What if you could pay someone else to cancel out your carbon emissions? As countries, organizations, and even individuals around the world commit to lowering their impact on the climate, many have been doing just that. So today, we’re going to look at how “carbon offsets” work and whether they are an effective tool for slowing climate change. For this episode, we sat down with carbon trading and offsets expert Dr. Barbara Haya from the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Barbara Haya is a Res...
Nov 17, 2022•14 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Roughly ten percent of the world’s CO2 emissions come from passenger vehicles: cars, pickups, motorcycles, buses, and taxis. So today, we’re going to zoom in on how people get around every day and what to consider when thinking about reducing carbon emissions from everyday travel. For this episode, we sat down with our former MIT colleague and transportation expert Dr. Joanna Moody. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-ab...
Sep 15, 2022•14 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Electric vehicles (EVs) are being touted as a major solution to climate change. But why is that? How do they work and what kinds of changes are needed as more EVs hit the road? To dig into this, we brought in MIT Sloan Prof. David Keith, who studies transportation technology. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-electric-cars For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilcli...
Aug 25, 2022•14 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Hydrogen gas acts like a fossil fuel, but with no carbon emissions. Is it the silver bullet we’ve been waiting for? Prof. Svetlana Ikonnikova of the Technical University of Munich joins us to bring light to how hydrogen works and its potential in the energy transition. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-hydrogen For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu...
Jul 14, 2022•14 min•Season 4Ep. 3
The ocean is a critical piece of the climate change puzzle. It's estimated that the ocean has absorbed about one third of the excess CO2 humans have added to the atmosphere and more than 90% of trapped heat in the atmosphere. So, today, we’re going underwater to talk about the ocean and climate change with renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-the-ocean For more episodes of TI...
Jun 02, 2022•11 min•Season 4Ep. 2
The ocean is a critical piece of the climate change puzzle. It's estimated that the ocean has absorbed about one third of the excess CO2 humans have added to the atmosphere and more than 90% of trapped heat in the atmosphere. So, today, we’re going underwater to talk about the ocean and climate change with renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-the-ocean For more episodes of TI...
Jun 02, 2022•12 min•Season 4Ep. 1
At MIT, we have a commitment to sharing what we know about climate change. That’s why, this summer, we’ll be back soon with a fourth season of TILclimate, bringing you new episodes that dive into even more climate topics, like the role the ocean plays in our climate, solutions for reducing transportation emissions, the future of hydrogen energy, and a whole lot more. All around 10-15 minutes, with real scientists and experts. For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Ini...
May 05, 2022•2 min
Today’s episode is about the money of climate change. When people talk about how much it costs to stop climate change, what are we paying for? And who’s paying, exactly? And if we don’t pay to stop climate change – how much will that cost us? To answer these questions, we spoke with Dr. Barbara Buchner from the Climate Policy Initiative. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-what-it-costs For more episodes of TILclimate by...
Feb 03, 2022•14 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Today we bring climate change to the dining room table. In this episode, we reinvited Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig onto the TILclimate podcast to tell us just a little more about the connections between the food we eat and climate change. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-what-I-eat For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu . Credits Laur Hesse Fisher , Host...
Jan 20, 2022•13 min
Over the last fifty years, our world has made remarkable progress in reducing hunger around the world. How can we keep our farms and food system resilient in a warming climate? Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig , Senior Research Scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, joins host Laur Hesse Fisher on this episode of TILclimate to explain how climate change is already impacting our global food system. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climat...
Nov 18, 2021•15 min•Season 3Ep. 7
In our last episode, we talked about using technology to suck out extra carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But you might also be thinking—don’t trees do that? Yeah, they do! In fact, some people have proposed that by planting enough trees, we could make a big dent on climate change. In this episode of TILclimate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Charles Harvey helps us answer the question: could we just plant a whole lot of trees to solve our climate problem? For a deeper dive an...
Oct 07, 2021•13 min•Season 3Ep. 6
We’ve had people ask us, if climate change is caused by adding too much CO2 into the atmosphere, can’t we just suck it back out? Won’t that solve our climate change problem? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), Professor Niall Mac Dowell of Imperial College London joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to demystify the process and feasibility of removing CO2 from the atmosphere. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts...
Aug 19, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Is climate change really a national security issue, in the same way we think about terrorism or nuclear weapons? And if so, what are our governments doing about it? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), national security expert Alice C. Hill joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to help answer these questions. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-national-security For more episodes of TILclimate by the MI...
Jul 22, 2021•13 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Sea level rise is already happening and affecting people right now. We invited Prof. James Renwick back to TILclimate to talk about the near future: what will sea-level rise look like for coastal areas in the next 20 or 30 years, and what can we do about it? For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-about-sea-level-rise-part-2 For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.e...
Jul 01, 2021•12 min•Season 3Ep. 3
If you’ve heard only one thing about climate change, it might be that sea levels are rising, and many of the Earth’s islands and coastlines are at risk. But, why? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), Professor James Renwick of Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to break down the science of sea level rise and what’s in store for the future if we do — and don’t — significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For a deeper dive and add...
Jun 17, 2021•12 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Surveys show that both left- and right-leaning Americans support policies that slow climate change. So why aren’t we seeing more of these policies pass as legislation? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), MIT alum Parrish Bergquist joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to explain the significance of public opinion and climate change: what people believe, what influences their opinion and how policies are implemented. They also explore what bipartisan policy making could look like, an...
