Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
As the U.S. swings a budgetary axe at the federal government, one of the biggest casualties is climate science. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) faces a brutal 20% workforce reduction—jeopardizing critical research just when we need it most. So, what’s really at stake? And is Donald Trump Making America Dumb Again?
This week on Cleaning Up, host Bryony Worthington takes us deep inside the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where scientists are on the front lines of tracking our planet’s most urgent environmental challenges.
Meet Ralph Keeling, the scientist carrying forward his father’s legendary legacy—the Keeling Curve, the definitive record of our atmosphere’s rising carbon dioxide levels. His decades of meticulous measurements lay bare the stark truth about climate change and why these long-term observations are more vital now than ever.
And that’s not all. We also sit down with Professor Ray Weiss, the atmospheric detective who played a key role in saving the ozone layer. His work helped drive the Montreal Protocol—one of humanity’s greatest environmental victories.
With climate science under attack, what lessons can we learn from past successes? And what happens if we stop listening to the data?
Leadership Circle
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Links:
Scripps Institution of Oceanography: https://scripps.ucsd.edu/
The Keeling Curve: https://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/
The Keeling Curve Foundation: keelingcurve.org
AGAGE (The Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment): www-air.larc.nasa.gov/missions/agage
History of the Montreal Protocal: unep.org/ozonaction/who-we-are/about-montreal-protocol
Chapters
00:00 - Intro
03:21 - Who is Ralph Keeling?
05:17 - Establishing the Keeling Curve
09:30 - The Mauna Loa Station
15:18 - Parts Per Million in 2025
18:40 - Why Measure Oxygen
21:13 - Trees As A Carbon Sink
25:45 - How to Measure Oxygen
29:30 - How Do We Plateau CO2?
32:30 - Do We Need to Intervene?
36:00 - The Importance of Climate Data
42:20 - Introducing Ray Weiss
43:13 - Nitrous Oxide as Ozone Deleter
47:30 - Finding the Ozone Hole
50:45 - Policing the Montreal Protocol
55:00 - Fixing Chinese CFC Emissions
58:00 - Why the US Took The Lead
01:02:47 - Outro
As the U.S. swings a budgetary axe at the federal government, one of the biggest casualties is climate science. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) faces a brutal 20% workforce reduction—jeopardizing critical research just when we need it most. So, what’s really at stake? And is Donald Trump Making America Dumb Again?
This week on Cleaning Up, host Bryony Worthington takes us deep inside the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where scientists are on the front lines of tracking our planet’s most urgent environmental challenges.
Meet Ralph Keeling, the scientist carrying forward his father’s legendary legacy—the Keeling Curve, the definitive record of our atmosphere’s rising carbon dioxide levels. His decades of meticulous measurements lay bare the stark truth about climate change and why these long-term observations are more vital now than ever.
And that’s not all. We also sit down with Professor Ray Weiss, the atmospheric detective who played a key role in saving the ozone layer. His work helped drive the Montreal Protocol—one of humanity’s greatest environmental victories.
With climate science under attack, what lessons can we learn from past successes? And what happens if we stop listening to the data?
Leadership Circle
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Links:
Scripps Institution of Oceanography: https://scripps.ucsd.edu/
The Keeling Curve: https://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/
The Keeling Curve Foundation: keelingcurve.org
AGAGE (The Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment): www-air.larc.nasa.gov/missions/agage
History of the Montreal Protocal: unep.org/ozonaction/who-we-are/about-montreal-protocol
Chapters
00:00 - Intro
03:21 - Who is Ralph Keeling?
05:17 - Establishing the Keeling Curve
09:30 - The Mauna Loa Station
15:18 - Parts Per Million in 2025
18:40 - Why Measure Oxygen
21:13 - Trees As A Carbon Sink
25:45 - How to Measure Oxygen
29:30 - How Do We Plateau CO2?
32:30 - Do We Need to Intervene?
36:00 - The Importance of Climate Data
42:20 - Introducing Ray Weiss
43:13 - Nitrous Oxide as Ozone Deleter
47:30 - Finding the Ozone Hole
50:45 - Policing the Montreal Protocol
55:00 - Fixing Chinese CFC Emissions
58:00 - Why the US Took The Lead
01:02:47 - Outro
