Science has a communication problem. This week on Possibly we’re taking a look at an audio-storytelling organization, called Transom, that’s trying to help fix it.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly. Where we take on huge problems, like the future of our planet, and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

Science has a communication problem. It can be hard for everyday people to understand what scientists are saying about their research..

Juliana Merullo and Nat Hardy are here to tell us about a science storytelling workshop trying to help solve this problem.

Juliana Merullo: Hiya!

Nat Hardy: Hey Megan!

Megan Hall: So why is it hard for scientists to tell stories in the first place?

Juliana Merullo: We were wondering that too! So to find out, we talked to one.

Kathleen Savage: I am Kathleen Savage. I’m a senior research scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center.

Nat Hardy: Kathleen studies how climate change affects forests in the Northeast. And she says,

Kathleen Savage: Scientists aren’t trained to create a story. We’re trained to give every little detail of what we did so that it can go through a peer-reviewed process.

Juliana Merullo: But in recent years, people have been paying more attention to how we talk about scientific research. Especially as there have been more attacks on science, and scientists.

Megan Hall: And there are people working with scientists to help them do this?

Nat Hardy: Yes! Including one organization in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, called Transom.

Juliana Merullo: Transom was started 25 years ago as an organization that focuses mostly on audio storytelling. They hold workshops and have a website with tons of resources.

Nat Hardy: Yeah, I took a class with them this summer.

Juliana Merullo: But after the Trump administration threatened to pull funding from science research institutions, including ones in Woods Hole, Transom decided to hold a storytelling workshop for scientists in their community, free of charge.

Nat Hardy: 11 scientists participated in a two-day storytelling workshop that built towards a live storytelling event, open to the public.

Juliana Merullo: Sophie Crane, the executive director of the Transom Story Lab, says that at the beginning, she wasn’t so sure it would work:

Sophie Crane: Scientists are so experienced in communicating in a completely different way. And I had this moment of panic of, oh my gosh, are these stories gonna work, are they gonna come together in time?

Megan Hall: So what kind of things did they teach in the storytelling workshop?

Juliana Merullo: Each of the scientists came with a story they wanted to tell.

Nat Hardy: They learned how to structure that story, shared their stories in small groups, and got feedback. Kathleen says,

Kathleen Savage: My story was pretty long and had a lot of nuance to it, and so a lot of detail had to be condensed. And as a scientist, that’s really hard.

Nat Hardy: Sophie says they helped the scientists focus on the human side of their stories, more than their facts.

Sophie Crane:  I think there’s almost been sort of a stigma within the scientific  community of, you know, we need to sort of seem quite perfect all the time. I actually think it’s maybe the opposite, that if you understand that scientists make mistakes and are human just like the rest of us, it might actually be easier to understand what it is they’re doing.

Megan Hall: So what was Kathleen’s story about?

Juliana Merullo: She started by talking about how frustrating it is for her when people don’t believe the overwhelming scientific evidence that climate change is real, and is caused by humans. But then she got a little more personal. Here’s a clip from the live speech:

Kathleen Savage: 15 years ago, I was sitting in the office of a cardiologist and he said to me, it is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when you’re going to need open heart surgery.

Juliana Merullo: For a long time she refused to believe what the doctors told her about her heart.

Kathleen Savage: I’m a scientist and I’m also a science denier.  So now, when I meet people who question climate change and push back on the evidence, I present facts, but given this experience and how comfortable it is to be in denial about hard choices, I respond with more empathy towards their position.

Megan Hall: Wow! It sounds like the event was a big success.

Nat Hardy: Totally. But Sophie says that for them, it’s not really about big successful storytelling events.

Sophie Crane: It’s the skills that the scientists will take with them from the workshop that they’ll bring back to their labs, that they’ll talk about over lunch with their colleagues.

Juliana Merullo: They’ve got another workshop planned in DC in the fall, and they’re hoping to take this model to scientists and researchers all across the country.

Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks, Nat and Juliana.

That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Bluesky at  “askpossibly”

Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.

