In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Danae Hernández-Cortés, an assistant professor at Arizona State University, about a recent study that investigates how California’s cap-and-trade program affects levels of harmful pollutants in environmental justice communities. Hernández-Cortés discusses how carbon markets can shift concentrations of local air pollutants, environmental justice outcomes of the cap-and-trade program in California, and the need for policies that target issues of environmental justice.

References and recommendations:

“Do environmental markets cause environmental injustice? Evidence from California’s carbon market” by Danae Hernández-Cortés and Kyle C. Meng; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272722001888

“Cracking the Case of the Vanishing Air Pollution Data, with Eric Zou” on Resources Radio; https://www.resources.org/resources-radio/cracking-the-case-of-the-vanishing-air-pollution-data-with-eric-zou/

“The Bat Man” episode of the “Radio Ambulante” podcast; https://radioambulante.org/en/audio-en/the-bat-man (English translation of the transcript: https://radioambulante.org/en/translation/the-bat-man-translation)

Does Cap and Trade Exacerbate Environmental Injustice in California?, with Danae Hernández-Cortés

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with John D. Leshy, an emeritus professor at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, about the history of public lands in the United States. Leshy discusses the legislation that enabled the creation and conservation of public lands, common myths about public lands, and how the government may open up public lands for mining or clean energy projects in the future.

References and recommendations:

“Our Common Ground: A History of America’s Public Lands” by John D. Leshy; https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300235784/our-common-ground/

“The Mining Law: A Study in Perpetual Motion” by John D. Leshy; https://www.routledge.com/The-Mining-Law-A-Study-in-Perpetual-Motion/Leshy/p/book/9781138951877

“End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World’s Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals” by Ross D. E. MacPhee; https://wwnorton.com/books/End-of-the-Megafauna/

A History of America’s Public Lands, with John D. Leshy

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Rami talks with Heather Randell, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, about dams and reservoirs that have been built on Native American reservations in the United States. Reservoirs are built by damming a river and flooding an area of land; in the United States, Native American reservations have been disrupted by the construction of reservoirs, dispossessed of their land despite longstanding treaties with the US government. Randell discusses the history of the development of dams on reservation lands, the social and economic effects of dams on Native nations, and how the repair or removal of dams can benefit Native nations today.

References and recommendations:

“Dams and Tribal Land Loss in the United States” by Heather Randell and Andrew Curley; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acd268

“Dammed Indians” by Michael L. Lawson; https://books.google.com/books/about/Dammed_Indians.html?id=uuPAasyix8EC

“Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman’s Search for Justice in Indian Country” by Sierra Crane Murdoch; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/545014/yellow-bird-by-sierra-crane-murdoch/

The Effects of Dams on Tribal Lands, Heather Randell

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Lala Ma, an associate professor of economics at the University of Kentucky and a new university fellow at Resources for the Future, about the effect on housing prices in California of informing homebuyers about the risk of wildfire. Ma discusses how California classifies and discloses the risk of wildfire throughout the state, the difference in housing prices between areas in which wildfire risk is disclosed and areas where that disclosure isn’t mandated, and factors that may influence the willingness of an individual to pay more to avoid wildfire risk.

References and recommendations:

“Risk Disclosure and Home Prices: Evidence from California Wildfire Hazard Zones” by Lala Ma, Margaret A. Walls, Matthew Wibbenmeyer, and Connor Lennon; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/risk-disclosure-and-home-prices-evidence-from-california-wildfire-hazard-zones

Books by Emily Oster, including “Expecting Better” and “Cribsheet”; https://emilyoster.net/writing/

“The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind” by Melissa S. Kearney; https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/T/bo205550079.html

Wildfire Risks and Home Prices, with Lala Ma

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Kristin Hayes, senior director for research and policy engagement at Resources for the Future, about her experience at the wheel of an electric vehicle (EV). This episode continues a multipart series on EVs, which covers the most practical matters that EV users need to know. In this fourth episode of the series, Hayes discusses her experience with charging stations on a recent long-distance road trip, the comparison between the fuel costs of driving an EV versus a hybrid or internal combustion engine vehicle, and possible research questions about the future of uptake and infrastructure for EVs in the United States.

