Climate One

Protest is the ultimate in equal-opportunity political action. As Annie Leonard, former executive director of Greenpeace USA says, “Making change is like laying a stone path across the garden. Peaceful protest may be every 4th or 8th or 200th stone; it helps us get where we want to go but also we need a lot of other stones too.” Leonard explores the history of protests in her book “Protest: Respect It. Defend It. Use It.”

And while protest is the loudest and most visible tool, it’s only one of many ways to take action. Through community building, civic engagement, elected office, corporate boardrooms, churches and nonprofit agencies, there are countless paths to exercising power and promoting positive change. In this episode we hear from three leaders working in three different arenas, all toward the same goal.

Guests:

Annie Leonard, Environmental Activist, Author of “Protest: Respect It, Defend It, Use It”

Danielle Lee, Founder, Climate Action Club

James Coleman, City Councilor, South San Francisco

Highlights:

00:00 – Introduction

03:55 – Annie Leonard shares the story of the Section 504 sit-ins protest in San Francisco

06:30 – Different ways protest can be effective

08:30 – Leonard on why she puts her body on the line (gets arrested) during protests

16:00 – Leonard on the lawsuit Energy Transfer brought against Greenpeace USA over Standing Rock protests

22:00 – Protecting, defending, and using the right to protest

26:00 – Danielle Lee on organizing younger people around climate and environment

30:30 – Systemic versus personal action

37:00 – James Coleman on the decision to run for office as a tool for effective change

41:00 – Impact of local government

46:30 – How change actually happens

For show notes and related links, visit our episode page at ClimateOne.org

Join Climate One for a town hall event on September 28 at 6 p.m. on navigating AI, climate, and the future of democracy. How do we ensure that AI and data centers serve the public good? How does a democracy function when AI is distorting our sense of shared truths? Tickets available at climateone.org/events

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Also: We’ll be having an electric conversation on October 14 at 6 p.m. between PG&E CEO Patti Poppe and California State Senator Scott Wiener about energy affordability, outages, and whether cities like San Francisco are ready to break up with the investor owned utility model. Tickets available at climateone.org/events

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We all complain about the heat, yet it's a climate threat we routinely underestimate. In the U.S., extreme heat kills more people each year than floods, fires and hurricanes combined. About 16,000 excess deaths were recorded during Europe's June heatwave – a striking and tragic number. What does extreme heat do to our bodies, our wallets and our cities, and what can we actually do about it?

From creating insurance programs that pay out before the disaster to protecting workers who labor in the heat, many people are working on solutions. Cities are finding ways to prepare for temperatures they historically have never experienced. Plus, we hear about one woman’s “Grammy Ride” for the climate: a 3,000 mile bike journey raising climate awareness and funds for climate action.

Guests:

Donna Minter, Former forensic and neuropsychologist

Kathy Baughman McLeod, Founder and CEO of HERA

Juanita Constible, Senior Advocate, NRDC

00:00 - Introduction

03:14 - Donna Minter on coming up with the idea for the “Grammy Ride”

05:21 - Donna Minter on how friends and family reacted

11:54 - Donna Minter on reflecting on her faith

15:15 - Donna Minter on her Texas stay

21:50 - Kathy Baughman McLeod on what extreme heat does to the body

28:34 - Kathy Baughman McLeod on the effect of naming heatwaves

30:57 - Kathy Baughman McLeod on the first heat related insurance for pregnancies

38:16 - Kathy Baughman McLeod on a heat policy success story

43:21 - Juanita Constible on what it takes to keep workers safe

46:34 - Juanita Constible on where worker heat deaths happen

52:49 - Juanita Constible on OSHA heat protections

57:47 - Juanita Constible on state adoption of heat protections

For show notes, transcripts, and related links, visit ⁠our episode page⁠ at ClimateOne.org

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Join Climate One for a town hall event on September 28 at 6 p.m. on navigating AI, climate, and the future of democracy. How do we ensure that AI and data centers serve the public good? How does a democracy function when AI is distorting our sense of shared truths? Tickets available at climateone.org/events

***

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠Patreon⁠, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. ⁠Sign up today⁠.

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At a time when nearly everything feels polarized, Benji Backer is trying to carve out a different path, one where caring about the natural world isn’t a partisan issue. As the founder of Nature Is Nonpartisan, he’s bringing together voices from across the political spectrum who might disagree on climate policy, but still share a desire to preserve public lands, wildlife, and the outdoors.

Similarly, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe firmly believes conversation – even with people you disagree with – can be one of the most powerful tools for climate action. And it starts from a place of respect.

“If we begin a conversation by esteeming the other person rather than implicitly judging them, that conversation starts off with so much potential and can end in an incredibly surprising place,” Hayhoe says.

Can conservation still serve as common ground in a divided country? What does it take to make environmentalism resonate beyond traditional audiences? Is a bipartisan movement possible in today’s political climate?

