In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Matt Chambers, a researcher at the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems at the University of Georgia, about managing floods with nature-based solutions. Chambers discusses the history of levee systems in the United States, the challenges that the widespread use of levees have presented, and approaches to floodplain management that help restore ecosystems while improving community resilience to flooding. He also discusses the economic analysis that informs floodplain management and the evolution of the US Army Corps of Engineers as a key decisionmaker in the management of US rivers.

References and recommendations:

“Nature-based solutions for leveed river corridors” by Matthew L. Chambers, Charles B. van Rees, Brian P. Bledsoe, David Crane, Susana Ferreira, Damon M. Hall, Rod W. Lammers, Craig E. Landry, Donald R. Nelson, Matt Shudtz, and Burton C. Suedel; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213305423000504

“Engineering with Nature” podcast; https://ewn.erdc.dren.mil/podcasts/

“The Control of Nature” by John McPhee; https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374522599/thecontrolofnature

“An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz; https://www.beacon.org/An-Indigenous-Peoples-History-of-the-United-States-P1164.aspx

“The Gift of Good Land” by Wendell Berry; https://www.counterpointpress.com/books/the-gift-of-good-land/

“The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise” by Michael Grunwald; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Swamp/Michael-Grunwald/9780743251075

Making Room for the River with Nature-Based Solutions, with Matt Chambers

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Resources for the Future Fellow Brian C. Prest about the effects of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. As the world’s leading exporter of LNG, the United States has been ramping up capacity to produce and transport LNG to meet global demand. Prest describes how this increasing trend affects domestic oil and gas prices and the extent to which the federal government influences the production of oil and gas. He also discusses the global and domestic effects of increasing LNG production and exports on emissions, including which kinds of energy US LNG exports are substituting or displacing in other countries, variation in methane emissions across different sites of gas production, and the social cost of these methane emissions.

References and recommendations:

“Where Does the Marginal Methane Molecule Come From? Implications of LNG Exports for US Natural Gas Supply and Methane Emissions” by Brian C. Prest; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/where-does-the-marginal-methane-molecule-come-from-implications-of-lng-exports-for-us-natural-gas-supply-and-methane-emissions/

“The greenhouse gas footprint of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported from the United States” by Robert W. Howarth; https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ese3.1934

“Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet” by Hannah Ritchie; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/hannah-ritchie/not-the-end-of-the-world/9780316536752/

Economic and Environmental Effects of Natural Gas Exports, with Brian Prest

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 Ann Eisenberg, a professor and research director at the West Virginia University College of Law, about economic challenges facing rural communities in the United States. Eisenberg explains how rural economies that develop around single industries, such as coal or steel, become vulnerable to decline when macroeconomic and societal changes weaken or displace local industries. Eisenberg also discusses examples of successful economic diversification and revitalization; what strategies can be used to support rural communities that are facing economic hardship, including federal policy; and why policies that have strengthened rural economies have bolstered broader national economic stability, as well.

References and recommendations:

“Reviving Rural America: Toward Policies for Resilience” by Ann M. Eisenberg; https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/reviving-rural-america/E4BEF197D38D1340C3792C635ADF2FE8

“Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver; https://www.harpercollins.com/products/demon-copperhead-barbara-kingsolver

Seeding Economic Development in Rural America, with Ann Eisenberg

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Daniel Poneman, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Energy, about the role of nuclear energy in meeting increasing demands for electricity. As the use of artificial intelligence grows, so does demand for electricity, raising questions about which energy sources can provide reliable, clean, consistent power. Poneman discusses whether nuclear energy is a viable option, how the safety and performance of nuclear technology have evolved, and why some retired nuclear power plants are being revived—including the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, where a reactor meltdown caused by equipment malfunctions occurred 46 years ago as of last Friday. Poneman also describes what challenges the nuclear energy industry is facing, barriers to wider adoption of nuclear energy, and how public perception of nuclear energy has shifted over time.

References and recommendations:

“Double Jeopardy: Combating Nuclear Terror and Climate Change” by Daniel Poneman; https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262546669/double-jeopardy/

“Washington: A Life” by Ron Chernow; https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/ron-chernow

“Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Team-of-Rivals/Doris-Kearns-Goodwin/9780743270755

“Speed of Heat” album by Jeff “Skunk” Baxter; https://open.spotify.com/album/6t5FAhdwvsYFRejUTRAzVZ

Henry M. Paulson Jr.’s writings about biodiversity; https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/opinion/animal-extinction.html

A New Age for Nuclear Energy, with Daniel Poneman

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Emily Theokritoff, a research associate at Imperial College London. Theokritoff specializes in climate damage attribution—the emerging science of connecting human activity and climate change to extreme weather events. Theokritoff breaks down this evolving field of study, how research that attributes extreme weather events to climate change is conducted, the challenges posed by a lack of historical data in parts of the world, and how scientists deal with uncertainty in determining the causes of past and future events. She also shares her perspective on how scientists in the field of extreme weather attribution are adapting research and communication methods to provide the public with faster, clearer insights in the face of increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events.

References and recommendations:

“Mapped: How climate change affects extreme weather around the world” from Carbon Brief; https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/attribution-studies/index.html

Connecting Climate Change to the Weather We See, with Emily Theokritoff

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Laura Grant, an associate professor at Claremont McKenna College. Many environmental nonprofit groups have been working to influence policy, but relatively little research has demonstrated how the efforts of these groups shape policy outcomes, and how some groups may support, catalyze, or even substitute for government action. In this episode of Resources Radio, Grant discusses new research that aims to better understand the work of environmental nonprofits, including various methods that environmental groups use to advance progress on key environmental issues, from headline-grabbing protests to litigation and research.

References and recommendations:

“The Roles of Environmental Groups in Economics” by Laura Grant and Christian Langpap; https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/730902

“Orwell’s Roses” by Rebecca Solnit; http://rebeccasolnit.net/book/orwells-roses/

How Environmental Groups Influence Policy, with Laura Grant

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Brian Kennedy, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center. Kennedy focuses on science and society research, studying public attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs about science—including energy and environmental issues. Kennedy and a coauthor released survey results about US public opinion on climate change and related issues at the end of 2024. Kennedy discusses how the survey was conducted and shares his insights on the survey’s findings, such as differences in public attitudes toward the clean energy transition; how partisanship is a powerful predictor of views on climate change, climate policy, and even perceptions of extreme weather events; and points of overlap at which Democrats and Republicans share support for certain climate and environmental policies and objectives.

References and recommendations:

“How Americans View Climate Change and Policies to Address the Issue” by Brian Kennedy and Alec Tyson; https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2024/12/09/how-americans-view-climate-change-and-policies-to-address-the-issue/

“What the data says about Americans’ views of climate change” by Alec Tyson, Cary Funk, and Brian Kennedy; https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/09/what-the-data-says-about-americans-views-of-climate-change/

“Climate Insights” survey series from Resources for the Future; https://www.rff.org/climateinsights/ 

“Religious Landscape Study” from Pew Research Center; https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/

“Surveying American Public Opinion on Climate Change, with Jon Krosnick” podcast episode from Resources Radio; https://www.resources.org/resources-radio/surveying-american-public-opinion-on-climate-change-with-jon-krosnick/

Survey Says: Searching for Common Ground Amid Partisan Divide, with Brian Kennedy

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

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.

Making Room for the River with Nature-Based Solutions, with Matt Chambers

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