This is the final episode in our series on EVs. As you listen, please still feel free to let us know if we’ve missed any questions that you’re curious about; we may address those in a future podcast episode or blog post. Next week, the podcast will return to our normally scheduled programming, which explores all aspects of environmental economics.

-----

Related episodes in this series:

Demystifying Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Sebastian Blanco; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/demystifying-electric-vehicle-ownership-with-sebastian-blanco

Innovations in Electric Vehicle Batteries, with Micah Ziegler; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/innovations-in-electric-vehicle-batteries-with-micah-ziegler

Expanding Access to Electric Vehicle Chargers, with Kimathi Boothe; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/expanding-access-to-electric-vehicle-chargers-with-kimathi-boothe

Electric Road Trip: The Pros and Cons of Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Kristin Hayes; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/electric-road-trip-the-pros-and-cons-of-electric-vehicle-ownership-with-kristin-hayes

-----

References and recommendations:

“How to Know a Person” by David Brooks; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652822/how-to-know-a-person-by-david-brooks/

Electric Road Trip: The Pros and Cons of Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Kristin Hayes

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls sits in on the annual conference of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists to talk with Daniel Phaneuf, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, about Phaneuf’s work on estimating the value of outdoor spaces for recreation. Phaneuf discusses methods for estimating the value of nonmarket goods (e.g., outdoor recreation sites) and the influence of environmental conditions, like water quality, on people’s choices regarding the use of outdoor recreation sites. Phaneuf also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of locational cell phone data and the implications of this data for future estimates of the value of outdoor recreation sites.

References and recommendations:

“Best Practices for Implementing Recreation Demand Models” by Frank Lupi, Daniel J. Phaneuf, and Roger H. von Haefen; https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1093/reep/reaa007

Author Arthur C. Brooks at the “Atlantic” magazine; https://www.theatlantic.com/author/arthur-c-brooks/

“Harvard’s Arthur C. Brooks on the Secrets to Happiness at Work” from Harvard Business Review; https://hbr.org/2023/09/harvards-arthur-c-brooks-on-the-secrets-to-happiness-at-work

What Can Cell Phone Data Tell Us about Outdoor Recreation?, with Daniel Phaneuf

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Chiara Lo Prete, an associate professor of energy economics at Penn State University, about the design of electricity markets in the United States. Lo Prete discusses the differences among electricity markets in different regions of the country; efforts to ensure that electric utilities can meet demand for electricity under adverse conditions, such as extreme weather events; and new designs of electricity markets that aim to accommodate both growing demand for electricity and the further integration of renewable energy resources into the US electric grid.

References and recommendations:

“Time for a Market Upgrade? A Review of Wholesale Electricity Market Designs for the Future” by Chiara Lo Prete, Karen Palmer, and Molly Robertson; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/review-of-wholesale-electricity-market-designs-for-the-future/

“Superpower: One Man’s Quest to Transform American Energy” by Russell Gold; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Superpower/Russell-Gold/9781501163593

“4 3 2 1” by Paul Auster; https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250618801/4-3-2-1

Designing the Electricity Markets of the Future, with Chiara Lo Prete

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Daniel Farber, a professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley, about Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, a Supreme Court case decided earlier this summer that overturned decades of precedent set under a 1984 case that itself led to a legal principle, or doctrine, that people call the Chevron deference. The Chevron deference is a long-standing legal precedent that required courts to defer to the application of laws as interpreted by government agencies if the relevant statute was ambiguous and if the interpretation made by the agency was reasonable. Farber discusses the history of the Chevron deference, the legal arguments that the current Supreme Court justices asserted in the decision that overturned Chevron, and the implications of this decision for future environmental regulation and policymaking.

References and recommendations:

“Après Chevron, Judges Rule” blog post by Alan Krupnick, Joshua Linn, and Nathan Richardson; https://www.resources.org/common-resources/apres-chevron-judges-rule/

“The Regulatory Review” blog; https://www.theregreview.org/

“Legal Planet” blog; https://legal-planet.org/

Implications of the Supreme Court Overturning the Chevron Decision, with Daniel Farber

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Catherine Hausman, an associate professor at the University of Michigan, about the costs of not building new electricity transmission lines, particularly in the Midwestern United States. Hausman discusses the benefits of additional electricity transmission for consumer electricity prices, emissions reductions, and electrification of the economy; the companies that may gain or lose revenue if more transmission is built; and how companies that stand to lose revenue from more transmission are preventing the construction of new transmission.

