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Official podcast for climate heroes from Citizens' Climate Lobby. We're creating the political will for a livable world.
Episodes
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
In this month’s episode of Citizens’ Climate Radio, Eric Dean Wilson fills us in on the not-so-cool history of air conditioning and its complicated relationship to climate change. He is the author of After Cooling: On Freon, Global Warming, and the Terrible Cost of Comfort. Lila Powell and Ruth Abraham join Peterson Toscano in hosting this deep dive into air conditioning’s past, present, and future.
(For complete show notes and transcript visit our show page)
Eric walks us through the creation and history of AC. Despite what all of us at CCR thought, AC was not first used for human comfort or health. Eric says, it was about money. From movie theaters to segregation to a mad scientist, the history of AC covers it all. Join us to learn about how AC got its start in the world of finance and how racism keeps exposing some people in American cities to more heat than others.
Air conditioning contributes directly to the warming of the planet, and its impact is nothing if not ironic. AC typically runs on electricity that’s generated by fossil fuels and the more AC units run, the more greenhouse gas emissions increase! Despite these climate effects, the US tends to hold AC up as the only option for staying cool, which Eric Dean Wilson refers to as the “cost of comfort”.
Eric says, “The United States is in the habit of criticizing those nations who were asking for the same comforts that we have, even though we're not doing hardly anything”
So, what can we do? Eric helps us see a future that does not rely on air conditioning for our comfort. Much like Sean Dague did in Episode 80: Unleashing Our Imaginations for Climate Change Solutions! Tune in and you will hear Peterson and Ruth’s suggestions for some Meaningful Next Steps.
“One of the things I call for in the book is rather than focusing on individual comfort and individual survival, to really try to rethink our notion of comfort, and think about collective comfort and collective survival, community survival.” - Eric Dean Wilson
Eric Dean Wilson’s essays, poems, and criticism have appeared in Time, Esquire, the Baffler, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Tin House, among other publications. A graduate of The New School’s MFA program in creative writing, Wilson has just defended his doctoral dissertation in the English program at The Graduate Center, CUNY, which focuses on the tension between the personal and the planetal in ecological essays. In the fall, he'll join the faculty at Wagner College on Staten Island as Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and American Literature. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he now lives in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Take a Meaningful Next Step
Each month we will suggest meaningful, achievable, and measurable next steps for you to consider. We recognize that action is an antidote to despair. If you are struggling with what you can do, consider one of the following next steps.
Ruth Abraham’s suggestion:
Shade helps cool the air without having to use air conditioning. Manifest the power of shade by making your space green! You can get houseplants that release extra moisture into your rooms. Some species include spider plants, jade, Boston ferns, and peace lilies. The plants help clean the air as well as cool things down. To take things a step further: If you have a yard or green space on the sidewalk, see about planting a tree that provides cooling shade, you may need to connect with your municipality, if that green space is part of a sidewalk. Get your neighborhood involved if need be. It's these collective small steps that bring us closer to climate solutions!
Peterson Toscano’s suggestion:
Consider a large building where you spend lots of time. It might be your school or where you work, shop or workout. In the summer these spaces can have the air conditioning pumping so high it feels good when you come in from the heat, but after 20 minutes, people start freezing. This uses a lot of unnecessary energy. How about you begin a campaign to have the building operators increase the temperature by one or two degrees? In other words, lower the intensity of the air conditioning. Do a little research about who makes these decisions. Find out who else shares your concern, maybe even figure out a cost analysis of how the building operators will save money by decreasing the amount of AC in the summer. Then use your volunteer lobbying skills to advocate for this change.
Dig Deeper
- Eric Dean Wilson finds the work of US environmental historian William Cronon inspiring—and a much needed warning against romanticizing "nature." His 1995 essay "The Trouble with Wilderness" has only grown more relevant since its publication. His website is a generous collection of notes and resources from courses he's taught.
- Other suggestions from Eric:
- Alex Johnson's "How to Queer Ecology: One Goose at a Time"
- My favorite eco-feminist philosopher is the late Val Plumwood, who was once nearly killed by a crocodile. I would recommend checking out from the library her book Environmental Culture: The Ecological Crisis of Reason
- I firmly believe part of our deeply entrenched dilemma is that we're stuck in a classically liberal sense of ourselves that's driving the ecological crisis. I don't think the liberal politics of the Democratic party come even close to helping us imagine a way through this. Americans in particular are obsessed with work, and academic Cara New Daggett has been critiquing this contemporary liberal economic and political framework through a deep historical and cultural dive of energy in The Birth of Energy. I find the conclusion one of the most inspiring texts I've read recently.
