WunderBlog Archive » Category 6™
Category 6 has moved! See the latest from Dr. Jeff Masters and Bob Henson here.The Climate 25: A Powerhouse Set of Interviews
What can you say about climate change in less than three minutes? Quite a bit, as it turns out. You can find out for yourself by sampling a group of thoughtful, provocative interviews being featured by The Weather Channel over the next month. Debuting today, “Climate 25” includes a stellar group of leaders from the military, academia, government, diplomacy, and other sectors of society. The executive producer of “Climate 25” is Solly Granatstein, whose work at “60 Minutes” earned George Polk, Edward R. Murrow, Gerald Loeb and Peabody Awards, as well as several Emmy Awards. At the end of this post, you’ll find the lineup of speakers, with links to each interview clip and the dates on which each clip will be spotlighted by TWC and weather.com.
Figure 1. Eight of the eminent people featured in “Climate 25.”
On the Climate 25 website, TWC’s Neil Katz--editor in chief of the project--lays out the context:
“There are are only a few issues more contentious than climate change in American political life. But while the climate change debate rages in some quarters, in others, most notably among those who study the climate, there is wide consensus. It’s for this reason that The Weather Channel has adopted a position on climate change that can generally be summed up as follows: we report the science, and the science consistently says climate change is real, humans are causing it, and we must prepare for its effects. . . . These videos are the culmination of a year-long project looking at climate change as a real-world problem that will require creative solutions from all points on the political spectrum. We hope it encourages thoughtful debate and, more importantly, action on an issue that will affect us all.”
Climate change is a matter of enormous long-term consequence for the world as a whole. Too often, we have let the dialogue on how to address climate change become hijacked by “he said/she said” debates, non sequiturs, partisan rigidity, and other distractions. Much remains to be learned about the regional and local impacts of climate change over the coming decades and beyond, but we already know enough about the causes and potential consequences to begin adapting to change that’s on its way (and in some cases, here now) while reducing the risk of even greater change. The participants in Climate 25 have a great deal of wisdom to share on how we might go about these tasks, and why it’s so important to do so.
All of the Climate 25 mini-interviews are now viewable online at the links below. I strongly encourage you to check them out.
Bob Henson
June 10 | Thomas Friedman, New York Times
The revolution fueled by climate change
June 11 | Constance Okollet, Community Leader, Uganda
The floods swept my village away
June 12 | Henry Paulson, 74th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Doing nothing is “radical risk taking”
June 13 | Christine Todd Whitman, Former New Jersey Governor, EPA Administrator (2001-03)
We can grow the economy and fight climate change
June 14 | Gen. Charles E. Jacoby (Ret.), Commander, U.S. North Command
The biggest national security threat you haven’t thought of
June 15 | Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever
How CEO tackles Unilever’s $300M climate change challenge
June 16 | Heidi Cullen, Chief Scientist, Climate Central
This is what the perfect risk looks like
June 17 | Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology
WH science advisor’s surprising view on why climate matters
June 18 | Cary Fowler, Special Advisor, Global Crop Diversity Trust
Extinction is a process, not an event
June 19 | Farah Nasif, Syrian Refugee
In Syria, everything changed with the drought
June 20 | Hal Harvey, CEO, Energy Innovation
Every decade we wait is a thousand years of pain we inflict on future generations
June 21 | Cleo Paskal, Author, “Global Warring”
The military crisis we’re not prepared for
June 22 | Major Gen. Munir Muniruzzaman (Ret.), Bangladesh
20% of Bangladesh could be lost to the sea
June 23 | Ursula Rakova, Community Leader, Papua New Guinea
Our islands are disappearing
June 24 | William K. Reilly, EPA Administrator (1983-93)
Bush EPA chief’s surprising view on climate change
June 25 | Rear Adm. David Titley (Ret.), Former Naval Oceanography Operations Command
The nation’s defense is at stake
June 26 | Bob Inglis, Former U.S. Representative (R–S.C.)
The Republican orthodoxy is changing
June 27 | Sherri Goodman, U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (1993-2001)
Climate change is a threat multiplier
June 28 | Eli Lehrer, President, R Street Institute
Climate change real? Ask the guys who could lose billions
June 29 | Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret.), CEO, American Security Council
70% of the world’s military is preparing for climate change
June 30 | Joe Romm, Founding Editor, Climate Progress
We can save the world from hundreds of years of misery
July 1 | Helene Gayle, President and CEO, CARE USA (2006-15)
What you don’t know about the world’s biggest threat to food security
July 2 | Nicky Sundt, WWF, Former Wildland Firefighter
There’s no escape route when it comes to climate change
July 3 | James Woolsey, Director of Central Intelligence (1993-95)
Former CIA director’s surprising take on climate change and national security
July 4 | George Luber, Associate Director for Climate Change, CDC
Why climate change has CDC scientists worried
Figure 1. Eight of the eminent people featured in “Climate 25.”