References and recommendations:

“Power Flows: Transmission Lines, Allocative Efficiency, and Corporate Profits” by Catherine Hausman; https://www.nber.org/papers/w32091

“Transmission Impossible? Prospects for Decarbonizing the US Grid” by Lucas W. Davis, Catherine Hausman, and Nancy L. Rose; https://www.nber.org/papers/w31377

“Dog Man” books; https://pilkey.com/series/dog-man

“Golden Hill: A Novel of Old New York” by Francis Spufford; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Golden-Hill/Francis-Spufford/9781501163883

“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611060/project-hail-mary-by-andy-weir/

Power Flows: Understanding the Barriers to Electricity Transmission, with Catherine Hausman

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Stephen Jarvis, an assistant professor at the London School of Economics, about local opposition—often called “NIMBYism,” or Not In My Backyard—to renewable energy projects in the United Kingdom and the cost this opposition adds to the clean energy transition. Jarvis discusses the permitting process for renewable energy projects in the United Kingdom, how the local impacts of these projects often outweigh broader societal benefits in the permitting process, and potential solutions to better align local and societal interests for a more efficient and equitable clean energy transition.

References and recommendations:

“The Economic Costs of NIMBYism: Evidence from Renewable Energy Projects” by Stephen Jarvis, https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/732801

“Wilding” by Isabella Tree; https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/isabella-tree/wilding/9781509805105

“The Overstory” by Richard Powers; https://www.richardpowers.net/the-overstory/

“Playground” by Richard Powers; https://www.richardpowers.net/playground/

“Extraction/Abstraction” by Edward Burtynski; https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/bookstore-inventory/extraction-abstraction-2024

What Does NIMBYism Cost Society?, with Stephen Jarvis

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Sanya Carley, a professor and faculty director at the University of Pennsylvania and a university fellow at Resources for the Future, about energy poverty in the United States. Carley discusses the problem of utility disconnections, which occurs when a utility turns off a household’s water, electricity, or heat; the potentially risky strategies that households employ to avoid shutoffs by reducing energy consumption and costs; the groups that are most vulnerable to disconnection; and potential improvements to government programs that help low-income households pay utility bills.

References and recommendations:

“Behavioral and financial coping strategies among energy-insecure households” by Sanya Carley, Michelle Graff, David M. Konisky, and Trevor Memmott; https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2205356119

“Assessing demographic vulnerability and weather impacts on utility disconnections in California” by Trevor Memmott, David M. Konisky, and Sanya Carley; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53913-y

“Which households are energy insecure? An empirical analysis of race, housing conditions, and energy burdens in the United States” by Michelle Graff, Sanya Carley, David M. Konisky, and Trevor Memmott; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629621002371

Utility Disconnections Dashboard; https://energyjustice.indiana.edu/disconnection-dashboard/index.html

“The incidence of extreme economic stress: Evidence from utility disconnections” by Steve Cicala; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272721000979

“High temperatures and electricity disconnections for low-income homes in California” by Alan Barreca, R. Jisung Park, and Paul Stainier; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-022-01134-2

“Minnesota’s energy paradox: Household energy insecurity in the face of racial and economic disparities” by Bhavin Pradhan and Gabriel Chan; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1040619024000587

“The Night Watchman” by Louise Erdrich; https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-night-watchman-louise-erdrich

Energy Poverty and Utility Disconnections in the United States, with Sanya Carley

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls speaks with Carolyn Kousky, associate vice president for economics and policy at Environmental Defense Fund, about the instability of markets for homeowners insurance, especially in states that are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Kousky and Walls explore the key drivers of this instability, including the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, insurance costs, and consequent strain on insurers that must pay more substantial claims. Kousky discusses challenges in the accessibility and affordability of homeowners insurance, along with policy interventions that can support equitable responses to extreme weather events and improve resilience following future disasters. Kousky also introduces her new nonprofit, Insurance for Good, which aims to bridge gaps between research and practice in terms of this affordability, equity, and resilience.