- Marxist geographer Matthew T. Huber's new book Climate Change as Class War as well as his earlier book Lifeblood: Oil, Freedom, and the Forces of Capital help to ground an activist agenda in material terms.
- The work of Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò is absolutely essential, particularly his argument that we need a climate reparations. He's also an excellent follow on Twitter.
- Also: Check out these houseplants to combat dry air in your home
- Interested in a self-sustainable home? Check out Earthships!
- Learn more about how you can promote healthy forest for a healthy climate.
In this episode, we premiere a new section in our podcast- The Nerd Corner! Citizen Climates Research Coordinator, Dana Nuccitelli, fills us in on the environmental impacts of renewable energy. Dana highlights climate research (and makes it understandable) for fellow nerds and the nerd curious! Check out Dana’s recent post about The little-known physical and mental health benefits of urban trees.
Good News
CCR’s very own intern, Ruth Abraham, shares her experience attending the CCL Southeast Regional Conference. The conference took place at the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design on Georgia Tech’s campus. It was the 28th building to receive a Living Building Certification. She heard from various climate continuous figures such as Georgia Senator, Raphael Warnock, and Atlanta’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Candra Farley. Ruth even joined a book club!
If you couldn't make it to CCL’s Southeast Regional Conference, don’t worry! The Citizens Climate International Conference and Lobby Day will be held June 10-13 in Washington, DC.
Podbean Photo by Dziana Hasanbekava
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Friday Mar 24, 2023
In this month’s episode of Citizens’ Climate Radio, Peterson Toscano and Ruth Abraham feature four high school students who reveal the secret world of teenage lobbying. Brionna Dulay, Saachi Sharma, Cole Cochrane, and Anna Xies all volunteer for Citizens’ Climate Lobby. We asked them, Are lobbyists evil?
Brionna Dulay is a high school senior in Washington State, who discovered a passion for climate advocacy after she was an eyewitness to severe flooding in her community. As a Punjabi-American, Brionna recognized the lack of her community’s representation in climate advocacy and climate change's disproportionate effects on minority communities. This has pushed Brionna to speak to US senators and representatives along with local, regional, and state members of congress.
Saachi Sharma, also from Washington State, has been involved with Citizens’ Climate Lobby since middle school, and she is now a high school junior. She believes that the work done by today's youth helps make the world a better place, and says, “There's really no age to when you can start being more climate-conscious”.
Cole Cochrane started his advocacy at age 11 as a volunteer on campaigns for local candidates. Cole is now a senior in high school and has co-founded a nonprofit organization called Maine Youth Action. He serves as the Policy Director. Maine Youth Action aims to empower youth in politics and have their voice heard in critical areas like climate action.
Anna Xies lived in China till she was 11 and is now a senior in high school in Washington State. Anna is the statewide leader of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Youth and previously worked on team recruitment. Anna was struck by the positive feedback from new team members, who told her that CCL has changed their lives and given them more confidence in their public speaking and in the future of our plant.
So are lobbyists evil? Anna says, “I don't think lobbying is inherently evil. I think when you get a lot of money involved with it, it gets a little bit corrupt at times”. Cole looks at lobbying as hands-on advocacy, he says protesting is “the mobilization of the masses and that's how you get the attention of the legislators, but who's going to carry that attention when the rallies and those protests start fading away?”.
We decided to call a professional lobbyist to find out more.
Ben Pendergrass has worked in Washington for over 14 years as a Congressional staff and a government relations professional. He is CCL’s Vice President of Government Affairs and works to advance the policy goals of CCL in Congress. Ben gave us the inside scoop on professional lobbying and had some advice for youth lobbyists. Ben suggests that “being informed, being polite, and really connecting the issues back to the state or district is always very important.”
Dig Deeper
- Get involved with Citizens Climate Lobby Youth
- Check out the work Cole and many others are doing at Maine Youth Action
- Learn about the story of the youth climate movement in the book Movement Makers: How Young Activists Upended the Politics of Climate Change
- A Baby Boomer and a Gen Zer Walk Into a Climate Action Meeting, what happens next?
Good News Story
CCR’s very own intern, Lila Powell, tells us about two young climate advocates' successes in sustainability. Franziska Trautmann and Max Steitz were students at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. While sipping wine in their backyard, Franziska and Max pondered the future of the glass bottle it came in, since NOLA doesn’t have a government-funded glass recycling program. Tune in to hear how they turned that into a happy ending for their whole community!
NEW! Listener Survey
We want to hear your feedback about this episode. After you listen, feel free to fill in this short survey. Your feedback will help us as we make new decisions about the content, guests, and style of the show. You can fill it out anonymously and answer whichever questions you like.
You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on:
Also, feel free to connect with other listeners, suggest program ideas, and respond to programs in the Citizens’ Climate Radio Facebook group or on Twitter at @CitizensCRadio.
