Conversations on Money, Politics and Science is a bi-weekly segment with KGNU’s Maeve Conran and Arjun Makhijani of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. In this conversation, we take a look at the implications of the US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal.
The Age of Enlightenment and the scientific and technological revolutions promised a world of reason, democracy, and prosperity. The fog of superstition would be lifted by the light of understanding. Yet, in the 21st century United States, science is so besieged even in the face of the existential threat of climate disruption. Beleaguered scientists are taking to the streets in protest. Economics remains a “dismal science.” Facts are no longer an unquestioned currency in politics and public life. Nuclear weapons have remained in launch-on-warming posture, despite the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Our goal with these conversations is to shed light on that evolution of the last 250 years by engaging in thoughtful fact- and science-based conversations on the state of the world and our place in it.
Listen to the conversation about the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate deal. Recorded on June 1, 2017.
Find more in this series: Conversations on Money, Politics and Science in the weeks ahead.