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This week on Possibly, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse helps explain what options we have to address climate change’s impact on the home insurance industry.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems, like the future of our planet, and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

Journalists, researchers and politicians have been sounding the alarm in recent months about a new industry impacted by climate change: home insurance.

In the past two episodes we’ve looked in to what the problem is and how different states are approaching it.

Today, Juliana Merullo and Nat Hardy are here to talk about possible solutions.

Juliana Merullo: Hiya Megan!

Nat Hardy: Hey there!

Megan Hall: Can you remind me why people are so worried about climate change affecting home insurance?

Juliana Merullo: Sure! Basically, climate change is making global temperatures rise, which makes disasters like hurricanes, hail storms and wildfires more frequent and more severe.

Nat Hardy: That’s causing more damage to our homes and businesses, which means insurance companies are having to pay out more money in more parts of the country.

Juliana Merullo: They’re responding by raising the price of coverage, and refusing to write new policies in some areas altogether.

Nat Hardy: Experts worry that if homebuyers can’t get insurance, property values and property taxes could go down, leading to a financial crisis.

Megan Hall: I hope you have some good solutions for me!

Juliana Merullo: Well, don’t get your hopes up. The truth is, there’s no simple answer.

Nat Hardy: But there is one thing experts agree on.

Ishita Sen: There is a big gap in data, and we can only sort of come up with good solutions here if we learn exactly what the problems are.

Nat Hardy: That’s Ishita Sen. She’s an associate professor of finance at Harvard Business School.

Megan Hall: A data gap? What does that mean?

Juliana Merullo: Well there’s a couple parts to it. The Senate Budget Committee and the Treasury under President Biden both published big reports looking into the climate driven home insurance crisis.

Nat Hardy: And when they requested information from states and insurance companies about policies, not everyone responded.

Juliana Merullo: Even when researchers and policymakers do get this kind of data, it often isn’t super specific.

Nat Hardy: It might just be broken down by zip code or county, but not to individual houses.

Juliana Merullo: Ishita says we need all of the data, and specific data, to understand how different regulations and policy decisions are affecting these insurers.

Megan Hall: Ok, that doesn’t sound too hard.

Nat Hardy: Totally. But that’s only part of it.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: The problem is that even if you do that, you still haven’t solved the underlying problem, which is that we’re putting Earth’s natural systems into wild spins and crashes.

Nat Hardy: That’s US Senator from Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse. He chaired the Senate Budget Committee that published the report on home insurance and climate change. He says:

Senator Sheldon Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: The insurance folks are looking ahead at a very frightening future, and they’re dramatically changing their behavior. And that problem doesn’t go away until they have some confidence that we’re going to solve the climate problem.

Nat Hardy: Dave Jones, the director of the Climate Risk Initiative at the UC Berkeley school of law and the former Insurance Commissioner for California, puts it this way:

Dave Jones: We continue to march towards an uninsurable future because we’re not doing enough about the underlying driver of this, which is fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emitting industries.

Juliana Merullo: Dave says it’s important to note that US insurance companies have invested over half a trillion dollars in the fossil fuel industry.

Nat Hardy: So, they’re supporting the industry that’s making their jobs a lot harder.

Juliana Merullo: The Trump administration has made it very clear that it’s not worried about climate change, but Dave still has hope:

Dave Jones: States still have a lot of regulatory authority and states are going to need to do even more if we’re going to avoid a very, very bleak future that we’re continuing to to move steadily towards as a result of climate change.

Megan Hall: So I guess we’ll need to keep an eye on the states?

Nat Hardy: Definitely! And Senator Whitehouse says that as more Americans feel the economic impact of climate change, they might put pressure on federal policy makers.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: We just aren’t there yet, but it’s coming. It’s a race. Really, does that popular pressure happen first? Or do we have the irretrievable tipping points of climate crisis that happen first? Let’s hope it’s the popular that happens first.

Juliana Merullo: Does that make you feel any better Megan?

Megan Hall: Not really… But, Thanks Juliana, and Nat!

That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or Bluesky at  “askpossibly”

Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.

The post How do we solve the climate change home insurance crisis? appeared first on TPR: The Public’s Radio.

