Resources Radio

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Nafisa Lohawala, a fellow at Resources for the Future, about sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs). Lohawala discusses the climate impact of the aviation industry, different types of SAFs, and the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that SAFs can help achieve. Lohawala also discusses policies that support the adoption of SAFs, including international agreements and financial incentives in the United States. References and recommendations: “Alternative Fuels for Reducing the Contribution of Aviation to Climate Change” by Nafisa Lohawala, Michael A. Toman, and Emily Joiner; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/alternative-fuels-for-reducing-the-contribution-of-aviation-to-climate-change/ “Promoting Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Considerations for Policymakers” by Nafisa Lohawala; https://www.resources.org/common-resources/promoting-sustainable-aviation-fuels-considerations-for-policymakers “Supporting Policies for Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Key Areas for Further Research” by Nafisa Lohawla and Michael A. Toman; https://www.resources.org/common-resources/supporting-policies-for-sustainable-aviation-fuels-key-areas-for-further-research “Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me)” by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson; https://www.harpercollins.com/products/mistakes-were-made-but-not-by-me-third-edition-carol-tavriselliot-aronson?variant=40825034276898 “How to Know a Person” by David Brooks; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652822/how-to-know-a-person-by-david-brooks/

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Seanicaa Edwards Herron, founder and executive director of the Freedmen Heirs Foundation, about challenges facing Black farmers in the United States. Herron discusses historical and systemic barriers that Black farmers have encountered, and continue to encounter, in the US agricultural industry. Their conversation covers access to land, capital, and markets; the importance of government programs that are tailored to support Black farmers; and the mission of the Freedmen Heirs Foundation to bridge gaps in the agricultural industry between Black farmers and the markets that Black farmers tap to sell their products. References and recommendations: “Minority Food Producers in the Climate Transition” webinar from Resources for the Future; https://www.rff.org/events/environmental-justice-series/minority-producers-in-the-climate-transition/ Exposure event series from Resources for the Future; https://www.rff.org/topics/environmental-justice/exposure-2024/ Season 3 of “The Heist” podcast; https://publicintegrity.org/inequality-poverty-opportunity/the-heist/theheist-season3/ “Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land” film; https://gaininggroundthefilm.com/

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Pat Layton, director of the Wood Utilization + Design Institute at Clemson University, about the resurgence in constructing buildings with wood and, in particular, with mass timber. Layton discusses the development and adoption of mass timber in the United States, along with the environmental and architectural benefits of integrating mass timber into construction projects. Layton also discusses the manufacturing process for mass timber and the fire resistance and structural strength of the material compared to more mainstream building materials, such as steel and concrete. References and recommendations: Woodworks map of mass timber projects; https://www.woodworks.org/resources/mapping-mass-timber/ Mass Timber Business Case Studies; https://www.woodworks.org/resources/mass-timber-business-case-studies/ Cost comparisons of building with mass timber vs other materials; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIcr0R3w9ZQ Andy Quattlebaum Outdoor Education Center, a building created with mass timber; https://www.thinkwood.com/construction-projects/andy-quattlebaum-outdoor-education-center Building projects that use wood and mass timber as the main material; https://www.woodworks.org/award-gallery/

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

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Maura Allaire, an assistant professor at Arizona State University, about access to wastewater infrastructure in the United States. Allaire discusses the widespread lack of access to centralized wastewater services; the high failure rates of septic systems, which often serve as substitutes for centralized wastewater systems; and the public health risks that are associated with inadequate wastewater treatment. Allaire also discusses how climate change exacerbates these issues and the importance of regional planning for addressing disparities in access to wastewater infrastructure. References and recommendations: “The Sum of Us” by Heather McGhee; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564989/the-sum-of-us-by-heather-mcghee/ “Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret” by Catherine Coleman Flowers; https://thenewpress.com/books/waste

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Jesse Buchsbaum, a new research fellow at Resources for the Future, about how consumers respond to changes in electricity prices. Buchsbaum discusses the responsiveness of electricity consumers to prices in the short and long term, the role of pricing in driving long-term changes in consumption habits and investments in electric appliances, the importance of pricing for effective policymaking, and differences in the sensitivity of consumers to price changes depending on income. References and recommendations: “Are consumers more responsive to prices in the long run? Evidence from electricity markets” by Jesse Buchsbaum; https://jesse-buchsbaum.com/files/job_market_paper.pdf “How Long ’Til Black Future Month?” by N. K. Jemisin; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/n-k-jemisin/how-long-til-black-future-month/9780316491341/ “The Fifth Season” by N. K. Jemisin; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/n-k-jemisin/the-fifth-season/9780316229296/ “Poverty, by America” by Matthew Desmond; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675683/poverty-by-america-by-matthew-desmond/

