In the next decade, the scale and scope of environmental change will test our ingenuity and strength. The fight for a livable planet is one that we must win. Each week we will meet people who can help us navigate this dynamic world and get us on a path to health. Hosted by Jared Blumenfeld, Podship Earth is a call to action.
Jared Blumenfeld was the regional administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency from 2009-2016 (appointed by President Obama). He also served as the Director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, chaired the first United Nations World Environment Day held in the US, and founded the Business Council on Climate Change and Green Cities California. He worked for non-profits including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) where he helped protect millions of acres for wildlife and held corporations accountable. He thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. He is a trusted source for environmental stories and appears frequently in the New York Times, BBC, Economist, Los Angeles Times, NPR and other media outlets.
As world leaders descended on Glasgow to agree on a plan to curb climate pollution, most of the obstacles to inking a deal centered on who pays for what. Not being discussed is the underlying financial framework of capitalism which has played an outsized role in getting us into this mess. Because capitalism focuses nearly exclusively on maximizing profits, the exploitation of both human and natural resources has never been part of the balance sheet. Dr Carolina Alves studies and teaches heterodox economics at Cambridge University. Carolina is part of a new wave of economists bringing rigour and curiosity to answering fundamental questions about how markets operate and where reform is needed. In a discipline dominated by white men from the global north, Carolina's fight to make economics more equitable, representative and focused on social good comes not a moment too soon.
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