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The Gray Area with Sean Illing

How to solve climate change and make life more awesome

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Vox Media Podcast Network

Politics, News, News Commentary, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.511.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2019

⏱️ 98 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The climate series is back! The reason for the delay is that I wanted to make sure that this episode was next up in the series. Once you start listening, you’ll understand why.  So far, we’ve spent the series talking about the problem we're facing and what the world will ultimately look like if we fail. Today’s conversation is different: It is about what it will take to solve climate change and what kind of world we can build if we succeed.  Saul Griffith is an inventor, a MacArthur genius fellow, and the founder and CEO of Otherlab, a high-tech research and development company on the frontlines of trying to imagine our clean energy future. Griffith and his team were contracted by the Department of Energy to track and visualize the entirety of America’s energy flows — and as a result, he knows the US energy system better than just about anyone on this planet. Griffith is also clearer than anyone else I’ve found on the paths to decarbonization, and how to navigate them. Most conversations about climate change are pretty depressing. This conversation is not. We have the tools we need to decarbonize. What’s more, decarbonizing doesn’t mean accepting a future of less — it can mean a more awesome, humane, technologically rich, and socially inspiring future for us all. This conversation is about a vision of decarbonization that is genuinely awesome, and how we can actually get there. References: Otherlab's diagram of US energy flows Griffith's piece on paths to decarbonization Book recommendations: Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber Freedom's Forge by Arthur Herman The Extinction Rebellion Handbook Silent Spring by Rachel Carson My book is available for pre-order! You can find it at www.EzraKlein.com. The first batch of stops for my book tour is up! Get tickets at http://www.whywerepolarized.com Submit questions for our upcoming "Ask Me Anything" at ezrakleinshow@vox.com You can subscribe to Ezra's new podcast Impeachment, explained on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts, or your favorite podcast app. Credits: Producer and Editor - Jeff Geld Researcher - Roge Karma Engineer - Cynthia Gil Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

The Grey Area is brought to you by Into the Mix, a Ben and Jerry's podcast about joy and justice produced with Fox Creative.

0:08.0

Their second season tells real stories from real people directly impacted by some of today's most pressing issues.

0:15.0

The latest episode of Into the Mix takes listeners to the dairy barns of rural Vermont,

0:21.0

to tell the story of how grassroots activism for safe conditions, competitive wages,

0:26.0

and humane working hours led to an innovative worker-led program that let workers decide for themselves

0:33.0

what dignified working conditions look like.

0:36.0

Hear their story on Into the Mix out now.

0:43.0

Support for this podcast comes from Unisys.

0:46.0

Unisys is a global technology solutions company dedicated to helping people and organizations reach their next breakthrough.

0:53.0

They offer tools to help you run your business more efficiently, like systems integration, consulting services,

0:59.0

application management, and device management software.

1:02.0

Plus, Unisys applies specialized expert teams to strengthen and transform teams and processes.

1:08.0

To learn more, visit unisys.com.

1:11.0

That's unisys.com. Unisys, keep breaking through.

1:21.0

We build the national highway system in a matter of decades and shorter.

1:25.0

This can easily be done, and it can be done in a decade.

1:29.0

And we are just sort of lacking the footpath of the go-getting attitude that America had in the early 20th century.

1:35.0

Somewhere around 1980, you will go to Indonesia for your ambition.

1:39.0

But this is completely doable.

1:53.0

Hello, welcome to the Client Show on the Box Media Podcast Network.

1:56.0

Quick announcements before we begin.

1:58.0

We've got the AMA is open for another week to send you any questions if you want to hear me answer them.

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