S2 E2: Tree Ring Detectives

What other archives hold information about tree responses to climate extremes, like drought? What about human memory and Indigenous knowledge? In this final official episode of Season 2, you’ll hear from two Indigenous voices. Nikki Cooley shares about Indigenous elders as long-term monitoring networks, and Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk explains the impacts of drought on the Ute people and guidance for seeking knowledge from Tribal elders. Along the way, you’ll also hear from the scientists working to decipher what trees remember.Status of Tribes and Climate Change (STACC) Report from the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals: https://sites.google.com/view/staccreport  Book: Native Voices Speak for the Bears Ears from Torrey House Press: https://www.torreyhouse.org/edge-of-morningBook: Water Bodies from Torrey House Press: https://www.torreyhouse.org/water-bodies

It’s time to ask a new, but related, question about trees and memory: What do humans remember about trees? Team leader Dr. Kiona Ogle shares about her home landscape, both what she remembers and what she predicts for the future of her corner of the Southwest. Then, she shares a sampling of what the team has learned so far in their research on legacy effects. You’ll hear how climate change has hampered this team’s research on exactly that topic.

What does research on tree memory have to do with humans? In episode four, we answer this question by discussing the carbon cycle and how both trees and humans fit into it. Carbon is a key building block of both trees and humans—it’s also in our food, clothing, and energy systems, and it touches all of human society. We talk about trees’ role in humanity’s future as we rearrange Earth’s carbon, and we talk about what tree memory has to do with it all.  

How can scientists measure drought impacts? How do they know what’s truly an effect of drought vs. what would have happened anyway in a forest? In episode three of Season Two: Trees Remember, we meet two scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who combine satellite data with computing to discover the math behind forest behavior. They’re figuring out how drought affects a forest's ability to grow—to store carbon—not just during a drought, but years later.

How do scientists gather information from tree rings? In episode two of Season Two: Trees Remember, we take you with us as two scientists gather tree core samples in the forest and then process them into a treasure trove of information about tree memories of past climate. We explain how these scientists use tree rings in a unique way compared to past tree ring studies. And we explore why this team focuses on ecosystems where water is scarce and why that matters for humans. 

What is tree memory? And why is one group of curious scientists dedicating years to studying it? In episode one of Season Two: Trees Remember, we answer those questions and explain why understanding tree memory in the Southwest is especially important for understanding humanity’s future.

Throughout this season we have been diving into a central question: Is it time to start calling oil & gas companies energy companies? In the final episode of season 1 of Life in the Greenhouse, we finally arrive at an answer through three interrelated conversations spanning greenhouse gas disclosure regulations, low-carbon transition plans, and the role of oil & gas in international climate negotiations. Thank you for tuning into Life in the Greenhouse! Show notes Ross’s Section SEC Disclosure Law: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/audit/articles/sec-climate-disclosure-guidance.html SEC disclosure law is held up in court: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/esg/sec-freezes-climate-rules-after-challengers-pushed-for-pause Legal updates on California’s GHG disclosure bill: https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2024/02/litigation-updates-on-californias-new-climate-disclosure-laws/ CSRD The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmcgowan/2024/05/01/eu-delays-some-esg-sustainability-reporting-requirements-until-2026/?sh=dd087bc7ceb5 Brandon’s Section ClimateAction 100 Net-zero indicators: https://www.climateaction100.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Climate-Action-100-Net-Zero-Company-Benchmark-Framework-2.0..pdf SBTi scope 3 statement from April 2023: https://sciencebasedtargets.org/news/statement-from-the-sbti-board-of-trustees-on-use-of-environmental-attribute-certificates-including-but-not-limited-to-voluntary-carbon-markets-for-abatement-purposes-limited-to-scope-3 SBTi letter from staff in response to scope 3 statement: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gvjkqr4k4cdtt57qit9s6/SBTi-Staff-Response-to-the-Board-of-Trustees-April-9-Statement.pdf?rlkey=o38yubknqezjqzim44wjtk5fb&e=2&dl=0 Grist article on SBTi scope 3 situation: https://grist.org/accountability/a-climate-pledge-verifier-said-it-would-allow-more-carbon-offsets-its-staff-revolted/ Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor: https://newclimate.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/NewClimate_CCRM2024.pdf Scope 3 flexibility claim: https://vcmintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Scope-3-Flexibility-Claim-Beta.pdf PLOS article on oil & gas clean energy claims vs reality: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8849545/pdf/pone.0263596.pdf IEA data on oil & gas expenditures: https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2023/overview-and-key-findings Transition Pathway Initiative: https://transitionpathwayinitiative.org/publications/uploads/2024-setting-the-standard-assessing-oil-and-gas-companies-transition-plans Erica’s Section COP28 Director-General dismisses criticism of his boss, says summit needs new mindset: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop28-director-general-dismisses-criticism-his-boss-says-summit-needs-new-2023-06-06/ ExxonMobil is suing investors who want faster climate action: https://www.npr.org/2024/02/29/1234358133/exxon-climate-change-oil-fossil-fuels-shareholders-investors-lawsuit ‘A Trojan horse of legitimacy’: Shell launches a ‘climate tech’ startup advertising jobs in oil and gas: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/26/shell-climate-tech-startup-onward-oil-gas-jobs-greenwashing