References and recommendations:

Insurance for Good; https://www.insuranceforgood.org/

“Wildfire Insurance Availability as a Risk Signal” by Xuesong You, Carolyn Kousky, and Ajita Atreya; https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5017469

“Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense” by Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell, and Robert MacCoun; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/saul-perlmutter-phd/third-millennium-thinking/9780316438308/

“Change: How to Make Big Things Happen” by Damon Centola; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/damon-centola/change/9781549152092/

Reimagining Homeowners Insurance, with Carolyn Kousky

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Aaron Cosbey, a senior associate at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, about the future of climate policy in Canada. The newly elected leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, Mark Carney, has replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister and likely will face Pierre Poilievre, the leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, in a general election. Cosbey discusses the consequences of these election outcomes for a controversial policy that taxes Canadians for consuming fossil fuels—though this policy also issues rebates of equivalent value, or more, to most Canadians. Cosbey also discusses how the Liberal and Conservative Parties differ in their views on carbon pricing, why the fuel tax on consumers is no longer politically viable, and what emissions-reduction policies Carney may support if the Liberal Party wins a general election.

References and recommendations:

“The New Abolitionism” by Chris Hayes; https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/new-abolitionism/

The End of Canada’s Carbon Price?, with Aaron Cosbey

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Jonathan Jennings, a meteorologist at the Utah Division of Water Resources and president of the Weather Modification Association. Jennings’s work focuses on cloud seeding, a technology that can reduce hail and increase rainfall or snowfall by introducing chemicals into clouds, yielding more water for agriculture, aquifers, and bodies of water. Jennings outlines the chemistry and physics behind cloud seeding, how much additional precipitation the technology can elicit from clouds, and the scale at which cloud seeding is used. He also speaks to public concerns about modifying weather and shares insights on how experts can better communicate the goals, methods, and impacts of this technology to the public.

References and recommendations:

“Economic Impacts of Cloud Seeding on Agricultural Crops in North Dakota” by Dean Bangsund and Nancy Hodur; https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/291806

“A Benefit-Cost Analysis of Texas Weather Modification Activities Resulting in an Additional One Inch of Rainfall Across a Region” by Jason L. Johnson; https://perma.cc/ERJ6-HGLZ

“Bitter Waters: The Struggles of the Pecos River” by Patrick Dearen; https://www.oupress.com/9780806152011/bitter-waters/

Economic Effects and Public Concerns from Cloud Seeding, with Jonathan Jennings

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Angela Parker, an assistant professor at the University of Denver and member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Cree Tribes. Parker recently published a book on the history of the Three Affiliated Tribes—the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara—who live on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. This land, situated along the Missouri River, became the site of the Garrison Dam, a project built by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the 1940s and 1950s that flooded parts of the reservation and forced roughly 90 percent of the Native population to relocate to higher ground. Parker discusses the cultural and ecological significance of the Missouri River to the Three Affiliated Tribes, the efforts of community members to resist the dam’s construction, and the lasting  negative impacts of the dam.

References and recommendations:

“Damming the Reservation: Tribal Sovereignty and Activism at Fort Berthold” by Angela K. Parker; https://www.oupress.com/9780806194615/damming-the-reservation/

Image of George Gillette signing a contract for the sale of Fort Berthold land; https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/indian-weeps-at-land-sale-washington-dc-george-gillette-news-photo/515360260

“The Effects of Dams on Tribal Lands, with Heather Randell” episode of the Resources Radio podcast; https://www.resources.org/resources-radio/the-effects-of-dams-on-tribal-lands-with-heather-randell/

“The Pitt” television show; https://www.max.com/shows/pitt-2024/e6e7bad9-d48d-4434-b334-7c651ffc4bdf

“Careless People” by Sarah Wynn-Williams; https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250391230/carelesspeople/

Flooding Fort Berthold: The History of Three Native American Tribes and One Dam, with Angela Parker

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Fiona Burlig, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, about improving access to clean drinking water in India. In partnership with a private company that cleans drinking water and delivers water directly to households, Burlig recently conducted a field experiment to find out how different pricing strategies and subsidies influence people’s willingness to pay for clean drinking water; she and her colleagues gauged the effectiveness of these strategies by monitoring health outcomes for households that had varying levels of access to clean water. Burlig discusses the design and findings of her study, what these findings reveal about how people value clean water, and the involvement of both the public and private sectors in expanding access to clean water in developing nations.

