The $300M Lawsuit That Could Crush Dissent

The $300M Lawsuit That Could Crush Dissent

Author: Climate One from The Commonwealth Club February 28, 2025 Duration: 59:55
Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, is suing Greenpeace for $300 million. The pipeline company accuses Greenpeace of criminal behavior — trespassing, vandalism, and assault of construction workers — and inciting riotous behavior by protesters at Standing Rock in 2016. Greenpeace considers this legal action to be a “SLAPP suit” — a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation — aimed at silencing not just Greenpeace, but civil protests everywhere. The trial is just getting underway in Morton County, North Dakota. In this episode we unpack not just this case, but the broader implications of such suits. Guests:  Rolf Skar, National Campaigns Director, Greenpeace Montgomery Brown, Member, Standing Rock Grassroots Laura Prather, Chair of First Amendment Practice, Haynes Boone On March 24, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt and Irina Raicu, Director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center, will speak with Climate One about the development of sustainably powered artificial intelligence. Tickets are on sale through our website. Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The conversation about our changing planet is often reduced to headlines and political noise, but Climate One moves beyond that. Hosted by Greg Dalton, Ariana Brocious and Kousha Navidar, this podcast from The Commonwealth Club creates a space for the full, complex dialogue we need. Each episode features candid discussions with scientists, policymakers, activists, and thinkers who are on the front lines. The focus is on drawing connections-between personal action and economic systems, between daunting scientific reports and tangible community solutions. You’ll hear analysis that doesn’t shy away from the severity of our situation while actively exploring pathways for genuine progress, from technology and finance to culture and justice. This isn't about alarmism or easy answers; it's about equipping listeners with a deeper understanding of the intertwined challenges and opportunities. Tuning into this podcast means joining a crucial exploration of how we adapt, mitigate, and fundamentally rethink our relationship with the natural world. The dialogue here is built on the idea that confronting the climate emergency honestly, in all its facets, is the first necessary step toward shaping a livable future.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Climate One
Podcast Episodes
ENCORE: Solar Power to the People [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:06
At this moment, the cheapest way to create electricity is by pointing a solar panel at the sun. That’s good news for the climate. It’s also good news for communities who want to take control of their own electricity gene…
This Year in Climate: 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:22
2025 has been a doozy in so many ways. And climate news has been no exception. Climate One hosts Ariana Brocious and Kousha Navidar look back at what the year has meant for climate progress: the good, the bad, the ugly —…
Jonathan Foley: 2025 Schneider Award Winner [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:16
Project Drawdown is the world’s leading science-based guide to climate solutions. According to Jonathan Foley, Project Drawdown’s Executive Director, they aim to be the Consumer Reports for climate change. “We synthesize…
Faith in Climate Progress [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:35
It’s been ten years since Pope Francis issued his landmark encyclical on climate and caring for our common home, Laudato Si’. With the election of the new Pope Leo XIV, many are hopeful he will follow in Francis' path. T…
ENCORE: Small Dollar, Big Impact [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:01
The climate doesn’t care where emissions cuts come from; what matters is that the world transitions to renewable energy quickly and cheaply. If it’s significantly cheaper to install solar panels in India than on a roofto…
Joe Manchin: Coal, Climate, and ‘Common Sense’ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:21
Joe Manchin grew up in the coal fields of West Virginia, the grandson of a miner and the son of a small-town grocer. His worldview was shaped by a place where energy isn’t an abstract policy debate; it’s the identity of…
Reports from COP30: Climate Talks in the Amazon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:22
The UN climate convention known as COP30 is now underway in Brazil. As the nations of the world gather to discuss their efforts to rein in climate disruption, the facts are clear: we’re not doing enough, fast enough, to…
Environmental Peacebuilders Working in the Midst of War [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:06
Fossil-fueled climate disruption is driving political instability around the world. The relationship between climate disasters and conflict are well-established — and also complicated. Even in war-torn regions like Israe…
When Climate Work Comes at a Cost: Dispatches From the Upside Down [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:26
Human-caused climate change is fueling extreme floods, wildfires, rising seas, and record-breaking heat all around the world. At the same time, some of the most senior U.S. government officials and other powerful actors…