MEER Media

What happens when Earth's natural carbon sinks begin turning into carbon sources, accelerating the very warming they once helped to slow?

In this episode of MEERTalks, we welcome Dr Tom Harris, climate science writer and advocate, for an exploration of one of the most concerning feedback mechanisms in the climate system: the potential transformation of natural carbon sinks into sources of additional greenhouse gases.

Forests, soils, oceans and other natural systems have historically absorbed a significant proportion of humanity's carbon dioxide emissions. However, as global temperatures rise, these systems face increasing pressures that could weaken their ability to absorb carbon and, in some cases, cause them to release more carbon than they take up.

Topics explored include:

• How natural carbon sinks help regulate Earth's climate.
• Why rising temperatures threaten the stability of these systems.
• The mechanisms through which carbon sinks can become carbon sources.
• The risks of reinforcing climate feedback loops and accelerating global warming.
• The implications for agriculture, crop yields and global food security.
• Why understanding these changes is essential for assessing future climate risks.

Drawing on scientific research and climate projections, Dr Harris examines how these processes may develop as the planet continues to warm, and why they deserve greater attention in discussions about climate change and planetary stability.

About our guest

Dr Tom Harris is a UK-based climate science writer and advocate who publishes Climate Uncovered on Substack, exploring climate science, environmental risks and the implications of global warming.

Read his work: https://drtomharris.substack.com

About MEER

MEER (Mirrors for Earth's Energy Rebalancing) is dedicated to advancing scientific understanding and practical approaches to reducing heat stress and restoring Earth's energy balance. Through research, education and innovative surface cooling technologies, MEER explores solutions to climate change, urban overheating and environmental resilience.

The MEER Podcast and MEERTalks bring together scientists, researchers and leading thinkers to explore the challenges facing our planet and the solutions needed to address them.

Learn more: https://meer.org

Recorded: 2 October 2026

Presented by: MEER – Mirrors for Earth's Energy Rebalancing

Topics: Climate Change, Carbon Sinks, Climate Feedbacks, Global Warming, Carbon Cycle, Food Security, Earth System Science, Climate Restoration.

Description

In this episode of the MEER Podcast, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Adam McKay, the creator of The Big Short, Vice, Don't Look Up, and founder of Yellow Dot Studios, joins us to discuss how storytelling, climate communication, his latest essay The Gargantuan Lie That Is Collapsing the Climate, and why telling the truth about climate has become one of society's greatest challenges.

Adam reflects on his transition from comedy into political and climate-focused filmmaking, and how researching Vice profoundly changed his understanding of human-caused climate warming. The conversation explores Adam's belief that storytelling can connect empirical truth with human experience and make complex subjects more accessible and engaging. Drawing on The Big Short and Don't Look Up, he challenges the assumption that audiences do not want to engage with difficult or substantive issues.

We also discuss the creation of Yellow Dot Studios with Stacy Robert Steele and its use of comedy, parody, and storytelling to challenge fossil-fuel disinformation. Adam reflects on the response to Don't Look Up, the challenges of competing with well-funded climate misinformation, and the importance of communicating climate realities in ways that resonate culturally and emotionally.

Finally, we explore the role of humor in confronting difficult realities. For Adam, laughter can be a form of resilience, helping people remain engaged rather than overwhelmed. The episode asks how storytelling, humor, and popular culture can help us face difficult truths about the climate crisis and consider what we do next.

Relevant Links:

The Gargantuan Lie That is Collapsing The World’s Climate – https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-massive-climate-lie-that-will-destroy-human-civilization

Yellow Dot Studios – https://yellowdotstudios.com/

Learn More at https://meer.org

Description

In this episode of The MEER Podcast, we are joined by Professor Jem Bendell, author, researcher, and originator of the influential Deep Adaptation framework, for a wide-ranging conversation about climate risk, societal disruption, and how our understanding of the climate crisis has evolved.

Jem reflects on the ideas behind his consequential 2018 Deep Adaptation paper and revisits some of its most disputed arguments in light of what has happened since. We discuss what Deep Adaptation got right, why its conclusions generated such intense controversy, and what the response to the paper can teach us about the way academia, institutions, and the wider climate movement engage with uncomfortable evidence and possibilities.

The conversation explores the growing evidence of accelerating climate disruption, the lessons that can be learned from those who anticipated these risks earlier, and why acknowledging severe climate threats does not have to mean giving up on meaningful action.

We also discuss Jem's wider work on the "metacrisis" — the interconnected ecological, economic, social, and political pressures facing societies — and the need to think beyond conventional approaches to climate change as the consequences become increasingly difficult to ignore.

Rather than reducing the climate conversation to optimism versus pessimism, this episode asks a more important question: what can we learn from the warnings of the past, and how should that knowledge shape what we do next?

Relevant Links:

A Dozen Disputed but Now Demonstrable Facts About Climate Change from the Consequential Deep Adaptation Paper of 2018 – Prof Jem Bendell https://jembendell.com/

Jem Bendell – Website https://jembendell.com/

Deep Adaptation Forum https://www.deepadaptation.info/

The Metacrisis Initiative https://jembendell.com/metacrisis-initiative/

Learn More at meer.org

In this episode of The MEER Podcast, we are joined by writer, director, and climate advocate Aria McKenna to explore the powerful role of storytelling in shaping public understanding of the climate crisis.

