Earth Day Special - The Best of the Magic Wand Question
Tucker celebrates Earth Day by waving a magic wand on the one thing that will make the biggest difference to get to a zero emissions future. Actually, the magic wand is the basis of the same question Tucker asks all guests to end each episode:
“I’d like to hand you a magic wand. I want you to use your magic wand to change one thing in the next year regarding climate change and the energy conversation overall. What would you change or like to see done differently that you believe will dramatically improve our ability to move toward a zero emissions future?”
Tucker is always interested in their response, because often, the answers are full of hope and optimism – a perfect sentiment for Earth Day.
He picked out a few of his favorite responses to the magic wand question over the past several months.
Tisha Schuller-Principal, Adamantine Energy
“I would wave that wand over a bigger tent to address climate change. My wish is that as each company sets a decarbonization or an energy future path that they’re met under in the negotiation, my imaginary negotiation tent by three environmental groups who say welcome, we’re so glad you’re here.
Let’s work on creating the clean energy future together. We waste so much collective energy on these battles. And I do think that because the industry is late to the party of these kinds of negotiations and discussion about creating the energy future, that a lot of times, there’s no one there to meet us when we show up. And I want to make sure that the industry is working constructively with people that have totally different vision of the future. So that together we’re more crafting pragmatic steps forward.”
Andy Stone-Energy Policy Now Podcast Host and Producer, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy
“I would love to see the politics taken out of it. You know, you know, we have a real problem on our hands, and I understand that switching the energy system is very threatening to a lot of people. And we owe an incredible debt in this country to the people who have built our energy system in the coal industry, in the oil and gas industries, the wealth of our society is based upon their hard work. And I cannot overstate the debt of gratitude that we owe to them.
At the same time, we have entered a new era I and many believe in which we have an existential crisis, which is climate. And I would love to see the vitriol taken out of that discussion. I would like to see more discussion about how can we address this problem rationally? How can we look for truce? How can we create opportunity, not just in the clean energy industry, but opportunities for all to take advantage of this? And, and that’s really what I would like to see. “
Dr. Sabine Fuss-Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change/United Nation’s Panel on Climate Change
“My wish would be that carbon removal stops being a site topic, and then it enters the mainstream discussion. So we can work out actual roadmaps for carbon removal. And that could actually very well include the possibility that we decided to do relatively little removable and have more emissions reductions on the demand side.
As I, as I said before, I think it’s not for a scientist to make that decision, but I think it’s high time that we, that we actually get to have that discussion. And that will be my wish.”
Dr. Tilak Doshi-Economist, Muse, Stancil & Company/Forbes Contributor
“I would say, let science flourish, let there be blue teams and red teams that every major area of science we debated contentiously by opposing views, the way NASA does for its internal programs in its space program. Let that be debate. Let the disinfectant of open debate, drive off bad ideas and bring in good ideas.”
Julia Pyper-Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
“I wish there was a way to massively aggregate everyone’s needs on a local level kind of as I alluded to before, to make sure that whatever we do, whatever happens going forward really serves the people and benefits their lives and livelihoods and their health. Because I feel like we get caught up in these modeling exercises and political positioning of what do the people really want. I don’t know. I became a journalist because that’s what I wanted to do was really speak on behalf. On behalf of I wanted to help give information to people so they can make better choices in their lives.
So, I wish that there was a way that we could craft our solutions in the climate and energy space that really put people’s wellbeing first, not everyone’s going to be Jeff Bezos, but how do we make sure that people’s livelihoods are guaranteed, that their health is improved in time? I don’t have a single metric for that, but I think there are smart policy solutions out there, but that would be my number one priority. If I were a leader of the world is how do we really make a human centric solution happen here.”