Climate One

As Buffalo Springfield sang in 1967, “There’s something happening here…” But today’s youth revolution is happening far beyond the Sunset Strip. The Trump administration’s dismissal of climate change as a legitimate concern is energizing a new generation of teenage activists. Emboldened and supported by groups like Earth Guardians, Heirs to Our Oceans and the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE), young people are taking their knowledge of climate science into the streets and into the courts, pressing for environmental change and for more government action now to protect their future and ours. UPDATE: Since this discussion was held the fossil fuel trade association, which aligned itself with the federal government, changed their minds, and asked to withdraw from the case. Phil Gregory, one of the attorneys representing the 21 young people suing the federal government, explains what that withdrawal means. Guests: James Coleman, High School Senior; Fellow, Alliance for Climate Education Lou Helmuth, Deputy Director, Our Children's Trust Corina MacWilliams, Co-director, Earth Guardians 350 Club, South Eugene High School This program was recorded live at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on March 16, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Californians are accustomed to living through wet times and dry times, but lately things are getting more extreme and much more difficult to predict. After five years of severe drought, Californians are now talking about what it means to have too much water at once. The end of the drought is a blessing, but the state may need to find $50 billion to repair dams, roads and other infrastructure threatened by floods. The damaged spillway at Oroville dam highlighted what happens when the state doesn’t keep its water system in good working order. How is California preparing for the whiplash of going from really dry to really wet years? What will it take to fix the system that delivers the water that keeps us alive and lubricates our economy? How will the state and federal governments work together to modernize the water system that grows food that lands on dinner tables across the country? This program is made possible by support from the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation. Guests: Don Cameron, General Manager, Terranova Ranch Inc. Felicia Marcus, Chair, State Water Resources Control Board Buzz Thompson, Director, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University This program was recorded live at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on May 24, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They were an unlikely group of activists; Native American youths concerned about teen suicide sparked the movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)—a movement which ultimately spread across the country. Veterans and others joined in, traveling to the construction site and showing solidarity with activists. Protesters objected to the $3.8 billion pipeline route, which they say threatens freshwater supplies and disrespects ancestral lands. Guests: Pennie Opal Plant, Co-founder, Idle No More SF Bay L. Frank Manriquez, Indigenous California artist and activist Lynn Doan, Bloomberg News This program was recorded live at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on May 11, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do the baby boomers owe millennials a clean planet? Or is it every generation for itself? Consumption-crazed baby boomers are leaving their younger counterparts with a mountain of debt and a destabilized climate. Yet they still rule the roost politically. In his new book “A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America,” Gen-Xer Bruce Gibney argues that the aging baby boomers who make up most of congress are holding up progress -- and it’s time they got out of the way. How do we span the generation gap? What can boomers do to engage future generations and help empower them in the fight against climate change? Guests: Carleen Cullen, Founder and Executive Director, Cool the Earth Bruce Gibney, Author, A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America Professor Michael Ranney, Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Education, U.C. Berkeley Wilford Welch, Speaker on Sustainability and Resilience This program was recorded live at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on May 8, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cities around the country are reshaping their economies for a greener future. Mayors and chambers of commerce are promoting smart growth and moving toward cleaner energy, cleaner cars, and cleaner buildings, with or without support from Washington. On today’s show we discuss how local businesses and political leaders in red states and blue states are growing their economies, cutting carbon pollution, and preparing for the challenges of climate disruption in their own communities. Guests: Diane Doucette Co-Founder and Executive Director, Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy Elizabeth Patterson, Mayor, Benicia, CA Carl Pope Former Executive Director, Sierra Club Rod G. Sinks City Council Member, Cupertino, CA This program was recorded live at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on May 4, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Lone Star State leads the country in wind power, thanks to legislation signed by Governor Bush; clean energy has breathed fresh air into Texas’ economy. Kip Averitt, Former Chair, Texas Clean Energy Coalition Stephanie Smith. COO, Greencastle LLC Pat Wood III, Principal, Wood3 