The Summer Olympic Games are here! That means more than 300 events, ten thousand athletes and millions of spectatorscoming to watch. And the athletes are not the only ones with an Olympian task. The organizers of the Paris Games pledged to make their event emit only half of the carbon pollution of the 2012 London Games. 

“As an independent researcher my job is not to make people happy, but to tell them some things that are uncomfortable sometimes,” says Martin Müller, Professor of Geography and Sustainability at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. The uncomfortable people in question are the members of the International Olympic Committee, whose offices are ten minutes down the road from Müller’s office. 

“The Summer Olympics will be anywhere between 1.5 and 4.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent. That's roughly the equivalent of a relatively large city, such as Madrid.for a year,” says Müller. The largest share of those emissions come from spectators flying in. Paris’ central location at a hub of European rail networks may make it easier this year for the crowds to avoid flying. Another factor working in Paris’ favor is the fact that they have been building out mass transit for decades. The region is in the process of building 68 new subway stations in the city and the suburbs. Most won’t be open in time for the Olympics, but a new extension from Orly Airport into the city opened in June.

The second biggest source of emissions typically comes from construction. In the past, the Olympics have been synonymous with huge infrastructure projects and iconic structures like Beijing’s Birds’ Nest Stadium. For the Paris Games, the organizers decided to take a different approach. They renovated a number of existing venues and installed a lot of temporary structures that can be used elsewhere in the future. Author and journalist Henry Grabar says, “That might not sound like rocket science, but it previously has been an approach that the International Olympic Committee has not smiled upon.” 

The big project, the Olympic Village, was built with a passive cooling system rather than traditional air conditioning, which consumes much more energy. The passive cooling system will probably be just fine for the local residents who will move into the apartments after the Olympics are gone; most Paris apartments have no cooling system at all. But no one really knows how the new system will perform in a heat wave. That has many teams worried, to the point where they have brought in their own air conditioning units. Henry Grabar says he hears athletes saying, “This is the biggest moment of my life, and so I need the room to be the exact temperature that I want it to be so I can get the perfect night's sleep before I have to go out there and literally be the best in the world at the thing I'm trying to do.” 

Martin Müller suggests that it would be better if the Olympics had no audience – or at least, a much smaller, local one – in order to prevent most of the carbon pollution that comes from travel. But for athletes, the roar of the crowd can improve their performance.  

“Athletes will not perform at the same level in an empty stadium as they would in a completely full Olympic stadium,” says Oluseyi Smith, a two-time Olympian. “But if it's a necessary trade off to ensure that the sport survives for the next 50, 60 years, I would say I'd like to think most athletes would be okay with that.” Smith is now a renewable energy engineer and Founder of Racing to Zero, a consulting group that focuses on environmental sustainability in sports. 

In Beijing, the changes made for the 2008 Olympics had surprising environmental benefits that continue to this day. 

“Prior to 2008, the air quality situation was pretty dire. Most days had exceeded what the Beijing government had identified as being a blue sky day,” says Angel Hsu, founder and director of the Data-Driven EnviroLab and teacher of public policy and the environment at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. In preparation for the 2008 games Beijing expanded their mass transit, enacted rules that limited how many cars were allowed on the road, tackled heavy industry by shutting down a number of polluting factories, and tried to increase the use of renewable energy. At first, most of those initiatives were meant to be temporary. But once the people got a taste of clean air, the government made them permanent. Hsu says, “I was just in Beijing this past January and I mean, the skies are blue.”

This week on Folk Alley, join Elena See as we remember the great Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Happy Traum, and Tom Prasada-Rao; plus, hear new music from Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Watchhouse frontman, Andrew Marlin, The Decemberists, and live Billy Strings. There's more favorites from Della Mae, Tim O'Brien, and Anais Mitchell, and we'll share some exciting news about Bonnie Raitt and The Grateful Dead too.

In hour two, enjoy more new music from Johnny Blue Skies (aka Sturgill Simpson), Melissa Carper, Josh Morningstar, Rose Couusins, The Fretless, and AJ Lee & Blue Summit; an interview excerpt from the latest Basic Folk podcast episode featuring Peggy Seeger in conversation with Dawn Landes; plus favorites from Cindy Cashdollar (feat. Herb Remington), Hayes Carll, David Francey, Viv & Riley, and more.