References and recommendations:

“The Value of Clean Water: Experimental Evidence from Rural India” by Fiona Burlig, Amir Jina, and Anant Sudarshan; https://www.nber.org/papers/w33557

“Development Impact” blog from the World Bank; https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/impactevaluations

Valuing Access to Clean Drinking Water in India, with Fiona Burlig

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Robert D. Metcalfe, a professor at Columbia University. Metcalfe recently coauthored a study of the levels of invisible particulate matter released in the air during everyday household activities like cooking and cleaning, exposure to which has been linked to health problems. He shares key findings on trends in indoor air quality, how people change their behavior when made aware of pollution levels in their homes, and the potential benefits and trade-offs of government subsidies for indoor air quality monitoring technologies. Metcalfe also highlights what areas of future research could inform this field and guide more effective interventions for public health and policy.

References and recommendations:

“Making the Invisible Visible: The Impact of Revealing Indoor Air Pollution on Behavior and Welfare” by Robert D. Metcalfe and Sefi Roth; https://www.nber.org/papers/w33510

Seeing the Invisible: Responses to Indoor Air Pollution, with Robert D. Metcalfe

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Sandeep Pai, director of climate and energy policy at Swaniti Global. Pai grew up in India’s coal belt; he has spent his career examining the coal and energy sectors in India, first as a journalist and now as a researcher and advisor focused on justice in the clean energy transition. He joins the podcast to discuss India’s energy and power sectors: the unique trajectory of the country in first carbonizing its economy and now decarbonizing and building out its renewable energy sector while balancing its goals for economic development. Pai also discusses what justice in the energy transition looks like in different contexts around the world, and how political and social realities shape the challenges and considerations involved in building an equitable clean energy future.

References and recommendations:

“The Climate Question” podcast from the BBC; https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xtvb6

What’s the Role of Coal in India?, with Sandeep Pai

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with McKenna Peplinski, a senior research associate at Resources for the Future, about delays in building up the infrastructure that delivers electricity to the United States. Many electric power projects, such as bids for new generators and transmission lines, are waiting in long queues to connect to the grid. In a recent study she coauthored, Peplinski examines the consequences of these delays in building out power infrastructure by comparing two scenarios that the research team modeled: one in which projects move forward on schedule, and another in which projects get stalled. She shares the research findings, which reveal that these delays have negative consequences for energy costs, emissions from power plants, public health, and the feasibility of adding renewable energy sources to the grid.

References and recommendations:

“Power Delayed: Economic Effects of Electricity Transmission and Generation Development Delays” by Daniel Shawhan, McKenna Peplinski, Sally Robson, Ethan Russell, Ethan Ziegler, and Karen Palmer; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/power-delayed-economic-effects-of-electricity-transmission-and-generation-development-delays/

“Clean Power Delayed: Effects of Infrastructure Delays on Health, Environment, and US Households” by Daniel Shawhan, McKenna Peplinski, Sally Robson, Ethan Russell, Ethan Ziegler, and Karen Palmer; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/clean-power-delayed-effects-of-infrastructure-delays-on-health-environment-and-us-households/

“Decarbonize Your Life” from Heatmap News; https://heatmap.news/decarbonize-your-life

Power Delayed: The Hidden Costs of Postponing Power Projects, with McKenna Peplinski

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Madeline Yozwiak, a PhD candidate at Indiana University Bloomington, about the potential of residential rooftop solar technology to address the growing problem of household energy insecurity in the United States. Energy insecurity—the inability to access or afford sufficient energy to meet basic household needs—affects about one in four US households. In a recent study she coauthored, Yozwiak evaluated whether rooftop solar can reduce energy burden by comparing the experiences and energy expenses of otherwise similar households, with and without rooftop solar. She shares findings from the study, which suggest that rooftop solar can lead to significant savings on energy bills and improve overall utility affordability.

