Alex Trembath is the Deputy Director at Breakthrough, a global research center that identifies and promotes technological solutions to environmental and human development challenges.

He is the lead or co-author of several Breakthrough publications, including Coal Killer, Beyond Boom and Bust, and Our High-Energy Planet. 

His work has been featured in the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, Forbes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine.

Alex joined us to talk about pragmatism in fighting climate change, and why one solution won't get us to the outcomes we desire.

You can learn more about the Breakthrough Institute here or follow Alex on Twitter.

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Follow us on Twitter @kevindstevens and @jm_crowd

Show Notes

01:30 - Alex shares his background and how he found the Breakthrough Institute

03:40 - The mission of the Breakthrough Institue and how ecomodernism differs from other philosophies on fighting climate change

08:30 - Do we have all the technologies we need to solve climate change?

11:45 - The little known story behind the fracking revolution

19:20 - What phase of energy technology are we in?

24:00 - Why we need specialization to solve climate change

28:10 - Strategies for creating a productive conversation around climate change and sustainability

33:00 - Society's ability to focus on multiple large scale problems

35:45 - NIMBY-ism and real climate action

46:00 - What does sci-fi say about the current social and economic landscape? 

49:00 - Remembering climate change is a global opportunity