Climate One

Shai Agassi: A Better Model?

Founder and CEO, Better Place

In conversation with Greg Dalton, Founder, Climate One

INFORUM’s Next 21st Century Visionary Award

Shai Agassi wants to tip a $3 trillion market – the market for miles. Agassi, the CEO and Founder of Better Place, said he plans to end oil’s stranglehold on the global economy by offering consumers access to miles in electric cars that will be cheaper,and more convenient, than the gasoline-powered cars they replace. Most large and startup automakers are scrambling to make electric cars but Better Place is taking a decidedly different, and risky, approach. It is partnering with Renault and China’s Chery to deliver electric cars with batteries that can be swapped at new robot-powered stations. By taking the battery out of the up-front purchase price and essentially leasing it to drivers as a monthly service, he aims to offer electric cars that are at least $3,000 to $5,000 less to purchase than a comparable gas car and will be cheaper to drive each mile. “The price of oil keeps going up, the price of batteries keeps going down, the life of batteries is improving,” Agassi said. A few cars are on the road now in Tokyo and dozens are slated to be tested in Israel later this year. Will battery swapping take off? Will it flop? Or will it be just another niche? Agassi forwards his bold vision for the arrival of electric cars for the mass market.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on July 12, 2010

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Hot, Wet and Uncertain

Wieslaw Maslowski, Research Professor, Naval Post Graduate School

What do scientists predict the Earth will be like in a few decades? While imperfect and complex, computer models using historic data and forward projections suggest deterioration of agricultural land, crumbling bridges and flooded roads, and population shifts away from low-lying cities such as Miami and Amsterdam. How fast will Arctic ice melt? What does that mean for the rest of the world? What are governments and businesses doing in the Bay Area and elsewhere to prepare for new water patterns that paradoxically may bring too much water at times in some areas and drought in others? Join experts for a discussion of what the past and present can tell us about our future.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California on July 9, 2010

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America’s Climate War

Eric Pooley, Deputy Editor, Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Why is the national conversation about America’s energy future so polarized? Who are the true believers, power brokers and climate-change deniers working the halls of power in Washington? The political story of global warming includes colorful characters from activists chaining themselves to bulldozers and powerful lobbyists in the West Wing of President Obama’s administration. Pooley had extensive access to Al Gore in writing his new book, The Climate War. He offers his take on the forces battling it out in the big climate change showdown. Join him for a conversation about villains, heroes and the fight to save the earth.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on June 24, 2010

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Merchants of Doubt

Erik Conway, Historian, California Institute of Technology

What do tobacco and fossil fuels have in common? A handful of scientists were able to obscure the truth about both threats to public well-being, according to author Conway. “Doubt is our product,” one tobacco executive reportedly said. Oil and coal companies borrowed a page from that playbook and have used it effectively to cast a cloud over climate science. The result? Opinion polls show that a falling percentage of Americans think climate change is urgent and, as the economy faltered, it has plunged as a national priority. Conway, an expert on the history of carbon dioxide measurement and climate science, offers a peek into the campaign against the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the global scientific consensus that human activity is adversely impacting the Earth.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience in San Francisco at The Commonwealth Club on June 11, 2010

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Corporate Sustainability: A Sprint or Marathon?

Dan Hesse, CEO, Sprint

This program was recorded in front of a live audience in San Francisco on June 8, 2010

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Drill, Baby, Spill

Jim Boyd, Vice Chair, California Energy Commission

What impact will the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico have on America’s energy supply? With the environmental and economic damage mounting daily, California has backed away from plans to drill off the West Coast. Will the United States also change course and shelve recently announced plans to erect a new generation of offshore oil rigs? As Alaskan supplies fall, will California import more oil from the Middle East? Or turn to Canadian tar sands? Will the oil spill drive investment and policies to spur biofuels? Oil on the shores of Louisiana will change the energy equation in ways we are just starting to understand. Join us for a town hall conversation about how to safely and cleanly fuel our future.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on May 18, 2010

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This program was recorded live on May 13, 2010

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National Ocean Policy: Working to Protect Our Oceans and Resources

Sarah Chasis, Director of Ocean Initiative, Natural Resources Defense Council

The United States has ocean areas larger than any country in the world. The White House is considering a national policy to address the environmental and economic challenges that face our oceans, coastal states, communities, jobs and waterways. Join our distinguished panel to discuss this historical planning for the sustainability and health of our nation’s oceans and resources — for now and future generations.

This program was recorded at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on May 13, 2010

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Youth Grabbing the Wheel: Young Leaders Speak Up on Driving Down Carbon

Jason Bade, 19, Stanford Student; Co-director, Green Youth Alliance; California Climate Champion

What would the move to a clean-energy economy look like if your kids were driving? Business and policy leaders often talk about preserving natural resources for future generations, and yet youth are rarely part of the conversation. In fact, they usually are on the margins or not even in the room.

This program was recored in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on May 4, 2010.

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Cap and Charade?

Michael Shellenberger, Breakthrough Institute

Would capping and trading carbon pollution create a prosperous clean energy economy? Or would it be a boondoggle for Wall Street and scammers in developing countries? While touted as a market-based way to put a price on carbon, cap and trade has been parodied by Jon Stewart as the superhero Cap N’ Trade and is increasingly questioned by environmentalists and regulators. Yet the state of California and many companies have a lot invested in a cap-and-trade system. Will it die a slow death? Should it? What would be a better way to create a global price for greenhouse gases?

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 22, 2010.

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