Pumping Up Pollution During Government Shutdowns, with Neha Khanna and Ruohao Zhang
In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Neha Khanna and Ruohao Zhang about how government shutdowns prevent active air-pollution monitoring—and end up leading to more air pollution from coal-fired power plants while monitoring is on hiatus. Professor Khanna from Binghamton University and Assistant Professor Zhang from Pennsylvania State University published a related study, with another coauthor, examining the impact of the 2018–2019 government shutdown on pollution emissions from federally regulated coal-fired power plants. The authors found that the hiatus on pollution monitoring by federal employees, who were furloughed during the shutdown, led to an increase in the types of pollutants that required manual regulation at power plants. In this podcast episode, Khanna and Zhang reflect on how these findings may likewise inform how pollution rates may have changed during the government shutdown that ended just last week.
References and recommendations:
“Monitoring and Enforcement and Environmental Compliance: Power Plant Emissions During the 2018–19 Federal Government Shutdown” by Ruohao Zhang, Huan Li, and Neha Khanna; https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/733758
“Coal plants emitted more pollution during the last government shutdown, while regulators were furloughed” by Ruohao Zhang, Huan Li, and Neha Khanna; https://theconversation.com/coal-plants-emitted-more-pollution-during-the-last-government-shutdown-while-regulators-were-furloughed-267696
“The Conversation” online platform; https://theconversation.com/us
“The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/43157/the-lorax-by-dr-seuss/
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Nature vs. Unnature: Public Perception of Solar Geoengineering, with Kaitlin Raimi
In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Kaitlin Raimi about public perceptions of solar geoengineering. Raimi, a social psychologist and associate professor at the University of Michigan, describes how only around 15 or 25 percent of people know what solar geoengineering is, and those who are aware tend to be wary of the concept. She discusses techniques to inform the public about the benefits and pitfalls of solar engineering, avoid political polarization, and prevent solar geoengineering from being seen as the only solution needed to tackle climate change.
References and recommendations:
“Public perceptions of geoengineering” by Kaitlin T. Raimi; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352250X21000385
Solar geoengineering research at Resources for the Future; https://www.rff.org/topics/comprehensive-climate-strategies/solar-geoengineering/
“Cane Toads: An Unnatural History” documentary; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_Toads:_An_Unnatural_History
Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/
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Understanding Uncertainty in Climate Change and Sea Level Rise, with Vivek Srikrishnan
In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Vivek Srikrishnan about factors that contribute to sea level rise. Srikrishnan, an assistant professor at Cornell University, describes the difficulties involved in analyzing the impact of the complex factors related to climate and climate change, which in turn lead to uncertainties in projecting the extent of future sea level rise. In a new publication, Srikrishnan and coauthors model different scenarios that capture those uncertainties. Srikrishnan also points out how short-lived greenhouse gases can lead to greater ice melt compared to more persistent greenhouse gases, as well as the irreversible nature of ice melts.
References and recommendations:
“The interplay of future emissions and geophysical uncertainties for projections of sea-level rise” by Chloe Darnell, Lisa Rennels, Frank Errickson, Tony Wong, and Vivek Srikrishnan; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02457-0
“The Earth Transformed” by Peter Frankopan; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/635264/the-earth-transformed-by-peter-frankopan/
Subscribe to stay up to date on news and research from Resources for the Future: www.rff.org/subscribe/
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A History of Alliances Between Workers and Environmentalists, with Dave Foster
In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Dave Foster, a distinguished associate at the Energy Futures Initiative, about the story of how labor unions and environmental organizations have found ways to work together on issues that affect both contingents. As a former director of United Steelworkers District 11, Foster recalls the “Donora incident” as the main catalyst for the union’s interest in environmental affairs. Foster shares his firsthand recollection of the history behind the creation of the BlueGreen Alliance, including some of the various struggles, wins, and early initiatives that helped secure the partnership between labor and environmental organizations.
References and recommendations:
“Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie” by Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/712585/sea-of-grass-by-dave-hage-and-josephine-marcotty/
“Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition” by Sanya Carley and David Konisky; https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo254000286.html
Subscribe to stay up to date on news and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/
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Hunting for Energy Hogs, with Severin Borenstein
In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi and guest Severin Borenstein discuss regulatory punishments for “energy hogs.” Borenstein is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley; faculty director of Berkeley’s Energy Institute in the Haas School of Business; and chair of the board of governors for the California Independent System Operator. These “energy hogs”—households perceived as consuming wasteful and excessive amounts of electricity—may incur higher energy costs as states strive to meet economic and environmental goals. However, Borenstein’s work reveals that benign or even desirable factors, such as having more people in the household, can lead to higher energy use. Borenstein cautions regulators about charging certain households more than is needed to offset the social costs of electricity use. Together, Borenstein and Raimi talk about ways that US states can reach their policy goals without penalizing households that use more energy.
References and Recommendations:
“Energy Hogs and Energy Angels: What Does Residential Electricity Use Really Tell Us about Profligate Consumption?” by Severin Borenstein; https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pandp.20251111
“Infrastructure: A Guide to the Industrial Landscape” by Brian Hayes; https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393349832
Resources Radio is a weekly podcast by Resources for the Future. Each week we talk to leading experts about climate change, electricity, ecosystems, and more, making the latest research accessible to everyone.
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