The Lessons Climate Change Can Teach us About Pandemics

The topic of climate change can often conjure up images of frustrated individuals doing their best to spread the word on science and solutions. However, at Inside the Greenhouse at the University of Colorado, laughter is on the playbill. Join Kait Parker as she interviews Beth Osnes and Maxwell Boykoff about their research on humor and climate change.

There’s no doubt about it, our lifestyles are a huge part of the reason our world is warming at an alarming rate. But are the same actions that are making Earth sick making us ill, too?  Join Kait for a chat with Dr. Jon Foley of Project Drawdown, and see how we created what he calls a “biological storm” that unleashed a pandemic on the planet’s population.

Most of the world is being asked to stay at home to help flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections. And as we’re driven out of public spaces and into isolation, our effect on the environment is being reversed. Areas under stay-at-home orders are enjoying some of the cleanest air in decades.  But what will happen to our planet when life returns to normal? Join me for a conversation with Dr. Jacqueline Klopp, and hear her take on whether these recent environmental gains can become permanent.

As the world takes drastic action to stop a new threat, some are seeing strong parallels between the novel coronavirus and another adversary - climate change. Join Kait for a chat with Dr. Mona Sarfaty. Dr. Sarfaty has made it her mission to make the world aware of the consequences of climate change on our health. This week she and Kait delve into the relationship between infectious disease and climate change, and how the response to COVID-19 can offer lessons to those charged with protecting our planet.

Some school districts across the country have kept climate change off the curriculum, but for one high school in New Orleans, it’s the focus. New Harmony, a first-of-a-kind charter school, teaches coastal ecology and sea level rise as Louisiana races to preserve its coast. Join Kait as she learns how a new generation is stepping up to the challenge.

When glaciers melt, they trigger a domino-effect that could one day end at your dinner plate. Join Kait for a chat with Dr. Ted Scambos, a senior research scientist at Earth Science Observation Center. He breaks down the connection between the health of glaciers and our food supply.

Some sections of our population bear more of the burden in a warming world, and it’s not just the folks who live on the coast. Join Kait for a discussion with Catherine Flowers, a senior fellow at the Center for Earth Ethics, who knows first-hand how disproportionately poor communities are affected by climate change.

Could your brew be in jeopardy? Made from hops and barley, beer is at risk of becoming more difficult to make due to changing weather patterns and water scarcity. Can new ideas and innovation save your favorite brand? Join Kait Parker as she speaks to Maisie Devine from Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer.

More than one-third of Americans live in counties directly on a shoreline. In a warming world, that water is creeping closer and closer to their front doors. Join Kait for a chat with Dr. Ayana Johnson. She’s a marine biologist who specializes in helping coastal cities become resilient. What she says about the future of our coastlines might have you thinking twice about buying a beach house.