Climate One

Communities of color are most affected by pollution, yet they’ve been overlooked by the green movement. How can we ensure environmental justice for all? Manuel Pastor, Director, University of Southern California Program for Environmental and Regional Equity Vien Truong, National Director, Green for All Miya Yoshitani, Executive Director, Asia Pacific Environmental Network This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on February 9, 2016.

Our host Greg Dalton went to the climate summit in Paris to learn what food and energy solutions were being proposed – outside of the closed door negotiations. Coal made from grass. Burgers made from fruit. He came back with food for thought. When the Paris summit was over and the dust settled, Greg sat down with U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, to get his perspective on the summit’s success – and the prospects for countries actually making good on their promises. Innovating our way to a clean economy, on Climate One.

Connecting the dots between the foods we love and our environment may be one way to engage people in the climate change fight – one cup of coffee at a time. Jonathan Foley, Executive Director, California Academy of Sciences Simran Sethi, Author, Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love Helene York, Global Director, Responsible Business, Compass Group@Google This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on October 18, 2016.

If climate change makes you feel anxious, depressed or powerless, psychologists say you’re not alone. Can talking it out help drive change? Joshua Freedman, CEO, Six Seconds; Author, Inside Change: Transforming Your Organization with Emotional Intelligence (Six Seconds, 2010) Renee Lertzman, Climate Engagement Strategist Joan Blades, Co-founder, LivingRoomConversations.org This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 27, 2016.

Nearly 200 countries have pledged to go on a carbon diet. But does what happens in Paris, stay in Paris? How does the US plan to keep its climate promises? Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of Energy Hal Harvey, CEO, Energy Innovation Danny Kennedy, Managing Director, California Clean Energy Fund Lyndon Rive, Co-founder and CEO, SolarCity This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 26, 2016.

Radical protestersTim DeChristopher and Georgia Hirsty put the “active” in “activism.” But is civil disobedience the best way to effect real change? Tim DeChristopher, Founder, Climate Disobedience Center Georgia Hirsty, National Warehouse Program Manager, Greenpeace Brendon Steele, Director of Stakeholder Engagement, Future 500 This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 19, 2015.

We’ll never win the climate change challenge if we don’t change the way we make and drive cars. In the U.S. personal vehicles account for nearly one fifth of all our greenhouse gas emissions. And if you add in trucks, trains, planes and ships, it’s more than a quarter of our contribution to climate pollution. So how do we cut down on carbon coming out of the tailpipe? Or… maybe it’s time to give up on gasoline altogether. Is the carbon-free, electric vehicle ready for primetime?

Ride-sharing, biking, bussing – when it comes to getting around, there’s a growing menu of ala carte wheels to choose from. Can we curb our cars for good? Tom Nolan, Chairman of the Board, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Jeff Hobson, Acting Executive Director, TransForm Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Staff Reporter, San Francisco Examiner Padden Murphy, Head of Public Policy & Business Development, Getaround Chakib Ayadi, Executive Board Member, San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance Ozzie Arce, driver for Lyft This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on June 22, 2015.

As the Asian economy booms, its people have paid the price in polluted air and water. Can business and government solve Asia’s environmental problems? Mark Clifford, Author, The Greening of Asia: The Business Case for Solving Asia’s Environmental Emergency (Columbia University Press, 2015) Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director, Center on U.S.-China Relations, Asia Society in New York Stella Li, Senior Vice President, BYD Company Ltd.

The new American Dream is an energy-efficient home in a healthy, green community, and HUD Secretary Julián Castro wants to make it affordable for everyone. Julián Castro, Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

The latest recipient of the Stephen Schneider Award calls COP21 “a turning point,” but warns that there’s still much to be done to combat global warming. Chris Field, Director, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science Ken Alex, Director, Governor Brown’s Office of Planning and Research Jane Lubchenco, University Distinguished Professor and Advisor in Marine Studies, Oregon State University and U.S. Science Envoy for the Ocean This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on December 15, 2015.

The meat industry has been much maligned for its part in climate change. But can raising cattle in pastures help turn global warming into global greening? Diana Donlon, Director, Cool Foods Campaign, Center for Food Safety Nicolette Hahn Niman, Author, Defending Beef: The Case for Sustainable Meat Production (Chelsea Green, 2014) Whendee Silver, Professor of Ecology, University of California, Berkeley This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 29, 2015.

The path towards a clean energy future entails reducing our carbon footprint. But can we actually shrink that footprint down to nothing? That’s the idea behind “net zero” – using no more energy than the clean, green energy we can create. Landfills are another target of the zero movement; put nothing at all in the trash bin. Solutions range from recycling competitions to carrying your trash on your back – just to feel how garbage is weighing us down. Around the country, states, communities and individuals are racing to zero.

Conservation begins at home. Is a Net Zero Energy home in your future? And what steps can we take to reduce the trash on our backs – and in our backyards? Ann Edminster, Author, Energy Free: Homes for a Small Planet (Green Building Press, 2009) Daniel Simons, Principal, David Baker Architects Sven Thesen, Owner, Net Zero Home Diana Dehm, Founder, Trash on Your Back Kevin Drew, Zero Waste Coordinator, San Francisco Department of the Environment Lauren Hennessy, Sustainability Outreach Manager, Stanford University This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 15, 2015.

Will the U.S. oil boom cripple OPEC? Could oil reach $100 a barrel again? What’s ahead for renewables? A conversation with the Oracle of Oil, Boone Pickens. T. Boone Pickens, Chairman and CEO, BP Capital Management This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on March 24, 2015.