Jeremy Kuhre, left, organized a group to attend the People's Climate March
Last week I made my radio debut on 88.1 WRFI in Ithaca, NY. I had the privilege to be the guest for The Forecast, a local radio show dedicated to educating listeners about climate change related issues.
The interview began with questions on the triple bottom line (i.e. people, planet, and profit). From there we discussed the bus I organized to the People’s Climate March, how climate change is viewed in MBA and business settings, and the fossil fuels divestment campaign. After a few softballs, Art, a renewable energy entrepreneur and host of the show, got into the tougher questions of whether or not our economic system was up to the task of addressing climate change. I responded that I thought it was, but not without changes. First, negative externalities around fossil fuels needed to be addressed by putting a price on carbon. This would help enable the second major change needed which is to move to a circular economy. Today’s economy depends on a Take-Make-Waste model where “Take” (resource extraction) and “Waste” (pollution) cause serious environmental degradation. A carbon price would reveal the true cost of extraction and pollution thus supporting a closed-loop, or circular economy.
The show ended with Art asking me about how to “get through” to evangelicals (I’m Mormon) about climate change. It's been my experience that evangelicals tend to be skeptical about climate change because of their political beliefs, not because of their religious beliefs. Therefore, making the connection between conservative values and environmental stewardship would yield the best results. Feel free to listen to a recording of the show on the show’s website.