Author, The Long Emergency, James Howard Kunstler is an author, social critic, public speaker, and blogger. He is best known for his books The Geography of Nowhere (1994), a history of American suburbia and urban development, and the more recent The Long Emergency (2005), where he argues that declining oil production is likely to result in the end of industrialized society as we know it and force Americans to live in localized, agrarian communities. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on March 19, 2007 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Renewable Energy for California: Challenges and Solutions Paul Douglas, Renewables Portfolio Standard Program Manager, California Public Utilities Commission Roy Kuga, Vice President of Energy Supply, PG&E Diane Fellman, Director of California Regulatory Affairs, FPL Energy Carl Zichella, Regional Director for California, Sierra Club Cliff Chen, Energy Analyst, Union of Concerned Scientists - Moderator How fast should electric power companies change their game plans? Al Gore has challenged the nation to produce 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years, and the California legislature has directed the state's investor-owned utilities to generate 20 percent of their electricity from renewable energy by 2010. So, how are we doing so far? Only a small proportion of the utilities' contracts for clean energy have resulted in visible construction. What is causing the delay, and what are the solutions? This program was recorded in front of a live audience on October 21, 2008 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Big Oil Part of Our Energy Problem, or the Solution? John Hofmeister, Founder and Chief Executive, Citizens for Affordable Energy; Former President, Shell Oil Co. Big Energy is feeling the heat as skyrocketing oil costs and climate-change buzz fuel criticism from consumers and the media. But recently retired Shell chief Hofmeister will give a major speech addressing how the goals of consumers, the environmental movement and energy companies are actually closely aligned. He has just founded the not-for-profit nationwide membership association Citizens for Affordable Energy. This public-policy advocacy firm aims to promote sound U.S. energy security solutions for the nation, including a range of affordable energy supplies, efficiency improvements, essential infrastructure, sustainable environmental policy and public education on energy issues. Don't miss this groundbreaking event. This program was recorded in front of a live audience on October 16, 2008 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Global Climate Change in the Decades Ahead: Fact Versus Fiction Rob Dunbar, Professor of Earth Science, Senior Fellow, Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Dunbar takes a fresh look at the controversy surrounding the global warming crisis. He discusses unprecedented changes in the environment, focusing on air-sea interactions, tropical marine ecosystems, polar climate and the transfer of chemicals between organisms and environments. This program was recorded in front of a live audience on October 8, 2008 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where Would Google Drill? Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google Would “Drill, Baby, Drill” be part of Google’s vision for green energy? Yes, but not drilling for oil. CEO Schmidt says punching down into the Earth to capture natural and clean geothermal energy could help move the United States away from its dependence on petroleum. Google’s new energy plan also calls for a bold move into solar and wind power. It would cost $2.7 trillion through 2030. However, Schmidt says it would generate $2.1 trillion in energy savings. It would also create hundreds of thousands of jobs. And help fight global warming. This program was recorded in front of a live audience on October 1, 2008 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California In signing a landmark climate change law two years ago, Governor Schwarzenegger put California ahead of the parade to a low-carbon economy. “The global warming debate is over,” he declared. Public awareness has surged since then, but most of the hard work still lies ahead. How will California meet its goal of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases 25 percent by 2020? Will offshore oil drilling be resumed? Who will pay for the transition to sustainable energy? Will California’s energy and environmental laws become part of a national plan under a new president? The governor will provide an update and his vision of the road ahead. This program was recorded in front of a live audience on September 26, 2008 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chair of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Director General, Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi Mary Nichols, Chair, California Air Resources Board (CARB) Ray Lane, Managing partner of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Greg Dalton, Commonwealth Club Vice President, founder of The Club's Climate One Initiative PANEL: Leading a transformation to a global low-carbon economy Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, Mary Nichols and Ray Lane will address questions concerning California’s leading role in the fight against dangerous climate change. What is the state of science on the causes and impacts of global warming? Can California consumers, corporations and policymakers