visit climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts for more information on today's episode. Guests: Rachel Becker, Environment Reporter, CalMatters Kate Gordon Director, California Governor's Office of Planning and Research; Climate Advisor to Governor Newsom F. Noel Perry Founder, Next 10 This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on January 23, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 14, 2020 • 54min
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