Climate One

More than perhaps any other state, Hawaii has major incentives to decarbonize. Imported oil accounts for about 90% of Hawaii's total energy consumption, and electricity prices are more than three times the national average. So it may not be surprising that Hawaii was the first state in the nation to set a 100% renewable energy goal by 2045. But that’s a hard goal to achieve, especially given the realities of geographic isolation and the costs of importing fuel and materials. 

Hawaii Governor Josh Green is bullish about the island state’s decarbonization and wants all options on the table. That includes making liquified natural gas part of the mix, along with solar, wind, and geothermal. His administration passed the first “green fee” which imposes a tax on Hawaii visitors and is expected to generate $100 million for climate resilience projects. What can we learn from Hawaii’s decarbonization process? 

Guests: 

Josh Green, Governor of Hawaii

Rylee Brooke Kamahele, Youth Plaintiff, Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation

Tessa M. Hill, Oceanographer and Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences, UC DavisFor show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.

Highlights:

00:00 Intro

03:08 Josh Green on achieving Hawaii’s climate goals

07:11 Josh Green on offshore wind

13:17 Josh Green on the effect of the wildfires and the recovery

18:09 Josh Green on decarbonizing

20:22 Josh Green on the health effects of the climate crisis

23:30 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on growing up

24:26 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on community action

29:06 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on the outcome of the lawsuit

34:27 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on the responsibility of older generations

37:55 Tessa M. Hill on rapidly changing oceans

41:43 Tessa M. Hill on the impact to common fish

44:44 Tessa M. Hill on the winners and losers of the changing oceans

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Food loss and waste account for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and cost $1 trillion annually, according to the United Nations. About a third of all food grown on the planet gets wasted, rather than eaten. In developing countries, waste usually occurs between the field and the store, due to poor infrastructure, lack of refrigeration, and broken supply chains. In rich countries, most waste happens after food reaches the store, where consumers don’t buy imperfect food – or buy too much and toss what they don’t get around to consuming. How much pollution, deforestation and starvation could be reduced if we got this problem under control? And how can new tech, including AI, be brought to bear on the problem?

Guests:

Matt Rogers, Co-Founder and CEO, Mill Industries; Co-Founder, Nest

Page Schult, CEO, Topanga 

Kayla Abe, Co-Owner, Shuggie’s

David Murphy, Co-Owner and Chef, Shuggie’s

For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit climateone.org/podcasts.

Highlights:

00:00 – Intro

04:30 – Matt Rogers on surviving Hurricane Andrews and his climate journey

06:30 – On the climate impact of HVAC and the creation of Nest thermostat

08:30 – On creating Mill food recycler and addressing food waste

13:45 – Partnership with Whole Food to recycle food waste and feed it back to chickens

17:00 – On AI as a tool for climate solutions

19:30 – Clean tech in Silicon Valley 

23:00 – Matt Rogers shares his views on advocacy, philanthropy and impact investing

30:00 – Shuggie’s restaurant sources ingredients that would otherwise be wasted

37:00 – David Murphy makes the case for sustainable food and upcycled ingredients

40:00 – Page Schult on global impact of food waste

44:00 – Topanga’s work providing reusable food containers for college campuses

52:30 – Thinking about it circularity as systems change

54:00 – Role of AI in reducing food waste in commercial kitchens

58:00 – Climate One More Thing

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While the federal government has all but abandoned trying to address the climate crisis, cities around the world are stepping up. C40 is an international network of 97 cities representing 920 million people and 23% of the world’s economy. Almost three out of four of these cities have already peaked their emissions. Here in the U.S., Climate Mayors is a bipartisan network of nearly 350 municipal leaders, representing 48 states and more than 70 million Americans. How are cities innovating on reducing emissions, adapting to increasing climate risks, and — perhaps most importantly — sharing their knowledge?

