The Climate Conversation

EESI works hard to create opportunities for students, including through our Future Climate Leaders Scholarship program. Two-time scholarship recipient Sulaiman Mathew-Wilson is pursuing a bachelor’s in environmental studies at Howard University. Sulaiman joined Daniel and Alison on the podcast to discuss his research on air pollution and environmental justice in Accra, Ghana.

Are you ready for Danger Season? The months of May through October are when North America experiences its most severe weather. The Union of Concerned Scientists produces resources about Danger Season, with an emphasis on its connection to climate change. In this episode, EESI sat down with Union of Concerned Scientists Climate and Energy Policy Director Dr. Rachel Cleetus for a conversation about...

In the words of Athens, Ohio, Mayor Steve Patterson and Power a Clean Future Ohio Executive Director Joe Flarida: “we know what the people are asking for.” In Ohio, those asks include more solar power, shade trees, and public transportation. In this episode of The Climate Conversation, hear how Steve and Joe have worked with municipalities across the Buckeye State to deliver on sustainability goal...

From greenwashing in advertisements to the altering of government websites, misinformation around climate change has become more rampant and pervasive than ever before. This episode focuses on strategies to preserve information integrity through the elevation of reliable and accessible climate data. Ryan Alexander, executive director of the Climate Data Collaborative at the Data Foundation, sat do...

For today's episode, EESI sat down with U.S. Representative Sean Casten, who serves the sixth district of Illinois (western suburbs of Chicago) and sits on the House Financial Services Committee and the Joint Economic Committee. He is also vice-chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition. In this interview with EESI, Rep. Casten shares his insights about all things energy policy, inc...

Welcome to Season 11 of The Climate Conversation! In this episode, EESI President Daniel Bresette and Policy Director Anna McGinn are joined by Genevieve Biggs, who oversees the Wildfire Resilience Initiative at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Genny explains how the initiative and its grantees are creating a future for Western North America where ecologically beneficial fire is dominant ove...

This episode revisits last week’s Rapid Readout, with additional insights from co-hosts Daniel Bresette and Alison Davis and EESI Policy Director Anna McGinn. Speakers unpacked what happened at COP30; covered U.S. federal, subnational, and private sector roles in the proceedings; and explained what it all means for U.S. climate policy. If you’re catching up on the whirlwind of COP30, this episode...

The United Nations climate summit—also known as COP—will take place in Belém, Brazil, starting on November 10th. This year, the United States will not have an official presence at COP30 due to the elimination of the State Department's Office of Global Change, making it more important than ever for mayors and other subnational leaders to engage. In this episode, Kate Johnson, regional director for...

Capacity building is crucial to the success of community-led climate adaptation and resilience projects. In our latest podcast episode, we sit down with Liz Tully of the Climate Resilience Fund to learn about the Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI). We also chat with community leaders from Kentucky to Idaho about how CSCI grants have made local resilience efforts possible, and how federal...

Whether you are an amateur in the kitchen or a professional chef, electrification is a gouda option! In this episode, Chef Christopher Galarza, an expert in cooking with electric and induction technology, explains to co-hosts Daniel and Alison why he does not play with fire in his restaurants or at home. Chef Chris’s leadership at Forward Dining Solutions and EcoChef recently earned him a spot on...

Welcome to Season 10 of The Climate Conversation! Daniel and Alison recorded today’s episode from Capitol Hill with Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California’s 37th Congressional District, part of Los Angeles County. Rep. Kamlager-Dove spoke about her work promoting a circular economy through the Slow Fashion Caucus, which she co-chairs, and the bipartisan Recommerce Caucus.

Today’s episode of EESI’s podcast is showcasing a brand new EESI resource, Rapid Readouts. Things are happening faster than ever, and you need information quickly. These 30-minute, interactive Readouts will bring you what you need to know, when you need to know it. Our first Rapid Readout took place on Friday and explored the benefits of ENERGY STAR.