References and recommendations:

“The effect of residential solar on energy insecurity among low- to moderate-income households” by Madeline Yozwiak, Galen Barbose, Sanya Carley, Sydney P. Forrester, David M. Konisky, Trevor Memmott, Cristina Crespo Montañés, and Eric O’Shaughnessy; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01730-y

“Rooftop solar can reduce energy insecurity” by Madeline Yozwiak; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01750-8

“Strangers in Their Own Land” by Arlie Russell Hochschild; https://thenewpress.org/books/9781620972250/

Who Benefits from Rooftop Solar—and How Much?, with Madeline Yozwiak

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Varun Sivaram, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and founder and CEO of Emerald AI, about how “climate realism” could shape the future of US climate policy. In a recent article for the Council on Foreign Relations, Sivaram lays out the case for climate realism—an approach to US climate policy that both realistically prepares for the consequences of climate change and advances American foreign policy objectives. Sivaram explains and defends his arguments for climate realism, which include contentious claims about the feasibility of reaching global climate targets, US contributions to global emissions, and the economic benefits of the clean energy transition. Sivaram then outlines an alternative vision for US climate policy that promotes investments in clean technology and action in the international arena to mitigate the worst consequences of climate change.

References and recommendations:

“We Need a Fresh Approach to Climate Policy. It’s Time for Climate Realism” by Varun Sivaram; https://www.cfr.org/article/we-need-fresh-approach-climate-policy-its-time-climate-realism

“The Most Powerful People You’ve Never Heard Of” episode of the Freakonomics podcast; https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-most-powerful-people-youve-never-heard-of/

“The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources” by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy; https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-world-for-sale-9780197651537

“Reflecting on Solar Geoengineering, with David Keith” from the Resources Radio podcast; https://www.resources.org/resources-radio/reflecting-solar-geoengineering-david-keith/

A New (and Controversial) Approach to Climate Policy, with Varun Sivaram

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Megan Lawson, an economist and researcher at Headwaters Economics, about how outdoor recreation economies support communities throughout the United States despite creating unique challenges for their residents. Many US communities that border public lands and scenic natural areas have recreation-dependent economies, meaning a majority of the local economy is driven by recreational activities and tourism. Lawson explains how recreation-dependent economies can be vulnerable to over-tourism, shortages in affordable housing, and increased risk of wildfires and floods. Lawson then unpacks the feasibility of public land sales to address challenges in making affordable housing available and describes ways to increase hazard resilience in recreation-dependent communities to protect full-time residents and visitors. 

References and recommendations:

“Housing on public lands will be limited by wildfire risk and development challenges” by Megan Lawson; https://headwaterseconomics.org/public-lands/wildfire-public-land-housing/

“If/Then: The Slippery Slope of Federal Land Sales” by Margaret Walls and Alexandra Thompson; https://www.resources.org/common-resources/if-then-the-slippery-slope-of-federal-land-sales/

“In Defense of Public Lands” by Steven Davis; http://tupress.temple.edu/books/in-defense-of-public-lands

“History of the Rain” by Niall Williams; https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/history-of-the-rain-9781620407707/


Recreation-Dependent Communities, Public Lands, and Housing Affordability, with Megan Lawson

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Ben Hertz-Shargel, global head of a research team at Wood Mackenzie that investigates the connections between energy consumers and the electric grid, about how the increasing energy demand from artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping electricity markets in the United States. In a recent report for Wood Mackenzie, Hertz-Shargel investigates large-load tariffs—a new utility rate plan for large customers, like data centers, whose exceptionally high electricity demand necessitates constructing additional infrastructure. Hertz-Shargel outlines ongoing uncertainty around whether the existing electricity market can accommodate data centers, along with potential avenues for data centers to promote clean energy development and protect individual energy consumers and households from undue electricity price increases.

References and recommendations:

“Large load tariffs: a looming challenge for utilities” by Ben Hertz-Shargel; https://www.woodmac.com/news/opinion/large-load-tariffs-a-looming-challenge-for-utilities/

“Large load tariffs have a problem. Clean transition tariffs are the solution.” by Ben Hertz-Shargel; https://www.utilitydive.com/news/large-load-clean-transition-tariffs-wood-mackenzie/749722/

“Extracting Profits from the Public: How Utility Ratepayers Are Paying for Big Tech’s Power” by Ari Peskoe and Eliza Martin; https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/extracting-profits-from-the-public-how-utility-ratepayers-are-paying-for-big-techs-power/

Large Loads: Who Bears the Costs of Meeting a Growing Demand for Electricity, with Ben Hertz-Shargel

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Danny Richter, director of the Pricing Carbon Initiative, about the existing suite of carbon pricing policies, a set of climate policy tools designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by requiring companies and other entities to pay for each ton of carbon dioxide they release into the atmosphere. Richter evaluates the international and domestic approaches to carbon pricing policies, explaining their history, uptake, and longevity. Richter highlights the flexibility of carbon pricing programs—which allows policymakers to tailor the sources and investment of revenues from carbon pricing to their unique policy priorities—as key to the long-term success of these programs. Richter then outlines shifting attitudes toward carbon pricing in the United States, highlighting how successful cap-and-invest initiatives emphasize the economic advantages of these policies while delivering climate benefits.

