Season 5

Plastic is cheap, lightweight, strong and versatile, so we use it in millions of products. But there are challenges with disposal and recycling, meaning plastic is increasingly in our oceans, our water, our food, even our bodies. We’ll talk about all this, and plastic’s energy and emissions footprints, with Dr. Anja Brandon from the Ocean Conservancy and Holli Alexander from Eastman.

Everyone loves electricity…and no one loves powerlines. But we need more of them. New lines face many challenges, in permitting, siting and eminent domain; allocating costs among stakeholders; and working with property owners and environmental groups who oppose them. We discuss with Mark Christie from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and Emily Fisher from the Edison Electric Institute.

Warming temperatures and their potential impacts are predicted to escalate in the coming decades. Dr. Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist, argues for urgent action to reduce emissions. Dr. Bjorn Lomborg, a political scientist, maintains that climate change is a smaller problem than others we face, like poverty and education. Pursuing those would allow us to better adapt to a changing climate.

To wrap up this discussion, Dr. Bjorn Lomborg and Dr. Andrew Dessler lay out their strategies for addressing climate change. One favors adaptation, and tackling other pressing global problems that could lead to greater prosperity. The other argues for urgent action to reduce emissions to manage the risk of damage from a changing climate. They agreed on a greater focus on new energy innovation.

We use a lot of biofuels in the US -- corn ethanol now makes up 10% of every gallon of gasoline. Ethanol made from cellulose, from agricultural waste or non-food crops, has been in development for years and may eventually become commercial, along with new kinds of aviation biofuels. Dr. Valerie Reed, Bioenergy Director at the DOE, and Yiying Xong from the Great Lakes Research Center.

Working in energy, particularly oil and gas, is not as popular as it once was in the US. Electricity and lower carbon energies are more readily embraced by young people. We’ll talk to two young professionals, Natan Battisti from Harbour Energy and Maya Barwick from ATC, to see why they chose jobs in oil and electricity, how they’ve found the experience, and if they’d recommend it to their peers.

The US is contemplating massive new offshore wind projects. Proponents see these as part of decarbonizing our electricity system. Opponents worry about impacts to fisheries, marine mammals, tourism and property values, plus the challenges of onshoring the electricity. Lisa Linowes from Industrial Wind Action and Peder Hansen from PH Consulting debate.

In part 1, we talked about the size of planned offshore wind farms, and potential impacts to fisheries, marine mammals and property values. Now we discuss the cost to build offshore wind farms, the role of subsidies to do so, and how much these projects may or may not reduce US CO2 emissions. Our guests again are Peder Hansen from PH Consulting and Lisa Linowes of Industrial Wind Action.

General readers want straight answers on climate. But climate science is complex and full of nuance. This excites scientists, whose research explores the leading edge. But it makes climate reporting difficult. Journalists must understand the science, then competently simplify it for readers, no easy feat. We’ll discuss with two editors: Dr. Michael White from Nature, and Justin Worland from Time.

The US natural gas pipeline network carries gas from where it’s produced to the many places it's used: power plants, factories and millions of homes. Proponents want more pipelines, to replace more coal here and abroad. Opponents worry about methane leakage and local environmental impacts. We discuss with former Congressman Tim Ryan and Gillian Giannetti from Natural Resources Defense Council.