In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Isaac Opper, an economist at the Rand Corporation and professor at the Pardee Rand Graduate School, about how natural disasters can affect education outcomes for students and the resulting stock of skills in the US labor force. Opper discusses the relationship between education and skills in the US labor force, which is known as human capital; how natural disasters can disrupt education for students; and how school administrators and policymakers could mitigate learning losses that result from natural disasters.

References and recommendations:

“The effect of natural disasters on human capital in the United States” by Isaac M. Opper, R. Jisung Park, and Lucas Husted; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01610-z

“The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World” by Andrea Wulf; https://penguinrandomhousehighereducation.com/book/?isbn=9780345806291

How Do Natural Disasters Affect Students?, with Isaac Opper

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 Karen Palmer, a senior fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF) and director of RFF’s Electric Power Program; Kevin Rennert, a fellow at RFF and director of RFF’s Federal Climate Policy Initiative; and Margaret Walls, a senior fellow at RFF and director of RFF’s Climate Risks and Resilience Program. Palmer, Rennert, and Walls offer insights on notable stories in energy and the environment in 2024, including an intense Atlantic hurricane season and emerging narratives around climate policymaking in all three branches of government. They also look ahead to developments to watch in environmental and energy policy in 2025.

References and recommendations:

“Storm Watch Series: Weather Volatility in the United States” on the Common Resources blog; https://www.resources.org/special-series-weather-volatility-in-the-united-states/

“Brave the Wild River” by Melissa L. Sevigny; https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393868234

“Troublesome Rising: A Thousand-Year Flood in Eastern Kentucky” edited by Melissa Helton; https://www.kentuckypress.com/9781950564439/troublesome-rising/

“Shift Key” podcast; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shift-key-with-robinson-meyer-and-jesse-jenkins/id1728932037

“Alone on the Ice” by David Roberts; https://wwnorton.com/books/Alone-on-the-Ice/

“Landman” television series; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14186672/

“Boomtown” podcast; https://www.texasmonthly.com/podcasts/series/boomtown/

2024 Year in Review on Environmental Economics, with Karen Palmer, Kevin Rennert, and Margaret Walls

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Resources for the Future (RFF) scholars Yanjun (Penny) Liao, David Wear, and Matthew Wibbenmeyer about the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, California. They discuss the factors that exacerbated the wildfires, measures that homeowners and communities can take to mitigate wildfire risk and damage, the negative health effects of wildfire smoke, and the evolving landscape in California for insurance that covers wildfires. They also talk about federal responses to the wildfires and recommend organizations that are helping affected communities in Los Angeles and accepting donations.

References and recommendations:

“From Catastrophe to Caution: The Effect of Wildfires on Community Hazard Mitigation Investments” by Yanjun (Penny) Liao, Simon Sølvsten, and Zachary Whitlock; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/from-catastrophe-to-caution-the-effect-of-wildfires-on-community-hazard-mitigation-investments/

“Insurance Availability and Affordability under Increasing Wildfire Risk in California” by Yanjun (Penny) Liao, Margaret A. Walls, Matthew Wibbenmeyer, and Sophie Pesek; https://www.rff.org/publications/issue-briefs/insurance-availability-and-affordability-under-increasing-wildfire-risk-in-california/

“Changing Hazards, Exposure, and Vulnerability in the Conterminous United States, 2020–2070” by David N. Wear, Travis Warziniack, Claire O’Dea, and John Coulston; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/changing-hazards-exposure-and-vulnerability-in-the-conterminous-united-states-20202070/

California Community Foundation; https://www.calfund.org/

World Central Kitchen; https://wck.org/

Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation; https://supportlafd.org/

Grassroots Wildland Firefighters; https://www.grassrootswildlandfirefighters.com/

The Los Angeles Fires, with Yanjun (Penny) Liao, David Wear, and Matthew Wibbenmeyer

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Resources for the Future (RFF) Fellow Yanjun (Penny) Liao about the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, a bipartisan federal law that was first passed in the 1980s. The law is designed to curb development in coastal areas that are vulnerable to extreme weather events and to protect coastal environments. Liao and Walls discuss the effects of the law, including reductions in the amount of development on coastal lands, the amount of federal funding saved by the government through a reduced need for disaster response as a result, and increases in property-tax revenues for counties in designated coastal areas.

References and recommendations:

“Geeking Out on Geography: Mapping the Effects of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act” by Alexandra Thompson; https://www.resources.org/common-resources/geeking-out-on-geography-mapping-the-effects-of-the-coastal-barrier-resources-act/

“Removing Development Incentives in Risky Areas Promotes Climate Adaptation” by Hannah Druckenmiller, Yanjun (Penny) Liao, Sophie Pesek, Margaret Walls, and Shan Zhang; https://www.rff.org/publications/journal-articles/removing-development-incentives-in-risky-areas-promotes-climate-adaptation/

“Can Removing Development Subsidies Promote Adaptation? The Coastal Barrier Resources System as a Natural Experiment” by Hannah Druckenmiller, Yanjun (Penny) Liao, Sophie Pesek, Margaret Walls, and Shan Zhang; https://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/working-papers/can-removing-development-subsidies-promote-adaptation

“Managed Retreat and Flood Recovery: The Local Economic Impacts of a Buyout and Acquisition Program” by Wei Guo, Yanjun (Penny) Liao, and Qing Miao; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/flood-recovery-local-economic-impacts-of-buyout-and-acquisition-hurricane-sandy-new-york/

“Making a Market for Acts of God: The Practice of Risk Trading in the Global Reinsurance Industry” by Paula Jarzabkowski, Rebecca Bednarek, and Paul Spee; https://global.oup.com/academic/product/making-a-market-for-acts-of-god-9780199664764

Promoting Climate Adaptation by Discouraging Development, with Yanjun (Penny) Liao

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 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 Margaret Walls talks with Jenny Schuetz of Arnold Ventures, a philanthropic foundation where Schuetz serves as vice president of housing infrastructure, and where she focuses her work on expanding and diversifying the supply of housing while addressing issues like affordability and vulnerability to climate risks. Walls and Schuetz discuss the intersection of housing policy and climate change, the growing exposure of US households to climate risks such as wildfires and floods, the gaps in information about hyperlocal climate risks, and policies that can help protect communities from future climate disasters.

References and recommendations:

“How to nudge Americans to reduce their housing exposure to climate risks” by Julia Gill and Jenny Schuetz; https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-to-nudge-americans-to-reduce-their-housing-exposure-to-climate-risks/

“Fixer-Upper: How to Repair America’s Broken Housing Systems” by Jenny Schuetz; https://www.brookings.edu/books/fixer-upper/

“Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity” by Yoni Appelbaum; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/700580/stuck-by-yoni-appelbaum/

Reducing Climate Risks through Housing Policy, with Jenny Schuetz

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

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.

New tracks tagged #climate risks and resilience