Climate Chat

In this Climate Chat episode, we interview climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe about how to engage the public and policymakers on climate action. We will discuss her book, "Saving Us," and talk about the state of climate and the actions needed to maintain a safe climate for future generations. Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding what climate change m...

In this Climate Chat episode, we discuss Jevons Paradox and the related Rebound Effect. Jevons Paradox says the the more efficiently a resource is used, the more that resource will be used in total. This presents a challenge for climate solutions because it says that improving the energy efficiency of products will not necessarily result in lower energy use (in total) and may actually increase ene...

In this Climate Chat episode, we speak with Stanford climate scientist Rob Jackson about his new book "Into the Clear Blue Sky" in which he describes how we can restore the atmosphere to near pre-industrial condition. We will discuss methane, CO2 and other greenhouse gases that are too plentiful today and how we can get back to a safe climate. Rob Jackson is the Chair of the Global Carbon Project,...

In this Climate Chat episode, we discuss greenhouse gas forcing, ocean temperature records, and Earth Energy Imbalance (EEI), and other subjects with Eliot Jacobson an Leon Simons. While Eliot is known as a "climate doomer," he also compiles and presents climate information is useful forms for everyone to use, view, and understand. Prof. Eliot Jacobson received his Ph. D. in mathematics from the U...

In this Climate Chat episode, we interview author Genevieve Guenther about her recent book "The Language of Climate Politics." In the book, she points out how certain words and framings promoted by the fossil fuel industry make their way into our everyday discourse and are used even by climate action advocates. Dr. Genevieve Guenther is the founding director of End Climate Silence and affiliate fa...

In this Climate Chat episode, we interview Ken Berlin, former President & CEO of Al Gore's Climate Reality Project and Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council, a think tank focused on climate and energy. We will discuss how the Climate Reality Project engages people on climate and we will also discuss Ken's work on cost competitive climate solutions at the Atlantic Council. Ken Berlin is a senior fe...

In this Climate Chat episode, we interview climate scientist David Keith, Professor of Geophysical Science at the University of Chicago where he leads the Climate Systems Engineering program. David previously ran a similar program at Harvard. Dr. Keith founded Carbon Engineering, a company that captures CO2 from the atmosphere. We will discuss the feasibility, safety, scalability, and political ra...

In this Climate Chat episode, we interview Adam McKay, a screenwriter, producer, and director known for "Don't Look Up", "The Big Short", "Vice", "Anchorman", and "Succession", among many, many other films and TV shows. Adam was head writer for Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2001. In 2023, Adam founded Yellow Dot Studios, a non-profit production company that makes short-form videos that raise aw...

In this Climate Chat episode, we interview Stanford professor Mark Z. Jacobson about his research that shows we can rapidly transition to 100% renewable energy. This is a controversial position, yet with renewable energy costs dropping rapidly, many parts of the world already generate 100% of their electricity in certain parts of the day from renewables. We will discuss the state of renewables tod...

In this second Climate Chat interview with George Marshall, we discuss George's previous book, "DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change" which dealt with how our brains are not very good with dealing with future, long-term problems that don't trigger our threat response. We will also discuss George's upcoming book where he explores how we (as individuals, gover...

In this Climate Chat discussion, we discuss climate scientist James Hansen's and Leon Simons's recent white paper titled "The World Will Cool Off – A Bit – and Other Good News!” and we will also talk about the US Supreme Court's recent "Chevron Doctrine" decision, as well as other climate-related news. Link to Hansen's white paper: https://mailchi.mp/caa/the-world-will-cool-off-a-bit-and-other-goo...

In this Climate Chat discussion, we discuss what systems thinking is and why it is important for understanding and addressing climate change. Related Climate Chat programs: 20-Point Global Policy Plan to Address Climate Change https://youtube.com/live/p2496OB1EmI Barriers to Climate Action https://youtube.com/live/olcYG0LwJlw Climate Change: Choosing to Fail, with Climate Scientist Kevin Anderson...

