Reversing Climate Change

Fair warning: this episode spoils a lot of (older) media. Antiheroes make for great television. But why are we obsessed with them? Why are they in nearly all prestige dramas? Is this a result of our cultural beliefs, or is it (re)producing a culture of cynical realism? What impacts might it have for politics and climate change? This ascendancy of the antihero is a trend I've been watching (and often enjoying) since my teen years. Shows like The Sopranos helped bring television to its lofty artistic status, but it did so by confusing the natural empathy that good storytelling generates. The longer one watches shows like The Sopranos, the more one ends up rooting for bad guys to be successful. In a world that is ever more mediated by media, could a similar trend be happening in politics? Today's show is an attempt to make sense of the antihero through a number of prestige dramas, and look for some ways of telling stories that don't lead us into the abyss of constant moral ambiguity. Today we're going to talk about hope, reclaiming moral authority, and why it's cool to believe in things. I hope you'll join me in that ambition. N.B. There is some sort of recording hiccup when I'm discussing The Last of Us. For some reason it cut out when I was saying, "They attack living humans, and then those humans reanimate into being undead in some mycological way that's pretty disgusting." This Episode's Sponsors ⁠⁠Offstream⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠ Email me to sponsor at carbon.removal.strategies [at] gmail.com. Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠ "The judge speaks in the name of justice; the priest speaks in the name of pity, which is nothing but a more lofty justice." - Victor Hugo, Les Misérables "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." - Matthew 18:21-22, KJV 'Breaking Bad's Vince Gilligan Says We Need More Good Guys on Screen as Bad Guys Have “Taken Over the World” article on MSN The Sopranos (here's a clip where Anthony Jr. steals sacramental wine from the church and the shot lingers for a few extra seconds on St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes—perfection) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on Wikipedia "Antihero" article on TVTropes (my favorite repository of writings on archetypes and common storytelling devices) Littlefinger Tells Varys That Chaos Is A Ladder | Game of Thrones | HBO Breaking Bad Ted Lasso The Last of Us The scene between Michael and Kay in The Godfather "Default to Good" article on TVTropes (the unnamed archetype of "the redeemed rogue." I'm glad it already had a name! It deserved one!) The Act of Killing The All We Can Save Project What If We Get It Right? by Dr. Ayana Johnson

It's a jarring phrase. There's an even more jarring version of it in this episode. You've been warned. Economists are well-known for gnomic sentences that can sound cruel. For some, that's one of the job's many perks. But that doesn't mean that there isn't some truth in representing decisions as trade-offs. Today is a bonus monologue episode where I am going to unpack this phrase (and its nastier cousin) and explain what it has to teach the carbon removal industry as it grapples with the tension between scale and quality. This Episode's Sponsors ⁠Offstream⁠ ⁠Arbonics⁠ ⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" Wikipedia page ⁠Follow the Reversing Climate Change podcast on LinkedIn

You should know about my friend Heidi Lim. She's a leading voice of carbon removal on TikTok. She's been making short-form content for ages but today's show is her first foray into long-form. I have the honor of being her first guest and co-releasing the episode. It is my sincere honor to help Heidi launch her new content on YouTube! We get real in this show, talking about the difficult and sometimes unsung work of climate communications, why our world feels so screwed up, and the black hole of tech jobs that suck so much talent into its brain drain. Best wishes, Heidi! So glad you're now doing this. Count me as a big fan! This Episode's Sponsors ⁠Offstream⁠ ⁠Arbonics⁠ ⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠ Heidi's TikTok The full video on Heidi's YouTube channel 329: The "Faustian Bargain" in Climate Rhetoric: Goethe's Faust and Modern Occultism—w/ Daniel Backer, author 326: Confronting Our Shadow: Jung, The Vietnam War, & Climate Change—w/ Karl Marlantes, author Follow the Reversing Climate Change podcast on LinkedIn Follow Carbon Removal Memes on LinkedIn "And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." - Matthew 5:30, KJV

If only there were a podcast that broke down all of the ways climate professionals broke into their industry... Michael Gold is a communications expert and consultant at Word Clouds Consulting and the host of the new podcast, Climate Swings. This show traces guests' stories and explains how they landed a job working on one of humanity's most significant problem sets. Check out the episode of Climate Swings I did with Michael retelling my odyssey into climate work here! Be sure to subscribe to his show, give it a great rating and review, and send it to a friend trying to come join us. Also, a special thank you to 9Zero for serendipitously facilitating our connection and to Terra.do for helping Michael do what he does! Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠ "From PhD Dropout to Carbon Removal Comedian", the episode of Climate Swings I did with Michael ⁠⁠⁠Follow the Reversing Climate Change podcast on LinkedIn⁠

Sometimes, we skip right over the life stories of guests. Othertimes, it's everything. Today, it's everything. Returning to the show after several years is Carbon180's Executive Director, Erin Burns. Erin grew up in a coal mining family in West Virginia, got her start in Joe Manchin's Senate office, and has had a long and impactful career in carbon removal. Today, Erin (re)explains how the budgeting process works in the United States federal government and how the appropriations process intersects with it. What is the difference, and where can voters get involved? This is truly an improvised masterclass in civics education. Listen up for what you missed in high school, and how it will impact the future of carbon removal. This Episode's Sponsors Offstream Arbonics Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠ Carbon180 Scrip Company town "The Appropriations Process: A Brief Overview", a CRS Product Carbon180's Carbon Removal Funding Tracker "The Ghost of Tom Joad" by Bruce Springsteen "Which Side Are You On?" by Pete Seeger "There is Power in a Union" by Utah Phillips (originally by Joe Hill) Harlan County, U.S.A.

The clean energy transition sure needs a heck of a lot of mining. What do we do when there are environmental or spiritual costs to getting the materials we need for EVs and batteries? Ernest Scheyder is a Reuters reporter covering critical minerals, and the author of The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives. His reporting strives to let audiences draw their own conclusions about where the line should be on environmental extraction, which is a rarer approach than maybe meets the eye. Tune in to also learn where the political battles of the second Trump Administration over critical minerals in Ukraine and clean energy politics at home may lead, and what we should keep our eyes on in the future. Resources ⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ Ernest Scheyder's website Ernest's reporting at Reuters The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives The Irresponsible Pursuit of Paradise by Jim L. Bowyer ⁠Follow the Reversing Climate Change podcast on LinkedIn

Nearly a decade ago, I was introduced to the concept of the Keynesian Beauty Contest. It is one of those concepts that I keep coming back to time and time again. I recently participated in a two-month Product-Market Fit workshop led by Peter Nocchiero of Alternate Future and Koray Parmaks of Carbon Zero Capital. So I've been living and breathing PMF. Here is a short monologue bonus video episode where I talk about the Product-Market Fit issues of climatetech and carbon removal, and relate them to my experiences as a founder of the Nori carbon removal marketplace. Resources ⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ The Keynesian Beauty Contest on Wikipedia Peter Nocchiero's Alternate Future Carbon Zero Capital⁠ ⁠⁠Follow the Reversing Climate Change podcast on LinkedIn⁠

I first heard the idiom "worse things happen at sea" in Monty Python's Life of Brian, and it's true. Ian Urbina has made a career of telling stories of the ocean. From piracy, illegal fishing, and sea slavery to seasteading and rogue carbon removal experiments, he's covered the gamut. How does one continuously report on topics of concern to relatively intimidating people? As the old line goes, "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations." In today's episode, Ian and host Ross Kenyon discuss these topics, but also broader questions of what is happening to journalism in a political environment where retaliation feels very possible. Resources ⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠ The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the World's Last Untamed Frontier by Ian Urbina The Outlaw Ocean Project Follow the Reversing Climate Change podcast on LinkedIn

It's often hard to know how sustainable or ethical an alcoholic drink is. Very little disclosure is required on most labels, and many of the recipes are proprietary. What is a conscientious drinker to do? Shanna Farrell wrote A Good Drink: In Search of Sustainable Spirits in order to answer this exact question. She and host Ross Kenyon discuss the strange world of amaros (or "amari" if you're really going for it!), whiskey, agave, and gin, and try to figure out how to even begin approaching this difficult consumptive choice. N.B. If you really want to nerd out on amaro taxonomy, Brad Thomas Parsons's books on amaro and bitters are both quite useful; linked below. Resources ⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change A Good Drink: In Search of Sustainable Spirits by Shanna Farrell Shanna Farrell's website Amaro: The Spirited World of Bittersweet, Herbal Liqueurs by Brad Thomas Parsons Crushed: How A Changing Climate Is Altering the Way We Drink by Brian Freedman Follow the Reversing Climate Change podcast on LinkedIn

What is geopolitics, and has it returned? Did it ever really leave? And how will this affect the future prospects of carbon removal? Today's guest is Sarah Godek, a Washington DC-based international relations researcher. She and Grant Faber co-wrote an article on Carbon-Based Commentary called, "Carbon security and the geopolitics of carbon removal". We discuss the tension between strategic liberalism and realism, how the world is changing under the second Trump Administration, as well as if and how the Great Game is currently being played and what implications that has for climate change and CDR. Resources ⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change "Carbon security and the geopolitics of carbon removal" Graham Allison's Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap? Robert Axelrod's The Evolution of Cooperation Kevin Rudd's The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China John Pomfret's The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present Go watch In the Loop, Veep, and The Death of Stalin!

