Climate Change

The start date for what scientists call the Anthropocene - the era in which human activities begin to have a significant global impact on Earth’s ecosystems - varies widely. Some researchers point to the industrial revolution, others look much further back. In this podcast Jed Kaplan, of the Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, discusses his research, focused on the role of the Earth’s land surface in the climate system – and what it reveals about how humans were transforming ecosystem more than 3,000 years ago. 

In this two-part podcast Yale World Fellow Alexander Verbeek, strategic policy advisory on global issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, discusses how to build an robust social network — and how to use it effectively to communicate key issues and build a global community (part 1). He then looks at how we might address some of the most critical environmental issues with an integrated approach that has governments working together with industry, civil society, and think tanks (part 2). 

Part One:

Climate change does not exist for people in terms of the evidence, however strong it is; it exists in the socially constructed narratives that we have around it. And these narratives become the life and essence of the issue rather than the true and major threat it represents. In this podcast George Marshall, founder of the Climate Outreach Information Network, discusses how we might break the silence that commonly defines the climate change narrative by being open about our convictions and beliefs. 

The 2014 Environmental Index (EPI) ranks countries on high-priority environmental concerns, including air quality, water management, and climate change. In this podcast, Angel Hsu, lead author of the 2014 EPI, discusses the rankings and global performance trends. Overall, the index reveals that the world is doing well on improving drinking water and sanitation. Progress in these categories tracks the concerted pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals, which have clear targets, strategies, and metrics for assessment on water and sanitation.