References and recommendations:

Pricing Carbon Initiative; https://pricingcarbon.org/

“Fourth Generation Carbon Prices” by Danny Richter; https://pricingcarbon.org/2024/11/fourth-generation-carbon-prices/

“Reserved: Carbon Pricing and the Dollar’s Special Status” by Danny Richter; https://pricingcarbon.org/2025/04/reserved-carbon-pricing-and-the-dollars-special-status/

Carbon Pricing Dashboard from the World Bank; https://carbonpricingdashboard.worldbank.org/

“How Carbon Border Adjustments Might Drive Global Climate Policy Momentum” by Kimberly Clausing, Milan Elkerbout, Katarina Nehrkorn, and Catherine Wolfram; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/how-carbon-border-adjustments-might-drive-global-climate-policy-momentum/

“Our Dollar, Your Problem” by Kenneth Rogoff; https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300275315/our-dollar-your-problem/

Carbon Pricing Is Dead. Long Live Carbon Pricing!, with Danny Richter

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Diana Hernández, an associate professor and codirector of the Energy Opportunity Lab at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, about the struggles that ordinary Americans face in accessing affordable and reliable energy. In her recently released book, Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy, Hernández documents how energy insecurity affects people across the country and analyzes policy solutions that can help address the challenge. Hernández explains the interconnections among housing, public health, and poverty through stories which highlight the highly personal nature of energy insecurity and the difficult choices many Americans must make between essential expenses. Hernández then outlines potential improvements to existing energy-assistance programs, including increased support for year-round energy expenses and program adaptations to accommodate a changing climate.

References and recommendations:

“Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy” by Diana Hernández and Jennifer Laird, https://www.russellsage.org/publications/powerless

“Abundance” by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Abundance/Ezra-Klein/9781668023488

“Plundered” by Bernadette Atuahene; https://bernadetteatuahene.com/plundered/

“Debí Tirar Más Fotos” album by Bad Bunny; https://www.allmusic.com/album/deb%C3%AD-tirar-m%C3%A1s-fotos-mw0004451357

Energy Affordability Is Personal, with Diana Hernandez

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Rami talks with Heather Zichal, global head of sustainability at JPMorganChase, about the role of financial institutions in the energy transition. Zichal explains how she has advanced climate policy goals from positions in the United States Congress, the executive branch, nonprofits, and the financial sector. From these diverse perspectives, Zichal outlines the opportunities and challenges for climate-policy stakeholders as they navigate an uncertain political environment. Zichal highlights how financial institutions support the energy transition through green finance commitments, supporting clients’ sustainability goals, and investing in emerging technologies to support the world’s energy needs. Zichal underscores the importance of promoting climate solutions that focus on long-term value in the context of commercial and sustainability goals and that balance environmental and business priorities.

References and recommendations:

“Ocean” with David Attenborough; https://silverbackfilms.tv/shows/oceanwithdavidattenborough/

Financing the Energy Transition amid Unpredictable Climate Policy, with Heather Zichal

In n this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Kristen McCormack, Resources for the Future’s newest research fellow, about McCormack’s scholarly work on the impact of extreme temperatures on student absences, disciplinary infractions, and later-life outcomes. McCormack explains how she combined student data from a large urban school district in the United States, information about the presence or absence of air-conditioning, and environmental data to understand the causal link between temperature and student behavior. McCormack’s work reveals that hot temperatures lead to an increase in absences and disciplinary referrals and that school air-conditioning may be especially important in maintaining a safe learning environment for students as extreme temperatures become more common.

