Connect the Dots

In this season's final episode, Rob is joined by producer Maggie Dewane to look back at the season's climate wins. Together they consider common themes and througlines, lessons learned, and how similar successes might be achieved elsewhere.

Connect the Dots is brought to you by the Center for Progressive Reform. Learn more at www.progressivereform.org

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen and consider leaving us a review! It will help us to reach more listeners like you who want to connect the dots on today's most pressing issues.

This podcast is supported in part by:

The College of Law at Loyola University New Orleans

Arlie W. Schardt Fund for Climate Justice

Special thanks to:

Our producer, Maggie Dewane, and our editor, Courtney Garcia, as well as musical artist Lobo Loco, who makes their work available to us through a Creative Commons license. 

Navajo Power is generating clean energy projects on tribal lands and maximizing the economic benefits for those communities through localized solar power. Unlike many companies, it continues to support households with maintenance and troubleshooting long after solar installation.

In this episode, host Rob Verhick speaks to Brett Isaac, co-founder of Navajo Power, and learns about what motivated him to join the clean energy movement, why Navajo Power is an exemplary model of solar energy, and what it's like to be on President Biden's Export Council.

NOTE: The audio quality in this episode may make it difficult for hard of hearing audiences to listen. We apologize for any inconvenience or difficulty.

Connect the Dots is brought to you by the Center for Progressive Reform. Learn more at www.progressivereform.org

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen and consider leaving us a review! It will help us to reach more listeners like you who want to connect the dots on today's most pressing issues.

This podcast is supported in part by:

The College of Law at Loyola University New Orleans

Arlie W. Schardt Fund for Climate Justice

Special thanks to:

Our producer, Maggie Dewane, and our editor, Courtney Garcia, as well as musical artist Lobo Loco, who makes their work available to us through a Creative Commons license. 

Maine is the first state to require utility companies to include assessment of environmental, equity, and environmental justice impacts in grid planning. That was just one provision of a climate law that passed Maine’s state legislature with bipartisan support. 
In this episode, Rob speaks to State Senator Stacy Brenner and Jack Shapiro of Natural Resources Council of Maine to learn about the law, why it’s an example for other states, and how it garnered broad support.

Connect the Dots is brought to you by the Center for Progressive Reform. Learn more at www.progressivereform.org

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen and consider leaving us a review! It will help us to reach more listeners like you who want to connect the dots on today's most pressing issues.

This podcast is supported in part by:

The College of Law at Loyola University New Orleans

Arlie W. Schardt Fund for Climate Justice

Special thanks to:

Our producer, Maggie Dewane, and our editor, Courtney Garcia, as well as musical artist Lobo Loco, who makes their work available to us through a Creative Commons license. 

In this season of Connect the Dots, Rob explores environmental justice and climate wins across the country and how we can replicate those successes elsewhere. 

This episode digs into a community win in North Carolina: community-based solar solutions. But what does that mean exactly? And can it make energy more affordable to everyone?

Rob is joined by Ajulo Othow, founder and CEO of EnerWealth Solutions, as well as Board Member to the Center for Progressive Reform. Ajulo describes energy justice, the power behind solar energy, and what’s standing in the way of broader community solar uptake.

Connect the Dots is brought to you by the Center for Progressive Reform. Learn more at www.progressivereform.org

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen and consider leaving us a review! It will help us to reach more listeners like you who want to connect the dots on today's most pressing issues.

This podcast is supported in part by:

The College of Law at Loyola University New Orleans

Arlie W. Schardt Fund for Climate Justice

Special thanks to:

Our producer, Maggie Dewane, and our editor, Courtney Garcia, as well as musical artist Lobo Loco, who makes their work available to us through a Creative Commons license. 

When middle schooler Adah Crandall of Portland, Oregon noticed the impact her school's proximity to a busy freeway was having on some of her classmates, she took action. She and her classmates started an Environmental Justice Club, began protesting outside of government buildings, and lobbied against the freeway's proposed expansion.

Today as a high schooler, Adah shares with Rob what went into her experience and her continued motivation and hopes for future generations.

Connect the Dots is brought to you by the Center for Progressive Reform. Learn more at www.progressivereform.org

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen and consider leaving us a review! It will help us to reach more listeners like you who want to connect the dots on today's most pressing issues.

This podcast is supported in part by:

The College of Law at Loyola University New Orleans

Arlie W. Schardt Fund for Climate Justice

Special thanks to:

Our producer, Maggie Dewane, and our editor, Courtney Garcia, as well as musical artist Lobo Loco, who makes their work available to us through a Creative Commons license.

In this season of Connect the Dots, Rob explores environmental justice and climate wins across the country and how we can replicate those successes elsewhere.

This episode digs into a legislative win in Maryland: the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. What goes into successful policymaking? Spoiler alert: It's not just lawmakers.

Rob is joined by Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Progressive Reform Katlyn Schmitt, who talks about the efforts to pass the Climate Solutions Now Act and how the bill positions Maryland as a national leader in climate action planning.

