Maybe we’re not doomed?

Explain It to Me

Vox Media Podcast Network

Education, Politics, News, Society & Culture

4.4 • 7.9K Ratings

🗓️ 2 August 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As the Earth swelters through yet another record-breaking summer, a surprise push for climate legislation on Capitol Hill gave us a shimmer of optimism and hope toward fighting climate change. But, while it’s a step in the right direction to reduce carbon emissions, it’s not a panacea. How do we maintain optimism, even when the right steps feel too small? References: Summaries of the climate, tax, and prescription drug parts of the Manchin deal What Democrats' big new bill would actually do What the Inflation Reduction Act needs to pass, including Sen. Sinema Princeton researchers’ estimate of the deal’s climate impact The Republican vote against benefits for veterans exposed to toxins The White House/Employ America plan to reduce gas prices Nina Kelsey’s theory of the “green spiral” It’s so hot in Europe that roads are literally buckling Europe is burning like it’s 2052 Hosts: Bryan Walsh(@bryanrwalsh), Future Perfect editor, Vox Dylan Matthews, (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox Sigal Samuel (@sigalsamuel), Future Perfect senior reporter, Vox Credits: Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer Libby Nelson, editorial adviser Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weedsletter Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a donation to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to another episode of The Weeds. I'm Brian Walsh, editor of Vox's Future
0:18.8	Perfect Section and your host for today's episode of The Weeds. I'm joining my colleagues
0:24.0	of Future Perfect, Vox Senior Correspondent and frequent Weeds host Dylan Matthews. Hello and
0:30.0	Senior Reporter Sigal Samuel. Hey. And we are here to talk about climate change. So I'll be honest,
0:37.5	when we were planning this episode just a few days ago, we were focusing it around the theme of pessimism.
0:43.4	Democratic Senator Joe Manish on West Virginia had seemingly torpedoed any chance of meaningful
0:47.9	climate legislation under President Biden when he opposed a bill that would have provided some 300
0:52.6	billion in tax credits and subsidies all aimed to greatly expand and clean energy over the next decade.
0:58.5	That, paired with the Supreme Court's decision recently, curtailing the e-pays ability to regulate
1:03.2	carbon emissions seemed to mark an end to any ambitious efforts to fight climate change coming
1:08.2	from Washington. And then on Wednesday evening, this happened. We are also following news out of
1:13.9	Capitol Hill where there appears to be a breakthrough on President Biden's economic agenda. West Virginia
1:19.5	Senator Joe Manish says he has reached a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on what
1:24.4	they're calling the Inflation Reduction Act. It will invest $300 billion in deficit reduction
1:30.0	and nearly $370 billion in energy security and climate change programs over the next 10 years.
1:36.8	News broke that Manish had suddenly agreed to a legislative package that includes 369 billion
1:41.6	dollars for climate and energy proposals. Now, if it passes by reconciliation, that legislation
1:49.2	would represent the most ambitious action Congress has ever taken on climate change.
1:55.0	All of this comes like it's a backdrop of summer misery that has shown two things are true about
1:59.4	climate change today. One, the killing, record-breaking temperatures for the American Southwest
2:05.3	all the way to Europe should that climate change is unfolding in exactly the way scientists have
2:10.0	long feared. And two, as bad as things have been, this will likely be the coolest summer of the rest of
	...

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