Climate One

Forecast or Invent Our Energy Future?

Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures; Former CEO, Sun Microsystems

Predictions of peak oil and resource scarcity are driving investments in new energy and technologies. What will determine the winners and losers? What policies are needed to drive innovation and send proper price signals? Are incremental solutions such as hybrid vehicles helpful, or does the climate challenge require huge breakthroughs at the system level?

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 20, 2010.

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Global Warring

Cleo Paskal, Consultant, U.S. Department of Energy

The changing climate now has the attention of military establishments around the world. Last year, for example, the CIA created a group focused on tracking the national-security implications of desertification, rising sea levels, population shifts and heightened competition for natural resources. What will the opening of the Arctic mean for Russian access into North American waters? Will China's lack of clean, fresh water undermine its global ambitions? Will India's increasingly erratic monsoon affect its economic growth? These and other pressing questions will be answered.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on April 13, 2010

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Fossil Fuels + Dependence = Security Risks?

Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, United States Navy, Retired

What do military officers think about the United States’ reliance on oil? One group of retired brass concluded that it threatens economic stability and national security. Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn (retired) says the 12 people studied scientific data and energy models for more than a year and concluded that the Pentagon should clearly integrate energy and climate change into its strategy and operations. What's that mean?

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on March 29, 2010.

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Is Your God Green?

Reverend Sally Bingham, Interfaith Power and Light

What would Jesus say about climate change? What does the Torah say about stewardship of God's creation? Leaders from different religious traditions discuss how their respective philosophies and scriptures guide their approach to today's energy challenges. They'll also address how congregations around the country are getting involved in the movement to build a cleaner energy future.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on March 23, 2010.

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Geo-engineering: Global Salvation or Ruin?

Ken Caldeira, Professor, Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution

Should humans address man-made rising temperatures and sea levels by tinkering further with Mother Nature? A lively debate about such geo-engineering burst into the mainstream recently with reference to Caldeira’s work in the final chapter of the popular book SuperFreakonomics. Now this panel takes a measured look at the good, bad and ugly of what could and should be done. What is technically feasible? How could such tactics be tested? What are the risks? How would such a program be governed? Does the mere mention of geo-engineering take the steam out of efforts to reduce carbon pollution and create a moral hazard?

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on February 23, 2010.

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After Copenhagen: What Now?

Emily Adler, Partnership Director, Alliance for Climate Education

What are the prospects for a global climate treaty in 2010? With world leaders still arguing over how fast to reduce carbon pollution and who will pay for the clean up, we convene a panel of experts who attended the UN climate summit in Copenhagen. Was that a success, a bust or a little of both? We’ll have firsthand reports and backroom insights.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on February 2, 2010.

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Chris Martenson: Oil, Water and Climate

A former employee of the International Energy Agency told the Guardian newspaper recently that figures about worldwide oil supplies are exaggerated. That supported what peak oil adherents such as Martenson have been saying for years. In addition to oil, he discusses how the intertwining effects of the economy and environment will coalesce to shape a future radically different from the past.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 26, 2010.

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The King of Coal, Prince of Wind?

Dave Freudenthal, Governor of Wyoming

With America’s largest deposits of coal and uranium, Wyoming sends massive amounts of energy to California and the rest of the country. Governor Freudenthal is trying to chart a new path for an extraction state where half the people don’t believe global warming is real. He’s looking to cleaner ways of using coal and believes natural gas is a winner, for fueling transportation or generating electricity. Wind power also holds promise, while getting it to market without trampling on endangered species and testy landowners is a challenge. Can California technology and innovation help illuminate the way? Join us for a special opportunity to discuss America’s energy future with the down-to-earth chief executive of this powerhouse state.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on January 21, 2010

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Sun Up: Scaling Solar Power in California

Bob Epstein, Founder, Environmental Entrepreneurs

Solar power is surging in popularity as a renewable energy source, yet still remains a small part of California’s overall energy supply. How will this situation change, in light of a state plan calling for a massive scaling up of renewable sources by 2030? What factors are driving the ongoing decrease in the price of photovoltaic systems, and what technology, project financing and policy will enhance the availability and affordability of residential, commercial and utility scale solar power?

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 12, 2010.

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Climate One in Copenhagen

Segment One

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor, California Huang Ming, Founder and CEO, Himin Solar (one of China's largest renewable energy companies)

Segment Two

Rajendra Pachauri, Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Caio Koch-Weser, Vice Chair, Deutsche Bank

As the tumultuous climate negotiations in Copenhagen near the end, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says it is embarrassing that the US does not have a national climate policy as do many of the 192 countries meeting here. He says sub-national actors such as states and cities can act as "laboratories of action" on climate change as they have on many other issues. Huang Ming, a former petroleum engineer turned clean energy entrepreneur, says that shaping popular culture and thinking is as important as the policies being discussed in Copenhagen. In a light moment he and the governor discuss heating hot tubs with solar energy.

Rajendra Pachauri says India and other countries are doing a lot at the local level to reduce carbon pollution.

He believes rich countries do have a moral obligation to address the carbon pollution their economic development has created.

Among the most contentious issues in Copenhagen is the question of transferring funds from wealthy countries to help less developed nations reduce future pollution and deal with changes already happening. Koch-Weser, a former official with the World Bank and German Finance Ministry, says that financial markets can leverage taxpayer money to reach the $65 billion to $100 billion a year in financing that developing countries say they need to cut a deal. He also says electric cars in the future will be "built in China not Stuttgart or Detroit" because China's automotive technologies will leapfrog industrialized countries.

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