Feb 25, 2021•13 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Climate change can be confusing, and there’s so much to know. That’s why we’re back with a third season of TILclimate, bringing you new episodes that explain the basics, like why exactly is sea level rising, how climate change affects our national security, how can soils and trees be part of the solution, and so much more. All with real scientists and experts who can give you the straight story, in about ten minutes, jargon-free.
Feb 25, 2021•2 min
Is it too late to prevent climate change? Are the scary predictions that we hear about inevitable? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned Climate), MIT Prof. Noelle Selin joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to answer these questions. They explore what change is predictable, explain what climate goals like 1.5 C mean, and give insight to what it will take in order to achieve them. Prof. Noelle Selin is Associate Professor in the Institute for Data, Systems and Society and in the Department of Ea...
Oct 29, 2020•15 min
Technologies like solar panels and batteries help us slow down climate change, but they’re not inherently perfect. In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned Climate), Suzanne Greene of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics and the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative sits down with host Laur Hesse Fisher to help us navigate how to massively scale up clean tech while making a conscious and dedicated effort to ensure people’s rights, health, and safety. Suzanne Greene manages the ...
Oct 29, 2020•11 min
Let’s talk about a technology that could change our whole energy system, but so far hasn’t generated a single watt. In the season finale of TILclimate (Today I Learned Climate), Professor Dennis Whyte sits down with host Laur Hesse Fisher to talk about fusion energy. Dennis Whyte is the Director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC), and a Hitachi America Professor of Engineering. As director of PSFC, Whyte has been a key enabler for the SPARC project, a compact, high-field, net fus...
Aug 13, 2020•14 min•Season 2Ep. 7
This season, we’ve talked about alternative energy sources that don’t emit carbon dioxide -- but what if there was a way to continue using fossil fuels for energy without emitting CO2 into the atmosphere? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned Climate), Dr. Howard Herzog and Professor Brad Hager sit down with host Laur Hesse Fisher to talk about capturing, using, and storing carbon emissions, and how it fits into a clean energy future. Howard Herzog is a Senior Research Engineer in the M...
Jul 16, 2020•12 min•Season 2Ep. 6
We know how to generate tons of electricity without pumping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, using a technology that’s already mature, widespread, and competitive with fossil fuels -- and also, very controversial: nuclear power. In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned Climate), Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno, Director of the MIT Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems, sits down with host Laur Hesse Fisher to explore how nuclear power works, why even some climate advocates don’t agree on u...
Jun 18, 2020•15 min•Season 2Ep. 5
We hear a lot about technologies that produce carbon-free energy, but what about actually using less energy to begin with? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned Climate), Harvey Michaels, lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to explore the three ways that energy efficiency can help us reduce carbon emissions. Harvey Michaels, an MIT alumnus now lecturing at the MIT Sloan School of Management, researches energy management and efficiency and smart-g...
May 07, 2020•11 min•Season 2Ep. 4
What will it take to generate the electricity our society needs, without generating carbon emissions? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned Climate), Dr. Magdalena Klemun at the MIT Institute for Data, Systems and Society joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to begin exploring this question, starting with wind and solar power. What exactly are wind and solar power? What challenges do we currently face when trying to use wind and solar to generate most of our electricity? What’s the role of ener...
Apr 02, 2020•12 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In this mini-episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), host Laur Hesse Fisher breaks down what we’re actually talking about when we use the word “energy”. In a few minutes, we cover the difference between energy and electricity, and the big picture strategy for how to reduce CO2 for each. Season two of TILclimate focuses on our global energy system, its relationship to climate change, and what our options are for keeping the lights on while creating a clean energy future. We’re partnerin...
Feb 13, 2020•5 min
Fossil fuels -- coal, natural gas, and oil -- provide the large majority of our power in the United States and around the world. In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), John Reilly of the MIT Sloan School of Management joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to demystify fossil fuels: what are the different kinds of fossil fuels, and how do they compare to each other? What is “fracking” and how did impact energy use and CO2 emissions in the United States? What kinds of decisions do we nee...
Feb 06, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. 2
The electric grid are networks that carry electricity from central power plants to our homes. But how exactly is electricity generated and brought to our door? And what needs to change if we’re going to transition to generating “clean” electricity? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), Harvey Michaels, lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to explain the history and perhaps surprising features of the electric grid, and what changes are i...
Jan 30, 2020•11 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Here at TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), there’s one question we get from our listeners more than any other: “What can I do to make a difference on climate change?” In this special episode of the podcast, three guests who have made acting on climate a big part of their lives join interim host Aaron Krol to share their stories and their advice for those who want to do more. Together, we discuss how to mobilize and inspire others, how small individual actions can lead to large societal ones,...
Oct 03, 2019•17 min
When talking about climate change solutions, we often hear about reducing emissions and adapting to climate impacts, but a third option is starting to get more attention: altering the atmosphere. In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), MIT alumnus Janos Pasztor joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to explain geoengineering: what it is and the different technologies that are being researched. They also dive into the opportunities and challenges presented by geoengineering, and what diff...
May 01, 2019•12 min•Season 1Ep. 8
What exactly is a carbon price, and how does it work? What would it look like and how would it change everyday life? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), MIT economics professor Christopher Knittel joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to break down the complexities of carbon pricing. Together, they explain different types of programs, give us a sense of how much it would cost, and explore how countries and U.S. states are experimenting with carbon pricing now. Christopher Knittel is...
Apr 24, 2019•11 min•Season 1Ep. 7
