The world has changed since I started writing Boiling Point five years ago. There are more solar farms, fewer coal plants and more movies about climate change. We spend a lot more time thinking about artificial intelligence.In other ways, not much is different. After a four-year hiatus, climate denier Donald Trump will soon be president again. Temperatures are still breaking records. California is still many years away from finishing its bullet train.I’ve reported on all these topics. Now I’m also hosting a podcast about them.NewsletterYou’re reading Boiling Point Sammy Roth gets you up to speed on climate change, energy and the environment. Sign up to get it in your inbox twice a week. Enter email address You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Today, the Los Angeles Times is launching Boiling Point, a podcast about climate change and the environment in California and the American West. Yes, that’s the same name as this newsletter. I hope you’ll subscribe and listen.The first episode is available today; it’s about the future of Los Angeles in an era of worsening wildfires, and how the millions of people who live here can learn to adapt as the climate crisis worsens. I talked with Kelly Sanders, a USC engineering professor and, until recently, an advisor to the Biden White House on energy policy. She made a compelling case that we can build a more resilient city and lead the world in climate-friendly energy. It won’t be easy; change never is. But L.A. can’t look the same as it did before the ongoing infernos, she said.“We’re a very reactive society,” she said. “Every decision that we make from here on forward has to be proactive.”New episodes of Boiling Point drop every Thursday. Please tell us what you think!As always, here’s what else is happening around the West:Homes smolder to ashes during the Eaton fire in Altadena on Jan. 8.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Angelenos will spend years processing and recovering from this month’s fires. Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked the Legislature to approve $2.5 billion for disaster response, including $1.5 billion to prepare for future blazes and other weather extremes, The Times’ Taryn Luna and Andrea Castillo write. Some lawmakers have talked about reviving a proposal to require oil companies to help pay the costs of climate-fueled disasters; the industry successfully lobbied to kill a previous version of the bill, per the Guardian’s Tom Perkins.Meanwhile, a Times analysis found that California officials “have repeatedly declined to fund wildfire prevention efforts in communities devastated by the Palisades fire.” Here’s the story from my colleague Connor Sheets.It’s possible electric utilities could be found liable for some wildfire costs. In the months leading up to the Eaton fire, state officials criticized Southern California Edison over its inspections of electric lines in high-fire-risk areas, The Times’ M
Ven. Gen 17th, 2025
