Citizens' Climate Lobby

Join CCL group leaders who have been innovating with how their chapter is conducting outreach and recruitment right now in the online era. We'll hear from CCL leaders who have been innovating with social get-togethers such as happy hours and watch parties, along with leaders that have found ways to table, host climate conversations, and build coalitions within their community. Bring your ideas, experiences, and suggestions and learn what's worked for other groups to stay creatively connected and engage in outreach online during the pandemic.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):
(0:00) Introduction & Background
(3:30) Climate Conversations
(9:05) Speed Tabling
(12:34) Ecopalooza 
(20:56) Online Film Screening

Helpful Resources:
Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/online-outreach-recruiting  
CCL Community Page: https://community.citizensclimate.org/events/item/24/5672  
Ecopalooza Schedule: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gRL3VaLjUMDfMVtdHuNIJlL2fXqJoFFeL2jUJ6WPFPQ/edit 
Ecopalooza Welcome Slides:  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VeJQrcw5ftMixnOh7sXmEyE7AqU00cG5oI1WlfP_Lrc/edit#slide=id.g96ebc04cee_8_0 
CCL's Film Screening Guide: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/307  
Preparing a Screening: Hawaii's "The Burden" Drive files: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/14LszkKXIuDkEQ_Qou3uyRlwA57Uk0fyK  

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.

Helpful Links: 
Near-term to net zero alternative to the social cost of carbon for setting carbon prices," Nature Climate Change:  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0880-3 
Expanding the Reach of A Carbon Tax - Emissions Impacts of Pricing Combined with Additional Climate Actions: 
https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/file-uploads/CarbonComplement_CGEP-Report_101920.pdf 
Interactions between a Federal Carbon Tax and Other Climate Policies:
https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/research/report/interactions-between-federal-carbon-tax-and-other-climate-policies 
Dr. Alex Barron explains "Near Term to Net Zero:" A New Approach To Setting Carbon Prices for CCL Ann Arbor event: https://community.citizensclimate.org/events/item/2570/5270 

Join CCL group leaders who have been innovating with their online group organizing to help build cohesiveness and action opportunities together as a chapter. We'll hear from leaders who have helped organize phonebanking efforts, Energy Innovation Act endorse-a-thons, and Call Congress parties. Bring your ideas, experiences, and suggestions and learn what's worked for other groups to stay creatively connected and productive online in the pandemic.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):
What Makes For Good CCL Coworking? (5:27)
Chapter Phonebanking (9:29)
Call Congress Day (13:00)
Endorse-A-Thon (14:36)
Closing Thoughts (16:48)
 
Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/zoom-coworking  
CCL Community Page: https://community.citizensclimate.org/events/item/24/5478 

CCL VA Call Congress website: https://cclvirginia.org/2020/11/23/calling-congress-party/ 
and planning document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z5BQZVnNJNqjzEDUodK0ujEX3ad2A18FVCRFQJRHPlI/edit?usp=sharing 

CCL Raleigh-Durham Endorse-A-Thon Planning Doc: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17gIcpdaADepam1bP40g5k_GF_EgLtRK6qKOFeQJfSMw/edit   

Log Those Coworking Actions: 
https://community.citizensclimate.org/actions/home 

 

In a followup to our most downloaded episode,  What Does the Bible Say About Climate Change?, host, Peterson Toscano speaks with two Christian women about their faith, their commitment to creation care, and why they see Citizens Climate Lobby as a place where they can pursue meaningful solutions. They talk about their values, the Bible, the spiritual charge to do the work of reconciliation, especially in a contentious and politically divided country. They speak with conviction about the need for Christian believers to take creation care seriously.

 

Kelsey Grant served as a CCL fellow with the Mountain West Higher Education Region. Currently she is a CCL Conservative Fellow and member of the Conservative Caucus Executive Team. At the University of Colorado-Boulder she is a pre-law student, double majoring in Political Science and Philosophy. She discovered Citizens’ Climate Lobby through her church, where she co-founded environmental ministries, taught about environmental stewardship as a Sunday School teacher, and occasionally served as a guest preacher. She has published over a dozen Op-Eds/letters to the editor. Kelsey was named a 2020 Udall Scholar and 2020 Truman Scholar Finalist for her work on conservative outreach in the climate space and empowering individuals to be effective facilitators of bipartisanship. Kelsey Grant’s Instagram. 

