Climate One
Climate One
Climate One from The Commonwealth Club
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Won't Stop Talking About Climate
1 hour 3 minutes Posted Sep 25, 2026 at 7:04 am.
– Introduction
– Sen. Whitehouse on his “Time to Wake Up” speeches
– Influence of the Citizens United decision on bipartisan climate action
– Progress on permitting reform bill
– Climate hushing and its impact on the midtems
– People want to hear more about climate change
– Off-shore wind projects getting on the grid in Rhode Island
– Sen. Whitehouse on data centers and their impacts
– What’s possible if Democrats win big at midterms
– Jamie Beard gives update on the state of the geothermal energy industry
– The odd and complicated politics of Trump administration supporting geothermal
– Potential impact of Geothermal Energy Advancement Act
– Geothermal’s bigger price is heat, not electricity
– Climate One More Thing
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Show notes
How should Democrats campaign on climate? Some are quietly shelving climate-specific language ahead of the midterms in favor of terms like “energy crisis” and “affordability.”  But Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island has been talking about climate change on the Senate floor for more than a decade, and he has no plans to stop now. 
“The most important thing that can be accomplished on the climate front is to end the pollute-for-free business model of the fossil fuel industry. It is morally wrong, it is economically wrong, it is an environmental sin, and there's literally no merit to it, which is why the fossil fuel industry has to prop it up with all this dark money and lies,” he says.
Plus, geothermal energy is having a moment – getting interest from data center developers and support from the Trump administration at a time when other renewable energy sources are getting the ax. What should we expect from the industry in the next five years?
Guests:
Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator (D-RI)
Jamie Beard, Founder and Executive Director, Project Innerspace
Highlights:
For transcripts, show notes, and related links, visit our episode page.
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Join Climate One for a town hall event on September 28 at 6 p.m. on navigating AI, climate, and the future of democracy. How do we ensure that AI and data centers serve the public good? How does a democracy function when AI is distorting our sense of shared truths? Tickets available at climateone.org/events 
Also: We’ll be having an electric conversation on October 14 at 6 p.m. between PG&E CEO Patti Poppe and California State Senator Scott Wiener about energy affordability, outages, and whether cities like San Francisco are ready to break up with the investor-owned utility model. Tickets available at climateone.org/events 
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