Introducing “How We Survive”
How We Survive
Marketplace
4.8 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 21 September 2021
⏱️ 4 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The climate crisis is here. The Western U.S. is burning, much of the Northeast is underwater after a hurricane and towns in Europe are swept away by massive floods. Time is slipping away to stop the worst effects of a warming planet, and the world is looking for solutions.
On “How We Survive,” Molly Wood explores the technology that could provide some of those solutions, the business of acclimatizing to an increasingly inhospitable planet, and the way people have to change if we’re going to make it in an altered world.
Decarbonization requires a lot of batteries, and many batteries require lithium. The need for lithium is driving a modern gold rush for the metal that could save the world, but relies on an old, dirty technology: mining. This season, we’ll dive deep into the economics, the tech and the human stories behind the rush for “white gold.” And unlike the gold rush of the 1800s, this time, our survival might depend on it.
It all starts Oct. 6. Listen to the trailer now and be sure to follow the show so you don’t miss an episode.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Okay, so we're about to exit the vehicle, which is a terrible idea because it is 111 degrees. |
| 0:08.0 | It's so hot that every alarm bell in your body goes off. |
| 0:12.0 | Ow! Geez! So hot, you have to be... that every alarm bell in your body goes off. |
| 0:13.0 | O'Geez. |
| 0:14.0 | So hot, you have to be real careful getting out of the car. |
| 0:17.0 | I've literally burned my leg on the side of the truck. |
| 0:20.0 | Did you know? |
| 0:21.0 | I spent the summer on a road trip through the climate crisis looking for solutions |
| 0:25.2 | to an emergency that's gotten all too real for the whole country all at once. |
| 0:29.4 | The Dixie Fire tore through the Northern California town of Greenville. |
| 0:33.8 | We're watching a spectacular fire tornado down there. |
| 0:36.2 | As far as the eye can see flooding tornado damage. |
| 0:38.8 | The entirety of New Orleans without power this morning. |
| 0:41.8 | This two year old boy and his dad and mom lost their lives in their flooded basement |
| 0:46.4 | apartment. The waters from the Elizabeth River just tossed cars like toy boats. |
| 0:52.3 | Let's take a deep breath. This is not a podcast about the world ending. It's a |
| 0:58.0 | podcast about finding solutions and about innovating our way into a better future. |
| 1:03.0 | This is how we survive. |
| 1:05.0 | I'm your host Molly Wood. |
| 1:09.0 | Welcome to season one, White Gold, |
| 1:12.0 | all about the race to mine a resource that could help save us all, |
| 1:16.2 | this stuff called lithium, a silvery white metal that's the main component in most batteries. |
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