Podcasts about fossil fuels

Headlines for July 20, 2026; U.S. Escalates War on Iran, Targeting Civilian Infrastructure as 3 U.S. Soldiers Are Killed; “Justice for Lorenzo”: Houston Community Demands Accountability After ICE Killing of Mexican Father; Texas Rep. Al Green Accuses Trump Admin of Attempting to Cover Up ICE Killings; Nearly 1,000 Wildfires in Canada Continue to Burn as Trump & Carney Double Down on Fossil Fuels

Headlines for July 20, 2026; U.S. Escalates War on Iran, Targeting Civilian Infrastructure as 3 U.S. Soldiers Are Killed; “Justice for Lorenzo”: Houston Community Demands Accountability After ICE Killing of Mexican Father; Texas Rep. Al Green Accuses Trump Admin of Attempting to Cover Up ICE Killings; Nearly 1,000 Wildfires in Canada Continue to Burn as Trump & Carney Double Down on Fossil Fuels

Independent investigative journalism, broadcasting, trouble-making and muckraking with Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com

Independent investigative journalism, broadcasting, trouble-making and muckraking with Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com

'BradCast' 7/16/2026 (Energy and Interior Chiefs Beclown Selves for Trump, Fossil Fuel Industry as American Chokes, Drowns, Burns) by Progressive Voices

China's southern island province of Hainan is racing toward a bold milestone: ending the sale of new fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2030. Why is Hainan leading the way? How close is it to reaching its goal? And could its experience become a blueprint for the rest of the country? Host TU Yun joins Professor Andy Mok of Beijing Foreign Studies University, who's also the author of the newly released title The Innovation Machine: How China Creates and Adopts Technology Through Governance, Mike Bastin, a China observer and senior lecturer at the University of Southampton, and Chen Jiahe, the Chief Investment Officer of the Beijing-based Novem Arcae Technologies to examine the opportunities and challenges behind China's most ambitious clean mobility experiment and to ask whether it marks not just a shift in transportation but a broader transformation in energy, industry, and city planning.

Fossil fuel companies that ignore bushwalking philosophy will be targeted - "Labor threatens oil giants with emergency offshore clean-up levy";"‘It's dirty': Stoush over whether burning waste for energy is renewable";"Hot nights are stealing people's sleep, researchers say";"Solar generated record 25% of EU power in June with Germany, Spain and Poland leading the race";"US Gov Report Details ‘Robust' Ties Between Climate Crisis and Extreme Weather Events".

Wind remains fundamentally healthy: electricity demand is rising, decarbonised power is still needed, and both Europe and the US continue to pull new projects forward, albeit for different reasons. But the industry's center of gravity is shifting. The conversation is no longer just about building faster or installing more megawatts. As turbines get larger, OEM competition broadens, and project economics tighten, the consequences of failure are becoming much harder to ignore.Host Sylvia Leyva Martinez is joined by Alexis Grenon, CEO of Onyx Insight, and Olly Litterick of Tokio Marine GX to examine what that shift means in practice. Their core argument is that the wind sector is moving from a development-at-speed mindset toward operational efficiency, where every dollar of ROI matters and risk has to be quantified far more precisely. They unpack why insurers still struggle with newer turbine classes despite two decades of renewables underwriting: the machines are scaling faster than the loss history, the supply chain maturity is lagging to price them confidently, and in wind, bigger hardware often means not more failures, but far costlier ones when they do occur.A large part of the discussion focuses on blades, where exposure and difficult inspection regimes make early detection especially valuable. Grenon argues that the industry has relied too heavily on periodic inspection and not enough on continuous monitoring, contrasting the lack of standardised turbine monitoring with the smoke detector logic used elsewhere in insurance. The promise of better instrumentation, integrated SCADA and condition data, and physics-informed AI is not simply smarter dashboards. It is the ability to detect structural issues earlier, prevent minor damage from escalating into six-figure or seven-figure failures, and make better-informed decisions about maintenance, underwriting, and asset life.The episode also looks ahead to the next set of decisions facing wind owners: how to handle aging fleets, when to extend life versus repower, and how much independent real-time data can change the balance of power between owners, OEMs, and insurers. The takeaway is that better data and earlier visibility can help the industry move from reactive maintenance and blunt underwriting toward a more preventative, risk-based model, one that should improve insurability, reduce downtime, and make the next phase of wind deployment more durable.This episode is brought to you by twentytwo & brand -- a marketing and PR agency built specifically for energy leaders.Lots of agencies say they work with energy companies, twentytwo & brand was built for them. They've partnered with more than 120 companies driving the energy transition — from growth-stage startups to globally recognized industry leaders. Media relations, brand design, video, paid advertising, and community engagement — they cover it all under one roof. No onboarding lag, no industry crash course -- they speak your language on day one.If you're ready to sharpen your story and supercharge your marketing, find them at twentytwoandbrand.com/woodmac.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gugs Mhlungu speaks with Prof Francois Engelbrecht, Professor of Climatology, Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand about rising global temperatures and what they could mean for South Africa. They discuss the risks to livelihoods, food and water security, the possibility of an El Niño event, and why the world could be facing one of its hottest periods on record.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Independent investigative journalism, broadcasting, trouble-making and muckraking with Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com

