Monthly Speakers
Note: Click here for CCL's monthly action sheets, both current and archived. If you have a recommendation for a future monthly speaker CCL should feature, complete this form here.
Action Hour | November 2024 Monthly Meeting
Led by different CCL staffers, this hour of action will provide real-time opportunities to make a collective difference. Whether we're writing to Congress, spreading the word online, or using a number of other vehicles to make our voice heard, we'll come together and continue to make climate action a priority no matter the election outcome.Playback options and other resources
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2024 Speakers
Akshat Rathi, Bloomberg News | October 2024
Akshat Rathi is a London-based senior reporter for Bloomberg News. His first book Climate Capitalism has been named one of the best books of the year by The Times and The Economic Times. He has also edited a book of essays from young climate leaders. Previously, Akshat was a senior reporter at Quartz and a science editor at The Conversation. His work has been cited widely, including in New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and The Guardian.
Playback options and other resources
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Dan Ariely, Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics | September 2024
Our September guest will be Dr. Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight. Dan does research in behavioral economics and tries to describe it in plain language. As Dan learned about decision making and behavioral economics, he realized that this knowledge is relevant to many aspects of our lives, from financial decision making, to health, to better habits and even to a better personal life. Dan is a three-time New York Times bestselling author, and his books include Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, The Honest Truth About Dishonesty, Irrationally Yours, Payoff, Dollars and Sense and Amazing Decisions. His latest book is Misbelief.
Playback options and other resources
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Aimee Witteman, Rewiring America VP of Investment | August 2024
August's Speaker will be Aimee Witteman, Rewiring America VP of Investment. Witteman is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy, former Energy Foundation Vice President for States & Regions, former Director of U.S. States Policy at the Climate Imperative Foundation, and spent a decade at the McKnight Foundation designing and leading their climate grantmaking program aimed at decarbonizing the Midwest economy and embedding democratic participation and racial equity into the Foundation’s climate portfolio. Earlier this year, Witteman led the launch of Invest in Our Future, with $180 million in philanthropic pledges over three years, to leverage the more than $1 trillion in recently-enacted federal funds to tackle the climate crisis and make the American economy stronger, cleaner, and more equitable.
Playback options and other resources
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Ben Pendergrass, CCL's VP of Government Affairs | July 2024
Ben Pendergrass, CCL’s Vice President of Government Affairs, will celebrate our national summer conference and our 442 June 11th lobby meetings, give us a legislative update and review the impact of your June phone calls about the PROVE IT Act.
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Flannery Winchester - Live from D.C.! | June 2024
Join us live from D.C. as over a thousand CCLers converge to work together on climate solutions and meet with Congress! Flannery Winchester, CCL’s Senior Director of Communications, will host this call and will be joined by former CCLers who now work in Congress. Our old friends will talk about what life is like on “the other side” and give invaluable perspectives on CCL and lobby meetings. We’ll also give you a fly-on-the-wall experience of conference life as we walk the halls of the Omni Shoreham chatting to CCL staff and interns along the way.
Playback options and other resources
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Youth Takeover hosted by Sara Eyassu, CCL Mountain West Climate Advocacy Fellow | May 2024
Sara Eyassu is CCL's Mountain West Fellow and is currently a sophomore at the University of Southern California majoring in environmental studies as a pre-law student. Last summer, she completed a teaching fellowship with Generation Teach where she taught environmental justice to rising sixth graders. This drive encouraged climate advocacy within higher education through membership on the Student Sustainability Committee of the Presidential Working Group on Sustainability in Education, Research, and Operations. She hopes to continue learning through collaborative efforts and equitable sustainability work. Sara will lead a "Youth Takeover" showcasing the work of CCL youth on our May call.
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Ernesto Alcantar, Potential Energy Coalition | April 2024 Monthly Speakers | Citizens' Climate Lobby
As a core member of the strategy team, Ernesto leads PE’s messaging, research and strategy across several topic areas, including extreme weather, electric vehicles, and nuclear energy. Before joining the team, Ernesto was a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group, where he led strategy and transformation work across sustainability, healthcare, and commercial banking. He graduated with a degree in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. Ernesto will be speaking to our joint 25,000 climate conversations goal for Earth Month.
Playback options and other resources
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March Monthly Meeting w/ Karina Ramirez and Drew Eyerly, CCL Staff
Citizens' Climate Lobby's Karina Ramirez and Drew Eyerly will present on "Understanding What You Don't Understand," which outlines the importance of working together while embracing differences. Andrew (Drew) Eyerly serves as CCL’s Conservative Outreach Director, where he lends a conservative voice and perspective to the organization’s mission while working to recruit, engage, and retain right-of-center volunteers. Prior to joining CCL, Drew served in the United States Army for 12 years as a Preventive Medicine Specialist and as a Medic completing tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Karina Ramirez (She/Her/Ella) joined CCL as a volunteer in 2017 and has served as CCL’s Diversity & Inclusion Director since 2018. In this role, she supports volunteers and staff working toward inclusion and belonging efforts. Karina is originally from Ecuador and lives in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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Sam Daley-Harris | February 2024 Monthly Speaker | Citizens' Climate Lobby
In July 2007, CCL founder Marshall Saunders asked Sam Daley-Harris to coach him on starting the first CCL chapters. Sam continued to coach CCL leaders over the next 7 years. Sam founded the anti-poverty lobby RESULTS in 1980, co-founded the Microcredit Summit campaign in 1995, and founded Civic Courage in 2012. The completely revised and updated edition of Sam’s book, Reclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen’s Guide to Transformational Advocacy, was released on January 9, 2024.
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Flannery Winchester Brett Cease | Jan. 24 Monthly Speakers | CCL Policy Roadmap & Chapter Planning
To start off 2024, Join Communications Senior Director Flannery Winchester to find out about CCL's Legislative Roadmap and Chapter Planning Action! Flannery trains and supports volunteers to publish written pieces in local media, appear on TV and radio. She also pitches national media, manages and edits the CCL blog, and keeps our volunteers informed and inspired through social media and regular newsletters. Flannery came to CCL after content and marketing roles at an email marketing agency, an international software company, and a local women’s magazine in Atlanta. Flannery will be providing an update on CCL's 2024 strategic policy-based initiatives and plans followed by chapter action planning, presented by CCL Vice President of Programs Brett Cease.
Playback options and other resources
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2023 Speakers
Amanda Ripley | December 2023 Monthly Speaker | Author and Investigative Journalist
Amanda Ripley is a New York Times bestselling author, a Washington Post contributing columnist, an investigative journalist and the co-founder of Good Conflict, LLC. Her books include High Conflict, The Smartest Kids in the World and The Unthinkable. To discuss her writing, Amanda has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX News and NPR. She has spoken at the Pentagon, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
Playback options and other resources
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Ben Pendergrass | October 2023 Monthly Speaker | VP of Gov't Affairs
Ben is the head of the CCL government relations team in Washington D.C. and in his role, he works to advance the policy goals of CCL in Congress. Ben has worked for over 14 years in Washington both as Congressional staff and as a government relations professional. For several years, Ben served on the legislative staff of Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM). Most recently, he was Senior Vice President, Policy and Legislative Affairs for a national trade association. Ben has worked in a wide range of policy areas including taxes, natural resources, agriculture and national security. He has successfully advanced standalone legislation as well as provisions in annual appropriations bills, tax extender legislation, and farm bills. He has also worked extensively with federal agencies and worked on numerous federal regulations.
Playback options and other resources
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Madeline McGill | September 2023 Monthly Speaker | Western Desk
Madeline began her political career working for campaigns, non-profits, and labor unions across New England. In 2018, she moved to Utah to help found the Rural Utah Project, bringing their fundraising and communications programs online. In 2020, she built an organic digital and earned media program with an advertising equivalency of $11.1M across the rural Southwest. Since, Madeline has continued her work as a narrative strategist, driving outcomes for non-profits, labor unions, and candidates for office who are curious to engage with people who call rural landscapes home. Her notable projects include National Nurses United, The Sierra Club, SEIU, and the Rural Democracy Initiative. She's proud to partner with the Rural Climate Partnership on building a transformative narrative framework for hardworking rural people.
Playback options and other resources
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Ramona Liberoff | August 2023 Monthly Speaker | Platform For Accelerating The Circular Economy (PACE)
Ramona Liberoff is the Executive Director of PACE (Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy). Her role is to manage the stakeholders within PACE, who include leading corporates, governments, academics and innovators, to achieve the goal of doubling circularity. Prior to joining WRI, Ramona worked at the intersection of global climate, innovation, and finance, at Roots of Impact, as the CEO of SPRING Accelerator, and as COO of the Innogy Innovation Hub, after a career of leading innovation for multinationals such as Unilever and Pepsico. She has founded several innovative businesses including circular transport and energy, and funded more than twenty, as well as mentoring several hundred impact start-ups.
Playback options and other resources
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Sarahia Benn | July 2023 Monthly Speaker | Policy Foundation of Maryland
Sarahia Benn is a dedicated advocate for Black, Brown, Marginalized, and veterans affairs, serving as Executive Director of Policy Foundation of Maryland. She also holds the position of Voices Maryland Executive Legislative Director, playing a crucial role in advancing the interests of underserved and underrepresented communities. She is also the President of Association of Prevention of Sickle Cell (APSCA) which is one of Maryland’s oldest nonprofits advocating for medical justice and equity. With extensive experience and expertise in policy development and advisory, Sarahia is a prominent environmentalist contributing to the drafting and advising of local, state, and national policies in multiple realms.
Playback options and other resources
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Bill McKibben | June Monthly Meeting | Author, Educator, Activist, founder of Third Act
To have any shot at building the clean energy economy needed to turn back climate change, we will have to overcome the inflexive resistance to development of the projects and resources that will facilitate that transition. Perhaps the most trusted person to deliver that message to environmentalists is climate champion Bill McKibben, and that's exactly what he did in a recent piece for Mother Jones. He joins this month's national call days before our volunteers go to lobby on Capitol Hill. Bill is an author, educator, and environmentalist, who helped found 350.org, the first global grassroots climate campaign, and he recently helped found Third Act, a progressive organizing movement for people over the age of 60.
