Earth Lad's Roundup

Did you know that nearly 20% of all the power used in California is spent on water transportation? Did you know boron can cause testicle shrinkage? Did you know the beaches of "Surf City USA" were once covered with oil derricks? Me neither!

Andrea León-Grossman, Director of Climate Action at Azul, stopped by to make her case against a pending desalination plant in Huntington Beach. In the process, she schooled me in the big, complicated world of water. Hopefully she'll school you too!

After a brief hiatus, we are back in action with Episode 6! Today's Bigger Picture unpacks the recent classification of the American West's "megadrought," and we talk about what can be done about it. We also have a very exciting update about nuclear fusion in The Happy Part. No guest today so kept this one a little shorter, enjoy!

On Episode 5, we welcome our very first guest to the show, Matty Broad! Mr. Broad is a longtime friend who currently works as a lobbyist in Sacramento specializing in labor unions. That means he fights for the classic union sectors like transit, medical, and education - but that also extends to fossil fuel employees. I invited him on the show to discuss the labor angle of the clean energy transition, one that's often forgotten in the conversation.

This is the COP26 breakdown and debrief episode! Lots to cover and reflect on from Glasgow. We start with the very big headlines out of Washington about both the infrastructure and Build Back Better bills, and make sure to leave you feeling uplifted with The Happy Part.

1. The Headlines (1:31)

   - Infrastructure passed!

   - Build Back Better progressed!

2. The Bigger Picture (8:30)

   - Glasgow debrief and takeaways

3. The Happy Part (23:10)

   - Mustard jet fuel

   - Sir Attenborough

Here in Episode 3, we've streamlined the show into three basic segments and shortened it a bit for your convenience. But we still find time for some local, state, and national news and a Mariana Trench-esque deep dive into the world of methane. Plus a new section to close it out, filled with wonderment and cheer!

1. The Headlines (1:07)

   - Prescribed burns law

   - Offshore drilling ban

   - LA County oil well ban

   - Coal Guy Manchin

2. The Bigger Picture (7:30)

   - Alllll about methane

3. The Happy Part (17:28)

   - T Bell packets

   - Cool Pavement

   - Agrivoltaics

In episode two, we get pretty fancy with named segments. Covering topics ranging from giant sequoias to Angela Merkel - detailed breakdown below! I also accidentally coin the phrase "embrace our minds around [solutions}". Does that work? Idk, but we're rollin with it.

1. What's In The News (1:41)

   - Dust Bowl

   - Global Emissions Targets

   - China's Promise

2. The Golden State of Affairs (8:08)

   - Public Transit

   - Giant Sequoias

   - Newsom Package

3. We The Nation (14:29)

   - Biden Solar Plan

   - Two Big Bills

4. The Bigger Picture (26:18)

   - Angela and Boris

In this first true episode, we dig into a nice tasty sample platter of topics. We discuss the conclusions of the recent UN Climate Report, review some of the fundamental science and history behind our climate crisis, take issue with the misplaced values of a feature environmental story, and even touch on a teeny bit of politics. Enjoy!

Welcome to the show! In this short episode, I introduce myself and some of my baseline perspectives on environmentalism. I also share some encouraging numbers and data, which should provide some hope for you to actively engage in addressing the climate crisis!