When Congress has a question about natural gas, they turn to Michael Ratner. The Congressional Research Service expert joins us today for a deep dive into this unique and widely misunderstood fossil fuel. What role does natural gas play in our energy system and carbon emissions now - and what might its future be?

Energy systems modeler Kimon Keramidas opens our three-part special on energy - the most central element of decarbonization, and one of the most difficult to understand. Kimon gives a thorough introduction to the components of the energy system, the challenges and developments in decarbonization, and the herculean task of modeling the possible futures of the global energy system - including a look at his own work for the European Commission.

What can political theory offer us in thinking about climate change? This episode we talk to OSU Professor Joel Wainwright, a human geographer, whose book Climate Leviathan (co-authored with Geoff Mann) asks: how can we imagine the global politics of a changing climate?

The book applies theories from Hobbes, Gramsci, and Foucault to critique an emerging 'Leviathan' of climate governance. In this episode, Prof. Wainwright explains his conception of a global regulatory sovereign and offers hope for a democratic and just climate future.

Does land have to be a resource? Do economies have to be aimed at production? Professor Andrew Curley and PhD candidate Majerle Lister talk to us about indigenous scholarship's answers to these questions and shed light on the relationship between colonialism, fossil fuels, and climate change. They show how the tools of human geography can help analyze colonial concepts of the environment. This week's guests remind us that climate change can’t be understood without reference to the historical event and continuing structural injustice of colonialism.

Music: Blue Highway - Podington Bear; Embrace - Scott Holmes

Kathy Gerwig chats with us about the health effects of climate change and the carbon emissions of healthcare systems, and outlines her vision of the hospital of the future. Gerwig was the driving force behind the greening of one of the biggest healthcare systems in America, Kaiser Permanente. She is an expert on climate and healthcare, and her book, Greening Healthcare, provides a systematic overview of what hospitals and health professionals can do to address climate change.

Harvard’s Professor David Keith might just be the world’s foremost solar geoengineering researcher. He talks to Climate Futures about the extraordinary plan to inject sulfur into the stratosphere and cool the planet. This plan might save hundreds of thousands of lives - but does it also imperil our relationship to nature? Professor Keith explains the ideas behind solar geoengineering and thoughtfully considers the ethical and political questions it raises.

David Keith’s book A Case for Climate Engineering can be found here, on Amazon, at your local library, or wherever you buy books. Music in this episode is Podington Bear’s Blue Highway and John Harrison with the Wichita State University Chamber Players’s Winter Mvt 1 Allegro non molto. Logo by Noelle Chung.

Dr. Delton Chen’s Carbon Reward was the direct inspiration for Kim Stanley Robinson’s writing on a climate blockchain. Dr. Chen argues that we need a whole new type of carbon pricing: a currency that rewards carbon mitigation, in addition to taxes that punish carbon emission. He talks to Climate Futures about how this policy can fuel emissions reductions and climate justice, the psychology of carrots and sticks, and of course, the blockchain.

To learn more about Dr. Chen’s work at Global Carbon Reward, volunteer, or contribute your own expertise, visit https://globalcarbonreward.org/. Music in this episode is Podington Bear’s Blue Highway. Logo by Noelle Chung.

Attorney at Our Children’s Trust Kimberly Willis tells us about the legal rights of young people to a safe and stable climate. Kimberly explains why young people can sue the U.S. government to take climate action and why these lawsuits might be one of the most powerful tools we have to force climate action.

Our Children’s Trust is currently bringing the landmark Juliana v. US case, as well as numerous cases in U.S. states and across the globe. To learn more about their work, volunteer, or become a plaintiff yourself, visit https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/. Music in this episode is Podington Bear’s Blue Highway. Logo by Noelle Chung.

Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysicist Dr. Martin Elvis explains how beaming power down from solar panels in space might help us decarbonize travel - and how the iron from asteroids might make it all possible.

Dr. Elvis’s book on asteroid mining is out now. “Asteroids: How Love, Fear, and Greed Will Determine Our Future in Space” can be purchased at https://www.amazon.com/Asteroids-Greed-Determine-Future-Space/dp/030023192X. Music in this episode is Podington Bear’s Blue Highway and Scott Holmes Music’s Embrace. Logo by Noelle Chung.