Check out the transcript over on our show page cclusa.org/radio
Thursday Feb 23, 2023
Thursday Feb 23, 2023
In this month’s episode of Citizens’ Climate Radio, we feature two women so compelled by their experiences in the wilderness, they published books about their experiences.
Lilace Melin Guinard, is a poet and non-fiction writer. CCR host Peterson Toscano walks alongside Guinard in northern Pennsylvania’s Hill Creek State Park as the two discuss the unique experiences that women face alone in nature. As a young woman who was fed up by non-communicative boyfriends, Guinard sought out solace in wild spaces and places. Backpacking and solo-trips equipped her with autonomy and released her from the fear of the outdoors she was taught while growing up in suburbia in the 1980s.
In her memoir, When Everything Beyond the Walls Is Wild: Being a Woman Outdoors in America, Guinard explores the challenges and rewards of exploring wilderness alone. She writes to tell the stories of a regular person empowered by facing the risks of enjoying nature alone. This memoir provides accounts of her experiences alone, often accompanied by her dog, in remote wilderness.
She reflects on the ways culture socializes women to find safety indoors while overlooking the dangers women and girls can encounter in their own homes. She emphasizes that these cultural messages shape women as they participate in outdoor recreation. Guinard who has been a professor of creative writing, women’s studies and outdoor recreation leadership draws from her expansive knowledge of literature and encourages previously marginalized members of society to take advantage of the beauty of nature and the great outdoors.
Dig Deeper
- Women Outdoors: a non-profit organization, dedicated to building a network for women curious about nature
- 10 outdoor women's organizations you should know (exploreorigin.com)
- The Case for Evidence-Based Outdoor Recreation Interventions for Girls: Helping Girls “Find Their Voice” in the Outdoors (pdf) Empirical evidence of the benefits of outdoor recreation on adolescent girls
“I’m rooting for us but i’m also rooting for the rest of nature” - Hila Ratzabi
We spotlight poet, writer, and editor Hila Ratzabi. In her recent book There are Still Woods Ratzabi writes both for herself as well as others who need to process the strong emotions around climate change. Her advice? Recognize there are ways to get involved. Beyond political actions she recognizes the importance of cultivating our creative sides.
Raised in the borough of Queens in New York City, Ratzabi has always written poetry to make sense of the world around her. Communion with nature has been a personal aspiration of hers since she was a young girl, and it has been a running motif in her body of work. However, it took living through Hurricane Sandy to shift her focus to the relationship between humans and climate change.
In this episode she reads and breaks down a selection from her book. In Willapa Bay Ratzabi recollects her time at an artist residency in the Western most point in Washington State, a space where she was able to have a spiritual connection with nature. With her senses heightened, she experienced captured the image of the tilted moon and the sounds of the wind blowing through the seagrass. Ratzabi practices gratitude for being a part of nature while simultaneously fretting over grasping onto Mothers Earth’s fleeting beauty as it slips away due to ongoing and impending threats of climate change.
Resilience Corner
Tamara Staton, CCL’s Education and Resilience Coordinator shares the fifth and final step to building resilience: Repeat
Get more tips and resources by visiting The Resiliency Hub.
Tamara wants you to remember, “You are strong, you are resilient, and you can make things happen.”
Transcript
Click here to view a full transcript of this episode.
NEW! Listener Survey
We want to hear your feedback about this episode. After you listen, feel free to fill in this short survey. Your feedback will help us as we make new decisions about the content, guests, and style of the show. You can fill it out anonymously and answer whichever questions you like.
You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on:
Also, feel free to connect with other listeners, suggest program ideas, and respond to programs in the Citizens’ Climate Radio Facebook group or on Twitter at @CitizensCRadio.
Friday Jan 27, 2023
Friday Jan 27, 2023
As climate advocates, we need to articulate what it is we are fighting for. What is the world we want to create? Engaging our imagination is essential to stirring up the kind of hope and excitement that inspires others to action.
In this episode of Citizens’ Climate Radio, three guests join us to help unleash our imagination potential: Hannah Pickard from the National Network of Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation; Dr. Natasha DeJarnett, a leader in environmental health research and board member of Citizens’ Climate Education and Physicians for Social Responsibility; and Sean Dague, a software engineer by day, a CCL group leader, and an En-ROADS Climate Simulation tool ambassador.
These three guests conduct a thought experiment: Can you imagine a world without fossil fuels? What will it look, smell, sound, and feel like?
You will also hear three new voices who have joined the Citizens Climate Radio team. Ruth Abraham, Lila Powell, and Zach Torpie are each recent college graduates. They share their reactions and responses to what Sean and Hannah have to say about engaging our imaginations in our climate change work.