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Home insurance is supposed to help us recover from natural disasters, but climate change is disrupting the industry. This week on Possibly, we look at how states are responding to this problem.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems, like the future of our planet, and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

We already know that climate change is making natural disasters more extreme and happen more often. Home insurance is supposed to help us recover from those natural disasters, but now climate change is affecting that industry, too.

Juliana Merullo and Nat Hardy are here to walk us through how states are responding to this problem.

Juliana Merullo:: Hiya Megan!

Nat Hardy: Hey there!

Megan Hall: In our last episode, we talked about how climate change is making the home insurance industry more risky all over the country. So why should we be thinking about states?

Juliana Merullo: Well, home insurance is regulated at the state level. There’s an official, normally called the insurance commissioner, in each state, and their office sets the policies and regulations that the insurance companies have to follow.

Nat Hardy: That means some states, like California, regulate their insurance industry much more than other states, like Louisiana or New Hampshire.

Megan Hall: What do they do to regulate insurance companies?

Juliana Merullo: It looks different in different states! They give licenses to insurers, they make sure those insurers can pay their claims, and they approve the rates that companies charge homeowners.

Megan Hall: And I imagine that means insurance rates are different in each state?

Nat Hardy: Exactly. These differences in regulation between states have created a really complicated insurance situation. To find out more, we spoke to an expert who studies how climate change and regulation are affecting insurance markets.

Ishita Sen: My name is Ishita Sen. I am an assistant professor of finance at Harvard Business School.

Juliana Merullo: Ishita says that the way insurance markets are supposed to work is pretty straightforward.

Ishita Sen: Anyone would tell you, places that are more exposed to disaster risk, are the places where you would expect insurance prices to be higher.

Nat Hardy: Ishita and her colleagues published a study that showed in reality, it’s not that simple.

Juliana Merullo: They found that in some states, insurance rates are artificially low. That means the rate doesn’t match the actual risk of that house.

Megan Hall: Why is that?

Nat Hardy: Well, the major insurance companies operate all over the country, right? In both more-regulated and less-regulated states. And it’s easier to raise the rates in the less-regulated states, where there’s less oversight.

Juliana Merullo: Some insurance companies deny this, but Ishita’s study suggests that if a company can’t raise the rate to reflect the full risk for a home-owner in say, California, insurers might  raise the rates on homeowners in a less regulated state like Oklahoma instead.

Nat Hardy: And Ishita says that’s a problem:

Ishita Sen: And to the extent that prices actually do not reflect these risks, then people may not actually fully internalize the cost of living in a high, high risk area.

Megan Hall: Okay, but why does it matter that the risk doesn’t match the premiums?

Nat Hardy: On the one hand, in less regulated states, where insurance rates are climbing, it can make homeownership way less affordable.

Juliana Merullo: But the reality of climate change is that it’s making more places susceptible to natural disasters. And the prices should reflect that.

Nat Hardy:  At a certain point, we might have to pay more and accept the risk, or adjust where we’re living.

Megan Hall: I guess so. But California recently made some big changes to the way it regulates home insurance, right?

Nat Hardy: Yes! Major insurers like State Farm stopped offering new policies in the state, so the insurance commissioner made some reforms, hoping it would encourage them to come back.

Juliana Merullo: The state has one of the most regulated insurance industries, and it’s likely that regulation encouraged insurers to leave the state.

Megan Hall: I see, so the regulations are causing this problem?

Nat Hardy: Partially, but it’s not quite that simple. Dave Jones, the former insurance commissioner in California, says, all sorts of states- those with tight regulations, and those with looser rules are all seeing this same phenomenon:

Dave Jones: Which is, insurance companies raising prices as well as declining to write and renew insurance. So there’s not some get-out-of-climate-change deregulation card here that’s going to solve the problem.

Megan Hall: So if regulating more or less won’t help, what’s the solution?

Juliana Merullo: We’ll have to cover that in the next episode!

Megan Hall: I guess so! Thanks Juliana and Nat! That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or Bluesky at  “askpossibly”

Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.

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Recent reports by the Senate Budget Committee and the Treasury found that climate change is already upending the US’s home insurance industry.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems, like the future of our planet, and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

You might think climate change just affects the weather or polar bears. But that’s not the case. It also creeps into our economy. For example— home insurance.

