America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast

In the latest episode of America Adapts , Doug Parsons hosts Laurie Schoeman , the National Director for Climate Risk Reduction and Resilience at Enterprise Community Partners . We discuss:  affordable housing and climate change; standardizing resilience in building codes; what's problematic about the subject of managed retreat; Resilience21; and a new, important FEMA housing policy change. Topics...

In the latest episode of America Adapts , Doug Parsons hosts Alizé Carrère , a National Geographic Explorer, filmmaker, and PhD student researching and documenting human adaptations to environmental change. Alizé discuses her four part adaptation series she did with PBS. We also discuss her doctoral research on "climatopias", the forward-looking plans that architects, designers and futurists are d...

In the latest episode of America Adapts , Doug Parsons hosts Cal Inman , founder of ClimateCheck , an online real estate climate risk data tool, that identifies current risk exposure to climate impacts such as drought, floods and sea level rise. Cal shares why climate data is so important to the real estate sector in helping consumers make climate smart decisions on home buying. We also ground tru...

In the latest episode of America Adapts, Doug Parsons hosts the CEO and President of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Manish Bapna . Doug and Manish talk about how NRDC is addressing climate change, specially focusing on their approach to resilience and adaptation planning. Manish shares his vision on how domestic and international adaptation approaches can learn from each other and an...

The hosts of a new climate adaptation podcast, Resilience: The Global Adaptation Podcast , join the show to talk about international adaptation. Elizabeth Bernhardt and Marcus Neild, from the United Nations' Environment Program , discuss the origins of the podcast and why there's a need to tell more international adaptation stories. Also joining is Laura Schifter of the Aspen Institute who gives a...

In the second of a two part series of America Adapts , Doug Parsons and Tulane Professor,   Dr. Jesse Keenan  complete their assessment of the Federal Climate Adaptation Plans .  Jesse discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the remaining federal agencies' plans. We also discuss National Adaptation Plans and the need for the United States to have one. Currently the U.S. is the only G20 country w...

In the latest episode of America Adapts , Doug Parsons and Tulane Professor,   Dr. Jesse Keenan assess the newly released federal climate adaptation plans .  Jesse does a deep dive and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of 10 of the adaptation plans. This is the first part of a two part series, with the rest of the departments and agencies covered in the second episode. We also discuss maladap...

In the second of a two part series with the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Risk Center, we take a deep dive on risk and floods and helping communities find financial resilience as impacts escalate with a warming climate. Returning to the podcast is Dr. Carolyn Kousky of the Wharton Risk center who gives context to what this two-part series is all about. Then joining me is Joe Rossi, Joe Floo...

In the second of a two part series, we learn how science and adaptation planning work to help the Coskata-Coatue Haulover Wildlife Refuge on Nantucket Island adapt to climate change. The podcast is joined by The Trustees of Reservations , a coastal conservation group in Massachusetts, and the Nantucket Conservation Foundation to learn how they are managing the refuge for future climate impacts. Ex...

In this episode, Doug Parsons talks with returning guest Alice Hill about her new book, The Fight for Climate After Covid-19 . We discuss what inspired her to write the book; how her experiences working on climate change and biodefense during the Obama Presidency informed her thinking; why we need a national adaptation plan; the critical need for political leadership in confronting crises like cov...

In the first of a two part series with the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Risk Center, we take a deep dive on flood risk and helping communities find financial resilience as impacts escalate with a warming climate. Returning to the podcast is Dr. Carolyn Kousky of the Wharton Risk Center who gives context to what this two-part series is all about. Then joining me is John Miller of the Federa...

Doug Parsons hosts Dr. Brandon Collins , an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley and the lead scientist at Berkeley Forests . As wildfires rage in the Western U.S., why are some areas more prone to out of control fires than others?  Brandon explains the ecology of western forests and some of the management options to mitigate against these extreme events. We also discuss the growing impact of climate...

Doug Parsons talks with Dr. V. Kelly Turner , an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Geography at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Doug and Kelly discuss: the need to create governance and regulation around extreme heat; decoupling disaster heatwave response to long term planning for it; how can social media amplify disaster messaging; the pros and cons of cool pavements and should...