In this Climate Chat discussion, we discuss the recent controversy, partially caused by our interview last week with climate scientist Michael Mann, over whether we are at or close to 1.5ºC global average temperature anomaly "trend". While Dr. Mann and others say we are at a trend of about 1.3ºC now, others, including climate scientist James Hansen say we may at 1.5ºC now "for all practical purpos...

In this Climate Chat discussion, Michael Mann joins us to discuss the latest climate science as well as his recent books, Our Fragile Moment and The New Climate Wars. Dr. Michael E. Mann is Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, with a secondary appointment in the Annenberg School for Communication. He is directo...

In this Climate Chat discussion, host Dan Miller will discuss why we continue to choose to fail to act on climate. In last week's episode, Dan discussed his 20-point global climate action plan. While the policies presented are obviously needed, we continue to muddle along without taking serious action even though we know it is needed. Why is that? After Dan put together his policy plan several yea...

In this Climate Chat discussion, host Dan Miller will present a talk he recently gave at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) in Monterey on his proposed 20-point climate action plan. The plan lays out the major policies that governments around the world should implement once they decide to choose to succeed on climate action. You can see a list of the 20-point plan here: https...

In this Climate Chat episode, we interview climate scientist Kevin Anderson for a 2nd time. Out first, audio-only, interview in May 2021 was one of the most listened to Climate Chat programs. Kevin tells it like it is and does not sugarcoat the situation. We will discuss carbon budgets and global temperatures, the desirability of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and Sunlight Reflection Methods (SRM),...

In this Climate Chat episode we discuss the rapid acceleration of global warming with climate scientist Leon Simons. The Berkeley Earth dataset shows the average global surface temperature in 2023 was +1.54ºC above the pre-industrial average. This is far above previous years and while there was an El Niño starting in 2023, it cannot explain the full jump in global temperature. Leon Simons is a cli...

In this Climate Chat episode we discuss the types of protest and collective action that might be effective in engaging individuals and society to take climate action seriously. Our guest is Dr. Johanna Vollhardt, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Clark University. Dr. Vollhardt’s research focuses on the psychological impact of collective victimization, focusing on questions su...

In this special Climate Chat "Lightning Round" episode we discuss when the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) ocean current -- a major climate tipping point -- will shutdown. While the IPCC says the AMOC is unlikely to shutdown this century, a recent paper co-authored by Peter Ditlevsen says we could see the AMOC shutdown around mid-century... and possibly as soon as 2025! Here is...

In this Climate Chat episode we discuss whether the world will start to take climate action seriously in 2024. Guardian article on "World will look back at 2023 as year humanity exposed its inability to tackle climate crisis, scientists say": https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/29/world-will-look-back-at-2023-as-year-humanity-exposed-its-inability-to-tackle-climate-crisis? CMP=share_b...

In this Climate Chat episode we discuss last week's interview with climate scientist Dr. James Hansen and discuss your climate questions and comments. Link to Climate Chat interview with James Hansen: https://youtube.com/live/8Ag3UVSrlhE Dr. Hansen's recent "Global Warming In the Pipeline" paper: https://academic.oup.com/oocc/article/3/1/kgad008/7335889 Dr. Hansen's 2016 paper: "Ice melt, sea leve...

In this Climate Chat episode I interview legendary climate scientist James Hansen. Dr. Hansen's recent "Global Warming In the Pipeline" paper: https://academic.oup.com/oocc/article/3/1/kgad008/7335889 Dr. Hansen's 2016 paper: "Ice melt, sea level rise and superstorms: evidence from paleoclimate data, climate modeling, and modern observations that 2 °C global warming could be dangerous" https://acp...

In this Climate Chat episode we discuss the current COP28 meeting in the UAE and whether the conference is considering the latest climate science and whether special interests have too much influence in the proceedings. For more Climate Chat episodes, see our YouTube home page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3BXcpYFCzTndJ9Fisi32qg

In this Climate Chat episode we discuss the August 2022 paper "Climate Endgame: Exploring catastrophic climate change scenarios" by Luke Kemp, Chi Xu, Joanna Depledge , and Timothy M. Lenton: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2108146119 The paper explores how the IPCC does not include proper risk assessment of catastrophic climate change scenarios and what proper risk assessment may reveal. Fo...