Playback options and other resources
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Dr. Adam Simon | May Monthly Meeting | Professor, University of Michigan
The transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy will require massive amounts of metals that go into the production of electric vehicles, batteries, induction stoves, wind turbines and solar panels. Do enough of these metals exist to get the job done? Where can they be found and can they be extracted in a sustainable manner that doesn't lay waste to our environment? For answers, we turn this month to Dr. Adam Simon, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan. His work focuses on the global flow of energy and mineral resources with an emphasis on the geologic availability of energy critical metals. Adam has co-authored two textbooks and published seventy papers in the field of energy and mineral resources.
Playback options and other resources
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Kajsa Hendrickson | April Monthly Meeting | Director at Future 500
The work to preserve a livable world requires buy-in and participation from all sectors — civil society, government, business, science, academia. Finding common ground among these various sectors is essential to meet our climate goals, and so we talk this month with Kajsa Hendrickson, Director at Future 500, to learn more about stakeholder engagement and collaboration, particularly with the business community. Kajsa works directly to build bridges between groups at odds, or even in conflict, something she honed as a volunteer at CCL in San Diego. She currently collaborates with CCL coordinators, NGOs, and community representatives in the Southeast on a utility-stakeholder information exchange. Before joining Future 500, Kajsa worked on stakeholder engagement with the largest solar incentive program in the country, closing the gap between who has access to and who benefits from sustainable energy.
Playback options and other resources
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Rev Mitch Hescox | Citizens’ Climate Lobby | March 2023 Monthly Meeting
In the quest to find common ground between Republicans and Democrats on climate solutions, communities of faith play an important role in bridging the partisan divide. The Evangelical Environmental Network, whose members are focused on caring for creation, is one of the organizations working in this advocacy space. This month, we hear from Rev. Mitch Hescox, President of EEN, about their efforts to educate and mobilize evangelical Christians to manifest a stable climate and a healthy, pollution-free world. Rev. Hescox, co-author of Caring for Creation: The Evangelical Guide To Climate Change and a Healthy Environment, serves as a member of the National Association of Evangelicals’ Board of Directors and EPA’s Clean Air Act Advisory Committee.
Playback options and other resources
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Doria Brown | Citizens’ Climate Lobby | February 2023 Monthly Meeting
In the realm of climate communication, social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram loom large as a means to reach people, especially younger people who are most concerned about the world they will inherit in the future. Joining this month's meeting is Doria Brown, a social media influencer known as The Earth Stewardess on TikTok (72,000 followers) and Instagram (22,500 followers). Doria is an environmental scientist and the youngest municipal energy manager in New Hampshire, working for the City of Nashua. Her social media posts focus on energy science, sustainability, and science communication. Doria will speak with us about how she reaches a wide audience with her short, creative videos.
Playback options and other resources
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Andrew Jones | Citizens’ Climate Lobby | January 2023 Monthly Meeting
What will it take to keep global warming below dangerous thresholds? Thanks to Andrew Jones and his team at Climate Interactive, we have answers to that question. They developed the climate simulators, C-ROADS and En-ROADS, that make it easy for users to see how combinations of various solutions will affect global temperatures. As Citizens' Climate Lobby explores legislation to address climate change, these simulators can show us how to get the biggest bang for our buck. (Spoiler alert: Pricing carbon has the greatest impact.) In addition to being the director and co-founder of Climate Interactive, Andrew has worked at the Rocky Mountain Institute and Sustainability Institute. He currently teaches system dynamics at MIT Sloan and the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Playback options and other resources
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2022 Speakers
Marcelo Mena | Citizens’ Climate Lobby | December 2022 Monthly Meeting
Reducing methane emissions will be one of the keys to staying within the 1.5 C warming threshold. To learn what steps are being taken to lower those emissions, this month's speaker is Marcelo Mena, CEO of Global Methane Hub, a philanthropic alliance to support methane emissions reduction efforts around the world. Mena previously served as Minister of the Environment of Chile and has extensive experience as a scientist, activist, former professor and policymaker. In his role as Minister of Environment, he spearheaded multiple international environmental initiatives including helping craft a landmark agreement to phase out coal power generation. On this month's call, he will offer his perspective on the recently convened COP27 climate conference.
Playback options and other resources
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Sam Daley-Harris | Citizens’ Climate Lobby | November 2022 Monthly Meeting
How do you empower citizens to effectively engage with their government to solve big problems? We talk this month to the person who literally wrote the book on this topic, Sam Daley-Harris. He's the founder and CEO of Civic Courage, and he'll share some of the successes he's seen with the organizations he's coached. One of those is Citizens' Climate Lobby. In 1980, Sam founded RESULTS, a grassroots advocacy organization working to end hunger and poverty. He is the author of Reclaiming Our Democracy: Healing the Break Between People and Government, which tells the stories of life-changing moments people had in discovering their power to make a difference. In the aftermath of the midterm elections, Sam will also explore the lessons we can apply to our climate advocacy.
Playback options and other resources
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Stephen Perkins and Quill Robinson | Citizens’ Climate Lobby | October 2022 Monthly Meeting
As we work to bring more Republican members of Congress to the table on climate solutions, enrolling more conservative constituents will be key in our advocacy efforts. For guidance on outreach to conservatives on the climate issue, we turn this month to Stephen Perkins and Quill Robinson from the American Conservation Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to mobilizing young people around environmental action through common-sense, market-based, and limited-government ideals. Stephen is ACC's Vice President of Grassroots Strategy. Before joining ACC, he was a partner in a conservative digital marketing agency. Quill is Vice President of Government Affairs, developing ACC's policy priorities and leading advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. He has been published in The Hill and The Washington Examiner.
Playback options and other resources
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Links referred to during the call
- The Climate Commitment: https://www.theclimatecommitment.com/
- American Conservation Coalition: https://www.acc.eco/
Dr. Hahrie Han | Citizens’ Climate Lobby | September 2022 Monthly Meeting
Our recent big win on climate legislation owes much to the grassroots organizing that CCL and others provided. More solutions will be needed to meet our climate goals — like a price on carbon! — which means more grassroots organizing. Joining us this month is CCL Advisory Board member Hahrie Han, who specializes in the transformational process that empowers volunteers to be effective advocates. Dr. Han is a Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University and the Inaugural Director of the SNF Agora Institute, which strengthens global democracy through powerful civic engagement and informed, inclusive dialogue. She is the author of several books, her most recent being Prisms of the People: Power & Organizing in Twenty-First-Century America.
Playback options and other resources
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Links referred to during the call
- Hahrie Han's website
- Hahrie Han’s book, Prisms of the People: Power & Organizing in Twenty-First-Century America
- Transformational Organizing Guide
- Get Loud Take Action Election Season
Bob Inglis & Princella Talley | Citizens’ Climate Lobby | August 2022 Monthly Meeting
Expanding 
our outreach to include people from a variety of constituencies can strengthen our organization and improve our effectiveness as advocates. This month, we talk with Bob Inglis and Princella Talley about how they communicate with diverse audiences about climate change. Bob is a former Republican Congressman from South Carolina, and is now the Executive Director of republicEn, an organization empowering conservatives to advocate for market-based solutions to climate change. Princella is a Fellow at Large with the OpEd Project whose writing has been featured in numerous publications throughout the country. She previously worked for Citizens' Climate Education as a Development Coordinator and Diversity Outreach Coordinator.
Playback options and other resources
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Nathaniel Stinnett | Citizens’ Climate Lobby | July 2022 Monthly Meeting
Y
ou may be surprised that not all environmentalists vote. In fact, as a group, they vote at far lower rates than most people. Information on how often constituents' vote is publicly available, and members of Congress prioritize the concerns of those who actually vote. This may explain why some politicians don't prioritize climate change. On this month's call, Nathaniel Stinnett from Environmental Voter Project will share how his organization is changing the voting behavior of people concerned about preserving a livable climate. The Founder and Executive Director of EVP, Stinnett is a frequent expert speaker on cutting-edge campaign techniques and the behavioral science behind getting people to vote. He has held a variety of senior leadership and campaign manager positions on U.S. Senate, congressional, state, and mayoral campaigns.
Playback options and other resources
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Neil Chatterjee former FERC Chairman | June 2022 Monthly Speaker
I
t isn't often we have a guest who can cover as much ground on climate and energy as Neil Chatterjee. As the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during the Trump administration, it was his job to ensure that energy was delivered, reliably and safely, across the U.S. A vocal supporter of carbon pricing, he took a bipartisan approach to forming energy policy. On this month's call, Neil will share his climate story, why he supports carbon pricing and how we can prepare the grid for the transition to clean energy.
Playback options and other resources
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Jad Daley and Joel Pannell, American Forests | May 2022 Monthly Speaker
Increasing the number of trees is an effective means to store carbon that also has bipartisan support. But the preservation and planting of trees isn’t just a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It’s also a way to foster environmental justice by improving the quality of life in urban areas where people of color are often marginalized. Jad Daley, President and CEO, and Joel Pannell, Vice President of Urban Forestry, will discuss American Forests’ work with tree cover in American cities, which is often determined by income and race, and the work their organization is doing to restore forest health across the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Playback options and other resources
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Keishaa Austin | April 2022 Monthly Speaker
#ElectrifyEverything is the hot hashtag of late, especially in light of the invasion of Ukraine, the sanctions against Russia and the need to end our fossil fuel dependency. Joining us this month is Keishaa Austin from Rewiring America, which is working to launch a movement to electrify everything, starting with our nation's 121 million households. Their latest policy brief, the Electrify for Peace Policy Plan, calls for ramping up American capacity to manufacture and install heat pumps in Europe and the U.S.
Playback options and other resources
Watch or download the video recording or pre-call video. Listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes. Meeting transcript, and slide deck.
Dr. Jennifer Carman | March 2022 Monthly Speaker
If politicians are paying more attention to the climate issue than ever before, perhaps it’s because their constituents are more concerned than ever before. Earlier this year, a survey from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication showed that those who are “alarmed” now represent the largest segment of Yale’s “Six Americas.” Our guest this month is Jennifer Carman, postdoctoral associate with the Yale Program, whose research focuses on identifying and supporting behaviors that individuals and communities can take to adapt to both short- and long-term climate change impacts. She joins us for a conversation on how opinions and attitudes have shifted in recent years, lending more urgency for politicians to take action on climate change.