America Adapts joins with the Sky Island Alliance to discover conservation in the desert southwest. Learn about the unique Sky Island ecosystems along the U.S., Mexico border. Hear about the unique biodiversity in the region; how the landscape is adapting to climate change and the negative impacts of the border wall on wildlife and the ecology of the region. You will hear from experts on the chall...

Doug Parsons talks history and the ecology of the Coskata-Coatue Haulover Wildlife Refuge on Nantucket Island with The Trustees of Reservations , the nation's first and Massachusetts' largest preservation and conservation nonprofit, and the Nantucket Conservation Foundation .  This is the first of a two part series focusing on climate adaptation in the Refuge. Doug talks with experts, historians,...

Doug talks extreme heat with Dr. Ladd Keith , Assistant Professor in Planning and Chair of Sustainable Built Environments at the University of Arizona. Ladd and Doug discuss the media coverage of the recent pacific northwest heat wave; is naming heat waves a bad idea; will extreme heat be included in managed retreat discussions; Miami's new Chief Heat officer; the challenge of tying mortalities to...

Doug Parsons hosts Alex Harris, a climate reporter with the Miami Herald . Alex, the only reporter dedicated to climate change in the entire southeast, shares what it's like covering climate change in the Miami region. We discuss the importance of local media for adaptation; using the latest science as a reporter; the mega projects Miami is considering to halt flooding and sea level rise; how a ne...

In episode 139 of America Adapts , Doug Parsons hosts two leading adaptation thinkers, Dr. Susanne Moser and Dr. Linda Shi and we discuss a new article they published Transformative Climate Adaptation in the United States: Trends and Prospects . Learn what it is and how it can influence climate equity and justice issues. We also discuss if democratic governments are the best model for transformati...

In episode 138 of America Adapts , Doug Parsons is highlighting two new adaptation books, Moving to Higher Ground , Rising Sea Level and the Path Forward by legendary sea level rise expert John Englander and a Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation , edited by Dr. Carolyn Kousky at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. We'll take a sneak peak in these books that are focusing on coastal a...

In episode 137 of America Adapts , Doug Parsons hosts Dr. Victoria Herrmann , the Managing Director of the Arctic Institute and a National Geographic Explorer.  We learn what is a Nat Geo Explorer ; her travels with the America Eroding Edges project; the origins of Rising Tides, an organization that pairs climate experts with at risk communities and we discuss the evolving nature of adaptation pro...

In episode 136 of America Adapts , Doug Parsons hosts Dr. Jeanine Dudle and Dr. Sarah Strauss of Worcester Polytechnic Institute about launching a pioneering graduate program in community climate adaptation . The three discuss the challenges of starting a new program; how they developed the curricula; what type of students would excel in their program and the growing demand for professionals with...

In episode 135, California Adapts part 3,  Doug Parsons and writer/producer Randy Olson talk about their overall impressions of climate adaptation in California. Each of the experts interviewed during the journey gave scores from  1 to 10  for their opinion of how well they think the state is addressing their element of climate adaptation. The scores are presented to three of the experts for their...

In episode 134, a re-release, Doug Parsons' journeys around California exploring the five most important elements of climate adaptation for the state — fire, drought, flood, temperature and sea level rise. For each one he goes into the field with an expert. He visits the burn area of the Thomas Fire of December 2017 with a fire captain, talks about drought with the state's "Water Czar," standing b...

In episode 133 of America Adapts , What is "climate adaptation" and how well is California doing with it? In this three part special, sponsored by the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability , Doug takes an in-depth look at the state of California, presenting it's long history of environmental leadership, current work on adaptation throughout the state, and how California will be deal...

In episode 132 of America Adapts , Doug Parsons hosts Andrew Rumbach , Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University and faculty fellow at the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center. The two discuss the similarities (and differences) between the two fields. Andrew shares research, looking at historic resources vulnerabilities to climate change and we learn...