Going for Green at the Paris Games

The Summer Olympic Games are here! That means more than 300 events, ten thousand athletes and millions of spectators coming to watch. And the athletes are not the only ones with an Olympian task, as the organizers of the Paris Games pledged to make their event emit half the carbon pollution of the 2012 London Games.

In order to make that happen, they are trying to do more — by doing less. Instead of building huge new structures, organizers have renovated a number of existing venues and installed numerous temporary structures that can be used elsewhere in the future. So what can we learn from the Paris Games that can transcend the big event and inspire emissions reductions?

Martin Müller

Professor of Geography and Sustainability, University of Lausanne

Henry Grabar

Journalist, Author of “Paved Paradise, How Parking Explains the World”

Oluseyi Smith

Two-time Olympian, Renewable Energy Engineer, Founder, Racing to Zero

Angel Hsu

Director, Data-Driven EnviroLab, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Cheaper, Faster, Better: Tom Steyer on Winning the Climate War 
August 27, 2024 | 6:00 p.m.
Most people know of Tom Steyer as the billionaire investor and climate organizer who ran for president in the 2020 election on a climate platform. While he didn’t win, his dedication to supporting and advancing climate solutions has remained steadfast.

In his new book, “Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We’ll Win the Climate War,” Steyer argues that we are in a defining moment: We face the daunting, existential threat of climate change. And yet, with this great challenge comes a great opportunity for innovation, global leadership and economic growth.

Join us for a lively conversation about the market’s role in solving the climate crisis. Can capitalism really save us?

Jane Goodall: Celebrating 90
September 16, 2024 | 6:00 p.m.
Environmental icon Jane Goodall returns to Climate One in person to reflect back on her life’s work and offer a look forward to how we can heal our relationship with nature by better understanding ourselves. The indefatigable Goodall is now focused on three intertwined crises: biodiversity loss, climate change and environmental inequity.

Dr. Goodall will be in conversation with Climate One Founder Greg Dalton and Rhett Butler, founder of Mongabay, a nonprofit media organization that delivers news and inspiration from nature's frontline via a network of more than 900 journalists in about 80 countries. Mongabay covers forests, wildlife, oceans, and other conservation topics in six languages and is celebrating its 25th birthday this year.

Join us for an inspiring evening at the Sydney Goldstein Theater on the harsh truths facing all life on Earth and a bright yet narrow path forward.

Justin Pearson: No Justice Without Climate Justice
September 18, 2024 | 6:00 p.m.
On March 27, 2023, six people were gunned down in a mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville. The horrific event led Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson and two colleagues to protest for common sense gun legislation on the Tennessee House floor. House Republicans retaliated by expelling Pearson and his colleague Justin Jones. Pearson ran and won back his seat with 94% of the vote.

Pearson became a national voice for common sense gun regulation. He is also a strong advocate for climate and environmental justice, having worked to defeat a multi-billion dollar crude oil pipeline that could have poisoned Memphis drinking water and taken land from South Memphis residents. The Sierra Club recognized him as the 2023 National Changemaker of the Year.

Join us for a conversation with a rising voice for environmental justice.

Vice President Kamala Harris has succeeded President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for the upcoming presidential election, a change that has elicited strong praise from climate activists. Cutting her teeth in California, a state that often leads the nation on climate policy, Harris has extensive experience with complex environmental issues, having taken fossil fuel corporations to court over pollution and their dissemination of disinformation about climate change.

As vice president, Harris cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is the nation’s largest investment in renewable energy and climate resilience. And as a candidate for president during the 2020 Democratic primary, Harris proposed the second-largest climate spending package after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Harris is only a few days into her role as a presidential candidate and has yet to outline many details of her own platform, but her early statements on environmental policy indicate a strong desire to defend Biden’s climate legislation from Republican attacks.

The approach by Harris to climate issues could not be more different from that of Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance, a contrast you can learn more about in last week’s edition of our newsletter. And for more context on Harris’ stance on climate, tune into our special episode from the 2022 election featuring an interview between Harris and the team behind A Matter of Degrees.

PLUS:

There are just a few days left to submit a nomination for Climate One’s annual Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication. Anyone can suggest an individual for consideration, regardless of whether you personally work in the climate field.

Past recipients include Katharine Hayhoe, Robert Bullard, Ben Santer and Naomi Oreskes. Complete criteria for the award is available on our website, and you can also reply to this email with any questions. Submissions will be accepted through July 31.

Ecuador has long relied on crude oil exports for jobs and tax revenue. But after a decade of organizing efforts by local climate activists and Indigenous communities, the people of Ecuador voted last year to halt all oil extraction in Yasuní National Park, home to the Amazon rainforest.

Just three months later, Ecuadoreans voted Daniel Noboa into office as their new president, and Noboa immediately called for a resumption of oil drilling in Yasuní. As an increasing number of nations call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and consider bans of their own, all eyes are on Ecuador. Can fossil fuels be defeated at the ballot box? Join Tzeporah Berman, Kevin Koenig and Climate One to find out.

Source: The Lexington Times/The Conversation/Utility Disconnections Dashboard

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Please send us an email at climateone@commonwealthclub.org or leave us a voicemail at ‪(650) 382-3869‬ and let us know how climate change is affecting you on the job, and we may use it in an upcoming episode. Thanks for sharing!