You can imagine this, too! Share your answers with host Peterson Toscano. Leave a voicemail at 518.595.9414. (+1 if calling from outside the USA.) You can email your answers to radio @ citizensclimate.org
Dig Deeper
- Video of Sean Dague’s Thought Exercise: Imagine a World without Fossil Fuels
- Hannah Pickard CCL International Call March 2020
- Peterson Toscano’s Citizens Climate Virtual Conference Breakout Session: Telling a New Kind of Climate Story
- Citizens Climate Radio Ep 39 Envisioning and Communicating Climate Success
- Climate Change and the Imagination by Kathryn Yusoff and Jennifer Garbrys (PDF)
- Imagining a world without fossil fuels | BBC Ideas. Study Guide.
Resilience Corner
Once we are able to notice, accept and get help where we need it, we are more able to take action in ways that support our well-being. Which brings us to our focus today on the next step: Practice.
Tamara Staton is the Education and Resilience Coordinator for Citizens Climate Education, and in this installment of the Resilience Corner she helps us to ask for the help we need.
Get more tips and resources by visiting The Resiliency Hub.
Women in the Wild
If you are a woman who has spent time alone camping, hiking, or in nature, the Citizens Climate Radio team would like to hear from you. What was that experience like? What insights and advice do you have for women who want to explore natural places alone? If you have something to say, email us radio @ citizensclimate.org.
Transcript
Click here to view a full transcript of this episode.
NEW! Listener Survey
We want to hear your feedback about this episode. After you listen, feel free to fill in this short survey. Your feedback will help us as we make new decisions about the content, guests, and style of the show. You can fill it out anonymously and answer whichever questions you like.
Monday Dec 26, 2022
Monday Dec 26, 2022
In this episode we look at climate stories that reveal the impacts of climate solutions. This is a harder story to tell because many of the best solutions are still on the table. In fact, you are working hard to get lawmakers and community leaders to take these solutions seriously and put them into practice. In 25 or 50 years we will be able to tell many stories about the beneficial impacts these solutions will have. But we need to tell these stories today.
There are three different types of Climate Solution Impact stories you can tell.
- The Current Solution Success Story
- The Future Solution Success Story
- The Solution Motivation Story
For examples of Current Climate Change Solution Success Stories, we hear from Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz and Yale Climate Connections.
- A new solar-powered car designed to travel up to 40 miles on sunshine alone: That’s enough to cover many people’s daily commutes.
- Eight states, 30 cities team up to reduce flooding threat along the Mississippi: They’ve partnered with Ducks Unlimited to restore more than 60 wetlands that will hold floodwaters during storms.
To hear and read more of these stories visit Yale Climate Connections.
The Future Climate Change Solution Success Story
This type of story relies on our efforts to envision and imagine the world filled with the solutions we advocate. We want to paint a picture of a future worth pursuing. When we succeed, we create a yearning in others for this better world. For examples of these, head over to the Clifi Imaginarium. Allison Whitaker tells us about the ways they take seemingly dry information about solutions, and turn them into compelling stories. Check out With Many Roots to read these Cli-fi solution stories and to learn about the free monthly Introduction to Climate Fiction on-line workshops.
The Climate Change Solution Motivation Story
This story reveals why I am motivated to do the climate work I am doing. The story itself may not seem to have anything to do with climate change. Still this story goes right to the heart of my work. I will tell you one of my climate solution motivation stories.
Citizens Climate Radio host, Peterson Toscano, shares one of his motivation stories, and shows us how to then pivot to climate change solutions and specific meaningful action.
What you will learn in this episode
We can tell effective climate stories. There are two types of climate change stories.
- The climate change impact story--A story that reveals the dangers climate-changed induced extreme weather and other impacts have on our lives and the world.
- The second are the climate solution stories. We covered three different climate solutions stories.
- The Current Climate Change Solution Success Story. This might be a story about a breakthrough in technology, a new important person or group who is on board in pursuing climate change solutions, or it can be about a solution that has been put into action.
- The Future Climate Change Success Story. This one requires your imagination to envision what the future will look like with solutions in place. This is a form of clifi, or climate fiction.
- And finally the Climate Change Solution Motivation Story. This story reveals why you are so passionate about a particular climate change solution.
Once you tell a compelling story about your motivation, the future, or climate impact, you can then do the Climate Change Pivot. Connect your story to the solution you are pursuing.
But don’t leave them with just a pivot. Provide your listener with a specific, meaningful, and achievable next step. It might be as simple as asking, “Do you want to get together over coffee sometime next week to talk more about this?”
Do you want to learn more about climate storytelling and get some experience in a group?