Resources This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 25, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What can you do if you care about putting your money to work toward a cleaner economy? Join us for a conversation on pressuring companies and personal brands. Host: Greg Dalton Guests: Shannon Coulter, Co-founder, #GrabYourWallet Annie Leonard Executive Director, Greenpeace USA This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 19, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will the arrival of robotic cars lead to the blissful end of traffic? Or will they instead put drivers out of work and clog our streets more than ever before? Amory Lovins, Cofounder and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute Emily Castor, Director of Transportation Policy, Lyft Gerry Tierney, Associate Principal, Perkins + Will This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 12, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can the far right and far left come together on clean energy? Join us for a meeting of the minds between staunch members of both the Tea Party and 350.org. Debbie Dooley, President, Conservatives for Energy Freedom, Co-founder, Tea Party Movement May Boeve, Executive Director, 350.org Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator (D) Rhode Island This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 29, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cities are leading the way in the greening of America’s economy. From urban parks and farms to microgrids and living buildings, dynamic urban planning can adapt to changing coastlines and severe weather delivered by a volatile climate. But there’s a risk that green-living innovations become solely the domain of a privileged urban elite. On today’s show we hear how issues from transit to housing to jobs are all affected by our changing climate, and how states like California are working to ensure that everyone benefits from a greener economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who is bankrolling our political system? Jane Mayer takes us behind the scenes to expose the powerful group of individuals who are shaping our country. Jane Mayer, Staff Writer, The New Yorker and Author, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right (Doubleday, 2016) This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 4, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Noted conservationist Jane Goodall talks about her life’s work, the link between deforestation and climate change and why she sees reasons for hope. Jane Goodall, Founder, Jane Goodall Institute; United Nations Messenger of Peace Jeff Horowitz, Founder, Avoided Deforestation Partners This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 3, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our planet’s oceans drive our weather and generate much of our oxygen -- and they’re being severely impacted by climate change. What can be done about it? Liz Taylor, President, DOER Marine Peter Willcox, Captain, Rainbow Warrior, author, Greenpeace Captain: My Adventures in Protecting the Future of Our Planet (Thomas Dunne Books, 2016) Stiv Wilson, Director of Campaigns, Story of Stuff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cigarette makers downplayed the dangers of smoking for decades with distracting science. How close is the link between tobacco denial and climate denial? Lowell Bergman, Investigative Journalist Stanton Glantz, Director, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, UCSF Kenneth Kimmell, President, Union of Concerned Scientists William K. Reilly, Senior Advisor, TPG This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on February 18, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The "Internet of things" promises a world with smart connected devices such as refrigerators that automatically order food and robots that anticipate our desires. On today’s show we hear how that vision is coupled with a push to run those machines, and our online lives, on cleaner power. California plans to get half of its energy from renewable sources but some advocates say the state should make a national statement by aiming for 100% clean electricity. Not everyone agrees on how the existing energy grid can integrate new technologies, or whether getting to 100% is even technically possible yet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s youth activists are speaking up and speaking out, pressing for more government action on climate change now to protect their future and ours. James Coleman, High School Senior; Fellow, Alliance for Climate Education Lou Helmuth, Deputy Director, Our Children's Trust Corina MacWilliams, Co-director, Earth Guardians 350 Club, South Eugene High School This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on February 9, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Communities of color are most affected by pollution, yet they’ve been overlooked by the green movement. How can we ensure environmental justice for all? Manuel Pastor, Director, University of Southern California Program for Environmental and Regional Equity Vien Truong, National Director, Green for All Miya Yoshitani, Executive Director, Asia Pacific Environmental Network This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on February 9, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An information war is raging in our country, in mainstream news and on social media. What is factual and what is an “alternative fact?” Do facts even matter? George Lakoff, Professor of Linguistics, UC Berkeley Robert Rosenthal, Executive Director, The