HP Radio: Forty Years of Warnings: Science, Truth, and the Real Climate Crisis Today

PLEASE SHARE & LISTEN HERE AT ANY TIME: healthyplanetusa.org/radio/forty-years-of-warnings-climate-crisis/
OR TUNE IN LIVE AT 6PM 7/10/26 ON WUSB, 90.1FM
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Join HealthyPlanet’s Bob DiBenedetto for an exploration into what happens when the world’s leading scientists hand humanity a roadmap of its own future, and we choose to ignore it.
In this episode of The Healthy Planet, we look at the intersection of scientific truth and manufactured doubt. We open the vault to 1985 to listen to legendary astrophysicist Dr. Carl Sagan’s prophetic testimony before Congress. Decades ago, Sagan laid out the precise timeline and real-world impacts of the greenhouse effect that we are experiencing in real time today—from rising sea levels to extreme, record-breaking summer heat waves.
Then, we fast-forward to the present day with Dr. Naomi Oreskes, Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. Oreskes pulls back the curtain on why it took forty years for the public to catch up to the science, exposing the deliberate campaign by the fossil fuel industry to paralyze public policy by manufacturing systemic distrust.
Finally, we bring the global conversation right home to Long Island. Climate change is no longer a future projection—it is a line item on your monthly bills. We break down the real-world “market failures” of climate disruption, from heating and cooling bills to skyrocketing homeowners’ insurance premiums (by up to 30%) as major insurers pull back from vulnerable coastlines.
(SEE BELOW FOR USEFUL “RELATED LINKS AND RESOURCES”)
It’s up to us to determine how we will contribute to improving our society and planet for future generations. Listen in to be informed and to become part of the solution!
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RELATED LINKS AND RESOURCES:
• Congressional Record: Dr. Carl Sagan's Full 1985 Testimony Before Congress
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp-WiNXH6hI
• World Meteorological Organization: Warmest Years on Record
wmo.int/news/media-centre/wmo-confirms-2025-was-one-of-warmest-years-record
• American Psychological Association: How and why does misinformation spread?
www.apa.org/topics/journalism-facts/how-why-misinformation-spreads
• Speaking of Psychology: Stopping the spread of misinformation, with Sander van der Linden, PhD
www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/stopping-spread-misinformation
• Climate Change Won't End the World. This Could.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4pSD1D1JMo
• How climate change is driving Arizona's Pocket Fire and other blazes
www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2026/07/03/arizona-expert-points-to-climate-change-for-fueling-wildfires/90790406007/
• The Thwaites 'Doomsday' Glacier's Ice Shelf is About to Break Away
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz-AKBbxAR8
• Why Long Island Home Insurance Rates Keep Going Up in 2026
vanderbeckagency.com/blog/why-long-island-home-insurance-rates-keep-going-up/
• WEF Global Risks Report 2026
www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2026/digest/
• Misinformation and distrust in science - with Naomi Oreskes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbTHJWev0nQ&t=1013s
• Support HealthyPlanet's Work with a Tax-Deductible Contribution
www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=X48P44YX7TVLW
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LISTEN HERE AND SHARE AT ANY TIME:
healthyplanetusa.org/radio/forty-years-of-warnings-climate-crisis/
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NEXT SHOW Friday, 8/14/26 at 6pm on WUSB, 90.1 FM.