Citizens' Climate Lobby

CCL Training: Leading Your Lobby Team

Join CCL Regional Coordinator Sabrina Fu for a training designed for those who wish to learn more about leading a lobby meeting with a member of Congress or staff. In this training, we'll review the role of a lobby team leader, how they assign team roles, coordinate practice times and how to handle other special situations. This training is Part IV in the “Working With Congress” training series, designed to help our more experienced volunteers and citizen lobbyists get ready for our June lobbying meetings.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):
(0:00) Introduction & Agenda
(3:33) The Importance of Leadership
(11:13) Advance Planning
(22:37) Meeting Planning Suggestions
(30:15) Expressing Leadership - Before, During, After Meeting
(38:42) Meeting Minutes & Final Considerations

Additional Resources:

Presentation Slides: https://cclusa.org/lobbylead

Training Page: https://community.citizensclimate.org/topics/working-with-congress/lobbying-401 

Questions: https://cclusa.org/forums 

CCR 60 60 Sovereignty, Land Rights, and Climate Change with Mary Kathryn Nagle and Jacques Kenjio

As impacts of climate change affect the places where we live, conflicts and questions arise. This is what happened to Jacques Kenjio and his family in the costal city of Douala, Cameroon. Although a tribal chief provided them with legal documentation to occupy the land, the government forced them and hundreds of others to leave without providing any compensation. This motivated Jacques to learn about social justice and to pursue higher education in the United States.

Jacques Kenjio is a Ph.D. Candidate in environmental studies at Antioch University New England (AUNE) with a focus on two key areas: Government-Driven land dispossession and land policy reform in Sub-Saharan Africa at large, and specifically in his country of birth, Cameroon. His other research interests include: environmental justice and policy (especially climate change policy), multi-stakeholder participatory processes, social justice and community building.

In looking for ways to get involved in the climate movement, he stumbled upon Citizens Climate Lobby. At first he could not believe citizens were able to approach lawmakers and their staffs directly. This type of access just does not happen in Cameroon. In addition to taking part in CCL activities in the USA, Jacques is now active in Citizens Climate International in supporting CCL volunteers in French speaking African countries. 

Jacques reveals the challenges CCLers in many African countries face in part because of the daily challenges that come from poverty, underemployment, and political instability. He also tells us the moving story of Bunyui John Njabi, a CCL volunteer who was killed because of political unrest in Cameroon. In addition to his work wtih CCL  Bunyui John Njabi sang original songs about climate change and environmental justice. His song and music video Water Time Bomb and highlights the urgent need to address water shortages and pollution. You will hear the song in this episode.   

The Art House

Mary Kathryn Nagle is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She is also a partner at Pipestem and Nagle Law, P.C., where she works to protect tribal sovereignty and the inherent right of Indian Nations to protect their women and children from domestic violence and sexual assault. She is also a successful playwright who has been using the stage to raise awareness about land sovereignty issues and the epidemic violence against women. 

From 2015 to 2019, she served as the first Executive Director of the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program. Nagle is an alum of the 2013 Public Theater Emerging Writers Program. Productions include Miss Lead (Amerinda, 59E59), Fairly Traceable (Native Voices at the Autry), Sovereignty (Arena Stage), Manahatta (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Return to Niobrara (Rose Theater), and Crossing Mnisose (Portland Center Stage), Sovereignty (Marin Theatre Company), and Manahatta (Yale Repertory Theatre). She has received commissions from Arena Stage, the Rose Theater (Omaha, Nebraska), Portland Center Stage, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Yale Repertory Theatre, Round House Theater, and Oregon Shakespeare Theater. 

Many thanks to CCL volunteer Melissa Giusti for introducing me to Mary Kathryn Nagle. 

You can hear standalone versions of The Art House at Artists and Climate Change

Good News Report

Our good news story today comes from a filmmaker in the United States. INHABITANTS: An Indigenous Perspective brings essential stories to screens and has been well received. It premiered at the DocLands Film Festival earlier this month. 