Playback options and other resources
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James Balog | February 2022 Monthly Speaker
Many people now working to preserve a livable world were motivated after viewing the documentary “Chasing Ice.” Pictures, as they say, are worth a thousand words, and James Balog’s images and films speak volumes about the damage human activities have inflicted on our environment. For 35 years, the acclaimed photographer has documented how we have modified our planet’s natural systems. He founded the Earth Vision Institute, whose work was featured in “Chasing Ice.” He has a new book out, “The Human Element: A Time Capsule from the Anthropocene,” and we’re thrilled to have him join us on this month’s call.
Playback options
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José Aguto | January 2022 Monthly Speaker
Support from faith communities carries considerable influence with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, 30% of whom are Catholic. This month, we'll hear from José Aguto, executive director of Catholic Climate Covenant, which helps U.S. Catholics respond to the Church's call to care for creation and care for the poor. José will talk about the Covenant's work, how to connect with Catholics on climate, and the Covenant's support for climate solutions like the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. José worked for the Friends Committee on National Legislation before joining Catholic Climate Covenant. He served in the U.S. Army and is a graduate of Brown University and Villanova Law School.
Playback options
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2021 Speakers
Isatis Cintrón Rodríguez | December 2021 Monthly Speaker
Citizens’ Climate International had a major presence at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, and Isatis Cintrón Rodriguez was a big part of that presence. The Latin America Regional Coordinator for CCI and a CCI founding board member, Isatis addressed the High-Level Segment of the COP26 negotiations in Glasgow on the value of stakeholders’ active participation in the design and implementation of climate policy. She talks about her work at COP26 and how people affected by climate change can have input into solving the problem. In addition to her work with CCI, Isatis is a doctoral candidate in cryospheric science at Rutgers University.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the video recording or pre-call video. Listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes. Meeting transcript.
Rep. Ray Ward | October 2021 Monthly Speaker
Is carbon fee and dividend really the policy that can bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrats? On this month's call we'll talk to Dr. Ray Ward, a Republican state representative in Utah, about why he likes the policy. When he's not working in the legislature, Ward is a family physician in Bountiful, Utah. Earlier this year, he signed on to an op-ed in the Deseret News with two dozen other Utah Republicans endorsing carbon fee and dividend.
Playback options for meetings:
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Aaron Cosbey | September 2021 Monthly Speaker
Border carbon adjustments, a mechanism to shield businesses in nations with robust climate ambition, have been a hot topic recently. The European Union has announced it will impose such taxes starting in 2023, and Senate Democrats in the U.S. have included it in the budget reconciliation resolution. To learn more, we turn to Aaron Cosbey with the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Aaron is an economist with 30 years of experience in the areas of trade, investment and sustainable development. He has served on the Deputy Minister for International Trade’s Academic Advisory Council on Canadian Trade Policy and recently wrote a report on the need for Canada to adopt a border carbon adjustment.
Playback options for meetings:
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Pamela Benson Owens | August 2021 Monthly Speaker
Whether lobbying a member of Congress or doing grassroots outreach to enroll volunteers, the ability to really listen is a valuable asset. Our guest this month, Pamela Benson Owens, will coach us on constructive listening. Pam is the President and CEO of Edge of Your Seat Consulting, Inc., a consulting firm that is dedicated to helping for-profit, non-profit and faith-based organizations. Pam leverages humor and honest storytelling to create memorable and applicable strategies that organizations can employ to achieve their goals.
Playback options for meetings:
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Allie Kelly | July 2021 Monthly Speaker
One of the virtues of carbon pricing is that it will spur technological innovation. What kind of innovation? For a glimpse of that potential, we turn this month to Allie Kelly, Executive Director of The Ray, a nonprofit that is reimagining our roadways to be greener and safer. The Ray is working on a living highway test bed to develop ways to capture solar energy, charge electric vehicles and provide a drive-through tire safety station. Allie has over 15 years of experience working in public policy, including founding Georgia Watch in Atlanta, Georgia’s only consumer watchdog organization.
Playback options for meetings:
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Dr. Noah Kaufman | January 2021 Monthly Speaker
As we gear up for reintroduction of carbon-fee-and-dividend legislation in the new Congress, we heard from economist Dr. Noah Kaufman, lead author of the 2019 Columbia University assessment of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. The study confirmed the effectiveness of the bill from both an environmental and economic perspective. Dr. Kaufman is Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia, leading research focused on climate change policies. He also teaches a course on Energy Decarbonization. During the Obama administration, he served as the Deputy Associate Director of Energy & Climate Change at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Playback options for meetings:
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2020 Speakers
Christiana Figueres, former UNFCCC Exec. Secretary | December 2020 Monthly Speaker
With President-elect Joe Biden vowing to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement in January — and as we celebrate the 5-year anniversary of that accord — we turn to Christiana Figueres to get an overview of where things stand globally on national commitments to fight climate change and what's needed going forward. Figueres was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010 until 2016, during which she marshaled 196 countries to sign the Paris accord in 2015. Following her tenure with the UNFCCC, she co-founded Global Optimism, which "exists to catalyse transformative actions in our world" to tackle climate change.
Playback options for meetings:
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Tia Nelson, Outrider Foundation | November 2020 Monthly Speaker
At the age of 13, Tia Nelson spent the first Earth Day cleaning up trash with her junior high classmates. She went on to follow in the environmental footsteps of her father, Sen. Gaylord Nelson, founder of the historic event that ushered in a new era of awareness and action for our environment. Now the Managing Director for the Outrider Foundation, which works to end the threat of nuclear war and reverse the course of global climate change, Tia joins this month's call in the aftermath of a momentous election. She'll share the lessons she learned from her father and offer perspective on the state of the climate movement based on her many years of working on that issue.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the video recording or pre-call video. Listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes.
Alex Posner, Students for Carbon Dividends | October 2020 Monthly Speaker
As we seek the common ground between Republicans and Democrats on climate solutions, Students for Carbon Dividends (S4CD) has emerged as an important ally in building support on college campuses for revenue-neutral carbon pricing. Alex Posner, President and Founder of S4CD, joins our October call to share about the work his organization is doing to bring Republicans on board and the growing movement of the EcoRight, especially among young conservatives. A speaker at CCL’s June conference in 2018, Alex holds a BA in History from Yale University and is also a volunteer with Magicians Without Borders.
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Watch or download the video recording or pre-call video. Or listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes.
Tina Johnson, Director, National Black Environmental Justice Network | September 2020 Monthly Speaker
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, we see disproportionate numbers of Black people becoming infected and dying from the disease. Leaders in the environmental justice community know this disparity all too well, and in June the National Black Environmental Justice Network was relaunched to help communities of color address the inequities that place them in harm’s way. Tina Johnson, director of NBEJN, joins us to talk about those disparities and how the network is fighting for environmental justice.
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Watch or download the video recording or pre-call video. Or listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes.
Dr. Kim Cobb, climate scientist at Georgia Tech | August 2020 Monthly Speaker
Alarmed by what their research on climate change is showing them, a growing number of scientists are stepping out of the lab to advocate for solutions. Dr. Kim Cobb, a professor at the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech, is among those speaking out. A leading expert in the study of corals and how climate change is affecting them, Dr. Cobb was devastated when, during a 2016 research trip to the South Pacific, she saw that most of the coral reef she had been studying was obliterated. "For me, it was a bellwether event... I decided to go 'all in' on climate solutions, personally and professionally."
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes. (August's Pre-Call Video)
Dr. Renee Lertzman, Environmental Psychologist | July 2020 Monthly Speaker
Feeling anxious and overwhelmed about climate change and our ability to solve the problem? Our guest this month, environmental psychologist Dr. Renee Lertzman, says we have a window of tolerance that, once we exceed it, causes us to shut down. Turning to the tools of psychology, we can acknowledge the feelings of anxiety that can immobilize us and create conditions that allow us to show up as our brilliant selves. Dr. Lertzman's unique and integrated approach brings together the best of the behavioral sciences, social sciences and innovative design sciences to create a powerful approach to engagement and social change.
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes.Dr. Natasha DeJarnett, National Environmental Health Association | May 2020 Monthly Speaker
Climate change and carbon pollution have always had an impact on public health, and the COVID-19 pandemic bears that out. Dr. Natasha DeJarnett discusses how these two crises are connected. Dr. DeJarnett is the interim associate director of Program and Partnership Development at the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), where she leads research as well as climate and health activities. She also serves on the governing board of Citizens’ Climate Education.
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes.Download the Question and Answers from the webinar.
Nathaniel Stinnett, Environmental Voter Project | April 2020 Monthly Speaker
Step one to generate political will for climate solutions is to get people who care about the environment to vote. When Nathaniel Stinnett found out that environmentalists, by and large, were staying home on election day, he saw a problem in need of a solution. That's why in 2015 he launched the Environmental Voter Project, which identifies environmentalists who don't vote and reaches out to get them to the polls. On this month's call, Nathaniel will share some of the ways his organization has successfully activated this important bloc of voters.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes.March 14 Guest Speaker: Hannah Pickard, climate communicator
Hope is a precious commodity in conversations about climate change. Our speaker this month, Hannah Pickard, trains people in proven communications techniques that shift the national conversation about climate change to be more positive, civic-minded and solutions-focused. She is the Network Manager for the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation. NNOCCI currently supports climate communicators in 184 institutions in 38 states. As we go out in our communities to lead presentations, Hannah’s coaching can help us to inspire audiences to take action and be part of the solution.
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes.Hannah's Protection & Responsible Management Slides From March 14th Call
Andres Jimenez | May 2021 Monthly Speaker
People of color are likely to be the most impacted by environmental and climate degradation. And yet, they are typically the most underrepresented in environmental organizations and the national conversation about cleaning up our environment. Our guest this month is Andrés Jimenez, Executive Director of Green2.0, an organization dedicated to increasing the diversity of voices being heard at the table when it comes to environmental justice. Before joining Green2.0, Andres was Senior Director of Government Affairs for Citizens' Climate Lobby. Before that, he was Associate Director of Government Relations at Ocean Conservancy. Andres has also worked on the Hill in the offices of Rep. Linda Sanchez and Rep. Howard Berman.
