San Antonio's water utility has discovered a way to help its low-income residents and simultaneously conserve water: it sends a plumber out to their house, for free. On the latest episode of Parts Per Billion, we speak with the official who runs this program in San Antonio to learn about the intersection of water affordability and water conservation. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Apr 03, 2019•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alex Flint believes climate change is real and the best way to deal with it is to raise taxes on carbon emissions. He's also a Republican. On this episode of Parts Per Billion, we speak with Flint about how a carbon tax would work, how it could appeal to conservatives, and why he thinks the carbon tax in the Democrats' Green New Deal won't become a reality. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Mar 19, 2019•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast The owners of Arizona's Navajo Generating Station are having a hard time finding someone who wants to take the power plant off their hands before its lease expires at the end of the year. But while few if any want to buy the plant, there lots of people who don't want to see it close. Bloomberg Environment's Stephen Lee joins us to talk about why the future of the largest coal-fired power plant west of the Mississippi is so uncertain. Host: David Schultz. Editors: Marissa Horn and Jessica Coomes....
Mar 06, 2019•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bloomberg Environment's Sylvia Carignan joins Parts Per Billion to talk about the future of PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," a family of man-made substances that have been found in groundwater across the country and have been linked to numerous health problems. Host: David Schultz. Editors: Marissa Horn and Jessica Coomes. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Feb 22, 2019•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The President wants Andrew Wheeler to be the permanent chief of the EPA, but first he'll have to get through the Senate. Bloomberg Environment's Dean Scott joins us to talk about how Wheeler's nomination will almost certainly succeed, although the vote may be pretty close. Host: David Schultz. Editors: Jessica Coomes and Marissa Horn. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 31, 2019•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mercury's not just for thermometers anymore—it also comes out of power plants. Bloomberg Environment's Amena Saiyid joins us to talk about what the EPA is doing about mercury pollution from power plants and which special interests are pushing the agency which way on this issue. Host: David Schultz. Editors: Marissa Horn and Jessica Coomes. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 24, 2019•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast The United Nations’ recent climate change conference in Poland didn’t yield much in the way of breakthroughs. That raises the question: How long before catastrophic climate impacts become unavoidable? Bloomberg Environment’s Bobby Magill joins us on our podcast to summarize what went down in Poland and what that means for how the world will respond to global climate change. Host: David Schultz. Editors: Jessica Coomes and Marissa Horn. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcas...
Jan 08, 2019•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ryan Zinke is gone from President Trump's cabinet, but Bloomberg Environment's Stephen Lee says he won't soon be forgotten. Lee joins us to talk about the long-lasting consequences of Zinke's 22 months atop the Department of the Interior, and who may potentially be his successor. Host: David Schultz. Editors: Jessica Coomes and Marissa Horn. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 20, 2018•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast How well did the EPA handle last year’s hurricanes and wildfires? Bloomberg Environment reporter Sylvia Carignan found a copy of the agency’s “warts and all” self-assessment of its disaster response, and she said it contains a lot of warts. Host: David Schultz. Editors: Jessica Coomes and Marissa Horn. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 13, 2018•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast The UN's 24th annual climate change conference begins in Poland this week amid increasing signs that a global environmental catastrophe is afoot. Bloomberg Environment's Bobby Magill is there and he spoke with the head of the UN's General Assembly about what needs to happen to fix this problem, or at least prevent it from getting significantly worse. Host: David Schultz. Producer: Jessica Coomes. Editor: Marissa Horn. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See o...
Dec 05, 2018•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Just in time for Thanksgiving, we have Bloomberg Environment’s Tiffany Stecker on to talk about the pesticides that might be in your food. Specifically, she talks about a particularly potent bug-killing chemical that hasn’t gone away in the developing world, even though the U.S., Europe, and other developed areas have largely declared it unsafe. Host: David Schultz. Editors: Marissa Horn and Jessica Coomes. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.c...
Nov 21, 2018•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Congress will look very different when it gavels in next year with a new House Democratic Majority and an expanded Republican Senate. On this special post-election episode of "Suspending the Rules," our reporters and legislative analysts break down the implications of a divided Congress for a variety of key issues. In this episode: • Bloomberg Government senior congressional reporter Nancy Ognanovich dives into the election returns and dynamics in the new Congress. • Bloomberg Government health ...
Nov 07, 2018•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this week's episode of our weekly podcast, Parts Per Billion, we get small: small power plants, small amounts of chemicals in your breakfast, and an update on a lawsuit from some small people. Bloomberg Environment's Adam Allington and Bobby Magill join us to discuss the future of coal and the future of litigation that could change the way the government addresses climate change. Host: David Schultz Producers: Jessica Coomes & Marissa Horn Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.i...
Nov 06, 2018•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we introduce a new segment on our weekly environmental policy podcast, Parts Per Billion: a news quiz where you can test your knowledge of current events against Bloomberg Environment’s finest journalists. We also hear from one of those journalists, climate reporter Abby Smith, about an on-again-off-again lawsuit from a group of young people who are arguing that the government has a constitutional duty to combat climate change. Host: David Schultz. Producer: Jessica Coomes. Learn more...
Oct 31, 2018•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The conditions may finally be right for deep sea mining. Demand for rare minerals is peaking thanks to consumer electronics, and technology has developed enough that drilling three miles underwater can be done safely. Or can it? This week on Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Environment's Adam Allington tells us about why some environmentalists and scientists think mining isn't actually better down where it's wetter. Host: David Schultz Editors: Marissa Horn & Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch Producers:...
Oct 12, 2018•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast There's a new contamination problem that people are calling "the new asbestos." It's per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS. PFAS has been linked to numerous health problems, and cities and towns across the country have been finding them in their water supplies—especially towns or around military bases. Why? Because PFAS was commonly used in firefighting foam that was sprayed liberally on tarmacs and airstrips. Maureen Sullivan is the Pentagon's point person for address...
Aug 30, 2018•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fracking involves shooting water deep underground to break open oil and gas formations. Most of that water comes back up to the surface eventually. What are we supposed to do with it? Nichole Saunders, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, says we need to do A LOT more research before we start using this wastewater instead of just storing it back underground. We spoke to Saunders at the annual conference of the Environmental Council of the States in Stowe, Vt. Check back in later this...
Aug 28, 2018•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Some scientists out there are working on a plan to suck greenhouse gasses out of the air. Is this a potentially revolutionary solution to the problem of climate change? Bloomberg Environment's Bobby Magill says don't go popping the champagne corks just yet. In the latest episode of Parts Per Billion, Magill talks about the struggle to make carbon removal viable—not just technologically, but also economically and even morally viable. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastne...
Aug 23, 2018•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast It seems you can't go a week anymore without someone announcing they're banning plastic straws in the name of reducing water pollution. As Bloomberg Environment's Sam McQuillan reports, even the sporting world is getting into the act. For the latest episode of Parts Per Billion, we talk with Sam about why sports stadiums are announcing bans on plastic straws and about the star power behind this nascent movement. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystu...
Jul 25, 2018•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Brett Kavanaugh is the man of the hour. The federal appeals court judge was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Trump, who called him “one of the finest and sharpest legal minds in our time.” Bloomberg Environment reporter Fatima Hussein says Kavanaugh has a lengthy and interesting record on environmental issues. For the latest episode of Parts Per Billion, Fatima breaks down what a possible “Associate Justice Kavanaugh” would mean for air, water, soil, and more. Learn more about your ad...
Jul 10, 2018•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast More money is always better, right? Well, not when it comes to redeveloping polluted real estate. On the latest episode of Parts Per Billion, we hear from Bloomberg Environment reporter Sylvia Carignan on why larger redevelopment grants from the EPA may actually hurt small, rural communities. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jul 05, 2018•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Many Puerto Ricans are fed up with their government-run electric utility, with sporadic outages still occurring more than eight months after Hurricane Maria. Bloomberg Environment reporter Rebecca Kern just returned from the island, and she found that demand there for residential solar power is through the roof. But, as she tells us in the latest episode of Parts Per Billion, even solar panel installers are saying storm-fatigued residents are raising their hopes too high. Learn more about your a...
May 24, 2018•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hotel workers have to go into what is essentially someone's bedroom by themselves multiple times a day. How do we keep them safe? Some California legislators think they have the solution: panic buttons. On this episode of Parts Per Billion, we speak with Bloomberg Environment reporter Fatima Hussein about her recent story on a bill in the Golden State that would require all hotels to provide workers with these personal safety devices. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcast...
May 07, 2018•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast One of the nice things about bitcoins is that you can mine them almost anywhere—even on a toxic Superfund site. For this week's episode of Parts Per Billion we explain why these unused, and possibly unusable, contaminated industrial sites might be perfect for bitcoin mining operations. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Apr 30, 2018•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast The EPA says it's going to revise the federal fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, which environmentalists fear could resurrect the gas guzzlers that used to roam the roads decades ago. For this episode of Parts Per Billion, we give the keys to climate reporter Abby Smith, who tries to explain a very complicated and messy regulatory situation. For one, she says, there's the issue of California, which has the power to set its own efficiency standards for cars and is likely not on board ...
Apr 03, 2018•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sometimes businesses leave toxic waste in their wake when they shut down a factory. What should be done with that contaminated land? That's where the EPA's Superfund program comes in. Its mission is to clean up the land and makes it usable for someone else. But who really wants to buy a Superfund site? For the latest of Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Environment reporter Sylvia Carignan talks about the agency's efforts to make these rehabilitated properties more attractive to potential buyers and ...
Mar 05, 2018•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey big city dwellers, ever wish you could escape the stress of the concrete jungle and visit something that more resembles an actual jungle? Well now, thanks to something called the "biophilic" movement, your wish may be coming true. On this episode of Parts Per Billion, we head over to Kingman Island--a nature preserve nestled in the heart of Washington's inner city--to learn more about this movement from Bloomberg Environment reporter Adam Allington. Learn more about your ad-choices at https:...
Feb 15, 2018•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Marijuana is becoming a big business and many are hoping this will eventually drive out the illegal pot farmers and their environmental reckless pest control tactics. However, not everyone is so sure. Legal pot could just create a larger market for the drug, which in turn could make it more lucrative to grow the crop illegally. On this episode of Bloomberg Environment's podcast Parts Per Billion, we speak with reporter Sara Merken about the environmental hazards of growing marijuana and about th...
Feb 01, 2018•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to 2018! For the latest episode of our podcast, Parts Per Billion, we convene a roundtable discussion among Bloomberg Environment reporters of some of the big policy issues that will be shaping the news in this new year. We touch on everything from energy to chemicals to, of course, climate change. (Note: Due to recording problems, some of the audio in this week's episode is distorted. We apologize for the audio quality.) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwo...
Jan 05, 2018•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you noticed that Christmas trees are harder to come by this year? There's a reason for that. That reason is nutty, chocolatey and tastes great on toast. It's Nutella. For this week's episode of Parts Per Billion, we speak with global environment reporter Adam Allington about how the soaring popularity of the chocolate spread Nutella, especially in China, is connected in surprising ways to this year's Christmas tree shortage in the U.S. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartp...
Dec 21, 2017•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