Center for Investigative Reporting This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on February 23, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Geoengineering may sound like science fiction, but there are many who believe we can -- and should -- be taking drastic measures to cool our planet down. Oliver Morton, Briefings Editor, The Economist; Author, The Planet Remade: How Geoengineering Could Change the World (Princeton University Press, 2015) Kim Stanley Robinson, Author, 2312 (Orbit, 2012) Ken Caldeira, Climate Scientist, Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 28, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every year, 41 million Americans take more water out of the Colorado than nature puts into it. How can we continue to share an ever-shrinking resource? Kevin E. Kelley, General Manager, Imperial Irrigation District Abrahm Lustgarten, Reporter, ProPublica Fran Spivy-Weber, Vice Chair, CA State Water Resources Control Board This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on February 15, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration has moved quickly to reverse some of the previous administration’s energy and climate policies. But not all Republicans are on the same page when it comes to climate. Those on the so-called eco-right say action is needed to promote clean energy and prevent climate disruption. On today’s program we hear how Republican renegades find climate solutions in conservative principles, and what we can do when climate denial isn’t just present in the halls of government, but actually controls the levers of power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The clean tech sector is on the rise - what areas are most promising for growth, jobs and “gee-whiz!” innovation? What will the new administration bring? Danny Kennedy, Managing Director, California Clean Energy Fund Holmes Hummel, Founder, Clean Energy Works Andrew Chung, Founder & Managing Partner, 1955 Capital This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on February 6, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Much has been made of the partisan divide on climate change. But there are Republicans out there who believe it’s real – and they have solutions in mind. Jeremy Carl, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University John Hofmeister, Former President, Shell Oil Company Bob Inglis, Former Republican U.S. Representative, South Carolina This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 24, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the issues that link the Latino community to the environmental movement? For many, it comes down to la familia. Latinos, who make up nearly 40 percent of California’s population, still tend to live in the state’s most polluted areas, in close proximity to freeways and ports. That translates to increased rates of asthma among Latino children. Other community issues include lack of green space, reduced access to bus service and the internet, and economic barriers to things like electric cars and home ownership. According to Adrianna Quintero of the Natural Resources Defense Council, for Latinos, climate change is less a political issue than personal: it’s “about protecting family members…about thinking about the ties that bind us to people in other parts of the world, whether we arrived two years ago, 10 years ago, or were here before the borders were drawn.” As the three panelists note, Latinos have long embraced the culture of conservation. They point to examples from their own experience – reusing foil, taking grocery bags to the store, sharing resources with extended family members. “I think most Latinos are conservationists,” says Orson Aguilar, Executive Director of The Greenlining Institute, “and I think the question is, is it something cultural, is it something in our DNA, or have we been forced to conserve given our economic circumstances?” Whatever their reasons, Quintero points out that 9 out of 10 Latinos surveyed support action to fight climate change. “Those are enormous numbers,” she says. “It shows that we've underestimated this community for years. We've underestimated the power, we've underestimated the commitment to protecting the environment and we're doing that to our own disservice truly. We need to recognize that there's a tremendous amount of awareness and power in this community.” In this election year, how can the environmental movement engage the diverse community of Latinos to demand change in their own communities, and beyond? Catherine Sandoval, Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission Orson Aguilar, Executive Director, The Greenlining Institute Adrianna Quintero, Senior Attorney, The Natural Resources Defense Council. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California on February 7, 2014 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2006, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger launched California's attack on climate change by signing a pioneering law to reduce carbon pollution across the state’s economy. That law, known as AB 32, has put California at the forefront of the global move to protect the climate that supports our economy and lifestyles. More recently, California’s energy utility announced plans to close the state's last remaining nuclear power plant. But will such a move reduce or increase carbon pollution? On today’s program we explore the future of oil and nuclear power through the lens of California’s fight against climate disruption. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s really preventing us from enacting environmental change? Blame our brains, says Daniel Goleman, author of Ecological Intelligence. As he explains it, “The problem comes down to a design flaw in the human brain.” Evolution fine-tuned our brains to protect us from immediate survival threats – lions, tigers and bears. But long-term dangers, such as those that threaten our planet today, don’t register. “The problem is that we don’t perceive, nor are we alarmed by, these changes,” says Goleman. “And so we’re in this dilemma where we can show people, “Well, you know, your carbon footprint is this,” but it doesn’t really register in the same way as “there’s a tiger around the block.” Facts alone aren’t enough, he adds, “We need to find a more powerful way of framing them…a way which will activate the right set of emotions and get us moving.” George Lakoff, a linguistics professor at U.C. Berkeley, sees the issue as a moral, rather than environmental, crisis: “…the greatest moral crisis we have ever been in. It is the moral issue of our times and it’s seen just as an environmental issue.” But morality can mean different things to different people. This sets up a debate that quickly goes from the political to the personal, as Josh Freedman, author of Inside Change, points out. “When we start saying, “okay, they’re good, and they’re bad,” what happens is we’re actually fueling this threat system that is what’s in the way of us actually solving these problems.” So what is the solution? How do we retune our primitive brains – and those of our political and business leaders — to focus on a less than clear, less than present danger? Throughout the discussion, several key avenues rose to the top: economics, education and emotional appeal. If major institutions can be persuaded to divest from environmentally unsound companies, says Lakoff, “then what will happen is that the prices of the stocks will go down for those energy companies. When they go down that way, they stay down…you have an opportunity to shift investment away in a way that has an exponential feedback loop.” Educating today’s youth was a powerful and recurring theme for all the speakers. “What kids learn and tell their parents is important,” Goleman said. “Schools are a big counterforce that we can do a much better job of deploying in this battle for minds and heart.” Despite our primitive wiring, the speakers concluded, we humans do have the capacity for the ecological intelligence – and the morality – to effect global change. “Your morality is what defines who you are as a human being,” says Lakoff, “it’s who you are emotionally and morally as a human being that matters in your life, what you do every day. This isn’t a matter of compromise…we have, like, 35 years to turn this around, period. That’s not long.” “All change starts on the inside,” says Freedman, “If we can support children and adults to connect with that capability and to develop what’s already there, then things are going to get a lot better.” Daniel Goleman, Author, Ecological Intelligence: The Hidden Impacts of What We Buy (Crown Business, 2010) Joshua Freedman, CEO, Six Seconds; Author, Inside Change: Transforming Your Organization With Emotional Intelligence (Six Seconds, 2010) George Lakoff, Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley and author of many books, including The Political Mind: A Cognitive Scientist’s Guide to Your Brain and Its Politics (Penguin Books, 2009) This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on May 1, 2014. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An emerging area of economics aims to put a price on nature as a way of justifying preserving it in societies dominated by the wisdom of markets. A mountain stream, for example, provides many economic benefits beyond people who own property near it or drink water from it. The same is said of bees that pollinate our food, wetlands that cleans water, and trees that drink up carbon dioxide. If nature were a corporation it would be a large cap stock. Putting a precise tag on something long seen as free is a conceptual leap. However many large companies are starting to realize the extent to which their profits rely on well operating ecosystems. Larry Goulder, Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics, Stanford Tony Juniper, Associate Professor, University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership; Special Advisor to The Prince of Wales International Sustainability Unit This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California on July 25, 2013 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate denial has become both a psychological and a political problem. Can better communication help us expand common ground and move on to solutions? Renee Lertzman, Climate Engagement Strategist, Author and Speaker Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Meteorology, Penn State University Cristine Russell, Freelance Science Journalist Tom Toles, Editorial Cartoonist, The Washington Post This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on December 12, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Science historian Naomi Oreskes has had her share of hate mail from climate deniers. But, she says, “We can't give up on the challenge of explaining science.” Naomi Oreskes, Professor of History of Science and Director of Graduate Studies, Harvard University, author of “Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming.” (Bloomsbury Press, 2011) Steven Chu, Former U.S. Secretary of Energy; Professor of Physics and Molecular & Cellular Physiology, Stanford This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on December 15, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2016 