Climate change has thrown the sports world a massive curveball. Rising temperatures and extreme weather events pose a threat to athletes in all seasons and settings, from mountain skiers to ocean surfers. Sport ecologist Madeleine Orr joined Daniel and Alison on The Climate Conversation to talk about her book, Warming Up: How Climate Change is Changing Sport. She also shared tactics for the indust...

Home insurance is one of those things you need to have and hope to never need. But as risk from climate disasters increases, many homeowners are finding it more and more difficult to obtain an affordable policy. This is especially true in the American West, where wildfires are creating more uncertainty than insurance companies are willing to cover, forcing many homeowners to enroll in state-run in...

For residents of former and current mining communities (especially in Appalachia, the Midwest, and the Mountain West), abandoned mines are a familiar—and often dangerous—aspect of the local landscape. Unreclaimed abandoned mines and infrastructure can leak acid drainage, pollute groundwater, or collapse unexpectedly. Guests Kevin Zedack and Matt Hepler (both from Appalachian Voices) sit down with...

With the United States withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, there is a lot of uncertainty about what U.S. climate diplomacy will look like under the current administration. But despite challenges at the national level, many state governments are poised to continue making progress on global climate action. This new dynamic is already playing out in response to ocean acidification. Daniel and Aliso...

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Energy Earthshots Initiative set technical and financial goals for key clean energy challenges, growing to a portfolio of eight “shots” for technologies like hydrogen, long duration storage, and more. Today’s episode features one of the leaders who helped catapult the Earthshots at DOE, Dr. Geraldine “Geri” Richmond, who served as the agency’s Under Secretar...

Welcome to Season 9 of The Climate Conversation podcast! How many issues can you think of that 94% of U.S. voters agree on? Probably not very many. But a poll commissioned by U.S. Nature4Climate in 2024 revealed that 94% of voters across the United States support the expansion of natural climate solutions—actions that reduce emissions and increase carbon storage in forests, farms, grasslands, and...

As 2024 draws to a close, many people are wondering what to expect from the next Congress and presidential administration on climate change. But sometimes, the best way to look forward is to look back. Co-hosts Daniel Bresette and Alison Davis sit down with Jay Hakes, author of The Presidents and the Planet: Climate Change Science and Politics from Eisenhower to Bush, for a discussion about the in...

Atmospheric satellite data can provide key information about climate change, including measurements related to the ozone layer, air quality, methane, and more. In today's episode, Dr. Pieternel Levelt, a scientist and associate director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, joins Daniel and Alison to talk about satellite instruments like OMI (the Ozone Monitoring Instrument) and TROPOMI...

There are many tools and solutions available to help offset the global rise in temperature caused by greenhouse gas emissions. One such method that has been gaining traction in recent years is the use of solar reflective materials in the built environment. The degree of solar reflectance (or “albedo”) of our roofs, walls, and pavements, can impact local temperatures as well as the Earth’s energy b...

EESI recently held a reception at the Library of Congress to celebrate its 40th anniversary, and we were honored to welcome two members of Congress: Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.). This week on the podcast, we are resurfacing Rep. McClellan’s interview from earlier this year, when she joined us to discuss climate resilience and environmental justice in the Commonweal...

The Gila River, which flows through New Mexico and Arizona, is the site of the first operational solar covered-canal in the United States, and will provide renewable energy to the people of the Pima and Maricopa tribes. This pilot project, also called the Casa Blanca Canal solar project, received nearly $6 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. For this week’s episode, EESI Policy As...

Welcome to Season 8 of The Climate Conversation podcast! Many of us are returning from trips to the coast, where breezy beaches provided a respite from the brutal summer heat. But these coastal areas are important for more than just the occasional vacation. Wetlands and estuaries, which connect inland rivers to the open ocean, are critical ecosystems for climate adaptation and carbon sequestration...

It seems like almost every day there is another story about new advancements in Artificial Intelligence, or AI. By now, many of us are familiar with ChatGPT, but there is a wide variety of different models and applications for the rapidly-evolving AI technology. To wrap up Season 7 of The Climate Conversation podcast, Dan and Alison are joined by Helena Fu, director of the Department of Energy (DO...