Jim Scheer, Head of Data and Insight at SEAI, on new data showing 72% of Ireland's energy needs were met through imports in 2025.

Sponsored by Charity Mobilehttps://www.charitymobile.com/rtt.phpSources:https://substack.com/@returntotradition1Contact Me:Email: return2catholictradition@gmail.comSupport My Work:Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/AnthonyStineSubscribeStarhttps://www.subscribestar.net/return-to-traditionBuy Me A Coffeehttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/AnthonyStinePhysical Mail:Anthony StinePO Box 3048Shawnee, OK74802Follow me on the following social media:https://www.facebook.com/ReturnToCatholicTradition/https://twitter.com/pontificatormax+JMJ+#popeleoXIV #catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicprophecy#infiltration

Prime Minister Mark Carney appears to be succeeding where previous governments struggled, and one reason may be that he's reading the room. New polling shows a majority of Canadians now support building new oil pipelines. So what's behind this shift, and what does it tell us about Canadians' priorities? National political columnist Tasha Kheiriddin, whose latest column in the Montreal Gazette argues this is one of the reasons Carney is finding political success, spoke to Ken Connors.

Become a paid subscriber to our newsletter/podcast, The Climate Weekly, to help support this show! It's fun. All the cool kids are doing it! ------------- In 2004, Princeton professors Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow published a paper in Science Magazine called "Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current Technologies".  This paper gained wide popularity for its proposed solutions that it claimed were a comprehensive strategy to reduce emission levels over the next 50 years.  Even though the goal of this paper was a pathway to reduced emissions, it didn't call for the complete phase out of fossil fuels, but rather proposed fossil fuels play a significant role in our energy system for decades.  If that seems strange to you, you're not alone. Drilled and ProPublica have teamed up to release a new series titled "Beyond Denial", which examines the influence of fossil fuel industry funding on climate research and its subsequent impact on policy, public debate and our approach to environmental solutions. Series reporters Maddie Stone and Katie Worth join The Climate Pod to discuss what they found in their reporting intob who was funding the 2004 "Wedges" paper, the unfulfilled promises of Carbon Capture and Sequestration, and the critical need for climate journalism in 2026. Read: Beyond Denial: How Oil Execs Shaped a Landmark Climate Study Read: Why Carbon Capture Can't Solve Climate Change Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter/podcast, The Climate Weekly, to help support this show. Your contributions will make the continuation of this show possible.  Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

The cloud is supposed to be invisible. Limitless. Until it isn't. Coming soon, Living Planet goes in search of the hidden infrastructure being built to power our digital futures.

Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe get ready for their summer holidays and punt a beachball at this week's music biz news:How much has controversial secondary-ticketing firm StubHub has just been fined in the UK for illegal ‘drip pricing'? (Also, what is that?)The news seems bit AI-heavy this week, but it's actually all about artists:→ 31 groups representing artists and managers have written an open letter about AI music… but it's not AI companies who it's addressed to…→ AI-music company Suno is giving some money to musicians at last! But there are some strings attached…→ Meanwhile, streaming service Tidal isn't giving ANY money to wholly AI-generated music, according to its new policies on this area.ANY OTHER BUSINESS?→ James Blake has been making friends in the world of music journalism. Hasn't he? Oh.→ And talking of good causes, more than 200 artists have signed an open letter calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty. So who's signing, and what exactly do they want? (and there is some new advice on how we as music fans can reduce the impact our streaming has on the planet.)AND FINALLY…→ Recommendations of classic, influential hip-hop bangers from a maker of fizzy, lemonade-adjacent drinks.And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our ⁠⁠Patreon Superfans⁠⁠, Stu and Joe prop themselves up at the bar – in this week's bonus material: Can you make money by investing on things mentioned in a Kraftwerk song?A Little Grandad Update - a segment that now has its own jingle! In a section recorded before England get knocked out on penalties / gloriously proceed on penalties against DR Congo, Stu and joe take a look at the successful use of the much-mocked 'hydration break' as a massive singalongThey also venture further into the Official FIFA World Cup Album™ and dare to ask the question: who is iShowSpeed anyway, and why does he have a song?Assorted football songs discussed:IShowSpeed - World Cup (Champions) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrY1THC_NQE&list=OLAK5uy_nsOacWtSBM2kV8c_yjosYwk3hQq1A7-JY&index=19Alejandro Fernández - Mi Mexico Lindo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk-8wMflT34Belle and Sebastian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8riNobpEyg Peter Beardsley doing the John Barnes rap from "World In Motion" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPh63Y6sSKA===================================As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!Email us: ⁠⁠thepriceofmusicpodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠See you next week!Stuart and Joe======TPOM online: http://tpom.uk/Support The Price of Music on Patreon:⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ThePriceofMusic⁠⁠Follow Stuart on X - @stuartdredgeFollow The Price of Music on X - @PriceofMusicpodFor sponsorship opportunities, please email - ⁠⁠joe@musically.com

