Resources Radio

Resources for the Future
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Oct 7, 2025 • 30min

Achieving Societal Goals Through Carbon Removal, with Jennifer Wilcox

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi discusses carbon removal with Jennifer Wilcox, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who recently coauthored a paper titled, “Elevating Carbon Management: A Policy Decision-Making Framework and Rubric for the 21st Century.” Wilcox discusses the existing gaps in current policies related to carbon removal and important considerations when amending and creating new policies. She also addresses the recent change to the 45Q subsidy (originally included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and revised by Congress in the budget reconciliation bill signed on July 4, 2025), assessing how the updated tax break offers incentives for carbon removal. “Elevating Carbon Management: A Policy Decision-Making Framework and Rubric for the 21st Century” by Jennifer Wilcox, Noah Deich, and Holly Jean Buck; https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/elevating-carbon-management-a-policy-decision-making-framework-and-rubric-for-the-21st-century/ National Park Service Rehabilitation Tax Credits; https://www.nps.gov/subjects/taxincentives/index.htm
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Sep 30, 2025 • 32min

An Unprecedented Investment in US Rare Earth Elements, with Tom Moerhenhout

This week’s episode features a discussion of the recent US federal investment in a privately held mine—the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine in California—with host Daniel Raimi and podcast guest Tom Moerenhout, a professor at Columbia University and leader of a critical minerals initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Moerenhout talks about the current US dependence on foreign imports for rare earth elements, which are used to manufacture things like wind turbines, batteries, missiles, and airplanes. While recent federal investment in the Mountain Pass mine puts financial risk on the US government, Moerenhout says that this type of approach could help the United States reduce its reliance on other countries for rare earth elements. References and recommendations: “MP Materials Deal Marks a Significant Shift in US Rare Earths Policy” by Tom Moerenhout; https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/mp-materials-deal-marks-a-significant-shift-in-us-rare-earths-policy/ The case study of A123 Systems; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A123_Systems “Clean energy innovation in China: fact and fiction, and implications for the future” by Anders Hove; https://www.oxfordenergy.org/publications/clean-energy-innovation-in-china-fact-and-fiction-and-implications-for-the-future/
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Sep 23, 2025 • 33min

Airing New Concerns with US Carbon Capture Policies, with Sheila Olmstead

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi discusses subsidies for carbon capture and storage (CCS) with Sheila Olmstead, a professor at the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and a senior faculty fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Olmstead evaluates the complicated nature of the 45Q policy, a federal subsidy available to firms that implement CCS. While CCS subsidy programs promote the reduction of carbon emissions, Olmstead identifies these subsidies as having the potential to financially burden the federal government, discourage clean energy projects, and motivate more pollution. References and recommendations: “How to design better incentives for carbon capture and storage in the United States” by Sheila M. Olmstead, Benjamin D. Leibowicz, Charles F. Mason, Andrew R. Waxman, Emily Grubert, HR Huber-Rodriguez, and Joseph Stemmler; https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2404677122 “Night Watch” by Jayne Anne Phillips; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/540650/night-watch-pulitzer-prize-winner-by-jayne-anne-phillips/
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Sep 16, 2025 • 34min

Understanding Fossil Fuel Subsidies Around the World, with Paasha Mahdavi

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi discusses fossil fuel subsidies with Paasha Mahdavi, an associate professor and cofounder of the 2035 Initiative at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They talk about how subsidies on goods such as gasoline and diesel lead to lower prices for consumers. However, because these subsidies encourage the use of fossil fuels, reforming such policies is important when promoting the use of renewable energy. Mahdavi explores why many attempts to reform fossil fuel subsidies have failed, and he proposes potential avenues for addressing the weaknesses of reforms which could lead to failure of the subsidies. References and recommendations: “Fossil fuel subsidy reforms have become more fragile” by Paasha Mahdavi, Michael L. Ross, and Evelyn Simoni; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02283-4 “Why Do Governments Tax or Subsidize Fossil Fuels?” by Paasha Mahdavi, Cesar B. Martinez-Alvarez, and Michael L. Ross; https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/719272 “Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet” by Kate Marvel; https://www.harpercollins.com/products/human-nature-kate-marvel “Climate Change and National Security” TEDx talk by Josh Busby; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8neK0G0NJ8
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Sep 9, 2025 • 34min