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Jon Krosnick, a professor at Stanford University and a university fellow at Resources for the Future, about the views held by Americans on climate change and climate policies. Krosnick discusses the latest results from the Climate Insights project, which has gauged American public opinion on climate change since 1997; the preferences of Americans for specific climate policies; the views held by Americans about environmental justice; and public demand for federal climate action. References and recommendations: “Climate Insights 2024” report by Jon Krosnick et al; Surveys of Consumers from the University of Michigan; http://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/ “Is Gen Z less supportive of Israel? We don’t know. Recent polls can’t be trusted” by Ellen Konar, Jon Krosnick, and Joe Wlos; https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/israel-american-support-poll-19484618.php

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Holly Caggiano, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, and Sara Constantino, an assistant professor at Stanford University, about the preferences of local residents and elected officials for large-scale energy projects in Pennsylvania. Caggiano and Constantino discuss factors that influence public support for renewable energy projects and the occasional misalignment between the perceived preferences and actual preferences of constituents from the perspective of their local elected officials. References and recommendations: “Community benefits can build bipartisan support for large-scale energy infrastructure” by Holly Caggiano, Sara M. Constantino, Chris Greig, and Elke U. Weber; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-024-01585-9 “The People’s Republic of Valerie, Living Room Edition” by Kristen Kosmas; https://53rdstatepress.org/Kosmas-The-People-s-Republic-of-Valerie-Living-Room-Edition “Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor” by Rob Nixon; https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674072343 “Long Problems: Climate Change and the Challenge of Governing Across Time” by Thomas Hale Jr.; https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691238128/long-problems “The Overstory” by Richard Powers; https://www.richardpowers.net/the-overstory/ Climate & Community Institute reports; https://climateandcommunity.org/research/

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Andrew Waxman, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, about carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), a technology that involves the capture and storage or reuse of carbon dioxide. Waxman discusses the application of CCUS technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and industrial facilities; the importance of the technology for achieving emissions-reduction goals; and the potential effects of the technology on local air pollution, particularly in communities along the US Gulf Coast. References and recommendations: “What are the likely air pollution impacts of carbon capture and storage?” by Andrew Waxman, HR Huber-Rodriquez, and Sheila M. Olmstead; https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4590320 “Special Report on Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage: CCUS in Clean Energy Transitions” from the International Energy Agency; https://www.iea.org/reports/ccus-in-clean-energy-transitions “City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America’s Highways” by Megan Kimble; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/711708/city-limits-by-megan-kimble/

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Amanda Giang, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, about considering equity in computational models of systems that are at the interface of people and the environment. Giang discusses the steps involved in adapting the models; weighing the benefits of granular, individualized data against considerations of personal privacy; the limitations of modeling and quantitative analysis; and the challenges of communicating with decisionmakers about the complexity and uncertainty of model results. References and recommendations: “Equity and modeling in sustainability science: Examples and opportunities throughout the process” by Amanda Giang, Morgan R. Edwards, Sarah M. Fletcher, Rivkah Gardner-Frolick, Rowenna Gryba, Jean-Denis Mathias, Camille Venier-Cambron, John M. Anderies, Emily Berglund, Sanya Carley, Jacob Shimkus Erickson, Emily Grubert, Antonia Hadjimichael, Jason Hill, Erin Mayfield, Destenie Nock, Kimberly Kivvaq Pikok, Rebecca K. Saari, Mateo Samudio Lezcano, Afreen Siddiqi, Jennifer B. Skerker, and Christopher W. Tessum; https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2215688121 “Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands” by Kate Beaton; https://drawnandquarterly.com/books/ducks/

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/

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/

This week, we’re rebroadcasting an episode from the Resources Radio archive while the team is on a break through the rest of August. We’ll be back in September with new episodes; in the meantime, enjoy this throwback and poke around the archive at Resources.org for more topics you might be interested in. In this week’s episode rerun, 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/

This week, we’re rebroadcasting an episode from the Resources Radio archive while the team is on a break through the rest of August. We’ll be back in September with new episodes; in the meantime, enjoy this throwback and poke around the archive at Resources.org for more topics you might be interested in. In this week’s episode rerun, host Kristin Hayes talks with Jason Samenow, weather editor for the Washington Post and one of the leaders of the Post’s Capital Weather Gang. They discuss the intersection of climate change and weather, with a particular focus on how meteorologists communicate with the public about climate change in a scientifically rigorous way and how that communication has evolved alongside climate science. Samenow and Hayes also talk about the increasing number of extreme weather events that have been occurring both globally and in the Washington, DC, area. References and recommendations: Climate Central; https://www.climatecentral.org/ World Weather Attribution; https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/ Penn State Weather Camps; https://weather-camp.outreach.psu.edu/ Lenticular clouds; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenticular_cloud Mammatus clouds; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammatus_cloud Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds; https://scied.ucar.edu/image/kelvin-helmholtz-clouds Snowmageddon 2010; https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/02/05/remembering-s-snowmageddon-images-scenes/ Eye on the Tropics newsletter by Michael Lowry; https://michaelrlowry.substack.com/ “The Weather” song by Lawrence; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9TYHOARDFI

