Resources Radio

Host Daniel Raimi talks with Sharon Shewmake, a professor of environmental economics at Western Washington University. Shewmake also represents Washington's 42nd legislative district in the state's House of Representatives. Shewmake discusses Washington's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the power sector to zero by 2045, other state policies that affect energy and the environment, and how researchers can more effectively engage with policymakers. References and recommendations: "A Trailblazing Plan to Fight California Wildfires” by Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker; https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/26/a-trailblazing-plan-to-fight-california-wildfires "So, Should We Recycle?" by Planet Money; https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=741283641

Host Daniel Raimi talks with Robert Bonnie, Rubinstein fellow at Duke University. Bonnie is an expert on many things, but in this episode, he talks about the role that forests play in energy, climate change, and more. Raimi asks Bonnie about the past, present, and future of wood energy in the United States and globally, and what role forests might play in helping to achieve deep decarbonization goals. They also talk about the challenges that this issue raises, including developing markets to incentivize reforestation, land use competition, and much more. References and recommendations: "Boom Town" by Sam Anderson; https://buff.ly/2NCsCQb "Between Two Fires" by Stephen Pine; https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/between-two-fires "Sapiens" by Yuval Noah Harari; https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiens/

This week, we talk with Ya-Wei Li, Director of Biodiversity at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC). Ya-Wei is an expert on the Endangered Species Act, a law that's been in the news recently because the Trump administration has proposed a number of changes to the way the Act is administered and enforced. We'll get Ya-Wei's take on which changes are most important, what effect they'll have on species and their habitat, and whether media coverage of the proposed changes has been overwrought. References and recommendations: "A Guide to the Revised Endangered Species Regulations" by Environmental Policy Innovation Center; http://policyinnovation.org/esaregs19/ "Last week's endangered species regulations: what really happened?" by Ya-Wei Li; https://buff.ly/2HgP6lR Sage Grouse Mating Dances; https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sage+grouse "Noah's Choice: The Future of the Endangered Species Act" by Mann and Plummer; https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/329264.Noah_s_Choice

This week, we are rebroadcasting host Daniel Raimi's 2018 interview with Gilbert Metcalf, the John DiBiaggio Professor of Citizenship and Public Service; Professor of Economics; and Graduate Program Director at Tufts University’s Department of Economics. Daniel talks to Gib about his new book, "Paying for Pollution: Why a Carbon Tax is Good for America." We are re-airing this interview because several federal carbon pricing bills have recently been proposed in the US Congress, raising renewed interest in carbon pricing. References and recommendations: "The Year of the Carbon Pricing Proposal" by Marc Hafstead; https://www.resourcesmag.org/common-resources/the-year-of-the-carbon-pricing-proposal/ "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History" by Elizabeth Kolbert; www.goodreads.com/book/show/179100…sixth-extinction "Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America" by Eliza Griswold; www.goodreads.com/book/show/367229…y-and-prosperity "Confronting the Climate Challenge: US Policy Options" by Lawrence Goulder and Marc Hafstead; cup.columbia.edu/book/confronting…ge/9780231179027 "Paying for Pollution: Why a Carbon Tax is Good for America" by Gilbert Metcalf; global.oup.com/academic/product/…97?cc=us&lang=en&

Host Daniel Raimi talks with Professor Sanya Carley of Indiana University's O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Daniel and Sanya discuss her work on the "just" transition, which addresses questions like, how do climate policies affect energy affordability for low-income households, how do they affect the well-being of energy producing communities, and what approaches might help reduce the unwanted side effects of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector? References and recommendations: "The Overstory" by Richard Powers; http://www.richardpowers.net/the-overstory/ “Why Setting a Climate Deadline is Dangerous” by Shinichiro Asayama; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0543-4

Host Daniel Raimi talks with Professor Shahzeen Attari of the Indiana University's O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Daniel and Shahzeen discuss her work on how the personal behavior of climate change communicators can affect the reception of their message. If a climate scientist uses a lot of energy at home or is a frequent flyer, do they lose credibility? It's a really challenging question—one that Shahzeen's work illuminates. The results, and this conversation, can help all of us think critically about our own energy use. References and recommendations: "Climate Change Communicators’ Carbon Footprints Affect Their Audience’s Policy Support" by Shahzeen Z. Attari, David H. Krantz, and Elke U. Weber; https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-019-02463-0 "Statements about Climate Researchers’ Carbon Footprints Affect Their Credibility and the Impact of Their Advice" by Shahzeen Z. Attari, David H. Krantz, and Elke U. Weber; https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-016-1713-2 "The Overstory" by Richard Powers; http://www.richardpowers.net/the-overstory/ "New York 2140" by Kim Stanley Robinson; https://www.kimstanleyrobinson.info/content/new-york-2140 "First Reformed"; https://a24films.com/films/first-reformed "Years and Years"; https://www.hbo.com/years-and-years Author Ursula K. Le Guin; https://www.ursulakleguin.com/

Host Daniel Raimi talks with Professor Dorceta Taylor of the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. Daniel asks Professor Taylor about her research on the history of the environmental movement, focusing on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion within environmental groups, both historically and today. There’s been quite a bit of progress over the years, but there are still big challenges and plenty of room for improvement. References and recommendations: "The Rise of the American Conservation Movement" by Dorceta E. Taylor; https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-rise-of-the-american-conservation-movement "The State of Diversity in Environmental Organizations" by Dorceta E. Taylor, PhD; https://www.diversegreen.org/the-challenge/ Listen to the full interview (40 min) with Dr. Taylor: https://www.resourcesmag.org/resources-radio/challenge-diversity-environmental-movement-dorceta-taylor/