 

Andrea Zink is from Tennessee and has spent her professional career working in the non-profit sector for mission-driven organizations such as The Salvation Army, Vanderbilt University, and Nashville Opera. She attends the United Methodist Church and serves on the United Methodist Circle of Grace prison ministry music team and on several UMC Creation Justice work committees.Andrea joined CCL in 2016 when she discovered CCL's bipartisan approach to climate change solutions. Andrea Zink’s Instagram.

 

The Art House

In the Art House you will meet Lindsay Linsky. A Bible-believing Christian in Georgia, she is the author of the book, Keep It Good—Understanding Creation Care through Parables. Through her book she seeks to break through environmental apathy and partisan noise to show Christians God’s simple yet beautiful message of creation stewardship.

 

As a teacher, Lindsay Linsky understands how challenging it is to correct misinformation, and she recognizes the power of stories to engage people with new ideas. In our show she shares practical insights and a very powerful Bible verse that highlights the call to creation care.

 

Lindsay Linsky has been featured on panel discussions at theology conferences as well as podcasts and webinars on Creation Care Radio, Yale Climate Connections, and RepublicEN’s The EcoRight Speaks podcast. Special thanks to Price Atkinson for introducing us to Lindsay Linsky.  

Lindsay earned her PhD in Science Education with a focus on environmental education and ocean literacy from the University of Georgia, and lives with her husband and children in Suwanee, GA. Lindsay Linsky on Twitter.

 

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

 

Dig Deeper

• Lindsay Linsky on Why Christians Need to Keep Creation Good (YouTube)
• Evangelical Environmental Network
• Young Evangelicals for Climate Action
• Christianity Today articles on Creation Care
• Church and creation care: we need a theology-before-politics approach by Doyle Sager in Baptist News Global
• Bible Verses on Creation Care  
• How to Rescue the Earth without Worshiping Nature—A Christian’s Call to Save Nature by Tony Campolo, our guest for Ep 56 which premieres on January 22, 2012. 

 

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  

 

In 2021 we will also introduce a new feature to our monthly show. Our Good News Report will give listeners a chance to share those important and often under-reported stories of climate successes. It may be a story of national significance or something happening in your own neighborhood. We want to celebrate your successes. If you have a good news story, email us: 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.

Join CCL leaders from the Latinos and Catholic action teams and Spanish-Language resources development for a training that will review CCL's resources available to use in your chapter's outreach to Spanish speaking community members and an invitation to join new initiatives to prepare presentations for Latinx and Catholic audiences.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):

• CCL Spanish Language Resources Overview (3:03)
• Latinx Catholic Outreach (20:53)
• Group Latino Catolico (26:20)
• Additional Latinx Support (45:25)

Helpful resources:

• Tonight’s slides: http://cclusa.org/latinx-catholic-outreach-slides 
• CCL Training Page: https://community.citizensclimate.org/events/item/24/5046
• Spanish-Language Resources: https://community.citizensclimate.org/spanish
• Latinos Action Team: https://community.citizensclimate.org/groups/home/995
• Catholics Action Team: https://community.citizensclimate.org/groups/home/958
• Sign up here to find out more about CCL Spanish Outreach Initiatives: https://forms.gle/WqV6ZLYAqRECE4fg8
• "A Catholic Response to Global Warming" English Booklet http://bit.ly/catholic-ccl
• "Una Respuesta Católica al Calentamiento Global" Spanish: http://bit.ly/catolica-ccl 

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.

