As the CEO of the California utility giant PG&E, Patti Poppe is charged with navigating the company through massive wildfires, disrupted energy markets, and lingering public distrust of the utility. The company is undergrounding 10,000 miles of electric lines, working with GM and Ford on incorporating power from electric vehicles into homes and the grid, deploying batteries at large power plants, and pushing to change net metering rates that pay homeowners for electricity generated on their roofs. How can utilities like PG&E reinvent themselves and modernize the electric grid to deliver renewable power when their own systems are threatened by catastrophic climate change?

Guests:
Patricia Poppe, CEO, PG&E
Katherine Blunt, Reporter, Wall Street Journal

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Patti Poppe: Reinventing Utilities During a Climate Emergency

We’re living through a climate emergency; addressing this crisis begins by talking about it. Co-Hosts Greg Dalton and Ariana Brocious bring you empowering conversations that connect all aspects of the challenge — the scary and the exciting, the individual and the systemic. Join us.
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Summer is coming soon, and for many that means vacation. While traveling far and wide can be an amazing experience, the carbon cost of traveling is significant. But what if we could rekindle a sense of awe in our own neighborhoods? 
After years of extreme expeditions all over the world, adventurer Alastair Humphreys spent a year exploring the detailed local map around his home. His new book “Local” is an ode to slowing down, as well as a rallying cry to protect the wild places on our doorstep.
This episode also features field reporting from Producers Austin Colón and Megan Biscieglia.
Guest: 
Alastair Humphreys, Author, adventurer
It's time for our annual spring appeal! At Climate One, we believe in the power of open conversations to drive positive change. Through our thought-provoking discussions and interviews, we strive not only to raise awareness of climate issues and solutions, but to also empower individuals — like each of our valued listeners — to take tangible steps toward a more sustainable future. 
You can show your support for Climate One by contributing to our spring fundraising campaign.
For show notes and related links, visit our website.
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Staycation: All I Ever Wanted

At age 9, Nalleli Cobo, suffering headaches, heart palpitations, nosebleeds, and body spasms, became an activist, driven to fighting to close the local oil well responsible for her ailments. In 2022, at age 20, she won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for her work shutting down toxic wells throughout the Los Angeles region. The same year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law prohibiting such neighborhood wells. Then Big Oil bankrolled a referendum on the matter for the November 2024 ballot, putting the restrictions Cobo fought so hard for on hold.
Also in California, State Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit against five of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, along with the lobbying organization American Petroleum Institute, for willfully misleading the public about climate change. This week we explore two methods of challenging fossil fuels: in the courts and on the ballot.
Guests:
Nalleli Cobo, Cofounder, People Not Pozos
Rob Bonta, California Attorney General
It's time for our annual spring appeal! At Climate One, we believe in the power of open conversations to drive positive change. Through our thought-provoking discussions and interviews, we strive not only to raise awareness of climate issues and solutions, but to also empower individuals — like each of our valued listeners — to take tangible steps toward a more sustainable future. 
You can show your support for Climate One by contributing to our spring fundraising campaign.
For show notes and related links, visit our website.
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Fighting Fossil Fuels in the Courts and on the Ballot

An environmental giant passed last week with the death of Pete McCloskey, a former Republican Congressman who co-authored the Endangered Species Act. He died at the age of 94. 
A Marine who served in the Korean War, McCloskey was perhaps best known for the politically fraught move of challenging a sitting president in his own party - Richard Nixon - in the 1972 presidential primary because of the Vietnam War. He was the first member of Congress — from either party — to call for President Nixon’s resignation during the Watergate scandal. 
After he left public office in the 1980s, he continued to champion peace and environmental causes. About fifteen years ago, he became an early supporter of young people bringing climate cases into the courts. In 2011 he came on Climate One with other experts to discuss the first suits that young people filed alleging the US government has a responsibility to protect a healthy atmosphere for future generations. That effort laid the groundwork for the ongoing case Juliana vs. United States and another that was recently won in Montana.
It's time for our annual spring appeal! At Climate One, we believe in the power of open conversations to drive positive change. Through our thought-provoking discussions and interviews, we strive not only to raise awareness of climate issues and solutions, but to also empower individuals — like each of our valued listeners — to take tangible steps toward a more sustainable future. 
You can show your support for Climate One by contributing to our spring fundraising campaign. 
For show notes and related links, visit our website.
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Special: Remembering Pete McCloskey

Plastics are everywhere. And while we’ve known for a long time that plastics and our environment aren’t a good mix, it's becoming apparent that they’re massive climate polluters too. The production of plastics alone produces about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. After what is often a single use, the resulting waste continues releasing the greenhouse gasses ethylene and methane as it breaks apart. 
Yet, as petrochemical companies pay lip service ending fuel production, they are pouring resources into plastics production. How do we wrap up our reliance on plastics?
Guests: 
Diane Wilson, Founder and Director, San Antonio Bay Waterkeeper
Jane Patton, U.S. Fossil Economy Campaign Manager, Center for International Environmental Law 
Susannah Scott, Professor of Chemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara 
Alexis Jackson, Ocean Policy and Plastics Lead, California Chapter, The Nature Conservancy 
It's time for our annual spring appeal! At Climate One, we believe in the power of open conversations to drive positive change. Through our thought-provoking discussions and interviews, we strive not only to raise awareness of climate issues and solutions, but to also empower individuals — like each of our valued listeners — to take tangible steps toward a more sustainable future. 
You can show your support for Climate One by contributing to our spring fundraising campaign.
For show notes and related links, visit our website.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big Plastic: The New Big Oil

The Golden State has staked much of its reputation on its green credentials, with state leaders touting its role on the leading edge of global and national climate progress. But California is falling behind in meeting its ambitious emission targets, and has been criticized for over-relying on emerging clean energy technologies that may not bear out.
At the same time, the state is at increasing risk from severe wildfires, epic floods and other impacts worsened by burning fossil fuels. What can the nation learn from California’s attempts to mitigate climate disruption?
Guests:
Scott Wiener, California State Senator
Nancy Skinner, California State Senator
Liane Randolph, Chair, California Air Resources Board
Mari Rose Taruc, Energy Justice Director, California Environmental Justice Alliance
Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor, California
Jennifer Barrera, President & CEO, California Chamber of Commerce
It's time for our annual spring appeal! At Climate One, we believe in the power of open conversations to drive positive change. Through our thought-provoking discussions and interviews, we strive not only to raise awareness of climate issues and solutions, but to also empower individuals — like each of our valued listeners — to take tangible steps toward a more sustainable future. 
You can show your support for Climate One by contributing to our spring fundraising campaign.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patti Poppe: Reinventing Utilities During a Climate Emergency

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