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We need solutions to climate change, but who’s going to help pay for them?
Sep 17, 2019
Episode 131

We need solutions to climate change, but who’s going to help pay for them?

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Molly's back from weeks of reporting on Silicon Valley and climate change.

If or when climate changes raises sea levels, a bunch of big tech companies will be right in the path of some serious flooding.

Molly Wood has been exploring Big Tech’s relationship with climate change this week on Marketplace Tech, as part of its series “How We Survive.” There’s a lot of money flying around the Silicon Valley — which, again is a literal valley that can flood. So why aren’t many VCs backing companies dedicated to fighting or adapting climate change? Tech giants in water’s path like Google, Apple and Facebook are seemingly unafraid to take on huge challenges. So why are they relatively quiet about this?

This map shows the potential affect of sea level rise on Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California. More information here. Dana Amihere and Tony Wagner/Marketplace

This week we talk about these questions and put some of them to Danny Kennedy. He runs New Energy Nexus, a nonprofit startup incubator for clean energy entrepreneurs that operates in California and also China, Southeast Asia and East Africa. We’ll hear some of Wood’s interview with Kennedy, along with Marketplace’s sustainability reporter Scott Tong, who answers the Make Me Smart question.

Listen to more of “How We Survive” all week on Marketplace Tech, and don’t forget to subscribe to the Make Me Smart newsletter! Here’s a link to the latest issue.

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The team

Tony Wagner Digital Producer