30% of the population lives on or near a coast, and the majority of global trade runs through ports on coasts. How can the impacts of rising sea levels and stronger storms be mitigated? In this special bonus episode of Climate Conversations, the team sits down with Dr. Alexander Dale, the Senior Officer for MIT Solve’s Sustainability pillar. MI ...…

After a whole season of climate justice episodes, the ClimateX team and podcast producer Dave Lishansky step back and take stock. How has our understanding of climate justice evolved? What voices and stories have stuck with us?The team discusses recurring themes, such as visibility issues, collaboration across social divides, institutional oppr ...…

The Climate Conversations team sits down with the director of the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, Jason Jay, to discuss the role of market forces and government regulation in climate action. They discuss the theoretical framework of capitalism, and how it can lend itself to benevolent practices as well as exploitative ones. Jay and the tea ...…

The Climate Conversations team sits down with Jacqui Patterson, the Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program. They discuss intersectionality within the climate justice movement, and how global warming disproportionately impacts women of color. Looking at impacts on reproductive rights and poverty, the Climate Conversation ...…

On this week of Climate Conversations, the team sits down with Ramón Bueno; a MIT alumnus and climate and development specialist. They discuss the devastation in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, in the context of systems failure and intersectional justice. Bueno outlines the significance of the centralized power system in Puerto Rico, and how ...…

In this special podcast, we sit down with Marteen van Aalast to discuss climate resilience and his role in the Climate CoLab A2R contest.Van Aalst is the director of the Climate Center and coordinates support to climate risk management across the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.Van Aalst explains how the UN’s A2R initiatives (Anticipate, Absorb ...…

How can we get more families involved in environmental justice? The Climate Conversations team sits down with Zeyneb Magavi, a leader in Mothers Out Front in Cambridge, MA. Zeyneb wears multiple hats as an activist with Mothers Out Front, Research Director for HEET, and a member of the Gas Leaks Allies. They discuss how mothers sharing a strong ...…

The Climate Conversations team interviews Dr. Kyle Powys Whyte, a Professor of Philosophy and Community Sustainability at Michigan State -- about indigenous views of climate change and climate justice. As a context for understanding those views, Dr. Whyte outlines how the legacy of colonialism, capitalism, and other systems of domination affect ...…

The Climate Conversations team sits down with Tom Kiley, the organizer of the Northeastern North American Climate Policy Summit hosted by MIT in December, 2017. They discuss key results and takeaways from the event, how to strengthen ties between researchers and policy makers, and interdisciplinary approaches to climate action. The team also ch ...…

What is climate justice? How do we come up with solutions that not only recognize that climate change disproportionally impacts marginalized people, but amplify the voices of those in frontline communities?We sit down with Lisa Young, the Climate Justice Partnerships Organizer for the Better Future Project and discuss the evolution of the term ...…

Have justice issues changed, or are we standing still?These are the questions we’re asking Trish Weinmann, the Associate director of Radius, a place for the MIT community to discuss issues of justice and equity. Trish explains to us the role that Radius plays in helping the MIT community reflect on complex justice issues such as climate change, ...…

This week, the Climate Conversations team are joined by Zak Accuardi, a Senior Program Analyst at TransitCenter, and former research fellow at Project Drawdown. Zak explains how improvements to public transportation can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while improving the lives of a community's disadvantaged people. Zak and the team explore som ...…

This week, we’re joined by Mike Wilson, graduate student at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. We discuss transformative adaptation, and how planners can develop green infrastructures whilst improving the lives of everyone in our global society. Mike explains how future planning in Boston needs to communicate with local communities ...…

This special episode is part of MIT’s Together in Climate Action Summit, which is focused on sharing climate leadership strategies and exploring pathways forward in Northeastern North America.In this episode, we interview Deb Markowitz, a former six-term Vermont Secretary of State, and Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Curre ...…

This special episode is part of MIT’s Together in Climate Action Summit, which is focused on sharing climate leadership strategies and exploring pathways forward in Northeastern North America.In this episode, we interview Professor John Fernandez, Director of the Environmental Solutions Initiative at MIT and an expert in urban metabolism – the ...…

This special episode is part of MIT’s Together in Climate Action Summit, which is focused on sharing climate leadership strategies and exploring pathways forward in Northeastern North America.We interview Dr. David Cash, former commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Public Utilities, and dean ...…

How well have humans adapted to the current climate, and how will we adapt to new climate complexities? This week, the Climate Conversations team is joined by climate research scientist Nick Obradovich, who discusses the many ways the climate affects us in our day-to-day lives, including the way we sleep and exercise. Nick explains how he uses ...…

