Sea Change Radio

When we think about the transition to renewable energy sources, many of us imagine rooftop solar panels and wind turbine-dotted hills. But it’s not just about capturing energy, it’s also about keeping it. This week on Sea Change Radio we speak with Matt Simon, a Grist senior staff writer, to discuss long-duration energy storage. The transition to renewables for utilities is still very much evolving — efficiency, intermittency, and storage are among the issues scientists have yet to perfect. Simon shares some ideas for how we can build upon existing technologies to store solar and wind power, with longer capacity than lithium-ion batteries, ranging from reservoirs and caverns to our existing fleet of electric vehicles.

This week on Sea Change Radio, we highlight a scenario that is constantly being played out in cities all over the world as humankind continues to encroach upon wildlife habitat. This time, however, the dynamic is a little bit unusual as large chinook salmon are finding their way into small urban creeks in downtown San Jose, California. Today we are speaking with environmental writer and fisherman Jeremy Miller as he recounts a piece he recently penned for Sierra Magazine. We try to unearth the mystery of how these fish ended up in a major metropolitan area, look at federal protections which differ based upon a fish’s origin, and discuss the role of the local water district in all of this.

This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with atmospheric scientist and Columbia University professor, Adam Sobel, about the havoc that is currently being unleashed on the scientific community by the Trump administration. We look at how these draconian measures could hamper the progress of mankind and learn more about an academic funding system that relies heavily on federal research grant money. Then we turn to the alarming arrest of recent Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil - we discuss his plight and what it tells us about this administration’s open disdain for the U.S. Constitution.

Roman Polanski’s classic 1974 film, “Chinatown,” which laid out a fictional account of California’s north-south water wars, turned out to be quite prescient. This week on Sea Change Radio, we welcome Katie Licari of Afro LA, who breaks down the ongoing tale of Los Angeles water and the impact this never-ending thirst has had on two very rural regions of California – Inyo and Mono Counties. We learn about the colonialist history of LA water rights and look at the monopolistic grip the LA Department of Water & Power holds over these counties.

Just a few days after being inaugurated for a second time, Donald Trump expressed an interest in the United States taking over Greenland, saying "I think Greenland we'll get because it has to do with freedom of the world." This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to Paul Bierman, a geoscientist and Professor at the University of Vermont, whose recent book about Greenland seems more relevant than ever. We discuss Greenland's melting ice sheet, try to intuit the President's melting brain and obsession with the region, and talk about how the current administration has put the American scientific community as a whole in peril.

What does naming and re-naming streets, buildings, airports, and even bodies of water say about us as a people? Whether a name inspires, entertains, or haunts us, there’s power in assigning words to people, places, and things. We can see it unfolding right before our eyes with the current US administration renaming key landmarks. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to Deirdre Mask, the author of “The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power.” We learn about the history of attributing names and numbers to roads and houses, look at how important seemingly obvious innovations like zip codes are, and discuss the socio-political impact of things named after confederate leaders.

An implicit assumption within the structure of the American justice system is the notion that punishment is productive. Research shows, however, that locking people up does not address the underlying causes for most criminal behavior -- in fact it actually exacerbates the likelihood of reoffending. With 95% of incarcerated people expected to reenter our communities, it seems pretty clear that our punitive practices are decidedly unproductive. This week on Sea Change Radio, we welcome back to the show Scott Hechinger, a civil rights lawyer, former public defender, and the current Executive Director of the nonprofit advocacy group, Zealous. We talk about the set of informational films that his organization has recently produced, discuss the fight that lies ahead for immigrants, and look at the measures that are being taken by the current federal administration to push for more capital punishment.

Those of us who studied anthropology in the latter half of the 20th century most likely learned that the birthplace of humankind was East African countries such as Tanzania and Kenya. But for much of that same period, the apartheid regime in South Africa largely prohibited archaeological excavations, at least in part because it didn’t want to unearth any evidence that Blacks and Whites shared common ancestors. This week on Sea Change Radio, we take a look at some of the stunning archaeological discoveries that have emerged from South Africa over the past fifteen years. Our guest today is Dr. Keneiloe Molopyane, an archeologist who leads research in an area known as the Cradle of Humankind. In our wide-ranging discussion with Dr. Molopyane, we get a quick anthropology lesson, learn more about discoveries from the region, and explore the historical context of these prehistorical finds.

Disgust, disdain and disbelief are emotions many of us have felt since the November election - and with good reason. But how long can we stay disillusioned and disaffected before fighting back? This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with author Dave Zirin, from The Nation and Edge of Sports, to have a cathartic chat about the future of this country and how to cope.