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Pastor Franklin Ruff | April 2021 Monthly Speaker
At a time when distrust and animosity between our political parties appear to be at an all-time high, we need to take a step back and find ways to work together so we can solve the big problems facing our nation. We hear this month from Rev. Franklin Ruff, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Stillwell, Kansas, and past president of American Baptist Churches of the Central Region. He is also the Red Co-Chair of the Braver Angels Kansas City Alliance. Rev. Ruff is a conservative who says, “One of the things we can do to make [our country] better is look and see the humanity of others and to be humble.” He’ll talk about how to bridge differences and listen to each other to find common ground.
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Dr. Jennifer Burney | March 2021 Monthly Speaker
We often say, "Listen to the scientists and create policies based on the science." This month we hear from Jennifer Burney, Associate Professor, Marshall Saunders Chancellor’s Endowed Chair of Climate Policy and Research at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on simultaneously achieving global food security and mitigating climate change. She designs, implements, and evaluates technologies for poverty alleviation and agricultural adaptation.
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Watch or download the video recording or pre-call video. Dr. Burney's Presentation Slides. Listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes.
Diane Randall | February 2021 Monthly Speaker
CCL works closely with a number of organizations that support carbon pricing. One of those is the Friends Committee on National Legislation, which encourages and supports members to engage with lawmakers on peace and justice issues. Joining us is Diane Randall, General Secretary of FCNL, who leads their staff to educate and lobby for policies and legislative priorities established by FCNL's General Committee. Diane has led FCNL’s program expansion, including adding lobbyists and new programs to engage grassroots citizens, young adults and more Quakers to lobby for peace, justice and a sustainable planet.
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February: Bob Inglis, Executive Director of republicEn.org
In February 2020, our speaker was Bob Inglis, no stranger to Citizens' Climate Lobby. A member of CCL's advisory board and the governing board of Citizens' Climate Education, Bob served as a Republican Congressman from South Carolina from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2005 to 2011. During his tenure, Bob introducing the Raise Wages, Cut Carbon Act — a revenue-neutral carbon tax. After leaving Congress, he started republicEn.org, an organization devoted to persuading conservatives to address climate change with market-based solutions. Bob has been a featured speaker at CCL national and regional conferences, coaching volunteers on how to effectively engage conservatives on climate change.
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2019 Speakers
December: Dr. Carolyn Woo, former CEO of Catholic Relief Services
Our December guest knows something about leveraging the power of the faith community to address climate change. Earlier this year, Carolyn Woo spearheaded a dialogue at the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences on “The Energy Transition and Care for Our Common Home.” At the conclusion of the event, leaders from the energy sector and the global investment community released a statement saying, "The combination of policies and carbon pricing mechanisms should be designed in a way that simultaneously delivers innovation and investment in low carbon solutions while assisting those who are least able to pay." Woo, currently a Distinguished President’s Fellow for Global Development at Purdue University, served as President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services from 2012 to 2016. She was featured in the May/June 2013 issue of Foreign Policy as one of the 500 Most Powerful people on the planet and one of only 33 in the category of “a force for good.”
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes. Download Dr. Woo's slide deck.
November: Prof. Andrew Hoffman, University of Michigan
Extended Q&A with Dr. Hoffman (video) (or audio)
Solving climate change — and saving civilization as we know it — will require a major systemic shift in our culture. Andrew Hoffman maintains that we are in a societal moment akin to a new era of enlightenment. He joins us to talk about the system-level changes to our thinking needed in the anthropocene and the role of business in the great rethinking of our economy. Hoffman is the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan. He has published 16 books, including How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate and Re-engaging with Sustainability in the Anthropocene Era: An Institutional Approach.
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes.October: Kiera O'Brien, Students for Carbon Dividends
There's been a shift among Republicans in Congress on climate change, due in no small part to polling that shows younger GOP voters are as concerned about climate change as their progressive counterparts. As vice president of Students for Carbon Dividends, Keira O'Brien is working to harness that passion among young conservatives to generate political will for carbon dividends legislation, which places a fee on carbon and gives revenue to households (sound familiar?). Kiera, who is President Emeritus of the Harvard Republican Club, recently testified at a congressional hearing alongside Republican pollster Frank Luntz. Over the summer, she spoke about carbon dividends at the Teen Vogue Summit: "There are many climate-oriented groups rallying around the problem, but Students for Carbon Dividends is rallying around the solution."
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes.September: Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind
How did American politics get to be so dysfunctional? It has a lot to do with psychology, and our guest this month, Jonathan Haidt, will help us wrap our heads around this phenomenon. A Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University Stern School of Business, he is the author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. Haidt’s book explains the origins of the human moral sense and how variations in moral intuitions can help explain the polarization and dysfunction of American politics.
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on PodBean or iTunes.August: Sam Daley Harris, Civic Courage
Just how powerful and influential is grassroots advocacy? Sam Daley-Harris shares examples of organized citizen lobbying that had a major impact on national policies and priorities. Sam is the founder and CEO of Civic Courage, a non-profit that coaches organizations to improve the effectiveness of their advocacy work. In 1980, he founded RESULTS, an organization working to end hunger and poverty, which later became the model for Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
2018 Speakers
December: Per Espen Stoknes, psychologist
On our December call, we are joined by Per Espen Stoknes, a Norwegian psychologist and politician for the Green Party who served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway. He weaves together psychology and economics in imaginative ways, often revolving around our human relationships to the natural world and to each other. He is the author of the book, What We Think About When We Try Not to Think About Global Warming. Stoknes posits that people have five inner defenses that stop them from engaging on climate change, and he offers ways to “flip” those defenses
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November: Anthony Leiserowitz, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
Just days after the midterm elections and right before CCL volunteers lobby on Capitol Hill, we talk to Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, about their latest polling on Americans’ views about climate change and solutions like carbon pricing. Dr. Leiserowitz is an expert on public opinion and public engagement with the issues of climate change and the environment. His research investigates the psychological, cultural, and political factors that influence environmental beliefs, attitudes, policy support, and behavior.
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
October: Former Republican Congressman David Jolly
Even if Democrats take the House in November, legislation to price carbon will need to be bipartisan, and that leads us to this month’s conversation with former Rep. David Jolly (R-FL). Before giving up his House seat to run for Senate, Jolly was an early member of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus and a cosponsor of the Republican climate resolution introduced by former Rep. Chris Gibson. Speaking in 2016, Jolly said, “I’m sick and tired of going nowhere in addressing large problems and I’d like to see our party accept the science and say we believe in conservative solutions.”
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September: Leaf Van Boven and David Sherman, social psychologists
As we strive to bridge the partisan divide on climate change, researchers are finding that the views of Republicans and Democrats are not as far apart as we perceive. The problem is that people tend to listen almost exclusively to their tribal leaders. Leaf Van Boven and David Sherman elaborated on this phenomenon in a recent New York Times op-ed. Van Boven is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Sherman is a professor of psychology and brain sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Their valuable insights on this month’s call can inform and improve our approach in generating the political will to enact climate solutions.
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
August: Aimee Sison, Digital Director with Climate Nexus
On this month’s call, we look at ways to leverage our messaging on social media with Aimee Sison, Digital Director with Climate Nexus. Aimee works to further the climate change and clean energy narrative across digital and social media platforms. She also works with partners to amplify messages in new, creative ways to online audiences. Prior to joining Climate Nexus in 2014, Aimee worked at public relations agency Sunshine Sachs to develop and execute digital marketing strategies for a variety of non-profit, entertainment and corporate clients. Aimee holds a degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Originally from the Philippines, Aimee’s passion for climate change is fueled by seeing her homeland suffer the negative impacts of global warming.
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
July: Adele Morris, Brookings Institution
If you want to learn about carbon pricing, Adele Morris is the person to talk to. She is a senior fellow and policy director for Climate and Energy Economics at the Brookings Institution. Her research informs critical decisions related to climate change, energy, and tax policy. She is a leading global expert on the design of carbon pricing policies. Before joining Brookings in July 2008, she worked with the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) of the U.S. Congress, where she advised members and staff on economic, energy, and environmental policy. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University, an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Utah, and a B.A. from Rice University.
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
June: Nathaniel Stinnett, Environmental Voter Project
If political will is the key to enacting effective climate policies, there’s a big obstacle that needs to be overcome: Many environmentalists are not showing up to vote. Joining our June call is Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of Environmental Voter Project. Their mission is to identify citizens concerned about environmental issues who are staying home on election day and turn them into active voters. Stinnett has held a variety of senior leadership and campaign manager positions on U.S. Senate, congressional, state, and mayoral campaigns. He was named one of America’s 50 environmental visionaries and is a frequent speaker on cutting-edge campaign techniques at top universities and campaign management trainings.
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Watch or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
Additional Q&A on how CCL volunteers can help engage in helping build voting habits for environmental voters. Watch video (58m 45s)
May: Julia Roberson, VP of Communications for Ocean Conservancy
One of the more troubling aspects of climate change is its impact on oceans, which are a major source of food and also affect our weather patterns. Joining us for the May call to discuss that impact is Julia Roberson, VP of Communications for Ocean Conservancy. Her passion is communicating about the people and stories behind big environmental issues in a way that leads to action.
Roberson is a skilled writer and media relations professional deeply committed to ocean issues and to finding the intersections between serving nature and people’s needs in our rapidly growing world. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, from Appalachian State University.
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April: Amber Sullins, Meteorologist
With surveys showing a persistent gap between what scientists say about climate change and what the public thinks scientists believe, it’s clear that Americans need more exposure to the views of scientific experts. As Amber Sullins says, the only scientist most people hear from is the person who delivers the weather forecast every evening. That’s why the Phoenix meteorologist talks about climate change during her reports. Sullins, who holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Arizona in Tucson, joins our call to discuss how meteorologists are helping the public to connect the dots between climate change and our changing weather.
