A special Spirit In Action show by guest-host Peterson Toscano of Citizens Climate Radio on finding political unity in dealing with the climate crisis. Visits with members of the Conservative Climate Lobby, and speakers from their DC lobby day, give hope for bringing red and blue together for a united response to the crisis of our generation. We hear from 5 participants of the lobby day, from Alex Flint, the Exec Director at Alliance for Market Solutions, from Jim Tolbert, the Conservative Outreach Director, and from conservative fellow, Jacob Abel. The author of The 100% Solution. A Plan for Solving Climate Change, Solomon Goldstein-Rose shares his vision for dealing with the problem, and Peterson Toscano shares from his personal story of change, drawing on inspiration from poet Walt Whitman.
In February, Citizens’ Climate Radio host Peterson Toscano traveled to Washington, D.C., for CCL’s first ever Conservative Climate Lobby Day. More than 90 people attended from all over the country to meet with Republican staff and members of Congress about climate change and a path forward.
In this episode you will hear excerpts from interviews with volunteer lobbyists Carlos Simms, Mary Lawing, Katie Zakrzewski, Isuru Seneviratne, and Cindy Burbank. Alex Flint, the Executive Director at Alliance for Market Solutions, spoke during the February event on a panel with other Republican climate leaders. Mr. Flint previously served as staff director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. He was the senior vice president of governmental affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute and was a member of President Trump’s transition team. He outlines for us the dramatic shifts he has witnessed while speaking with lawmakers on climate.
Jim Tolbert, CCL’s Conservative Outreach Director and Jacob Abel, a CCL conservative fellow, provide insider glimpses to the conversations about climate change they have with fellow Conservatives.
In 2017, at the age 22, Solomon Goldstein-Rose was elected to the Massachusetts legislature. After a two-year term, he decided he would not run again. Instead, he has been ramping up his efforts to get us thinking and acting about climate change. In March, just as the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down, Solomon published his first book: The 100% Solution. A Plan for Solving Climate Change.
Solomon recognizes some successes through building political will But he points to a missing piece of the puzzle. As a thought leader, Solomon is trying to get Americans to think globally. He wants the US to consider a larger role in addressing climate change. In proposing solutions, Solomon Goldstein Rose is not afraid to be provocative. He jumps dab smack in the middle of one of the biggest debates in the climate movement right now. In reading Solomon Goldstein-Rose’s book and in chatting with him, it is impossible to not feel his excitement about implementing climate solutions. He is bursting with enthusiasm for the future we can build together.
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. After Toscano experienced a breakdown and breakthrough concerning climate change, he took a year off to study the topic. Throughout the year he found himself drawn to Whitman and his work. He discovered 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, Toscano 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, Toscano 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 Toscano narrates the moment.
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