Peter Calthorpe, Founder, Calthorpe Associates; Author, Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change It’s a love story gone horribly wrong. Big cars, ever-bigger homes, distant suburbs – all of it kept afloat by cheap oil. If this American arrangement ever made sense, it certainly doesn’t now, Peter Calthorpe says. Tragically, we’re perpetuating this failed system in much of the country, ignoring a cheaper, greener alternative: urbanism. “It’s better than free,” says Calthorpe, founder of Calthorpe Ass...
May 31, 2011•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Wal-Mart: Force of Nature or Greenwashing? Edward Humes, Author, Force of Nature Greg Dalton, Vice President of Special Projects, The Commonwealth Club; Founder, Climate One - Moderator Wal-Mart is not a sustainable company, says author Edward Humes. But the mega-retailer is making money by investing in sustainability. The story of how Wal-Mart made the pivot toward green is well told by Humes, author of Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story of Wal-Mart’s Green Revolution. The unlikely hero is Jib...
May 18, 2011•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Charge It? Rob Bearman, Director, Global Alliances, Utilities and Energy, Better Place Mike DiNucci, VP of Strategic Accounts, Coulomb Technologies Jay Friedland, Legislative Director, Plug In America Jonathan Read, CEO, ECOtality Consumers are ready for electric vehicles. Entrepreneurs and policymakers just need to hustle to work out the kinks in the nationwide networks that will charge the cars, says this panel of experts assembled at Climate One. Automakers see a chance to free their customer...
May 16, 2011•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Pole Position Forrest Beanum, Vice President of Government Relations, Coda Automotive Oliver Kuttner, CEO, Edison2 Bill Reinert, National Manager, Toyota Michael Robinson, VP for Environment, Energy and Safety Policy, General Motors Dan Sperling, Member, California Air Resources Board; Professor, UC Davis Fifteen years have passed since a major automaker has attempted to market an electric vehicle. Within five years, rare will be the auto showroom that lacks one. But before EVs dominate the mark...
May 16, 2011•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tim Flannery Professor of Science, Maquarie University; Chair, Copenhagen Climate Council; Author, Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet Greg Dalton, Vice President of Special Projects, The Commonwealth Club; Founder, Climate One - Moderator Tim Flannery doesn’t do pessimism. Flannery explains the source of his optimism, a major theme of his new book, Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet, in this Climate One conversation at the Hoover Theatre, in San Jose. It stems from what h...
May 09, 2011•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Senator Dianne Feinstein, Member, United States Senate (D-CA) in conversation with Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One at The Commonwealth Club In this Climate One conversation at the Mark Hopkins Hotel, in San Francisco, Senator Dianne Feinstein touches on some longtime pursuits – national security experience and protecting the California desert from development. She also pledges to investigate the safety of the US nuclear fleet, protect children from toxins, and continue to shield California’s...
Apr 29, 2011•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Measure What? Michel Gelobter, Chief Green Officer, Hara Eric Olson, Senior Vice President, Advisory Services, BSR Glen Low, Principal, Blu Skye Forward-thinking companies are coming to realize that sustainability isn’t just good for their bottom lines; it makes it easier to win over customers and compete in the market, say three corporate greening experts. As new tools such as carbon accounting software become more sophisticated and widely adopted, the panelists say, benefits will accrue not on...
Apr 18, 2011•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cell Power: Sprint CEO Dan Hesse Dan Hesse, CEO, Sprint Nextel Sprint wants to be recognized as the green leader in the wireless industry, says CEO Dan Hesse in this return visit to Climate One. Hesse warns against the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile and announces the release of the fourth phone in Sprint’s green series, the Samsung Replenish. “As we meet here today,” Hesse says, “the innovative power of the wireless industry is under serious threat” by the proposed AT&T acquisition of T-Mo...
Apr 18, 2011•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nuclear Power: Setting Sun? Jacques Besnainou, CEO AREVA Inc. Lucas Davis, Professor, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley Jeff Byron, Former Commissioner, California Energy Commission This panel agrees that nuclear power, despite offering the promise of carbon-free electricity and safer next-generation reactors, is challenged by steep upfront costs and where to store spent fuel. Jeff Byron, formerly a member of the California Energy Commission, says the Fukushima tragedy offers the nuclear indu...
Apr 11, 2011•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Energy Policy: What’s Next? T.J. Glauthier, Former Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy James Sweeney, Director, Precourt Energy Efficiency Center, Stanford Tony Knowles, Chair, National Energy Policy Institute; Former Governor, Alaska The United States does not have a national energy policy. In this panel convened by Climate One three experts long involved in the US energy debate conspire to shape their own. The plan: steadily increasing the cost of gasoline at the pump, replace diesel w...
