The Climate Dispatch

How To Free A River

In this episode, we’re joined by Amy Bowers Cordalis of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group to talk about the largest dam removal project in U.S. history along the Klamath River. We explore the long fight to remove four hydroelectric dams, the environmental and cultural impacts they’ve had on the river, and what it has taken legally, spiritually, and collectively, to get to this moment. Join us as we unpack how dam removal is about more than restoring fish populations, it’s about restoring relationships: between people and place, between upstream and downstream communities, and between past harms and future possibilities. What does it look like to center sovereignty and stewardship in large-scale environmental change? What can this project teach us about climate resilience and ecological restoration? And how might it reshape the way we think about infrastructure, power, and responsibility? Guest: Amy Bowers Cordalis, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Fund  Featuring music from Emily Afton My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-water-remembers-my-indigenous-family-s-fight-to-save-a-river-and-a-way-of-life-amy-bowers-cordalis/a4edf07e007b3733?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=dsa_nonbrand&utm_content={adgroupname}&utm_term=dsa-19959388920&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=12440232635&gbraid=0AAAAACfld43KCr2MjEQ1YBdMGamP8lu9r&gclid=CjwKCAjwnZfPBhAGEiwAzg-VzCWWznJOUwjoX8WrT-66vtHiIN0S0iWiVby69HanS2hg9PyUGR2rghoCbuEQAvD_BwE]

Can Cities Be Ecosystems?

Can cities function like living systems? What would it take to get us there? In this episode, we dig into the hidden logic behind how cities are built and why so many of them feel fundamentally disconnected from the land they occupy. We explore how the rise of fossil fuel-powered development has shaped urban environments that prioritize speed, scale, and profit over resilience and community.  Join us as we unpack how today’s profit-driven development model is fueling the housing crisis, particularly in California, and why affordability remains so elusive.  We also dive into the concept of urban metabolism, a powerful framework that reimagines cities as ecosystems with flows of energy, water, materials, and life. What would it mean to design cities that actually sustain us? What systems need to change to make housing truly affordable? And how can we reconnect urban life to the ecological realities it depends on? Guest: Dr. Stephanie Pincetl, Founding Director of California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA  Featuring music from Lacey Guthrie

The Law Everyone Uses, And No One Agrees On

Listen in as we discuss the legacy and controversy surrounding the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), one of the state’s most influential environmental laws. For more than five decades, CEQA has helped safeguard California’s air, water, wildlife, and communities by requiring governments to carefully assess environmental impacts before approving major projects. It’s been a powerful tool for transparency and public participation, empowering residents to protect the places they love, and ensure new development mitigates harm towards wildlife habitat and communities. But the story doesn’t end there. While CEQA has delivered real environmental wins, critics say the law has also been weaponized by a small number of bad actors to stall or block essential projects, from housing, to transit, to even a daycare. So how exactly does CEQA work, who does it serve to protect, and who can be harmed in the process? In this episode, we unpack the history of CEQA, explore the environmental protections it has made possible, and asses the reforms on track to change this fundamental law. Guests * Milli Pintacsi, Le Petit Elephant Daycare Founder and Head of School * Jacob Evans, Sierra Club California Senior Policy Strategist Featuring music from The Underground Railroad To Candyland

Does A Butterfly Need A Visa?

Migration has always been a part of life, whether you’re a butterfly, a whale, or a human being. But as the climate crisis accelerates, more and more people are being forced to leave their homes and even their countries in its wake. Wildfires and floods displace entire communities. Shifting ecosystems destabilize local economies. Dwindling resources fuel conflict and violence. So how do we respond to this growing reality of climate-driven migration amid increasingly hostile anti-immigration rhetoric? In this episode, we explore the deep connections between climate and migration, the sustainable practices immigrant communities have long championed, the often-overlooked environmental toll of ICE raids, and the critical role of community resilience in facing what comes next. Special Co-Host: Sabrina Claros Guests: Isaias Hernandez, Environmentalist & Storyteller Jose Miguel Ruiz, CultivaLA Amanda Pantoja, Green Latinos Featuring music from Zena Carlota

If We Get It Right

As this season of The Climate Dispatch draws to a close, we turn towards the future. Change starts by harnessing the power of our collective imagination — what could a greener future look like 20, 50, 100 years from now? Through on-the-ground organizing, advocating for policy change, and even exploring climate fiction, there are many ways to envision a healthier path for both people and the planet.In this episode, we discuss the role of creative narratives in building a greener future, the fight for a just transition to clean energy solutions, and how we can achieve our net zero targets through collective organizing and people power. Guests: Tory Stephens, Climate Fiction Creative Manager at Grist Aru Shiney-Ajay, Executive Director of the Sunrise Movement Julia Dowell, Sierra Club Senior Campaign Organizer  Featuring music from Donald Beaman