New Orleans, Louisiana is home to some of America's greatest musical traditions, and plays an outsized influence on the evolution of everything from jazz through to r&b, rock and funk. Today, the city is still legendary for its second line brass bands and brightly costumed Mardi Gras Indians. But if you've rolled through New Orleans on pretty much any night in the last 30 years, you've probably heard another sound—the clattering, booming, hip-shaking, chant-heavy roll of bounce, a form of hip-hop music, dance and culture unique to the Crescent City. Pulling from the national mainstream but remaking it the way that only New Orleans can, bounce has become a sonic touchstone for an entire generation of residents. For this Hip Deep edition, Afropop digs into the close-knit scene, talking to dancers, producers, MCs, and managers from over 30 years of bounce, all to explore the beat that drives New Orleans—and to find out what it means to the people who bring it to life. Produced by Sam Backer and Jessi Olsen.

SHOW 1022 (Air Dates: July 29 - Aug 4, 2024) Our guests this week on Art of the Song are Rosanne Cash, and her husband/collaborator John Leventhal. The eldest daughter of country music icon, Johnny Cash, Rosanne has had an illustrious career of her own, with 21 top 40 country hits including 11 number ones. We spoke with Rosanne and John about her album, The River and the Thread, a historic landscape of the American South.

This month on Climate Connections:

Air Date -Title:

Mon., 7/8-Low-income residents buy into solar project at Minneapolis school: A solar garden at North High School provides electricity to the school, the city, and residential subscribers.  

Tue., 7/9-Seattle summers are no longer reliably mild: Many locals don’t have AC, so heat waves can be deadly. 

Wed., 7/10-Eelgrass makes a comeback along the Virginia coast: These spindly plants provide vital habitat for marine life, reduce coastal erosion, and absorb carbon pollution.                                                              

Thu., 7/11-San Diego neighborhood wins protections from new industrial development: Residents of Barrio Logan have been fighting for cleaner air for decades.

Fri., 7/12-Got climate anxiety? Taking action can be the right medicine. “Being part of the solution is psychologically empowering,” says therapist Leslie Davenport.   

Mon., 7/15-The climate benefits of mangroves: Their roots and branches help break up waves and reduce flooding in coastal communities.

Tue., 7/16-Beavers can help reduce damage caused by wildfires: The animals create wetlands that can reduce drying and burning.     

Wed., 7/17-The promise and potential pitfalls of locking carbon in soil: Farmers can help store planet-warming pollution in the ground. But some measures of the benefits may provide misleading results, a researcher says.

Thu., 7/18-From flood zones to green zones: In Charlotte, North Carolina, flood-prone apartments were converted into a wetland habitat that now helps protect the community from flooding.

Fri., 7/19-How camping skills can help prepare you for weather disasters: Many skills used while camping can help you stay safe during emergencies.     

Mon., 7/22-Researchers test whether peanuts and cotton could grow in a warmer Midwest: The crops have historically grown farther South.

Tue., 7/23-Tucson, Arizona, bets on buses: With free rides and bus stop improvements, the city hopes to turn out more ridership and reduce traffic pollution.

Wed., 7/24-Bridge helps Alaska town cope with climate change: During winter, residents used to leave town by driving their snowmobiles or ATVs across a frozen lake. But warming temperatures left the lake ice less dependable.

Thu., 7/25-Upstate New York development features fossil-fuel-free homes: Ultra-efficient houses in the Catskill Project are powered by solar panels.

Fri., 7/26-How to protect your pets during a heat wave: On hot days, keep dogs and cats in cooler areas with air conditioning or shade — and watch them for signs of distress.    

Mon., 7/29-Your medications may increase your risk of heat-related illnesses: Certain meds can cause dehydration or impede the body’s ability to sweat.         

Tue., 7/30-An Alaskan community’s slow and costly move to higher ground: Melting permafrost and extreme erosion are forcing Newtok residents to relocate. It’s a long, difficult process.

Wed., 7/31-Long-term whitebark pine restoration project aims to save the trees for future generations: The Western species has been hard-hit by wildfires, mountain pine beetles, and blister rust. 

Thu., 8/1-Advances in oil and gas drilling technology could boost geothermal energy: The same tech used in the oil and gas shale boom could help reduce the cost of drilling for clean, renewable geothermal.    

Fri., 8/2 -Why you need a go bag: And a few things that should go in it.