Apr 07, 2011•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Duke of Energy Jim Rogers, Chairman and CEO, Duke Energy Outside of the Oval Office, one of the most influential voices in the energy debate is Jim Rogers, Chairman and CEO of Duke Energy. Here Rogers talks about the future of energy policy in the United States in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Rogers says Duke Energy will continue to pursue new nuclear power, despite movements by some governments to rethink their nuclear strategy. “With respect to Japan,” he says, “we will pa...
Apr 07, 2011•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ted Danson: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them Ted Danson, Actor; Environmentalist; Author, Oceana In the mid-1980s, actor Ted Danson was walking along a Santa Monica beach when he noticed a sign: “Water polluted, no swimming.” "Trying to explain that to my kid was hard," he says. Already wealthy and famous from playing Sam Malone on “Cheers,” Danson decided then to use his celebrity to raise awareness about the plight of the world’s oceans. “It sunk in that there is a lot tha...
Mar 23, 2011•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cloud Power: Microsoft + Google (3/11/11) Rob Bernard, Chief Environmental Strategist, Microsoft William Weihl, Green Energy Czar, Google Greg Dalton, Climate One Founder, Moderator Arch rivals Microsoft and Google find common cause at Climate One promoting the energy efficiency of the cloud. Efficiency alone won’t solve the climate crisis, Rob Bernard of Microsoft and Google’s William Weihl say, but smart IT can reduce emissions, help green the grid, and save money companies and consumers money...
Mar 15, 2011•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Generation Hot Mark Hertsgaard, Author, Generation Hot Scott Harmon, Sustainability Advisor to Boy Scouts of America Alec Loorz, Founder, Kids-vs-Global-Warming.com Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One, moderator The climate change debate in America appears hopelessly stuck. If the US is to have any chance to break the stalemate, young people must get involved and force their voice to be heard, says this panel of activists convened by Climate One. For Alec Loorz, the 16-year-old founder of www.Ki...
Mar 10, 2011•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast American Wasteland Jonathan Bloom, Author, American Wasteland Michael Dimock, President, Roots of Change A.G. Kawamura, Former Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One, moderator The ubiquity of food in the United States blinds the mind to a tragic fact: much of it is wasted. Exact numbers are elusive, but estimates suggest that at least a quarter and as much as half of the food produced in this country is never consumed. A panel of food expert...
Mar 10, 2011•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Horsepower: Accelerating EVs into the Fast Lane Anthony Eggert, Commissioner, California Energy Commission, Transportation Lead Diane Wittenberg, Executive Director, California EV Strategic Plan Diarmuid O'Connell, Vice President of Business Development, Tesla Motors Marc Geller, Co-founder, Plug-In America Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One, Moderator Born before the Model T, revived and then extinguished a decade ago by GM, the electric vehicle is poised to dominate the global car industry, s...
Jan 18, 2011•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast People Power: Rethinking Electricity Dian Grueneich, Former Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission Mark Duvall, Director of Electric Transportation and Energy Storage, Electric Power Research Institute Ted Howes, Partner, IDEO Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One, Moderator The utility-consumer relationship is primed for a fundamental overhaul. Armed with information, formerly passive consumers will take charge of their energy future, say a panel of experts convened by Climate One. ...
Jan 18, 2011•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why Family Dinners Matter: How Every Concern Crosses Your Dinner Plate Laurie David, Producer, An Inconvenient Truth; Author, The Family Dinner Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One We are at risk of losing a cherished and nourishing tradition, the family dinner, says author and activist Laurie David. Producer of An Inconvenient Truth and author of the just-released The Family Dinner, David says a host of pressures and dangers threaten the family dinner. The culprits are familiar: long commutes; T...
Nov 15, 2010•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Science As A Contact Sport Ben Santer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Noah Diffenbaugh, Professor, Environmental Earth System Science, Stanford Uninversity Greg Dalton, Climate One - Moderator Confronted with overwhelming evidence of a warming planet, scientists have a duty to leave the laboratory and engage the public, say two leading climatologists. This Climate One program, titled “Science as a Contact Sport,” is a tribute to the late Stanford University climate scientist Stephen Schn...