The Role of Government Agencies in Wildlife Abundance, Decimation, and Recovery, with Dominic Parker

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Dominic Parker, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, about the first US government–run environmental management agencies and how they’ve influenced the survival of wildlife in the United States. Parker’s new coauthored journal article discusses the economic, political, and social forces that led to the founding of state wildlife agencies and contributed to their growth over time. Parker explains how wildlife management agencies facilitated the rebound of several well-known species in the United States, including the white-tailed deer, after a period of intense decline. Parker underscores the importance of natural resource management that responds to the needs of both people and the environment, ensuring the continued enjoyment of natural spaces and survival of wildlife in the United States. References and recommendations: “The Creation and Extent of America’s First Environmental Agencies” by Dean Lueck and Dominic Parker; https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/734075 “Federal Funding and State Wildlife Conservation” by Dean Lueck and Dominic Parker; https://le.uwpress.org/content/98/3/461 “The Hunter’s Game: Poachers and Conservationists in Twentieth Century America” by Louis S. Warren; https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300080865/the-hunters-game/ “The Problem of Social Cost” by Ronald Coase; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Problem_of_Social_Cost “Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History” by Dan Flores; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dan-flores/coyote-america/9780465098538/ “The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with Our Wild Neighbors” by Erika Howsare; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/731239/the-age-of-deer-by-erika-howsare/
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Sep 2, 2025 • 26min

Sweating Over Student Behavior in Hot Schools, with Kristen McCormack

In n this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Kristen McCormack, Resources for the Future’s newest research fellow, about McCormack’s scholarly work on the impact of extreme temperatures on student absences, disciplinary infractions, and later-life outcomes. McCormack explains how she combined student data from a large urban school district in the United States, information about the presence or absence of air-conditioning, and environmental data to understand the causal link between temperature and student behavior. McCormack’s work reveals that hot temperatures lead to an increase in absences and disciplinary referrals and that school air-conditioning may be especially important in maintaining a safe learning environment for students as extreme temperatures become more common. References and recommendations: “Education Under Extremes: Temperature, Student Absenteeism, and Disciplinary Infractions” by Kristen McCormack; https://kristen-mccormack.com/files/mccormack_jmp.pdf “The School to Prison Pipeline: Long-Run Impacts of School Suspensions on Adult Crime” by Andrew Bacher-Hicks, Stephen B. Billings, and David J. Deming; https://www.nber.org/papers/w26257 “How Much Hotter Is Your Hometown Than When You Were Born?” interactive infographic from the New York Times; https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/30/climate/how-much-hotter-is-your-hometown.html “Meadowlark Sings and I Greet Him in Return,” a poem from the collection “Devotions” by Mary Oliver; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/536247/devotions-a-read-with-jenna-pick-by-mary-oliver/
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Jul 29, 2025 • 30min

Financing the Energy Transition amid Unpredictable Climate Policy, with Heather Zichal

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Rami talks with Heather Zichal, global head of sustainability at JPMorganChase, about the role of financial institutions in the energy transition. Zichal explains how she has advanced climate policy goals from positions in the United States Congress, the executive branch, nonprofits, and the financial sector. From these diverse perspectives, Zichal outlines the opportunities and challenges for climate-policy stakeholders as they navigate an uncertain political environment. Zichal highlights how financial institutions support the energy transition through green finance commitments, supporting clients’ sustainability goals, and investing in emerging technologies to support the world’s energy needs. Zichal underscores the importance of promoting climate solutions that focus on long-term value in the context of commercial and sustainability goals and that balance environmental and business priorities. References and recommendations: “Ocean” with David Attenborough; https://silverbackfilms.tv/shows/oceanwithdavidattenborough/
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Jul 22, 2025 • 33min

