Reverse Course: Individual action to combat climate change - WBUR News

Reverse Course: Individual action to combat climate change | Here & Now
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Reverse Course: Individual action to combat climate change

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People are taking steps big and small to move the dial on climate change. In our Reverse Course: A Here & Now Climate Series, senior editor Peter O’Dowd and producer Chris Bentley take listeners across the country for a closer look at projects designed to make an impact.

In the Navajo Nation and the rural borderland Colonias of Texas, people are using machines pulling moisture from the air to provide water.

Researchers in northern Minnesota are planting trees that can thrive in warmer temperatures as one possible way to replenish nearly two million acres of forest.

Workers in Louisiana are plugging orphaned oil and gas wells to prevent them from seeping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

In Puerto Rico, residents and communities are building a patchwork of solar-powered microgrids as an alternative to the polluting diesel generators that served as a backup during frequent power outages.

Episode breakdown

Episode 1. Capping oil and gas wells in Louisiana: Abandoned wells are belching planet-warming methane. Plugging them could be low-hanging fruit for climate action and environmental justice.

Millions of leaky wells and mines are seeping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, creating a slow-motion climate disaster that should be relatively easy to fix. One problem? There are more than 120,000 of these abandoned oil and gas wells that have no known owner, and thus no one is responsible for cleanup.

The Biden Administration acknowledged the problem in the Inflation Reduction Act in 2021 and threw billions of dollars at it. Airs June 27.

Episode 2. Tapestry of microgrids in Puerto Rico: Microgrids are providing stability on the island during storms and outages. Hurricane Maria in 2017 highlighted the problems that plague Puerto Rico’s power grid. It’s unreliable — in some places, the power goes out 3-4 times a week — takes a long time to restore after a storm, and power is expensive. Since the hurricane, money has flooded in and scores of micro-grids have gone up across the island. There are now ~120 solar microgrids at schools that also serve as shelters.

One school, community and co-op at a time, residents are tapping into reliable energy through renewable solar energy. This feature would knit together the various projects to deliver a comprehensive look at how the network of solar microgrids is providing dependable, clean energy to the island. Airs June 28.

Episode 3. Water vapor harvesting in Navajo Nation and Texas: In arid climates, homeowners in need of water draw vapor from the air. Up to 30% of the homes in the Navajo Nation still go without running water, and the number is even higher in the rural borderland Colonias of Texas, where hundreds of thousands of people have struggled for generations to find the most basic ingredient for life.

But there’s new hope for many of these arid communities. They’re using s olar-powered machines to pull moisture straight out of the air, which creates several liters of fresh drinking water every day. The Arizona entrepreneur who created these devices has used federal Cares Act money to install the technology at more than 500 homes on the Navajo Nation last year, and several hundred more in the border Colonias near Mexico. Airs June 29.

How to listen

- Radio: Tune in for a new episode on June 27, 28 and 29 on your local NPR station during Here & Now.
- Podcast: Find a special episode of Here & Now Anytime on June 30, anywhere you get your podcasts.