For screening details and more info visit inhabitantsfilm.com

If you have good news to share, email us radio @ citizensclimate.org

Dig Deeper     

• CAMEROON: when women, who are sick from water and climate change, are discriminated
• Why a water crisis in Cameroon is disproportionately affecting women
• New Report Finds Increase of Violence Coincides with Oil Boom University of Colorado Boulder
• This Land podcast series, An 1839 assassination of a Cherokee leader and a 1999 murder case – two crimes nearly two centuries apart provide the backbone to a 2020 Supreme Court decision that determined the fate of five tribes and nearly half the land in Oklahoma.
• Music in this episode include Dreamers Of The Shore by Volcan Peaks feat. Francis  Cody                                                          

We always welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, and recommendations for the show. Leave a voice mail at 518.595.9414. (+1 if calling from outside the USA.) You can email your answers to radio @ citizensclimate.org  

You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, SoundCloud, Podbean, Northern Spirit Radio, Google Play, PlayerFM, and TuneIn Radio. 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.

CCL Training: Messaging For The Energy Innovation Act

Join CCL's Marketing Director Lesley Beatty for a training that will provide an overview of the important role of focus and resonance in communicating the four key points behind the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, as well as additional messaging recommendations, depending on your audience, and where to find all of the supporting resources.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):
Four Key Leading Messages (2:49)
Using The Expanded Messages (19:45)
Supporting Graphics & Videos (29:30)
CCL’s Support For Price On Carbon (35:30)
Resources on CCL Community (37:00)

Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/messaging
CCL Training Page: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/378  
Price On Carbon Page: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/price-on-carbon/ 

CCL Training: Understanding Border Carbon Adjustments

This training with CCL Board Chair Dr. Ross Astoria reviews the basics of border carbon adjustments, how they're viewed constitutionally and in terms of trade legality and the practical aspects of border carbon adjustment implementation along with its constraints.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):
(0:00) Intro & Background
(2:29) Context & History of International Trade
(6:37) What Are Tariffs & Resolving Disputes
(16:24) Adjustment Design For Fossil Fuels
(19:14) Carbon Intensive Goods
(26:47) Global Diplomacy Considerations & Examples
Separate Q&A Discussion: https://youtu.be/OAdXY2bVCE8 
Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/border-carbon-adjustments
CCL Community Training Page: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/132 

Andres Jimenez | Citizens' Climate Lobby | May 2021 Monthly Meeting

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.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):
(0:00) Welcome
(1:22) CCL's New Staff
(5:53) Andres's Presentation and Q&A
(32:48) AirMeet Intro For June Conference
(37:07) May Actions & Accomplishments

Green 2.0: https://diversegreen.org/ 
CCL's May Action Sheet: https://cclusa.org/actionsheet 
CCL's June Conference: https://cclusa.org/june 
May Pre Call Video: https://vimeo.com/546579112 

CCL Training: 2021 Updates From Around The World

Join Director of Programs, Citizens’ Climate International, Cathy Orlando for a training that highlights what is going on around the world in 2021 with ​CCL’s​ network, what other countries are doing in terms of carbon pricing and citizen engagement, and how CCL is engaging in international civil society meetings.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):

(0:00) Intro & Overview
(2:58) About Citizens’ Climate International
(10:58) International Progress on Carbon Pricing
(25:30) Stories From Around the World

Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/around-the-world

CCL Community Training Page: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/157

CCL Training: How To Host Online Zoom Meetings

CCL mainly uses Zoom for our video conferencing and training. This training with Alison Holtzschue will walk through the process of setting up and hosting an online group meeting on Zoom, including important considerations to get your meeting all set up online. In the meantime, Zoom's Training Center offers many live training webinars, recordings and video tutorials for everyone, and they're available here. 

 

CCL mainly uses Zoom for our video conferencing and training. This training with Alison Holtzschue will walk through the process of setting up and hosting an online group meeting on Zoom, including important considerations to get your meeting all set up online. In the meantime, Zoom's Training Center offers many live training webinars, recordings and video tutorials for everyone, and they're available here.

Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/hosting-zoom-meetings 
CCL Training Page: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/347 

Countering Scientific Misinformation AMA with Dr. John Cook, Skeptical Science Founder

Join Dr. John Cook, research fellow at the Climate Change Communication Research Hub at Monash University, creator of Skeptical Science, and Cranky Uncle for an AMA on Countering Scientific Misinformation. Dana Nucitelli, environmental scientist, writer, and author, interviews Dr. Cook about the beginnings of Skeptical Science, his work on Cranky Uncle, and his perspective on questions from the audience on how to counter scientific misinformation.

