Resources Radio

This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with Nyeema Harris, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan. Harris has coauthored a recent study that shows how communities of lions are distributed across national parks and hunting concessions in West Africa. Harris and Raimi discuss how these different environments affects patterns in lion movement and distribution, how those findings can inform conservation policy, and the controversial and fascinating topic of trophy hunting. References and recommendations: “Where lions roam: West African big cats show no preference between national parks, hunting zones” by Jim Erickson; https://news.umich.edu/where-lions-roam-west-african-big-cats-show-no-preference-between-national-parks-hunting-zones/ "Comparable space use by lions between hunting concessions and national parks in West Africa" by Kirby L. Mills, Yahou Harissou, Isaac T. Gnoumou, Yaye I. Abdel-Nasser, Benoit Doamba, and Nyeema C. Harris; https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.13601 Black Mammalogists Week; https://blackmammalogists.com/ "A Terrible Thing to Waste" by Harriet A. Washington; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/harriet-a-washington/a-terrible-thing-to-waste/9780316509428 “Trophy hunting—can it really be justified by ‘conservation benefits’?” by Melanie Flynn; https://theconversation.com/trophy-hunting-can-it-really-be-justified-by-conservation-benefits-121921

This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with Mahmoud Taha, a professor and chair of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of New Mexico. Taha is an expert on many things related to materials science; in this episode, he talks about cement, which he calls the “magic glue” of construction. Taha and Raimi discuss the greenhouse gas footprint of cement, options for reducing that footprint, how the use of new materials might affect the cost and performance of cement, and government policies that can help spur innovation and speed deployment. References and recommendations: “Good Economics for Hard Times” by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo; https://www.goodeconomicsforhardtimes.com/ “Sweden’s HYBRIT starts operations at pilot plant for fossil-free steel” in Reuters; https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-steel-hydrogen/swedens-hybrit-starts-operations-at-pilot-plant-for-fossil-free-steel-idUSKBN25R1PI

In this episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Apala Mukherjee, circular economy leader and sustainability director at BASF Corporation. BASF is one of the largest chemical companies in the world and has been considering how best to reduce waste—for both sustainability and cost-reduction reasons. As noted on the BASF website, the concept of a circular economy isn't just about waste reduction; Mukherjee helps define the term, explains what "circular economy" means in practice at a large multinational firm like BASF, and describes some implementation challenges that businesses must confront, if they're committed to circular economy principles. References and recommendations: "The Circular Economy Handbook" by Peter Lacey, Jessica Long, and Wesley Spindler; https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781349959679 “Breaking the Plastic Wave: Top Findings for Preventing Plastic Pollution” by Simon Reddy and Winnie Lau; https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/07/23/breaking-the-plastic-wave-top-findings

In this week's episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with the coauthors of the new book “Reviving Rationality: Saving Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Sake of the Environment and Our Health," Michael A. Livermore and Richard Revesz. Livermore was the founding executive director of the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University (NYU) and now serves as one of its senior advisors. He is a professor at the University of Virginia’s School of Law. Revesz is the Lawrence King Professor of Law at NYU and the current director of the Institute for Policy Integrity. Oxford University Press released the new book last week; in this episode, Livermore and Revesz talk about why they chose to invest their time in this project, what messages they intend the book to convey, and how they see the issues described in the book playing out over the next few years. References and recommendations: “Reviving Rationality: Saving Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Sake of the Environment and Our Health" by Michael A. Livermore and Richard Revesz; https://global.oup.com/academic/product/reviving-rationality-9780197539446 "Mindscape" podcast; https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/ "Nice White Parents podcast; https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/podcasts/nice-white-parents-serial.html

This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with Mark Tercek, longtime investment banker at Goldman Sachs, a former CEO of The Nature Conservancy, and a current member of the President's Council at Resources for the Future (RFF). Tercek talks about his current work advising private companies on how to take more ambitious steps to address environmental problems—particularly climate change. He and Raimi discuss some examples of what companies are doing, why they’re doing it, and how a skeptical public can evaluate the veracity of corporate climate commitments. References and recommendations: "The Instigator" newsletter by Mark Tercek; https://marktercek.substack.com/ "Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire" by Rebecca M. Henderson; https://reimaginingcapitalism.org/ "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation" by John Carlin; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/530626/playing-the-enemy-by-john-carlin/ Amy Harder's interview with Bernard Looney via Axios on HBO; https://www.axios.com/bp-ceo-climate-reinvention-axios-on-hbo-624c3a9c-9ad4-4fb1-9b38-552c558a3544.html

In this week's episode, guest hosts Richard Newell and Sue Tierney talk with each other about the difference it makes for policymakers to have access to sound economic and policy analysis, economic and climate policy in the near and longer term, the best ways to deploy resources to achieve ambitious policy outcomes, and highlights from prior episodes in the "Big Decisions" series they've spearheaded on the Resources Radio podcast. Newell is president and CEO of Resources for the Future (RFF). Tierney serves as the chair of RFF's Board of Directors and is a senior advisor at Analysis Group. This is the final episode of our month-long spin-off series, “Big Decisions: The Future of US Environmental and Energy Policy.” For this series, which has aired in our same Resources Radio time slot every Tuesday in October, RFF Board of Directors Chair Sue Tierney and RFF President Richard G. Newell have shared guest-hosting duties and talked with leading decisionmakers, analysts, researchers, and reporters about the big decisions that will impact US environmental and energy policy in the years to come. References and recommendations: "The New Map" by Daniel Yergin; https://www.danielyergin.com/books/thenewmap "Growth" by Vaclav Smil; https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/growth "Occupied" TV series; https://www.netflix.com/title/80092654 "The Comey Rule" TV miniseries; https://www.sho.com/the-comey-rule "The Trial of the Chicago 7" film; https://www.netflix.com/title/81043755 "The Splendid and the Vile" by Erik Larson; https://eriklarsonbooks.com/book/the-splendid-and-the-vile/ "A Crisis Wasted" by Jeffrey L. Cummings and Reed Hundt; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Crisis-Wasted/Reed-Hundt/9781948122313

