Climate One

The war in Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz created a global energy supply crisis. And while gasoline prices didn’t reach the extreme highs some predicted a few months ago, the global markets are still in flux.  “What has been disrupted most is the confidence in the old energy system where you could reliably and affordably dig up a source of energy thousands of kilometers away from wh...

New York set some of the country's most ambitious climate goals, from slashing emissions to bracing for rising seas. But living in the city is freaking expensive. So what does it take for NYC to be affordable and climate-conscious?  In collaboration with Grist, we put that question to the city’s chief climate officer, a Grist reporter, and a grassroots leader during New York Climate Week. Lis...

How should Democrats campaign on climate? Some are quietly shelving climate-specific language ahead of the midterms in favor of terms like “energy crisis” and “affordability.”  But Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island has been talking about climate change on the Senate floor for more than a decade, and he has no plans to stop now.  “The most important thing that can be accomplished on...

As the 2026 midterms approach, voters are contending with concerns around affordability, the AI boom, and climate disruption in their daily lives. AI data centers have become the wild card in energy politics, driving up energy demand and utility bills, and playing a large role in a battleground House primary. A year after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act rolled back key parts of the Inflation Reduct...

Growing power demands – coupled with increasingly frequent climate-driven disasters – have led even staunch environmentalists like NRDC head Manish Bapna to rethink their past opposition to nuclear power.  Three Mile Island didn't kill anyone or cause major public harm, but it fundamentally changed U.S. nuclear policy for 40 years. Why did an accident with a relatively contained consequence h...

While most Americans think of a truck or a sedan when they hear “electric vehicle,” a quiet revolution is happening in other countries on two and three wheels. In China and India, the electric vehicles doing the most to push out oil aren't cars – they're scooters, mopeds, motorcycles and the three-wheeled rickshaws and tuk-tuks that move people and packages through some of the world's busiest citi...

Protest is the ultimate in equal-opportunity political action. As Annie Leonard, former executive director of Greenpeace USA says, “Making change is like laying a stone path across the garden. Peaceful protest may be every 4th or 8th or 200th stone; it helps us get where we want to go but also we need a lot of other stones too.” Leonard explores the history of protests in her book “Protest: Respec...

We all complain about the heat, yet it's a climate threat we routinely underestimate. In the U.S., extreme heat kills more people each year than floods, fires and hurricanes combined. About 16,000 excess deaths were recorded during Europe's June heatwave – a striking and tragic number. What does extreme heat do to our bodies, our wallets and our cities, and what can we actually do about it? ...

At a time when nearly everything feels polarized, Benji Backer is trying to carve out a different path, one where caring about the natural world isn’t a partisan issue. As the founder of Nature Is Nonpartisan, he’s bringing together voices from across the political spectrum who might disagree on climate policy, but still share a desire to preserve public lands, wildlife, and the outdoors.  Si...

Atmospheric scientist Ben Santer pioneered the research that connects human activity to specific climate events. Now, pursuing treatment for a rare type of lymphoma, he sees his own diagnosis and his climate science as the same kind of detective work: using essential and basic science to conduct tests, read complex markers, and rule out every other cause. Even while ill, he's calling out efforts b...

When it comes to climate, we have the facts, but we aren’t moving fast enough. So we need to get climate education and solutions into the places where people already spend their time. Pop culture offers endless opportunities to influence audiences – your favorite movie or TV character can feel like a friend whose views on climate might affect your own. In this episode, we connect moments like this...

It’s becoming increasingly clear that how we talk about climate change matters as much as the science or policy itself. The words we use carry weight, and climate communicator Susan Joy Hassol says specific word choices, like “heat-trapping pollution” rather than “greenhouse gases,” can cut through polarization and help messages resonate with a wider range of people. Equally important is listening...

Making steel accounts for around 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But the industry could reduce that number by removing coal from the steel-making process entirely. Three of the U.S.’s last seven coal-based steel mills are situated along Lake Michigan. Together, these facilities produce nearly half of the steel made in the U.S., supplying skyscraper beams, car doors, and appliances across t...

