Geoversiv - Earth Intelligence

Kathryn Kaiser and Clara Garner are high-achieving high school seniors with big college plans.  They are also inexhaustibly energetic in the youth movement designed to change adults' future-vision.  Organized under the ClimateGeneration mantle and the YEA program (Youth Environmental Activists), they meet, and often graciously confront, legislators, city council members and anyone who will listen to them.  Their message is simple:  We are here and you need to pay attention to us, because we will soon be voting.  The message, never spoken, is clear:  "Do the right thing when it comes to climate change laws, regulations and policy, or you won't be in office when we become adults.  You will be charmed by these two young women, and if you are like the hosts of this podcast, you will come away with a sense of peace and comfort knowing there are hundreds of thousands of young people like them who are willing to put it all on the line for what they know is their futures, currently in the hands of men and women who fail youth at their public peril. 

 Nancy Maclean is the decorated Duke University professor of history and award-winning author of Democracy in Chains: the Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America.  In this episode Professor Maclean traces the threads that connect the powerful influence of Charles and David Koch and their rise to power.  The story connects the Koch dynasty and its affiliated "think tanks," as well as its mouth-pieces in Congress, to a steady, but frightening effort to destroy our notion of democracy and majority rule.  The telling is ladened with deep research on what Koch enterprises are doing to the country with the ultimate goal of rewriting the US Constitution with the likely outcome, if successful, of creating an oligarchy of the rich.
You will learn why the name Koch is first on the list of science deniers and purveyors of untruths in the fight against climate change.  If the Koch stealth plan succeeds, the voice of the people will be silenced and government will serve only the interests of the rich, according to Professor Maclean's acclaimed findings.

Susan Joy Hassol is one of the foremost climate communications specialist in the world.  She has been the writer behind three of the National Climate Assessments, using language that non-scientists can comprehend.    In this episode, the award winning mind behind the award winning HBO documentary "Too Hot Not to Handle," tracts in Scientific American, the Washington Post , ABC's 2020 and much more, will share with you real talk about how to make sense of climate science, and even, how to talk to your Uncle Frank who believes the science of climate change is a hoax.  She is fluent in science, having been honored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a board member of the American Geophysical Union, she knows success lies in how science tells its story in plain talk.  After butting her head against closed door minds, she has learned how to enter the side and back doors.  She shares some tips and techniques on having "The Conversation."  Scientists trust her with their findings.  You will trust her, too.
You can learn more about Susan Joy at climatecommunication.org

Dr. Jessica Hellmann is the Director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota.  A scholar and scientist, she was recently published along with her co-authors in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on the question of geoengineering which has found great favor in the tech world.  While Dr. Hellmann says there may come a time when we, on this planet, may need this tool - not enough research has gone into the "side effects" of this prescription.   An expert on every aspect of global change ecology, she provides the kind of critical thinking required to see down every avenue that climate change could take us.  She is a professor, leading the next group of young people into an uncertain world and she worries that the burden placed on this graduating generation is an unfair one-but one she believes they are prepared and eager to face.

Dr. Edward Maibach is one of the foremost communications scientists in the country.
On climate change, it is a contest between fact and opinion, between science and those who, for monetary reasons or politics, deny that science - and therefore deny the existence of a warming planet and all the dangers that portends.
Dr. Maibach has begun enlisting the help of meteorologists and journalists in the news media to educate themselves on the far reaching impacts of the science.  When he began, it was an uphill battle.  Though scientists themselves, half of all meteorologists in the country didn't believe the science of climate change.  How could the most trusted scientists that the average person is aware of be able to tell the true story.  It was Ed Maibach's goal in life.

A continuation of our discussion with Dr. Benjamin D. Santer, one of the foremost atmospheric and climate scientists on the planet.  As lead author of Chapter 8 of the 2nd IPCC assessment, he wrote the words that changed the world: science had detected a human influence of global climate.  The genie was out of the bottle.  Science could win the war of facts versus opinion.  But, what happened during the Trump years when science took an awful beating.  How demoralized were the brilliant men and women who had dedicated themselves to finding answers to questions, if not met with facts, would alter life on this planet forever.  In Part II of this conversation, it gets personal.

Dr.  Benjamin D. Santer is an esteemed and highly decorated atmospheric scientist.
He was the lead author of Chapter 8 of the 2nd Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  He wrote the words never written before by any scientist that the balance of scientific evidence showed "a discernible human influence" on global climate.  The words were accurate and based in science, but it led to organized attacks against him from fossil fuel interests.  He had ripped off the bandaid behind which fossil fuel corporations had been hiding for decades.  He tells us his story, and the scientific work behind the finding, which led to the ultimate conclusion of the research in 2019 when highly sensitive data would show a Five Sigma gold standard.  In other words, there was one chance in 3.5 million that the climate change we are experiencing could be due to any other cause but humans burning fossil fuels and altering lands.
This is part one of a two part interview.  Despite his high scientific credentials,  you'll discover Ben Santer's humanity.

Todd Churchill is a rancher who uses regenerative agricultural practices, and partners with Nature to raise protein in an ever food insecure planet.  Grass-fed beef, using natural grasses and no corn or soybeans, are all pesticide-free, hormone free, medicine free and fertilizer free.
The only inputs Todd uses is what Nature provides.  He likens the practice to the massive herds of American bison that sustained indigenous people for centuries, while building soil carbon and encouraging the growth or new plant life.  He answers the hard questions on whether beef contribute methane to the greenhouse gas load of the planet.  His answer will surprise you.  The only obstacle facing this sustainable practice is scalability.  Todd believes as more farmers understand regenerative practices, the markets will grow and more farmers and ranchers will see the environment not as a problem, but a partner.  One of his goals: every drop of rainwater that falls on his ranch will stay on his ranch, thus keeping topsoil, soil carbon and pollutants out of streams and rivers.

In this episode, a tough discussion of the realities of the systemic injustices baked into our system.  How bias affects not only climate change policies, but creates unnecessary and terrible burdens on minorities in the United States.  Our guest is Tina Johnson Director of the National Black Environmental Network and Principal of Johnson Strategy and Development Consultants.  Working with top US NGOs, the UN and international governments, she uses diplomacy, strategic development and advocacy on issues ranging from sustainability, food security and climate justice to pave a way forward for a more equitable existence - against entrenched forces and our own biases.  Tough words we all need to hear.  

Dr. Sandra Guzman is a specialist in low carbon development and climate finance.  She is the founder of International Alliances at the Climate Finance Group for Latin America and the Caribbean.  Her PhD is in politics, her Masters in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics and a diploma in Sustainable Finance from Oxford.  
The question is whether the powerful finance sector and fossil fuel dependent countries and carbon intensive industry will embrace the change in the financial world that is already happening as a result of climate change.  Whether the planet can hold the line at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels will depend on how economies adapt and adopt a low carbon development future.  She is a trusted voice in any room and we are honored to have her join us for this discussion.