As AI systems scale, the infrastructure challenge is no longer just about chips, models, and software performance. It is increasingly about the physical systems that allow computation to happen at all: power delivery, cooling, water access, and the speed at which new capacity can be brought online. Power conversion is becoming a much more important design question. As racks move from conventional power densities toward megawatt-scale configurations, every inefficiency in the electrical pathway becomes more consequential. For stakeholders across the energy sector, that makes AI infrastructure more than just a datacenter story. It is also a story about grid constraints, industrial load growth, thermal management, and how developers can design facilities that are efficient enough, flexible enough, and resilient enough to operate at the scale AI now demands.Host Sylvia Leyva Martinez is joined by Nick Wright, Vertical Solutions Manager at Siemens. Their conversation explores why the growth of the AI factory is pushing operators to rethink traditional electrical architecture, especially the number of conversion steps required to move power from the grid to the chip. Nick explains why conventional AC-heavy setups are under pressure as compute loads become denser, more dynamic, and more power-intensive, and why more direct AC-to-DC pathways are drawing increased attention. The episode also examines what that shift means in practice: less energy lost in conversion, less excess heat to manage, different implications for cooling design, and a growing role for higher-voltage DC systems, digital twins, monitoring technologies, and new protection equipment. Along the way, the discussion widens beyond the building itself to consider how AI facilities may evolve into more grid-aware assets, capable of interacting more intelligently with the broader energy system rather than functioning simply as passive loads.For developers, IPPs, utilities, financiers, and infrastructure planners, the episode offers a clear signal that power architecture is becoming a strategic decision much earlier in the project lifecycle. One of the key takeaways is that this is not a simple story of DC replacing AC. The more relevant point is that as racks scale, reducing unnecessary conversion steps can improve efficiency and system performance in ways that matter economically at very large scale. But the conversation also makes clear that conversion efficiency is only one part of a much broader infrastructure equation. Access to reliable power, water availability, cooling strategy, workforce readiness, supply chain bottlenecks, equipment lead times, and safety considerations all shape whether a new AI facility can be delivered on time and scaled over the long term. The players most likely to succeed will be the ones that stop treating power as a late-stage procurement issue and instead plan holistically across energy, compute, operations, and grid interaction from the beginning.This episode is brought to you by twentytwo & brand -- a marketing and PR agency built specifically for energy leaders.Lots of agencies say they work with energy companies, twentytwo & brand was built for them. They've partnered with more than 120 companies driving the energy transition — from growth-stage startups to globally recognized industry leaders. Media relations, brand design, video, paid advertising, and community engagement — they cover it all under one roof. No onboarding lag, no industry crash course -- they speak your language on day one.If you're ready to sharpen your story and supercharge your marketing, find them at twentytwoandbrand.com/woodmac.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Australians want action on climate change – just not too fast. That's the take from Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, who's spoken exclusively to The Australian ahead of a huge global climate summit where he's promising Australia will reject any radical policy changes. Read more about this story at theaustralian.com.au and see the video by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Expect no ‘massive breakthrough’ at COP, Chris Bowen warns COP it on the chin: Chris Bowen ‘must focus on fuel crisis’ Chris Bowen to serve as COP31 president after Australia cedes hosting rights to Turkey This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Kristen Amiet and edited by Jasper Leak. Our regular host is Claire Harvey and our team includes Lia Tsamoglou, Tiffany Dimmack, and Joshua Burton.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Europe's heatwave has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it—it's the latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet," said Simon Stiell.