facilitate systemic change and spur others to act? What are the costs and what are the opportunities? What role does innovation play? “California's culture of innovation is helping to drive the world towards more sustainable ways of producing, consuming and being,” comments Greg Dalton, Club VP and Director of The Club’s new Climate One Program, who orchestrated the program. “The changes are profound and promising. And yet leading environmental scientists such as R.K. Pachauri say we all need to do more, much more.” Pachauri, chair of the IPCC since 2002, is also the director general of the Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi, devoted to researching and promoting sustainable development. Selected by The United Nations Development Program as a Part Time Adviser in the area of Energy and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources, Pachauri holds an M.S. in industrial engineering, a Ph.D. in industrial engineering, and a Ph.D. in economics from North Carolina State University. Nichols, appointed chair of CARB by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2007, also served as CARB chair under Governor Jerry Brown. Her history includes serving as assistant administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air and Radiation, Secretary for California's Resources Agency, and Director of the University of California, Los Angeles Institute of the Environment. Considered one of California’s first environmental lawyers, Nichols has paved the way for greater air quality. She has her Juris Doctorate degree from Yale Law School and a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University Lane, Managing Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, has sponsored several investments for the firm in clean and alternative energy including Ausra (solar concentrator), Fisker Automotive (plug-in hybrid car), Th!nk NA (electric car), Luca Technologies (biologically enhanced gas recovery from fossilized hydrocarbons). Before joining KPCB, Lane was President and Chief Operating Officer of Oracle Corporation, the second-largest software company in the world. Lane received a Bachelor's degree in mathematics and an honorary Ph.D. in Science from West Virginia University (WVU). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rick Wagoner, Chairman and CEO, General Motors Can GM Really Be Green Motors? “We are looking forward to hearing what Rick Wagoner has to say on energy diversity and security,” comments Greg Dalton, Club VP and Director of The Club’s new Climate One Program, who orchestrated the program. “A lot of Californians want to know if US automakers are finally turning the corner on the role of cars as a major source of global warming.” Wagoner has held numerous high level posts at General Motors. Before becoming its CEO and Chairman in 2003, he was president and chief executive officer of what? A division?. Prior to this, he was its executive vice president of North American operations and chief financial officer. In his early years at GM, Wagoner helped bring the company back from a $30 billion loss over a three year period in 90’s. He is GM’s youngest CEO in history and was named executive of the year by Automotive Industries in 2001. He landed his first job at GM straight out of Harvard Business School as an analyst in their treasury department. Wagoner holds an economics degree from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. This program was recorded in front of a live audience on May 1, 2008 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defese Fund Fred Krupp discusses his new book Earth: The Sequel - The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming. The Environmental Defense Fund helped reduce acid rain in the 1990s by using market forces, and last year it played a role in the buyout of Texas utility TXU that reduced the number of planned coal-fired power plants. The advocacy group's president, Fred Krupp, believes business-friendly approaches such as carbon cap-and-trade systems are the best way to fight global warning. His new book, Earth: The Sequel, highlights the entrepreneurs, scientists, and even a former bus driver on the Trans-Alaska pipeline, who are betting on the free market to create new wealth and build a post-carbon economy. This program was recorded in front of a live audience on April 23, 2008 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam Werbach CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi; Former President, Sierra Club; Commissioner, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission A lot has happened since Adam Werbach declared environmentalism dead in a speech to The Commonwealth Club three years ago. In 2007, Werbach's sustainability agency Act Now helped Wal-Mart engage its 1.3 million employees in one of the largest grassroots sustainability movements to date - the Personal Sustainability Project. In January 2008, Act Now was acquired by Saatchi & Saatchi, a hothouse for world-changing ideas with over 7,000 employees in 84 countries. Together they aim to become the sustainability agency of record for the world's leading corporations. Their purpose: help companies grow their businesses and preserve the planet through strategy, product and supply-chain innovation, workforce engagement and marketing. The mission: create a consumer revolution for social change. This program was recorded in front of a live audience on April 10, 2008 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices