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Our climate is changing due to anthropocentric activities over the past 120 years. We are seeing increasing impacts nearly every year due to these changes, with the poor and those living in low-lying areas often taking the brunt. Policy choices today will inform the scope and range of these future impacts, and who is most affected. But we also must meet rising energy demands while not forgetting about affordability. 

Let's start there. Everything I have said thus far is true, and a massive challenge, but one that we have no choice but to take on. 

Our guests this episode are Sunny Wescott (Chief Meteorologist: Federal Emergency Response and Operations Support) and Matthew Tejada (Sr VP of Environmental Health, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)). Sunny and Matt have dedicated their lives to public service and were mainstays on climate policy development during the Biden Administration. Matt also led the USEPA's Office of Environmental Justice. Our talk centers around objectively taking on climate challenges, taking big swings at policy, and the effects of federal changes over the previous ten months. 

Climate risks are not just going away on their own. They are not just going away if you call them something else. Less warming equates to lives saved, fewer financial shocks, and protecting high risk areas. Let's keep working on that. 

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Somehow people still underestimate the impact of water on our lives. We don't think about it a lot, and often take it for granted, unless there is a problem. It is fundamental to our natural systems and public health, as well as recreation, cultural heritage, religions, and now unfortunately many climate-related detriments. Storms are getting stronger and more frequent, inland and coastal flooding is increasing, with each instance forcing us to question our planning paradigms. We have options available to us on the mitigation and resiliency sides and need to make some informed choices. There are many tools available now, such as Drawdown Explorer, that can help inform potential projects. 

Our guests this week are George Schuler (Co-Founder and Principal at Connecting for Change, LLC) and Furhana Husani (Director of Programs and Climate Initiatives at the Waterfront Alliance). I love talking with people clearly smarter than me on a certain topic, because I always learn so much, and walk away inspired by their work. For one thing, I never knew so many natural waterways were covered over in Manhattan. 

George and Furhana share a similar practical approach with an aspirational mindset, in that the choices we make today can have incredible impact. I hope you enjoy this episode and invite you to follow George and Furhana's work.

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Water management will be one of the critical issues of the 21rst Century. Between increased volatility in weather events, climate driven droughts, and historical cleanups...well that's plenty to keep us all busy. Now add data center proliferation and nearly unprecedented water demands. Challenging to say the least.

My guests this week are Pete Malinowski (Executive Director of the Billion Oyster Project) and Mark McDonough (President, New Jersey American Water). Both men are passionate speakers who are taking on different parts of this topic. For those who haven't seen Pete's Ted Talk, I'd highly recommend it. Mark has been a friend for a few years, and I am constantly impressed by his work in Camden. 

After you watch this, you will have questions, and if you are like me, you will also likely want to dig into these topics. Clean water is a public health necessity as well as an economic imperative. You cannot have sustainable growth without it.  

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We're back!!!

What I thought was just going to be a quick break for the summer as I planned a conference, ended up being more of an endeavor as I then had to deal with a fried hard drive, being laid off, and starting my own consulting company. Oh, also during this period, I went to NYC Climate Week.

This episode was recorded a few days after climate week. We were fortunate to be joined by two leaders who have helped push aggressive climate reforms in their states at the highest levels. NJDEP Commissioner Shawn Latourette and Former Commissioner of the NYSDEC (and currently Partner and Senior Policy Director at Foley Hoag LLP) Basil Seggos have led New Jersey and New York to being at the forefront of climate and EJ policies, and both men are regulars at NYC Climate Week and similar events around the country. 

How do we judge progress and incremental gains in the face of a problem as encompassing as climate? Unfortunately, those who have contributed the least to the problem often bear a higher rate of climate impacts and have a lower capacity to respond. This is the ultimate risk evaluation in that the more the planet warms, the more likely it will be that we see increased flooding, droughts, heat waves, stronger storms, biodiversity loss, etc. Project Drawdown does a great job of walking through all of this and lately put out their Drawdown Explorer to help connect local people with applicable projects in their communities. 

Ultimately, it will cost us far more the longer we wait to act, and if we wait, we will likely have less to protect. These are heavy topics, and it is always important to find hope, to highlight progress, and celebrate collaboration. 

I hope you enjoy this discussion with Shawn and Basil, I know I did. 

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About four years ago I was giving a talk in Ohio and someone in the crowd asked me, "EJ just kind of sprang up, where did it come from, how did this start?" At first I was pretty taken back by the comment since the environmental justice movement began around the time I was born, but this gentleman simply had not heard about it until that point, until it was tied into his operations. 

My two guests this episode are Vernice Miller-Travis (EVP of the Metropolitan Group and Co-Founder of WeAct for Environmental Justice) and Adrienne Hollis, PhD, JD, VP of EJ, Health, and Community Resilience and Revitalization at the National Wildlife Federation. They have been at this for a long time and describe multiple situations that drove them to get into this work. Having to wipe oil smears off windshields so they could drive, swimming in polluted waterways, and seemingly having no say in what happened in their communities. Thankfully, much has changed over the last decades and nearly all environmental metrics have improved, but there are still many areas that need to be addressed sustainably. 