Juliana Merullo and Nat Hardy from our Possibly team are here to explain.

Juliana Merullo: Hiya Megan!

Nat Hardy: Thanks for having us!

Megan Hall: So, how does climate change affect home insurance?

Juliana Merullo: Well, let’s think about how insurance is supposed to work. If you own a home, you pay your home insurance each month.

Nat Hardy: Then, if something like a hurricane or hail storm or even a wildfire  causes damage to your home, the insurance company gives you money to make repairs or rebuild.

Juliana Merullo: And the reason this works is that all the other people who paid their monthly insurance bills, and didn’t need to repair their homes, are essentially covering your repairs.

Nat Hardy: The insurance basically spreads out the risk.  You’re protected in case something happens to your home. And the insurance company can still make a profit.

Megan Hall: So, climate change is messing with that formula?

Juliana Merullo: Exactly. To find out how, we talked to Dave Jones. He’s the director of the Climate Risk Initiative at the UC Berkeley School of Law, and used to serve as California’s Insurance Commissioner.

Nat Hardy: He says that extreme weather caused by climate change is creating a lot of havoc.

Dave Jones: These things are killing more of us, injuring more of us, but also causing more physical damage, which is causing insurance companies to pay out more money. Insurance companies respond in two ways: they raise the price and they stop writing insurance.

Juliana Merullo: Some insurance companies and politicians say that these big changes aren’t just because of climate change. But when the Senate Budget Committee and the Treasury published separate reports looking into the issue….

Dave Jones: Both those reports concluded that climate change is a major driver of both insurance rate increases as well as the declining to write new or renew insurance.

Nat Hardy: Experts worry that this could have all sorts of implications. It could make it harder to get a mortgage, and it could destabilize the whole housing market.

Megan Hall: But this is just affecting a few states that get big hurricanes or wildfires, right?

Juliana Merullo: Actually, no. More and more states are feeling the impact of climate change.

Nat Hardy: In 2013, insurance companies only lost money in 8 states. But just ten years later in 2023, they had losses in 18 states.

Megan Hall: Is that causing companies to raise rates and stop offering coverage?

Nat Hardy: It is, Now, State Farm won’t offer new policies in California, and it’s even refusing to renew some existing policies.

Megan Hall: What do you do if an insurance company won’t cover you?

Nat Hardy: A lot of homeowners turn to state run insurance programs. Most states have one, and they’re designed to offer insurance for homes that private insurance companies say are too risky to insure.

Juliana Merullo: But the more homes private insurers refuse to cover, the more people are turning to these state-run programs.

Nat Hardy: And because these are the riskiest properties, there’s a greater chance disaster will affect them, and the insurance program will have to pay homeowners for their losses.

Megan Hall: What happens when these state-based programs don’t have enough money to cover all the claims?

Nat Hardy: Then, private insurance companies in the state have to chip in.

Juliana Merullo: We’re seeing that happen right now in the aftermath of the LA wildfires. California’s state market, called the FAIR Plan, just requested $1 billion from private insurers to help cover all of the claims from the wildfires.

Nat Hardy: But because of reforms that California made in 2024, insurance companies are only responsible for half of that. The other half has to be paid by their policyholders in the state.

Dave Jones: So that’s going to be a big wake-up call for Californians, because not only are they going to see more rate increases for their own insurance they’re going to get a bill for the FAIR plan to help bail it out.

Megan Hall: Wow! So, everyone is really feeling the impact of this crisis. But why did California make those reforms?

Juliana Merullo: That’s a topic for a whole ‘nother episode!

Megan Hall: Sounds good! Thanks, Juliana and Nat. That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or Bluesky at  “askpossibly”

Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.

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In the summer of 2022 President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The law was the US’s largest investment in climate and clean energy ever. But what’s happened since then? Who has actually been implementing the bill?

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly. Where we take on huge problems, like the future of our planet, and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

In the summer of 2022 President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The name doesn’t say anything about it, but this was actually the US’s largest investment in climate and clean energy ever.