Guests:

Benji Backer, Founder and CEO, Nature is Nonpartisan

Katharine Hayhoe, Climate scientist; Chief Scientist, The Nature Conservancy; Distinguished Professor, Texas Tech University

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.

Highlights:

00:00 – Introduction

05:50 – Benji Backer on the origin of Nature is Nonpartisan

09:30 – Making an organization that’s culturally relevant

13:24 – Backer’s work on the Make America Beautiful Again Conservation Commission

21:00 – Working to undo polarization in conversations around climate and environment

24:50 – Backer on avoiding the word “climate” in certain conversations

32:00 – How Katharine Hayhoe deals with hateful messages online

33:30 – How Hayhoe talked about climate change to a Rotary Club in Texas

40:00 – Should scientists be more emotionally open when discussing climate?

45:00 – Hayhoe on what Bible teachings say about caring for the environment

48:15 – Hayhoe on how her Christian faith intersects with her climate research

54:45 – The power of taking action and starting conversations about climate change

For show notes, transcripts, and related links, visit our episode page at ClimateOne.org

Join Climate One for an electric conversation on October 14 at 6 p.m. between PG&E CEO Patti Poppe and California State Senator Scott Wiener about energy affordability, outages, and whether cities like San Francisco are ready to break up with the investor owned utility model. Tickets available at climateone.org/events

***

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.

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Atmospheric scientist Ben Santer pioneered the research that connects human activity to specific climate events. Now, pursuing treatment for a rare type of lymphoma, he sees his own diagnosis and his climate science as the same kind of detective work: using essential and basic science to conduct tests, read complex markers, and rule out every other cause. Even while ill, he's calling out efforts by the Trump administration to reject, defund and ignore the science we all depend on.

“If we leave basic science behind because the administration doesn't like the results of the science, then as Americans, we're not gonna thrive, and the planet isn't gonna thrive either,” Santer says.

Guests:

Ben Santer, Atmospheric Scientist, University of East Anglia

Rachel Rothschild, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Law School

Highlights:

00:00 – Introduction

2:24 – Ben Santer on how he’s doing amidst his health issues

6:43 – Ben Santer on having the motivation to keep going

11:21 – Ben Santer on what it means to find human fingerprints on climate disruption

16:52 – Ben Santer on the importance of climate measuring

20:23 – Ben Santer on persevering through personal attacks and credible death threats

31:01 – Ben Santer on the effect of Trump administration funding cuts

33:43 – Ben Santer dealing with grief

38:54 – Rachel Rothschild on how state superfund laws work

42:26 – Rachel Rothschild on having her personal communication targeted

47:40 – Rachel Rothschild on the personal tax of doing her work

51:45 – Rachel Rothschild on what surprised her

For show notes and related links, visit ⁠our episode page⁠ at ClimateOne.org

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Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠Patreon⁠, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. ⁠Sign up today⁠.

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When it comes to climate, we have the facts, but we aren’t moving fast enough. So we need to get climate education and solutions into the places where people already spend their time. Pop culture offers endless opportunities to influence audiences – your favorite movie or TV character can feel like a friend whose views on climate might affect your own.

In this episode, we connect moments like this to the broader media environment shaping how we understand the world. Can you be masculine and care about the climate? Can watching a character take charge of the future onscreen actually change what people believe they can do in real life? And can the stories we consume ultimately shape public attitudes and even policy outcomes?

Guests:

Allison Begalman, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Context Collaborative; Co-founder, Hollywood Climate Summit

Michael P. Haselhuhn, Associate Professor of Management, University of California, Riverside

Brent Suter, Baseball player, Los Angeles Angels; EcoAthletes Climate Champion

Highlights:

00:00 – Introduction

5:00 – Allison Begalman on why it’s important for climate to show up in popular culture

8:45 – Unpacking a climate-themed scene from the show “Hacks”

13:00 – Unpacking a climate-themed scene from “The Morning Show”

16:30 – Bringing new people in at the Hollywood Climate Summit

23:15 – Michael P. Haselhuhn on how men’s views on masculinity and climate change are linked

33:25 – Masculinity is multifaceted

34:30 – Kousha goes to an MMA cage fight to ask guys about their views on masculinity

40:15 – Brent Suter on where he got his nickname, “The Raptor”

42:00 – His reaction to seeing “An Inconvenient Truth” as a young person

44:00 – Speaking out against fossil fuel endorsements for pro sports

49:20 – Suter on how his faith drives his climate activism

54:30 – How Suter talks to his teammates about climate and the environment

57:40 – Climate One More ThingFor show notes and related links, visit our episode page at ClimateOne.org

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Join Climate One for an electric conversation on September 1 at 6 p.m. between PG&E CEO Patti Poppe and California State Senator Scott Wiener about energy affordability, outages, and whether cities like San Francisco are ready to break up with the investor owned utility model. Tickets available at climateone.org/events

***

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.

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