Resources Radio

In this episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Francisco X. Aguilar, a professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and leader of the Team of Specialists on Wood Energy of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Aguilar and coauthors recently published a study on the environmental effects of the rapid growth of the wood pellet industry. Because wood pellets are viewed as carbon neutral, the boom in wood pellets may help meet climate targets in Europe. This conversation focuses on how the wood pellet industry’s growth has affected the number of trees and carbon stocks in the southeastern United States, where most wood pellets are produced. The key questions are whether wood pellets are truly renewable and whether they truly produce net-zero emissions. Aguilar helps us make sense of it all. References and recommendations: “Expansion of US Wood Pellet Industry Points to Positive Trends but the Need for Continued Monitoring” by Francisco X. Aguilar, Ashkan Mirzaee, Ronald G. McGarvey, Stephen R. Shifley, and Dallas Burtraw; https://www.rff.org/publications/journal-articles/expansion-us-wood-pellet-industry-points-positive-trends-need-continued-monitoring/ “Wood Energy in America” by Daniel deB. Richter Jr., Dylan H. Jenkins, John T. Karakash, Josiah Knight, Lew R. McCreery, and Kasimir P. Nemestothy; https://science.sciencemag.org/content/323/5920/1432 “Wood Energy Efficiency: More Heat with Less Wood” by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe; https://unece.org/node/20841 “Net-Zero America” by Eric Larson, Chris Greig, Jesse Jenkins, Erin Mayfield, Andrew Pascale, Chuan Zhang, Joshua Drossman, Robert Williams, Steve Pacala, Robert Socolow, Ejeong Baik, Rich Birdsey, Rick Duke, Ryan Jones, Ben Haley, Emily Leslie, Keith Paustian, and Amy Swan; https://environmenthalfcentury.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf331/files/2020-12/Princeton_NZA_Interim_Report_15_Dec_2020_FINAL.pdf “The Overstory” by Richard Powers; https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393356687

In this episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with David Miller, former mayor of the city of Toronto and author of the book, “Solved: How the World’s Great Cities are Fixing the Climate Crisis.” The book came out in late 2020 and argues that cities are, in many ways, uniquely central to climate change action—and are, in fact, some of the best-equipped jurisdictions to take on the climate challenge. Miller draws from his own experience as a mayor in reflecting on these issues, but also draws on his experience in working with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. The book includes anecdotes and lessons learned from a number of municipalities across the globe—accounts of tangible actions that are tremendously refreshing, when so much of the climate conversation can feel intractable. The conversation touches on Miller’s motivation in putting the book together and what he’s discovered along the way. References and recommendations: “Solved: How the World’s Great Cities are Fixing the Climate Crisis” by David Miller; https://utorontopress.com/us/solved-3 “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” by Thomas Piketty; https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674979857 “The Bicycling Big Book of Cycling for Beginners” by Tori Bortman; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/593171/the-bicycling-big-book-of-cycling-for-beginners-by-tori-bortman/

In this episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Tisha Schuller, principal of Adamantine Energy and author of a new book, “The Gamechanger’s Playbook.” The book is a provocative and insightful look at how oil and gas companies can play a leading role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Schuller lays out the case for why these companies need to change, how companies can approach the climate challenge in a new way, and what practical steps the oil and gas industry can take today to lay the groundwork for future success. References and recommendations: “The Gamechanger’s Playbook: How Oil & Gas Leaders Thrive in an Era of Continuous Disruption” by Tisha Schuller; https://energythinks.com/gamechanger/ “After the Pandemic: Hope and Breakthroughs for 2021” by Ted Nordhaus and Alex Trembath at the Breakthrough Institute; https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/energy/after-the-pandemic “CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuels May Have Peaked in 2019” by Zeke Hausfather at the Breakthrough Institute; https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/energy/peak-co2-emissions-2019 “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi; https://www.ibramxkendi.com/how-to-be-an-antiracist “On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal” by Naomi Klein; https://naomiklein.org/on-fire/

In this episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with David Hawkins, director of climate policy in the Climate & Clean Energy Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council and a member of the board of directors at Resources for the Future. Hawkins has decades of experience working on energy and climate policy issues in NGOs and government. He walks us through the past 60 years of federal climate policy in the United States; helps us understand the scientific, political, and economic drivers that have shaped policy decisions from the 1960s all the way up through today, including a reflection on the Trump years; and takes a look ahead to the next four years under a new administration. References and recommendations: "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer; https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass "Coffeeland" by Augustine Sedgewick; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316748/coffeeland-by-augustine-sedgewick/

This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with Tony Reames, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, and a leading scholar on the closely related topics of energy justice and energy poverty. In his conversation with Raimi, Reames describes what energy poverty is, how the federal government currently addresses energy poverty, and how quantifying the problem can lead to good policy solutions. References and recommendations: “An incandescent truth: Disparities in energy-efficient lighting availability and prices in an urban U.S. county” by Tony G. Reames, Michael A. Reiner, and M. Ben Stacey; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306261918302769 “Three Scenarios for the Future of Climate Change” by Elizabeth Kolbert; https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/three-scenarios-for-the-future-of-climate-change “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/190696/the-warmth-of-other-suns-by-isabel-wilkerson/

