Climate One

Driving Toward Sustainability Dan Sperling, Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies; Board Member, California Air Resources Board By 2020, the number of cars on the planet will double to two billion. Without big changes to our cars, fuels and personal habits, the carbon footprint from transportation will rise above its current 25 percent of total emissions. Can we break the cycle of “shock and trance?” Join energy expert Sperling as he reveals what is at stake if we refuse to move quickly, and what opportunities exist if we act now. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on February 12, 2009 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Letter to President Obama: A Path to a Greener Future Linda Adams, Secretary, California Environmental Protection Agency Carter Roberts, CEO, World Wildlife Fund U.S. Jim Wunderman, President and CEO, Bay Area Council Greg Dalton, Vice President Commonwealth Club Can President Obama heal the economy and turn it green at the same time? He says yes, he can – by pumping investment into modern infrastructure, renewable fuels and new technologies. Can he and his cabinet really do all that and also uphold promises to protect national parks, balance the needs for food and energy, and create new jobs? Perhaps he can if he develops a clearly defined roadmap that tackles today’s multi-faceted and intertwined problems of national and energy security, global poverty, and climate change. A leading policymaker, advocate and businessperson discuss what Obama should do to realize his vision for America, and what that means for California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Weisman, Author of "The World Without Us" Alan Weisman's reports from around the world have appeared in Harper's, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Orion, Wilson Quarterly, Vanity Fair, Mother Jones, Discover, Audubon, Condé Nast Traveler, and in many anthologies, including Best American Science Writing 2006. In this far-reaching narrative, Weisman explains how our massive infrastructure would collapse and finally vanish without human presence; what of our everyday stuff may become immortalized as fossils; how copper pipes and wiring would be crushed into mere seams of reddish rock; why some of our earliest buildings might be the last architecture left; and how plastic, bronze sculpture, radio waves, and some man-made molecules may be our most lasting gifts to the universe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cars: Clean Them or Crush Them? Kate Blumberg, Research Director,International Center for Clean Transportation Cornie Huizenga, Vice-Chair, Clean Air Initiative, Asia Center Michael O’Hare, Professor, Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley Lee Schipper, Project Scientist, Global Metropolitan Studies, UC Berkeley Greg Dalton, Commonwealth Club Vice President, Moderator The number of cars in the world may double in twenty years to 2 billion if the emerging middle class in India and China get their hands on a new set of wheels. The global economic recession is causing some countries to invest in rail and other cleaner modes of transportation. At the same time, the recession prompted China to to relax regulations on autos to boost its economy. What are the consequences for global climate and quality of life in Asia? What are the alternatives for personal mobility? Will Asian cities choose the problematic western model? How can the US improve its transportation policies and technologies? Is the answer cleaner cars or fewer cars? This program was recorded at The Commonwealth Club on January 22, 2009 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Getting Your Green Dream Job Nick Ellis, CEO, Bright Green Talent Liz Maw, Executive Director, Net Impact Jeff Horowitz, Founder, Avoided Deforestation Partners Peter Beadle, CEO, Green Jobs Joel Makower, Executive Editor, GreenBiz.com; Author, Strategies for the Green Economy – ModeratorWant a green job? INFORUM will tell you how to get it. In an increasingly green society, eco-friendly jobs are popping up everywhere. You don’t have to be an eco-expert to take advantage of this new market. Whether you’re just entering the workforce or looking to transition into a green career, our panel of experts will give you the ins and outs of finding a green-collar job. Following the panel discussion, INFORUM’s job fair features a wide variety of businesses, organizations, government sectors and schools that can help you take the next step in the green job market.The companies and organizations tabling at the job fair portion of the program are: Bay Area Air Quality Management District; Beautiful Communities; California Environmental Associates; California Public Utilities Commision; CleanTech Human Capital; Global Footprint Network; GoodGuide; Green Career Central; Green Jobs Network; Green MBA; ICF Jones & Stokes; Presidio School of Management; Saatchi & Saatchi S; San Francisco Department of the Environment; SF State University – Graduate Business Programs; Solar Living Institute; SolarStaff Inc; Solar Richmond; Sustainable Spaces; The Cassillon Group; TransForm; USGBC NCC - Emerging Green Builders.This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on January 26, 2009 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate Countdown: Can the World Cut a Deal? Tony Brunello, Deputy Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, California Louis Blumberg, Director, CA Forest and Climate Policy, The Nature Conservancy Aimee Christensen, Founder and CEO, Christensen Global Strategies Greg Dalton, Vice President, The Commonwealth Club; Founder, Climate One – Moderator In 2009, the world will try to craft the next comprehensive environmental treaty. To move forward, there must be multi-lateral consensus on the priorities in the global climate crisis. Recently, the UN Climate Change Conference convened 11,000 people from nearly 190 nations to focus on these challenges. How will governments, business and civil society come together to create plans for action and real solutions? What part will the U.S. play in the next protocol? This panel of insiders will give you the scoop and update you on what you need to know about the U.N.'s negotiations on climate change. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on January 15, 2009 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Energy Efficiency Unplugged Jim Davis, President, Chevron Energy Solutions Ralph Cavanagh, Co-director, Energy Program, Natural Resources Defense Council Tim Draper, Founder and Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Alan Murray, Deputy Managing Editor and Executive Editor Online, The Wall Street Journal – Moderator Can we “save” our way to energy independence? Many energy companies contend the cheapest energy is unused energy. Changes in the construction and management of buildings help companies conserve, but is this a comprehensive strategy? What can we do in our personal lives to conserve, rather than consume? Turning off lights, pumping up tires and using the dishwasher’s “energy saver” mode are small, simple steps. Will they actually make a difference, or do we need more efficient technology to spur meaningful change? Join a panel of experts to discover what companies and consumers can do to become more energy efficient. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on January 13, 2009 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

City Planet Stewart Brand, Co-founder and President, Long Now Foundation Brand will discuss how increasing urbanization is accelerating economic development with remarkable speed. The consequences will be profound, he believes. Are we prepared? Brand has focused on such subjects as digital media, education and architecture. He’s perhaps best known for founding the Whole Earth Catalog. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on June 14, 2007 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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