94. The Risk of Living Under a White Sky with Elizabeth Kolbert

With CO2 in the atmosphere now reaching levels 50% higher than when humanity began large-scale burning of fossil fuels during the industrial revolution, time is running out and some ecosystems are on the brink of collapse. In light of this, some scientists and engineers are asking the question, can we act in time to save them? What do we do if we cannot reduce emissions in time? What tools will we have to save humanity? This week we talk to Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer-Prize winning author, activist, The New Yorker journalist, about her latest book Under a White Sky, a fascinating work that is asking the big questions: having meddled so much in our natural ecosystems, are we now able to save them and ourselves from the devastating effects of climate change? What form will these interventions take? Are the proposals such a genetically modified coral or solar geoengineering even possible? Will our sky be white? Join us for a delightfully sobering conversation. And stick around later in the show for a musical performance from Saunder Jurriaans! — Christiana + Tom’s book ‘The Future We Choose’ is available now! — Thank you to our guest this week, Elizabeth Kolbert!   Elizabeth Kolbert Twitter | Facebook   In 2015, Elizabeth wrote a phenomenal article on Christiana in The New Yorker. Highly recommended reading!   Grab a copy of Elizabeth’s new book, Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future!   Elizabeth is a Pulitzer-Prize winning author, and her books are available for purchase here:   Books by Elizabeth Kolbert   — Our musical guest this week is Saunder Jurriaans! YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify   Check out Saunder Jurriaans’ debut album ‘Beasts’ — Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter — Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn — Paul Dickinson is on LinkedIn! LinkedIn — Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media and send us a message! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism!