Climate Change

We often hear about the science and research behind climate change, but an upcoming event in Rochester will focus on how people in our community are personally impacted by global warming.

During the Rise for a Resilient Rochester event, area residents will share personal stories of climate change impacts and solutions with city, state, and federal leaders.

We get a preview of the event this hour with our guests: 

• David Alicea, New York lead organizer of the Sierra Club
• Hridesh Singh, student at Brighton High School and director of communications for the Climate Club
• Erika Jones, systems advocate at the Center for Disability Rights
  

Astrophysicist Adam Frank joins a panel of climate activists and concerned citizens who respond to his book and its themes. In studio:

• Karen Berger, lecturer in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Rochester
• Abby McHugh-Grifa, member of Rochester People’s Climate Coalition, and co-leader of Citizens' Climate Lobby of Rochester
• Peter Collinge, volunteer for the Citizens’ Climate Lobby of Rochester
  

We sit down with a panel of conservatives who are concerned about climate change. Our panelists are people who describe themselves as being on the right side of the political spectrum. The stereotype is that progressives care about climate change; conservatives deny it. That's not true of our guests, but that doesn’t mean the solutions are easy, or easily agreed upon.

They share their ideas for what kinds of policies and ideas make sense regarding climate and conservatism. Our guests:

• John Calia, executive coach and author of "The Reluctant CEO: Succeeding Without Losing Your Soul”
• Paul Kane, media team lead for the Rochester chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby
• Kyle Thomas, group leader of the Syracuse chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, the Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s state liaison to political conservatives, and the principal engineer at Natural Systems Engineering
• Kiera O'Brien, vice president of Students for Carbon Dividends at Harvard College
  

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe recently wrote that ending America's oil addiction will be a lot harder than many people think. Our panel discusses the practical challenges and possible solutions to creating a national infrastructure without oil.

In studio:

• Sue Hughes Smith, member of Rochester People's Climate Coalition
• Suzanne Hunt, founder of Hunt Green LLC and director of strategic development at Hunt Country Vineyards
• Tim McGowan, founder and co-leader of Citizen's Climate Lobby of Rochester
• Eric Hittinger, assistant professor of public policy at RIT
  

We talk to Rochester Youth Climate Leaders about their recent Earth Day Summit. The students join us to share what they learned, what they hope to achieve with local environmental efforts, and their climate priorities.

In studio:

• Linden Burack, 8th grade student at School of the Arts and Rochester Youth Climate Leader
• Benny Smith, 11th grade student at Brighton High School and Rochester Youth Climate Leader
• Hridesh Singh, 10th grade student at Brighton High School and Rochester Youth Climate Leader
• Terry Smith, head of the Harley School’s Lower School
• Cassidy Putney, co-founder and director of sustainability and communications for Impact Earth
• Evan Zachary, director of Flower City Pickers
  

Does Rochester have to consider climate change or environmental sustainability when designing its urban spaces? That question has a more obvious answer in places like Miami Beach, where climate change is already impacting where people can live, and how. But what about Rochester? What does sustainability mean here, especially when we think about our urban spaces? 

The Community Design Center of Rochester is getting ready for their next event in the Reshaping Rochester series, and they have a designer with a distinguished and somewhat unusual resume. Mark Dawson is one of just eleven national members for the American Society of Landscape Architects' blue ribbon panel on climate change. He's in Rochester to discuss the evolution of civic parks and open space design over the last several decades.

We sit down with Dawson to discuss trends in urban design, how architects can respond to climate change, and more. In studio:

• Mark Dawson, managing principal and landscape architect with Sasaki Associates
• Bill Price, landscape architect and urban planner with SWBR, and vice president for the board of the directors at the Community Design Center Rochester

Cornell is getting ready to host its annual Business, Enology and Viticulture Symposium. We have a conversation about the state of winemaking in a region that is dealing with everything from climate change to tightening resources.

What is the future of winemaking for the region? Our guests weigh in:

• Anna Katharine Mansfield, associate professor of enology for Cornell AgriTech at the NY State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva
• Hans Walter-Peterson, team leader and viticulture extension specialist with the Finger Lakes Grape Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension
• Dave Wiemann, vineyard manager at Sheldrake Point Winery in Ovid, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake
• Kelby Russell, head winemaker for Red Newt Cellars
  

The Doomsday Clock has just moved forward; we are now two minutes to midnight. Scientists created the clock in the 1940s as a way or demonstrating how close they think we are to the possible extinction of the mankind. Their predictions are based on threats of nuclear war, climate change, and more.

So why are we the closest to midnight since 1953? Our experts share their insight. Our guests:

• Tom Weber, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Rochester
• Wes Renfro, chair of the Department of Political Science and Legal Studies at St. John Fisher College

On January 23, the Trump administration imposed a 30 percent tariff on solar cells and modules made abroad. President Trumps says the move will increase U.S. manufacturing of solar equipment and create jobs. Since the tariff was imposed, one Chinese solar company has announced it will build a plant in Florida. While plans for the plant were in the works prior to the Trump administration's announcement, the company said it "continues to closely monitor treatment of imports of solar cells and modules under the U.S. trade laws."

Some say this is an early victory under the tariff, but critics say the move will harm the solar industry in the U.S. According to research conducted by Greentech Media, the tariff could result in an 11 percent decrease of installations over the next four years, and lead to tens of thousands of job losses.

Our guests weigh in on the issue and answer your questions about solar. In studio:

• Kevin Schulte, CEO of SunCommon NY
• Ben Frevert, member of the leadership team for the Rochester People’s Climate Coalition
  

One year into the Trump presidency, climate activists are taking their efforts to the statewide level. So what are their priorities for New York State in 2018? Here’s one idea: In New York, activists and advocates say that many of the vital technologies – the ones that would update and improve our outdated energy grid – can not be deployed at a meaningful scale. How can we change that? Our guest:

• Suzanne Hunt, president of Hunt Green LLC