Airplanes are a significant source of emissions and air pollution, but are increasingly critical to many of the functions of our everyday lives. This week, we spoke with Adam Cohen, a researcher from the UC Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies, who studies Advanced Air Mobility – a set of policies and technologies that work to make air transport cleaner, more sustainable and more equitable.
This week, we spoke with Rev. Dr. Jeremy Summers of the Evangelical Environmental Network, who highlights how “creation care” connects Christian faith with climate action. He emphasizes that protecting the environment means protecting people, especially the poor and vulnerable most affected by pollution and climate change.
How can we reimagine the construction industry to be more sustainable? Plantd, a company dedicated to developing sustainable construction materials, seeks to answer this question through developing a new form of wood materials. We spoke with Plantd CEO Nathan Silvernail about the company’s goals and achievements.
AquaFreezing is a proposed renewable energy method to slow Arctic ice loss by pumping seawater onto the surface, where it refreezes and thickens ice. This week, we spoke with Simon Woods, co-founder and executive chairman of Real Ice, about how this approach could delay a “blue ocean event” and buy time for emissions cuts, despite high costs and scaling challenges.
Potential adverse effects of climate change, known as climate risks, increasingly concern economists, city planners, ecologists, and many others. This week, we spoke with Dr. Ron Dembo, an expert in multi-factor scenario modeling, who is pioneering the use of AI to run climate risk assessments.
Dr. Omar Yaghi has recently led research in developing “Covalent organic framework number 999,” or COF 999, a yellow, powder-like material that has the potential to change make great steps forward in limiting carbon dioxide emissions. Just half a pound of the powder can absorb as much carbon dioxide in a year as a full grown tree. This week, we spoke with Dr. Yaghi about COF 999 and what it can do.
Temperature increases from climate change can cause substantial damage to coral reefs. Coral are animals that form hard structures of calcium chloride, similar to the shell of a crab. These structures house coral colonies, as well as the algae that provides food for the coral. If local water temperature rises, the coral will expel the algae, losing a major source of energy. This event is called “bleaching”, and it has been recorded in the U.S., Southeast Asia, and the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) near Australia. To combat this ecosystem-destroying event, scientists in Australia, like Dr. Saskia Jurriaans, have developed a method to restore reefs, known as coral IVF. This technique consists of growing baby corals in specialty pools, and returning them to the reef of interest.
Over the past few centuries, the carbon levels in our soils have significantly decreased as a result of agricultural practices exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Despite this loss, stable carbon storage remains crucial for healthy soil and climate resilience. On this week’s Climate Break, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Loam Bio, Tegan Nock explains a new way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it underground.
Fears of wildfires grow as more intense and dangerous burnings occur. However, what if there was a need for more wildfires for our environment? We spoke with Dr. Melinda Adams to learn more about the significance of fires in our ecosystems and the practice of cultural burning through Indigenous efforts to restore ecosystems.
How can local governments can help advance clean energy technology? Investor-owned utilities dominate the electricity market in the United States, but community choice aggregators let municipalities control their own energy strategy.