Host Daniel Raimi talks with Professor Todd Allen, chair of the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan. Todd and Daniel discuss Chernobyl—what caused the explosion, what is known about its health effects, and what lessons policymakers and nuclear engineers learned from the disaster. Todd and Daniel also comment on the recent HBO miniseries called "Chernobyl"—what did it get right, and where did it miss the mark? References and recommendations: "Lessons of Darkness"; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104706/ "Full Body Burden" by Kristen Iversen; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/216565/full-body-burden-by-kristen-iversen/9780307955654/ "The Grid" by Gretchen Bakke; https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-grid-9781608196104/

Host Daniel Raimi talks with Robert Stavins, the A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Daniel and Rob discuss the role that economics has played in shaping environmental policy, both in the past and today. As major proposals like the Green New Deal seem to be turning away from market-based approaches, long-advocated by most economists, Rob shares how he sees the role of environmental economics in today’s environmental policy landscape. References and recommendations: "Harlan County USA"; http://www.cabincreekfilms.com/films_harlancounty.html "Columbia Energy Exchange"; https://energypolicy.columbia.edu/podcast/columbia-energy-exchange

Host Kristin Hayes talks with Susan Clayton, the Whitmore-Williams Professor of Psychology and Chair of Environmental Studies at the College of Wooster. They discuss questions such as: why do some people care about environmental conservation more than others? How can policymakers and other decisionmakers encourage pro-environmental behavior? And how do we wrestle with our own human limitations in processing and trying to address climate change? References and Recommendations: "Rising" by Elizabeth Rush; https://milkweed.org/book/rising "The Psychology of Climate Change Communication" by the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University; http://guide.cred.columbia.edu/

Host Daniel Raimi talks with Susie Crate, a professor of anthropology at George Mason University. Susie discusses how she studies environmental issues through an anthropological lens and describes the community in northern Siberia that she's been studying since 1991. Daniel and Susie talk about how that community is being affected by climate change and how they are planning for the future. References and recommendations: "The Day the Dinosaurs Died" by Douglas Preston; https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/08/the-day-the-dinosaurs-died "The Anthropologist"; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2462276/

Host Daniel Raimi talks with Professor Subhrendu Pattanayak of Duke University. Over the last several years, Subhrendu has literally trekked the Himalayas to do research on how to provide access to electricity for communities in hard-to-reach places. Daniel and Subhrendu talk about what policy and market factors might make it easier to expand energy access, and Subhrendu explains how dynamics within these communities can affect the likelihood of small-scale electricity projects to succeed or fail. References and recommendations: "Earth" by Lil Dicky; (explicit) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvuN_WvF1to "Power to the Poor" by Morgan D. Bazilian; https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/africa/2015-02-16/power-poor "Reducing Risk for Private Investment in Off-Grid Energy" by Oliver Waissbein; https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/blog/2018/Reducing_risk_for_private_investment_in_off_grid_energy.html "Energizing Finance 2017" Sustainable Energy for All; https://www.seforall.org/interventions/energizing-finance/energizing-finance-2017 "Energizing Finance 2018" Sustainable Energy for All; https://www.seforall.org/interventions/energizing-finance/energizing-finance-2018 "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/43157/the-lorax-by-dr-seuss/9780394823379/

Host Daniel Raimi talks with RFF postdoctoral fellow Brian Prest about a little-known topic: refined coal. Brian and coauthor Alan Krupnick have published a new RFF working paper that takes a close look at a $1-billion-a-year federal subsidy for refined coal. So, what is refined coal? What's the purpose of the subsidy? And does the subsidy deliver? References and recommendations: "How Clean is Refined Coal?" by Brian C. Prest and Alan Krupnick; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/how-clean-is-refined-coal/ "The Last Lobster: Boom or Bust for Maine's Greatest Fishery" by Christopher White; https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250080851

Host Daniel Raimi talks with Jay Bartlett—a research associate at RFF—about his recent work on wind energy development. Jay explains how wind projects actually get built, i.e., how developers raise money for their projects and who they sell their electricity to. Daniel and Jay also discuss how state and federal policies shape these markets, and how the coming changes in the policy landscape are likely to affect future wind development. References and recommendations: "Reducing Risk in Merchant Wind and Solar Projects through Financial Hedges" by Jay Bartlett; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/reducing-risk-merchant-wind-and-solar-projects-through-financial-hedges/ "News of the World" by Paulette Jiles; https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25817493-news-of-the-world "The Son" by Philipp Meyer; https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16240761-the-son "Our Planet;" www.netflix.com/title/80049832

Host Daniel Raimi talks with Dr. Sue Lieberman, vice president for International Policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society. They discuss a major new report that synthesizes the literature on the global state of biodiversity. The report warns about a variety of risks, including species extinction, habitat degradation, food insecurity, and much more. Sue describes the scale of some of these risks, and shares her views on how policymakers can respond to prevent them. References and recommendations: IPBES Summary; https://www.ipbes.net/news/ipbes-global-assessment-preview "The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming" by David Wallace-Wells; https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41552709-the-uninhabitable-earth "Our Planet;" https://www.netflix.com/title/80049832 "Why the Guardian is Changing the Language it Uses about the Environment;" https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/17/why-the-guardian-is-changing-the-language-it-uses-about-the-environment