Helpful Links:
Ms. Figueres’s website: http://christianafigueres.com 
December Action Sheet: https://cclusa.org/actionsheet 
All Dec. conference videos and presentations can be found at: https://cclusa.org/presentations
CCL 
Footage from CBS Evening News 12/1/20: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/what-can-president-elect-joe-biden-do-climate-change-if-republicans-senate-majority/# 
Virtual Postcards: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/471
 
Upcoming Online Co-working Parties training: https://community.citizensclimate.org/events/item/24/5478 
CCL Donation Link: http://cclusa.org/donate 
December pre-call video: https://vimeo.com/489614283  
All CCL videos are available here at: https://cclusa.org/videos

Our panel of John Wood, Jr., Hahrie Han, and Shi-Ling Hsu will discuss from each of their unique perspectives what the way forward for climate action in 2021 will look like. For all #CCL2020 Conference videos go to: https://cclusa.org/youtube 

-Hahrie Han, Johns Hopkins University, Professor of Political Science
https://politicalscience.jhu.edu/directory/hahrie-han/

-Shi-Ling Hsu, Florida State University, Professor of Law
https://law.fsu.edu/faculty-staff/shi-ling-hsu

-John Wood, Jr., Braver Angels, Director of Public Outreach
https://braverangels.org/

-Moderated by Mark Reynolds, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Executive Director
http://facebook.com/pg/CitizensClimateLobby/

A recent episode of Lew Blaustein’s Green Sports Pod featured a riveting interview with National Football League player, Garry Gilliam. Blaustein writes:

Garry Gilliam experienced this hope-squashing system firsthand during his childhood in the opportunity-deprived section of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Now, the ex-NFL offensive lineman is using his resources and his seemingly boundless energy to try to break that system, replacing it with a more equitable, hopeful one.

His system-breaking tool is The Bridge Eco-Village, an innovative start-up that provides opportunities for African-Americans and other marginalized people to “Work, Eat, Live, Learn and Play” in affordable, high quality mixed-use developments. The pilot is being built in — where else — Harrisburg.

Lew Blaustein has given us permission to rebroadcast an edited version of his interview with Garry Gilliam. You will also hear Citizens Climate Radio’s host, Peterson Toscano check in with Gilliam to find out how things stand with the Bridge Eco-Village today in light of the Covid-19 Global Pandemic. Garry Gilliam has good news to share about the progress of the project.

As the  Coronavirus pandemic shut everything down, Sharona Shnayder, a college student, simply could not stay inside any longer. One Tuesday she joined a friend at neighborhood park. Together, while maintaining a safe physical distance, they picked up trash at a park in Portland, OR near their university.

Not only did people in her community begin to notice and join in; word quickly spread. Now there are Tuesdays for Trash events happening all over the world.

Sharona, who grew up in Nigeria and now lives in the USA, shares how picking up trash is bringing people together, lifting spirits, and getting people engaged in climate work. In fact, this may be a project your own climate group wants to take on in order to connect in a new way with your own community.

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.

Are you curious about what to expect about CCL's Conference and Lobby Days or have a question about any final details? Join Alison Kubicsko, National Events Director and Mindy Ahler CCL Liaison Coordinator Team and North Wind Regional Director for a final walk-through of the who, what, and where for the Summer 2024 Conference and Lobby Day to help you prepare for what to expect with the schedule, logistics, and details.

Skip ahead to the following section(s): 

• (0:00) Intro & Agenda
• (4:22) CCL Lobby Days
• (16:13) CCL Conference Overview

Slides: http://cclusa.org/lobby-conference-qa 

Preparing For Lobby Day training page: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/272 

Join CCL's Vice President of Government Affairs Dr. Danny Richter for a training that will review CCL's primary and supporting asks, the 2020 June Meeting Analysis, and provide final guidance for lobby teams as they plan their December online lobby meetings. 

Skip ahead to the following section(s):
Review From Last Week (2:18)
Primary Ask & Support Is Building Handout (4:32)
Supporting Asks (12:47)
June Meeting Analysis (16:35)
Extended Q&A With Danny (separate video): https://youtu.be/LQHEtmTB278 

Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/2020-asks-review  
Primary Asks: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/237  
Frequently Raised Topics (in June 2020 Lobby Meetings): https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/248  
June 2020 Meeting Analysis Tool:
https://community.citizensclimate.org/tools/june_2020_analysis 
Supporting Asks: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/240  
Questions? Ask on CCL Community’s Lobby Forums: http://cclusa.org/lobby-forums