What’s happened since then? And will the law change under a new administration? Our reporters Juliana Merullo and Nat Hardy are here to fill us in.

Juliana Merullo: Hiya Megan!

Nat Hardy: Hey there!

Megan Hall: So remind me- why is the Inflation Reduction Act such a big deal?

Juliana Merullo: Basically, the Inflation Reduction Act, or the IRA, was this huge bill that put aside hundreds of billions of dollars for projects that address climate change.

Nat Hardy: To learn more about what’s happened since it was signed into law, we talked to someone who has had a big role in implementing it.

Seth Hanlon: I’m Seth Hanlon, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax and Climate Policy in
the Department of the Treasury.

Megan Hall: Wait a second. The Treasury Department? For a climate bill?

Juliana Merullo: I know, it’s surprising! But the Treasury has been one of the main departments in charge of carrying out the IRA. Seth says,

Seth Hanlon: the Inflation Reduction Act is the largest investment in clean energy and
climate in U.S. history and actually the bulk of those investments came
in the form of tax incentives

Megan Hall: Tax incentives? Is that like the tax credit I got for my electric car?

Nat Hardy: That’s one of them! But the IRA actually created or updated 20 different tax incentives. And a lot of people haven’t heard about some of the biggest ones: they’re called technology neutral tax credits.

Megan Hall: What do those do?

Juliana Merullo: Basically, even before the IRA there were tax credits that encouraged companies and utilities to build clean energy facilities and generate renewable energy. But there were limits on what specific technologies could be used for which credit.

Nat Hardy: These new technology neutral tax credits can be used for ANY are open to all clean energy sources. They give companies and utilities the option to choose which credit is better for them.

Juliana Merullo: To find out more, we spoke with Hannah Kolus. She’s a senior analyst at Rhodium Group, an economic policy think tank.

Hannah Kolus: The IRS tech neutral tax credits are the most important component of
the IRA from a decarbonization perspective

Juliana Merullo: Hannah and her colleagues at Rhodium estimate that the IRA tax credits have led companies and consumers to invest almost 500 BILLION dollars in clean energy technology.

Nat Hardy: That’s a 70% increase compared to the two years before the IRA!

Juliana Merullo: And even though we’re still falling a little short of our emissions reductions goals, these tech neutral tax credits have gotten us a lot closer. They’re expected to reduce US emissions by at least 30% by 2030.

Megan Hall: Wow! So what’s the Treasury’s role in all this?

Nat Hardy: Well even though these credits were included in the law, the Treasury still has to create rules and guidance that help people figure out if they’re eligible.

Seth Hanlon: “Soon after IRA passed, we at Treasury published requests for information from the public, essentially asking what’s the most important issues that need to
be clarified?”

Juliana Merullo: They got thousands of responses. Over two years later, they are still sorting through all of the public comments and finalizing rules. It’s a long, complicated process.

Megan Hall: Ok, but won’t all of these credits just be changed under the Trump administration?

Juliana Merullo: Seth says it’s important to remember that the tax credits themselves are law, so they can only be changed by Congress.

Nat Hardy: As for the guidance and regulations, once those are finalized, Seth says,

Seth Hanlon:: A future administration could reopen those regulations. They would have to go through the same process of proposing changes and then a public notice
and comment period. And consider all those comments before finalizing any changes to regulations

Juliana Merullo: Which could take another couple of years.

Nat Hardy: But a lot of these tax credits actually have some bipartisan support, in part because the majority of new investment in clean energy has been in Republican districts.

Juliana Merullo: So we really don’t know what will happen. But in the meantime, Seth says he and his colleagues at Treasury have spent the end of Biden’s time in office trying to finalize as much guidance as possible.

Megan Hall: We’ll keep an eye on that! Thanks Juliana and Nat!

That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at ask possibly dot org.

Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.

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At Possibly we think a lot about how to make complicated climate science and policy easy to understand. And we’re not the only ones! Some comedians are playing an important role in re-thinking how we talk about climate change.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems, like the future of our planet, and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

Here at Possibly, we think a lot about how to make climate change easy to understand. And we’re not the only ones! It might be surprising, but some comedians are trying to do this too.

