Resources Radio

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Jamie Van Nostrand, former director of the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development at West Virginia University and current chair of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities. Van Nostrand discusses how the state government in West Virginia historically has supported and promoted the coal industry, how the state’s support of coal has affected electricity prices for West Virginia residents, and how recent policies could influence the future of energy in West Virginia. References and recommendations: “The Coal Trap: How West Virginia Was Left Behind in the Clean Energy Revolution” by James M. Van Nostrand; https://www.thecoaltrap.com “What Is An ‘Energy Community’? Alternative Approaches for Geographically Targeted Energy Policy” by Daniel Raimi and Sophie Pesek; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/what-is-an-energy-community-alternative-approaches-for-geographically-targeted-energy-policy/ Sixth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Nikos Zirogiannis, an assistant professor at Indiana University, about excess emissions of air pollutants—emissions that exceed the legal limits. Zirogiannis discusses some potential causes of excess emissions, the health effects of excess emissions, and the gaps in policy and data that could be addressed to help prevent these dangerous events. References and recommendations: “Excess Emissions: Environmental Impacts, Health Effects, and Policy Debate” by Alex Hollingsworth, David M. Konisky, and Nikolaos Zirogiannis; https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/723885 “Residents Must Stay Indoors After Texas Chemical Fire” by Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder; https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2019-03-21/deer-park-texas-residents-ordered-to-stay-inside-after-chemical-fire “The Big Myth” by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway; https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/big-myth-9781635573572/

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Silvia Pianta, a junior scientist at the sister institution to Resources for the Future (RFF), the RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment. Pianta discusses the influence of social and political factors on climate and energy policymaking, how incorporating these factors into models can help inform the process of climate policymaking, and the efficacy of emissions-reduction strategies at the global and national scales. References and recommendations: “Emissions Lock-in, Capacity, and Public Opinion: How Insights from Political Science Can Inform Climate Modeling Efforts” by Silvia Pianta and Elina Brutschin; https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/5462 “On Time and Water” by Andri Snær Magnason; https://www.openletterbooks.org/products/on-time-and-water

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with David Brown, an associate professor at the University of Alberta, about research on the value of electricity reliability that he coauthored with Resources for the Future University Fellow Lucija Muehlenbachs. Brown discusses dollar-value estimates of how much consumers are willing to pay to avoid power outages, the technologies that households and communities are using to improve electricity reliability, and policies for addressing inequitable access to those technologies. References and recommendations: “The Value of Electricity Reliability: Evidence from Battery Adoption” by David P. Brown and Lucija Muehlenbachs; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/the-value-of-electricity-reliability-evidence-from-battery-adoption/ “Socioeconomic and demographic disparities in residential battery storage adoption: Evidence from California” by David P. Brown; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421522001021 “What Are the Benefits of Electric Vehicles for Climate, Air Pollution, and Health?” by Joshua Linn and Daniel Shawhan; https://www.resources.org/common-resources/what-are-the-benefits-of-electric-vehicles-for-climate-air-pollution-and-health/

This week’s episode is the fifth and final installment of a multipart series called Climate Hits Home, in which guests discuss the effects of climate change on cities and towns across the United States and how local communities are addressing those effects. In this episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Nico Zegre, an associate professor at West Virginia University, about flooding in Appalachia. Zegre discusses the growing problem of floods in the area, including in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky; the unique vulnerability of local communities to this issue; and how local, state, and federal governments can mitigate flooding risks and impacts. References and recommendations: “You’re It!” song by Wookiefoot; https://soundcloud.com/wookie-foot/youre-it

This week’s episode is the fourth in a multipart series called Climate Hits Home, in which guests discuss the effects of climate change on cities and towns in the United States and how local communities are addressing those effects. In this episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Lisa LaRocque, sustainability officer for the city of Las Cruces in New Mexico, about how urban infrastructure can intensify heat. LaRocque discusses the ways in which climate change affects temperatures in urban areas, how extreme heat disproportionately impacts certain communities, and the methods applied by Las Cruces and other jurisdictions to mitigate the risks of urban heat islands. References and recommendations: “Planning for Urban Heat Resilience” by Ladd Keith and Sara Meerow; https://www.planning.org/publications/report/9245695/

This week’s episode is the third in a multipart series called Climate Hits Home, in which guests discuss the effects of climate change in the United States and how local communities are addressing those effects. In this episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Kimi Barrett, a research and policy analyst at Headwaters Economics, about wildfires in the American West. Barrett discusses the growing wildfire problem in the West; how climate change is affecting wildfire in the region; the ecological function of wildfire; and how local and state governments in the West are mitigating wildfire risk. References and recommendations: “Building for Wildfire” from Headwaters Economics; https://headwaterseconomics.org/headwaters/building-for-wildfire/ Books by Stephen J. Pyne; https://www.stephenpyne.com/works.htm “The Big Burn” by Timothy Egan; https://www.timothyeganbooks.com/the-big-burn “How risk management can prevent future wildfire disasters in the wildland-urban interface” by David E. Calkin, Jack D. Cohen, Mark A. Finney, and Matthew P. Thompson; https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1315088111

This week’s episode is the second in a multipart series called Climate Hits Home, in which guests discuss the effects of climate change in US cities and towns and how local communities are addressing those effects. In this episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Kathryn Sorensen about how the city of Phoenix, Arizona, has been preparing for uncertainty around water availability. Sorensen is a professor of practice at Arizona State University and a former director of Phoenix Water Services. Sorensen discusses how climate change is affecting the desert Southwest, how Phoenix encourages responsible water use, the importance of water-delivery infrastructure, and water-related lessons that other cities can learn from Phoenix. References and recommendations: “A Quiet Revolution: Southwest Cities Learn to Thrive Amid Drought” by Jim Robbins; https://e360.yale.edu/features/a-quiet-revolution-southwest-cities-learn-to-thrive-amid-drought “The Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing” by Mark Kurlansky; https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/unreasonable-virtue-of-fly-fishing-9781635578751/ “Khrushchev Remembers” by Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev; https://books.google.com/books?id=a4YjAQAAIAAJ

This week’s episode is the first in a multipart series called Climate Hits Home, in which guests discuss the effects of climate change in US cities and towns and how local communities are addressing those effects. In this episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Skip Stiles, executive director of the nonprofit Wetlands Watch, about how the coastal city of Norfolk, Virginia, is adapting to sea level rise, frequent flooding, and other effects of climate change. Stiles discusses how flooding and other climate impacts affect daily life in Norfolk; how wetlands can help mitigate the effects of climate change on the coast; and how local, state, and federal policies can support efforts to help communities adapt to climate change. References and recommendations: “The Future of Life” by Edward O. Wilson; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/191845/the-future-of-life-by-edward-o-wilson/ “A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold; https://www.aldoleopold.org/about/aldo-leopold/sand-county-almanac/ “The Land Ethic” essay by Aldo Leopold; https://www.aldoleopold.org/about/the-land-ethic/

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Peter Harnik, cofounder of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, about grassroots and legislative efforts to repurpose abandoned railroad lines as recreational trails. Harnik discusses why the United States has so many abandoned railroad lines, the process of converting a railroad line into a trail, and the legislation that provides funding for trail projects. References and recommendations: “From Rails to Trails: The Making of America’s Active Transportation Network” by Peter Harnik; https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496222060/ Rails-to-Trails Conservancy; https://www.railstotrails.org/ “Stolen Focus” by Johann Hari; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/634289/stolen-focus-by-johann-hari/