Ten Across Conversations

Even as the threat of dead pool on Lakes Powell and Mead and loss of hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam now looms mere acre-feet away, another federal deadline came to pass this January with no consensus on allocation or conservation among the Colorado River basin states.

Ten Across has been following the negotiations and challenges of the drying Colorado River over the last few years, hosting engaging and illustrative dialogues among various stakeholders and advisers of the river both on air and at Ten Across summits including the recent summit in Houston. Given that the situation is more dire than ever, we decided it was apt time to reconvene three closely involved experts on the continued water crisis.

In this episode, Ten Across founder Duke Reiter speaks with the 2019 Drought Contingency Plan signatory, James Eklund; U.S. Commissioner of the Upper Colorado River Commission, Anne Castle; and former chair of the California State Water Board, Felicia Marcus about the diffcult legal and cultural struggle among senior and junior water users. A struggle deeply engrained in the history of the river and one that is currently reaching an apex ahead of the Bureau of Reclamation's Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement this summer.

Houston, Texas is a definitive city for the Ten Across initiative. It is now the fourth largest city in the United States and is often called the energy capital of the world. Houston is also known for its vast highway infrastructure—a system that both fractures and connects its communities and continues to breed controversy today.

Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter talks with history and transportation expert Kyle Shelton about how Houston was shaped by highways in the post-war era and what lessons it holds for the future of the country.

Buy Power Moves here: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Moves-Transportation-Politics-Development/dp/1477314652

For more information about the Ten Across initiative visit www.10across.com.

Between August 2020 and May 2021, Lake Charles, Louisiana experienced two hurricanes, a historic flood, and an ice storm—leaving the community in dire straits as it tried to get back on its feet.

Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter talks with journalist and podcast host Lauren Rosenthal about her experience on the ground in Lake Charles and putting disasters in human terms that can help us better prepare for more frequent climate occurrences.

Listen to In Deep Season 2: https://www.indeep.org/episodes

For more information about the Ten Across initiative visit www.10across.com.

Homelessness affects every urban community in the country one way or another. Not only is it a hot button political issue, but it is also one of the most complex and intractable challenges we face as a modern society—not solvable by any single policy, group, or person. How did we get here and what can we do about it?

Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter discusses the issue with author and real estate professor Gregg Colburn. Gregg co-authored the recently published book Homelessness Is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns.

Get the book here: https://homelessnesshousingproblem.com/

For more information about the Ten Across initiative visit www.10across.com.

The decarbonization and electrification of the transportation sector is essential to mitigating the effects of climate change as we hurdle through the 21st century. Such a feat requires reimagining and rethinking how we move ourselves and our goods around the country, especially regarding highways.

Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter discusses how we can bring highways into the 21st century with Allie Kelly, Executive Director of The Ray—a nonprofit based in Georgia working towards a net zero future.

For more information about the Ten Across initiative visit www.10across.com.

Los Angeles is one of the most complex and fascinating cities in the country. Much like the rest of California and the Ten Across region more broadly, LA is on the leading edge of climate change—battling increasingly intense wildfires and water shortages, as well as socioeconomic divides that have resulted in a significant homeless population. The city also renders a compelling depiction of the American Dream tied with issues of immigration, global trade, transportation, and energy production. Leading such a city requires thinking beyond conventional boundaries.

Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter chats with outgoing Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti about his time in office and the role of cities in our society to take on the country’s biggest challenges.

For more information about the Ten Across initiative visit www.10across.com.

The southern tier of the United States faces unique risk of natural and made-man disasters—from hurricanes along the Gulf Coast to drought in the Southwest. Such events are not only likely, but inevitable and predictable. The question then becomes what to do with that knowledge.

Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter talks with national security and risk expert Juliette Kayyem about rethinking how we prepare for and respond to disasters in the Ten Across region and beyond.

For more information about the Ten Across initiative visit www.10across.com.

The most significant challenges of our time, notably the effects of climate change, do not confine themselves within existing country, state, county, city, or community borders. Given the enormity of such issues, are our present geographies adequate to properly address these issues at the scale required?

Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter explores new ways of thinking and problem solving with the authors of Megaregions and America’s Future, Robert Yaro, Fritz Steiner, and Ming Zhang.

For more information about the Ten Across initiative visit www.10across.com.

As flows on the Colorado River continues to dwindle, Southern California is facing dire questions about the sustainability of its water supply. Water managers across jurisdictions are having to work together to find innovative solutions to reduce reliance on the river and also find new sources, such as water recycling and desalination.

Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter talks with Adel Hagekhalil, general manager and CEO of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California about his efforts to work across boundaries to reduce consumption and augment water supply in the state.

For more information about the Ten Across initiative visit www.10across.com.

With nearly 30% of greenhouse gas emissions coming from the transportation sector, decarbonizing the system is an essential step on the road to a zero-emission future. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 significantly bolstered the federal government’s efforts to mitigate climate change—former establishing a new joint office between the Department of Transpiration and the Department of Energy to work toward that end.

Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter discusses these efforts with executive director of the new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, Gabe Klein and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation at the Department of Energy, Michael Berube.

For more information about the Ten Across initiative visit www.10across.com.