The Climate Pod

Last week, the Trump Administration announced rollbacks to Obama-era regulations on methane emissions. What's happening? Why is this so bad? What can be done about it? We're joined this week by Earther's Yessenia Funes and Environmental Defense Fund's Ben Ratner to discuss the changes and to answer those questions.  Also, we review updates on the Amazon wildfire recovery and discuss rain forest protections in the United States. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more! Follow Yessenia Funes on Twitter @yessfun Follow Ben Ratner on Twitter @ratnerben Further Reading: Read Yessenia's piece on California's incarcerated fire fighters: https://earther.gizmodo.com/california-is-blaming-prison-reform-for-incarcerated-fi-1837612038 Read Yessenia's piece on the rollback of methane regulations: https://earther.gizmodo.com/trump-epa-moves-to-gut-clean-air-act-by-deregulating-a-1837705618 Read the New York Times' piece (where Ben is quoted) on last week's decision by Trump's EPA: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/climate/epa-methane-greenhouse-gas.html

This week we discuss the horrific, human-caused fires burning in the Amazon, and National Geographic's Natasha Daly tells us how the millions of plant and animal species living in the world's largest tropical rainforest are affected by these fires.  Next, we talk to Dr. Miriam Goldstein, the Director of Ocean Policy at the Center for American Progress, about all the ways that humans are negatively impacting the ocean and the species that call it home. Chad the Bird is back this week to talk about algae blooms in Lake Eerie. As always, follow us on @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion HiFi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Follow Dr. Miriam Goldstein on Twitter @miriamgoldste Follow Natasha Daly on Twitter @natashaldaly Further Reading: Read Natasha Daly's piece on the plight of wildlife in the Amazon fires: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/08/how-the-amazon-rainforest-wildfires-will-affect-wild-animals/ Read Aaron Mak's coverage of the Amazon fires: https://slate.com/technology/2019/08/the-amazon-fires-what-you-need-to-know.html

This is a wide-ranging and wonderful episode. First, we are joined by Earther's Brian Kahn to talk about ecofascism and the dangerous discourse occurring around climate around the globe. Then, we ask Vox's David Roberts a whole lot of energy policy questions that span carbon taxes, electric vehicles, renewable energy goals, the filibuster, The Green New Deal, Waxman-Markey, New York's new plan and the devastating impact of the dying coal industry in Wyoming. Pretty wide-ranging, right?! As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more! Follow Brian Kahn on Twitter @blkahn Follow David Roberts on Twitter @drvox Further Reading: Read Brian's piece on ecofascism: https://earther.gizmodo.com/how-climate-change-is-becoming-a-deadly-part-of-white-n-1837010929 Read David's piece on methane and fracking: https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/8/15/20805136/climate-change-fracking-methane-emissions Ben Smee's piece on Michael McCormack in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/aug/16/pacific-islands-will-survive-climate-crisis-because-they-can-pick-our-fruit-australias-deputy-pm-says?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Tweet Tom McKay's piece on Iceland: https://earther.gizmodo.com/icelanders-mourn-loss-of-okjokull-glacier-with-ceremony-1837354287  

On Monday, the Trump Administration announced changes to weaken the Endangered Species Act. This decision comes just three months after the United Nation's Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released a study that reported up to 1 million species are now threatened with extinction around the globe. We discuss these changes and what it means with Chris D'Angelo, environmental reporter for the Huffington Post, and Angela Grimes, CEO of Born Free USA.  Also, Chad the Bird is back to talk about feral hogs and animal migration. Read Chris' story on the changes to the ESA here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-endangered-species-rule_n_5cf7b7b4e4b01713bed4df9b You can follow Born Free USA on Twitter and Facebook @bornfreeusa and Chris D'Angelo on Twitter @c_m_dangelo. Follow Chad The Bird on Twitter @chadthebird and listen to his podcast, "Chad The Podcast." As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more!

For many concerned with climate change, establishing a carbon fee is a step in the right direction when it comes to market-based solutions. Mark Reynolds of the Citizens' Climate Lobby argues that the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, a bill his group is pushing for in Congress, is a bipartisan way to do exactly that. Mark discusses the bill, his organization's goals, and even tells a few Don Cheadle and Bradley Whitford stories.  Also, Chad the Bird is back to talk about the damaging deforestation taking place in the Amazon as a result of the policies of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro.  As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more!

Two more nights of debates! Democrats squared off for round two of the primary debates and the climate talk was...better, maybe? We review the climate discussion with Heated's Emily Atkin, who explains which candidates stood out, how these debates could be better, and what climate topics she hopes will be explored in the future. Emily rocks. This was a lot of fun.  You can read Emily's piece on this week's debates here: https://newrepublic.com/article/154470/climate-change-finally-getting-attention-deserved-20-years-ago Follow Emily on Twitter @emorwee As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more!

Dr. Peter Gleick is a world-renowned scientist, who co-founded the Pacific Institute, received the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and received the 2018 Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization. As an expert on water and climate issues, Dr. Gleick joined the podcast to talk about the crisis we face, what needs to be done about it, and the importance of science in the public debate.  You can follow Dr. Gleick at @PeterGleick on Twitter and learn more about the Pacific Institute at https://pacinst.org. Also, we bring Chad The Bird back to talk about a danger lurking in the water...and it's not sharks.  As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more!

This week, we're joined by Daniel Poneman, former Deputy Secretary of Energy for President Obama and current President and CEO of Centrus Energy Corp, to talk about his book "Double Jeopardy, Combating Nuclear Terror and Climate Change." Daniel makes his case for why nuclear energy is necessary in 2019.  As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more! Buy Daniel Poneman's book here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/double-jeopardy

This week week we talk to Aracely Jimenez, digital media manager for the Sunrise Movement, to talk about the organization's goals, how they plan to push legislation forward and keep politicians accountable, and how you can help as a climate activist. It's a great conversation about an awesome organization. Ty and Brock also discuss that press conference by Democrats from the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday that was an odd mix of light promises and maybe comedy performance art.  As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more! Check out more about the Sunrise Movement here: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/

Beth Gardiner is the author of "Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution." In this episode, we talk to Beth about the shocking statistics she discovered on air pollution and the remarkable damage it's doing to public health. Beth explains why this is happening and the best way to start attacking this problem that causes 7 million premature deaths each year.  And Chad The Bird is back with an essay on air pollution as well! As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and more! Buy Beth's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Choked-Life-Breath-Age-Pollution/dp/022649585X/ref=pd_sbs_14_1/143-1038534-5380427