with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen

We think we have a comprehensive understanding of the plastic crisis. But what of the plastic we cannot see? To solve a problem, we need first to understand its dimension, the circumference of the circumstance, the urgency of the experience and the structures for correction. Is it insurmountable? What will it take? About World Ocean Radio World Ocean Radio is a weekly series of five-minute audio essays available for syndicated use at no cost by college and community radio stations worldwide. Peter Neill, Director of the World Ocean Observatory and host of World Ocean Radio, provides coverage of a broad spectrum of ocean issues from science and education to advocacy and exemplary projects.World Ocean Radio 16 Years, nearly 800 Episodes Ocean is climate Climate is ocean The sea connects all thingsWorld Ocean Radio: 5-minute weekly insights in ocean science, advocacy, education, global ocean issues, marine science, policy, challenges, and solutions. Hosted by Peter Neill, Founder of W2O. Learn more at worldoceanobservatory.org

with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen

The Angry Clean Energy Guy on the Electro-Shield being built at a historic pace across the countries of the Global South: The structural decarbonization of an economy by bringing power production home through domestic solar, wind, and battery storage systems to insulate grids from foreign market shocks.For decades, the global establishment treated climate policy like a slow, voluntary environmental project, assuming nations would transition out of altruism or consensus treaties signed in quiet conference rooms. In 2026, that fiction has evaporated. The true driver of global macroeconomics and geopolitics today is raw, basic political survival. The war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz delivered a brutal lesson to every energy-importing leader on Earth: fossil fuel reliance is no longer just an environmental disaster; it is an immediate national security threat that brings protesters to the streets.This transformation is being accelerated by a massive new demand engine: the global race for artificial intelligence and compute sovereignty. In this episode, The Angry Clean Energy Guy breaks down how the Electro-Shield is being deployed in real-time across key Asian markets—including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and more.The Angry Clean Energy Guy then examines the structural divergence between Petro-states, where power is about extracting volatile molecules and capturing the wealth created through elite networks, and emerging Electro-states, which democratize energy and treat it as technology. As fixed hardware permanently outpaces extractive commodities, wires will continue to irreversibly chew pipelines.

with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen

Alex White, Climate Change Advisory Council Chair, discusses Ireland's exposure to future fuel price shocks due to its reliance on fossil fuels in transport.

Today on Galway Talks with John Morley:  9am-10am  Ireland Too Dependent on Fossil Fuels for Transport, Climate Watchdog Warns  Galway TD Says New Derelict Property Tax Doesn't Go Far Enough  Fishing Industry Demands Iceland-Style Deal for Ireland   10am-11am Campaigners Demand Action on Accessible Beaches in Galway  Mother and Baby Home Survivor Awarded PhD at 77  EPA Warns Water Quality Stagnating Despite Years of Action   11am-12pm Financial Advice  Ask the Dentist   Former Irish Navy Captain Shares Story of Leadership, Loss and Life at Sea 

A year ago the data centre conversation was about scale. Increasingly it is about what happens when the announcements meet the physical grid. New capacity is being announced at roughly 435 megawatts a month, enough to power a city of 400,000 people, but two-thirds of that committed load tends to disappear the moment utilities ask for a financial commitment behind it. AI training facilities create load profiles that drop 30% in five minutes, or 190 megawatts in three. The grid's mechanical inertia is retiring just as hyperscaler ambition accelerates, and regulation is lagging on both sides of the meter.In this episode, interim host Bridget van Dorsten returns the microphone to host Sylvia Leyva Martinez. The two recap six months of the show through clips from Chris Seiple (Wood Mackenzie), Tom Falcone (Large Public Power Council), Akeel Bhateja (Bloom Energy), Kay Aikin (Dynamic Grid), Kristina Carlquist and Christian Payerl (ABB), Shannon Miller (Mainspring Energy) and Nick Chaset (Octopus US), and map out the questions that will shape Sylvia's return.The central tension of the past six months: announcements are racing ahead, but utilities, regulators and the physical grid cannot move at hyperscaler speed. A data centre can be built in two years. New generation takes five to ten. That mismatch is why developers have stopped waiting on the grid: 35% of US data centre project capacity announced in 2025 was planned with around-the-meter generation, and 92% of bridge prime power deals are now struck before the end tenant is signed, inverting the usual logic of infrastructure development. But collocated power is still, in Bridget's framing, a science project. The load behaviour demands a coordinated portfolio: supercapacitors and UPS catching millisecond swings, synchronous condensers supplying inertia, fuel cells and linear generators offering modular, fuel-flexible bridging power as a hedge against demand risk. Nick Chaset's intervention cuts the other way: the UK already hosts the world's largest residential virtual power plant, and the cheapest megawatt is the one you don't build. The episode closes on duelling forward views, Tom Falcone's cooperative optimism against Kay Aikin's affordability death spiral, with the question of who ultimately holds the bag if the announcements don't materialise still unresolved.Sylvia sets out what she wants to explore next: the regulatory contradiction where utilities support bring-your-own-generation but cannot guarantee protection from curtailment; renewables supply constraints and the transformer and labour bottlenecks that affect every fuel source equally; the return of energy security as a framing now that "energy transition" has fallen out of political favour in the US; and the community opposition data centre developers are only beginning to grapple with.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen

Robert Llewellyn shines a light on the burgeoning solar industry with Sonia Dunlop the CEO of the Global Solar Council. Plug in for Pakistan's success story, to understand the unstoppable rise of balcony solar, and prepare to engage smug mode as the power of the sun trumps fossil fuels forever... Fresh from the triumph of Everything Electric WEST, Robert and his tireless team gets set for a glorious summer, ahead of their Autumn events in GREATER LONDON & SYDNEY respectively. Come join us at Twickenham Stadium or Sydney Showground: https://everythingelectric.show EE GREATER LONDON (Twickenham) - 11th & 12th Sept 2026 EE SYDNEY - Sydney Olympic Park - 18th - 20th Sept 2026 To partner, exhibit or sponsor at our award-winning expos email: commercial@fullycharged.show Check out our sister channel Everything Electric CARS: https://www.youtube.com/@fullychargedshow Support our StopBurningStuff campaign: https://www.patreon.com/STOPBurningStuff Become an Everything Electric Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fullychargedshow Become a YouTube member: use JOIN button above Buy the Fully Charged Guide to Electric Vehicles & Clean Energy : https://buff.ly/2GybGt0 Subscribe for episode alerts and the Everything Electric newsletter: https://fullycharged.show/zap-sign-up/ Visit: https://FullyCharged.Show Find us on X: https://x.com/Everyth1ngElec Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/officialeverythingelectric EE SYDNEY - Sydney Olympic Park - 18th - 20th Sept 2026 #fullychargedshow #everythingelectricshow #homeenergy #cleanenergy #battery #electriccars #electric-vehicles-uk

with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen

When data centers come to town, power bills go up, the water supply gets squeezed, and emissions start to rise. It's no wonder seven in ten Americans don't want one in their backyard. In the midst of this AI gold rush, many tech companies are taking advantage of communities, health, wealth, and safety for promises of a better future. But communities aren't taking the bait. In this episode, we talk about the real life effects of AI infrastructure and hear how it's affecting folks in our community. We get the stats on this booming industry and what's at stake. We hear from Abre' Connor, the civil rights attorney leading the NAACP's lawsuit against Elon Musk's xAI — a data center that's now running 59 methane gas turbines in a Mississippi community, breaking a law that's been on the books since the 1970s.And we ask the uncomfortable question: could all this energy hunger actually accelerate the renewable transition? Is the AI revolution happening to us or for us? And what can we do about it? Episode rundown: (00:53) - On thing we can agree on (09:14) - The ripple effects of the AI boom (14:35) - The NAACP Lawyer Taking Elon Musk's xAI (27:59) - Can the Grid Save Us? (43:52) - Keep Making Noise

Tessel Middag wants her sport to be a force for good. But she says that's hard to imagine when FIFA's “Major Worldwide Partner” for the 2026 World Cup is Saudi state oil company, Aramco. And it's not just Tessel. Advocates like Frank Huisingh feel uneasy watching athletes compete in extreme heat while flanked by advertisements for the globe's leading oil corporation. But as the world continues to warm, can advocates convince football's governing body to ditch oil and gas sponsorships, and make way for climate-conscious partnerships?

Energy and Environmental Economics Partner talks with CEM Associate Editor Abigail Sawyer about the changing shape of resource adequacy in the Desert Southwest as utilities try to thread the needle on reliably meeting a new level of "baseload demand" while striving for affordability and meeting state clean energy goals. 

This week on Talk Shit Or Get Off The Pod, Andrew and Joseph tackle the hard-hitting questions that absolutely nobody asked for but somehow need answers.First, you're getting dropped into danger: would you rather face dinosaurs in Jurassic Park armed with a shotgun, or survive The Walking Dead with only a sword? Then we debate the ethical implications of having the power to make anyone instantly shit their pants once per month… at the cost of randomly shitting your own pants once a year. Is the trade worth it?Things get even more ridiculous as we determine whether fighting a chimpanzee inside a Costco is preferable to battling a kangaroo in a trampoline park, and whether one night in a haunted hotel is actually worse than spending a night surrounded by toddlers who never sleep.We also break down the latest headlines, including the wild swings in the stock market as AI mania continues to rattle investors, a surprising Texas political twist involving Ken Paxton and James Talarico, efforts to impeach a federal judge over a judicial discipline case, and the latest warnings about the future of Social Security trust funds.As always, questionable logic, unnecessary confidence, and absolutely no professional expertise included.Music featured in this episode: “Sweetness” by Mr. Goody Two Shoes (Jimmy Eat World Cover)