In this episode, we get the details on a friendly wager between Ken Caldeira, a senior scientist at the Carnegie Institution, and Ted Nordhaus, founder and executive director of the Breakthrough Institute. Caldeira also is a senior advisor to Gates Ventures, but is not speaking on their behalf. Nordhaus is betting that global CO₂ emissions peaked in 2019, but Caldeira disagrees. Host Daniel Raimi asks each of them to lay out the arguments for and against the assertion that emissions peaked in 2019, and they explore the underlying factors that will likely drive the outcome of the wager. Raimi, Caldeira, and Nordhaus discuss the role of Covid-19, energy technologies, human behavior, and even the extinction of the dinosaurs. References and recommendations: The origin of the bet on Twitter; https://twitter.com/KenCaldeira/status/1344783094553800705?s=20 "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster" by Bill Gates; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/633968/how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster-by-bill-gates/ "Growth" by Vaclav Smil; https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/growth

This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with Neil Lewis Jr., an assistant professor of communication and social behavior at Cornell University, about how different socioeconomic groups define what is—and what is not—an “environmental” issue. Lewis’s research touches on a variety of policy issues, from industrial pollution and housing policy to climate change and unemployment. In this episode, Lewis describes how individuals define “environmental” issues differently and asserts that recognizing these differences can help inform policymaking. References and recommendations: “What counts as an ‘environmental’ issue? Differences in issue conceptualization by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status” by Hwanseok Song, Neil A. Lewis Jr., Matthew T. Ballew, Mario Bravo, Julie Davydova, H. Oliver Gao, Robert J. Garcia, Sofia Hiltner, Sarah M. Naiman, Adam R. Pearson, Rainer Romero-Canyas, and Jonathan P. Schuldt; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494419304220 “Palaces for the People” by Eric Klinenberg; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/557044/palaces-for-the-people-by-eric-klinenberg/ “Rediscovery of Abandoned Wells in the World’s First Oil Field” StoryMap from the National Energy Technology Laboratory; https://www.netl.doe.gov/node/9367

In this episode, we say, "So Long, 2020!" and look ahead to 2021. To do so, host Daniel Raimi talks with two of the smartest energy and environmental thinkers around: Sarah Ladislaw, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Barry Rabe, from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Ladislaw and Rabe reflect on the crazy year that was 2020—in particular, by noting which developments in energy and environmental policy likely will stay with us; some of the legacies of the Trump presidency; and what climate policy might look like under a Biden administration, which has laid out ambitious climate goals but likely faces a challenging political landscape. References and recommendations: "Trust" by Pete Buttigieg; https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631498770 "Theories of Change" podcast; https://www.csis.org/podcasts/theories-change "Power Grab" by Paasha Mahdavi; https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/political-economy/power-grab-political-survival-through-extractive-resource-nationalization "Carbon Province, Hydro Province" by Douglas Macdonald; https://utorontopress.com/us/carbon-province-hydro-province-4 "The Wizard and the Prophet" by Charles C. Mann; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/220698/the-wizard-and-the-prophet-by-charles-c-mann/

This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with Jordy Lee, a senior research associate at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. Lee discusses rare earth minerals, which are used widely in clean energy technologies, including wind, solar, and energy storage. Raimi and Lee talk about what rare earth minerals are, whether they're literally “rare,” how they’re mined and processed around the world, and their geopolitical implications. References and recommendations: "Sustain What?" podcast from the Earth Institute at Columbia University; https://www.earth.columbia.edu/videos/channel/sustain-what

This week, host Kristin Hayes talks with Sheila Olmstead, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, a university fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF) and a senior fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman, Montana. She spent time at the Council of Economic Advisers during the transition from the Obama to Trump administrations, and she has coauthored a recent report, commissioned by the External Environmental Economics Advisory Committee (E-EEAC), which is the subject of this episode. The E-EEAC is an independent organization dedicated to providing up-to-date, nonpartisan advice on the state of economic science as it relates to programs at the US Environmental Protection Agency. Regular listeners may recall that Hayes discussed a previous E-EEAC report on Resources Radio, with coauthors Mary Evans and Matt Kotchen, about the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule. This week, Hayes and Holmstead talk about the newly released report commissioned by the E-EEAC, this time about the 2015 Clean Water Rule and its eventual replacement, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. They discuss what the rules are all about, how the rules have shifted under different presidential administrations, and Holmstead's views on how to improve the economic analysis that underpins the development and finalization of these rules. References and recommendations: "Report on the Repeal of the Clean Water Rule and its Replacement with the Navigable Waters Protection Rule to Define Waters of the United States (WOTUS)" by David A. Keiser, Sheila M. Olmstead, Kevin J. Boyle, Victor B. Flatt, Bonnie L. Keeler, Daniel J. Phaneuf, Joseph S. Shapiro, and Jay P. Shimshack; https://www.e-eeac.org/wotusreport "Bowlaway" by Elizabeth McCracken; https://www.harpercollins.com/products/bowlaway-elizabeth-mccracken?variant=32205511360546 "The Giant's House" by Elizabeth McCracken; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/110879/the-giants-house-by-elizabeth-mccracken/