In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Kyle Meng, an associate professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Meng discusses California’s ongoing economic transition away from oil production and refining, the need for policies that reduce oil production and consumption across the state over the next couple decades, and the challenges involved in making related legislative progress. Meng describes the role of fossil fuels in local economies across counties in California and the importance of ensuring that those communities can participate, engage, and derive benefits in the transition to a new low-carbon economy. The conversation covers these types of questions: What will new policies mean for regions that depend on oil production and refining to support local economies? How might new policies be designed to benefit communities that experience disproportionate harm from oil and gas pollution?

References and recommendations:

“Enhancing equity while eliminating emissions in California’s supply of transportation fuels” by Olivier Deschenes, Ranjit Deshmukh, David Lea, Kyle Meng, Paige Weber, Tyler Cobian, Danae Hernandez Cortes, Ruiwen Lee, Christopher Malloy, Tracey Mangin, Measrainsey Meng, Madeline Oliver, Sandy Sum, Vincent Thivierge, Anagha Uppal, Tia Kordell, Michaela Clemence, Erin O’Reilly, and Amanda Kelley; https://zenodo.org/record/4707966#.YYq8J2DMLir

“Calvin and Hobbes” books; https://publishing.andrewsmcmeel.com/book/calvin-and-hobbes/

“The Years of Lyndon Johnson” by Robert Caro; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/YLJ/the-years-of-lyndon-johnson