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March: Joan Blades, MoveOn.org co-founder
Joan Blades and her husband Wes Boyd co-founded the political action group MoveOn.org in 1997. In 2006, she co-founded MomsRising.org, dedicated to “bringing millions of people, who all share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America, together as a non-partisan force.” Her latest project, Living Room Conversations, seeks to bridge the political divide in America by encouraging people with differing views to come together for respectful discussions. These conversations increase understanding, reveal common ground, and sometimes even allow us to discuss possible solutions.
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February: Celia Paris, Loyola University
Our February guest is Celia Paris, Assistant Professor in Political Science at Loyola University. She is currently working on a book manuscript that explores whether Madisonian ideals for deliberative and collaborative political decision-making have lost their appeal. Titled Madison’s ABCs: Why the Public Still Values Accomplishment, Bipartisanship, and Civility in Congress, her book argues that the desire for a more Madisonian approach to politics remains alive and well in the American public and that citizens value accomplishment, bipartisanship, and civility.
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Watch or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
Additional Q&A with Dr. Celia Paris answering questions about increasing polarization, the rise of partisan media, and responding to the criticism that legislators only join the Climate Solutions Caucus to “look good.” Watch video (29m 29s)
January: Sabine Marx, Earth Institute at Columbia University
How do we communicate effectively with policy makers about climate change? For answers on our January call, we turn to Sabine Marx with the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED). She’s the Director of Research at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at the Earth Institute, Columbia University and the co-author of “The Psychology of Climate Change Communication.” Dr. Marx joined CRED in 2005 after two years of post-doctoral work at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) at Columbia’s Earth Institute. She received her Ph.D. in medical history from Carnegie Mellon University and holds a Masters degree in Sociology and Pedagogy, with a minor in Psychology and Art Therapy from the University of Cologne, Germany.
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
2017 Speakers
December: José Aguto, Catholic Climate Covenant
José Aguto is Associate Director of Catholic Climate Covenant, where he raises up the call to care for creation and care for the poor. Prior to joining Catholic Climate Covenant, he was Legislative Secretary for Sustainable Energy and Environment at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Aguto was one of CCL’s earliest allies on Capitol Hill and worked with CCL on the introduction of the Republican Climate Resolution, which eventually led to the formation of the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus. Aguto has also worked for the National Congress of American Indians in the service of tribal governments seeking to address climate change.
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Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
November: Maj. Gen. Rick Devereaux, USAF (ret.)
Our Veterans Day 2017 speaker was retired Maj. Gen. Rick Devereaux, who served 34 years in the U.S. Air Force before retiring in 2012. His last assignment was Director of Operational Planning, Policy, and Strategy in Washington, D.C. He is currently Executive Vice President for Government Affairs at Texzon Technologies, a pioneer in the field of electromagnetic wave propagation, power storage, and electricity distribution.Gen. Devereaux is also a volunteer with the Asheville chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby where he educates the public about the national security risks of climate change.
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October: Barbara Love, Professor Emeritus UMASS-Amherst
Our October 2017 guest speaker was Barbara Love, Professor Emeritus of Social Justice Education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Love taught graduate classes on foundations of social justice education, design development and facilitation skills, and on self-awareness for social justice educators and liberation workers.
She is recognized globally for her work on organizational and societal transformation and on issues of diversity, inclusion, and liberation. She directs the Black Liberation and Community Development Project of the International ReEvaluation Counseling Communities. Her publications appear in a variety of journals and anthologies and focus on personal, organizational, and societal transformation and strategies for liberation.
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September: Shi-Ling Hsu, Florida State University College of Law
Dr. Shi-Ling Hsu is the D’Alemberte Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Environmental Programs at the Florida State University College of Law. He is the author of The Case for a Carbon Tax: Getting Past our Hang-ups to Effective Climate Policy, which remains the most comprehensive general treatment and argument for carbon taxation. He teaches and writes in the areas of environmental and natural resource law, climate change, law and economics, and property.
Professor Hsu holds an M.S. in ecology and a Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics, and was an EPA Star Fellow from 1996-98. A member of CCL’s advisory board, Dr. Hsu has completed 22 marathons, including 6 Boston Marathons.
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August: Paul Hawken, author of Drawdown
Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, author and activist who has dedicated his life to environmental sustainability and changing the relationship between business and the environment.
He is the author of Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. The book is based on the work of researchers from around the world who identified, researched and modeled the 100 most substantive, existing solutions to address climate change. What was uncovered is a path forward that can roll back global warming within thirty years. It shows that humanity has the means at hand. Nothing new needs to be invented.
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July: Andrew Jones, Climate Interactive
Andrew (Drew) Jones is Co-Founder of Climate Interactive, a top-rated climate change think tank that creates the simulations used in the United Nations negotiations. An expert on international climate and energy issues, his quotes and interactive data stories appear frequently in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and other media.
Jones and his team at CI and MIT Sloan developed “C-ROADS”, the user-friendly climate simulation in use by thousands of climate analysts around the world. He teaches Systems Thinking and Sustainability at MIT and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
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Watch or download the recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
June: Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-22)
Just days before 1,000 CCL volunteers hit Capitol Hill, Congressman Ted Deutch — Democratic co-chair of the House Climate Solutions Caucus — joins us to provide an overview of the caucus’ activities and where progress is happening between Republicans and Democrats on the climate issue. Deutch represents Florida’s 22nd district, home to communities throughout western Palm Beach County and Broward County in South Florida and is now serving his fifth term in the 115th Congress. In addition to the Climate Solutions Caucus, he is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the House Ethics Committee, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on which he serves as Ranking Democrat on the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee.
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May: Natasha DeJarnett, American Public Health Association
The burning of fossil fuels takes a tremendous toll on public health, not only from the impact of climate change, but also from the pollution that leads to heart and respiratory problems. To learn more about this, we’re joined this month by Dr. Natasha DeJarnett, policy analyst in the American Public Health Association’s Center for Public Health Policy. Her specialty areas within the Policy Center include climate change and environmental exposures.
Dr. DeJarnett received her PhD in Public Health from the University of Louisville in 2013. As a postdoc at the University, she was awarded a fellowship by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to investigate cardiovascular risks of air pollution exposures. In 2015, she received the prestigious Impact Award from the Society of Toxicology’s Cardiovascular Toxicology Specialty Section for her 2014 paper “Acrolein Exposure is Associated with Increased Cardiovascular Disease Risk.”
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April: Katherine Hammack, former Asst. Secretary of the Army
Katherine Hammack is an experienced leader in the energy and environmental field who was appointed by President Obama, and confirmed by the Senate, to be the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. She worked with the Obama administration, focusing on Net Zero (energy, water and waste), resiliency and sustainability for all of the Army’s installations worldwide.
Katherine is an expert on Climate Change and Sustainability strategies and oversaw LEED certification for the largest LEED project in the world when she was with Ernst & Young. She has extensively spoken around the world at conferences and in radio interviews regarding sustainability, resilience and net zero strategies.
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Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
March: Devashree Saha, Brookings Institution
Devashree Saha will discuss the decoupling of decarbonization and the economy, and how carbon emissions are declining despite a growing economy. She is a senior policy associate and associate fellow at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. Her research primarily focuses on the intersection of clean energy and economic development policy, including the transition to a clean energy economy.
Prior to joining Brookings, Saha worked at the National Governors Association, where her work spanned clean energy, transportation, and land use planning issues. She holds a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s in political science from Purdue University.
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Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
February: Sandy Reisky, Apex Clean Energy
How do we speed up the transition to clean energy? On our February call we turn to Sandy Reisky, Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer for Apex Clean Energy, which is developing and managing dozens of wind and solar power projects throughout the U.S. Sandy’s companies have developed over $4 billion of wind and solar facilities. He was founder and president of Greenlight Energy, a leading independent wind energy company that was acquired by BP in 2006. Sandy was also the founder of Axio Power, a utility-scale solar developer; Columbia Power Technologies, a pioneer in wave energy technology; and Greenlight Biofuels, a waste-to-energy company.
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January: Yoram Bauman, founder of yeson732.org
What are the lessons we can learn from the defeat of the Washington state carbon tax referendum, Initiative 732? To find out, our guest on January’s call is Yoram Bauman, founder and co-chair of YesOn732.org, which spearheaded the campaign for I-732. Bauman holds a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Washington and is known as the “Stand-up Economist.” He is co-author of the 1998 book Tax Shift that helped inspire the revenue-neutral carbon tax in British Columbia. In 2012, he co-authored with Shi-Ling Hsu an op-ed in the New York Times, The Most Sensible Tax of All.
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Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
2016 Speakers
December: Sam Daley-Harris and Jay Butera
Most members of Congress do not go to Washington with the intention of being a champion for climate change solutions. So, how then do we turn them into one? RESULTS founder Sam Daley-Harris and CCL Senior Congressional Liaison Jay Butera join our December call to walk us through the process of moving members of Congress up the ladder of leadership on climate change.
Sam is currently the CEO and Founder of the Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation and author of “Reclaiming Our Democracy.” Jay was instrumental in the founding of the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus and is featured in Season Two of National Geographic’s documentary series on climate change, “Years of Living Dangerously."
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November: Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, climate scientist
Following a very stressful election season, we thought it would be good to hear the calm and reassuring voice of our favorite climate change communicator, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe. Dr. Hayhoe recently gave CCL a big shoutout at the South by South Lawn climate change discussion at the White House with President Obama and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. In addition, she just launched a series of short videos on climate change, “Global Weirding.”
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Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes.
October: George Lakoff, linguistics expert
Linguistics expert George Lakoff, author of “Don’t Think of an Elephant,” “The Political Mind,” and many more books examining the power of language, is our guest for the October national call. He’ll share his recent work on the distinction between direct causation and systemic causation, which is the frame through which climate change can be better comprehended. Mr. Lakoff is recently retired from the University of California at Berkeley, where he was Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics.
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Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes.
September: Former Congressman Bob Inglis
As we gear up to introduce and pass legislation, this is good time to look at the nuts and bolts of the legislative process, and who better to guide us than former Republican Congressman Bob Inglis. Inglis, who introduced his own carbon tax bill in 2009, left Congress in 2011 and founded RepublicEn, which is working to build support among conservatives for a market-based solution to climate change.
