Climate Episodes
Analyzing how climate change is reshaping American deserts, from rising temperatures and prolonged droughts to shifting ecosystems and increasing wildfires.
June 20, 2022
S1E12: What's Happening to the Monsoon?
Climate change has been happening in the desert for some time now. While consensus isn't complete, most experts agree that more warming will make the desert hotter and drier. But at the same time, while individual monsoon th…
April 22, 2022
S1E8: The IPCC Lets the Deserts Down
Plus, why rock stacking is a bad habit, and how you can keep the state of California from stripping protections from the western Joshua tree. Listen to the episode either before or after you click here: https://act.biologica…
Feb. 16, 2022
S1E4: The End of the Cadillac Desert: Megadrought in the Southwest
As we publish, scientists are announcing that the last dozen years are the driest in more than a millennium. With the desert's cities ever more dependent on water from the Colorado River, how will southwestern society meet t…
Feb. 1, 2022
S1E3: The Life, Death, and Rebirth of Cima Dome
Cima Dome was supposed to be a place where Joshua trees were most likely to survive climate change. A climate-accentuated wildfire hit there anyway. In this episode, Chris relates how much the Cima Dome Joshua tree forest me…