Energy Affordability Is Personal, with Diana Hernandez

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Diana Hernández, an associate professor and codirector of the Energy Opportunity Lab at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, about the struggles that ordinary Americans face in accessing affordable and reliable energy. In her recently released book, Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy, Hernández documents how energy insecurity affects people across the country and analyzes policy solutions that can help address the challenge. Hernández explains the interconnections among housing, public health, and poverty through stories which highlight the highly personal nature of energy insecurity and the difficult choices many Americans must make between essential expenses. Hernández then outlines potential improvements to existing energy-assistance programs, including increased support for year-round energy expenses and program adaptations to accommodate a changing climate. References and recommendations: “Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy” by Diana Hernández and Jennifer Laird, https://www.russellsage.org/publications/powerless “Abundance” by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Abundance/Ezra-Klein/9781668023488 “Plundered” by Bernadette Atuahene; https://bernadetteatuahene.com/plundered/ “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” album by Bad Bunny; https://www.allmusic.com/album/deb%C3%AD-tirar-m%C3%A1s-fotos-mw0004451357
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Jul 15, 2025 • 32min

Carbon Pricing Is Dead. Long Live Carbon Pricing!, with Danny Richter

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Danny Richter, director of the Pricing Carbon Initiative, about the existing suite of carbon pricing policies, a set of climate policy tools designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by requiring companies and other entities to pay for each ton of carbon dioxide they release into the atmosphere. Richter evaluates the international and domestic approaches to carbon pricing policies, explaining their history, uptake, and longevity. Richter highlights the flexibility of carbon pricing programs—which allows policymakers to tailor the sources and investment of revenues from carbon pricing to their unique policy priorities—as key to the long-term success of these programs. Richter then outlines shifting attitudes toward carbon pricing in the United States, highlighting how successful cap-and-invest initiatives emphasize the economic advantages of these policies while delivering climate benefits. References and recommendations: Pricing Carbon Initiative; https://pricingcarbon.org/ “Fourth Generation Carbon Prices” by Danny Richter; https://pricingcarbon.org/2024/11/fourth-generation-carbon-prices/ “Reserved: Carbon Pricing and the Dollar’s Special Status” by Danny Richter; https://pricingcarbon.org/2025/04/reserved-carbon-pricing-and-the-dollars-special-status/ Carbon Pricing Dashboard from the World Bank; https://carbonpricingdashboard.worldbank.org/ “How Carbon Border Adjustments Might Drive Global Climate Policy Momentum” by Kimberly Clausing, Milan Elkerbout, Katarina Nehrkorn, and Catherine Wolfram; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/how-carbon-border-adjustments-might-drive-global-climate-policy-momentum/ “Our Dollar, Your Problem” by Kenneth Rogoff; https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300275315/our-dollar-your-problem/
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Jul 8, 2025 • 32min

Large Loads: Who Bears the Costs of Meeting a Growing Demand for Electricity, with Ben Hertz-Shargel

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Ben Hertz-Shargel, global head of a research team at Wood Mackenzie that investigates the connections between energy consumers and the electric grid, about how the increasing energy demand from artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping electricity markets in the United States. In a recent report for Wood Mackenzie, Hertz-Shargel investigates large-load tariffs—a new utility rate plan for large customers, like data centers, whose exceptionally high electricity demand necessitates constructing additional infrastructure. Hertz-Shargel outlines ongoing uncertainty around whether the existing electricity market can accommodate data centers, along with potential avenues for data centers to promote clean energy development and protect individual energy consumers and households from undue electricity price increases. References and recommendations: “Large load tariffs: a looming challenge for utilities” by Ben Hertz-Shargel; https://www.woodmac.com/news/opinion/large-load-tariffs-a-looming-challenge-for-utilities/ “Large load tariffs have a problem. Clean transition tariffs are the solution.” by Ben Hertz-Shargel; https://www.utilitydive.com/news/large-load-clean-transition-tariffs-wood-mackenzie/749722/ “Extracting Profits from the Public: How Utility Ratepayers Are Paying for Big Tech’s Power” by Ari Peskoe and Eliza Martin; https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/extracting-profits-from-the-public-how-utility-ratepayers-are-paying-for-big-techs-power/

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