Carbon offsets have been the center of some high profile scandals over the past few years, but what else is there to these stories? Why does the voluntary carbon market exist and how do we know if carbon offsets are actually making a difference? Tune in to Life in the Greenhouse to learn about all the shades of green in the carbon offset market. Show Notes: 0:53 ClimeCo: https://shop.climeco.com/offset/air-travel/  3:50 Carbon Accounting, Reporting, and Management Lab at Northern Arizona University: https://carml.rc.nau.edu/about/  10:10 Refrigerant destruction:  https://www.recoolit.com/ 11:45 Oil derricks in CA: https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/oil-derricks-california-old-photos/ 12:26 Over half a million oil derricks in the US: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29709-3 12:54 Oil well shut down: https://www.carbonpath.io/ 18:01 Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market “The 10 Core Carbon Principles”: https://icvcm.org/the-core-carbon-principles/ 19:11 Project Protocol: https://ghgprotocol.org/project-protocol  23:37 “In Juneau, Alaska, a carbon offset project that’s actually working” Grist, January 2024 (subtitle: Visiting Alaska is an emissions-heavy prospect. An innovative program has tourists ease that by helping buy heat pumps for locals.) 29:47 The Great Cash-for-Carbon Hustle The New Yorker 10/16/2023, about South Pole (company) and a great history of carbon credits plus the Zimbabwe Kariba project 34:06 Revealed: more than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest certifier are worthless, analysis shows Guardian 1/18/2023, about studies into Verra, the world's leading offset certifier 37:38 Oil companies relying on carbon offsets: https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/carbon-offsets-2023/companies.html 38:55 Oxy claimed a shipload of crude oil was entirely carbon neutral: https://www.reuters.com/article/climatechange-fossilfuels-offsets-insigh-idINKBN2C31AO/

Countless companies, including fossil fuel companies, have pledged to achieve net zero emissions. This sounds like great news! But there’s more to the story. We’re talking about what net zero really means and how a company could actually get there while explaining the importance of the Science-Based Targets Initiative. Show Notes: 2:00 The ⁠Carbon Accounting, Reporting, and Management Lab⁠ (CARML) at Northern Arizona University 8:12 2015 Paris Agreement, relevance to the history of net-zero targets, net-zero targets cover 91% of global economy: Net Zero: A short history 14:50 Net Zero Tracker 16:12 Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) 20:03 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) special report, “Global Warming of 1.5 ºC” 21:21 SBTi policy on fossil fuel companies 26:21 article about the CO2 pipeline failure in Satartia, Mississippi: “The U.S. is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story” from NPR 27:25 ExxonMobil highlighting enhanced oil recovery 27:35 Oxy and net-zero oil 31:05 Net Zero Tracker report Ross references 35:20 List (dashboard) of companies with net-zero targets that the SBTi has validated 35:40 CDP

Extreme Makeover: The Oil and Gas Edition is afoot. The companies we’ve long known as fossil fuel companies are telling us they’re actually energy companies committed to finding solutions to climate change. We’re not so sure, so we’re parsing it out using greenhouse gas accounting and discussing the concept of emission scopes along the way. Show Notes: 1:40 The Carbon Accounting, Reporting, and Management Lab (CARML) at Northern Arizona University 2:46 “And because we are so dependent on these fossil fuels, we consume A LOT—just take oil for example. Around the world humans burn about 4.2 billion gallons of oil every single day.  4:36 Current concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measured at Mauna Loa, Hawai’i 6:42 Keeling Curve 12:57 Drilled podcast homepage Petroganda: Drilled’s series on “The fossil fuel industry’s favorite narratives.” This is the series we reference in Episode One when Erica says “You can check out another great podcast called Drilled for fantastic reporting about how oil & gas companies, particularly ExxonMobile, have a long history of spreading misinformation about climate change. 18:12 "Most captured CO2 is used in enhanced oil recovery" 2022 IEEFA analysis 18:40 “[T]ools we can use to investigate the question of branding claims vs. reality” Paper: Li M, Trencher G, Asuka J (2022) The clean energy claims of BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell: A mismatch between discourse, actions and investments. PLoS ONE 17(2): e0263596. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263596 This examination of oil majors’ discourse, business strategies, and financials concluded: “We found a strong increase in discourse related to “climate”, “low-carbon” and “transition”, especially by BP and Shell. Similarly, we observed increasing tendencies toward strategies related to decarbonization and clean energy. But these are dominated by pledges rather than concrete actions. Moreover, the financial analysis reveals a continuing business model dependence on fossil fuels along with insignificant and opaque spending on clean energy. We thus conclude that the transition to clean energy business models is not occurring, since the magnitude of investments and actions does not match discourse. Until actions and investment behavior are brought into alignment with discourse, accusations of greenwashing appear well-founded. “Oil Companies Are Trying to Rebrand Themselves on Social Media” Reporting from the Natural Resources Defense Council contrasting oil companies’ ad campaigns with how they spend their lobbying dollars, from 2019 21:53 “For example, burning one gallon of gasoline in a motor vehicle results in about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.” See the EPA’s GHG Emission Factors Hub. 31:35 “Today, we're zooming in on ExxonMobil's recent $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Gas in October 2023.” 35:43 The Climate Registry emission factors (2023)