If you're interested in exploring Cranky Uncle, Dr. Cook has set up a group code "CCLAMA" to jump straight into the game - download the game on iPhone (http://sks.to/crankyiphone), Android (http://sks.to/crankyandroid), or browser (https://app.crankyuncle.info).

CCR Ep 59 Black Birders Week with Tykee James

As the government affairs coordinator at the National Audubon Society in Washington, DC. Tykee James has a special role—organizing bird walks with members of Congress and congressional staff! Birding has been important to him ever since he started as a teen in Philadelphia. 

Last year, after a racist incident against a Black birder in New York’s Central Park, Tykee James and fellow birders decided to create #BlackBirdersWeek. They had only hours to organize the event which included using social media to reveal a whole world of birding by people of color. During that week, the #BlackBirderWeek campaign had more than 600 million impressions on social media sites. It also generated national press coverages.

Tykee joins us to talk about the incredibly successful campaign and the need to tell stories about Black experiences that go beyond narratives of trauma. He also shares his plans for this year’s Black Birders Week. 

Tykee James is the government affairs coordinator at the National Audubon Society and sits on the board of directors of the DC Audubon Society, Wyncote Audubon Society, Audubon Maryland-DC, the Birding Co-op, and the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University.  In his personal time he is the audio producer for Wildlife Observer Network, a wildlife media project he started with some wildlife-friendly friends in Philly. Tykee hosts two podcasts: Brothers in Birding and On Word for Wildlife.

The Art House

Citizens Climate Radio host, Peterson Toscano, shares some of his own climate story. In doing so, he evokes the spirit of American poet, Walt Whitman. He reveals there was a lot more to the bard than just his famous book, Leaves of Grass. Whitman evolved from an aimless young man to a dynamic new poetic prophet to a tender and faithful caregiver to young men devastated by the American Civil War. 

Like the need to increase our empathy during this time of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Peterson stresses how climate change requires an opening of the heart. Whitman models this beautifully in the ways he cared for wounded and dying soldiers. 

Influenced by Gary Schmidgall’s book, Walt Whitman: A Gay Life, Peterson recreates the moment of Whitman’s first breakthrough. It happened at an evening in the Opera when he heard the Italian diva Madame Marietta Alboni. Her voice pierced Whitman and opened up his artistic soul. You will hear Fac ut Portem from Rossini’s Stabat Mater available on Archive.org as Peterson narrates the moment.

You can hear standalone version of The Art House at Artists and Climate Change

Good News Story

Our Good News Story comes out of Portland, Oregon. Lane Shaffer is a 15 year old high school student. He is one of several students seeking to change public transportation policy in the Portland area. 

In addition to working on this public transportation project, Lane is also one of the hosts of All in My Head podcast. It is produced by a group of teens that are making a podcast for youth, by youth. They counter stereotypes around mental health in the teen BIPOC (Black, and Indigenous, People of Color) and LGBTQ+ community. 

If you have good news to share, contact Peterson radio @ citizensclimate.org

Dig Deeper

• How to Be an Urban Birder, book by David Lindo
• Hear the full conversation between Tykee James and host, Peterson Toscano
• Black and Latinx Birders Scholarship
• Envisioning an Anti-Racist Sustainable Philly A panel discussion focused on understanding sustainability from the perspective of diverse and often marginalized communities (recording on YouTube)
• Walt Whitman and the Civil War, American Experience on PBS

We always welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, and recommendations for the show. Leave a voice mail at 518.595.9414. (+1 if calling from outside the USA.) You can email your answers to radio @ citizensclimate.org  

You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, SoundCloud, Podbean, Northern Spirit Radio, Google Play, PlayerFM, and TuneIn Radio. 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.

Big Tent Climate Talks | Evangelical Environmental Network | April 2021

Our April event features a conversation with Kyle Kammien, Senior Business Relations Representative and Dr. Jessica Moerman is the Senior Director for Science and Policy at the Evangelical Environmental Network.

Evangelical Environmental Network: https://creationcare.org/​

Register For Next Month: https://cclusa.org/bigtent​

Join us for Big Tent Climate Talks, a new, engaging, monthly conversation that spotlights leaders in the climate community outside of CCL doing important work in building coalitions around effective climate solutions. At CCL, we know solving climate change requires a variety of policies and perspectives. That's why we do this work under a big tent that includes folks from the right, the left, and every spot in between. In our Big Tent Climate Talks, we'll talk to a wide variety of climate leaders outside of CCL to learn more about how we can all work better together.