Can Politicians Afford to Ignore Climate Change?

Coming up on today’s show:

• Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the United States, gives us the details on the damage from Hurricane Irma on the island of Barbuda, which has been totally decimated. Dr. Eugene “Doc” Petersen, a native of St. Croix of the U.S. Virgin Islands, a radio host, singer, guitarist, percussionist, and retired veterinarian, explains how his community is coping.

• It’s wildfire season, and for the past month or so, more than two dozen wildfires have been burning across several states in the American West. These intense fires threaten watersheds in the forests and ultimately drinking water for millions of people out West. Here to explain is Tom Martin, president and CEO of the American Forest Foundation.

• Two weeks after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Houston, Texas, the city’s refineries and plants released more than 4 million pounds of airborne admissions. Luke Metzger, the director of Environment Texas, an environmental advocacy group, says this raises a number of concerns. 

• The Retro Report documentary team returns this week with a look at the evolving fight over women’s bodies, from breaking sexual taboos in the ’70s to the hit series “The Handmaid’s Tale” today. Bonnie Bertram, a producer for Retro Report, weighs in.

• The Marshall Project takes us to Craighead County, Arkansas, where a private probation company called The Justice Network has had an exclusive deal with the county to manage and enforce its probationary needs for two decades. Andrew Cohen, senior editor for The Marshall Project, says there are perverse incentives that keep these companies in business.

• In Florida, the state with the most to lose from rising sea levels, the realities of climate change often don’t match up with how the state’s Republican leadership treats the issue.  Mayor Tomás Regalado, a Republican who has been mayor of Miami since 2009, discusses how climate change is addressed in the state. 

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.