This week on Sea Change Radio, we take a break from worrying about the election and look beyond these shores. First, we speak to Ayoola Dominic, the CEO and Co-Founder of Koolboks - an innovative refrigeration solution for the large swaths of sub-Saharan Africa that don’t have reliable access to electricity. We get an in-depth look at the company’s technology, learn about the challenges they’re facing and discuss the relationship between Koolboks and the Clinton Global Initiative. Then, we revisit part of our 2023 conversation with author Tim Killeen who has chronicled efforts to curb deforestation in the Amazon. Narrator | 00:02 - This is Sea Change Radio covering the shift to sustainability. I'm Alex Wise. Ayoola Dominic (AD) | 00:17 -So what Koolboks has done is we've integrated for the first time in freezers, lithium-ion batteries. So what happens is when you have power, you can connect them to the grid, and when we don't have power you can actually charge with the solar panels. Narrator | 00:35 - This week on Sea Change Radio, we take a break from worrying about the election and look beyond these shores. First, we speak to Ayoola Dominic, the CEO and Co-founder of Koolboks, an innovative refrigeration solution for the large swaths of Sub-Saharan Africa that don't have reliable access to electricity. We get an in-depth look at the company's technology, learn about the challenges they're facing, and discuss the relationship between Koolboks and the Clinton Global Initiative. Then we revisit part of our 2023 conversation with author Tim Killeen, whose chronicled efforts to curb deforestation in the Amazon. Alex Wise (AW) | 01:37 - I'm joined now on Sea Change. Radio by Ayoola Dominic. He's the CEO and Co-founder of KoolBoks. Ayoola, welcome to Sea Change Radio. Ayoola Dominic (AD) | 01:47 - Thank you so much, Alex, for having me. Alex Wise (AW) | 01:49 - It's a pleasure to have you. Why don't you explain to us what Koolboks is, and if you can summarize what your product is all about, that would be great. Ayoola Dominic (AD) | 01:58 - So I'll, I'll start with, uh, a bit of a context. So in, in Sub-Saharan Africa, you have over 600 million people that lacks access to electricity and therefore lacks access to refrigeration. Um, as compared to Europe and America, where you have a hundred percent penetration in refrigeration in Sub-Saharan Africa, you'll be shocked to know that it's only 17%. I repeat only 17% of the people have access to refrigeration. Alex Wise (AW) | 02:30 - We're talking permanent refrigeration, like you have a refrigerator running 24 7, right? Ayoola Dominic (AD) | 02:36 - Correct. And you obviously, we know what that means in terms of food wastage. About a third of all food is wasted before it gets to market. And we're talking small restaurants, we're talking small bars, and these are things that normally we would take for granted in the West, but it's a real problem in Africa. So, um, looking to solve this problem, myself and my co-founder, like three years ago, designed to found a company called the Koolboks. And the goal was to make refrigeration affordable and accessible to everyone that needs it. So using the sun and water, which is abundant in Africa, we created a solution that is able to generate refrigeration for up to four days, whether or not you have power, whether or not you have sunlight. And this we did by storing energy in the form of ice as opposed to just storing energy in the form of batteries. But of course, looking at the peculiarity of the customers we serve, then the big question, I mean, what good is the technology if no one can afford it? So what we did was we integrated in our units a pay as you go technology enabling individuals and small businesses to be able to pay as low as 10 to $15 every month to own a refrigerator. And today we've deployed in over 6,000, um, units across 26 countries in only three years, and we're still doing more actually.

Coral reefs are among the planet's most beautiful treasures, hosting creatures strange and colorful. They're more than just pretty, though. Coral reefs provide vital habitats for a vast array of marine organisms, they are an essential piece of ocean ecosystems, and they actually protect coastlines from erosion. This week on Sea Change Radio we speak to Curt Storlazzi from the US geological survey who outlines a recent study promoting the bolstering of coral reefs off of Puerto Rico and Florida. Storlazzi compares coral reefs to seawalls in terms of protecting us from rising sea levels, gives a snapshot of the study's cost benefit analysis, and explains how the proposed reef bolstering program could help protect vulnerable coastal populations.

California kicked off 2025 with some of the most devastating wildfires in the state’s history. Thousands have already lost their homes, dozens have been killed, and as of today the largest of the Los Angeles area fires is only 14% contained. This week on Sea Change Radio we speak with meteorologist Anthony Edwards of the San Francisco Chronicle to learn more about what caused the fires, how climate change is making events like these more commonplace and inevitable than ever, and what we can all do to better prepare for them. Then, we take a few minutes to look at the burgeoning industry of amateur meteorology in the ski industry and the impact that the growth in untrained meteorological professionals is having on Edwards's job, and on the field in general.

