About Green and Bold: Conversations from the CSU Spur Climate Hub
Green and Bold: Conversations from the CSU Spur Climate Hub podcast series will arm listeners with reliable climate knowledge and inspiration by featuring some of the most innovative climate champions in the U.S. Mountain West, from academia, industry and the public sector – all actively moving the needle in climate. Our conversations are science-based, non-partisan, hopeful, and timely. We focus on positive change in the region, and the people behind the change. Through punchy, bi-weekly conversations, we explore climate change through the lens of solutions and meaningful action.
How engineering plants could speed up carbon dioxide removal with Dr. Rich Conant
Carbon dioxide can linger in the atmosphere for thousands of years, which is why scientists are exploring ways to remove it directly, including through the plants growing all around us. In this episode of Green and Bold, Dr. Rich Conant, Department Head and Professor in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability at Colorado State University, explains his research into engineering plants to produce carbon compounds that resist decomposition and stay locked in the soil. He also discusses how close this technology is to real-world deployment and its advantages over other carbon removal approaches.
Rich Conant's Profile at Colorado State University (https://www.nrel.colostate.edu/investigator/richard-conant-homepage/)
The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal Report: https://www.stateofcdr.org/ (https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stateofcdr.org%2F&data=05%7C02%7CKevin.Samuelson%40colostate.edu%7C974a0682f97e4ac3b5e308df312f18c9%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C639283750611359001%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=oV%2FCJisSLTWj2no7PXUrQj8FNN7rwX9uvVFl%2FISz07k%3D&reserved=0)
13 Oct 2026
Could removing methane from the atmosphere be a faster way to slow global warming with Dr. Megan L. Melamed
This episode of Green and Bold explores an emerging climate frontier: pulling methane, a greenhouse gas responsible for 30% of global warming, straight out of the atmosphere. Guest Dr. Megan L. Melamed, Program Director for Methane Removal at Spark Climate Solutions, walks through the four leading removal approaches, how close any of them are to real-world deployment, and the biggest scientific and technical hurdles still standing in the way.
NASEM Report on Methane Removal (https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalacademies.org%2Fprojects%2FDELS-BASCPR-22-08&data=05%7C02%7CKevin.Samuelson%40colostate.edu%7C16539c31887f4900408708df258443ac%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C639270922152200819%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=jvgs2zZvRWdzMDXpwszCckya4uExMy1CRhaMgiIVq1k%3D&reserved=0)
Spark Climate Solution's Website (https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sparkclimate.org%2F&data=05%7C02%7CKevin.Samuelson%40colostate.edu%7C16539c31887f4900408708df258443ac%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C639270922152232168%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=dy%2FyvmvW9h9i92ZKaiDLMB%2BbLBJ0SF6Msu54lYzD2WY%3D&reserved=0) & the Methane Removal Program's Page (https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sparkclimate.org%2Fmethane-removal%2Fhome&data=05%7C02%7CKevin.Samuelson%40colostate.edu%7C16539c31887f4900408708df258443ac%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C639270922152256340%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=5uZyKRMGWD%2FRD1EXDqJetFUj5Uttu15%2FZ5beM0m6Nmw%3D&reserved=0)
Megan L. Melamed's Profile at Spark Climate Solutions (https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sparkclimate.org%2Four-team-members%2Fmegan-melamed&data=05%7C02%7CKevin.Samuelson%40colostate.edu%7C16539c31887f4900408708df258443ac%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C639270922152280528%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=FnETYMqJnPmgdZZro7LMhnRYVmaMknAB%2B1K3j1m57sM%3D&reserved=0)
Megan L. Melamed's LinkedIn (https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fmeganmelamed%2F&data=05%7C02%7CKevin.Samuelson%40colostate.edu%7C16539c31887f4900408708df258443ac%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C639270922152305169%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=EG%2BmG5AQGYY%2FuPbuT%2FghfaKI6i1fzh2Ec9x0qmBIEwU%3D&reserved=0)
29 Sept 2026
How an ambitious engineering project in Antarctica could prevent the worst effects of sea-level rise with Dr. Brent Minchew
This episode of Green and Bold heads to Antarctica, where the potential collapse of the Thwaites, or "Doomsday," glacier could raise sea levels by six feet or more and displace hundreds of millions of people. Guest Dr. Brent Minchew, Professor of Geophysics at Caltech and co-founder of the Arête Glacier Initiative, explains the science behind stabilizing ice sheets, the barriers and criticisms facing this emerging field, and the thorny questions of who would decide to deploy such a technology and who would pay for it.
Brent Minchew's work at Caltech (https://ese.caltech.edu/people/brent-minchew)
Arête Glacier Initiative (https://www.areteglaciers.org/)
15 Sept 2026
Why understanding solar radiation modification is so important right now with Dr. Lisa Dilling
Dr. Lisa Dilling, Associate Chief Scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, joins Green and Bold to discuss stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), a type of solar radiation modification that involves adding reflective particles to the stratosphere to cool the planet. They cover what we can learn from natural parallels like volcanic eruptions, the biggest research gaps around SAI's local impacts, and the key risks and questions that need answers before deployment.
Studying the impacts of Solar Radiation Modification (https://www.edf.org/studying-impacts-solar-radiation-modification)
1 Sept 2026
Climate Intervention and why we need more research with CSU Professor Dr. Jim Hurrell
In this opening episode, CSU Climate Hub Director Veera Mitzner talks with Dr. Jim Hurrell, Scott Presidential Chair of Environmental Science and Engineering at Colorado State University and former director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, about the changing attitudes of the atmospheric science community towards climate intervention, also known as geoengineering. They also discuss why research on these technologies is increasingly important, what some of the most critical challenges are, and why we shouldn’t consider implementation before making more progress on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
National Academies Report: Reflecting Sunlight: Recommendations for Solar Geoengineering Research and Research Governance (https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/DELS-BASCPR-18-04/publication/25762)
27 Aug 2026
Introducing Green and Bold: Conversations with the CSU Climate Hub at Spur
Green and Bold is the new podcast of Colorado State University's Climate Hub, featuring some of the most innovative scientists and leaders driving climate solutions. At a time when climate action is often portrayed as losing momentum, Green and Bold tells a different story. We spotlight a growing community of people who are working every day to advance evidence-based pathways toward a more climate-resilient future.
Season one dives into the cutting edge of climate intervention, often called geoengineering. We ask leading experts the hard questions: What do we know about these technologies and pathways and their ability to save us from the most devastating impacts of climate change? Could they distract us from the urgent efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or has the time to invest in them arrived? And what research still needs to happen before we can trust the answers?
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
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