Join Peterson for a free on-line storytelling workshop January 17th 2023 8:00 PM Eastern. He will share activities and insights, and he will give feedback to participants about their stories. You will walk away with fresh inspiration in telling your compelling climate stories. It will be fun and informative. Click here to register for the training.
The Art House
Alan Gratz has written nearly 20 books for young adults including PRISONER B-3087, about World War Two holocaust survivor and Refugee, which weaves togethers stories of three children from three countries escaping their countries in search of a new home. In his latest book, Two Degrees, Alan takes on climate change.
He tells us about the challenges he had to overcome in writing about climate change, and how this book was much harder to write than his previous ones. He also gives us a reading from the book.
13-year-old Juno gives a review of Two Degrees.
Resilience Corner
Tamara Staton is the Education and Resilience Coordinator for Citizens Climate Education, and in this installment of the Resilience Corner she helps us to ask for the help we need.
Get more tips and resources by visiting The Resiliency Hub.
Transcript
Click here to view a full transcript of this episode.
NEW! Listener Survey
We want to hear your feedback about this episode. After you listen, feel free to fill in this short survey. Your feedback will help us as we make new decisions about the content, guests, and style of the show. You can fill it out anonymously and answer whichever questions you like.
Photo by MART PRODUCTION
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Monday Nov 28, 2022
In this episode of Citizens Climate Radio we will consider stories that focus on the impacts of climate change. These include incidents of extreme weather, and stories of changes you have witnessed over time and the ways these changes affect you and everything and everyone you love. Plus you will hear one climate solution story from the future.
Most importantly, you will hear an example of “the climate story pivot.” The pivot happens when you jump off of your story into the climate solution you are proposing.
An extreme weather story by Dr. Natasha DeJarnett
Dr. DeJarnett is an assistant professor in the Christina Lee Brown Environment Institute at the University of Louisville Division of Environmental Medicine. She researches the health impacts of extreme heat exposure and environmental health disparities. If you ever heard one of Dr. DeJarnett’s presentations, you know she is excellent at sharing data and highlighting the many ways we can protect our loved ones and communities. She is also a powerful storyteller. For this episode she tells us a dramatic story from when she was 12 years old.
Poems about parenting and climate change by Lilace Mellin Guinard.
As a parent, Lilace Mellin Guinard weaves in emotions that may be familiar to some listeners. For The BTS Center in Portland, Maine, Lilace led a poetry workshop for climate change leaders. She recorded readings of her poetry, and Citizens Climate Radio host Peterson Toscano added music and sound effects. You will hear Lilace read two poems, “After the Magi Depart'' and “Evergreen.” For people in North America who enjoy winter weather and feel a pang about the warming of warming winters, Lilace expresses both grief and determination. Each poem is a mini story of moments in the life of a parent and children. More importantly Lilace tells the deeper emotional stories many of us quietly experience.
A story from the future by Allison Whitaker
Peterson collaborated with Allison Whitaker, one of the facilitators of the Intro to Climate Fiction Workshop offered by With Many Roots. She wrote a story immersed in a solution. Together they created a radio drama version of her story Forest at the End of the Lane. This story was inspired by a climate solution known as tree intercropping. According to Project Drawdown, tree intercropping is “a suite of agroforestry systems that deliberately grow trees together with annual crops in a given area at the same time. This solution replaces conventional annual crop production on degraded cropland.” Special Thanks to The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit for the awesome badger sounds. You can read more future solution stories like Allisons’ over at the Cli-Fi Imaginarium.
What you will learn in this episode: We can tell effective climate stories.
- The most common story is the climate change impact story--A story that reveals the dangers of climate change induced extreme weather and other impacts on our lives and the world. Make your story compelling with specific details and emotions.
- Once you tell your story, switch to the climate change pivot. This is when you connect your story to the climate work you are doing or a particular solution you are pursuing.
- Finally, give them something to do. Suggest a meaningful and achievable next step.
Next month we will do a deep dive into another type of climate change story--a story that reveals the impacts of climate change solutions.
Do you want to learn more about climate storytelling and get some experience in a group?
Join Peterson for a free on-line storytelling workshop January 17th 2023 8:00 PM Eastern. He will share activities and insights, and he will give feedback to participants about their stories. You will walk away with fresh inspiration in telling your compelling climate stories. It will be fun and informative. Click here to register for the training.
Resilience Corner
Tamara Staton is the Education and Resilience Coordinator for Citizens Climate Education, and in this installment of the Resilience Corner she has us accepting what we need.
There are two aspects of acceptance that can help us deepen our resilience.
- The first one involves making space and allowing for our thoughts, feelings and needs. Because, when it comes right down to it, what you need is what you need.
