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/

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

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Arvind Ravikumar, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, about recent federal deregulation of methane emissions in the United States; specifically, the effects on methane emissions from the production of natural gas and liquefied natural gas. Ravikumar highlights some of his recent research, which explores how all steps in the supply chain of natural gas can affect emissions intensity—including transportation of the energy source to end users—and the variation in methane emissions across countries from their natural gas supply chains. References and recommendations: “Tracking U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas Supply Chain Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity through Direct Measurements” by Yuanrui Zhu, Greg Ross, Jenna Brown, Olga Khaliukova, William Daniels, Jiayang (Lyra) Wang, Selina Roman-White, Fiji George, Daniel Zimmerle, Dorit Hammerling, and Arvind Ravikumar; https://chemrxiv.org/engage/chemrxiv/article-details/6882ca69fc5f0acb52e159e3 “Probabilistic, Measurement-Informed Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Global Liquefied Natural Gas Supply Chains Reveal Wide Country-Level Variation” by Haoming Ma, Yuanrui Zhu, Wennan Long, Mohammad Masnadi, Garvin Heath, Paul Balcombe, Fiji George, Selina Roman-White, and Arvind Ravikumar; https://chemrxiv.org/engage/chemrxiv/article-details/6883b68723be8e43d6fdcf73 “AI as Normal Technology” by Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor; https://knightcolumbia.org/content/ai-as-normal-technology

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi discusses carbon removal with Jennifer Wilcox, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who recently coauthored a paper titled, “Elevating Carbon Management: A Policy Decision-Making Framework and Rubric for the 21st Century.” Wilcox discusses the existing gaps in current policies related to carbon removal and important considerations when amending and creating new policies. She also addresses the recent change to the 45Q subsidy (originally included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and revised by Congress in the budget reconciliation bill signed on July 4, 2025), assessing how the updated tax break offers incentives for carbon removal. “Elevating Carbon Management: A Policy Decision-Making Framework and Rubric for the 21st Century” by Jennifer Wilcox, Noah Deich, and Holly Jean Buck; https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/elevating-carbon-management-a-policy-decision-making-framework-and-rubric-for-the-21st-century/ National Park Service Rehabilitation Tax Credits; https://www.nps.gov/subjects/taxincentives/index.htm

This week’s episode features a discussion of the recent US federal investment in a privately held mine—the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine in California—with host Daniel Raimi and podcast guest Tom Moerenhout, a professor at Columbia University and leader of a critical minerals initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Moerenhout talks about the current US dependence on foreign imports for rare earth elements, which are used to manufacture things like wind turbines, batteries, missiles, and airplanes. While recent federal investment in the Mountain Pass mine puts financial risk on the US government, Moerenhout says that this type of approach could help the United States reduce its reliance on other countries for rare earth elements. References and recommendations: “MP Materials Deal Marks a Significant Shift in US Rare Earths Policy” by Tom Moerenhout; https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/mp-materials-deal-marks-a-significant-shift-in-us-rare-earths-policy/ The case study of A123 Systems; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A123_Systems “Clean energy innovation in China: fact and fiction, and implications for the future” by Anders Hove; https://www.oxfordenergy.org/publications/clean-energy-innovation-in-china-fact-and-fiction-and-implications-for-the-future/

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi discusses subsidies for carbon capture and storage (CCS) with Sheila Olmstead, a professor at the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and a senior faculty fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Olmstead evaluates the complicated nature of the 45Q policy, a federal subsidy available to firms that implement CCS. While CCS subsidy programs promote the reduction of carbon emissions, Olmstead identifies these subsidies as having the potential to financially burden the federal government, discourage clean energy projects, and motivate more pollution. References and recommendations: “How to design better incentives for carbon capture and storage in the United States” by Sheila M. Olmstead, Benjamin D. Leibowicz, Charles F. Mason, Andrew R. Waxman, Emily Grubert, HR Huber-Rodriguez, and Joseph Stemmler; https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2404677122 “Night Watch” by Jayne Anne Phillips; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/540650/night-watch-pulitzer-prize-winner-by-jayne-anne-phillips/