In this week's episode, guest host Sue Tierney talks with Paula Glover, president and CEO of the American Association of Blacks in Energy and incoming president of the Alliance to Save Energy. Glover and Tierney discuss policy priorities for Black professionals in the energy industry; creating coalitions to make progress with good policy; support systems and professional pipelines that help diversify the energy field; and energy justice as the intersection between energy, the environment, social justice, and community collaboration. This episode is the penultimate in our month-long spin-off series, “Big Decisions: The Future of US Environmental and Energy Policy.” For this series, which airs in our same Resources Radio time slot every Tuesday in October, RFF Board of Directors Chair Sue Tierney and RFF President Richard G. Newell share guest-hosting duties and talk with leading decisionmakers, analysts, researchers, and reporters about the big decisions that will impact US environmental and energy policy in the years to come. The final episode next week will be a conversation between Sue and Richard. References and recommendations: "The Energy within Us" by Joyce Hayes Giles, Carolyn Green, Rose McKinney-James, Hilda Pinnix-Ragland, and Telisa Toliver; https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/YJfawQEACAAJ

In this week's episode, guest host Richard G. Newell talks with Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board and an environmental lawyer with prior experience at the US Environmental Protection Agency and in the California state government. Nichols and Newell discuss what comes next when a new law is "ready to be interpreted" and what it's like for a lawyer to bring some of the first cases under a new statute, regulating environmental health in a cost-effective way, the viability of carbon pricing and market-based policies, and how recognizing that global systemic injustice contributes to pollution is critical to identifying environmental solutions. This episode continues our month-long spin-off series, “Big Decisions: The Future of US Environmental and Energy Policy.” For this series, which will air in our same Resources Radio time slot every Tuesday in October, RFF President Richard G. Newell and RFF Board of Directors Chair Sue Tierney will share guest-hosting duties; they will talk with leading decisionmakers, analysts, researchers, and reporters about the big decisions that will impact US environmental and energy policy in the years to come. References and recommendations: "All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions to the Climate Crisis" edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson & Katharine K. Wilkinson; https://www.allwecansave.earth/ Octavia Butler; https://www.octaviabutler.com/work "Squeeze Me" by Carl Hiaasen; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/558233/squeeze-me-by-carl-hiaasen/

In this week's episode, guest host Sue Tierney talks with Jody Freeman and Jeffrey Holmstead. Freeman is a professor who specializes in administrative law and environmental law at Harvard, founded their Environmental and Energy Law Program, and established the Harvard Law School’s first environmental law clinic. Holmstead is an attorney at the Houston-based law firm Bracewell LLP and a former assistant administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency; he is also a member of the president's council at Resources for the Future. Tierney, Freeman, and Holmstead discuss past "shenanigans" in presidential transitions; how a new or sitting president will prioritize goals in office, particularly during a troubling pandemic and highly unstable economy; the need for congressional action to make headway on climate change; and more. This episode continues our month-long spin-off series, “Big Decisions: The Future of US Environmental and Energy Policy.” For this series—which will air in our same Resources Radio time slot every Tuesday in October—RFF Board of Directors Chair Sue Tierney and RFF President Richard G. Newell share guest-hosting duties and talk with leading decisionmakers, analysts, researchers, and reporters about the big decisions that will impact US environmental and energy policy in the years to come. References and recommendations: "This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage" by Ann Patchett; https://www.harpercollins.com/products/this-is-the-story-of-a-happy-marriage-ann-patchett "Chernobyl" miniseries; https://www.hbo.com/chernobyl "The Rule of Five" by Richard J. Lazarus; https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674238121 "Borgen" TV series; https://www.netflix.com/title/70302482 "Schitt's Creek" sitcom; https://www.netflix.com/title/80036165 "Watchmen" TV series; https://www.hbo.com/watchmen

In this week's episode, guest host Richard G. Newell talks with Amy Harder, a reporter at Axios who covers energy, the environment, and climate change issues. Previously, Amy covered similar topics for the Wall Street Journal and the National Journal; she also was the inaugural journalism fellow for the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute in 2018. Harder and Newell discuss the likelihood of bipartisan policies moving forward, given various election result scenarios; how to effectively use political capital; "climate hawks" and the viability of climate policy; implications of changes in the Supreme Court for environmental cases; and more. This episode is the first in our month-long spin-off series, “Big Decisions: The Future of US Environmental and Energy Policy.” For this series, which will air in our same Resources Radio time slot every Tuesday in October, RFF President Richard G. Newell and RFF Board of Directors Chair Sue Tierney will share guest-hosting duties; they will talk with leading decisionmakers, analysts, researchers, and reporters about the big decisions that will impact US environmental and energy policy in the years to come. References and recommendations: "The New Map" by Daniel Yergin; https://www.danielyergin.com/books/thenewmap "The Golden Spruce" by John Vaillant; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/182225/the-golden-spruce-by-john-vaillant/9780676976465