This week, we’re rebroadcasting an episode from the Resources Radio archive while the team is on a break through the rest of August. We’ll be back in September with new episodes; in the meantime, enjoy this throwback and poke around the archive at Resources.org for more topics you might be interested in. In this week’s episode rerun, host Daniel Raimi talks with Kelly T. Sanders, an associate professor at the University of Southern California. With her coauthors, Sanders published a series of studies on air-conditioning use in southern California, with a focus on who does (and does not) have access to cooling on hot days. This work, which touches on issues of energy and environmental justice, has big implications for managing climate change in the decades to come. References and recommendations: “Utilizing smart-meter data to project impacts of urban warming on residential electricity use for vulnerable populations in Southern California” by Mo Chen, George A. Ban-Weiss, and Kelly T. Sanders; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab6fbe/meta “Growth: From Microorganisms to Megacities” by Vaclav Smil; https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/growth “These Truths: A History of the United States” by Jill Lepore; https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393357424

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with David Spence, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, about Spence’s new book, “Climate of Contempt: How to Rescue the US Energy Transition from Voter Partisanship,” which was released today. Spence discusses reasons that climate and energy have become such divisive topics in US politics, including the partisan state of Congress and the modern media environment, and strategies to help build support among voters for climate action and temper polarization across the political spectrum. References and recommendations: “Climate of Contempt: How to Rescue the US Energy Transition from Voter Partisanship” by David B. Spence; https://climateofcontempt.com/ “Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World” by Katharine Hayhoe; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Saving-Us/Katharine-Hayhoe/9781982143848 Deep canvassing idea from Joshua Kalla and David Broockman; https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/06/26/want-to-persuade-an-opponent-try-listening-berkeley-scholar-says/ “The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea” by Jack E. Davis; https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/jack-e-davis

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Caroline Noblet, an associate professor at the University of Maine, about the risks and negative impacts of forever chemicals on the environment and human health. “Forever chemicals” refer to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are a group of synthetic chemicals with extremely durable chemical bonds that have become dangerously common in water systems, consumer goods, agricultural production, and manufacturing facilities. Because PFAS chemical bonds do not break down easily, forever chemicals stick around for long periods of time. Noblet discusses policy solutions to decrease existing water contamination due to forever chemicals and limit future exposure to these chemicals, while accounting for geographic and economic differences across communities; new rules mandating the testing of public water systems for certain PFAS chemicals; and the economic implications of efforts to clean up and reduce exposure to forever chemicals. References and recommendations: “Dark Waters” film; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9071322/ “Natural Capital” by Dieter Helm; https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300219371/natural-capital/

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Amy Bowers Cordalis, cofounder and principal of Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, about efforts to remove four dams on the Klamath River in California and Oregon. Cordalis discusses her experience growing up on the Klamath River as a member of the Yurok Tribe, the ecological damage to the Klamath River Basin and the Yurok Tribe that has been caused by the dams and nearby agricultural production, and the process that led to the removal of the dams. References and recommendations: “Undammed” video with Amy Bowers Cordalis; https://www.patagonia.com/stories/undammed/video-148718.html “Treaty Justice” by Charles Wilkinson; https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295752723/treaty-justice/ “The Water Remembers” by Amy Bowers Cordalis; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/amy-bowers-cordalis/the-water-remembers/9780316568951

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

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Casey Wichman, an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and university fellow at Resources for the Future, about the influence of social media on the popularity of national parks. Wichman estimates in a recent study that more exposure of a national park on social media increases visits to that park. He discusses people’s relationships with national parks in a digital age; the effects of increased visitation on persistent issues in national parks, such as overcrowding and underfunding; and the potential boost in revenue that social media exposure can provide to national parks. References and recommendations: “Social Media Influences National Park Visitation” by Casey Wichman; https://www.rff.org/publications/journal-articles/social-media-influences-national-park-visitation/ “A New Study Finds Crowds at National Parks May Be Due to Social Media” by Wes Siler in “Outside” magazine; https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/hiking-and-backpacking/national-parks-social-media/ “Do National Monuments Help or Hinder Local Economies?” episode of the “Resources Radio” podcast; https://www.resources.org/resources-radio/do-national-monuments-help-or-hinder-local-economies-margaret-walls/ “Outside” magazine; https://www.outsideonline.com/ “Mountain Gazette” magazine; https://mountaingazette.com/ “The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse” by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/559535/the-wolf-the-duck-and-the-mouse-by-mac-barnett-illustrated-by-jon-klassen/