Playback options for meetings:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
August: Rikkia Ramsey from the Truman Center
Our guest for the August 13 national is Rikkia Ramsey, Policy Program Coordinator for the Truman Center. Before joining the Truman Center, Rikkia was Military Legislative Correspondent for U.S. Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC), addressing constituent concerns regarding defense and foreign policy issues. She’ll talk about the Truman Center’s Operation Free, a coalition of veterans and national security experts that advocate for securing America with clean energy. It recognizes that climate change and our dependence on oil, are national security threats and fights on a local, state and federal level for strong clean energy policies.
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Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
July: Matt Anderson, National Audubon Society’s Climate Initiative Director
Our July guest is Matt Anderson, director the National Audubon Society’s Climate Initiative. In 2014, Audubon released a report, Birds and Climate Change, which found that 314 bird species — nearly half of all North American birds — are severely threatened by global warming. Prior to working at Audubon, Matthew spent two and half years as executive director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE). Before joining NRPE, Matthew directed the Creation Care Fund, which provides financial and technical support to Christian environmental grassroots initiatives.
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June: Bessie Schwarz, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
Bessie Schwarz is the Communications Strategist for the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, managing media, and outreach analysis. She comes to YPCCC with extensive experience designing, running and winning national and local grassroots campaigns. She has worked with Citizens’ Climate Lobby to help CCL groups leverage the polling information found in YPCCC’s Climate Opinion Maps, which provide state- and district-level detail on public opinion about climate change and climate solutions. As we approach our lobby day on June 21, we’ll talk about how to use Yale’s data in meetings on the Hill.
Playback options for meetings:
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May: Dr. James Hansen, climate scientist
We’re thrilled to have Dr. James Hansen as our guest for the May national call. Dr. Hansen is the American adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University. Recognized by many as America’s leading climate scientist, Dr. Hansen is a member of CCL’s Advisory Board and is a strong advocate for CCL’s Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal. He is the author of Storms of My Grandchildren, and he recently spoke at the Berkshire-Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha to urge support for a revenue-neutral fee on carbon.
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April: Renee Lertzman, Author, Teacher, Consultant
Author, teacher, consultant and public speaker Renee Lertzman is our guest for CCL’s April 9 call. She is a practicing climate change engagement specialist, applied researcher and senior advisor for the Center for Sustainable Energy, along with teaching Psychology and Environmental Education and Communications at Royal Roads University. Her latest book is Environmental Melancholia: Psychoanalytic Dimensions of Engagement.
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March: U.S. Rep Carlos Curbelo (FL-26)
U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a Republican who represents Florida’s 26th District, is our guest for the March 12 call. Along with Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), he recently formed the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House. Congressman Curbelo was also the first Republican to cosponsor the climate resolution introduced by Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) last September.
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February: Jeffrey O’Malley, Research and Policy for UNICEF
Our February guest is Jeffrey O’Malley, Director of the Division of Data, Research and Policy for UNICEF. He is responsible for shaping research and evidence priorities, ensuring that evidence in turn shapes UNICEF policies and strategies. Mr. O’Malley joins our February call to discuss UNICEF’s report, Unless We Act Now, about the impact of climate change on children.
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January: Hahrie Han, University of California, Santa Barbara
Our guest speaker at our January meeting is Hahrie Han. Han is the Anton Vonk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She specializes in the politics of environmental and social policy, focusing particularly on the role that civic associations play in mobilizing participation in politics and policy advocacy. Hahrie is also the author of the book, How Organizations Develop Activists.
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2015 Speakers
Dec: Retired Rear Admiral David Titley
Our guest for the December call is Dr. David Titley, a professor of practice in meteorology at Pennsylvania State University and the founding director of their Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk. He was also NOAA’s chief operating officer from 2012-2013. Before assuming these positions, he was a rear admiral and the chief oceanographer of the U.S. Navy, in which he served for 32 years.
While serving in the Pentagon, Dr. Titley initiated and led the US Navy’s Task Force on Climate Change.
Playback options for meetings:
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November: Rob Williams, Resources for the Future
Our guest for the November call is Dr. Roberton Williams, Senior Fellow and Director of Academic Programs at Resources for the Future (RFF). He’ll discuss results from two recent papers RFF published that examine the different impacts a revenue-neutral carbon fee would have across U.S. states and across income quintiles if the revenue was recycled to reduce corporate taxes, to reduce payroll taxes, or returned as a dividend. Rob and his RFF colleague Dallas Burtraw will also be featured at the Nov. 19 briefings on Capitol Hill before members of Congress.
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October: Patrick Verkooijen, World Bank Group
Our guest for the October call was Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change for the World Bank Group. He has been working closely with Rachel Kyte, the World Bank Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change, and has been instrumental in the building of the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition.
On the national call, Dr. Verkooijen spoke about the World Bank’s involvement in climate change and the role it is playing to facilitate carbon pricing throughout the world.
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September: Jerry Taylor, Niskanen Center
Jerry Taylor is president of the Niskanen Center, a libertarian think tank developing and promoting proposals to legislative and executive branch policymakers. Prior to founding the Center in 2014, Mr. Taylor spent 23 years at the Cato Institute, where he served as director of natural resource studies, assistant editor of Regulation magazine, senior fellow, and then vice president. He is the author of The Conservative Case for a Carbon Tax, a paper published earlier this year by the Niskanen Center.
Playback options for meetings:
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August: Sam Daley-Harris, Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation
How can we maximize the leverage from the media we generate and other actions we take? RESULTS founder and CCL mentor Sam Daley–Harris will join our August call and coach us on best practices to ensure that our actions have the greatest impact with members of Congress. After 15 years with RESULTS, Sam founded the Microcredit Summit Campaign, which he left in 2012 to establish the Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation.
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July: Patrick Carolan, Executive Director of Franciscan Action Network
Now that the Pope has released his encyclical on climate change, how can we best leverage Francis’ message for policy action? In the run up to the Pope addressing Congress and the UN in September, what messages should we be putting forward in the media? For answers, we’ll turn to Patrick Carolan, Executive Director of the Franciscan Action Network, a grassroots organization amplifying the justice efforts of Franciscans and Franciscan-hearted people around the country.
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June: Danny Richter, CCL Legislative Director
What do we really know about people’s carbon footprints? What role does income and geography play? This is important to know, because the greater one’s carbon footprint, the more one will pay under a carbon-pricing regime, and elected officials want to know which of their constituents will be most affected. A new study from the Center for Global Development sheds light on these questions, and CCL’s Legislative Director Danny Richter will walk us through the study and its findings on the June call.
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May: Tony Leiserowitz, Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
The “gateway belief,” what makes people more likely to accept the facts on climate change and support public policy solutions, is this simple fact: 97% of climate scientists are convinced, based upon the evidence, that human-caused global warming is happening. On our May call, Tony Leiserowitz from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication will discuss how we can get this vital information across to people and also talk about using the Yale Climate Opinion Maps as a tool for advocacy.
Playback options for meetings:
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April: George Marshall, Climate Outreach and Information Network
On our April call, we dive into the psychology of climate change communication with George Marshall, author of Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired To Ignore Climate Change. Why is there such a big gap between what the scientists tell us about climate change and what the public believes? Marshall, co-founder of the Climate Outreach and Information Network will discuss what we can do to close that gap.
Marshall has 25 years experience working across the environmental spectrum – from community level protest groups to senior positions in Greenpeace and the Rainforest Foundation to consultancy work for governments and businesses. He is an expert advisor to the Welsh Government on public communications.
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March: Lonnie Ellis, OFS, Associate Director of Catholic Climate Covenant
Pope Francis will issue his encyclical dealing with climate change this year. What can we expect and what impact will it have in the Catholic community? To find out, we’ll talk to Lonnie Ellis, the Associate Director of the Catholic Climate Covenant, which emphasizes the need for Catholics to care for God’s creation and minimize the impact that climate change has on the poor.
He speaks nationally on the intersection of climate and faith, is frequently quoted in national media outlets, and has appeared on local and national television news programs. He has nine years of grassroots organizing experience, serving in leadership on several successful campaigns including expanding health insurance for children in Minnesota and securing a living wage ordinance for St. Paul. He is a lay member of the Order of Franciscans Secular (OFS) and holds a Master of Arts in Theology from Washington Theological Union.
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February: Keya Chatterjee, US Climate Action Network
What other organizations are working on climate change and what are they up to? To find out, we’ll turn to Keya Chatterjee, executive director of the US Climate Action Network. Prior to joining USCAN, Keya served as Senior Director for Renewable Energy and Footprint Outreach at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Before that, She was a Climate Change Specialist at USAID. Keya is also the author of The Zero Footprint Baby: How to Save the Planet While Raising a Healthy Baby.
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January: David Hone, Climate Change Advisor for Shell
On our January call, we’ll discuss why businesses should embrace carbon pricing with our guest David Hone, Climate Change Advisor for Shell. He is also a board member of the International Emissions Trading Association and also the Washington-based Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES). Check out David’s blog, which includes recent posts about the COP20 meeting in Lima.
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2014 Speakers
December: Allan Savory, Savory Institute
Can we reverse desertification and sequester carbon through cattle herding? That’s the hopeful theory behind the work of our December guest, Allan Savory of the Savory Institute, who began developing his holistic management methodology in Zimbabwe in the 1980s.
Playback options for meetings: Listen to the December Call
November: Charles Kennel, Former director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography
2C or not 2C? That is the question on CCL’s next international call. Charles Kennel, who was the ninth director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a former Associate Administrator at NASA, is our November guest. He recently co-authored an article in the journal Nature arguing that it is time to abandon the 2C warming goal and track a range of vital signs instead, provoking “hot” debate in the climate science world.
Playback options for meetings: Listen to the November call
October: Adam Browning, Vote Solar
Adam Browning is co-founder and executive director of Vote Solar, which works at the state, federal and local level to implement programs and policies that allow strong solar markets to grow — and pave the way for a transition to a renewable energy economy. On October’s call, Adam will share his insights from building support among conservatives for clean-energy policies. Prior to Vote Solar, Adam spent eight years with the EPA where he ran an award-winning pollution prevention program.
