Citizens’ Climate Radio Ep. 52: Doug Parsons On Adaptation, Resilience & Coronavirus

Doug Parsons, host of the America Adapts Podcast, is the guest on this month’s episode of Citizens’ Climate Radio. Citizens’ Climate Radio is a monthly podcast hosted by CCL volunteer 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.

Climate change work often fits in one of two categories:

1. Mitigation, to reduce or end human caused greenhouse pollution in order to slow down and lessen the impacts of global warming.

2. Adaptation of our communities and infrastructure in order to prepare for and respond to extreme weather and other impacts of climate change. 

Doug Parsons, the host of the America Adapts Podcast, talks to us about what he has learned from nearly 100 episodes interviewing adaptation experts. He will discuss the difference between adaptation and resiliency. He highlights efforts to adapt to sea level rise, wildfires, and flooding, and points out an impact of climate change that will affect almost everyone at some point in their lives: extreme heat. 

You will hear an excerpt from a conversation Doug Parsons has with Dr. Carolyn Kousky, the Executive Director at the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at the University of Pennsylvania. They discuss how wildfires in California drove their utility into bankruptcy and what policy reforms are needed to prevent this from happening again.

Doug also reflects climate adaptation in light of the coronavirus pandemic. What lessons are climate adaptation experts learning? What challenges do they face? 

Listen Now!

The Art House

Joining us in the Art House is musician and composer Jason Davis. Jason curates ClimateStoriesProject.org. The site hosts videos from people all over the world. They reveal the impacts of climate change in their lives, and how they are responding. Jason takes some of these stories and composes music to accompany them. You will hear a moving and powerful testimony from John Sinnok, Inuit elder in Alaska. Woven around the story is Jason’s haunting and beautiful composition for the double bass. He calls the piece Footsteps in Snow. You will also learn how you can share your own story on the website. 

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. 

You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, SoundCloud, Podbean, Northern Spirit Radio, Google Play, PlayerFM, and TuneIn Radio. 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.