My podcasting editing platform Descript informed me of a new integration with ChatGPT where it would make me a custom video. I complied in perhaps the most annoying and meta way possible. That video exists at the end of this podcast, but first, I have thoughts I'd like to share on what this process made me feel and think about. I've heard so many takes on artificial intelligence and art, and I have several of my own that I don't often hear reflected. Mine pertain to the sociological purpose of art, and of developing aesthetic talent on the road to greatness. Resources ⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change Use my referral link to become a user of Descript⁠⁠ for podcast editing, transcription, and now AI-generated video content.

When you take a major pay cut to work in government, you don't expect unceremoniously fired with a change in administration. But it happened to friend of the show, Grant Faber. Grant Faber was the United States Department of Energy's Direct Air Capture Hubs Program Manager until he was let go as part of the recent firing of probationary federal employees. In today's episode, Grant explains what he was working on, what it was like being at the DoE during this turbulent time, and what it means for carbon removal, the climate, and the United States moving forward. Resources Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change Listen to The CDR Policy Scoop episode with Noah Deich (coming soon!) Don't make me link to the ASMR deportation video There are a bunch of episodes I've made with thoughtful conservatives. Poke around the catalog if you'd like. I'll add some more links later if I have the heart to do it. Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (I mistakenly say OEM in the show): "We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected... When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. We want their funding to be shut down so that the EPA can't do all of the rules against our energy industry because they have no bandwidth financially to do so...We want to put them in trauma."

There are a lot of companies that want to buy carbon removal and don't have the budget to participate in Frontier or Symbiosis. What are they to do? Until now, they either had to pay expensive consultants or vet projects and contracts themselves and stand by their choices alone. No longer! The new AirMiners Buyers Club could not be arriving at a better time. Federal policy for carbon removal is in an extremely turbulent moment. Buying momentum is not growing to the degree that we need to see. The AirMiners Buyers Club aims to solve for the missing middle of carbon removal buyers. Do you work at (or know someone who works at) a company that could be passionate about supporting cutting-edge carbon removal companies? Are you a high-net-worth individual? Involved in philanthropy? If so, please reach out to Tito Jankowski directly (tito[at]airminers.com) and see how you can work together to grow CDR during its Dark Night of the Soul. Additionally, if you personally want to support CDR in non-monetary ways, come join the so-called Rebel Alliance in AirMiners. We'd love to have you. Thank you so much for your love and support of carbon removal! Resources ⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change Join the AirMiners Buyers Club by emailing Tito Jankowski directly: tito[at]airminers.com. Form to join the Rebel Alliance AirMiners's website Frontier Symbiosis

Seemingly nothing generates hotter passions in carbon credits than forestry. Can credits count against fossil emissions? Is there enough of it to make a difference? What is the appropriate way of funding it? Today's guest is Lisett Luik, Co-Founder and COO of Arbonics, an innovative forestry company in the Baltic that straddles the line between carbon removal and other services forests can provide. We discuss if and how forestry can fit into carbon removal, help the planet avoid tipping points, and adequately motivate land managers to employ better practices. We also play a quick game of bioenergy: friend or foe! Always more to discuss on forestry, and I doubt this show will be the final word. Resources Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change Arbonics's website

How do registries create carbon removal methodologies? Who should be involved in the process, and to what degree? How does one balance all of the competing attributes and stakeholders? Today's episode is a show in three parts: First, Nori co-founder and host ofReversing Climate Changeintroduces the context for the main segment which was recorded the better part of a year before its airing. He explores whether or not the quasi-regulatory requirement for registries not to also be marketplaces leads to proprietary methodologies. Secondly, as Nori has closed down since the recording of this episode, Ross chats with Anu Khan, the Founder and Executive Director of the Carbon Removal Standards Initiative to discuss her work of building an ark for carbon removal methodologies and how that work informs policy and the growth of carbon removal. Thirdly, is the original body of the podcast where Ross speaks with Radhika Moolgavkar, formerly the VP of Supply & Methodology at Nori, and Rick Berg, formerly Nori’s Director of Methodology, about the development of Nori’s Direct Air Capture + Storage methodology. They discuss the importance of open methodology development for transparency and trust, and ungating their work so that others can use it and adapt it under the right Creative Commons licensure. The nuts and bolts of how the expert advisory panel and public comment period work, as well as how that feedback filters back into the methodology, is explained. The podcast also covers the decision behind selecting DAC amongst all of the other CDR methodologies, the challenges in methodology harmonization across registries and geographies, and how to handle the future of methodological updates as the industry evolves and more is learned. Resources Become a paid subscriber toReversing Climate Change Why Nori Creates Its Own Methodologies (coming soon!) Read Nori's DAC+S Methodology (coming soon!) Carbon Removal Standards Initiative Nori's Creative Commons license Stationary bandit theory "The Constitution of No Authority" by Lysander Spooner ICROA ICVCM

