Climate One

Past conferences have failed to reach consensus on addressing climate change. Can the Paris summit produce a lasting, effective and equitable solution? Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change William K. Reilly, Senior Advisor, TPG Capital This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on June 16,...

Human activity has touched every corner of the Earth. The Arctic, the Amazon, the bottom of the deep, blue sea. Places you and I will most likely never visit – and can hardly even imagine. Yet oil drilling and industrial fishing are changing even these places. And changes there are impacting us at home as well. It’s a small world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate change awareness and action are growing. Solutions are being implemented, with more in the wings. Are we experiencing an “atmosphere of hope?” Tim Flannery, Scientist, Explorer, Author, Atmosphere of Hope (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2015) Ben Santer, Climate Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Rebecca Shaw, Associate Vice President and Lead Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund...

California has an ambitious plan to reduce carbon emissions. Can EVs and driverless cars save the day? Or will they just add to our already clogged roads? Shad Balch, Environment and Energy Communications Manager, General Motors Alexandre Bayen, Liao-Cho Professor of Engineering and Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley Hector De La Torre, Member, California Air Resources Boar...

PG&E hopes to become 50% renewable by 2030 by transitioning to renewable power sources and investing in a 21st century grid. Can they reach their goal? Anthony Earley, Jr., Chairman, CEO and President, PG&E Corporation This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Exploratorium with the Commonwealth Club of California on October 15, 2015. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...

El Niño is waiting in the wings, and heat waves, sea level rise and drought are in the forecast as well. How prepared are we to weather the next big disaster? Nile Malloy, former Director, Communities for a Better Environment Patrick Otellini, Chief Resilience Officer, San Francisco Laura Tam, Sustainable Development Policy Director, SPUR This program was recorded in front of a live audience at th...

Pope Francis – in his new encyclical, and in his recent talks at both the U.N. and U.S. Congress – says that it is our moral obligation to the poor to address climate change. This time, the world may be listening. In preparation for the upcoming climate talks in Paris this December, China, along with most major nations around the globe, has announced a plan to cut down on fossil fuel pollution. So...

Thanks to climate change, the wild corners of the planet are shrinking or disappearing altogether. How can we preserve the natural world and its creatures? Bernie Krause, Soundscape Artist; Author, Voices of the Wild: Animal Songs, Human Din, and the Call to Save Natural Soundscapes (Yale University Press, 2015) Jason Mark, Editor, Earth Island Journal; Author, Satellites in the High Country: Sear...

Consumers in Marin and Sonoma already have freedom of choice when it comes to renewable power. Now San Francisco voters are about to have their say. Dawn Weisz, CEO, Marin Clean Energy Geof Syphers, CEO, Sonoma Clean Power Matthew Freedman, Staff Attorney, The Utility Reform Network Phil Ting, California State Assemblymember (D-19) London Breed, President, Board of Supervisors, San Francisco Barba...

Few of us will ever venture to the faraway Arctic. But our entire planet is affected by environmental and economic changes happening in the frozen north. William Collins,Director, Climate and Ecosystem Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Alex Levinson, Executive Director, Pacific Environment Sergey Petrov, Consul General of the Russian Federation in San Francisco Hilde Janne Sk...

As the health of our oceans go, so goes the health of our planet. But climate change, overfishing and pollution have taken their toll – what can we do to help? Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer in Residence This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on May 27, 2015. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spray painting the sky to deflect sunlight and cool the earth sounds like science fiction. But could geoengineering buy us time against global warming? Ken Caldeira, Atmospheric Scientist, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford University Albert Lin, Professor, UC Davis School of Law Jane Long, Co-chair, Task Force on Geoengineering, Bipartisan Policy Center Armand Neukermans, Physicist and In...

Today we look at fact and fiction in our approach to the climate challenge. A handful of scientists want to tinker with the sky in a process called geo-engineering. Others call this arrogance. Most Americans simply aren’t talking about climate change at all. Why not? Meanwhile, Hollywood has taken notice. It’s rolling out movies depicting a climate catastrophe. Science fiction thrillers describe p...

Pope Francis’ bold statement on global warming has prompted a discussion of stewardship across faiths. Can his upcoming visit change the climate in Congress? Rev. Canon Sally Bingham, Founder and President, Regeneration Project Father Paul Fitzgerald, President, University of San Francisco Sam Liccardo, Mayor, San Jose, California This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Common...

From fisheries to food safety, California drought to Toledo tapwater, the EPA is waging the battle against climate change both domestically and globally. Gina McCarthy, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on May 13, 2015. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China is both our economic competitor and an ally in the climate change fight. But can it reduce its carbon footprint while lifting its people out of poverty? Henry Paulson, Former United States Secretary of the Treasury and author of “Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower” (Twelve, 2015) This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of...

From hurricanes and superstorms to drought, fire and floods -- what’s causing our country’s extreme weather events, and how can they be prevented? Louise Bedsworth, Deputy Director, California Governor's Office of Planning and Research Kathryn Sullivan, Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hunter Cutting, Director of Strategic Communications, Climate Nexus This program wa...

Our next program is all about water. We love gold. We fight over oil. But we can not live without water. And as snowpacks melt and aquifers drop, water is slipping through our fingers. How can we make the best use of this most precious resource in our cities and down on the farm? We can’t find solutions if we can’t face the issues. And talking about climate change can be a conversation killer. But...

Sure, there are climate deniers – but even those who accept global warming as reality often fail to act on it. What will inspire both awareness and change? George Lakoff, Professor of Linguistics, UC Berkeley; Author, Don’t Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate (Chelsea Green, 2004) Kari Norgaard, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Oregon; Author, Living in Denia...

As the drought drags on, water is becoming an ever more precious resource. It’s time to rethink the ways that we use, reuse, share, sell and save every drop. Anna Michalak, Faculty Member, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science Martha Davis, Executive Manager for Policy Development, Inland Empire Utilities Agency Abrahm Lustgarten, Reporter, ProPublica Tamin Pechet, CEO, Ba...

As the Asian economy booms, its people have paid the price in polluted air and water. Can business and government solve Asia’s environmental problems? Mark Clifford, Author, The Greening of Asia: The Business Case for Solving Asia’s Environmental Emergency (Columbia University Press, 2015) Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director, Center on U.S.-China Relations, Asia Society in New York Stella Li, Sen...

Climate change is more than a plot device – it’s our reality, and the signs are all around us. Can Cli-Fi help rally the troops in our battle to save the planet? Jason Mark, Editor, Earth Island Journal Kim Stanley Robinson, Author, 2312 (Thorndike Press, 2015) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fossil fuels are at the core of the climate challenge. Even Saudi Arabia’s oil minister has said the fossil fuel merry-go-round will wind down one day. But are companies actually going to leave their oil, coal and gas assets in the ground? That won’t make stock holders very happy. As we look for ways to reduce our carbon footprint familiar culprits come to mind: the car’s tailpipe, the air conditi...

Who’s really wasting our water? As the state heats up, so is the finger-pointing. Can Californians come together to find solutions to the drought? Ellen Hanak, Senior Fellow and Center Director, Public Policy Institute of California Felicia Marcus, Chair, State Water Resources Control Board Paul Wenger, President, California Farm Bureau Federation Marguerite Young, Director, Ward 3, East Bay Munic...

Ride-sharing, biking, bussing – when it comes to getting around, there’s a growing menu of ala carte wheels to choose from. Can we curb our cars for good? Tom Nolan, Chairman of the Board, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Jeff Hobson, Acting Executive Director, TransForm Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Staff Reporter, San Francisco Examiner Padden Murphy, Head of Public Policy & Business De...