On the Climate 25 website, TWC’s Neil Katz--editor in chief of the project--lays out the context:
“There are are only a few issues more contentious than climate change in American political life. But while the climate change debate rages in some quarters, in others, most notably among those who study the climate, there is wide consensus. It’s for this reason that The Weather Channel has adopted a position on climate change that can generally be summed up as follows: we report the science, and the science consistently says climate change is real, humans are causing it, and we must prepare for its effects. . . . These videos are the culmination of a year-long project looking at climate change as a real-world problem that will require creative solutions from all points on the political spectrum. We hope it encourages thoughtful debate and, more importantly, action on an issue that will affect us all.”
Climate change is a matter of enormous long-term consequence for the world as a whole. Too often, we have let the dialogue on how to address climate change become hijacked by “he said/she said” debates, non sequiturs, partisan rigidity, and other distractions. Much remains to be learned about the regional and local impacts of climate change over the coming decades and beyond, but we already know enough about the causes and potential consequences to begin adapting to change that’s on its way (and in some cases, here now) while reducing the risk of even greater change. The participants in Climate 25 have a great deal of wisdom to share on how we might go about these tasks, and why it’s so important to do so.
All of the Climate 25 mini-interviews are now viewable online at the links below. I strongly encourage you to check them out.
Bob Henson
June 10 | Thomas Friedman, New York Times
The revolution fueled by climate change
June 11 | Constance Okollet, Community Leader, Uganda
The floods swept my village away
June 12 | Henry Paulson, 74th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Doing nothing is “radical risk taking”
June 13 | Christine Todd Whitman, Former New Jersey Governor, EPA Administrator (2001-03)
We can grow the economy and fight climate change
June 14 | Gen. Charles E. Jacoby (Ret.), Commander, U.S. North Command
The biggest national security threat you haven’t thought of
June 15 | Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever
How CEO tackles Unilever’s $300M climate change challenge
June 16 | Heidi Cullen, Chief Scientist, Climate Central
This is what the perfect risk looks like
June 17 | Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology
WH science advisor’s surprising view on why climate matters
June 18 | Cary Fowler, Special Advisor, Global Crop Diversity Trust
Extinction is a process, not an event
June 19 | Farah Nasif, Syrian Refugee
In Syria, everything changed with the drought
June 20 | Hal Harvey, CEO, Energy Innovation
Every decade we wait is a thousand years of pain we inflict on future generations
June 21 | Cleo Paskal, Author, “Global Warring”
The military crisis we’re not prepared for
June 22 | Major Gen. Munir Muniruzzaman (Ret.), Bangladesh
20% of Bangladesh could be lost to the sea
June 23 | Ursula Rakova, Community Leader, Papua New Guinea
Our islands are disappearing
June 24 | William K. Reilly, EPA Administrator (1983-93)
Bush EPA chief’s surprising view on climate change
June 25 | Rear Adm. David Titley (Ret.), Former Naval Oceanography Operations Command
The nation’s defense is at stake
June 26 | Bob Inglis, Former U.S. Representative (R–S.C.)
The Republican orthodoxy is changing
June 27 | Sherri Goodman, U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (1993-2001)
Climate change is a threat multiplier
June 28 | Eli Lehrer, President, R Street Institute
Climate change real? Ask the guys who could lose billions
June 29 | Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret.), CEO, American Security Council
70% of the world’s military is preparing for climate change
June 30 | Joe Romm, Founding Editor, Climate Progress
We can save the world from hundreds of years of misery
July 1 | Helene Gayle, President and CEO, CARE USA (2006-15)
What you don’t know about the world’s biggest threat to food security
July 2 | Nicky Sundt, WWF, Former Wildland Firefighter
There’s no escape route when it comes to climate change
July 3 | James Woolsey, Director of Central Intelligence (1993-95)
Former CIA director’s surprising take on climate change and national security
July 4 | George Luber, Associate Director for Climate Change, CDC
Why climate change has CDC scientists worried
The views of the author are his/her own and do not necessarily represent the position of The Weather Company or its parent, IBM.