Renewable Power

Drilling for oil has been going on in the US for over 150 years. Across the country we have bored millions of holes in the ground to pump the liquid gold that has fueled the country's energy appetite. But those wells don’t last forever. When the oil begins to dry up, wells are supposed to be plugged to prevent toxic, climate-altering chemicals from escaping. So why then is there, by some estimates, more than 2 million unplugged abandoned wells around the country? Today on The Sunday Story, NPR correspondent Camila Domonoske joins to talk about the lingering effects of these old wells and why it's so hard to find a long-term fix.

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After rolling back a slew of regulations aimed at reversing climate change, and pulling funding for the scientists who monitor it, the Trump administration is now taking its boldest action yet. It’s eliminating the scientific finding at the heart of the government’s ability to fight climate change in the first place. Lisa Friedman, who covers climate policy, discusses the history of the finding, what it did and what happens once it’s gone.

The U.S. faces a housing crisis and growing threats of climate change. One global city is tackling both problems at once, and U.S. cities are paying attention. In this episode of The Sunday Story, NPR's Julia Simon travels to Vienna, Austria to see how they make affordable housing that's resilient to climate change. And she meets politicians trying to build this "green social housing" in America.

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In 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, ushering in, by some estimates, nearly half a trillion dollars of investment in green energy and manufacturing. But what will happen to this huge investment as Donald Trump enters office? Jigar Shah is one of the best people to answer this question. As the director of the Loan Programs Office at the Department of Energy, he has spent his career finding new ways to finance green infrastructure. And he’s more optimistic than you might expect about the road ahead. In this conversation, guest host Robinson Meyer, a contributing writer for New York Times Opinion and the founding executive editor of Heatmap News, asks Shah for a progress check on decarbonization. They discuss what has changed about the economics and financing of clean energy; what has worked well in the green energy transition, as well as the trade-offs it has entailed; and what may or may not change as Trump enters office. Book Recommendations: Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb What If We Get It Right? by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Romney by McKay Coppins Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs. This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu [Who]. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Mixing by Isaac Jones, with Efim Shapiro and Aman Sahota. Our supervising editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Elias Isquith, Kristin Lin and Jack McCordick. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to consider President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet nominees in the new year. A new report on femicide from UN Women finds a woman or girl was killed every 10 minutes last year. And, The COP29 climate conference ended with an agreement to provide financing to developing nations to help cope with the effects of climate change.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Krishnadev Calmur, Jim Kane, Rachel Waldholz, Lisa Thomson and Mohamad ElBardicy. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Lilly Quiroz. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

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The reasons behind the surging gas and energy prices and how policies under Biden and Trump affect consumers. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The potential of rooftop solar is being squandered. Time’s economic correspondent Alana Semuels reports a cautionary tale, and writer Andrew Moseman explains why the country isn’t ready for a solar revolution. This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Climate activists have tried marching and lobbying. Now, a growing flank of movement radicals want to take more extreme action. Author Dana Fisher tells us who they are, and sociologist Matthew Wolfe traces the history of radical environmentalism in the US. Today's episode was produced by Avishay Artsy with an assist from Siona Peterous. It was edited by Miranda Kennedy and fact-checked by Jon Ehrens. Our engineer is Patrick Boyd. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Held v. Montana, a first-of-its-kind climate lawsuit, pits young people — and their constitutionally enshrined right to a clean environment — against a state with pro-fossil fuel policies. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Michael Raphael, and hosted by Noel King. Today’s episode was also produced in partnership with the team who make Vox’s The Weeds podcast, Sofi LaLonde, Cristian Ayala, Anouck Dussaud, A.M. Hall, and Jonquilyn Hill. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The EPA has just announced new rules for power plants to clean up their act. But to get to those lower limits, companies might have to switch to two largely untested technologies in the power sector: hydrogen production and carbon capture. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Amanda Lewellyn, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained   Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Colorado River is disappearing and the government is now spending millions on one wild idea to ease the pain: seeding clouds to make it rain. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey and Michael Raphael, and hosted by Sean Rameswarem. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained   Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Biden administration has new plans to reduce the amount of PFAS or “forever chemicals” in America’s drinking water. Barbara Moran, WBUR’s climate and environmental correspondent, explains why that will only get us so far. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Haleema Shah, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While the world’s leaders are meeting at COP27 to discuss climate change, Antarctica’s massive Thwaites Glacier is melting. The world’s coastlines face catastrophic consequences. Rolling Stone’s Jeff Goodell went to see it with his own eyes. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and edited by Matt Collette and Sean Rameswaram, who also hosted. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cobalt is powering the electric vehicle revolution, but much of the world’s supply is mined under deadly conditions in Congo. Journalist Nicolas Niarchos explains Congo's resource curse. Today’s show was produced by Will Reid, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Efim Shapiro, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While world leaders have descended on Glasgow to try to figure out how to slow emissions in the future, New York magazine’s David Wallace-Wells argues rich countries like the United States should also atone for their polluting past. Today’s show was produced by Will Reid and Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Cristian Ayala, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new UN report says humans are “unequivocally” causing climate change. Rich countries are to blame, but poorer ones, like Madagascar, are paying the price with an unprecedented climate-induced famine.  Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An estimated 143 million people will relocate to escape climate change in the next three decades. Quartz’s Amanda Shendruk explains how cities can transform themselves into climate havens.  Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts. We are conducting an audience survey to better serve you. It takes about five minutes, and it really helps out the show. Please take our survey here: vox.com/survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, the economic theory that is Bidenomics is taking shape. It’s big. It puts climate at the center of everything. It is more worried about political risks — losing the House, giving Donald Trump a path back to power — than some traditional economic risks, like wasting money and bumping up inflation. It prefers to err on the side of spending more and making sure people know they got a bridge or a job than doing less and having people question whether government is working for them. But I still have a lot of questions about Bidenomics, in terms of both its economic theories and its political ones. Brian Deese is the director of the National Economic Council, the nerve center that coordinates economic policy across the executive branch. He led the auto bailout in the Obama administration and then turned to climate, first in the Obama White House and then at BlackRock. When President Biden brought him on to run the N.E.C., it was a message: In the Biden administration, all economics was going to be climate economics. I asked Deese to join me on the podcast to talk about how his economic policymaking and thinking have changed since 2009, what the Biden administration learned from the successes and failures of the Obama era, why so much of the White House’s economic policy is framed in terms of competition with China, why he doesn’t think a carbon tax is the right answer for climate, how the Biden administration will invest in the care economy and more. You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of "The Ezra Klein Show" at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. “The Ezra Klein Show” is produced by Rogé Karma and Jeff Geld; fact-checking by Michelle Harris; original music by Isaac Jones; mixing by Jeff Geld.

Last week, a long-awaited report showed that the worst consequences of global warming would occur even sooner than previously thought. Here’s the story behind the findings. Guests: Coral Davenport, who covers energy and the environment for The New York Times, and William D. Nordhaus, who was awarded a Nobel this year for his work on the economics of climate change. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Thirty years ago, the United States had a chance to stop global warming in its tracks. Almost nothing stood in the way — except human resistance. Guests: Rafe Pomerance, an environmentalist who became involved with the climate movement in its earliest days; Nathaniel Rich, who reported on the history of climate politics for The New York Times Magazine. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.