Playback options for meetings: Listen to the October Call
September: Rear Adm. Len Hering (ret.), Center for Sustainable Energy
Rear Admiral Len Hering Sr. (ret.) joins our next call to talk about the impact that climate change is having on national security. Hering is Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego. During his career in the Navy, Hering built a team that reduced energy consumption by nearly 42%, diverted 75% of Navy waste from landfills and reduced water consumption by more than one billion gallons. He instigated wind, thermal, photovoltaic and conversion technology at all levels in Navy facilities.
Playback options for meetings: Listen to September Call
August: Scott Nystrom, Regional Economic Models Inc.
As our volunteers prepare for district meetings, it’s a good time to check in with Scott Nystrom, Senior Economic Associate at REMI, to answer questions about their groundbreaking study showing that a carbon tax, done the right way, will add millions of jobs to the U.S. economy. His major projects have included impact analyses on energy, healthcare, labor, transportation, state taxes and budgets, and federal fiscal policy.
Playback options for meetings: Listen to the August Call
July: Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, climate scientist
What could possibly top 600 volunteers lobbying in DC for a carbon tax? How about a national call with Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, cited as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world for bridging the gap on climate change between the scientific and religious communities? Katharine is an atmospheric scientist who studies climate change. An expert reviewer for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, her life’s work has been dedicated to discovering and communicating the realities of a changing climate to those who will be affected most by it. She directs of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. Together with her husband Andrew Farley, lead teaching pastor of Ecclesia, she wrote “A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions.”
Playback options for meetings: Listen to the July Call
June: Anthony Leiserowitz, Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
As we prepare for meetings in Washington, we thought it would be a good time to check in with Tony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. He is an expert on American and international public opinion on global warming, including public perception of climate change risks, support and opposition for climate policies, and willingness to make individual behavioral change.
Playback options for meetings: Listen to the June Call
May: Dana Nuccitelli, SkepticalScience.com
The cost of cutting carbon emissions is a lot cheaper than we think, according to the latest IPCC report. Guardian blogger and SkepticalScience.com contributor Dana Nuccitelli will help us dive into the economics of curbing fossil fuel use on our next call. Dana Nuccitelli is an environmental scientist at a private environmental consulting firm in the Sacramento, California area. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in astrophysics from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Master’s Degree in physics from the University of California at Davis. He has been researching climate science, economics, and solutions since 2006, and has contributed to Skeptical Science since September, 2010.
Playback options for meetings: Listen to the May Call
April: Scott Nystrom, Regional Economic Models, Inc.
What’s the economic impact of a carbon tax if the revenue is recycled back into the economy? Scott Nystrum from Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) will discuss their recent study about the impact such a tax would have on California. Spoiler alert: The news is good. Scott is a Senior Economic Associate at REMI and holds a B.S. in economics and an M.A. in economic history from Iowa State University. His major projects have included impact analyses on energy, healthcare, labor, transportation, state taxes and budgets, and federal fiscal policy.
Playback options for meetings: Listen to the April Call
March: Eli Lehrer, President of R Street Institute
Eli Lehrer is president and co-founder of the R Street Institute, a free-market think tank based in Washington, D.C. Prior to co-founding R Street, Lehrer was vice president of the Heartland Institute. He also played a major role in founding SmarterSafer.org, a coalition of taxpayer, environmental, insurance and free-market groups dedicated to risk-based insurance rates, mitigation and environmental protection. On our March call, Lehrer will discuss the no-nonsense view of climate change held by the insurance and re-insurance industry, which has the most to lose for getting it wrong. We’ll have the opportunity also to discuss the problems that conservatives have with climate change solutions and how we might overcome those problems.
Playback options for meetings: Listen to the March Call
February: Jon Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind
Jonathan Haidt, a professor in the Business and Society Program at NYU-Stern, is a social psychologist and author of The Righteous Mind and The Happiness Hypothesis. He’ll discuss how we came to be so politically polarized as a nation and what needs to happen to restore a more cooperative system of governing. “To live virtuously as individuals and as societies, we must understand how our minds are built. We must find ways to overcome our natural self-righteousness. We must respect and even learn from those whose morality differs from our own.”
Playback options for meetings: Listen to the February Call
January: Adele Morris of the Brookings Institution
Adele Morris is a fellow and policy director for Climate and Energy Economics at the Brookings Institution. Her expertise and interests include the economics of policies related to climate change, energy, natural resources, and public finance. She joined Brookings in July 2008 from the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) of the U.S. Congress, where she spent a year as a Senior Economist covering energy and climate issues.
Morris was cited in this recent Washington Post blog: Could the EPA push a carbon tax on its own? Maybe — here’s how.
Playback options for meetings: Listen to the January Call
2013 Speakers
December: Anne Kelly, Director of Public Policy at Ceres
Anne L. Kelly is Director of Public Policy at Ceres, a non-profit coalition of investors and companies, which seeks to promote leadership and best practices in sustainability. Anne directs Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP), a coalition of twenty-three leading consumer-facing companies, including Nike, Starbucks and eBay, seeking to advocate for meaningful climate and energy policy at the federal level. She is a registered lobbyist and is actively engaged on Capital Hill on behalf of Ceres and BICEP member companies. Anne is an environmental lawyer with twenty years of combined experience in the private and public sectors. She later worked as Special Assistant to EPA Region I Administrator John DeVillars. In this role she worked on corporate leadership programs and developed an International Pollution Prevention Program which was piloted in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
November: Eric Sapp, Eleison Group
Eric Sapp, a native of Durham, NC, is founder of Eleison Group, a consulting firm that helps political, non-profit, business and government entities better understand America’s rich and complex faith landscape and build relationships with people of faith from across the ideological spectrum on the local and national level. Prior to founding Eleison Group, Eric was Senior Partner at Common Good Strategies (CGS), which received significant national attention following the ’06 cycle for its groundbreaking faith outreach and messaging work for Democratic candidates. Eric has been a regular speaker on faith and politics on television and radio shows.
Listen to the November 2013 Call
October: Dr. John Abraham, University of St. Thomas
As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change rolls out its Fifth Assessment Report, our October national call will turn to Dr. John Abraham, IPCC reviewer and climate scientist at the Univ. of St. Thomas in St. Paul. What’s changed since the 2007 report? What are the most important takeaways from the new report? Let’s ask a climate scientist!
Listen to the October 2013 Call
September: Climatologist Paul Beckwith, University of Ottawa
The month of September is the time of year when the Arctic reaches minimum ice, so we thought it would be good to check in with climatologist Paul Beckwith from the University of Ottawa to see what this year’s meltdown looks like and what we might expect as a result.
Listen to the September 2013 Call
August: Sam Gomberg, Union of Concerned Scientists
How will a carbon tax affect farmers? This is the question often asked by members of Congress who have agricultural constituents. On the August call, joining us to shed some light on this topic is Sam Gomberg, an energy analyst at the Midwest office of the Union of Concerned Scientists. He advocates for responsible energy policies that support the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency resources, and that result in significant reductions of global warming emissions.
Listen to the August 2013 Call
July: Lynne Twist, Pachamama Alliance
Lynne Twist, a board member of the Pachamama Alliance, has been a recognized global visionary committed to alleviating poverty and hunger and supporting social justice and environmental sustainability. From working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta to the refugee camps in Ethiopia and the threatened rainforests of the Amazon, Lynne’s on-the-ground work has brought her a deep understanding of the social tapestry of the world and the historical landscape of the times we are living in. Reports from CCL’s conference
June: Dr. Lauren Rafelski, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
On the June call, we’ll have an abbreviated educational section, with Dr. Lauren Rafelski from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography explaining the Keeling Curve and the 400 parts per million milestone that was passed last month. The rest of the call will be devoted to an essential activity that few of us take the time to do: practicing our speaking so that we become fluent in communicating all the issues that are critical to our success as climate advocates.
May: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), climate champion
Nearly every week, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) goes to the floor of the Senate to speak about climate change and the urgent need for congressional action. Earlier this year he organized the Bicameral Climate Change Task Force, which meets regularly to discuss national climate policy. Along with three other members of Congress, Whitehouse authored a carbon tax discussion draft seeking public comment. We’ll talk to him about the discussion draft and the potential for legislation in this Congress.
April: Sam Daley-Harris, RESULTS Founder
The story of CCL — and how we became a force for climate advocacy — will be published in a book this fall. Joining us for the April national call is the author of that book, Sam Daley-Harris. The 20th anniversary edition of Sam’s book, “Reclaiming Our Democracy,” includes a new chapter in the growth of citizen empowerment — Citizens Climate Lobby. Sam is the founder of RESULTS, the advocacy organization that serves as the model for CCL, and has been coaching our organization since its inception. He recently founded the Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation to bring this model to other organizations.
March: Dr. Amanda Staudt, National Wildlife Federation
Dr. Amanda Staudt is a climate scientist with the National Wildlife Federation who uses her expertise to translate complex scientific theories into terms the public an understand. Dr. Staudt connects the dots between global warming and weather related phenomenon including wildfires, hurricanes, increased flooding and drought in certain areas of the country. On our next call, she will give an overview of the National Climate Assessment, a report that will be finalized and released later this year.
February: Dr. Martin Tresguerres, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Our February guest speaker is Dr. Martin Tresguerres, assistant professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. He’ll shed some light on global warming’s evil twin – ocean acidification, which could lead to a collapse of the marine food chain if left unchecked. Dr. Tresguerres is currently working with a four-year grant from the National Science Foundation to study the effect of ocean acidification on coral. He’ll share some preliminary findings from that study.
Listen to the February 2013 Call
January: Dr. Robb Willer, Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences, UC Berkeley
Dr. Willer is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Psychology at UC, Berkeley, where is currently a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. A previous guest on CCL conference calls, he was co-author of “Apocalypse soon? Dire messages reduce belief in global warming by contradicting just-world beliefs.” In a forthcoming paper, he examines the differences in moral views between Republicans and Democrats on big issues such as climate change and how understanding these differences is key to the messaging that resonates with various groups.
