This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco on April 30, 2019. During the 2016 presidential election, climate change barely surfaced as a campaign topic. This cycle it’s a different story. “It’s gonna be the first election where it's a major issue,” predicts former congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL). “I don't support it, but we can thank the Green New Deal for that.” Democrats have rallied around the Green New Deal and its lofty promise of a clean energy future. How will it realize its ambitious goals? Still unclear. But there can be no doubt that the tide of climate change awareness is rising among the nation’s voters. And more and more, as their constituents feel the effects of global warming in their own districts, Republicans find that they ignore the topic at their peril. “In every single community in this country, you are able to identify a few changes to the detriment of all as a consequence of a changing climate,” says Ryan Costello, former U.S. representative from Pennsylvania. Costello, a Republican, now manages Americans for Carbon Dividends, an advocacy group that is supported by oil companies and promotes a price on carbon emissions. “If you’re along the coast, rising sea levels,” Costello continues. “If you're in the Midwest, the land that you can grow on has shrunk; your crop season has shrunk. If you're in Oregon and Northern California the wildfires -- and on and on and on. “This is really where the conversation has to go now in the next few years to come -- what the cost of climate change truly is.” In 2018, Curbelo proposed legislation that would impose a carbon tax, which garnered the support of many of his GOP colleagues. What inspired him to act on an unpopular cause? For the South Florida community that first sent him to congress in 2015, the issue has become very close to home. “In my community, an area that is at about sea level and where most people live near the sea, the threat is real, it's imminent. We get tidal flooding; our drinking water supply is threatened by saltwater intrusion. “So that's why I decided to get involved.” Still, even some Democrats have found themselves caught between the threat of a destabilized climate and other, more immediate, concerns. Christine Pelosi of the Democratic National Committee says that, from her perspective, the conversation is more regional than partisan. “It has a lot more to do with a couple of things,” she says. “One is the existential threat that climate change presents, and the other is the dialogue in which people from poorer communities - frontline communities, indigenous communities, mining communities, industrial communities - say, ‘well, it may be true that the ecology as we know it is going to change in a dozen years. But your change is gonna change my family's economy in two years.” As 2020 looms, many Republicans still fear that voicing support of climate solutions could torpedo their chances for reelection. Curbelo, who co-founded the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in Congress, believes it’s time to put country ahead of career. “If you are an elected leader of this country, you have a fiduciary responsibility to your constituents and to the country and to no one else,” Curbelo says. “So, yeah, perhaps leading on climate could make some Republicans vulnerable in a primary, perhaps negotiating with Republicans could make some Democrats vulnerable in a primary. “Too bad -- that's what you signed up for, and we need you to do your job.” Guests: Ryan Costello, Former U.S. Representative (R-PA) Christine Pelosi, Executive Committeewoman, Democratic National Committee Carlos Curbelo, Former U.S. Representative (R-FL) Related Links: Climate Solutions Caucus The Green New Deal The Green Real Deal Americans for Carbon Dividends The Market Choice Act Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Global temperatures would be soaring even higher were it not for a powerful heat-trapping ally: oceans. From regulating the temperature of the planet to generating half of the oxygen we breathe, oceans are a vital part of sustaining life on Earth. Increasing their temperature as little as two degrees, however, has an opposite effect, threatening marine biodiversity and turbocharging dangerous hurricanes and typhoons. But there are bright prospects on the horizon for humans and oceans. Join us for a conversation exploring how oceans play a bigger role in climate than you may think. Guests: Sara Aminzadeh, Commissioner, California Coastal Commission Ken Caldeira, Climate Scientist, Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University Daniela Fernandez, Founder and CEO, Sustainable Ocean Alliance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PG&E has had a bad few years. A series of record-breaking wildfires culminating with 2018’s devastating Camp Fire propelled the California utility giant into lawsuits, $30 billion in liabilities and, ultimately, bankruptcy. Under new state laws, regulated utilities will have a hard time avoiding blame in fires where their equipment is involved—so what’s ahead for PG&E’s peers and their shareholders when a deadly blaze could spell bankruptcy? What happens when the California dream of living near nature is in direct conflict with disruptive tragedies fueled by climate change? Guests: Dian Grueneich, Former Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission J.D. Morris, Energy Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle Mark Toney, Executive Director, The Utility Reform Network Alex Ghenis, Policy and Research Specialist, World Institute on Disability Hunter Stern, Business Representative, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245 Loretta Lynch, Former Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission Laura Wisland, Senior Manager, Western States Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the environmental movement is typically associated with upper-class white folk, it is also a civil rights issue. Communities of color often live closest to factories and refineries that spew toxic pollution. That’s one reason why polls show more African Americans and Latinos say climate is a serious concern than whites. So why do environmental movements lack diversity, and why has it been so difficult for nonprofits to reach communities of color? Guests:Ingrid Brostrom, Assistant Director, Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley, Board Member, Interfaith Power and Light Mystic, Musician, Bay Area Coordinator, Hip Hop CaucusVisit our website for complete show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How far would you go to make your voice heard on climate change? College student Tim DeChristopher disrupted an auction for oil and gas leases - and landed in prison. Georgia Hirsty and other Greenpeace activists suspended themselves from a Portland bridge to protest an oil rig bound for the Arctic. Such extreme activism gets headlines, and sometimes results. But is radical civil disobedience the most effective weapon for change? Or is collaborating with corporations to encourage sustainable practices a better way to make a difference? Guests: Tim DeChristopher, Founder, Climate Disobedience Center Georgia Hirsty, National Warehouse Program Manager, Greenpeace Brendon Steele, Director of Stakeholder Engagement, Future 500 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Green New Deal in the national spotlight, a vigorous debate is happening: how ambitiously and broadly must the U.S. act on climate? Are issues like economic equity, job security and public health outside the frame of climate action — or fundamental to its success? Greg Dalton welcomes two key members of President Obama’s climate team: former White House Science Advisor John Holdren and former U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, in a special program recorded at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Cambridge, Massachusetts. John Holdren, Former Science Advisor to President Obama, Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government Gina McCarthy, Former U.S. EPA Administrator; Director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Production of animal protein is producing vast amounts of climate-eating gases. But a new generation of companies are creating innovative food products that mimic meat and have much smaller environmental impacts. Some of this mock meat is derived from plants with ingredients designed to replicate the taste and pleasure of chomping into a beef hamburger. Others are growing meat cells that come from a laboratory and not a cow. Could these and other culinary innovations wean Americans away from their beloved hot dogs, hamburgers and tuna melts, reduce our impact on the planet, and help feed the world’s growing population? Guests: Patrick O. Brown, CEO and Founder, Impossible Foods Carolyn Jung, Journalist/Blogger, Foodgal.com Mike Selden, CEO and Co-founder, Finless Foods Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite having the top-selling luxury car in 2018, and a loyal if not rabid customer base, Tesla has been facing major challenges. In August, maverick CEO Elon Musk was slapped with SEC charges over some rather misleading tweets. That move cost him and the company millions in fines and forced Musk to step down as chairman. Other skidmarks for Tesla include production delays, shareholder skittishness and some well-publicized workplace complaints. Host Greg Dalton invites three journalists and Tesla-watchers to assess the health of Tesla, its overall impact on the auto industry and its future as a leader in the green economy. Guests: Hamish McKenzie, Author, “Insane Mode: How Elon Musk's Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolution to End the Age of Oil” (Dutton, 2018) Lora Kolodny, Tech Reporter, CNBC Katie Fehrenbacher, Senior Writer & Analyst, GreenBiz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take to get people off their phones and into the outdoors? Research has shown the deleterious effects of electronics on weight, sleep, and cognitive development in children, who in 2018 spend four hours or more each day glued to screens. Other barriers like income and proximity to nature make access to the outdoors extremely challenging for some families. Meanwhile, doctors have started prescribing hikes over medications, and terms like “forest schools” and “unstructured playtime” are new buzzwords. So how do we encourage outdoor curiosity and conservation in a generation raised on screen time? Guests: Phil Ginsburg, General Manager, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Rebecca Johnson, Co-Director, Citizen Science at the California Academy of Sciences Nooshin Razani, Pediatrician and Founder/Director of the Center for Nature and Health at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg Dalton sits down for a rare interview with newly-confirmed U.S. EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler on cars, coal, and climate. Mary Nichols, Chair of the California Air Resources Board, responds to Wheeler’s position on vehicle standards, and discusses her agency’s role leading a group of states in contesting the Trump administration’s revised auto emissions rules. Also featuring Albert Cheung of Bloomberg New Energy Finance on the future of personal mobility, and Helen Clarkson of The Climate Group on getting some of the world’s biggest companies to commit to 100% renewable energy. Guests: Andrew Wheeler, Administrator, U.S. EPA Albert Cheung, Head of Global Analysis, Bloomberg New Energy Finance Mary Nichols, Chair, California Air Resources Board Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices