We Start at the End
Today’s outro is brought to you by The Presidents of the United States of America. Not that one.
Thick ice caps topping some dormant volcanoes may be acting like a champagne cork. Research released earlier this month suggests that by speeding up the melt of those ice caps through human-caused climate change, we’re removing the foil and the little wire cage on some trapped liquid that will taste a bit more acidic than champagne when it gets out as the cork tries to free itself.
I don’t know about you, but I did not have “now we’re gonna cause volcanoes to erupt” on my bingo card. This decade does not disappoint in offering novel horrors to keep you up at night.
Bob Berwyn has reported for a decade for Inside Climate News - the OG climate outlet that in 2015 broke the story of the biggest corporate scandal in history: a nine-part investigative series demonstrating how much #ExxonKnew about the effects that burning oil and other fossil fuels would have on the future climate, and then doing everything in its power to prevent anyone from stopping it.
Bob’s piece on the volcano research stopped me in my tracks. As he said in this conversation:
“the most profound thing about a study like this volcano study … is how profoundly we're changing fundamental parts of the global Earth system. I mean, we're sitting here talking about things like, ‘wow, could our activities actually cause more volcanoes?’
I mean, just the fact that we're asking this question is, ‘wow, what have we done?’ You know?”
In our chat we also get into some of the other stories Bob is covering - from the increasingly deadly heatwaves in Europe to the despair in the UNFCCC talks in Bonn to the (omg wtf) need for scientists in America to read an Anti-Autocracy Handbook for their own safety to the expected Advisory Opinion due on 23rd July from the International Court of Justice on the obligations of states under international law to rein in climate pollution.
In This Conversation
01:33 Scientific Insights on Volcanic Activity
05:20 Challenges in Climate Research
12:09 Global Climate Negotiations
20:12 Heatwaves and Public Health
23:54 Legal and Ethical Responsibilities
24:36 The Reality of Heat Waves and Their Deadly Impact
26:13 The Political Project Against Climate Science
27:07 Social Science and Climate Action
28:58 The Anti-Autocracy Handbook for Scientists
31:02 Free Speech and Authoritarianism
34:25 The Role of Legal Obligations in Climate Justice
37:05 Public Perception and Managed Retreat
40:37 Final Thoughts and Upcoming Stories
All the Outros
Just because the news is grim doesn’t mean our music choices need to be. So from our intro music from our good friends at Suncharmer to our cornucopia of outro tunes that - let’s face it - are normally pretty good but also suffer from Dad Joke Bias in their selection, we hope you’re enjoying that part of the ride as well.
Keep Up With Bob
Bob is an essential follow on BlueSky, and his journalism for Inside Climate News does not quit. Here are links to just some of the stories we touched on:
Melting Ice Caps Could Bring Dormant Volcanoes to Life
Human-Caused Global Warming Spiked the Death Toll of Europe’s Early Summer Heatwave
New Handbook Aims to Protect Scientists From Autocratic Threats
Bonn Climate Talks Rife With Roadblocks and Dead Ends
Coming Up
It’s been a weird couple of weeks - but we’ve been out harvesting great chats coming your way soon with fan fave Jenny Chase of BNEF on Pakistan’s solar revolution, Stonehaven’s Adam Bell on the verdict on Spain’s blackout, Royce Kermelovs on the Torres Strait case in Australia, and tons more.
If you think these conversations are worth listening to, share them with a friend or make an offering to the volcano gods to spare your town.
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