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi discusses fossil fuel subsidies with Paasha Mahdavi, an associate professor and cofounder of the 2035 Initiative at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They talk about how subsidies on goods such as gasoline and diesel lead to lower prices for consumers. However, because these subsidies encourage the use of fossil fuels, reforming such policies is important when promoting the use of renewable energy. Mahdavi explores why many attempts to reform fossil fuel subsidies have failed, and he proposes potential avenues for addressing the weaknesses of reforms which could lead to failure of the subsidies. References and recommendations: “Fossil fuel subsidy reforms have become more fragile” by Paasha Mahdavi, Michael L. Ross, and Evelyn Simoni; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02283-4 “Why Do Governments Tax or Subsidize Fossil Fuels?” by Paasha Mahdavi, Cesar B. Martinez-Alvarez, and Michael L. Ross; https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/719272 “Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet” by Kate Marvel; https://www.harpercollins.com/products/human-nature-kate-marvel “Climate Change and National Security” TEDx talk by Josh Busby; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8neK0G0NJ8

In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Dominic Parker, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, about the first US government–run environmental management agencies and how they’ve influenced the survival of wildlife in the United States. Parker’s new coauthored journal article discusses the economic, political, and social forces that led to the founding of state wildlife agencies and contributed to their growth over time. Parker explains how wildlife management agencies facilitated the rebound of several well-known species in the United States, including the white-tailed deer, after a period of intense decline. Parker underscores the importance of natural resource management that responds to the needs of both people and the environment, ensuring the continued enjoyment of natural spaces and survival of wildlife in the United States. References and recommendations: “The Creation and Extent of America’s First Environmental Agencies” by Dean Lueck and Dominic Parker; https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/734075 “Federal Funding and State Wildlife Conservation” by Dean Lueck and Dominic Parker; https://le.uwpress.org/content/98/3/461 “The Hunter’s Game: Poachers and Conservationists in Twentieth Century America” by Louis S. Warren; https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300080865/the-hunters-game/ “The Problem of Social Cost” by Ronald Coase; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Problem_of_Social_Cost “Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History” by Dan Flores; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dan-flores/coyote-america/9780465098538/ “The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with Our Wild Neighbors” by Erika Howsare; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/731239/the-age-of-deer-by-erika-howsare/

In n this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Kristen McCormack, Resources for the Future’s newest research fellow, about McCormack’s scholarly work on the impact of extreme temperatures on student absences, disciplinary infractions, and later-life outcomes. McCormack explains how she combined student data from a large urban school district in the United States, information about the presence or absence of air-conditioning, and environmental data to understand the causal link between temperature and student behavior. McCormack’s work reveals that hot temperatures lead to an increase in absences and disciplinary referrals and that school air-conditioning may be especially important in maintaining a safe learning environment for students as extreme temperatures become more common. References and recommendations: “Education Under Extremes: Temperature, Student Absenteeism, and Disciplinary Infractions” by Kristen McCormack; https://kristen-mccormack.com/files/mccormack_jmp.pdf “The School to Prison Pipeline: Long-Run Impacts of School Suspensions on Adult Crime” by Andrew Bacher-Hicks, Stephen B. Billings, and David J. Deming; https://www.nber.org/papers/w26257 “How Much Hotter Is Your Hometown Than When You Were Born?” interactive infographic from the New York Times; https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/30/climate/how-much-hotter-is-your-hometown.html “Meadowlark Sings and I Greet Him in Return,” a poem from the collection “Devotions” by Mary Oliver; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/536247/devotions-a-read-with-jenna-pick-by-mary-oliver/

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Rami talks with Heather Zichal, global head of sustainability at JPMorganChase, about the role of financial institutions in the energy transition. Zichal explains how she has advanced climate policy goals from positions in the United States Congress, the executive branch, nonprofits, and the financial sector. From these diverse perspectives, Zichal outlines the opportunities and challenges for climate-policy stakeholders as they navigate an uncertain political environment. Zichal highlights how financial institutions support the energy transition through green finance commitments, supporting clients’ sustainability goals, and investing in emerging technologies to support the world’s energy needs. Zichal underscores the importance of promoting climate solutions that focus on long-term value in the context of commercial and sustainability goals and that balance environmental and business priorities. References and recommendations: “Ocean” with David Attenborough; https://silverbackfilms.tv/shows/oceanwithdavidattenborough/