Climate Break

Editorial Note The interview for this episode was recorded in June 2021. The basic point of the episode remains relevant, but the mentioned campaign is no longer active. ClimateVoice’s current campaign is Escape the Chamber , which calls on companies to leave the US Chamber of Commerce and to speak up and lead on climate policy at local, state, and federal levels.    What is Corporate Lobbying for...

If you’ve ever been near a farm with livestock, you might agree that farm odors can be carried far from the farm itself. Farms often face criticism from nearby residents over the offensive odor of manure. While manure is an unavoidable part of raising livestock, there is one technological innovation that can remove the smell from manure. Anaerobic digesters are a simple concept—instead of leaving...

Renewables and E-mobility E-mobility , the use of electric powertrain technologies in-vehicle transformation, allows for the use of electricity to enable the electric propulsion of various forms of transportation. Powertrain technologies refer to full electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, which can be less carbon-intensive than conventional diesel counterparts. Such technologies provide countries...

Zero-Emission Transport Electric vehicles and other transportation-based climate solutions have made a big splash in recent years, and for good reason – transportation accounts for about a fourth of global carbon dioxide emissions. In the U.S, it’s the economic sector with the single largest contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. With such a large global impact, sustainable transportation has b...

What is a cool surface? Cool surfaces are roofs, walls, or pavements that are generally light-colored and highly reflective. When sunlight hits a white surface, its rays bounce off the surface rather than being absorbed, and are reflected back into space. Darker surfaces tend to absorb sunlight, trapping heat. Cool surfaces release this heat back into the atmosphere and space.  What are the benefi...

Staying Educated About Climate Change As climate change intensifies, the heightened frequency of natural disaster weather-related events is quickly becoming the new reality. Whether it be prolonged wildfire seasons in Northern California or destructive hurricanes off the Florida coast, citizens across the country are beginning to bear the burden of a changing climate. For those of us yet to experi...

Steel Production Globally, 1.9 billion metric tons of crude steel were produced in 2022. Over the past 15 years, the global demand for steel production has nearly doubled, as this versatile product can be found in nearly all modern infrastructure such as buildings, ships, vehicles, machines, and appliances. Conventionally, steel is made from iron ore (the world’s third most produced commodity by v...

The Need to Accurately Quantify Emissions As we begin to come to terms with the reality of the fossil fuel industry’s role in climate change, many policymakers are looking towards market-based mechanisms to curb the level of emissions released by harmful polluters. Market-based mechanisms include taxing pollution directly (through a carbon tax) or implementing a cap and trade system. Under the Cle...

What is plastic?  Plastic is a material derived primarily from carbon-based sources like natural gas, oil, and even plants. It is created by treating these organic materials with heat and catalysts to form various polymers .  Producing plastic is energy-intensive, often relying on the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, both for power and as a primary source. As a product of f...

Extreme Heat: More Dangerous Than We Think? Extreme heat , one of the adverse consequences of climate change, exacerbates drought, damages agriculture, and profoundly impacts human health. Heat is the top weather-related killer in the United States, contributing to deaths that arise from heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases. As temperatures are projected to increase, so will t...

Renewable Energy is The Future California is no stranger to power outages. In 2019, for example, over 25,000 blackout events were recorded across the state, leaving homeowners and businesses without electricity. In recent years, most blackouts are the result of wildfire, wildfire risk (leading to utility shutdowns), and extreme heat (leading to high electricity usage). When the electricity grid is...

Increasing Sustainable Modes of Transportation In 2022, global emissions from transportation reached nearly 8 gigatons of carbon. To achieve the Net Zero Scenario , transportation emissions need to drop by nearly 25% by 2030. Within the Global South, auto-centric planning, transport authorities’ structures, and alternatives to cars and buses are some of the challenges in sustainable transportation...

Electric Heat: A Hot Topic in Chicago In cold winter months, many people have to rely on fossil gas to heat their homes and power cookstoves. Yet all-electric appliances, including heat pumps to heat homes, are quickly becoming a cheaper alternative over the long term, though they often entail higher upfront costs compared to gas appliances. In Chicago, the switch from natural gas to electricity i...

What’s interesting about urban rivers? Urban rivers play many important roles in our cities. They maintain the health of coastal and estuarine ecosystems and they are part of larger catchment ecosystems that are nested within wider, interconnected systems. Urban rivers are also essential to the quality of our drinking water, playing central roles in cultural and traditional preservation. Urban riv...

Solar Power on Farms Many farmers, ranchers, and landowners are beginning to consider using their farmland not just for agricultural purposes, but for solar power as well. This combination of agriculture and solar is known as agrivoltaics , which offers an innovative approach to land management particularly in arid regions of the world. Solar panels on farms are often paired with regenerative agri...

Decreasing society’s reliance on single-use plastics The use of plastic has major environmental, social, and health consequences. Across the globe, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, with over half of the plastic produced worldwide being thrown away after one use. Upon disposal, plastics are often left in landfills where they can break down into smaller microplastic particles,...

What is nuclear fusion? Nuclear fusion produces energy by fusing atoms together. Atomic cores (nuclei) merge together to form a heavier—though unstable—nucleus, releasing mass to regain stability. This mass release corresponds to an energy release, given Einstein’s equation E=mc2, which says in part that mass and energy can be converted into each other. The sun, along with all other stars, uses nu...

Climate Education for Youth Climate education has the potential to drive the public towards climate science literacy , an individual’s understanding of their influence on climate and climate’s influence on them and society. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a climate-literate person:  understands the essential principles of Earth’s climate system, knows how to asses...

Carbon Sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide to slow the pace of climate change. There are two major types of carbon sequestration: geologic and biologic. Geological carbon sequestration injects carbon dioxide captured from an industrial or energy-related source into underground geologic formations. Biological carbon sequestration ref...

Climate change is increasing flood risk worldwide.   Climate change is intensifying flood risk around the world, with potentially devastating consequences for communities and infrastructure.  As the planet gets hotter, the atmosphere's capacity to hold water vapor increases, leading to more frequent and intense precipitation events in certain regions.  Extreme rainfall events can overwhelm stormwa...

What is the GeoGrid? The Geo Grid is a network of heating pumps that harnesses the geothermal energy stored under the Earth’s surface to heat and cool buildings. It operates through a network of pipes that go deep into the ground and connect houses to each other. These pipes are filled with water, which brings the constant underground temperature up to the Earth’s surface, and into the buildings....

How does transitioning to renewable energy challenge the electric grid? As of 2022, renewable and non-greenhouse gas emitting sources accounted for 52% of California's in-state electricity generation with the remaining 48% fueled by natural gas. Legislation passed in 2018 mandates that the state must reach at least 60% renewable energy by 2030 which California is quickly on its way to meet. The 60...

What are Art and Music Activism? Art activism refers to the use of artistic expression and creative endeavors to advocate for and educate others on social, political, environmental, or cultural issues. This form of activism employs the creative power of art as a medium to move us emotionally, raise awareness of certain issues, and provoke thought. At its core, art activism brings audiences through...

  What is the IMF? The International Monetary Fund (IMF) provides aid to developing countries to promote global economic and monetary growth.  IMF investments and loans can significantly impact the ability of developing countries to improve climate resilience. Most directly, reforms to the IMF can allow developing countries to invest more in climate resilience and disincentivize fossil fuel produc...

Why Community? It’s easy to feel despair about climate change and environmental destruction. But despair can make it hard to forge connections and take action. According to emotion researchers, hope means believing that you have the power to improve problems, rather than ignoring them. One possible source of hope? Community building events, where diverse groups of activists can find common ground....