Bill McKibben -- Here Comes the Sun
Download MP3Bill McKibben is an author and activist who Ted met in 1990 after the release of Bill's New York Times best seller, The End of Nature. In that book, he raised awareness about the reality and perils of global warming, now known as climate change. Since then, Bill has written 20 books and has earned over 20 honorary doctorates from colleagues and universities. He also is a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award, considered the alternative Nobel Peace Prize, and the Gandhi Peace Prize.
The conversation begins with a discussion of his most recent book, Here Comes the Sun. Without question, emphasizes Bill, the time has come for solar to power our global society. Despite recent setbacks by the current United States presidential administration, Bill cites the remarkable rise of solar worldwide. China, for instance, has been adding solar at a rate of 3 GW a day. In 2023, solar became the cheapest and fastest-growing source of power. But in that same year, our climate was heated to record levels. We have reached 430 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere, well above the 350 limit that climate scientists warned us about. But there is more good news, even in California, despite its political leaders attempts to limit solar, natural gas use is down 40% just in the past few years.
Bill co-founded 350.org nearly 20 years ago to raise awareness about climate. Since then 350.org has organized over 20,000 rallies, protests, and other events in every country except North Korea. It continues to engage and raise alarms about catastrophic environmental degradation. He talks about SunDay and its 500 events in 2025. Recently, Bill founded Third Act, an organization group led by "elders" such as he in their Third Acts that promotes clear energy solutions and defends democracy. Just like the third act in a theater production, this is the time and chance for resolution of a number of subplots. He insists that there is still time to fully utilize the giant solar reactor in the sky, some 93 million miles away. And he notes that solar provides a great opportunity for our global civilization to unify around a mission, much like we did in the United States with the moonshot in the 1960s.
The conversation begins with a discussion of his most recent book, Here Comes the Sun. Without question, emphasizes Bill, the time has come for solar to power our global society. Despite recent setbacks by the current United States presidential administration, Bill cites the remarkable rise of solar worldwide. China, for instance, has been adding solar at a rate of 3 GW a day. In 2023, solar became the cheapest and fastest-growing source of power. But in that same year, our climate was heated to record levels. We have reached 430 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere, well above the 350 limit that climate scientists warned us about. But there is more good news, even in California, despite its political leaders attempts to limit solar, natural gas use is down 40% just in the past few years.
Bill co-founded 350.org nearly 20 years ago to raise awareness about climate. Since then 350.org has organized over 20,000 rallies, protests, and other events in every country except North Korea. It continues to engage and raise alarms about catastrophic environmental degradation. He talks about SunDay and its 500 events in 2025. Recently, Bill founded Third Act, an organization group led by "elders" such as he in their Third Acts that promotes clear energy solutions and defends democracy. Just like the third act in a theater production, this is the time and chance for resolution of a number of subplots. He insists that there is still time to fully utilize the giant solar reactor in the sky, some 93 million miles away. And he notes that solar provides a great opportunity for our global civilization to unify around a mission, much like we did in the United States with the moonshot in the 1960s.