When you visit the World Wildlife Fund’s list of critically endangered species, the first animals named are large, beloved mammals like the African Forest Elephant and the Eastern Lowland Gorilla. While these majestic creatures tug at our heartstrings, there are also a lot of smaller, more unsung organisms that are in grave risk of extinction, like the lowly freshwater mussel. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to environmental writer, John Platt, the editor of The Revelator to talk about some of the less glamorous animals that have recently been declared extinct or are on the brink of extinction. First, we take a deep dive into the plight of the ivory-billed woodpecker, a regal swamp-dwelling bird whose demise may or may not have been premature. Then we discuss why Hawaii is referred to by some naturalists as the extinction capital of the world, and look at the ethical quandaries presented by the emerging field of resurrection biology, also known as de-extinction.

This week on Sea Change Radio we speak to Lisa Song of ProPublica about her recent work spotlighting efforts by the plastics industry to make its fossil fuel-based products seem benign. We examine how plastic recycling falls short in many areas, look at the problems surrounding a relatively new plastic recycling process called pyrolysis, and then discuss her trip to Ottawa, Canada where she attended a UN conference which purported to be plastic-free.

This week on Sea Change Radio, a conversation about the vast and varied coastline of the great state of Maine with Peter Slovinsky, a marine geologist with the Maine Geological Survey. We learn about living coastlines, efforts to protect Maine's coast from rising seas and more frequent storms - and get a bit of a geography lesson at the same time.

When we think about the transition to renewable energy sources, many of us imagine rooftop solar panels and wind turbine-dotted hills. But it's not just about capturing energy, it's also about keeping it. This week on Sea Change Radio we speak with Matt Simon, a Grist senior staff writer, to discuss long-duration energy storage. The transition to renewables for utilities is still very much evolving -- efficiency, intermittency, and storage are among the issues scientists have yet to perfect. Simon shares some ideas for how we can build upon existing technologies to store solar and wind power, with longer capacity than lithium-ion batteries, ranging from reservoirs and caverns to our existing fleet of electric vehicles. Narrator | 00:02 - This is Sea Change Radio covering the shift to sustainability. I'm Alex Wise. Matt Simon (MS) | 00:23 - We're actually in this really fascinating time where we are better understanding that the Earth is a resource not for extracting the fossil fuels out of it. That's stupid and done. We need to stop doing that now. We're turning more to the energy that is naturally produced by the earth, but also the energy that we can pump underground, for instance, and store down there as a battery. It's a fascinating frontier. Narrator | 00:48 - When we think about the transition to renewable energy sources, many of us imagine rooftop solar panels and wind turbine-dotted hills. But it's not just about capturing energy, it's also about keeping it. This week on Sea Change Radio we speak with Matt Simon, a Grist senior staff writer, to discuss long-duration energy storage. The transition to renewables for utilities is still very much evolving -- efficiency, intermittency, and storage are among the issues scientists have yet to perfect. Simon shares some ideas for how we can build upon existing technologies to store solar and wind power, with longer capacity than lithium-ion batteries, ranging from reservoirs and caverns to our existing fleet of electric vehicles. Alex Wise (AW) | 01:50 - I'm joined now on Sea Change Radio by Matt Simon. Matt is a senior staff writer at Grist. Matt, welcome to Sea Change Radio. Matt Simon (MS) | 01:58 - And thank you for having me. Alex Wise (AW) | 02:00 - It's good to have you back. You have left wired after a dozen or so years there, and congratulations on joining Grist covering climate. How's the transition been so far for you? Matt Simon (MS) | 02:13 - Thanks. Yeah, it's been fantastic. It's, um, it's amazing to be here with a truly phenomenally talented group of people that are laser focused on climate stuff. So I'm, I'm here covering climate solutions, which I feel like, um, is the most optimistic way, um, for my mental health to be approaching climate coverage this day and age. Um, so I'm feeling surprisingly good. Alex Wise (AW) | 02:37 - I wanted to discuss a piece you've written for Grist recently, which delves into long duration energy storage. We often think of just energy storage as battery storage, and that's a very short-lived type of energy. If you can define long duration energy storage, how the people who run electric grids look at this piece of the puzzle, that would be terrific. MS | 03:03 - Sure. So the core of the issue here is that as we are deploying more renewables like wind and solar, we need ways to store that energy. So when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining, we need electricity to flow to people's homes. Um, so the idea here that a lot of people have probably heard about by now is that you have these giant banks of lithium ion batteries on the grid. We have, uh, some of these in California already. They have these also in Texas, wherever you're seeing the proliferation of renewables, you're seeing these battery banks pop up. Um, so the idea here is that you, uh, have the sun go down. You're not generating any solar energy. You draw from those battery banks to give people electricity. Uh,

Since 1973, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement has been bestowed upon people who have made a significant impact in the fight for a sustainable planet. In 2019, we spoke with that year's Tyler Prize Laureate, Warren Washington, to learn about the beginnings of his groundbreaking career as an atmospheric scientist. This week on Sea Change Radio, we pay tribute to Dr. Washington, who recently passed away at the age of 88. He was the second African American to receive a PhD in meteorology, a former chair of the National Science Board, and a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. Then, we revisit part of our conversation with physicist Hattie Carwell to learn about her long, illustrious career in the atomic energy space as well as her work at the Museum of African American Technology.

