Climate One

Californians are accustomed to living through wet times and dry times, but lately things are getting more extreme and much more difficult to predict. After five years of severe drought, Californians are now talking about what it means to have too much water at once. The end of the drought is a blessing, but the state may need to find $50 billion to repair dams, roads and other infrastructure threatened by floods. The damaged spillway at Oroville dam highlighted what happens when the state doesn’t keep its water system in good working order.

How is California preparing for the whiplash of going from really dry to really wet years? What will it take to fix the system that delivers the water that keeps us alive and lubricates our economy? How will the state and federal governments work together to modernize the water system that grows food that lands on dinner tables across the country?

This program is made possible by support from the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation.

Guests:

Don Cameron, General Manager, Terranova Ranch Inc.

Felicia Marcus, Chair, State Water Resources Control Board

Buzz Thompson, Director, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University

This program was recorded live at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on May 24, 2017.

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They were an unlikely group of activists; Native American youths concerned about teen suicide sparked the movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)—a movement which ultimately spread across the country. Veterans and others joined in, traveling to the construction site and showing solidarity with activists. Protesters objected to the $3.8 billion pipeline route, which they say threatens freshwater supplies and disrespects ancestral lands.

Guests:

Pennie Opal Plant, Co-founder, Idle No More SF Bay

L. Frank Manriquez, Indigenous California artist and activist

Lynn Doan, Bloomberg News

This program was recorded live at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on May 11, 2017.

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Do the baby boomers owe millennials a clean planet? Or is it every generation for itself? Consumption-crazed baby boomers are leaving their younger counterparts with a mountain of debt and a destabilized climate. Yet they still rule the roost politically. In his new book “A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America,” Gen-Xer Bruce Gibney argues that the aging baby boomers who make up most of congress are holding up progress -- and it’s time they got out of the way. How do we span the generation gap? What can boomers do to engage future generations and help empower them in the fight against climate change?

Guests:

Carleen Cullen, Founder and Executive Director, Cool the Earth Bruce Gibney, Author, A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America

Professor Michael Ranney, Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Education, U.C. Berkeley

Wilford Welch, Speaker on Sustainability and Resilience

This program was recorded live at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on May 8, 2017.

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Cities around the country are reshaping their economies for a greener future. Mayors and chambers of commerce are promoting smart growth and moving toward cleaner energy, cleaner cars, and cleaner buildings, with or without support from Washington. On today’s show we discuss how local businesses and political leaders in red states and blue states are growing their economies, cutting carbon pollution, and preparing for the challenges of climate disruption in their own communities.

Guests:

Diane Doucette Co-Founder and Executive Director, Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy

Elizabeth Patterson, Mayor, Benicia, CA

Carl Pope Former Executive Director, Sierra Club

Rod G. Sinks City Council Member, Cupertino, CA

This program was recorded live at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on May 4, 2017.

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The Lone Star State leads the country in wind power, thanks to legislation signed by Governor Bush; clean energy has breathed fresh air into Texas’ economy.

Kip Averitt, Former Chair, Texas Clean Energy Coalition

Stephanie Smith. COO, Greencastle LLC

Pat Wood III, Principal, Wood3 Resources

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 25, 2017.

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What can you do if you care about putting your money to work toward a cleaner economy? Join us for a conversation on pressuring companies and personal brands.

Host: Greg Dalton

Guests:

Shannon Coulter, Co-founder, #GrabYourWallet

Annie Leonard Executive Director, Greenpeace USA

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 19, 2017.

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Will the arrival of robotic cars lead to the blissful end of traffic? Or will they instead put drivers out of work and clog our streets more than ever before?

Amory Lovins, Cofounder and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute

Emily Castor, Director of Transportation Policy, Lyft

Gerry Tierney, Associate Principal, Perkins + Will

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 12, 2017.

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Can the far right and far left come together on clean energy? Join us for a meeting of the minds between staunch members of both the Tea Party and 350.org.

Debbie Dooley, President, Conservatives for Energy Freedom, Co-founder, Tea Party Movement

May Boeve, Executive Director, 350.org

Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator (D) Rhode Island

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 29, 2017.

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Cities are leading the way in the greening of America’s economy. From urban parks and farms to microgrids and living buildings, dynamic urban planning can adapt to changing coastlines and severe weather delivered by a volatile climate. But there’s a risk that green-living innovations become solely the domain of a privileged urban elite. On today’s show we hear how issues from transit to housing to jobs are all affected by our changing climate, and how states like California are working to ensure that everyone benefits from a greener economy.

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Who is bankrolling our political system? Jane Mayer takes us behind the scenes to expose the powerful group of individuals who are shaping our country.

Jane Mayer, Staff Writer, The New Yorker and Author, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right (Doubleday, 2016)

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 4, 2017.

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