Bridging the Carbon Gap

Dr. Gianluca Grimalda was fired by his employer, a German research institute, after refusing to travel by plane for his return from Papua New Guinea, where he was conducting research on the social impacts of climate change. To reduce his own carbon footprint Dr. Grimalda instead chose to make his way back to Germany by ferry and then overland, a trip that took 72 days, but saved 9/10ths of the emissions that he would have been responsible for by using air travel.

In his journey he crossed many borders and met dozens of friendly traveling companions, and his choice to remain land bound attracted worldwide media attention.

This episode is complemented by a ten minute YouTube video including photos.

https://newyork.thecityatlas.org/people/gianluca-grimalda/

Dr. Grimalda is interviewed by Marie Fadeyeva and Gabe Gitter-Dentz. 
Episode edited by Eli Gitter-Dentz.

Send us a Text Message.

With Troy Vettese, Drew Pendergrass is the co-author of the book Half-Earth Socialism, which comes with a free online video game, play.half.earth.

Pendergrass graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 2020 with a BA in Physics and Mathematics and a minor in English, and is now doing his Ph.D in Environmental Science and Engineering at Harvard's Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. His research in atmospheric physics includes work on real time satellite tracking of pollutants.

"My work imagines how humanity can democratically govern itself in an age of environmental crisis. In my scientific research, we build computer systems that can use observations of the Earth system to provide maps of pollutants and their sources. Together with social scientists, historians, and designers, I imagine the sorts of institutions and protocols that would allow humanity to democratically manage our economy and its interchange with ecosystems. Most importantly, in my activism and organizing we work to make ecological democracy a reality in my home of Massachusetts. Imagining a better world pushes against the normal boundaries between fields, and with my collaborators we express our ideas in a variety of forms beyond traditional scholarship, including popular writing, fiction, and video games."

• Video excerpt
• Episode link on newyork.thecityatlas.org

Send us a Text Message.

While working at the consulting firm KPMG, the econometrician Gaya Herrington undertook an update of the social and environmental projections in the 1972 MIT report "Limits to Growth."

Her research formed her thesis for her Masters in Sustainability at Harvard, and then gained attention in the press after being published in 2020.

In this episode, Gaya describes her path to studying sustainability and the solutions proposed in her free book, "Five Insights for Avoiding Global Collapse: What a 50-Year-Old Model of the World Taught Me About a Way Forward for Us Today."

The abstract of her earlier paper, "Update to limits to growth," includes the statement:

"The two scenarios aligning most closely with observed data indicate a halt in welfare, food, and industrial production over the next decade or so, which puts into question the suitability of continuous economic growth as humanity’s goal in the twenty-first century."

Hosts: Marie Fadeyeva, Columbia '24, Gabriel Gitter-Dentz, Bowdoin '25
Producer/Editor: Eli Gitter-Dentz, Hunter HS '24

Send us a Text Message.

Alice Hu works with New York Communities for Change and has participated in several of their most visible actions, including storming the Hamptons with plastic pitchforks to call attention to the enormous carbon footprints and destructive investments of the billionaires that vacation there. Hu also joined with fellow protestors to visit a live broadcast of the morning show The View and interrupt Ted Cruz, to spotlight the lack of coverage of climate change on ABC.

In this episode, Alice describes her path to becoming a full time climate activist after graduating from Columbia University.

Hosts: Eli Gitter-Dentz, Hunter HS '24, and Marie Fadeyeva, Columbia '24
Producer/Editor: Eli Gitter-Dentz

Send us a Text Message.

Julien Dossier is an expert in climate policy and the co-author of the 2017 carbon neutrality plan for Paris. He founded Quattrolibri, a consulting firm that designs low carbon transition strategies for clients. His current project is a book and a program, Renaissance Ecologique, for which he created a modern version of a 14th century Italian fresco to give us a view of what an ecological Renaissance might look like. 
Nicolas Wu, Daniel Schneider, and Ajani Stella spoke to Julien on May 4, 2022, just a few weeks after the French presidential election. In re-presenting this interview, we've placed his answers into five short chapters.
Chapter 1: France's Climate Assembly
Chapter 2: The Paris 2050 Report
Chapter 3: The French General Election of 2022
Chapter 4: Who Will Lead on Climate, Government or Finance?
Chapter 5: The Fresco

Hosts: Nicholas Wu, Daniel Shneider, Ajani Stella
Producer: Ariama Long
Editor: Eli Gitter-Dentz

Send us a Text Message.

