Citizens’ Climate Radio is a monthly podcast hosted by CCLer Peterson Toscano. Browse all our past episode recaps here, or listen to past episodes here, and check out the latest episode in the post below.
This month’s episode of Citizens’ Climate Radio includes a discussion with Kathy Baughman McLeod, SVP, as well as Atlantic Council & Director, Adrienne Arsht of the Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center. The two discuss the many risks that come with extreme heat, as well as multiple solutions being enacted around the world, including innovative ways to use insurance to change the way we build and respond to extreme weather.
Kathy Baughman McLeod leads the Center’s work to reach one billion people worldwide with climate resilience solutions by 2030. Additionally, she chairs the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance, which partners with climate-forward mayors around the world to appoint Chief Heat Officers. Additionally, Kathy is spearheading the global push to name and categorize heat waves.
She acknowledges that heat is the silent killer of extreme climate phenomena. Despite being 20 times deadlier than hurricanes, because it is invisible, heat goes vastly unrecognized and delegitimized, compared to other phenomena. As a result, Kathy pushes for taking heat more seriously, whether it’s through “heat-proofing” cities through the use of natural infrastructure, or training employees and employers to recognize the signs of heat sickness.
Kathy was formerly the Global Executive for Environmental and Social Risk at Bank of America, Managing Director for Climate Risk & Resilience at The Nature Conservancy, and a Florida Climate Commissioner. She is the recipient of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business 2021 “Leader of Consequence” award.
Learn more about Kathy and her work to reach one billion people with climate solutions by visiting One Billion Resilient. Follow Kathy on Twitter.
If you’d like to read more, here are some articles by Kathy and other experts about responding to extreme heat:
The Art House
Joining us in the Art House is Marissa Slaven. In 2019 we featured her in Episode 33 to talk about her young adult climate-themed novel, “Code Blue.” Now Marissa is back with the sequel “Code Red.” She was inspired by her daughter to write this series of eco-fiction thrillers, where a teenage girl and her friends battle climate change.
In this novel, 17-year-old Atlantic “Tic” Brewer and her friends race against the clock to save civilization from climate change. Set within the not-so-distant future, much of the east coast is underwater, and severe climate phenomena pose a constant threat for Tic and her friends.
Peterson sits down with Marissa to talk about the new book and to hear her read an excerpt. To learn more about Marissa and her books, visit Stormbird Press. You can also follow her on Twitter.
You can hear standalone versions of The Art House at Artists and Climate Change.
Good News Report
Our good news story this month comes from Flannery Winchester, Communications Director at Citizens’ Climate Lobby. Because of the many efforts by CCL volunteers, the needle is moving toward a carbon fee and dividend as one of the ways to address climate change. She talks about the budget reconciliation process and volunteer lobbying.
Additionally, Flannery also highlights the positive media attention, as well as political attention, that a carbon price is receiving from major outlets such as The New York Times and Bloomberg Business. Additionally, Senators like Ron Wyden and Sheldon Whitehouse have been vocal in their support of carbon pricing, especially after months of climate-fueled hurricanes, wildfires, and floods.
Dig Deeper
- Building a Resilient Planet
- How the U.S. could be smarter about insuring against extreme weather-related disasters
- Cities Appoint ‘Heat Officers’ In Response to Warming Threat
- Oil’s Bad, Bad Day
- How Do We Live with Hotter ‘Climate Normals’?
- U.S. Cities Hire specialists to counter climate change as impacts worsen
- Athens will be the first European city to appoint a Chief Heat Officer”
- Heat is Killing Us and The Economy Too
We always welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, and recommendations for the show. Leave a voicemail at (518) 595-9414 (+1 if calling from outside the USA). You can email your answers to radio@citizensclimate.org.
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Also, feel free to connect with other listeners, suggest program ideas, and respond to programs in the Citizens’ Climate Radio Facebook group or on Twitter at @CitizensCRadio.
Citizens’ Climate Radio is a monthly podcast hosted by CCL volunteer Peterson Toscano.