In this week’s episode, we are joined by climate activist and Harvard / MIT researcher Geoffrey Supran, whose recent peer-reviewed paper exposed ExxonMobil for misleading the public about climate science and its implications. Geoffrey discusses the importance of the science community going beyond facts and figures to reach the heart of the clim ...…

In the first episode of Climate Conversations Season 2, we are joined by ex-coal miner and author of The Thoughtful Coal Miner blog, Nick Mullins.We discuss the history of coal mining in the Appalachian region, including the coal industry’s exploitation of coal miners, and what a just transition away from coal should look like.Nick explains how ...…

This week, the Climate Conversations team explore why some social groups, including women and people of color, are disproportionately affected by climate change.We examine how justice issues play out in climate disasters such as hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and consider what a “just transition” away from fossil fuels might look like in local ...…

This week, we’re discussing the human response to extreme weather and climate change, with Patrick Field, Managing Director at the Consensus Building Institute.Pat explains his role in intricate climate change negotiations, and how governments fund and adapt to climate challenges in coastal and island locations. Additionally, Pat explores the c ...…

This week we are joined by Associate Professor Noelle Selin, from MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems and Society, who has an intimate knowledge of international climate negotiations.Professor Selin explains the complexities of international environmental agreements, including the impact of social media, and we discuss the importance of integrati ...…

This week, we interview MIT student and Fossil Free MIT member, Jeremy Poindexter. We discuss Fossil Free MIT’s new career pledge, which encourages students to prioritize climate change and sustainability when making future career choices, fossil fuel divestment and much more.

This week, the climate conversations team are joined by Élodie Blanc and Erwan Monier, research scientists at MIT who are investigating the way climate change affects the amount of water available for agriculture. We discuss how climate modelling and collaborative research are used to assess the way climate influences regional agriculture, the ...…

Renewable energy, geoengineering and other technological solutions dominate the climate action spotlight, but are they the only way forward? As our reading of Project Drawdown shows, some of the highest impact solutions are low-tech: stop eating meat, empower women and girls. We have been thinking about these questions for a while and a recent ...…

In this bonus episode, the Climate Conversation team asks, should we reduce how frequently we fly?

This week, the team are joined by MIT Professor of Materials Chemistry, Don Sadoway.In this fascinating discussion, we explore extreme electrochemistry, Don’s novel efforts to cut the carbon footprint of steel, his liquid metal battery for grid-scale storage, and the great things you can do simply by understanding some basic chemistry.…

This week, the Climate Conversations team are joined by MIT’s Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, David McGee.We discuss the many climate changes that the Earth has experienced in the last half million years, our dependence upon climate stability and David’s role in Terrascope, a freshman learning community at MIT.Additionally, ...…

In this bonus episode of Climate Conversations, the team discusses the environmental impact of using Amazon versus physical stores.

This week, the Climate Conversations team interviews the Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Somerville, Hannah Payne. Hannah explains Somerville’s climate mitigation and adaptation plans, and how Somerville is preparing to be carbon neutral by 2050.

This week, Rajesh and Laura Howells discuss the pervasiveness of plastic and which countries contribute the most plastic to the world's oceans. The two also talk over some recent natural events happening in Siberia.

This week the Climate Conversations team are joined by the founder of ClimateCurriculum.com and Science Teacher at Boston Latin School, Timothy Gay, whose goal is to get schools across the country teaching students about climate change.We discuss the challenges associated with bringing climate change into the science curriculum, and how Timothy ...…

In this special bonus episode of Climate Conversations, the team takes a climate approach to the question, where should my kids go to college?

This week, the Climate Conversations team are joined by special guest, MIT's Director of Sustainability, Julie Newman. In this episode, we explore the challenging and growing role of sustainability officers, plus autonomous vehicles, the campus building renaissance and MIT's path to carbon neutrality.Join the conversation at climatex.mit.edu/…

This week on Climate Conversations, the team discusses the problematic term ‘stakeholders’ and ask whether climate policy makers can ever treat all stakeholders with equity. We also consider the role of individual action, and what we can do each day to support green initiatives and reduce our individual impact on the environment.Join the conver ...…

In episode 2 of Climate Conversations, the team explores the role of market forces in tackling climate change. They are joined by special guest John Reilly, who discusses the complex nature of climate modeling, and the challenges faced by the climate science community in the current political climate.Join the conversation at https://climatex.mi ...…

How is the US responding to the Paris withdrawal and how will it affect world climate? Is Geoengineering a necessary risk? These are the questions that Climate Conversations host Rajesh Kasturirangan is discussing with ClimateX Team members Curt Newton, Dave Damm-Luhr and Laura Howells, in the very first Climate Conversations podcast.Join the c ...…