Resources Radio

In this episode, host Daniel Raimi invites podcast guest Amy Townsend-Small, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, to illuminate the history, environmental impact, and cultural significance of gas-powered streetlights. These functional fixtures lend old-time ambiance to historic districts in cities like Boston and Cincinnati, but their aesthetic comes at a cost: gas lamps leak methane at a wasteful rate, and these charming relics can drain cities of hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel and maintenance. By integrating her field research on streetlights with cultural and historical context, Townsend-Small localizes the numbers behind gaslight emissions—and sheds light on the sentiments that might have allowed them to persist, even as fuel-efficient electric alternatives become more affordable and available.

References and recommendations:

“Gas streetlights, methane emissions, and the cultural resistance to climate change mitigation” by Amy Townsend-Small, Sacha Brewer, and David Stradling; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13412-026-01113-z

“Quantification of methane and carbon monoxide from natural gas streetlights in Boston: a ‘low-hanging fruit’ for emissions reduction” by Amy Townsend-Small, Sacha Brewer, Nathan Phillips, and Ania Camargo; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2515-7620/ae60cb/meta

“Hacks” television show; https://play.hbomax.com/show/67e940b7-aab2-46ce-a62b-c7308cde9de7

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This week, host Margaret Walls welcomes Celso Ferreira and Elizabeth Van Dolah on the podcast to talk about building resilience in coastal communities that are vulnerable to sea level rise. Ferreira, a professor at George Mason University, and Van Dolah, an environmental anthropologist and community engagement expert, were members of an interdisciplinary research team that aimed to construct nature-based solutions to flooding problems in the rural municipality of Pocomoke City, Maryland. Throughout the process, the team consulted with an advisory committee of community members who weighed in on the project—and the local input shaped the researchers’ conclusions in surprising ways. In this episode, Ferreira and Van Dolah reflect on how continuous engagement with impacted communities can help identify overlooked ecosystem values and result in improved outcomes for people and the surrounding environment.

References and recommendations:

“Building coastal resilience in Pocomoke City, Maryland” by Celso Ferreira, Andre de Souza de Lima, Diana Veronez, Elizabeth Van Dolah, Joseph Galarraga, Ayanna Healy, Margaret Walls, Emma DeAngeli, and Nicole Carlozo; https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0638e5e7beea4a11ba7e277ce87ef7e2

“Recreation and Resilience: When Parks Do Double Duty” by Emma DeAngeli and Margaret Walls; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/recreation-and-resilience-when-parks-do-double-duty/

“Nature-Based Solutions 101” by Emma DeAngeli, Brandon Holmes, and Margaret Walls; https://www.rff.org/publications/explainers/nature-based-solutions-101/

“A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness” by Michael Pollan; https://michaelpollan.com/books/a-world-appears/

“Goat” movie; https://www.netflix.com/title/82710848

Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi brings in Margaret Walls and Yanjun (Penny) Liao to discuss why homeowners insurance prices and nonrenewals are increasing in the United States—and how insurers, homeowners, and state and federal governments are responding. Walls is a senior fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF), director of RFF’s Climate Risk and Resilience Program, and co-host of Resources Radio, while Liao is an RFF fellow. Together, they elaborate on data they shared in the most recent issue of Resources magazine that links areas with previous weather-related property loss to higher premiums and policy nonrenewal rates. As a result, while climate change increases the severity and frequency of extreme weather, many homeowners are left without insurance plans that provide adequate coverage, especially in vulnerable regions such as California and Florida. Walls and Liao analyze why solutions such as “insurance of last resort” plans in the residual market fail to keep up with heightened risk, and where policymakers and communities might look next to support households that are impacted by wildfires, floods, storms, and other disasters across the country.

References and recommendations:

“Weather Extremes Disrupt Insurance Markets” by Margaret Walls, Yanjun (Penny) Liao, and Emily Joiner; https://www.resources.org/archives/weather-extremes-disrupt-insurance-markets/

“From Risk to Reward: Insurance Discounts for Wildfire Mitigation” by Evan Ludington, Yanjun (Penny) Liao, and Margaret A. Walls; https://www.rff.org/publications/working-papers/from-risk-to-reward-insurance-discounts-for-wildfire-mitigation/

“Property Insurance and Disaster Risk: New Evidence from Mortgage Escrow Data” by Benjamin J. Keys and Philip Mulder; https://www.nber.org/papers/w32579

Insurance for Good; https://www.insuranceforgood.org/

“Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching” documentary film; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt38023177/

eBird phone app; https://ebird.org/about/ebird-mobile

“American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA” podcast series from On the Media; https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/american-emergency-movement-kill-fema

Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls welcomes to the podcast Nick Bratton, who works as a program manager in King County, Washington State, coordinating and promoting market-based conservation through the voluntary transfer of development rights. As an incentive-based approach to land use, transfer of development rights (TDR) programs enable property owners to sell the development rights on some of their land while setting aside some of the land so it remains undeveloped natural space. TDRs have great potential to facilitate both land conservation and residential or commercial development, all without the need for government funding. Walls and Bratton talk about Bratton’s work in King County’s TDR program, his observations on TDRs more broadly, and what he views as factors for success with such programs.

References and recommendations:

“Jazz Cruise Series Vol. 1” album by Kelvin Momo; https://open.spotify.com/album/05PU51SCYUrmmFgV6Qvmvs

Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/

For this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi is joined by Lauren Dunlap, a project manager at the University of California, Los Angeles, Luskin Center for Innovation—and a former staff member at Resources for the Future. Dunlap describes exciting developments in electrification policy in California, where heat, pollution, and energy costs make the issue as topical as ever. A piece of legislation in California known as Senate Bill 1221 addresses the high financial costs of home electrification jointly with emissions reductions. The bill is novel, Dunlap notes, because it engages a cost-effective solution that directs savings from gas pipelines toward funding electrification. Implementation of the bill will involve efforts to support communities in navigating the unknowns of electrifying a home and aims to help mitigate issues at the intersection of climate change and energy infrastructure.

References and recommendations:

“Understanding Neighborhood Decarbonization in California: What Do We Know About Senate Bill 1221?” by Sooji Yang, Lauren Dunlap, and Gregory Pierce; https://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/publication/understanding-neighborhood-decarbonization-in-california-what-do-we-know-about-sb-1221/

“California Has a Neighborhood Decarbonization Law. How Does It Work?” by Sooji Yang, Lauren Dunlap, Elias van Emmerick, and Gregory Pierce; https://legal-planet.org/2026/04/08/california-has-a-neighborhood-decarbonization-law-how-does-it-work/

“Streamlining Home Electrification in the Gateway Cities” by Lauren Dunlap, Sooji Yang, and Gregory Pierce; https://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/publication/streamlining-home-electrification-in-the-gateway-cities/

“Impacts of Household Electrification on Energy Affordability in Los Angeles” by Lauren Dunlap, Rachel Sheinberg, Will Callan, Samantha Smithies, and Gregory Pierce; https://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/publication/impacts-of-household-electrification-on-energy-affordability-in-los-angeles/

The Los Angeles Residential Energy Transition Tool (LA RESET Tool) from the Luskin Center for Innovation; https://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/the-los-angeles-residential-energy-transition-tool/

“Avoiding Gas Distribution Pipeline Replacement Through Targeted Electrification in California” by Sean Smillie, Dan Alberga, Aryeh Gold-Parker, and Dan Aas; https://www.ethree.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Gas-Decommissioning-Fact-Sheet-2024-06-18.pdf

“California Burning” by Katherine Blunt; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/670012/california-burning-by-katherine-blunt/

“Hoppers” movie; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoppers_(film)

Subscribe to stay up to date on podcast episodes, news, and research from Resources for the Future: https://www.rff.org/subscribe/