began in the afterglow of the Paris climate accord, and ended with the triumph of a presidential candidate who has labeled climate change a hoax. So what will 2017 and the Trump administration mean for the future of clean energy? On today’s show we look ahead at how environmentally-conscious lawmakers and businesses might move forward now that Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, and how big blue California might continue to lead the fight against climate change in spite of what happens in Washington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Radical protesters Tim DeChristopher and Georgia Hirsty put the “active” in “activism.” But is civil disobedience the best way to effect real change? Tim DeChristopher, Founder, Climate Disobedience Center Georgia Hirsty, National Warehouse Program Manager, Greenpeace Brendon Steele, Director of Stakeholder Engagement, Future 500 This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 19, 2015. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2016 began in the after-glow of the Paris climate summit and ended with the election of Donald Trump. A look back at the year’s energy triumphs and setbacks. 2. Speaker List David R. Baker, Energy Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle Katie Fehrenbacher, Former Senior Writer, Fortune Cassandra Sweet, Reporter, Wall Street Journal This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on December 7, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Donald Trump moves into the West Wing and the GOP takes control of congress, what will become of California’s environmental trailblazing? Christine Pelosi, Superdelegate for Democratic Party; Political Strategist Duf Sundheim, 2016 Republican Candidate for U.S. Senate Tony Strickland, Former California State Senator; California Chairman, The Committee for American Sovereignty Tony Thurmond, California State Assemblymember (D-15) This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on December 1, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While federal experts warn that it will cost $44 trillion to rid the U.S. economy of carbon, Citibank counters that failing to act on climate disruption could result in over $44 trillion in public and private losses over the next 25 years. The true cost of either keeping or ditching fossil fuels was up for discussion at a recent Climate One event. Nicholas Stern, Chair, Center for Climate Change Economics and Policy, London School of Economics Steve Westly, Founder and Managing Partner, The Westly Group This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on May 5, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recent agreement is designed to curb emissions from international plane flights. But what if the new administration doesn’t clear it for takeoff? Erin Cooke, Sustainability Director, San Francisco International Airport James Macias, President and CEO, Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc. Sean Newsum, Director of Environmental Strategy, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Annie Petsonk, International Counsel, Environmental Defense Fund This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on November 16, 2016 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate change is as much about what we eat as what we drive or where we live. Rising heat is hitting chocolate, wine, beer, bread and other foods we love, while our appetites for meat, fish, and dairy are responsible for a host of unsustainable farming practices. So what’s a climate-conscious eater to do? On today’s program we'll look at how climate change affects us at the kitchen table. We’ll ask whether all those craft beers, fair-trade coffees, and single-batch chocolates are part of the solution, or whether going vegan is the key to a climate-friendly diet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The explorer, climber, surfer and founder of sporting goods company Patagonia, Inc., has spent a lifetime welcoming adventure – and risk - of all kinds. Yvon Chouinard, Founder and Owner, Patagonia This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on October 27, 2016 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America’s National Parks are struggling to find a balance between the needs of a growing population and the desire to preserve our natural heritage. John Hart, Author, An Island in Time: 50 Years of Point Reyes National Seashore (Pickleweed Press, 2012) Jordan Fisher Smith, Author, Engineering Eden: The True Story of a Violent Death, a Trial, and the Fight over Controlling Nature (Crown, 2016) This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on July 19, 2016 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connecting the dots between the foods we love and our environment may be one way to engage people in the climate change fight – one cup of coffee at a time. Jonathan Foley, Executive Director, California Academy of Sciences Simran Sethi, Author, Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love Helene York, Global Director, Responsible Business, Compass Group@Google This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on October 18, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate change seems to have taken a backseat in this year’s presidential campaign. What’s ahead for the climate movement in the next administration? Bill McKibben, Founder, 350.org Terry Tamminen, CEO, Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on October 21, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After last winter’s rains, Californians breathed a collective sigh of relief. But short-term weather is not the same as long-term climate. And state water watchers understand that this rainfall did not break the worst drought in over a thousand years. With the effects of climate change being felt around the country – droughts in some areas and flooding in others – the nation is looking to California as a model for how to handle a new normal. Today we’ll dig into the water woes of this bellwether state. How is California planning for a hotter, drier climate in the cities and down on the farm? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has been proudly fighting the war on climate change for over a decade. But can it can grow its economy and tackle climate change at the same time? Kevin de León, President pro Tempore, California State Senate Melanie Mason, Reporter, Los Angeles Times Antonio Villaraigosa, Former Mayor of Los Angeles This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on October 5, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the world’s population increasingly moves into cities, what is the future of urban life? How can we build in the ability to weather a changing climate? Jonathan F.P. Rose, Co-Founder, Garrison Institute Peter Calthorpe, Principal Architect, Peter Calthorpe Associates This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on September 21, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been ten years since California enacted a landmark law that put it at the forefront of the global war on climate change. Has AB 32 been a boon or a bust? Fran Pavley, Senator, California State Senate Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President, Western States Petroleum Association Dan Sperling, Member, California Air Resources Board This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on September 20, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco developers are planning billions in new construction with a Bayfront view. Yet seas are predicted to rise nearly a foot by 2050. Are we ready? J.K. Dineen, Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle Michael Stoll, Executive Director, San Francisco Public Press Lauren Sommer, Science and Environment Reporter, KQED Charles Long, Principal, Charles A. Long Properties, LLC Margie O’Driscoll, Competition Advisor, Resilient by Design Will Travis, Sea Level Rise Planning Consultant This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on September 13, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pacific states and British Columbia have all pledged to reduce carbon emissions. Can they help accelerate the global transition to a green economy? Kate Brown, Governor, Oregon Jay Inslee, Governor, Washington Mary Polak, Minister of Environment, Legislative Assembly of British Columbia This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on June 1, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Paris climate agreement was signed by 196 countries and endorsed by corporate America. But will political rancor sink the ship of progress? Andy Karsner, Managing Partner, Emerson Collective Tom Steyer, Business Leader, Philanthropist and Clean Energy Advocate This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on June 2, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is on track to reach 50% renewable energy by the year 2030. But can we do better? What would it take to get us to 100% clean power by 2050? Mark Ferron, Board of Governors, California Independent System Operator Mark Jacobson, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University Steve Malnight, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, PG&E This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on August 23, 2016 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We will discuss the hot prospects for building a climate-conscious career. New jobs and avenues for advancement are being created as companies strive to grow cleaner and governments figure out what a disrupted climate means for water, food, transit and housing systems. The young Americans entering the workforce today will create the cool new products, technologies and cities that will grow our economy and stabilize the climate. What are the best career paths for people who want to take advantage of that huge opportunity? What sectors are most promising? Will doing good entail making less? A conversation about building a thriving career based on reducing carbon while increasing social and economic value. Leonard Adler, CEO, Green Jobs Network Charlotte MacAusland, Commercial Channel Partner Manager, SolarCity Lyrica McTiernan, Sustainability Manager, Facebook Keely Wachs, Director of Communications, Clif Bar Katherine Walsh, Director, Student Environmental Resource Center, UC Berkeley This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 23, 2016 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We discuss how doctors, teachers and parents are framing climate change as a children’s issue. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement saying children’s health will be disproportionately affected by climate. The California Parent-Teacher Association is raising its voice about carbon risk and the Boy Scouts are teaching kids about sustainability. Giana Amador, Research Analyst, Center for Carbon Removal Minda Berbeco, Programs and Policy Director, National Center for Science Education Ryan Condensa, Action Fellow, Alliance for Climate Education Luis Martinez, Student Activist Alexander Zwissler, Principal, Einstellung Labs This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 23, 2016 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices