Ladd Keith, Ph.D.

Tag: America Adapts

America Adapts Podcast: Record-Breaking Heatwaves and More
I joined Doug Parsons on the latest America Adapts Podcast episode to discuss the record-breaking Southwest and Pacific Northwest/Western Canada heatwaves in June 2021, as well as thermal equity, why we shouldn’t shame indoor cooling, considerations in the naming and ranking heatwaves discussion, how we can improve media coverage of extreme heat events, my new Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard for Heat (PIRSH) research project, and the latest developments in how cities are planning for heat resilience.

Listen at: Extreme Heat in the News, Naming Heat Waves, Thermal Equity and more with Dr. Ladd Keith

Heat-related resources I mentioned in the episode:
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Heat Island Effect Program
- U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Extreme Heat
- U.S. National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS)
- U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) RISA (Regional Integrated Science and Assessments) Program
July 6, 2021
America Adapts Podcast: 2020 Climate Year in Review

Check out the latest America Adapts podcast 2020 climate year in review episode, where I join Doug Parsons and guest Dakota Larrick, archeology graduate student at the University of Oklahoma! We discuss our top climate stories, favorite episodes, and what’s next for adaptation in 2021.

Listen to the episode on the America Adapts website, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

December 30, 2020
America Adapts Podcast Episode on Extreme Heat
I’m very excited to share that I was a guest on the America Adapts podcast for its first episode focused on extreme heat! America Adapts is a podcast hosted by my colleague and friend, Doug Parsons, with over a hundred episodes exploring climate change, its impacts, and our responses with scientists, activists, policymakers, and climate communicators.

In the extreme heat episode, we discuss the contributors to extreme heat including climate change and the urban heat island effect; the impacts of extreme heat on public health, the economy, urban ecology and more; some strategies that cities are using to increase their resilience to increasing extreme heat risk; and more broadly how urban planning is addressing climate change as a discipline. We only had time to scratch the surface of all that is going on in research and practice for extreme heat, but my hope is that the episode serves as a good introduction for those interested in the topic.

Listen here: Fundamentals of Extreme Heat and Climate Change with Dr. Ladd Keith of University of Arizona

Doug and I recording the podcast episode in my office on campus.

Extreme Heat Resources

Below are several of the resources I mentioned throughout the podcast episode.

Extreme Heat Reports
- Urban Land Institute’s Scorched: Extreme Heat & Real Estate
- Union of Concerned Scientists’ Killer Heat in the United States
- Red Cross Red Crescent’s Heatwave Guide for Cities
Initiatives and Networks
- Extreme Heat Network
- National Integrated Heat Health Information System
- Global Heat Health Information Network
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Heat Island Effect portal
U.S. Climate Change Information
- 4th National Climate Assessment – national and regional climate change projections and impacts
- Climate Explorer – climate graphs, maps, and data for every county in the U.S.
January 12, 2020
SXSW 2020 Panel – Storytelling for Climate Action

I’m excited to propose an SXSW 2020 panel on storytelling for climate action with Doug Parsons, host of the America Adapts podcast, and Amy Brady, Ph.D., editor, writer and cli-fi expert:

Given the urgency of the climate crisis, we must consider multiple ways of communicating climate change so that people of all backgrounds can find ways into the global conversation. Hear from experts in science, culture and communication about how they successfully reach vastly different audiences. Discover how panelists give narrative shape to the climate crisis to reach decision-makers in cities of different sizes and political leanings, different consumers of cli-fi (climate fiction) novels and films, from activists to literature fans to scientists, and listeners of climate adaptation stories across the podcast medium. Learn how these climate crisis narratives meet and differ, how to navigate hope v despair through storytelling, and how to be a more effective climate communicator.

There’s a public voting component to the selection process, so if you have a minute please create a quick account and vote for our panel by August 23, 2019. Thanks!

August 9, 2019
America Adapts: End-of-the-Year Holiday Special

Recording the America Adapts holiday special episode.

I joined Doug Parsons, the America Adapts host and Shaun Martin, Senior Director, Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience at WWF, for the third annual holiday special episode! We discussed our top climate stories, favorite America Adapts episode, and the state of climate adaptation in 2018.

Listen to the episode on the America Adapts website, Spotify, or iTunes.

December 15, 2018