With the inauguration of President Joe Biden, America now officially has a new federal administration. A new Congress is also underway, with the final two senators swearing in yesterday. Still,

With the inauguration of President Joe Biden, America now officially has a new federal administration. A new Congress is also underway, with the final two senators swearing in yesterday. Still, we’re beginning 2021 with “a precariously balanced Congress, and a wildly unsettled politics,” as CCL’s VP for Government Affairs Danny Richter puts it in this video. Danny weighs in about what the new administration and new Congress mean for our work on climate change, and what actions you can take right now to take advantage of upcoming opportunities. “Despite the uncertainty, there is a lot of hope for big action on climate this Congress,” said Danny.

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Katherine Hamilton, President of the Gridwise Alliance, is discussing a key topic.

 

She focuses on the $3.6 billion in stimulus funding designated for smart grid technology

Katherine Hamilton, President of the Gridwise Alliance, is discussing a key topic.

 

She focuses on the $3.6 billion in stimulus funding designated for smart grid technology and regional energy management.

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Timothy St. J. Ellam K.C. VE6SH, President of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), was interviewed at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23).

The conference took

Timothy St. J. Ellam K.C. VE6SH, President of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), was interviewed at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23).

The conference took place in Dubai, UAE, from November 20 to December 15, 2023. For further information, please visit: www.itu.int

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New videos DAILY: https://bigth.ink/youtube Join Big Think Edge for exclusive videos:

New videos DAILY: https://bigth.ink/youtube Join Big Think Edge for exclusive videos: https://bigth.ink/Edge ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daniel C. Esty is the Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the Yale Law School. Known for his innovative policy ideas and commitment to transformative change, Dan served as head of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection from 2011 to 2014 and in several leadership roles at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1989 to 1993. He is the editor of A Better Planet: 40 Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future (Yale University Press). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT BIG THINK: Smarter Faster™ Big Think is the leading source of expert-driven, actionable, educational content -- with thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, we help you get smarter, faster. S​ubscribe to learn from top minds like these daily. Get actionable lessons from the world’s greatest thinkers & doers. Our experts are either disrupting or leading their respective fields. ​We aim to help you explore the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century, so you can apply them to the questions and challenges in your own life. Other Frequent contributors include Michio Kaku & Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Michio Kaku Playlist: https://bigth.ink/kaku Bill Nye Playlist: https://bigth.ink/BillNye Neil DeGrasse Tyson Playlist: https://bigth.ink/deGrasseTyson Read more at Bigthink.com for a multitude of articles just as informative and satisfying as our videos. New articles posted daily on a range of intellectual topics. Join Big Think Edge, to gain access to an immense library of content. It features insight from many of the most celebrated and intelligent individuals in the world today. Topics on the platform are focused on: emotional intelligence, digital fluency, health and wellness, critical thinking, creativity, communication, career development, lifelong learning, management, problem solving & self-motivation. BIG THINK EDGE: https://bigth.ink/Edge If you're interested in licensing this or any other Big Think clip for commercial or private use, contact our licensing partner, Executive Interviews: https://bigth.ink/licensing ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transcript: So genomics, the idea that we can intervene with the genome of not just humans but any species in a way that might harden that species, improve it’s resilience to threats like climate change or make it more amenable to various medical approaches so as to ensure there’s a reduction of harm. And it can also be used in plants, for example, to speed up the growth pace and otherwise to provide ways to help harden the species or improve a species contribution to the response to climate change. So many aspects of society have been transformed by technology breakthroughs in the last couple of decades. And I would argue that the environmental arena broadly and climate change in particular had seen very little of that brought to bear despite an urgent need. And I do think suddenly that’s changing. We now have a number of people that are looking at various aspects of the technology world and saying how might this help us achieve a sustainable future. And that is very much a focus of the Better Planet book with a number of authors putting forward both technologies and frames of thinking that might move us towards a climate change answer. One of the most important aspects of this in my mind is the concept of genomics, of thinking about how we do genetic modification as a strategy for improving sustainability. And the chapter in our Better Planet book that lays this out offers examples both in terms of human exposure to public health threats broadly and to climate change in particular and understanding how we might well be able to address individual exposures that differ from the general public with genomic intervention in the future sparing people pain and suffering they might otherwise face. And perhaps even more interesting there are very significant ways that we might see genomic progress in addressing the plant and animal world. I’m thinking in particular of forests which could be a critical sink for carbon dioxide and I do think there are ways that we can make forests grow faster and perhaps serve more successfully as a sink for those greenhouse gases ensuring a better response to the problem and getting us to think about both mitigation, reducing emissions, but also the ability to set up nature as part of the solution absorbing those carbon emissions.

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Senator Whitehouse contends that the failure to address climate change stems from a misunderstanding of "the truly manipulative and evil effects of money in politics."

He argues that these

Senator Whitehouse contends that the failure to address climate change stems from a misunderstanding of "the truly manipulative and evil effects of money in politics."

He argues that these effects are currently at play, stating, "You undo Citizens United and we will have a bill in a month."

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One-third of House Democrats have cosponsored H.R. 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. Here are some of those cosponsors explaining why they are prioritizing climate change and why

One-third of House Democrats have cosponsored H.R. 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. Here are some of those cosponsors explaining why they are prioritizing climate change and why they support this legislation. #PriceOnPollution Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=129260501749051

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An interview was conducted with Geraldo Neto, Chair of WG6B and Vice President at Telecommunications Management Group (TMG), during the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23).

The WRC-23 took place in Dubai, UAE, from November 20 to December 15, 2023. For further information, please visit the ITU website.

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