Keeping Cool Without Warming the Planet

Heat kills more people in the United States than any other weather event, and scientists expect the earth to continue to get hotter. Unfortunately, one of the most effective tools we have to combat heat — air-conditioning — also contributes to global warming. The hotter we get, the more AC we’ll need: It’s a conundrum. So how do we keep cool without making the planet hotter at the same time? Host Arielle Duhaime-Ross speaks to Dr. David Hondula, the Director of Heat Response and Mitigation for the city of Phoenix, Arizona; Rachel Kyte, a former U.N. Special Representative, and professor in climate policy and sustainability; and Dr. Daniel Betts, an engineer and founder of the air-conditioning company Blue Frontier. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Whether you’re aware of it or not, you are part of one of the most ambitious projects we as humans have ever attempted: Rebuilding the world, pretty much from the ground up, in order to switch from fossil fuels to clean energy sources. It’s a major undertaking, one that will require staggering financial investment and the success of technologies many people have never heard of. In this season of The World as You'll Know It, science journalist Arielle Duhaime-Ross goes deep inside the world of cutting-edge climate technologies and asks: How is this all going to work? The answers — from some of the world’s most innovative and audacious thinkers, builders and investors — reveal the promise, obstacles and tradeoffs of a new clean-energy landscape that will shape the way we live.