The Climate Dispatch

As California races toward a clean energy future, electricity bills are rising, leaving many people wondering "what exactly are we paying for?"

In this episode, we dig into California’s energy affordability crisis and ask how we can build a cleaner grid without leaving consumers behind. We explore what’s driving rising utility bills, the role of investor-owned utilities, and why environmental justice advocates say the communities most affected by pollution should have a greater say in how we build our energy future.

We’ll also look at the clean energy technologies already available, from solar and battery storage to energy efficiency, and how putting them in the right places could help replace aging fossil fuel infrastructure while making the grid cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable.

Because California’s clean energy transition isn’t just about what we build. It’s about who pays, who benefits, and who gets a seat at the table.

Guests:
Katherine Ramsey, Staff Attorney for the Sierra Club's Environmental Law Program.
Heena Singh, Senior Energy Justice Manager at California Environmental Justice Alliance

Featuring music from Cheekface

Biodiversity is the foundation of a healthy planet — and some of its most important stewards are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. In this episode, we explore the vital role native bees play in California’s ecosystems, the threats facing pollinators and biodiversity, and what it will take to protect and restore the places they call home.

We talk with Krystle Hickman, conservation photographer and community scientist, about the fascinating and often overlooked world of native bees and the intricate relationships they have with the plants and ecosystems around them.

Then we zoom back out with California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot and conservationist Melanie Schlotterbeck to explore California’s 30x30 initiative: the effort to conserve 30% of the state’s lands and waters by 2030. What does it actually mean to protect biodiversity? And how do we make sure conservation works for the species, communities, and ecosystems that depend on these places?

Guests:

• Secretary Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary for Natural Resources
• Krystle Hickman, Community Scientist and Native Bee Conservation Photographer
• Melanie Schlotterbeck, Land Use and Conservation Consultant

Featuring music from HAD HAD

A group of Silicon Valley billionaires says it has a bold vision for the future of California: a brand-new city built from the ground up on the Solano County prairie. But behind the glossy renderings and promises of sustainability lies a story of secretive land deals, political maneuvering, and growing concerns over public accountability.

In this episode, we investigate the California Forever project, examining the opaque tactics used to quietly acquire more than 50,000 acres of farmland, the allegations surrounding Flannery Associates' efforts to sidestep meaningful public input, and the questions local residents and conservationists are asking about who gets to shape the future of the region.

We also explore what's at stake for one of California's rarest ecosystems. The proposed development sits alongside fragile vernal pool habitat that supports endangered and threatened species, including the California tiger salamander and vernal pool tadpole shrimp. As pressure to build accelerates, we ask whether these unique landscapes, and the wildlife that depends on them, can survive another wave of development.

Who gets to build the future? And who pays the price when it's built in the dark?

Guests:
Miguel Miguel, Director of Sierra Club California
Elizabeth Patterson, Former Mayor of Benicia, CA

Featuring music from Clown Sounds

Last episode, we explored the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, a beautiful and vital ecosystem that provides drinking water for 27 million people, supports millions of acres of farmland, and offers essential habitat for countless species.

But when the Delta’s waters are overtaxed, the consequences ripple outward: flow declines, water quality worsens, habitat is lost, and farmland is put at risk.

So why is the Delta Conveyance Project, also known as the Delta Tunnel, proposing to divert even more water? And will it actually strengthen California’s water security?

In this episode, we take a closer look at the history of the Delta Tunnel project, where it stands today, and what could be lost if it moves forward. In partnership with Restore the Delta, we also highlight ongoing restoration efforts and explore why investing in local water solutions is essential to building a more resilient water future.

Guests
Morgen Snyder, Director of Policy and Programs, Restore The Delta
Spencer Fern, Delta Science Program Manager, Restore The Delta
John Zuckerman, Delta Farmer

Featuring music from International Show

In this episode, we journey to California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, a sprawling estuary that provides drinking water to 27 million people, supports millions of acres of farmland, and serves as a critical habitat for hundreds of species. Despite its importance, most Californians know little about the Delta or the challenges it faces.

With staff members from the Restore the Delta campaign guiding us, we travel through Stockton and the surrounding waterways to explore the beauty, complexity, and fragility of this remarkable ecosystem. Along the way, we hear from scientists, advocates, and local anglers who depend on the Delta and are witnessing firsthand the impacts of declining water quality, harmful algal blooms, disappearing fish populations, and decades of water diversion.

What happens when the health of an ecosystem is pushed beyond its limits? How do we balance California’s growing demand for water with the needs of the communities, wildlife, and landscapes that make that water possible? And what can the Delta teach us about stewardship, resilience, and our connection to the natural systems we rely on every day?

