HEAL Utah Podcast

The Tribune’s environmental reporter, Brian Maffly, returns to the podcast to chat all things monument. Matt and Brian have a wide-ranging conversation about President Trump’s recent decision to cut the Grand Staircase Escalante monument in half, while reducing the new Bears Ears monument by 85 percent. (For many excellent articles which Brian has written about this issue, click here.) They discuss how this contentious fight, which of course will now head to the courts, has been defined by a tremendous amount of misleading rhetoric. Brian explains the different levels of protection that varied federal land has and the two chat about the likelihood that oil, gas, coal or uranium resources will be developed at either monument in the coming years. Lastly, they chat about the role that Native American nations have played in the monument fight. Click here for Brian’s Twitter feed, the Tribune’s website or Brian’s Authory page.

Josh Edson, from Tim Dahle Nissan, sits down with Matt to chat about the electric vehicle revolution we’re experiencing. As the local car dealership’s “electric vehicle ambassador,” they talk about trends in electric vehicle sales and how the new EVs are different than the early models (they go further!) They talk about the state legislature’s unfortunate decision to eliminate Utah’s EV tax credit last session and the current status of the federal tax credit. Josh describes how efforts to expand an EV charging infrastructure are going and the pitch he uses to encourage Nissan customers to consider purchasing or leasing a Nissan Leaf. Lastly, they discuss the future of autonomous or “self-driving” cars. For more information, check out Josh on the dealership’s Web site and on Facebook.

Matt chats with Peter, an assistant professor in the Environment & Society department at Utah State University, about his research on public opinion and climate change. They talked primarily about new research, featured in the Salt Lake Tribune and more recently, in the Herald Journal, which found that while Utahns are among “the least-likely Americans to believe in human-caused climate change,” they also “strongly support political action to curb climate change.” They discuss that paradox, offering a range of possible explanations including the age of the state’s population. More broadly, Peter and Matt chat about how climate change has become such a politically polarized issue and how, oddly, local weather plays a role in climate change polling. For more information, check out Peter’s USU website, his CV and his Twitter.

Matt chats with Nick Huey about his creative efforts to increase awareness about climate change, in coordination with University of Utah students. During this year’s rivalry football game between the two universities, Huey and others lit a giant purple Y in the mountains over LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo to bring attention to climate change. Nick described his background, how he became to be involved in climate work and generally how BYU students engage on the issue. He and Matt then talk about a new organization Nick has co-founded, The Climate Campaign, to be a moderate, nonpartisan, group to push for good climate change policies. They conclude by chatting about carbon fee and dividend, the policy Nick and many others strongly support to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For more information, check out the group’s website and Facebook page.

Yoram joins Matt in the studio for a chat about comedy, bipartisan climate advocacy, and Yoram’s recent move to Utah. Bauman, who has a PhD in economics, has built a living doing humorous lectures and presentations on serious topics, including economics and climate change. He also has co-written several books, including “The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change.” In Washington state, where Bauman lived until recently, he led an (ultimately unsuccessful) effort to pass Initiative 732, a major carbon tax proposal. Matt and Yoram discuss that effort in Washington, carbon taxes in general, and why he thinks it’s a possible policy in conservative Utah. For more information, check Yoram out on Twitter and his website, which has info on booking him to deliver presentations and lectures.

Matt chats with Michael Cundick and Darin Mann, executive director and action director (respectively) for the local grassroots effort known as Salt Lake City Air Protectors. Michael and Darin explain the origins of the new group, which grew out of the fight over the Dakota Access Pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The new nonprofit is less interested in advocating specific air quality policies and more on building a grassroots movement, the two explained. They described how they hope to be truly community-based effort with a decentralized movement which champions diverse, local efforts. Michael and Darin describe how their effort is different than another new group that grew out of the pipeline protests, known as PANDOS, or Peaceful Advocates for Native Dialogue and Ongoing Support. For more information, check out the SLC Air Protector’s website and Facebook page.

Bob and Mary Ellen, longtime HEAL board members, talk about how they first became involved in the organization. They describe how the group’s work shifted over the years, from primarily a focus on nuclear waste issues to multiple campaigns of which nuclear now is a relatively small part. Matt asks them about the different staff and executive directors they have worked with, and what common characteristics the group’s different leaders have shared. They discuss what factors have helped HEAL grow and thrive and what Bob and Mary Ellen think are the most important criteria that make a good nonprofit Board member. For more information, check out HEAL’s Board of Directors web page and op-eds that Bob and Mary Ellen have written on nuclear waste and air quality science.

Matt talks to Chip about his new novel, Stony Mesa Sagas, which will be released by Torrey House Press on November 14th. Chip describes the plot and characters for the novel, which is a mix of genres and about the West and environmentalism. Chip said his first novel, after two acclaimed non-fiction books, was a fun experience to write. Chip then talks about several issues that have been important for Torrey, where he lives, including the communities (for now) successful effort to stop a gravel mine and ongoing issues to maintain a sustainable water supply. Matt then asks Chip about a new feature film,  “the public,” directed by Emilio Estevez, which was partly based upon a Los Angeles Times article Chip, a former librarian, wrote about libraries and the homeless. Lastly, Chip briefly previews the talk he will give at HEAL Utah’s Fall Party coming up on Thursday November 9. You can buy tickets here!

Julie Stewart, a Westminster honors college professor, joins Matt in a conversation about research she and her students did about Utah rooftop solar owners. Julie, an award-winning scholar and teacher who happens to also be Matt’s wife, describes the 200+ online surveys and 60+ interviews her team did to learn about who owns rooftop solar in Utah and why. Julie points out that their sample of solar owners was much larger than the one Rocky Mountain Power used to justify its proposed rate hike from 2016. Her team found that Utah solar owners are more diverse than the utility would like to believe, with a significant number of middle-class families in relatively small homes. Julie and Matt also discuss the attitudes of rooftop solar owners towards Rocky Mountain Power (not good!) For more information, check out the “Executive Summary: A Study of Utah Rooftop Solar Power Owners,” which Julie and her team produced.

Matt chats with David, one of the most important writers today on energy, climate and the environment, about several of his recent columns in the online news outlet Vox. First, they tackle “radical flank effects,” about whether more radical forms of activism are useful to broader movements. Next, they discuss renewable portfolio standards, a wonky but important policy tool. David then explains why he thinks discussing population growth and birth rates is a poor choice for climate activists. They chat about why it’s important to understand the  logic and economics that explain the actions of utilities like Rocky Mountain Power. Lastly, David describes how he stays optimistic in the Age of Trump. For more information, check out David’s lively Twitter feed, his indispensable Vox columns, and his Grist.org articles.