Episode Guests: 

Eric Garcetti, C40 Ambassador for Global Climate Diplomacy; Former Mayor, Los Angeles 

Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix; Former Chair, Climate Mayors 

For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit https://climateone.org/podcasts

Highlights:

00:00 Intro

2:46 Eric Garcetti on his time as mayor of LA

9:45 Eric Garcetti on where cities are moving the needle

17:47 Eric Garcetti on cities on the world stage

22:11 Eric Garcetti on the work of C40

26:20 Eric Garcetti on knowledge sharing

32:17 Eric Garcetti on co-leading

40:11 Kate Gallego on dealing with the heat in Phoenix

43:46 Kate Gallego on affordability

48:10 Kate Gallego on regulating data centers

52:35 Kate Gallego on working with other mayors

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Rising electricity rates across the country are adding pressure to families and businesses already dealing with inflation in other aspects of their lives. Most Americans get their power from a utility that needs to turn a profit for its investors. And people are fed up with the status quo.

“Across the country, the utilities have just gotten greedy and are asking for more than they need,” says Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. 

Some communities are considering cutting out the profit motive for utilities, taking on the complicated and expensive prospect of moving to public power. But switching from an investor-owned utility to public power is an uphill battle. What are other strategies for reining in corporate greed and making electricity more affordable?

Episode Guests:

Kris Mayes, Arizona Attorney General

Naveena Sadasivam, Investigative Reporter and Editor, Grist

Carroll Fife, Councilmember, District 3, Oakland, California

Jackson Kaspari, Director of Member Services, Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire

For show notes, transcript, and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/podcasts

Skill Up for Earth: ⁠https://skillup.earth⁠

04:00 – Naveena Sadasivam breaks down electric bill drivers by region

14:00 – High bills affected outcome of Georgia Public Utility Commission

17:00 – Tucson town hall held by AZ AG Kris Mayes to discuss power bill

19:00 – Mayes explains why she’s intervening in rate cases

27:00 – Imbalance of power between utility companies and PUCs and consumer advocates

33:00 – Would Arizona legislators consider allowing community choice aggregation

36:00 – Carroll Fife on why she supported a state bill to explore other options to power suppliers

43:40 – Jackson Kaspari explains how community choice aggregation works in New Hampshire

48:00 – Utility pushback

54:00 – Kaspari explains how much work it took to set up CCA in New Hampshire

56:30 – Climate One More Thing

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Congress approved billions for federal grants and programs through the EPA during the Biden administration. Those dollars were meant to help disadvantaged communities and fund community resilience projects, public health programs, and initiatives to reduce energy insecurity on tribal lands. But just as these projects were getting underway, the Trump administration froze many of the grants, put others under indefinite review, or canceled them outright. 

Now, some of the groups that were awarded federal funds have banded together and are suing the federal government for the money they’re owed. Others are seeking alternative funding streams. In this episode, we speak with people whose projects are on hold, but who continue to serve their communities.  

Episode Guests: 

Ben Grillot, Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center

Wahleah Johns, Former Director, U.S. DOE Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs

Ilyssa Manspeizer, CEO, Landforce

Bryan Cordell, Executive Director, Sustainability Institute

For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit ⁠⁠climateone.org/podcasts.⁠⁠

Skill Up for Earth: ⁠https://skillup.earth⁠

Highlights:

00:00 Intro

03:01 Ilyssa Manspeizer on what her organization, Landforce

06:29 Ilyssa Manspeizer on the impact of federal grant funds

08:58 Ilyssa Manspeizer on losing the grant funding

11:38 Ilyssa Manspeizer on Landforce joining the lawsuit against the EPA

14:08 Ben Grillot on the original EPA grantees

19:08 Ben Grillot on the politicization of the grants

24:54 Ben Grillot on the loss of trust with the federal government

26:42 Bryan Cordell on the work of the Sustainability Institute

30:38 Bryan Cordell on the status of their work after federal grants were pulled

33:51 Wahleah Johns on growing up on a Navajo reservation

45:59 Wahleah Johns on the community response to IRA rollbacks

48:20 Wahleah Johns on working toward the future

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