Join us as we explore one of California’s most important, and most overlooked, places.

Guests

Morgen Snyder, Director of Policy and Programs, Restore The Delta
Spencer Fern, Delta Science Program Manager, Restore The Delta
Bud Chaddock, local angler and activist

Featuring music from Thanya Iyer

In this episode we sit down with Don Jolley, a middle school teacher in Point Reyes, CA, who leads community stargazing gatherings to discuss the importance of connecting to the night sky. As light pollution from human developments increases, we learn about what could be lost as with every light that shines in the night, the starry sky above becomes ever more eclipsed. We also sit down with Sierra Club National Conservation Campaign Strategist Mary Lunetta, and learn about the devastating possible rescinding of the Roadless Rule, which protects 59 million acres of National Forest Land from development. And finally, we speak with Dr. Joey Curti, a postdoctoral researcher at the UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, who has studied the impact of the built environment on animals, specifically how light pollution is affecting the bat populations of Southern California.

Guests

• Don Jolley, Night Sky Guide, Dark Sky West Marin
• Mary Lunetta, Sierra Club National Conservation Campaign Strategist
• Dr. Joseph Curti, UCLA Researcher

Featuring music from Todd Congelliere

In this episode, we’re joined by Amy Bowers Cordalis of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group to talk about the largest dam removal project in U.S. history along the Klamath River. We explore the long fight to remove four hydroelectric dams, the environmental and cultural impacts they’ve had on the river, and what it has taken legally, spiritually, and collectively, to get to this moment.

Join us as we unpack how dam removal is about more than restoring fish populations, it’s about restoring relationships: between people and place, between upstream and downstream communities, and between past harms and future possibilities.

What does it look like to center sovereignty and stewardship in large-scale environmental change? What can this project teach us about climate resilience and ecological restoration? And how might it reshape the way we think about infrastructure, power, and responsibility?

Guest:
Amy Bowers Cordalis, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Fund 

Featuring music from Emily Afton

My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life.
 

Can cities function like living systems? What would it take to get us there?
In this episode, we dig into the hidden logic behind how cities are built and why so many of them feel fundamentally disconnected from the land they occupy. We explore how the rise of fossil fuel-powered development has shaped urban environments that prioritize speed, scale, and profit over resilience and community. 

Join us as we unpack how today’s profit-driven development model is fueling the housing crisis, particularly in California, and why affordability remains so elusive.  We also dive into the concept of urban metabolism, a powerful framework that reimagines cities as ecosystems with flows of energy, water, materials, and life.
What would it mean to design cities that actually sustain us? What systems need to change to make housing truly affordable? And how can we reconnect urban life to the ecological realities it depends on?
Guest:
Dr. Stephanie Pincetl, Founding Director of California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA 

Featuring music from Lacey Guthrie

Listen in as we discuss the legacy and controversy surrounding the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), one of the state’s most influential environmental laws. For more than five decades, CEQA has helped safeguard California’s air, water, wildlife, and communities by requiring governments to carefully assess environmental impacts before approving major projects. It’s been a powerful tool for transparency and public participation, empowering residents to protect the places they love, and ensure new development mitigates harm towards wildlife habitat and communities.

But the story doesn’t end there. While CEQA has delivered real environmental wins, critics say the law has also been weaponized by a small number of bad actors to stall or block essential projects, from housing, to transit, to even a daycare. So how exactly does CEQA work, who does it serve to protect, and who can be harmed in the process? In this episode, we unpack the history of CEQA, explore the environmental protections it has made possible, and asses the reforms on track to change this fundamental law.

Guests

• Milli Pintacsi, Le Petit Elephant Daycare Founder and Head of School
• Jacob Evans, Sierra Club California Senior Policy Strategist

Featuring music from The Underground Railroad To Candyland

Migration has always been a part of life, whether you’re a butterfly, a whale, or a human being. But as the climate crisis accelerates, more and more people are being forced to leave their homes and even their countries in its wake. Wildfires and floods displace entire communities. Shifting ecosystems destabilize local economies. Dwindling resources fuel conflict and violence.

So how do we respond to this growing reality of climate-driven migration amid increasingly hostile anti-immigration rhetoric?

In this episode, we explore the deep connections between climate and migration, the sustainable practices immigrant communities have long championed, the often-overlooked environmental toll of ICE raids, and the critical role of community resilience in facing what comes next.

Special Co-Host: Sabrina Claros

Guests:

Isaias Hernandez, Environmentalist & Storyteller

Jose Miguel Ruiz, CultivaLA

Amanda Pantoja, Green Latinos

Featuring music from Zena Carlota