Climate One At The Commonwealth Club

You know that cartoon where the guy has a light bulb over his head and then “bing” it goes on? Well, America is having a collective “light bulb” moment these days. And it’s powered by solar energy. Solar panels are 50% cheaper than just 5 years ago. And energy from the wind is looking just as bright. Today, we’re taking a look at the explosion of clean energy alternatives, how we’re pumping it into new cars and our plans for carrying it over a new electric grid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the quest for a carbon-neutral lifestyle, it can be difficult to sort out which activities have the greatest negative impact on our climate, from driving a car to eating animal products. The documentary Cowspiracy, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, contends that animal agriculture is the number one source of climate killing pollution, and environmental non-profits are colluding to keep this information from the American public. Kip Andersen, Founder, AUM Films and Media Nicolette Hahn Niman, Author, Defending Beef Jonathan Kaplan, Director, Food and Agriculture Program, Natural Resources Defense Council This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 20, 2016 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Global warming is hitting closer to home than we think, from a neighborhood child gasping with asthma to a parent collapsing from heatstroke. These realities led U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to assert in April that climate change presents the most complex threat to public health in U.S. history. Rachel Morello-Frosch, Professor, University of California, Berkeley Linda Rudolph, Director, Center for Climate Change and Health, Public Health Institute Robert Gould, Director of Health Professional Outreach and Education, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, UCSF Katrina Peters, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCSF This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on April 5, 2016 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

The historic climate summit in Paris is behind us. And nations around the world are turning their attention to the lofty promises made. Yet scientists and politicians agree that these goals for dialing back global warming are only the tip of the iceberg. With 2015 breaking the record for the hottest year ever, and 2014 holding the number two spot, plans for coping with an increasingly hot and dry world need to be part of the strategy as well. And facing this future can be scary, so we’ll also explore ideas for how to handle the anxiety and stress that many of us are feeling about all this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s electric cars are more fun to drive than ever. And for many, they’re more affordable too. Will California reach its goal of a million EVs by 2020? Sherry Boschert, Co-founder, Plug In America; Author, Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars That Will Recharge America (New Society, 2006) Eileen Tutt, Executive Director, California Electric Transportation Coalition Charlie Vogelheim, Principal, Vogelheim Ventures This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on February 24, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coffee, beer and chocolate – oh my! How is global warming affecting our beloved guilty pleasures? Can growers and producers adapt to a changing climate? Ken Grossman, Co-Founder & CEO, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Paul Katzeff, Founder & CEO, Thanksgiving Coffee Company Brad Kintzer, Chief Chocolate Maker, TCHO Chocolate This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on November 20, 2014. 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

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

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

If climate change makes you feel anxious, depressed or powerless, psychologists say you’re not alone. Can talking it out help drive change? Joshua Freedman, CEO, Six Seconds; Author, Inside Change: Transforming Your Organization with Emotional Intelligence (Six Seconds, 2010) Renee Lertzman, Climate Engagement Strategist Joan Blades, Co-founder, LivingRoomConversations.org This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 27, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly 200 countries have pledged to go on a carbon diet. But does what happens in Paris, stay in Paris? How does the US plan to keep its climate promises? Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of Energy Hal Harvey, CEO, Energy Innovation Danny Kennedy, Managing Director, California Clean Energy Fund Lyndon Rive, Co-founder and CEO, SolarCity This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 26, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Radical protestersTim 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

We’ll never win the climate change challenge if we don’t change the way we make and drive cars. In the U.S. personal vehicles account for nearly one fifth of all our greenhouse gas emissions. And if you add in trucks, trains, planes and ships, it’s more than a quarter of our contribution to climate pollution. So how do we cut down on carbon coming out of the tailpipe? Or… maybe it’s time to give up on gasoline altogether. Is the carbon-free, electric vehicle ready for primetime? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ride-sharing, biking, bussing – when it comes to getting around, there’s a growing menu of ala carte wheels to choose from. Can we curb our cars for good? Tom Nolan, Chairman of the Board, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Jeff Hobson, Acting Executive Director, TransForm Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Staff Reporter, San Francisco Examiner Padden Murphy, Head of Public Policy & Business Development, Getaround Chakib Ayadi, Executive Board Member, San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance Ozzie Arce, driver for Lyft This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on June 22, 2015. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Asian economy booms, its people have paid the price in polluted air and water. Can business and government solve Asia’s environmental problems? Mark Clifford, Author, The Greening of Asia: The Business Case for Solving Asia’s Environmental Emergency (Columbia University Press, 2015) Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director, Center on U.S.-China Relations, Asia Society in New York Stella Li, Senior Vice President, BYD Company Ltd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new American Dream is an energy-efficient home in a healthy, green community, and HUD Secretary Julián Castro wants to make it affordable for everyone. Julián Castro, Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest recipient of the Stephen Schneider Award calls COP21 “a turning point,” but warns that there’s still much to be done to combat global warming. Chris Field, Director, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science Ken Alex, Director, Governor Brown’s Office of Planning and Research Jane Lubchenco, University Distinguished Professor and Advisor in Marine Studies, Oregon State University and U.S. Science Envoy for the Ocean This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on December 15, 2015. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The meat industry has been much maligned for its part in climate change. But can raising cattle in pastures help turn global warming into global greening? Diana Donlon, Director, Cool Foods Campaign, Center for Food Safety Nicolette Hahn Niman, Author, Defending Beef: The Case for Sustainable Meat Production (Chelsea Green, 2014) Whendee Silver, Professor of Ecology, University of California, Berkeley This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on January 29, 2015. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The path towards a clean energy future entails reducing our carbon footprint. But can we actually shrink that footprint down to nothing? That’s the idea behind “net zero” – using no more energy than the clean, green energy we can create. Landfills are another target of the zero movement; put nothing at all in the trash bin. Solutions range from recycling competitions to carrying your trash on your back – just to feel how garbage is weighing us down. Around the country, states, communities and individuals are racing to zero. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices