WEBVTT - Raising Voices to Combat Climate Change

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>Quick Takes Tim Stinovich from Bloomberg Radio. So, our next

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<v Speaker 1>guest is a climate atmospheric scientist. She's been studying climate change,

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<v Speaker 1>analyzing the data, the models. You may have even seen

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<v Speaker 1>her Ted talk. She is the chief scientist for the

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<v Speaker 1>nonprofit and global environmental group it's the Nature Conservancy, and

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<v Speaker 1>she notes that our future it's in our hands when

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<v Speaker 1>where we can choose between mitigation, adaptation and suffering. She's

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<v Speaker 1>Katherine Hayho. She's got a new book at it's entitled

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<v Speaker 1>Saving Us a Climate Scientist Case for Hope and Healing

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<v Speaker 1>in a Divided World. And she joins ed La Lowe

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<v Speaker 1>and me on the phone in Texas. Katherine, great to

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<v Speaker 1>have you here with Ed and myself. Um, tell us

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<v Speaker 1>about your new book, Well, thank you for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>My new book is about how the most important thing

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<v Speaker 1>that any of us can do about the huge she

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<v Speaker 1>of climate change is to use their voices to talk

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<v Speaker 1>about it, because we're not only fourteen percent of people

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<v Speaker 1>ever talk about it. And if you don't talk about

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<v Speaker 1>it in your company, your business, your organization, why would

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<v Speaker 1>anybody understand how it's already affecting us today, including our

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<v Speaker 1>bottom line, and how every single one of us can

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<v Speaker 1>help to be part of the practical solutions that are

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<v Speaker 1>already being implemented today. As well. As part of your book,

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<v Speaker 1>you surveyed, you interviewed, you polled all people from all

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<v Speaker 1>walks of life. What did you find out? I found

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<v Speaker 1>that most people are already very worried about climate change,

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<v Speaker 1>even where I live here in Texas, the home of

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<v Speaker 1>the oil and gas industry. But people don't know what

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<v Speaker 1>they can do, and so because of that, we're not

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<v Speaker 1>even talking about it. So that's why it's so important

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<v Speaker 1>to break that silence and to talk first of all

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<v Speaker 1>about how it's already affecting our bottom line. We're seeing

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<v Speaker 1>a fee change. A lot of businesses are recognizing the

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<v Speaker 1>climate up action aligns with their goals, that the consumer

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<v Speaker 1>wants to see what they're doing, and that the risks

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<v Speaker 1>are already affecting us. Hey, you know there's already many

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<v Speaker 1>businesses that are taking action too. Sorry, go ahead, no,

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<v Speaker 1>you're noticing that, Katherine. It's interesting and coming off of

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic, we are reminded so much about taking a vaccine,

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<v Speaker 1>isn't just about protecting ourselves, but about protecting our community.

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<v Speaker 1>We've had to think, you know, beyond ourselves in a

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<v Speaker 1>big way climate change. That is the case too. I

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<v Speaker 1>understand that you stress not focusing on the facts, but

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<v Speaker 1>on shared values in common ground. How do you expect

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<v Speaker 1>we get there when there's so much in fighting, certainly

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<v Speaker 1>politically in this country, politically in other countries. How do

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<v Speaker 1>we find that common ground, which is you know, crucial

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<v Speaker 1>to really our existence as human beings in the future.

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<v Speaker 1>M hmm. That's exactly the question. Because climate change is

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<v Speaker 1>and has been for the last ten years, the most

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<v Speaker 1>politicized issue in the US. So if we can come

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<v Speaker 1>together on this, what else might we be able to fix?

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<v Speaker 1>How do we do that? Start from the heart, start

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<v Speaker 1>from what really matters? So what matters to your business,

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<v Speaker 1>what matters to you personally, what matters to your consumer base?

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<v Speaker 1>What values do they have that are being affected by

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<v Speaker 1>climate change today? Because it's already here and now, and

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<v Speaker 1>that climate solutions would genuinely and immediately and practically addressed,

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<v Speaker 1>often we can agree on climate solutions without even mention

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<v Speaker 1>the words climate change in sequence, Catherine, Let's give a

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<v Speaker 1>specific example on this, So we can help the audience understand.

