PODCAST · news
The Latitude
by Latitude Media
Dispatches from the new frontiers of climate technology. The Latitude features coverage of the business and tech trends that are reshaping energy and decarbonization, straight from the Latitude Media newsroom.
Episodes
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Australian outages show the value of solar and batteries
In Australia, one in three homes hosts a rooftop solar system. And 20% of those systems are attached to batteries. In February, a major grid outage put those systems to the test. Extreme weather caused a series of grid failures in the state of Victoria. And with coal plants tripping offline…
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Can NVIDIA become an AI power broker on the grid?
There are two critical ingredients fueling the AI boom: energy and chips. And NVIDIA, one of the most important companies in AI, is looking to be a power player in both. NVIDIA was founded in the early 1990s as a chip maker for gaming. It has since evolved into a $2 trillion behemoth building the...
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Will government rules hinder green hydrogen?
The US green hydrogen industry is at a critical juncture. After months of input and debate, the government put out draft rules for tax credits at the end of last year – setting firm requirements for matching new, local renewables to hydrogen production. It was seen by many as a big step for...
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Data center experts on AI energy demand
Data center energy use is spiking around the world. The International Energy Agency says that demand could double in the next two years, as artificial intelligence workloads soar. This increase in demand is alarming environmentalists and clean power advocates, who say AI is making decarbonization...
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A US city tries a novel approach to microgrids
As cities around the U.S. ramp up their renewable energy goals, they’re sometimes at odds with the utilities that serve them. Some have tried to break away and form their own utilities. Others are creating community choice aggregators to negotiate clean power supply for residents. The city of Ann...
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Under the hood of a novel virtual power plant
We have 60 gigawatts of virtual power plant capacity in the US. But that needs to triple in the next decade to support a zero-carbon grid – while also meeting a surge in peak demand. There are lots of different models for building VPPs that link together solar, batteries, EV chargers, and smart...
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Bigger, faster, cheaper: tech innovations in renewables
Wind and solar projects are relatively simple to build compared with thermal power plants. But there’s a lot of technological innovation going into how those renewable plants are designed, constructed and optimized – driven by robots, artificial intelligence, and data science. Can these...
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Will the geologist shortage impact US critical minerals?
The world needs a lot of critical minerals. By the middle of the century, we could be looking at a six-fold increase in demand for lithium, copper, cobalt, nickel, and magnesium to make enough batteries and renewables to decarbonize the global economy. That means a lot of mining. And it also…
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Can AI alleviate the critical minerals crunch?
Elon Musk has called lithium “the new oil.” Demand for critical minerals is booming alongside the surge in global battery production. And countries are racing to control as much mining and processing of lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite quickly as possible. There’s also a race…
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Cleantech’s weird year in the public markets
It’s been another tumultuous year for the clean energy sector in the stock market. Even with strong tailwinds from the Inflation Reduction Act, many public companies took a hit this year – thanks to investor concerns over high interest rates, supply chain constraints, uncertainty over policy...
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A visit to America’s first direct-air carbon capture plant
America’s first commercial plant for capturing CO2 directly from the air is online. It marks the start of an industrial race in direct-air capture – or DAC – an industry that needs to succeed in tandem with a tripling of clean generation to slash global emissions. The US has emerged as a leader…
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Can concentrated solar power be reborn?
The concentrating solar power industry – also known as solar thermal – has been defined by bankruptcies, failed projects, and high costs. But is it finding new life? Crystalline silicon photovoltaics won the race for solar power generation long ago. But there’s a vital market it can’t serve...
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Building novel storage projects on brownfields
Transmission backlogs. Land constraints. Local pushback. They’re all causing headaches for developers of wind, solar, and battery projects. And that’s making brownfields more attractive for renewables – and a range of novel, industrial-scale storage and carbon-removal projects. An Italian company...
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Carbon removal's awkward phase
The market for engineered carbon removal is starting to resemble, well, a real market. Tax credits. Billions in government support. Corporate buyers. A wide range of startups that are picking up investment and working toward commercial deployment. They’re all helping push forward the use of...
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Green hydrogen makers are caught in limbo
Green hydrogen is a critical resource for cleaning up industry and heavy trucking. With tens of billions of government and corporate dollars plowing into the space – electrolyzer companies are preparing for a ramp up in sales and project developments to help turn renewable electrons into hydrogen...
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The AI wild card for data centers: ‘Oh sh*t, this is for real’
Top tech companies are on a quest to run their massive data centers around the clock with clean power. It’s not an easy task, but they’ve been making progress. The energy efficiency of large data centers has radically improved over the last two decades. And tech players have been buying…
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How AI is changing weather forecasts for solar and wind
Electric grids are increasingly being saturated with weather-dependent renewables. At the same time, power systems are also getting challenged by intensifying and unpredictable extreme weather. So can weather prediction models rise to the challenge? The answer may be in machine learning. Today…
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What to do with all this excess renewable energy?