References and recommendations:

“Education Under Extremes: Temperature, Student Absenteeism, and Disciplinary Infractions” by Kristen McCormack; https://kristen-mccormack.com/files/mccormack_jmp.pdf

“The School to Prison Pipeline: Long-Run Impacts of School Suspensions on Adult Crime” by Andrew Bacher-Hicks, Stephen B. Billings, and David J. Deming; https://www.nber.org/papers/w26257

“How Much Hotter Is Your Hometown Than When You Were Born?” interactive infographic from the New York Times; https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/30/climate/how-much-hotter-is-your-hometown.html

“Meadowlark Sings and I Greet Him in Return,” a poem from the collection “Devotions” by Mary Oliver; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/536247/devotions-a-read-with-jenna-pick-by-mary-oliver/

Sweating Over Student Behavior in Hot Schools, with Kristen McCormack

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Dominic Parker, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, about the first US government–run environmental management agencies and how they’ve influenced the survival of wildlife in the United States. Parker’s new coauthored journal article discusses the economic, political, and social forces that led to the founding of state wildlife agencies and contributed to their growth over time. Parker explains how wildlife management agencies facilitated the rebound of several well-known species in the United States, including the white-tailed deer, after a period of intense decline. Parker underscores the importance of natural resource management that responds to the needs of both people and the environment, ensuring the continued enjoyment of natural spaces and survival of wildlife in the United States. 

References and recommendations:

“The Creation and Extent of America’s First Environmental Agencies” by Dean Lueck and Dominic Parker; https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/734075

“Federal Funding and State Wildlife Conservation” by Dean Lueck and Dominic Parker; https://le.uwpress.org/content/98/3/461

“The Hunter’s Game: Poachers and Conservationists in Twentieth Century America” by Louis S. Warren; https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300080865/the-hunters-game/

“The Problem of Social Cost” by Ronald Coase; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Problem_of_Social_Cost

“Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History” by Dan Flores; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dan-flores/coyote-america/9780465098538/

“The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with Our Wild Neighbors” by Erika Howsare; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/731239/the-age-of-deer-by-erika-howsare/

The Role of Government Agencies in Wildlife Abundance, Decimation, and Recovery, with Dominic Parker

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi discusses fossil fuel subsidies with Paasha Mahdavi, an associate professor and cofounder of the 2035 Initiative at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They talk about how subsidies on goods such as gasoline and diesel lead to lower prices for consumers. However, because these subsidies encourage the use of fossil fuels, reforming such policies is important when promoting the use of renewable energy. Mahdavi explores why many attempts to reform fossil fuel subsidies have failed, and he proposes potential avenues for addressing the weaknesses of reforms which could lead to failure of the subsidies.

References and recommendations:

“Fossil fuel subsidy reforms have become more fragile” by Paasha Mahdavi, Michael L. Ross, and Evelyn Simoni; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02283-4

“Why Do Governments Tax or Subsidize Fossil Fuels?” by Paasha Mahdavi, Cesar B. Martinez-Alvarez, and Michael L. Ross; https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/719272

“Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet” by Kate Marvel; https://www.harpercollins.com/products/human-nature-kate-marvel

“Climate Change and National Security” TEDx talk by Josh Busby; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8neK0G0NJ8

Understanding Fossil Fuel Subsidies Around the World, with Paasha Mahdavi

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi discusses subsidies for carbon capture and storage (CCS) with Sheila Olmstead, a professor at the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and a senior faculty fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Olmstead evaluates the complicated nature of the 45Q policy, a federal subsidy available to firms that implement CCS. While CCS subsidy programs promote the reduction of carbon emissions, Olmstead identifies these subsidies as having the potential to financially burden the federal government, discourage clean energy projects, and motivate more pollution.

References and recommendations:

“How to design better incentives for carbon capture and storage in the United States” by Sheila M. Olmstead, Benjamin D. Leibowicz, Charles F. Mason, Andrew R. Waxman, Emily Grubert, HR Huber-Rodriguez, and Joseph Stemmler; https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2404677122

“Night Watch” by Jayne Anne Phillips; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/540650/night-watch-pulitzer-prize-winner-by-jayne-anne-phillips/

Airing New Concerns with US Carbon Capture Policies, with Sheila Olmstead

Resources Radio is a weekly podcast by Resources for the Future. Each week we talk to leading experts about climate change, electricity, ecosystems, and more, making the latest research accessible to everyone.

Resources Radio

Popular tracks