The “rights of nature” is the idea that if a corporation can have legal standing as a person, why can’t a river or a mountain? Thomas Linzey, one of the early architects of a legal framework for granting rights to nature, now believes that structure doesn’t go far enough: Even when ecosystems are granted rights, the land is still owned by someone or some entity, even if that is a land trust or con...

Summer is here, temperatures are rising — and so are electric bills. That also means many people are facing a severely overlooked issue: power shutoffs. According to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2024 utility companies disconnected U.S. households from electricity more than 13.4 million times due to a customer’s inability to pay. When that happens, people can’t turn on...

Across the country, developers are racing to build huge new buildings to house computers to fuel the AI boom, creating an explosive demand for new energy. While some hyperscalers seek renewable energy, others are turning to fossil fuels. But concerns around high electric bills, air and noise pollution and water depletion have generated widespread community pushback against these giant facilities,...

More and more, conservative voices are making the case that the U.S. can’t achieve energy dominance without solar power. Even the leading industry trade group is changing its strategy. Earlier this year, Politico reported that the American Clean Power Association launched the “American Energy First” campaign to engage Kellyanne Conway and conservative influencers like Katie Miller “to amplify the...

Industrial agriculture accounts for a significant share of global emissions, but meat alternatives face real hurdles in becoming a mainstay of consumer diets. The hype around plant-based meat has cooled: hurt by price gaps, ultra-processed rhetoric, and culture-war politics around masculinity and food identity. Yet feeding a growing planet will require eating less beef, wasting less food, and prod...

While the federal government has all but abandoned trying to address the climate crisis, cities around the world are stepping up. C40 is an international network of 97 cities representing 920 million people and 23% of the world’s economy. Seventy-three percent of these cities have already peaked their emissions. Here in the US, Climate Mayors is a bipartisan network of nearly 350 U.S. mayors, repr...

When real and internal maps come up short, and the path ahead is uncertain, how do we find our way? In her new book “Climate Wayfinding," Dr. Katharine Wilkinson (co-founder of the All We Can Save Project) offers a compassionate and empowering guide for navigating through ache to action, doubt to possibility. Whether we’re steeped in climate or newly curious, we can look inward with care, outward...

The Goldman Environmental Prize is known as the Nobel for grassroots environmental champions, for good reason. Award-winners are earth defenders, often bucking entrenched systems and powerful interests in order to protect and restore the natural environments we all depend on. This week we feature conversations with two of the 2026 Goldman Prize winners:  Iroro Tanshi, a tropical conservationist an...

Protest is the ultimate in equal-opportunity political action. As Annie Leonard, former executive director of Greenpeace USA says, "Making change is like laying a stone path across the garden. Peaceful protest may be every 4th or 8th or 200th stone; it helps us get where we want to go but also we need a lot of other stones too.”  Leonard explores the history of protests in her new book “Protest: R...

Sometimes mothers are biological; other times, they’re chosen. But often, they're the fiercest people you can have on your side. In this special Mother’s Day episode, we’ll hear stories about the vital role mothers and caregivers play in confronting the climate crisis. From a midwife providing essential healthcare in one of the most climate-stressed regions on the planet to an organizer who leads...

In 2021, legendary investor John Doerr outlined his plan to solve climate change in his bestseller “Speed & Scale.” The plan outlines 10 objectives, each with their own set of key results, to cut emissions to net zero. And in true John Doerr style, the results are to be measurable and trackable.  ​Now, five years later, Doerr and co-author Ryan Panchadsaram unveil their 2026 update, revealing wher...

This year, one of the most powerful politicians in the country decided not to seek re-election. For nearly 38 years, Nancy Pelosi has represented the people of San Francisco in the US House of Representatives. As one of the most powerful House Speakers in U.S. history, Pelosi played a central role in advancing landmark environmental and climate laws, and bringing energy and climate policy to the f...