In the wake of the recent U.S. election which was beyond disappointing to those of us who care about the planet, Sea Change Radio will not be closely covering political issues and the machinations of the incoming administration simply because it will be too depressing. Instead, we will continue to cover the shift to sustainability. Rather than focusing on humans this week on Sea Change Radio, we dig into the archives and turn our gaze to the insect world. First, we speak to two scientists, Dylan Gaeta and Scot Miller, from Johns Hopkins University, who share their research on the effects that termite pesticides are having on the climate. Then, we hear from Anne Carlson, the CEO of Jiminy's, who talks about the benefits of her company's insect-based dog food.

It seems fitting this week, as millions of Americans sit down to an enormous feast, that we discuss the topic of over-indulgence -- and we are not just talking about turkey and pie. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with Canadian environmental journalist Lloyd Alter about sufficiency. We discuss the need to develop sufficiency measures in the sustainability space, talk about examples of sufficiency from the corporate world, and look at Paul Brannen's recent book "Timber!" which makes the case that wood is a more sustainable building material as compared to mined or manufactured compounds.

Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan. For three years in a row now, the United Nations has chosen to hold its flagship environmental meeting - the UN Conference of the Parties, or COP - in a country largely dependent on oil revenues for its economic well-being. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with Bob Berwyn of Inside Climate News, currently in Baku, Azerbaijan covering COP29. We examine the problems associated with holding this ever-expanding event in a petro-state, discuss the logistics behind the selection, and consider the key takeaway policies from the conference. Narrator | 00:02 - This is Sea Change Radio, covering the shift to sustainability. I'm Alex Wise. Bob Berwyn (BB) | 00:22 - And there's people every day here telling me stories about their islands, where their wells are full of salt water, where they can't grow food anymore, where their shoreline communities are being flooded. And then go into these, uh, sort of glitzy reception in pavilion areas where people are backslapping each other and making deals and smiling and drinking espressos. I mean, there's hundreds of boots that everyone has its own little espresso stand. And, you know, it feels like a business convention. Narrator | 00:56 - Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan for three years in a row. Now the United Nations has chosen to hold its flagship environmental meeting, the UN conference of the parties or cop in a country, largely dependent on oil revenues for its economic wellbeing. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with Bob Berwyn of Inside Climate News. Currently in Baku, Azerbaijan covering Cop 29. We examine the problems associated with holding this ever expanding event in a petro-state. Discuss the logistics behind the selection and consider the key takeaway policies from the conference. Alex Wise (AW) | 01:50 - I am joined now on Sea Change Radio by Bob Berwyn from Inside Climate News. Bob, welcome back to Sea Change Radio. Bob Berwyn (BB) | 02:04 - Hello Alex, and thanks for having me back again. I appreciate it. Alex Wise (AW) | 02:08 - Well, it's always a pleasure. I wish there'd be better news as an expat based in, uh, Austria, you have a, a different perspective, a unique perspective on the American political process, and it's been a very difficult one for all of us to deal with. But we're not going to talk about that moving forward on Sea Change Radio as much as possible. It's just too depressing. So let's focus on something else depressing, which is last time we had you on, well, I don't know if it was the last time we had you on, but we did talk to you last year when you covered the Cop 28 Conference, the United Nations Climate Change Summit in Dubai this year. It's in another petro-state, not that far from it. It's in Azerbaijan. And this one might be even more depressing from what I've been reading about it. From your coverage set, the stage, if you will, for what this conference means and what the message is coming from the United Nations ho having it hosted by Azerbaijan. Bob Berwyn (BB) | 03:09 - Sure. Depressing is probably, uh, a good word. Saddening is another good word. And it is the third year in a row that the conference has been hosted in an oil dependent petro-state with, uh, authoritarian tendencies. So, uh, there were concerns going in about restrictions on civil liberties and dissidents of the government here being imprisoned. And quite some restrictions on protests. You probably recall that sub past cops, there have been fairly large, uh, demonstrations in the streets of the host cities, really with thousands of people turning out. And that's been kind of ratcheted down the last three years to the point that this year demonstrators are only allowed inside the blue zone. The so-called Blue Zone of the conference, which is for the duration of the event, is designated as United Nations territory. So the United Nations rules apply rather than the host country laws.