“The thing to really unlock, the greatest change is to create a political leadership that recognizes these avenues of solution and acts on them; we don’t have that yet,” says Mary Ellen Harte, PhD, as she explains what needs to be done in order to create an immediate impact on the current rate and magnitude of climate change. Okay, so what are those avenues of the solution, and why isn’t more being done by the political leadership? These are just a couple of the many compelling and critically important questions Dr. Harte answers and discusses on today’s episode.

She argues that in addition to preserving and rebuilding forests, we must elect political leaders who choose clean energy technology over the influence of the fossil fuel industry, and who demonstrate that they understand and value the importance of environmental economics. But just as important, she says, is a third solution which not many people seem to want to talk about: the reduction of unplanned pregnancies through free family planning services.

Tune in to hear the full conversation and learn more, including:

• Why the issue of climate change is so politicized in the U.S. and whether or not this is a global trend or unique to the U.S.
• How a lack of and need for basic resources often promotes warfare
• The degree to which technology can (or cannot) address the current level of climate change that’s occurring

To further educate yourself on these matters, check out The Daily Climate and visit http://www.cooltheearth.us/ for a free online copy of Cool the Earth.

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