The conversation examines how film, television, and culture influence climate narratives, the origins of the Healthy Planet Action Coalition, the concept of the "climate triad," and Aria's upcoming project Revolution Earth. Together, we discuss what today's climate storytelling gets right and where it falls short, while exploring how compelling narratives can inspire action, hope, and meaningful change.

Revolution Earth – https://www.revolutionearth.tv/

Saving Planet Us – https://www.savingplanetus.com/

Healthy Planet Action Coalition – https://healthyplanetaction.org/

Global Cooling Productions - www.globalcoolingproductions.com

Safe Climate Alliance - https://www.safeclimatealliance.org/

Aria's Pre-Climate Work - http://www.ariamckenna.com/index.html

Learn more about meer at meer.org

What if climate change cannot be understood through carbon emissions alone?

In this episode of The MEER Podcast, we speak with Rob de Laet about planetary energy balance, forest cooling, biohydrology, latent heat transport, atmospheric moisture regulation, and the role of ecosystems in stabilizing Earth's climate.

The conversation explores how forests, clouds, water cycles, and atmospheric processes interact within a connected Earth system, and whether climate science and policy may benefit from a broader framework that looks beyond carbon accounting alone.

Learn more about Rob's work:

EcoRestoration Alliance: https://www.ecorestorationalliance.org/

Global EverGreening Alliance: https://www.evergreening.org/

Cooling The Climate: https://www.coolingtheclimate.earth/

Read his book: https://books.google.com/books/about/Cooling_the_Climate.html?id=yicwEQAAQBAJ

In this episode of The MEER Podcast, we speak with physician, environmental filmmaker, and activist Dr. Sofia Pineda Ochoa, director of Endgame 2050 and Greenwashed. Together, we explore the links between human and planetary health, the psychology of climate denial, the rise of greenwashing, and the role of storytelling in confronting ecological collapse.

Sofia reflects on her transition from medicine to filmmaking, the making of her documentaries, and why honest conversations about the climate crisis are more important than ever. Despite the difficult realities discussed, the episode also highlights resilience, local action, and the quieter forms of hope emerging around the world.

Watch Endgame 2050 and Greenwashed through the links below.

Greenwashed: https://youtu.be/XjWUKFUaoL4?si=k9Il_VdTGV15XSfU

Endgame 2050: https://youtu.be/o8YomEOExkc?si=Nj2sNvczbKoTRjaJ

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Learn more about MEER’s climate adaptation and cooling projects at https://www.meer.org.

In this episode of The MEER Podcast, we speak with theoretical physicist Dr. Anastassia Makarieva, known for her work on the biotic pump theory — a framework that reexamines how forests influence Earth’s climate system.

Rather than viewing forests solely as carbon sinks, Dr. Makarieva explains how they may actively drive atmospheric circulation and rainfall patterns across continents. Through the process of transpiration and condensation, forests can influence pressure systems, drawing moisture inland and sustaining hydrological cycles far beyond their boundaries.

The conversation explores the origins of the biotic pump theory, its scientific implications, and why it challenges conventional climate models. The discussion also touches on the risks of deforestation, including the potential disruption of rainfall systems and large-scale drying of continental interiors.

You can learn more on her Substack here: https://bioticregulation.substack.com/

Brazilian journalist Monica Piccinini joins the MEER Podcast to discuss the Amazon rainforest and the complex environmental, political, and economic forces shaping Brazil today. Drawing on her reporting on deforestation, indigenous rights, agribusiness, and environmental policy, she offers a sobering look at the realities on the ground and explains why the future of the Amazon has global implications for climate, water systems, and communities far beyond Brazil.

Medium: https://monicapiccinini.medium.com/

Substack: https://substack.com/@yourvoiz

Website: https://yourvoiz.org/

Learn more at meer.org

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Klaus Richter, physicist and President of the German Physical Society. Dr. Richter recently co-authored a joint statement with the German Meteorological Society that drew global attention, warning that the Earth could warm by as much as 3°C by 2050 if current trends continue.

The statement — and the DIE ZEIT article that followed — sparked widespread debate about how fast the climate is changing and how society should respond.

Read the article discussed in this episode: https://worldcrunch.com/focus/green-or-gone/global-warming-at-3c-by-2050-what-s-behind-the-new-german-climate-warning/

Read the statement here: https://www.dpg-physik.de/veroeffentlichungen/publikationen/stellungnahmen-der-dpg/klima-energie/klimaaufruf/

Learn more at meer.org

In this episode of The MEER Podcast, we are joined by Rupert Read and Liam Kavanagh, co-directors of the Climate Majority Project and authors of the SAFER report. Together, they explore why climate adaptation must move from the margins to the center of climate action, how strategic adaptation can unite communities across political divides, and what it means to build a broad, inclusive “climate majority.” The conversation bridges science, psychology, policy, and practical examples of community-led resilience—offering listeners a grounded, actionable vision for adapting to a rapidly heating world.

Read the SAFER Report HERE: https://usercontent.one/wp/climatemajorityproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Action-for-the-Majority-November-2025-1.pdf?media=1764599038

Climate Majority Project: https://climatemajorityproject.com/