Renewables are now super cheap and abundant. We could install nearly a half terawatt of new wind and solar capacity this year – more than the entire capacity of China. But with that surge comes a set of very pointed questions: what do we do with all those clean electrons on grids that don’t…
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Introducing: The Latitude
Hi Climavores listeners: we're announcing a change to this feed. Going forward, this show will be called The Latitude. Solar, wind, and batteries have all surged around the world. We’re set to install 400 gigawatts of renewables in the next five years — equivalent to the capacity of China. But...
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Climavores: We can feed the world without frying it. But will we?
In this last episode of the season, Tamar and Mike discuss what they’ve learned over the past six months and debate whether there’s hope for solving the food and climate problem (spoiler alert: they both say, “Yes, if….). They discuss techno optimists who see the rise in food and ag tech...
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Climavores: Is Kernza the climate-friendly answer to wheat?
Wheat feeds billions but it has some big climate problems. Wheat production degrades the soil, which releases carbon. It also requires a lot of land. That means clearing land—often forest—to make room for it, which also releases carbon. Plus, wheat harms ecosystems: fertilizer runoff causes water...
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Climavores: Rowan Jacobsen on Wild Chocolate and the Climate cost of Cacao
It’s no secret that chocolate is a sweet loved by pretty much everyone (well, everyone except Tamar). Here in the states, the average American eats about 12 pounds of chocolate a year, and worldwide we eat eight million tons of it annually. Unfortunately, our obsession with chocolate comes with a...
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Climavores: New Year’s Mailbag! Plastics, precision agriculture, grains, and more
It’s a new year, and that means a new stream of voicemails filling up our listener hotline. This week Mike and Tamar kick things off by answering questions about the impact of food packaging, the scope of precision agriculture, lamb and goat meat compared to beef, and much more. They also share...
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Climavores: YouTube's Hank Green is ready for lab-grown nuggets
This week on the show, internet sensation Hank Green talks with Mike and Tamar about the future of cell-based meat. Hank lives in Montana, which is hardcore ranching country. It’s a place where beef is king, cowboys are real and pickup trucks are the norm. But he’s convinced that the future of…
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Climavores: Never heard of first-hand food? Ask Tamar
Mike and Tamar talk a lot about eating better for our bodies and our planet. They’ve tackled meat versus plants, processed food versus whole food, cow milk versus almond milk. They even did a whole episode about the pros and cons of local food. But in this episode, they talk about the ultimate...
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Climavores Live: Can we eat right and still save the planet?
We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card. In this live recording of Climavores, Mike and Tamar talk with special guest Dr. Marion Nestle, a nutrition and food studies professor at NYU and author of Slow Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food...
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Climavores: How climate-friendly is your Thanksgiving dinner?
Join us on November 30 for a live, virtual episode of Climavores with guest Marion Nestle. Come ask a question about food, nutrition, and eating for the climate. We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card. This week, a whole lot of Americans...
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Climavores: Important Not Important: Starting a food company in the climate era
We want your feedback! Fill out our listener survey for a chance to win a $100 Patagonia gift card. Join us on November 30 for a live, virtual episode of Climavores. Come ask a question about food, nutrition, and eating for the climate. As a Climavores listener, you know that we spend a ton of…
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Climavores: Is industry-funded research a problem?
Last week, The New York Times weighed in on food and climate change in a big way. They devoted an entire section of page one to Dr. Frank Mitloehner, the head of an agricultural research institute at the University of California, Davis. The headline? “He’s an Outspoken Defender of Meat. Industry...
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Climavores: Throwing soup to fight climate change
In recent weeks, climate activists in London, Paris and Germany have taken center stage for throwing food at famous works of art. Their goal? To focus attention on climate change and fossil fuel dependency. And it’s working. Videos of the protests have racked up tons of views on YouTube. But are...
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Climavores: Are GMOs the worst? Or the best?
In the food world, conversations around GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) have been polarized and vitriolic for decades. Fights over the very early genetically modified corn and soy that were resistant to glyphosate, the herbicide in RoundUp, set the tone for an argument that we’re still…
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Climavores: The magic of trees
The vast majority of habitable land on our planet is either agriculture or forests. So when cropland and grazing land expands, forests shrink. This is a problem because forests soak up about a quarter of the carbon dioxide we emit. Mike and Tamar talk a lot on the show about ways to make more…
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Climavores: Keeping climate change anxiety from crippling the next generation
Last month, The Washington Post ran a story about college campuses offering therapy for climate change anxiety. The American Psychological Association found that nearly half of younger Americans say eco-anxiety affects their daily lives. And, globally, a study in The Lancet found that 59% percent...
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Climavores: Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on 'climate-smart commodities'
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism. Climate change is a touchy topic in farm country. But one third of greenhouse gas emissions come from food and agriculture, so…
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Climavores: Are processed foods evil?