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<v Speaker 1>In California, I am the most visible debate that we

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<v Speaker 1>have is the wildfires. You know, they seem to be

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<v Speaker 1>hitting earlier every year with more severity, and there are

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<v Speaker 1>many that say this is the most visible evidence of

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<v Speaker 1>climate change we have in the state. How would you

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<v Speaker 1>approach that issue? How should people discuss the wild fires

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<v Speaker 1>here in California. You're absolutely right, that's what we're seeing

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<v Speaker 1>in California. In other places we see hurricanes becoming more intense,

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<v Speaker 1>flood risk increasing, and of course deadly heat wave. I

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<v Speaker 1>would approach it as a mom by talking about how

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<v Speaker 1>some of my friends who who live in California Nevada,

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<v Speaker 1>they couldn't even let their kids outside to way for

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<v Speaker 1>it's not just days, but weeks at a time because

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<v Speaker 1>the smoke was so bad. My cousin's house burned, dance

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<v Speaker 1>and that that really happened, and we all know people

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<v Speaker 1>have been affected. So I would start with something that

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<v Speaker 1>we share, and then I would say, hey, did you

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<v Speaker 1>know that one of the most important things we can

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<v Speaker 1>do is talk about it because here in California we

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<v Speaker 1>are the number one producer of solar energy and all

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<v Speaker 1>the new homes that are being built to require tup

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<v Speaker 1>solar panels, which makes us energy and dependent as well

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<v Speaker 1>as not contributing to all this carbon pollution that's causing

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<v Speaker 1>the planet to heat up, making our wildfires worse. So

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<v Speaker 1>tie the issue directly to our personal concerns and directly

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<v Speaker 1>to solutions that are happening great in front of our eyes,

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<v Speaker 1>not on the other side of the world. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's interesting though, I we d as I do. We

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<v Speaker 1>talk with a lot of companies, h and institutions as

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<v Speaker 1>well as investors. A lot of companies and institutions, Catherine

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<v Speaker 1>are putting out targets for being climate neutral and so on.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot talk about sustainability, and yet the climate number

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<v Speaker 1>show is we can You need to go in the

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<v Speaker 1>wrong direction. As Ed mentions the fires out there on

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<v Speaker 1>the West Coast, early hurricanes here on the East Coast,

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<v Speaker 1>the flooding that we're seeing in so many different places

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<v Speaker 1>also around the world. I mean, is it too late

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<v Speaker 1>you tracked the data. I gotta go back to the

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<v Speaker 1>data for a moment. Is it too late? I do

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<v Speaker 1>track the data, and the way I look at it

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<v Speaker 1>as if it is too late to avoid all of

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<v Speaker 1>the impacts, because some of them are right here today,

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<v Speaker 1>the ones you refer to, we're seeing them here and now.

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<v Speaker 1>It's sort of as if we've already been smoking for

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<v Speaker 1>years and even decades, and we have some impaired breathing,

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<v Speaker 1>we have some spots on our lungs, but we don't

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<v Speaker 1>have them phazema, we don't have lung cancer, and we're

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<v Speaker 1>not debt. So when is the time to make it change?

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<v Speaker 1>Right now? Because I can tell you without a shadow

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<v Speaker 1>of a doubt, as a scientist who studies the future

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<v Speaker 1>and who studies the impact our choices make today, that

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<v Speaker 1>our future is still in our hands. And what is

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<v Speaker 1>it today is not the planet itself was its stake

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<v Speaker 1>is our civilization as we know it. We still have

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<v Speaker 1>the chance to save ourselves. And so that's why I

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<v Speaker 1>called my book Saving Us. But Catherine very quickly remind

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<v Speaker 1>us why is this less confrontational approach better than the

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<v Speaker 1>facts and the data. Well, facts are important, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>obviously they explained the way the world works. But we

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<v Speaker 1>scientists have been sharing facts for decades, and today much

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<v Speaker 1>of the debate in the public sphere centers over is

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<v Speaker 1>it warming or not? How much is humans, how much

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<v Speaker 1>is not. And we know the answers to these things.

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<v Speaker 1>We've known that it is real, we've known that it's

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<v Speaker 1>human cause, we've known the risks are serious, scientists warned

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<v Speaker 1>the US President in nineteen sixty five. So rather than

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<v Speaker 1>getting stuck on the facts, we need to understand the

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<v Speaker 1>real problem. Nobody thinks it matters to them personally, and

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<v Speaker 1>nobody knows what to do about it. Catherine, just got

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<v Speaker 1>about seconds thirty seconds left? Here? Are you banking on

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<v Speaker 1>a younger generation? Who? I know my eighteen year old

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<v Speaker 1>keeps reminding us the bad stuff we've done for the

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<v Speaker 1>environment and promises change. Is it the younger generation that

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<v Speaker 1>really moves the needle on this? And just quickly y um,

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<v Speaker 1>they would, But we don't have time to wait for them.

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<v Speaker 1>We have to join them too. And again, it's not

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<v Speaker 1>about the environment, it is literally about us existence. Listen,

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<v Speaker 1>we gotta leave it there. And certainly another thing to

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<v Speaker 1>think about. And what's been a gem pack newsday and

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<v Speaker 1>thoughtful day. Catherine hajo her new book Saving Us, a

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<v Speaker 1>climate scientist case for hope and healing in a divided world,

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<v Speaker 1>joining us on the phone from Texas,