If you are going to do this work, you have to try and understand sense of place, community, and heritage and how environmental and public health impacts can affect each. Paraphrasing something from the episode, the community will know if there's a problem, the science will identify the source (s), and hopefully collaboration among all parties can bring on solutions. 

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There's a common fallacy out there that public policy that is protective of public health is likely bad for bottom lines. That could not be further from the truth. Sound policy is protective but in a sustainable way that also promotes economic growth. 

For this episode, who better to talk about taking on complex policy development, than two people who have done it at the highest levels? Sandra Whitehead is an expert on cumulative health impacts, a professor at GW, and formerly a member of the White House EJ Advisory Council. Ryan Hathaway is currently with Lawyers for Good Government, and was the Director for Environmental Justice with CEQ and previously the EJ Coordinator with the Department of the Interior. Both Sandra and Ryan share my desire for objectivity and passion for following the numbers. 

They were gracious enough to share insights from their work with the previous administration and many forward looking thoughts on major policy development. Protecting public health and promoting economic development are not mutually exclusive. 

Enjoy the episode!

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It feels appropriate that this episode is posting in the middle of a heat wave in much of the United States, with four straight days of heat index readings at or above 110F. While we were planning for the episode a glacier in Europe gave way, burying the town of Blatten, Switzerland. Our world is warming, and that has many difficult implications. With all the changes of the last six months, we had many options for episode names on this one, but something one of our guests said stuck out. We live in systems not silos. Climate is the ultimate tiered system where if you make a change at the top, you should expect to see changes below. The Arctic is a great example of this and why so many climate researchers focus on that part of the world.

This episode brings back one of our first guests, Marisol Maddox (Senior Arctic Fellow, Dartmouth College) and a Zach Labe (Climate Scientist, and Graphical Wizard, at Climate Central). Our discussion covers national security concerns, biodiversity loss, the rate of change that we have been seeing, and what these changes mean as climate impacts in the rest of the world. Zach was also kind enough to showcase some of his graphical and storytelling skills toward the beginning of the episode to set the tone for us. 

Enjoy, and I hope this episode inspires you to look into these topics. 

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I almost decided to name this episode, "so this is why we can't have nice things." On our last episode, Doug Houseman and Mark Jacobson showed us what's possible albeit challenging from a technical perspective. This episode Eric Beightel (Federal Strategy Director, Environmental Science Associates) and Josh Kaplowitz (Senior Counsel, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP) walk us through grid decarbonization and renewables development from a legal and policy perspective. Simply put, our current regulatory models aren't made for this. But if you decide to rip it all down and start over (NEPA reference there), how do you make sure the new model is more up to the challenge?

We cover a lot in this episode, from the critical role of SCOTUS over the next four years, whether or not we are in an energy emergency (as defined historically), environmental assessments and stakeholdering as part of the permitting process, federalism, and "what you wish we could have done differently over the last four years". 

Josh and Eric have been right in the middle of this at the highest levels during the previous administration and are what I'd like to call objective optimists on the topic. I suggest watching the previous episode before you watch this one. Good policy should focus on technical challenges and look to improve timelines. 

Enjoy!

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For a project to be sustainable it must factor in the economic, social, and environmental impacts of its scope before its built, in order to minimize any detrimental impacts and maximize benefits. But backing up another step, for a project to be built at all, it must first have a handle on associated logistical constraints and how they factor into timelines and budgeting. 

My two guests this week are energy experts who have decades of experience around the world. Mark Jacobson (Director, Atmosphere/Energy Program at Stanford University) and Doug Houseman (Principal Consultant, 1898&Co) are as good as it gets, and both not afraid to lean into this topic. Mounting global climate impacts have driven a push for decarbonization. That's a gargantuan lift on many fronts. Both men acknowledge the challenges, but disagree at numerous points as to where we are and how to move forward. 

This was not an entirely comfortable conversation. That's OK, the best ones aren't. If we are going to try to effect positive changes in this space, we need to be willing to dig into the hard questions and start finding some solutions. 

I enjoyed this one and know you will too!

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In 2018 the US processed roughly 292.4 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW), or 4.9 pounds/person per day, which equates to an increase of 93% from 1980. Of that amount, 69 million tons were recycled and 25 million composted. In 2021 the US recycled 58.6 million tons of metals, iron, steel. These figures have only increased over the last few years, and project continued increases in coming years due to population growth. It is a massive problem and responsibility for those leading solid waste and scrap recycling facilities. Historically, many of these sort of facilities have also been sited in overburdened communities.

My guests this week, Dr. Jyoti Agarwal (Director of Environmental Programs, Reworld) and Andrew Cooley (Senior VP of Strategy, EMR USA) know these issues well, and dig into root causes, impacts, and drivers for the industry. Solid waste management is a crucial public health, environmental, and climate topic. This podcast was started to hear from multiple perspectives on these critical issues, and to learn from experts in each field. This week's episode is a great example of that mission. I learned a few things, and hope you all will as well. Enjoy!