with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen

with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen

As the Trump administration pushes to expand fossil fuel infrastructure, it may have found some unexpected allies: Democratic governors in New England. POLITICO's Ben Storrow breaks down what's driving that shift in a region long defined by its climate ambitions, how the White House and green groups are responding, and what it could mean for the future of Democratic energy policy. Plus, seven states filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's nearly $1 billion deal with TotalEnergies to cancel its offshore wind leases in the United States, and a federal judge stopped the Trump administration on Monday from dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is one of the country's top climate science organizations. Ben Storrow is a reporter for POLITICO's E&E News. Nirmal Mulaikal is the co-host and executive producer of POLITICO Energy.  KJ Cline is the video producer for POLITICO Energy. Matt Daily is the energy editor for POLITICO. Cyril Zaneski is executive editor of POLITICO's E&E News. Debra Kahn is the editorial director for energy and environmental coverage at POLITICO. Veronica Tejera is the deputy head of Audio/Video at POLITICO. Our theme music is by Pran Bandi. Follow the show on Apple, Spotify, Youtube and Instagram. Follow POLITICO here:    ➤ X: https://x.com/politico/ ➤ Instagram:  / politico      ➤ Facebook:  / politico   For more reporting on energy and the environment, subscribe to Power Switch, our free evening newsletter: https://www.politico.com/power-switch And for even deeper coverage and analysis, read our Morning Energy newsletter by subscribing to POLITICO Pro: https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter-archive/morning-energy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The energy transition conversation focuses on what connects to the grid. Far less attention goes to whether anyone is coordinating what those assets do once connected. AI training runs swing hundreds of megawatts in seconds as GPUs checkpoint and restart a profile that looks like a generator tripping offline. At distribution level, millions of inverter-based resources create localised variability that overwhelms individual circuits even when aggregate models look healthy. The planning tools in use today were designed for neither problem.Host Bridget van Dorsten is joined by Kay Aikin, CEO and Founder of Dynamic Grid, energy engineer, grid architecture advisor to the DOE-supported GridWise Architecture Council, and contributor to the UN Environmental Program's building decarbonisation work. Kay unpacks what an AI training facility actually does to the grid with full GPU load for hours or days, then a drop to ten percent in seconds during checkpointing. She talks about how at the scale now planned, the Stargate project in Texas alone could represent ten percent of ERCOT disappearing in four seconds. The behaviour is stochastic and cannot be modelled with traditional statistical tools. At distribution level, virtual power plants responding to wholesale signals without circuit-level visibility can create competing oscillations, the kind of emergent dynamics that contributed to the Spanish grid failure.The proposed fix is an AI controller at the substation, sending price-based signals and flexible operating envelopes to large assets and VPP operators, giving them twenty-four-hour forecasts and real-time circuit visibility. Total cost: under a hundred thousand dollars installed. The reason it isn't everywhere is cost-of-service regulation. Utilities earn returns on deployed capital, so a million-dollar transformer replacement is more profitable than software that eliminates the need for it.Without new approaches, rebuilding the US distribution grid could cost up to ten trillion dollars by 2040. Kay is developing grid utilisation metrics with regulators in Maine, Virginia, and Maryland to incentivise extracting more from existing infrastructure. The episode closes on the need for distribution system operators and the affordability death spiral that looms if the structural incentives don't shift. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen

A group of 57 nations mostly from the Global South, describing themselves as "coalition of the willing" intent on making the Transition Away From Fossil Fuels, or TAFF, convened in the Colombian city of Santa Marta, from April 24-29, 2026, for the inaugural TAFF summit. Also referred to as the "Santa Marta Coalition," this group of countries met to discuss and develop frameworks and pathways for nations to phase out fossil fuel dependency. Joining the Mongabay Newscast this week is Mamphela Ramphele, a medical doctor, activist and member of the Planetary Guardians, a network of experts advocating for the planetary boundaries as a measurement framework. Ramphele explains the highlights of the conference, which included the unveiling of a dedicated scientific panel to advise nations on developing road maps to transition off fossil fuels. The science panel includes experts such as Carlos Nobre from Brazil and Johan Rockström from Sweden, who pioneered the planetary boundaries concept. The conference also saw the establishment of "workstreams" to help nations connect their phaseout road maps to their emissions reduction targets as part of their U.N. climate commitments; leverage support to change their financial systems for the transition; and reform trade systems. Two nations in attendance, Colombia and France, announced their own phaseout road maps at the conference. Ramphele, from South Africa, suggests that as countries in the Santa Marta Coalition develop and implement their own road maps, other nations not yet on board will eventually be pressured to follow. Until a legally binding agreement, such as the one advocated for by the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, this is the most immediate path forward, Ramphele says.  "We champion for a legally binding agreement. We get the coalition of the willing to start implementing, and by both positive stories that come out of it and moral suasion, we get people to buy into it." Please take a minute to let us know what you think of our podcast here. Image Credit: Creek in the Colombian Amazon. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. ——- Timecodes (00:00) A 'coalition of the willing' emerges (12:13) Nations begin to announce phaseout roadmaps (20:48) The pathway to a legally binding fossil fuel phaseout (23:38) Looking ahead to the next conference