Connect the Dots is brought to you by the Center for Progressive Reform. Learn more at www.progressivereform.org

Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen and consider leaving us a review! It will help us to reach more listeners like you who want to connect the dots on today's most pressing issues.

This podcast is supported in part by:

The College of Law at Loyola University New Orleans

Arlie W. Schardt Fund for Climate Justice

Special thanks to:

Our producer, Maggie Dewane, and our editor, Courtney Garcia, as well as musical artist Lobo Loco, who makes their work available to us through a Creative Commons license. 

In the final episode of Season 6, Connect the Dots host Rob Verchick and his guests talk about climate migration.
Climate refugees can come from anywhere: from cities and suburbia to some of the remotest places on Earth. They may have jobs dictated by the weather. If it’s too hot or dry, they’re relocating to find new employment. Some may have lost their homes to extreme weather events and can’t afford to rebuild. In a few worst-case scenarios, entire communities are having to evacuate due to sea level rise, shore erosion, wildfire destruction, or loss of industry.
The World Bank estimates there could be as many as 216 million climate migrants by 2050, including 105 million in Africa, 89 million in south and east Asia, and 17 million in Latin America. Frequent droughts and floods caused by the crisis are displacing people from their communities, and they’re doing so at an alarming rate. Strikingly, the world is not ready for this migration. 
Addressing this problem, Rob and his guests consider crucial questions, including: Where should these populations go? How do we support their needs? What policies should national, state, and local governments put in place to ensure a smooth, just transition process for climate refugees?
Guests in this episode include:

Matt Kahn, Provost Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California and the author of Adapting to Climate Change (Yale University Press 2021)

Rachel Cleetus, policy director at the Union for Concerned Scientists

Ilan Kelman, professor of disasters and health at University College London

In this episode of CPR’s Connect the Dots, host Rob Verchick and his guests explore how climate change is impacting our health.
When we consider the climate crisis, our attention often gravitates toward extreme weather. We worry about wildfires burning our homes and hurricanes ripping down powerlines. There’s another side of the story, however — our health. From how we feel after a long run to the ability of our bodies to ward off illness, the environment makes a difference.
Climate disruption invades our neighborhoods, and some are hit harder than others. Poor air quality results in unsafe living conditions and can lead to illnesses like asthma or even cancer. Extreme heat makes it hard for kids to play outside. Flooding and wildfires spread debris, bacteria, and toxic chemicals. Warmer temperatures prompt insects to migrate north, carrying infectious diseases to new areas. And that’s only the beginning. 
Guests in this episode include:

Howard Frumkin, senior vice president with the Trust for Public Land and a professor at the University of Washington School of Public Health

Ilan Kelman, professor of disasters and health at University College London

Carter Mathes, professor at Rutgers University and long-time resident of East Orange, New Jersey

Hey listeners! You might have heard an earlier version of this episode, but due to technology issues, we noticed some audio errors in our post-production. We've since removed that version and uploaded this episode. Thanks for your understanding! Enjoy, and thank you for listening.
In this episode of CPR’s Connect the Dots, host Rob Verchick and his guests explore industry sectors and jobs that are particularly vulnerable to climate change, as well as the potential for significant job creation in technology, infrastructure, adaptation, mitigation, and the just transition to a clean, carbon-free economy.
Over the past year, we’ve watched millions of people lose their jobs, take pay cuts, even seek new career paths due to the cascading effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was — and still is — a tough time to make a living. 
There are close parallels between this public health crisis and the climate crisis, and the job market sits directly in the center of the two. Certain business sectors are more vulnerable than others to climate disruption. On the other hand, there’s a wide range of new jobs being established to support technology and infrastructure, and there’s newfound interest in climate adaptation and mitigation.
So, in the face of these dual global crises, the question is: Who is hiring?
Guests in this episode include:

Dr. Kimberley Miner, scientist and systems engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in California

Lowell Chandler, Montana renewable energy attorney

Valerie Mueller, assistant professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University

Renata Brillinger, co-founder and executive director of the California Climate and Agriculture Network

Sean Hecht, Co-Executive Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, professor and and co-director of the Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic at UCLA School of Law 

In this episode of CPR’s Connect the Dots, host Rob Verchick and his guests explore businesses industry sectors and jobs that are particularly vulnerable to climate change, as well as the potential for significant job creation in technology, infrastructure, adaptation, mitigation, and the just transition to a clean, carbon-free economy.

Over the past year, we’ve watched millions of people lose their jobs, take pay cuts, even seek new career paths due to the cascading effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was — and still is — a tough time to make a living. 

There are close parallels between this public health crisis and the climate crisis, and the job market sits directly in the center of the two. Certain business sectors are more vulnerable than others to climate disruption. On the other hand, there’s a wide range of new jobs being established to support technology and infrastructure, and there’s newfound interest in climate adaptation and mitigation.

So, in the face of these dual global crises, the question is: Who is hiring?

Guests in this episode include:

Dr. Kimberley Miner, scientist and systems engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in California

Lowell Chandler, Montana renewable energy attorney

Valerie Mueller, assistant professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University

Renata Brillinger, co-founder and executive director of the California Climate and Agriculture Network