Tag Archives: Climate Change

Scholars’ Circle – Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations ; Building opposition to anti-science propaganda – March 30, 2025

The Russian invasion and war in Ukraine is now over three years old. The new Trump Administration is trying to negotiate a cease fire and peace in the war. Why has an agreement been so elusive? [ dur: 20mins. ]

  • Robert English is Associate Professor of International Relations and Co-Director of the Central European Studies Program at the University of Southern California (USC). He is the author of Russia and the Idea of the West.

anti-science propaganda has driven ignorance-fueled decisions that are driving us to ecological collapse. What are the costs of the spread of this mal-information? Who is spreading it? For what end? And how can it be overcome? [ dur: 38mins. ]

  • Eve Darian-Smith is the professor of Global Studies, Law, Anthropology, and Criminology Law & Society, at University of California Irvine. She is the author of Global Burning – Rising Antidemocracy and the Climate Crisis.
  • Stuart McNaughton is the professor of Faculty of Arts and Education at The University of Auckland in NZ.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Reforming Federal Emergency Management Agency of USA territories – February 2, 2025

Climate change is intensifying natural disasters such as hurricanes, storms, and wildfires and making them more frequent. Yet President Trump has proposed eliminating the federal emergency management agency, FEMA, that responds to disasters. Why was FEMA created and how effective has it been? [ dur:58mins. ]

Reference: Timeline of FEMA Disaster handling in the past ( co-authored by Claire Rubin ).

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Sober view on Wildfire mitigation and adaptation – January 12, 2025

Western US is ablaze with intense and widespread fires. What role does climate change, forest management, overpopulation, and resource management play in the increasingly devastating fire seasons worldwide? How can climate mitigation and adaptation complicate forest management? [dur: 58mins. ]

This panel was recorded in September 2020.

This program is produced by the following team members: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – COP29 , its outcome and looking ahead – December 1, 2024

COP 29 in Azerbaijan has just ended. These annual meetings are intended to advance the cause of combating climate change. And while the meetings did result in an agreement, there has been intense criticism both within the attendees and critics from outside the halls of the meetings about this agreement. And of course the United States just elected a President who considers climate change to be a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. On this show, we explore what developed at COP 29, and what this means for global action on climate change. [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Urban Flooding its causes and mitigation explored; Book author interview on Land Back Movement in Indonesia – April 7, 2024

We look at how to sustainably mitigate urban flooding in the mist of climate crisis.
Altering how we think of hardscape in urban design to manage water drainage. [ dur: 30mins. ]

Then we look at Land Back movement to repossess land by local farmers taken by corporations and state. Book author David E. Gilbert interview of his book Countering Dispossession, Reclaiming Land – A Social Movement Ethnography. Specifically, looking at Land Back effort in Casiavera village on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. This is one of many Land Back movements in the world. [ dur:28mins. ]

You can find other land back movements at La Via Campesina website, which supports Food Sovereignty among Pheasant Farmers.

  • David Gilbert is postdoctoral research fellow in the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelonais. He is an environmental anthropologist with a special interest in social movements, ecological change, and post-development theory.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Corporations not willing to taking bold actions against greenhouse gas emissions by their businesses – February 11, 2024

Climate Change is an existential threat that demands bold action and a transformation of how humanity uses its resources. Concepts like “net zero” and “carbon offset” have done little toward decreasing the amount of greenhouse gases we emit into the atmosphere. Is the current legal and voluntary structure adequate to meet the challenge of climate change? Are we up to the challenge? [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Knowledge of politics in a democracy and Insight into trees as a way to mitigate CO2 in the atmosphere – December 31, 2023

Why do people seem to know so little about politics? And what does that mean for democracy? We speak with Arthur Lupia author of Uninformed: Why People Know So Little About Politics and What We Can Do About It. [ dur: 27mins. ]

Governments and others have advocated to offset carbon emission by planting more trees. But is this really the long term solution? Our experts say it won’t be enough. And in some cases, in can make matters worse. [ dur: 31mins. ]

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – COP28 meeting outcome – December 24, 2023

The latest climate change meetings, Cop-28, just ended in Dubai. After an initial pessimism about an agreement, with controversies over leadership and the location of the meetings, there were some intriguing breakthroughs. The meeting yielded new agreements on a loss and damage fund and a transition from fossil fuels. But many of previous agreements have yet to be implemented. What does that mean for addressing climate change? What exactly was accomplished by this meeting, and what remains on the agenda for future meetings. [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Wetlands Protection, the Clean Water Act and the US Supreme Court – July 2, 2023

In the wake of the US Supreme Court decision that weakened the EPA’s capacity to protect wetlands, we explore the role of wetlands in sustainability, biodiversity, and the economy. What might the decision mean for our environment, and economy? We examine Sackett vs. EPA, in a broader context what this means for the implementation of the Clean Water Act, what it means specifically for wetlands. What is the implication of framing the EPA as being against economic development?

What exactly does “waters of the United States” mean as discussed in this decision? [ dur: 58mins.]

 

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin, Mihika Chechi, and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Food Insecurity and Famine , why they persist? – May 28, 2023

Famine and food insecurity threaten the lives of nearly a billion people worldwide. And the number of people living in food insecurity is increasing. Why is there food insecurity and what can be done? How much is food insecurity caused by environmental factors and how much is it caused by conflict? We will explore the conflict shock
that creates food insecurity particularly in East Africa , the Horn of Africa, and effective, efficient ways to address concerns of famine and food insecurity. [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin, Mihika Chechi, and Sudd Dongre.