Rebecca Willis is a Professor in Energy & Climate Governance at Lancaster Environment Centre, where she leads the Climate Citizens  project. In 2020 she was an Expert Lead for Climate Assembly UK, the Citizens’ Assembly established by the UK Parliament. Rebecca is a Trustee of the New Economics Foundation and an adviser to the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund. She features on the Woman’s Hour Our Planet Power List which highlights 30 women making an impact by helping to protect our planet.  Her book, Too Hot To Handle? The democratic challenge of climate change was published by Bristol University Press in March 2020.

Previously, she was a research fellow for the IGov project at the University of Exeter, investigating energy governance. From 2015-2019 she was a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of UKRI’s Energy Programme, and from 2011-15 she was a Council Member of the Natural Environment Research Council. She was Vice-Chair of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, advising the Prime Minister and First Ministers of the devolved administrations, from 2004-2011.  In 2009 Rebecca founded Green Alliance’s Climate Leadership Programme, an initiative to support Members of the UK Parliament, and earlier served as Green Alliance’s Director.

Send us a Text Message.

Julien Dossier is an expert in climate policy and the co-author of the 2017 carbon neutrality plan for Paris. He founded Quattrolibri, a consulting firm that designs low carbon transition strategies for clients. His current project is a book and a program, Renaissance Ecologique, for which he created a modern version of a 14th century Italian fresco to give us a view of what an ecological Renaissance might look like. 
Nicolas Wu, Daniel Schneider, and Ajani Stella spoke to Julien on May 4, 2022, just a few weeks after the French presidential election. In re-presenting this interview, we've placed his answers into five short chapters.
Chapter 1: France's Climate Assembly
Chapter 2: The Paris 2050 Report
Chapter 3: The French General Election of 2022
Chapter 4: Who Will Lead on Climate, Government or Finance?
Chapter 5: The Fresco

Hosts: Nicholas Wu, Daniel Shneider, Ajani Stella
Producer: Ariama Long
Editor: Eli Gitter-Dentz

In the first episode of the second season, Daniel Shneider and Ajani Stella, students at Hunter College High School in NYC, talk to Dr. Stuart Capstick, Deputy Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST Centre). Dr. Capstick researches public understanding of climate change, and the ways in which citizens’ involvement can lead to action. He co-leads a research theme with the CAST Centre focussed on real-world trials to inform low-carbon transformations; this work involves collaborations with NGOs, industry and the Welsh Government. He is a lead author of the UN Environment Programme 2020 ‘Emissions Gap’ report chapter on low-carbon lifestyles, looking at social science approaches to help inform and understand lifestyle change. Since 2019 he has also been a co-author of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, involved in assessing media reporting of health and climate change. Dr. Capstick's previous research has examined the potential for behavioral ‘spillover’ (how one low-carbon behavior can lead to another), the ways in which people’s understanding of climate change evolves over time, the links between personal experience of extreme weather and attitudes to climate change, public perceptions of ocean acidification, and approaches to communicating climate change.

Hosts: Daniel Shneider and Ajani Stella
Producer: Ariama Long
Special thanks: Jag Bhalla

Send us a Text Message.

In this episode, we speak with Rosemary Randall, a British psychotherapist who researches how people respond emotionally to information about climate change. With Andy Brown, Randall developed the award winning Carbon Conversations project which uses a psychological, small-group approach to helping people reduce carbon emissions.

Gabriel, Kevin, and Adam talk about their personal feelings about the climate crisis, and Ro explains how they may not have reached their “epiphany moment,” in which someone has a sudden realization, often triggered by an event, story, or piece of media, that causes people to realize, and face, the severity of climate change. We also speak about some of the most effective ways to talk about climate change with others, and hear about Ro’s novel about a teen who takes part in climate action, which disrupts her friendships.

Send us a Text Message.

In this episode, we speak with David Bookbinder of the Niskanen Center, who as Sierra Club's Chief Climate Counsel initiated Massachusetts v. EPA, the foundational climate law in the United States.

We talk about how a climate change-focused high school curriculum could be built, shifting our attention away from specific degree targets, and instead thinking about how education can help change our carbon-intensive lifestyles and prepare students to adapt to a less stable climate. We also discuss the significance of Massachusetts v EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), a 2007 Supreme Court case which held (5-4) that the EPA had the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, because these emissions count as pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

Send us a Text Message.