Dear listener, Thank you so much for being a fan of the show. You could be listening to anything with your one wild and precious life and I do not take that for granted. From the bottom of my heart,thank you! Now that the show is independent, I am working to make it financially viable. Can I count on you to help supportReversing Climate Changeby doing any of the following? Apple PodcastsSpotifyWill you please become a paid subscriber ofReversing Climate Change?RiversideDescript If you have feedback of any kind that you'd like to share, please send it to carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com. Thank you so much for helping the show. It is deeply meaningful to me. Sincerely, Ross

It is sometimes claimed that adoption could be a climate solution. After all, if there are kids needing parents and parents wanting kids, adopting might replace the desire to create more children. Is adoption something we should encourage to reduce environmental risk? Today we have four(!) parents of adopted children on the podcast. Each of them tells their story at the start of the show, including: Reversing Climate ChangeSoil Carbon Solutions CenterGrassroots CarbonYard Stick PBC Then we all discuss if and how adopting children could or should fit into one's vision of climate activism. This was a fun and big show to do! I hope you enjoy the change-up in format. Resources Here are the verses from the Bible that are referenced: "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." - Philippians 2:12 "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." - Matthew 6:1-6 All quotes from the King James Version

Additionality is typically considered a major marker of quality in carbon removal. But what do we do when carbon removal suppliers are producing other types of products and services that make them less dependent upon voluntary carbon market revenue? Perhaps even more importantly, how do we have a productive disagreement on this topic? Bringing up some concerns can open one to criticism. But we also depend upon people thinking differently in order to advance our understanding of the world and the types of value we create. How do we make sure we aren't encouraging crackpot analysis while also not hewing so closely to orthodoxy that we might be missing important insights? How can we set the stage to understand the true landscape of disagreement so that we can come to better decisions and not be driven by ideology in improper ways? Today's podcast features Reversing Climate Change alumnus, Grant Faber, returning to the show. Grant is sui generis in our sector for his deep involvement in life-cycle and techno-economic assessment. He is the Direct Air Capture Hubs Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to DOE, he ran a consultancy focused on life cycle and techno-economic assessment where he worked with many different startups, accelerators, and investors working on carbon removal and carbon conversion. Before that, he worked with Twelve, Heirloom, and the Global CO2 Initiative. Importantly, we invite you to engage with this material and come to your own conclusions. Part of what makes carbon removal such an intellectual adventure is just how much room there is for creativity and deep thought! Resources Grant's website Grant's previous RCC appearance Eric Matzner from Metalplant's RCC appearance "Crediting challenges when carbon removal comes with avoided emissions" by CarbonPlan The trope of the monkey paw A few Robert Höglund pieces on temporary carbon removal: #1, #2, and #3 Here's the quote from Gandalf from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King: "It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule."

Of all of the world's climate podcasts, here is why you should, with your one wild and precious life, listen to Reversing Climate Change. The tl;dr is I am a long-time carbon removal and climate tech entrepreneur who comes from the humanities (rather than science) and I am programming shows on climate unlike what you're likely to hear elsewhere. Shows with legendary travel writers to worlds that are disappearing? A Vietnam veteran discussing what Jungian archetypes can teach those thinking of their climate activism as a type of warfare? Survivalism in the age of climate change? What might Dante make of our current predicament?! This show's got it! If you like the show, would you please become a subscriber here? It makes a huge difference to the show's sustainability. And if you aren't able to do that, would you please give the show a great rating and/or review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whichever podcast app you use that has that ability? Thank you so much for listening! Please let me know in the comments if you would like anything in particular.

When we think of climate change, we might think of droughts, floods, wildfires, emigration and climate refugees: but what if the call is coming from inside the house? What if it impacts the way we think and act? Today's show is with Clayton Aldern, Senior Data Reporter at Grist and author of The Weight of Nature: How a Changing Climate Changes Our Brains. Clayton explains where additional climate risks will be coming from, and much of it is how much even small changes in heat can increase impulsivity and crime, decrease test scores, and generally make things more difficult. If human bodies are so susceptible to environmental conditions, what does that say for justice? How are we meant to understand agency and determinism? How do we hold one another accountable while also practicing forgiveness for human frailty? There are no shortage of big questions today! Enjoy. Resources Clayton's writing on Grist Clayton's website The Weight of Nature: How a Changing Climate Changes Our Brains