Nov 04, 2010•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Proposition 23: Yes or No? Bob Epstein, Founder, Environmental Entrepreneurs Nancy Floyd, Manging Director, Nth Power Jack Stewart, President, California Manufacturers Tom Tanton, President, T2 & Associates Greg Dalton, Climate One - Moderator The night before an election that would decide the fate of California’s landmark climate change law, a panel of energy experts convened by Climate One debates whether AB 32 would catalyze or cripple the state’s economy. The measure before voters, Propositi...
Nov 02, 2010•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Calories and Carbon Ken Cook, Founder and President, Environmental Working Group Whendee Silver, Professor of Ecology, UC Berkeley; Marin Carbon Project Helene York, Director, Bon Appetit Management Company Foundation Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One, moderator Grappling with the carbon impact of our food system is not easy. Faced with such uncertainty, Ken Cook’s simple advice is apt: “Eat lower down the food chain – better for you, better for the planet.” Cook, founder and president of the ...
Oct 27, 2010•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Climate Fix? Roger Pielke, Professor, University of Colorado What’s the most efficient way to minimize the impacts of climate change? Public policy? Massive funding of new technology? Buying off emerging countries that will soon emit most of the world’s carbon pollution? Pielke, who is affiliated with The Breakthrough Institute, is critical of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He’ll explain why and offer his take on the state of climate science. This program was recorded in fron...
Oct 21, 2010•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One, moderator In just her third appearance before a US audience as secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton touts the potential of American innovation to further public diplomacy and to help tackle a host of global challenges. Before a sold-out Commonwealth Club crowd of 1,500, Clinton comments on global flashpoints – Afghanistan, Iran, and Mexico – while addressing climate change and clean energy. Clinton repeatedly st...
Oct 16, 2010•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the Balance: Energy, Economy and Environment Part of The Chevron California Innovation Series Raj Atluru, Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Ralph Cavanagh, Energy Co-director, Natural Resources Defense Council Cathy Reheis-Boyd, President, Western States Petroleum Association Jack Stewart, President, California Manufacturers and Technology Association Virgil Welch, Special Assistant to the Chairman, California Air Resources Board Greg Dalton, Climate One - Moderator The low-carbon ec...
Oct 14, 2010•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Solar Surge? John Woolard, CEO, BrightSource Energy Karen Douglas, Chairman, California Energy Commission Lisa Hoyos, California Director, Apollo Alliance Greg Dalton, Climate One - Moderator A “perfect storm” of policy and incentives has made 2010 a banner year for solar in California, but for the boom to continue in the state and the rest of the United States, major obstacles need to be cleared, according to a panel of experts convened by Climate One. Karen Douglas, Chair of the California Ene...
Oct 11, 2010•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: Green Light or Red Light Ahead? With an election approaching that will decide his successor and the fate of his landmark legislative achievement, California’s climate law known as AB 32, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers a full-throated defense of his legacy. Schwarzenegger’s aim, he says, is to shed a spotlight on “forces willing to sacrifice this country’s environmental future for private gain” by pushing Proposition 23. “Oil companies like Valero and Tesoro a...
Sep 30, 2010•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Salt, Oil and Carbon Jane Lubchenco, Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Nancy Sutley, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality, the White House Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One A new national oceans policy will require a patchwork of federal agencies to collaborate on managing the country’s oceans and lakes for the first time, according to Jane Lubchenco, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House...
Sep 14, 2010•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cradle to California William McDonough, Architect and Author, Cradle to Cradle Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One American architect McDonough and German chemist Michael Braungart started the Cradle to Cradle revolution in manufacturing and design. Now they want to drive that integrated thinking deeper into the heart of capitalism. How? By creating a startup in Silicon Valley. The Green Products Innovation Institute, which McDonough and Governor Schwarzenegger christened last spring, aims to tr...
Sep 08, 2010•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast The evolving status of women in the world today will be explored at The Commonwealth Club throughout the month of August in the series The Ascent of Woman. Through speakers, panels, films and art, we will examine this transformational period in women's history, this dramatic shift from the expectation of our mothers' choices, to how we work and live today in ways that reach out through our families and communities to reverberate throughout the nation. The Ascent of Woman series will illuminate w...
Sep 02, 2010•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Power Shift: The U.S. Navy and Global Energy Reform Ray Mabus, Secretary of the U.S. Navy Greg Dalton, Founder of Climate One Within 10 years, the United States Navy will get one-half of all its energy needs, both afloat and ashore, from non-fossil fuel sources,” Navy Secretary Ray Mabus says. He believes that the US military can jump-start the clean energy revolution. “If we can begin to get this energy from different places and from different sources, then I think you can flip the line from ‘F...
Aug 18, 2010•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
