You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

In 2016, Kim Cobb jumped into the Pacific Ocean near Christmas Island to check on the

coral reefs she'd been studying for decades.

The waters crystal blue, everything looks perfect.

And then she looked down at the coral and saw a layer of red-brown algae.

The coral had died.

It was like a gut punch.

I mean, I was just shocked.

I literally couldn't believe what I was seeing.

A record-breaking marine heatwave had killed almost the entire reef.

Seeing that level of devastation for something that's so precious to you that you've grown

up with for decades, I was just crying into my mask.

Then came the presidential election.

The nation elected an administration that is openly hostile to climate solutions and

the Paris Agreement.

But the really horrifying reality that I realized was that even if Clinton had won, it would

never have been enough.

We were so late.

Kim realized she needed to push the reset button on her climate priorities.

And part of that meant meticulously calculating her personal carbon emissions.

I mean, I have this all tallied on an Excel spreadsheet.

I bet you do, Kim Cobb.

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