Juliana Merullo and Nat Hardy from our Possibly team are here to tell us more.

Juliana Merullo: Hiya!

Nat Hardy: Hi there!

Megan Hall: So is climate change really something to joke about?

Juliana Merullo: A lot of comedians would say yes! Including Esteban Gast. He’s the comedian in residence at the climate change and energy nonprofit Generation 180.

Esteban Gast: I was like, hey, sometimes I talk about climate stuff. And people were like, you do? Oh my godness, we need that!

Megan Hall: But, climate change is transforming our lives and threatening our future. Is it ok to make it seem funny?

Nat Hardy: Esteban says he gets that question a lot.

Esteban Gast: There’s backlash all the time from climate people who are like, this is the most serious issue of our time, how dare you make jokes about it? And part of me is like hey, we’re on the same team. And some of the most brilliant standup specials of all time, have dealt with really heavy issues.

Juliana Merullo: Studies have shown that using humor can help raise awareness of complex and difficult issues by making them more accessible. Jokes can also appeal to a much wider audience because they’re less likely to alienate people.

Megan Hall: OK, but how do you even make this topic funny?

Nat Hardy: We were wondering the same thing! Esteban starts with personal experiences.

Esteban Gast: like, does anyone else feel this? Does anyone else, like, feel weird when they’re thirsty and need to buy a plastic water bottle, but then they like, feel guilty?

Juliana Merullo: Then he starts digging deeper.

Esteban Gast: Oh wait a minute, who is making you feel guilty about that? And then it drives to a point where they’re like, Yeah, wait, why  why do I feel so much guilt about that, when BP is just throwing oil into the Gulf of Mexico?

Nat Hardy: Esteban now helps run the Climate Comedy Cohort. Every year, it brings comedians together to write content about climate change.

Juliana Merullo: But first, they meet with climate scientists and researchers. They ask the experts questions, and make sure they understand the facts before they start writing jokes.

Megan Hall: Cool. But, can you really condense this information into a one-liner or a stand-up set?

Juliana Merullo: He says he thinks of comedians as a bridge. They connect climate experts to a much broader audience. But that doesn’t make him the expert!

Esteban Gast: I’d be nervous if people were getting too much climate information from me.

Nat Hardy: He’d rather stick to what he does best.

Esteban Gast: I’m a comedian. My role is silly silly, laugh laugh, and make you feel, and make you think a little bit. And then send me a message, and I’ll send you the books that I like.

Megan Hall: That makes sense! Are other comedians doing this too?

Juliana Merullo: Definitely! Esteban does mostly stand-up, but other comedians are making funny videos about climate change, or talking about it in their monologues on TV.

Jon Stewart: Now you may be thinking, do we really need a march to raise awareness about global climate change? I mean it’s an accepted scientific phenomenon pretty much everywhere but this one place called “The United States House Committee on Science Space and Technology”

Nat Hardy: Using humor to talk about climate change isn’t just about teaching people or raising awareness. It also can give people hope, and combat climate anxiety.

Juliana Merullo: And Esteban thinks his work can help people feel included, like no matter who they are, they can play a role in addressing climate change.

Esteban Gast: This idea of “everyone is invited” is huge. Like, I think that a climate movement that truly and genuinely invites all is a successful movement.

Nat Hardy: And he means everyone!

Esteban Gast: Like, Hey, are you a grandmother? Heck yeah, you’re invited. You’re in on this.

Juliana Merullo: Hear that grandma? The climate comedians want you!

Megan Hall: Alright, thanks, Juliana and Nat!

If you want to watch some of our favorite climate comedy from Esteban and others we’ve put together a list of climate comedy videos here:

Esteban Gast at Climate Week NYC 2023

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – Carbon Offsets

Climate Town – 2 Minutes Of Fact-Checkable Climate Change Facts For Skeptics

The Daily Show – Burn Noticed

To learn more about Possibly, or submit a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to askpossibly.org. You can also follow Possibly on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or X at  “askpossibly”

To learn more about Generation 180 and sign up for updates about their work, go to generation180.org/newsletter-signup.

Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly. Where we take on huge problems, like the future of our planet, and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

We’ve talked in past episodes about how cities, states and even countries are setting targets to reduce their carbon emissions. Our home city of Providence, Rhode Island has set the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. And recently, the city government passed a new ordinance to help it meet that goal. 

Juliana Merullo and Nat Hardy from our Possibly team are here to tell us more. 

Juliana Merullo: Hiya Megan! 

Nat Hardy: Hey!

Megan Hall: So what is this new ordinance? 

Juliana Merullo: Basically, the city created a law that says all municipal buildings in Providence have to be carbon neutral by 2040. 

Megan Hall: Got it. Can you define some terms for me? What counts as a municipal building?

Nat Hardy: That just means buildings that are owned by the city. We’re talking about just over 120 structures. More than 30% of them are public schools. 

Megan Hall: And how does a building become carbon neutral? 

Nat Hardy: In practical terms for this ordinance, it means that the city’s buildings have to be powered entirely by electricity. And that electricity has to come from sources that don’t create greenhouse gasses. 

Juliana Merullo: To find out more about what that process actually looks like, we spoke with Priscilla De La Cruz. She’s the Director of Sustainability for the City of Providence. Priscilla says it will take a few steps to make Providence’s municipal buildings carbon-neutral. 

Priscilla: “The first step is making sure that these buildings are as efficient as possible. 

Nat Hardy: So, The city will start by doing energy audits of the buildings. They’ll look for how to use LESS energy by doing things like improving the insulation and sealing air leaks. 

Priscilla: And then you look at how is this building being heated or cooled right, is it on oil? Is it on gas? What are the alternatives? 

Juliana Merullo: Then they’ll try to figure out how cheaply and quickly they can run the buildings on electricity.

Nat Hardy: One of the biggest challenges will be changing the way the city heats its buildings.  They’ll have to replace furnaces that rely on oil and gas with an electric option… heat pumps!

Juliana Merullo: Using electricity to  heat and cool the buildings will reduce their carbon emissions, especially if the electricity is coming from renewable sources.

Nat Hardy: The state already set a goal to power the entire grid with renewable energy by 2033! The city is counting on that to make its buildings carbon-neutral.

Megan Hall: Does this city law only apply to the buildings that already exist? 

Juliana Merullo: Nope! The ordinance also addresses new municipal buildings: 

Priscilla: We will not be connecting any new buildings to fossil fuel systems like oil and 

gas. 

Juliana Merullo: All these changes will cost a lot of money, but there are federal funds available to help. 

Nat Hardy: The Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, include money for cities trying to reduce their carbon emissions. 

Priscilla: that is something that we are collaborating day in and day out across city departments and really looking at the funding that’s out there and try to maximize how much of that we bring in to meet the requirements under this carbon neutral ordinance.

Megan Hall: Ok, but there are so many buildings in Providence that aren’t owned by the city. Do they also have to be carbon neutral by 2040? 

Juliana Merullo: This ordinance doesn’t affect privately owned buildings. But Priscilla wants the city to lead by example. 

Priscilla: With the city being able to show “Hey, we are already doing this with our buildings, there’s so much federal funding available, and resources you can tap into, it can be done.” So really showing what that pathway is for building owners.

Nat Hardy: 70% of Providence’s greenhouse gas emissions come from its buildings, both municipal and private. So even if the municipal buildings aren’t the biggest chunk of that, it’s still an important first step. 

Megan Hall: Doing all this by 2040 is still pretty ambitious though, right? 

Nat Hardy: Totally, but Priscilla says it’s also achievable. And unlike past resolutions, this ordinance has some teeth to it. 

Juliana Merullo: Different city departments will have to report each year on the progress they’re making towards this target, and what their plans are for the following year. 

Nat Hardy: Cities are going to play an important role in addressing the climate crisis. If we really want to slow the effects of climate change, we’re going to have to be ambitious! 

Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks Juliana and Nat! 

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about how your choices affect our planet, go to askpossibly.org. Or, find us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or X at  “askpossibly” Possibly is a co-production of the Public’s Radio, Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, and the Brown Climate Solutions Initiative.

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