- The second part of acceptance involves a willingness to see our surroundings and circumstances exactly as they are in the moment. Acceptance in this way, free from judgment, allows us to focus our energy and attention on what matters most
Next month Tamara will take a closer look at asking for help. Get more tips and resources by visiting The Resiliency Hub.
Good News Report
Our good news story comes from Brad Johnson and John Price Kepner from Hill Heat. In addition to voting candidates in and out of office, during the US midterm elections, voters weighed in on climate change related ballot measures. While not all of these ballot measures passed, there were many successes. Learn more at Hill Heat.
If you have Good News to share, email radio @ citizensclimate.org
We always welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, and recommendations for the show. Leave a message on our listener voicemail line: (619) 512-9646. +1 if calling from outside the USA that number again. (619) 512-9646.
If you are a woman who has spent time alone camping, hiking, or in nature, I’d like to hear from you. What was that experience like? What insights and advice do you have for women who want to explore natural places alone? Leave a message on the voicemail line or email Peterson.
Transcript
Click here to view a full transcript of this episode.
NEW! Listener Survey
We want to hear your feedback about this episode. After you listen, feel free to fill in this short survey. Your feedback will help us as we make new decisions about the content, guests, and style of the show. You can fill it out anonymously and answer whichever questions you like.
You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on:
Also, feel free to connect with other listeners, suggest program ideas, and respond to programs in the Citizens’ Climate Radio Facebook group or on Twitter at @CitizensCRadio.
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Julio Victor Cochoy Alva grew up in Guatemala and speaks about his mountain village with great affection. It is a place of beauty. It also continues to be a site of deep trauma. In fact, you will hear details about the war Julio witnessed as a boy. These mountainous communities were often hidden away. Many times you could only reach them through narrow mountain trails on horseback. As a result, Julio was shielded from a major conflict happening in Guatemala. A Civil war broke out in 1960 five years before he was born.
This content may not be suitable for all audiences.
Julio talks about the impacts the Guatemalan Civil had on indigenous people, the land, and communities. Today he is a witness to the impacts of climate change. He talks about the ways these impacts are similar and how they are different. He raises important questions. When it comes to Climate Change, who is the enemy? Who do we resist? How do we make peace and pursue justice?
10 years ago, Julio and his partner Doris Kizinna began World Pilgrim Global Education. Though the Covid-19 Pandemic interrupted tours to Guatemala, they will resume in February 2023. Learn how individuals, families and groups can visit Julio’s village.
The Art House
Originally from Sweden Anne Therese Gennari came to New York City to speak up about the issues that moved her. First step, become a model. She quickly learned the model agencies wanted her to keep her mouth shut. She was there to represent the brand, not speak her truth.
From a young age Anne Therese Gennari felt connected to the natural world. She carried this passion for sustainability and caring for the planet into her adulthood. She realized if she wanted to speak out as a model, she needed to create a new kind of model agency, one that makes room for models with a message..
Anne Therese talks about challenges facing social media influencers and gives practical tips on being authentic and true to yourself. She also produces the Climate Optimist newsletter. She agreed to read an excerpt from her upcoming book, The Climate Optimist--How to shift the narrative on climate change and find the courage to choose change.
NEW Resilience Corner
Tamara Staton is the Education and Resilience Coordinator for Citizens Climate Education, and in this installment of the Resilience Corner she has us consider what we need.
What you need and want is exactly that - at least for right now. While there’s nothing wrong with wanting or even trying to change those needs and wants, you’re likely not going to get very far in this moment when what you actually need is acceptance.
Next month Tamara will take a closer look at asking for help. Get more tips and resources by visiting The Resiliency Hub.
Good News Report
Our good news story is about a billionaire who is giving his billions to help take on climate change. The Good News Network reports, Patagonia Gives Away Its Entire $3 Billion Worth To Fight Climate Change. Watch a clip on YouTube from The Daily Show about this incredible good news.
If you have Good News to share, email radio @ citizensclimate.org
We always welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, and recommendations for the show. Leave a message on our listener voicemail line: (619) 512-9646. +1 if calling from outside the USA that number again. (619) 512-9646.
Transcript
Click here to view a full transcript of this episode.
NEW! Listener Survey
We want to hear your feedback about this episode. After you listen, feel free to fill in this short survey. Your feedback will help us as we make new decisions about the content, guests, and style of the show. You can fill it out anonymously and answer whichever questions you like.
You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on:
Also, feel free to connect with other listeners, suggest program ideas, and respond to programs in the Citizens’ Climate Radio Facebook group or on Twitter at @CitizensCRadio.
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
In today’s show we will talk about resiliency for you and me as individuals doing climate work. You will learn about ways you can prepare yourself for a variety of emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and even physical impacts you may experience as a climate worker.
Laureline Simon is the founder and executive director of One Resilient Earth, an international non-profit organization that designs transdisciplinary educational projects for communities impacted by climate change, youth and sustainability professionals, to respond to the climate and biodiversity crises through resilience, regeneration and transformation.To help meet the emotional needs of fellow climate workers, Laureline now hosts a weekly on-line gathering. The hour-long Climate Workers Circle takes place every Tuesday at 2:00 pm Eastern Time.
Laureline has worked on climate change mitigation and adaptation at the international level since 2006. She first supported women-led post-disaster reconstruction projects in rural India with the Indian NGO SEWA. She then worked on the identification and financing of large-scale climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation projects in South Asia with the French Development Agency, before leading a multi-year research program on adaptation to climate change in cities of sub-Saharan Africa.
At the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, she coordinated activities related to knowledge management and stakeholder engagement on adaptation to climate change, helped set up the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples’ platform, supported a task force on population displacements related to climate change, and coordinated Resilience Frontiers, a pioneering collective intelligence process on long-term resilience. Laureline studied international relations and development at Sciences Po, as well as Indian languages at INALCO in Paris.
The Art House
In the Art House American photographer and poet, Susan Currie tells us about a new book she wrote for fellow artists, especially when we feel stuck. In Super Flow she provides insights, practices, and practical advice on how to maintain a fresh, creative, sustainable artistic flow.
Susan Currie is a West Palm Beach-based poet with a camera. Her words and images have been widely exhibited and published. She met her muse some time ago when she discovered the ancient eight-limbed practice of yoga. Its way of life continues to inform and imprint the art she makes.Her new works of visual art are on exhibit in a number of private collections, and at Chase Edwards Contemporary in Bridgehampton, NY.
NEW Resilience Corner
Tamara Staton premieres the first in series designed to help us stay strong and focused in our climate work. Tamara is the Education and Resilience Coordinator for Citizens Climate Education, and in this first installment of the Resilience Corner, she outlines for us the Five Steps to Resilience Building.
- Notice what you're needing, feeling or experiencing right now.
- Accept that what you need is what you need. Allow yourself to be free from judgment about what that means about you or your upbringing or your surroundings.
- Seek Help with those needs that you struggle to meet yourself.
- Practice meeting your needs. It will naturally look different for everyone. And, It may take some trial and error to see what will meet your needs and how.
- Repeat these five steps regularly.
Next month we’ll take a closer look at Noticing and Accepting what we're needing, feeling, and experiencing in any particular moment. Get more tips and resources by visiting The Resiliency Hub.
If you are interested in a regular on-going discussion about local, regional, and national adaptations, and the ways we use infrastructure, policy, and government to prepare for the impacts of climate change, listen to Doug Parson’s America Adapts.
Good News Report
Flannery Winchester, communications director at Climates Climate explains that while the Inflation Reduction Act will not solve all of our climate change problems, it is a significant step with benefits for all American citizens on the Right, Left, and Center.
If you have Good News to share, email radio @ citizensclimate.org
We always welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, and recommendations for the show. Leave a message on our listener voicemail line: (619) 512-9646. +1 if calling from outside the USA that number again. (619) 512-9646.
Transcript
Click here to view a full transcript of this episode.
NEW! Listener Survey
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Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Adrian Rafizadeh is motivated to connect with fellow young conservatives about climate change. “Polling from Frank Luntz found that 75% of Republicans under 40 support a carbon fee and dividend, which is really major,” Adrian explains in the latest episode of Citizens Climate Radio. “That 75% number is something that we're really trying to laser in on and focus on within the Conservative Caucus because there's so much potential there.” He also had advice for Progressive, Liberals, and Moderates who want to connect with climate-concerned conservatives.
When it came to US climate policy, as a high school student, Adrian Rafizadeh strongly opposed one of the first major attempts by the Democrats. The Green New Deal was introduced in 2019 spearheaded by the progressive US member of Congress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or AOC. The Green New Deal on the table got a lot of Conservatives thinking, talking, and writing about climate change, including Adrian.
While writing a paper for a class, Adrian sought to debunk the Green New Deal. In doing so, Adrian suddenly saw the issue of climate change differently. He recognized the seriousness of the problem the USA and the world face, and he decided he needed to do something about it. That set Adrian on a quest to find a way to address climate change that also fits into his world view and politics. Adrian politically leans right, and he is a member of the Republican party.
Adrian, a child of Iranian immigrants, shares his climate journey with us. He reveals how he found his way into a climate organization, and he tells what Progressives who want to engage Conservatives in climate conversations can do to open up a dialogue. He talks about one of his favorite climate solutions, carbon fee and dividend.