2012 Speakers
December 2012: Dr. Kevin Trenberth, National Center for Atmospheric Research
In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, there are many questions about this disaster’s connection to climate change. For answers, we turn to Dr. Kevin E. Trenberth, Distinguished Senior Scientist in the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. From New Zealand, he obtained his Sc. D. in meteorology in 1972 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a lead author of the 1995, 2001 and 2007 Scientific Assessment of Climate Change reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which went to the IPCC. He has published over 480 scientific articles or papers, including 47 books or book chapters, and over 213 refereed journal articles and has given many invited scientific talks as well as appearing in a number of television, radio programs and newspaper articles. He is listed among the top 20 authors in highest citations in all of geophysics. He recently wrote in The Scientist, “As Mark Twain said in the late 19th century, ‘Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.’ Now humans are changing the weather, and nobody does anything about it! As we have seen this year, whether from drought, heat waves and wild fires, or super storms, there is a cost to not taking action to slow climate change, and we are experiencing this now.”
Listen to the December 2012 Call
November 2012: Dr. Wendy Ring, Physicians for Social Responsibility
Dr. Wendy Ring, a physician in Northern California who has practiced family medicine for 25 years, will talk about the impact climate change is expected to have on our health. Dr. Ring, a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, recently completed a cross-country bicycle trip to “wake people up to the danger we face and the need to move clean energy to the top of our national agenda.” Near the end of her trip, she teamed up with CCL to lead briefings for congressional staffers in Washington.
Listen to the November 2012 Call
October 2012: Dr. James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Our October guest is America’s leading climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, author of “Storms of My Grandchildren.” Hansen is perhaps best known for bringing global warming to the world’s attention in the 1980s, when he first testified before Congress. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University and at Columbia’s Earth Institute, his most recent report draws the connection between extreme weather events of recent years and climate change. Writing in a Washington Post oped, Hansen said, “Our analysis shows that, for the extreme hot weather of the recent past, there is virtually no explanation other than climate change.”
Listen to the October 2012 Call
September 2012: Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
As the clock ticks down toward the tipping point on global warming, is there a way to buy more time for efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? An initiative launched by the U.S. State Department earlier this year aims to do just that by regulating and reducing non-CO2 sources of global warming – methane, soot and ozone. This initiative is being guided by the research of our September conference call guest, Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Director of the Center for Clouds, Chemistry, and Climate at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He is currently working on Project Surya to replace traditional biomass cooking in developing countries with clean-burning cook stoves that can slash emissions, improve indoor air quality and curb climate pollutants at the same time. Dr. Ramanathan also co-chaired the publication of Fate of Mountain Glaciers in the Anthropocene, a report from the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Listen to the September 2012 Call
August 2012: Report from the CCL Conference in Washington, D.C.
The August national call is all about the conference in Washington. We’ll debrief and share the experience our volunteers had after sharpening their knowledge and skills and going to Capitol Hill for meetings with more than 300 congressional offices. Volunteers who presented workshops at the conference will give brief versions of their presentations on this month’s call. We’ll hear reports from our meetings and let volunteers share their stories from the conference.
Listen to the August 2012 Call
June 2012: Former Congressman Bob Inglis
Former Congressman Bob Inglis, a Republican from South Carolina, served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before leaving office in 2011. During his tenure, he introduced the Raise Wages, Cut Carbon Act of 2009, a bill to tax carbon and return the revenue through cuts in payroll taxes. Since leaving Congress, he continues to be a staunch advocate for a national policy to price carbon. Early in his career, Inglis was a climate change skeptic. His views began to shift after a conversation with his son, who had recently turned 18. “My son said to me, ‘Dad, I’ll vote for you, but you got to clean up your act on the environment.’ His sisters and mother agreed and so, I mean, that’s a pretty important constituency to please.”
May 2012: Major Gen. Anthony L. Jackson, USMC, retired
Major General Jackson recently retired from the United States Marine Corps after 36 years of service. Prior to his retirement, Major General Jackson served as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Installations West. Mindful of the strategic risks inherent in petroleum-based fuels, Jackson has been a strong advocate of Defense Department initiatives to use more energy from clean, renewable sources and less from fossil fuels. His personal decorations include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal (w/two gold stars for second and third award), the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (w/two gold stars), and the Navy Commendation Medal (w/one gold star).
April 2012: Shi-Ling Hsu, author of ‘The Case for a Carbon Tax”
Shi-Ling Hsu is Professor at the University of British Columbia School of Law, where he has taught since 2004. Dr. Hsu has also been an Associate Professor at George Washington University. He has taught courses in Environmental Law, Climate Change, Law and Economics, and Property. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Hsu was Senior Attorney and Economist for the Environmental Law Institute in Washington D.C. In “The Case for a Carbon Tax,” Hsu explores the social and political factors that prevent us from embracing this commonsense approach to addressing climate change. And he shows why we must get past our hang-ups if we are to avert a global crisis.
March 2012: Robert W. Howarth, Cornell University
Bob Howarth is the author of a study published last year that examined the greenhouse gas footprint of extracting shale gas through hydraulic fracturing. He is the David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology & Environmental Biology at Cornell. Bob chairs the International SCOPE Biofuels Project, directs the Agriculture, Energy & the Environment Program (AEEP, formerly AEP) at Cornell University, and represents the State of New York on the science and technical advisory committee of the Chesapeake Bay Program. He has worked extensively on environmental issues related to human-induced changes in the sulphur, nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon cycles, the impacts of global climate change, and interaction of energy systems and the environment.
February 2012: Amory Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute
Physicist Amory Lovins is Chairman and Chief Scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute (www.rmi.org) and Chairman Emeritus of Fiberforge Corporation (www.fiberforge.com). His wide-ranging innovations in energy, security, environment, and development have been recognized by the Blue Planet, Volvo, Onassis, Nissan, Shingo, and Mitchell Prizes, MacArthur and Ashoka Fellowships, the Benjamin Franklin and Happold Medals, and 11 honorary doctorates. He advises governments and major firms worldwide on advanced energy and resource efficiency, has briefed 20 heads of state, and has led the technical redesign of more than $30 billion worth of industrial facilities in 29 sectors to achieve very large energy savings at typically lower capital cost. A Harvard and Oxford dropout, he has published 29 books and hundreds of papers and has taught at eight universities. His most recent book is “Reinventing Fire”. Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era.”
Listen to the February 2012 Call
January 2012: Daphne Wysham, Institute for Policy Studies fellow
Daphne Wysham is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and is the founder and co-director of the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network (SEEN). She has worked on research and advocacy at the intersection of climate change, human rights, fossil fuels, international finance, carbon markets and sustainable economies since 1996. She is a frequent guest speaker on the concerns around carbon markets — and carbon offsets in particular — in generating meaningful greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Wysham has played a leadership role on Capitol Hill, advising the Congressional Progressive Caucus on a progressive agenda for climate change. Her writings, commentary and analysis has appeared in national news publications and on radio and TV, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Grist, The Guardian, The Financial Times, and on Al Jazeera, Democracy Now!, MSNBC, BBC, NPR, and Marketplace, among others. From 2003 to May of 2011, she hosted Earthbeat Radio and TV. She was arrested at the White House during the Keystone XL pipeline protests this past summer.
Listen to the January 2012 Call
2011 Speakers
December 2011: Col. Mark ‘Puck’ Mykleby, USMC, co-author of ‘A National Strategic Narrative’
Mark “Puck” Mykleby has served as a Marine fighter pilot, participating in combat operations in support of Operations PROVIDE PROMISE, DENY FLIGHT, SOUTHERN WATCH, and IRAQI FREEDOM. From July 2009 until April 2011 he served as a special strategic assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff developing grand strategy. He is co-author of “A National Strategic Narrative,” a report suggesting that America must “move beyond a strategy of containment to a strategy of sustainment(sustainability); from an emphasis on power and control to an emphasis on strength and influence; from a defensive posture of exclusion, to a proactive posture of engagement.” Mark retired from the Marine Corps in July 2011 and has joined LRN, a company dedicated to helping organizations build ethical, values-based cultures that inspire principled performance in business and in life.
Listen to the December 2011 Call
November 2011: Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, atmospheric scientist and co-author of ‘A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions’
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on the potential impacts of human activities at the regional scale. She is an associate professor at Texas Tech University and director of the TTU Climate Science Center, as well as CEO of the scientific consulting company ATMOS Research. Her past assessments for California, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast have been cited in IPCC assessments, presented before Congress, and highlighted by state and federal agencies as motivation for the implementation of policies to reduce human emissions of greenhouse gases. She teamed up with author, professor and pastor Andrew Farley, to write “A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions,” a book that untangles the complex science and tackles many long-held misconceptions about global warming.
Listen to the November 2011 Call
October 2011: Dr. Mark Jacobson, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director, Atmosphere/Energy Program, Stanford University
Dr. Jacobson’s research evaluates the atmospheric effects of proposed energy solutions to climate change and air pollution, examines resource availability of renewable energies, and studies optimal methods of combining renewable energy resources. He co-authored a new study analyzing what is needed to convert the world’s energy supplies to clean and sustainable sources. His study says it can be done with today’s technology at costs roughly comparable to conventional energy. But converting will be a massive undertaking on the scale of the moon landings. What is needed most is the societal and political will to make it happen.
Listen to the October 2011 Call
September 2011: Anthony Leiserowitz, Center for Climate Change Communication
Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD, is director of the Yale Project on Climate Change and a research scientist at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University. He is also a principal investigator at the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University. He is a widely recognized expert on American and international public opinion on global warming, including public perception of climate change risks, support and opposition for climate policies, and willingness to make individual behavioral change. His research investigates the psychological, cultural, political, and geographic factors that drive public environmental perception and behavior.
Listen to the September 2011 Call
August 2011: CDR. Blake McBride, USN Task Force Climate Change
This month’s conference call guest, Commander M. Blake McBride III, will talk about some of the challenges the U.S. Navy faces in a changing climate. CDR McBride is a naval meteorology and oceanography officer and has served as the Executive Officer of the U.S. National/Naval Ice Center in Suitland, Maryland. He also served as a Meteorology and Oceanography Officer on the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, completing two deployments during operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He holds undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in physics, meteorology and physical oceanography, hydrographic science, and national security and strategic studies.