Climate Dispatch, Sierra Club
podcast
assistant producer, photographer, creative feedback, and occasional host
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The official Sierra Club California podcast, produced by the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter in partnership with Stranded Astronaut Productions. Discussing climate issues across the state of California.
credits: Co-host, researcher, creative feedback, photographer
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Migration has always been a part of life, whether you’re a butterfly, a whale, or a human being. But as the climate crisis accelerates, more and more people are being forced to leave their homes and even their countries in its wake. Wildfires and floods displace entire communities. Shifting ecosystems destabilize local economies. Dwindling resources fuel conflict and violence.
So how do we respond to this growing reality of climate-driven migration amid increasingly hostile anti-immigration rhetoric?
In this episode, we explore the deep connections between climate and migration, the sustainable practices immigrant communities have long championed, the often-overlooked environmental toll of ICE raids, and the critical role of community resilience in facing what comes next.
credits: researcher, creative feedback, photographer
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In this episode we sit down with Don Jolley, a middle school teacher in Point Reyes, CA, who leads community stargazing gatherings to discuss the importance of connecting to the night sky. As light pollution from human developments increases, we learn about what could be lost as with every light that shines in the night, the starry sky above becomes ever more eclipsed.
We also sit down with Sierra Club National Conservation Campaign Strategist Mary Lunetta, and learn about the devastating possible rescinding of the Roadless Rule, which protects 59 million acres of National Forest Land from development. And finally, we speak with Dr. Joey Curti, a postdoctoral researcher at the UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, who has studied the impact of the built environment on animals, specifically how light pollution is affecting the bat populations of Southern California.
credits: researcher, creative feedback, photographer
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Two-Part Episode on California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta:
a beautiful and vital ecosystem that provides drinking water for 27 million people, supports millions of acres of farmland, and offers essential habitat for countless species.
But when the Delta’s waters are overtaxed, the consequences ripple outward: flow declines, water quality worsens, habitat is lost, and farmland is put at risk.
So why is the Delta Conveyance Project, also known as the Delta Tunnel, proposing to divert even more water? And will it actually strengthen California’s water security?
credits: researcher, creative feedback, photographer
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A group of Silicon Valley billionaires says it has a bold vision for the future of California: a brand-new city built from the ground up on the Solano County prairie. But behind the glossy renderings and promises of sustainability lies a story of secretive land deals, political maneuvering, and growing concerns over public accountability.
In this episode, we investigate the California Forever project, examining the opaque tactics used to quietly acquire more than 50,000 acres of farmland, the allegations surrounding Flannery Associates' efforts to sidestep meaningful public input, and the questions local residents and conservationists are asking about who gets to shape the future of the region.
We also explore what's at stake for one of California's rarest ecosystems. The proposed development sits alongside fragile vernal pool habitat that supports endangered and threatened species, including the California tiger salamander and vernal pool tadpole shrimp. As pressure to build accelerates, we ask whether these unique landscapes, and the wildlife that depends on them, can survive another wave of development.
Who gets to build the future? And who pays the price when it's built in the dark?