Adrian Rafizadeh is an incoming student at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. You can learn more about Conservatives engaged in climate work by visiting CCL Conservatives.
If you want to hear more conservatives talking about climate, check out RepublicEN’s EcoRight Speaks Podcast.
The Art House
Randi Hacker is the author of the children’s book, Life on a Different Planet, A Climate Crisis Handbook. The book opens with words in large bold letters that spell out, Welcome to the End of the World. Turn the page to see someone edited the sign to say, Welcome to Beginning of the New World.
Since the early 1990s, Randi has published books and magazines designed to help young people learn about environmental issues and climate change. In the Art House she explains how with all her work she seeks to be honest with young people about the problems we face while also giving them ideas for concrete actions they can take.
Life on a Different Planet, A Climate Crisis Handbook is full of original art work by Ron Barrett, the artist who illustrated the award winning book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The illustrations bring a sense of whimsy and playfulness to book while also helping readers come close to hard realities.
Other Resources for Children and Parents
- Citizens’ Climate Education Presents Climate Classroom! This is a flexible, multi-disciplinary middle school curriculum. It is designed to give students a toolkit of advocacy skills for climate solutions.
- What Do We Tell the Children? Episode four of Climate Changed featuring Pacific Islander poet Craig Santos Perez. Ben Yosua Davis chats with P Craig about parenting in a climate changed world.
Click here for a transcript of this episode.
Good News Report
We have two Good News Reports. Nate Abercrombie, Conservative Outreach Coordinator for Citizens Climate Lobby, shares recent successes from CCL’s Conservative Caucus and tells us about a new campaign to reach out to Utah Conservatives.
Dana Nuccitelli, a Research Coordinator at Citizens Climate Lobby Tells us about a very big piece of legislation. The Inflation Reduction Bill passed in both houses of congress. President Joe Biden signed it into law earlier this month. Dana tells us why this bill is so good for the climate. He also talks about possible next steps. To read more about the bill and to read more of Dana’s analysis, check out The Nerd Corner.
If you have Good News to share, email radio @ citizensclimate.org We always welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, and recommendations for the show. Leave a message on our listener voicemail line: (619) 512-9646. +1 if calling from outside the USA that number again. (619) 512-9646.
NEW! Listener Survey
We want to hear your feedback about this episode. After you listen, feel free to fill in this short survey. Your feedback will help us as we make new decisions about the content, guests, and style of the show. You can fill it out anonymously and answer whichever questions you like.
You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on:
Also, feel free to connect with other listeners, suggest program ideas, and respond to programs in the Citizens’ Climate Radio Facebook group or on Twitter at @CitizensCRadio.
Monday Aug 15, 2022
Monday Aug 15, 2022
EJ Baker (they/them) and Rae Binstock (she/her) tell us about Good Energy Stories, a story consultancy for the age of climate change. Their mission is to inspire, support, and accelerate stories in scripted TV and film that reflect the world we live in now —and help us envision a better tomorrow.
They talk about the kind of stories and approaches to storytelling that move audiences to feel empathy for those suffering and an enthusiasm for solutions that make the world a better place.
Rae Binstock is a playwright and screenwriter. Her plays include That Heaven’s Vault Should Crack (The New Group, Lark Development Center, T. Schreiber’s Studios), Land of No Mercy (Landing Theatre Company, Salt Lake Acting Company, Princess Grace finalist), and WALKERS (The Shelter, O’Neill Conference semifinalist, Jerome Fellowship finalist). Her work has appeared in Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival, Jewish Plays Project, and the Fresh Fruit Festival, among others. Rae’s pilot Homecoming was selected for the 2020 WriteHer List, and she is a two-time semifinalist for the Sundance Episodic Lab.
Rae is a Dramatists Guild Fellow, a Rita Goldberg Playwrights Workshop Fellow at the Lark, and a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow. She has attended numerous residencies, including the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, PLAYA Summer Lake, and the Ragdale Foundation. Rae served as the Writers’ Assistant on both FX Networks’ FOSSE/VERDON and Apple+’s shows Schmigadoon and IF/THEN. She is also one of the two authors of the Climate Storytelling Playbook, a writing guide for climate change stories published by Good Energy. She lives in Los Angeles with her cat, Black Cat.
As creative director, EJ Baker talks about the unique color palette they chose for the Good Energy website. They explain why you will not find a spot of green anywhere! They are a co-founder of Maybe Ventures, an art and strategy collective focused on envisioning more just, sustainable, and beautiful new worlds. EJ’s work has been featured in Fast Company, Variety, Typewolf, and Fonts in Use. Hailing from the forests of upstate New York, they now live amongst the urban cottontails and sidewalk dandelions of Somerville, MA.