Challenging Climate

Holly Jean Buck is an expert on the social and political dimensions of environmental policies, and of strategies and technologies for preventing and adapting to climate change. Our conversation focuses on her new book, Ending Fossil Fuels: Why Net Zero Is Not Enough. Holly, Pete, and Jesse discuss why we should strive for a future of no fossil fuels, the challenges to ending fossil fuels, the role of carbon dioxide removal, whether the alternatives could be worse, how to deal with legacy firms and stranded assets, the collective action problem, and practical next steps. We also touch on the whether to shrink the global economy through degrowth, public participation and engagement, bridging technological and social change, and reasons for optimism.

Holly is Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo and also the author of After Geoengineering: Climate Tragedy, Repair, and Restoration and co-editor of Has It Come to This? The Promise and Peril of Geoengineering on the Brink.

https://twitter.com/hollyjeanbuck
https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/environment-sustainability/faculty/faculty-directory/holly-buck.html
https://www.versobooks.com/books/3879-ending-fossil-fuels
https://fossilfueltreaty.org/ 

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Neal Stephenson is a leading author of science- and speculative fiction and is a recipient of the Hugo and Prometheus Awards. His most recent novel Termination Shock is an eco-thriller that explores the political fallout from the use of solar geoengineering to counter climate change. Neal, Pete, and Jesse discuss reducing greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide removal, his research process, climate impacts, public perception, billionaires in innovation vis-à-vis  the government, the roles of models in decision-making, technocracy, planetary management, social media, biotechnology, and of course, solar geoengineering.

Neal Stephenson’s webpage: https://nealstephenson.com/

His latest book, Termination Shock: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/termination-shock-neal-stephenson

Neal in conversation with David Keith: https://www.facebook.com/112608362085830/videos/628795261609239/ 

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We are Jesse Reynolds, an expert on environmental policy, and Peter Irvine, a climate scientist. We're launching a new podcast, Challenging Climate, in January 2022. With episodes every two weeks, we'll be challenging leading experts with tough questions about the science, technology and politics of climate change. 
We'll explore how we can fight global warming by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, carbon removal, adaptation, and solar geoengineering. We will also consider the roles of computer models and persuasive narratives, economics and public policy, renewable energy, and national security in the climate debate. And we’ll look beyond to issues such as biotechnology and international development.
Subscribe now to follow these conversations, as we try to make clear the challenges and trade-offs of tackling climate change.

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