A burning topic.

Did you know that most of the most celebrated active ingredients in your skincare are actually derived from petrochemicals? In this week's eye-opening episode of Green Beauty Conversations, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier is joined by Chris Valencius, Chief Marketing Officer at Evolved by Nature, to uncover the uncomfortable truth about fossil fuels in skincare and how deeply embedded they are in the beauty industry. Luckily, there are solutions. Tune in now to discover how biotechnology and upcycled silk proteins are opening up a new frontier of high-performance, sustainable ingredients designed to replace legacy ingredients and reshape the future of skincare. Free Resources Free formulation course | Green Beauty Conversations Podcast | Blog | YouTube Socials: Formula Botanica on Instagram | Lorraine Dallmeier on Instagram  

At COP28 in December 2023, the world committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels. Yet in the years since, there’s been little progress. A meeting in Colombia last month hoped to change that, gathering ministers and climate envoys from 57 countries to try and chart a path to end the use of fossil fuels. This week on Zero, Tzeporah Berman, chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, tells Akshat Rathi what the conference achieved and where it goes next. Explore further: Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative website First Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels Countries Draw Up Next Steps to Decarbonize at Colombia Fossil-Fuel Summit Climate Negotiators Meet in Santa Marta to Discuss Fossil Fuel Transition - Bloomberg Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Government seems to move slower than the pace of climate change, so do our votes for climate candidates and policies actually make a difference? ‍In this episode, we're connecting the dots between climate and policy and hearing from people around the world about how their governments' policies are affecting their lives and their regions. We're also catching up with HEATED editor-in-chief Emily Atkin to hear how climate reporting has changed over the past couple of presidential terms and how she keeps her head above water after a decade of reporting on climate. We'll also talk to Commons founder Sanchali Seth Pal about climate policies around the world that have actually worked. ‍If you're looking for resources to help you vote for the planet in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, or any upcoming U.S. election, here are some resources that could help: Vote Climate U.S. PAC's Voter Guide, Climate Cabinet's Climate Scorecard, League of Conservation Voter Scorecard.

"While the word 'climate' may be politically charged for some, the need for affordable, reliable, and secure energy is something we can all agree on. Americans are calling for action, and as Members of Congress it's our responsibility to deliver. If we want long-term solutions that address both our constituents' concerns and growing climate risks, we must work together to strengthen our energy and climate security with urgency." Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan to Electric Ladies Podcast  As we in the U.S. commemorate Memorial Day this week and express gratitude for the sacrifice of thousands of servicemembers on behalf of our country, we are re-airing a landmark interview from last year with an Air Force veteran and Congresswoman who is working tirelessly and on a bipartisan basis to protect the climate and our energy systems. Listen to Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, who is co-chair of the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, a rare example of cooperation on Capitol Hill. She's also co-chair of the bipartisan Women in STEM Caucus and shares insights into how to build bipartisanship, protect our infrastructure from extreme climate events and provide clean, affordable energy.   You'll hear about: ·        How Pennsylvania's political landscape shapes the path of climate legislation ·        What the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus is doing to advance the clean energy transition ·        How extreme weather events can open the door to bipartisan climate action ·        Why Congresswoman Houlahan's leadership with the Women in STEM Caucus matters ·        Plus, insightful career advice   "Recognize that whatever you choose to do right now is not the end decision for the rest of your life. When you look backwards it's going to make sense, but when you look forward, it's going to be a crooked line. It's not going to be a straight line to somewhere, so do not to be too hard on yourself, do not try to seek perfection." Chrissy Houlahan on Electric Ladies Podcast     You'll also like: ·        Most Americans Want Climate Action, Study Says. How To Bridge The Political Divide, ELP Host Joan Michelson's article that includes Congresswoman Houlahan. ·        Women Rewriting The Climate Conversation, a panel from The Earth Day Women's Summit moderated by Joan Michelson ·        People Leveraging Carbon Markets to Save Their Land - with Stacey Solie, Executive Producer of the Documentary, "From the Ground Up" ·        The State of Energy Today Might Surprise You - with Lisa Jacobson, CEO of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and Coauthor of the 2026 Energy Factbook ·        Hilary Doe, Michigan's Chief Growth Office on how the state is turning IRA Credits into Growth ·        Sherri Goodman, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, on why climate change is an issue of national security. ·        Joan Michelson's Forbes article on Fossil Fuels, War And Climate: Women On The Frontlines Call For A New Security Mindset Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our podcasts, articles, events and career advice – and special coaching offers. Elevate your career with expert coaching and ESG advisory with Electric Ladies Podcast. Unlock new opportunities, gain confidence, and achieve your career goals with the right guidance. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our podcasts, articles, events and career advice – and special coaching offers. Thanks for subscribing on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio and Spotify and leaving us a review!   Don't forget to follow us on our socials Twitter: @joanmichelson LinkedIn: Electric Ladies Podcast with Joan Michelson Twitter: @joanmichelson