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism. Draw a Venn diagram of people who care about the climate impact of their food and people who are suspicious of processed food, and...
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Climavores: The protein we love to hate
Don’t miss our live episode of Climavores in New York City on October 20! Sign up here for a night of live audio and networking with top voices in climate journalism. When a lot of people think of soy, they think of allergens, overly processed food, and man boobs. There’s even a current…
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Climavores: Mailbag episode! Bug protein, farmed fish, oysters, and more
Every episode of Climavores starts with a listener voicemail. In past episodes, Mike and Tamar have answered your questions about vertical farms (are they a climate-friendly alternative to traditional agriculture?), plant-based milks (are they actually better for the climate than dairy?), and…
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Climavores: Don’t tread on my pork!
Earlier this month, Cracker Barrel announced the addition of plant-based sausage to its breakfast menu. It was a move largely applauded by vegans, vegetarians and environmentalists alike; but plenty of meat eaters had a different take. ”YOU CAN TAKE MY PORK SAUSAGE WHEN YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD…
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Climavores: Where food and agriculture fit into America’s big climate bill
Last week, Barack Obama called President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act a “BFD” on Twitter. With about $370 billion worth of climate funding, it’s an especially BFD for the planet. The IRA marks the single largest climate investment in U.S. history, promising lower energy costs,...
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Climavores: The intersection of animal welfare and climate
Prioritizing efficiency in the U.S. chicken industry has made chicken cheap. And that’s led, in part, to Americans eating way more chicken and significantly less beef than they did a half-century ago. From a climate change perspective, it’s a major win. From an animal welfare perspective… not so...
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Climavores: Got plant-based milk?
Plant-based milks make up 16% of U.S. milk sales. From soy, oat and almond milk to hemp, macadamia and quinoa milk, more and more consumers are pivoting away from animal milk. And that’s a good thing for the planet. Turns out, animal milk requires massive amounts of land (12 times more land per...
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Climavores: Today's food crisis is a postcard from our warming future
The current conflict in Ukraine combined with a massive drought in the horn of Africa are wreaking havoc on global food markets. Food supplies are shrinking; food prices are spiking, and the World Food Programme is warning of a “hunger hurricane” that could put a record 345 million people at…
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Hot Farm: Enlisting unconvinced farmers
We’re currently working on some fresh content based on listener questions. We’ll have new episodes next week! This week, we're running an episode from a podcast called Hot Farm. It's from our friends at the Food & Environment Reporting Network. The podcast is about what farmers are doing – or…
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Climavores: Are vertical farms a real solution?
Farmland covers almost 40% of the earth's land surface. When we think about all that farmland, most of us imagine endless fields of grain or corn. But vertical farms flip that idea on its head, literally. Instead of growing out, vertical farms stack plants in multiple layers indoors where they…
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Climavores: The rise and fall of plant-based meat
Demand for plant-based meat products surged in 2019 as companies developed better-tasting products, negotiated better shelf positioning, and tapped into shifting consumer preferences. But demand flatlined in 2021, raising questions about whether plant-based products can put a dent in meat...
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Climavores: It’s not the 'how,' it’s the cow
Few foods are as tied up in American identity as beef. Think rugged cowboys driving cattle across the open range, or all the good feelings that come with summer grilling season. We love our beef. But meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gasses from food production. And beef production...
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Climavores: Bursting the ‘eat local’ bubble
The eat local movement is huge. Bumper stickers in liberal towns across the U.S. tell us to “Eat local” or ask “Who’s your farmer?” But eating local food may be wildly overrated when it comes to climate change. When we look at how foods are produced, transportation accounts for less than 10% of...
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Climavores: Why eating for climate is so complicated
Searing heat waves, massive forest fires, rising sea levels – the effects of climate change are all around us. But the role our food system plays in fueling the problem? That’s less clear to most of us. We know our food doesn't magically appear on grocery store shelves. Somebody's growing it. But...
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Climavores: Confused about how to eat for the planet? Give us a call.
Every day, we make a zillion decisions about food. We’re bombarded with marketing and media -- and nobody seems to agree about what to eat, where to get it, and how to prepare it. Climate change is making all of this even harder. We all know food is a big deal for the planet. But it’s not always...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Dispatches from the new frontiers of climate technology. The Latitude features coverage of the business and tech trends that are reshaping energy and decarbonization, straight from the Latitude Media newsroom.
HOSTED BY
Latitude Media
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Latitude have?
The Latitude currently has 49 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Latitude about?
Dispatches from the new frontiers of climate technology. The Latitude features coverage of the business and tech trends that are reshaping energy and decarbonization, straight from the Latitude Media newsroom.
How often does The Latitude release new episodes?
The Latitude has 49 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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You can listen to The Latitude on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Latitude?
The Latitude is created and hosted by Latitude Media.
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