with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen

As coal and gas plants retire, the energy transition conversation focuses on replacing their generation capacity. What gets far less attention is the loss of the physical properties those machines provided for free: inertia that stabilises frequency, fault current that supports voltage during disturbances, and reactive power that regulates voltage across the network. These services come from the physics of enormous spinning rotors synchronised to the grid, responding instantaneously, without sensors, software or control loops. As inverter-based resources replace them, that mechanical immune system disappears, and a new, extreme stress test is arriving at the same time in the form of AI data centres whose loads can swing by hundreds of megawatts in a fraction of a second.Host Bridget van Dorsten is joined by Kristina Carlquist, General Manager of Synchronous Condensers at ABB, and Christian Payerl, Sales Manager of Synchronous Condensers at ABB, to unpack why a technology that has existed for as long as the grid itself is now experiencing a revival.Christian explains the three ancillary services the grid is losing, inertia, short-circuit current and reactive power, and why inverter-based generation does not replace them. Grid-forming batteries can be programmed to simulate inertia, but each charge-discharge cycle degrades lifetime, overload capacity is limited to microseconds, and the models needed for accurate grid simulation are often tied up in manufacturer IP. Synchronous condensers respond on physics alone, in both directions, with no degradation and no modelling uncertainty. The recent blackout in Spain illustrates what happens when that gap is left unfilled.Kristina walks through the commercial traction. ABB's partnership with VoltaGrid on isolated data center microgrids has grown from an unexpected inbound enquiry in late 2024 to dozens of synchronous condensers delivered. On the grid-connected side, the Faroe Islands have deployed four units with a fifth on the way as part of their push toward 100% renewables, already achieving multi-day periods of fully renewable operation. ABB is also working with Korea's Jeju Island on its first flywheel-equipped deployment. The demand pattern is widening: islands integrating renewables, TSOs managing weak grid regions, mines electrifying operations, and now data centre developers who had never considered grid stability equipment before.The episode closes on regulation and standards. Christian, who participates in international standards work through CIGRE, notes that there is still no international standard for flywheel safety and that the treatment of inertia as a paid service varies dramatically by country. While inertia is compensated as a paid service in the UK, in Sweden it is treated as free – rotating machines providing it receive no income stream for doing so. As data center load grows faster than regulation can respond, both guests argue that the answer is not one technology but a combination, provided the industry, utilities and policymakers can align on what the grid actually needs to remain stable.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Norway stands to make $78 billion this year from its oil and gas sales as the costs of the commodities continue to rise globally. Also, Philippines Senator Ronald dela Rosa is in hiding as government agents try to serve him with an ICC arrest warrant on charges of crimes against humanity for his role in the country's bloody drug war. And, a look at why zoonotic diseases, spilling over from animals to humans, are on the rise. Plus, Cairo's historic downtown is experiencing a renaissance as Gen Z creators re-discover the city. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

May 1, 2026; Tonight, how Trump made Big Oil the big winners after two months of war. Then, inside the New York Times reporting on a suicide note purportedly written by Jeffrey Epstein that's been kept secret for 7 years. And as Alabama, Tennessee and others move to redraw maps, what exactly is happening in the state of Florida?  Want more of Chris? Download and follow his podcast, “Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes podcast” wherever you get your podcasts.To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Headlines for April 28, 2026; Trump vs. Dreamers: Justice Dept. Moves to Make It Easier to Deport 500K+ DACA Recipients; Avi Lewis, New Socialist Leader of Canada’s NDP: “Life Just Doesn’t Have to Be So Grindingly Unfair”; Colombia Hosts First Global Summit on Transitioning from Fossil Fuels in Attempt to Break U.N. Deadlock