Former Rep. Bob Inglis (left), a Republican from South Carolina, and former Rep. Joe Hoeffel (right), a Democrat from Pennsylvania, were featured speakers at Coastal Carolina University’s “Congress to Campus” event.
Dear EcoRight Supporter,
Chaos can cause people to look for hope and actual leadership. Maybe that’s why January 2025 was our best single month of new email signups in the past three years. Maybe it’s what this student was expressing in her feedback on a “Congress to Campus” series of events at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC, on January 27-28:
The event featured former Rep. Joe Hoeffel, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, and former Rep. Bob Inglis, a Republican from South Carolina. Despite their political differences, Hoeffel and Inglis came together to discuss civic leadership and the challenges facing America today. I really appreciated this discussion and am glad I attended. I don’t know much about politics, but that is something I’d like to change as I get older and realize the importance of being educated on politics and staying informed. It was refreshing to see two men from opposing political parties engage in meaningful conversation on hard hitting topics while still seeming like close friends.
Lately, especially with the recent election, I have felt extreme worry and unease about the current state of politics and fear for the direction it’s heading. However, both Inglis and Hoeffel reassured us students not to worry, reminding us that “the pendulum swings in politics.”
I also really admired Inglis’s openness in admitting that he changed his mind about his stance on certain topics, specifically climate change. Many people, especially when discussing politics, are reluctant to accept new information and can be very close-minded. So, it was very inspiring to not only see a Republican take a stand for action on climate-change but also admit a change of heart. I’m sure a lot of Republicans care about the environment just as much as Democrats do, but their voices don’t always get heard. Seeing people from both sides find common ground made me feel a little more hopeful about the future.
With your help, we’re out and about, engaging, reassuring, and organizing. We’re confident that chaos and hyperbole will eventually give way to common sense and common purpose.
Glad to be in this with you,
Bob
Community Outreach & Engagement
Taking social media by storm
Do you follow us on social media? If you do, you’ve probably seen republicEn’s ad featuring a video of Bob Inglis speaking about the wealth and job creation potential of embracing clean energy to solve the climate challenge. This video gets fantastic engagement. So far in 2025 alone, it has reached over 2.5 million people on X and has over 119,000 post engagements – which means 119,000 people have shared the video, commented, liked it, or clicked a link on it. Watch the video below.
EcoRight Leadership Council
In December, our most active volunteer, Mary Anna Mancuso, took a full-time position on the editorial board of the Miami Herald. There, she will write editorials on a range of Florida issues. We will miss her prolific writing on our behalf, and we are currently working to assemble a team of volunteers to fill the EcoRight vacuum.
Podcast
We spent January planning the guest roster for EcoRight Speaks season ten, which will launch on February 11, 2025, with an episode featuring the Reverend Mitch Hescox, the former CEO of the Evangelical Environmental Network.
What season nine episode had the most downloads? Episode 13 featuring Alliance for Market Solutions executive director Alex Flint. Listen to a clip from this episode below.
Climate Week En Review
Your Weekly Roundup of EcoRight News from republicEn.
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- 01/10: Climate Week En Review: We’re Back!
- 01/17: Climate Week En Review: Wintering
- 01/24: Hot Mess: Podcast Series Spotlights Conservative Leadership in Climate Action
- 01/24: Climate Week En Review: In the Polar Vortex
- 01/31: Climate Week En Review: Bye January
- 02/07: Climate Week En Review: Hang With Us
In the Media
republicEn articles/opinions
- 01/07: Forbes, Trade policy that leads to energy innovation
republicEn mentions/quotes/coverage
- 01/02: New Hampshire Union Leader, Andrew Cassel: New Year’s resolutions for the dinner table
- 01/15: Grist, How states will keep fighting for climate progress under Trump
- 01/15: Truthout, Despite Trump, State-Level Climate Progress Will Continue — or Even Accelerate
- 01/16: The Madras Tribune, How states will keep fighting for climate progress under Trump
- 01/20: Mother Jones, These States Will Keep Fighting for Climate Progress, Trump or No Trump
- 01/22: The Hill, Republicans can depolarize climate solutions, but will they?
- 01/22: Yale Climate Connections, Book review: “Glacial” exposes the heroes and villains of U.S. climate policy
- 01/22: WDC News 6, “Glacial” exposes the heroes and villains of U.S. climate policy
- 02/07: AP News, Forget saving the planet. Clean energy interests sharpen a different message: Money and jobs
- 02/07: ABC News, Forget saving the planet. Clean energy leaders sharpen a new message: Money and jobs
- 02/07: The Telegraph, Forget saving the planet. Clean energy interests sharpen a different message: Money and jobs
republicEn multimedia coverage
- 01/15: Hot Mess (CCL Radio), Episode 7: Cultural Barriers and the Global Picture
- 01/24: Hot Mess (CCL Radio), Episode 8: Climate Conservatives—Now What?
republicEn blog mentions/quotes/coverage
- 01/07: Steelnet, SMA Action Plan Mentioned in Forbes Article on Foreign Pollution Tariff
- 01/09: Weitzman News, Spring 2025 lecture series opens January 22
- 01/12: Archinect News, Get Lectured: University of Pennsylvania, Spring ’25
- 01/15: Blogarama, How states will keep fighting for climate progress under Trump
- 01/15: Dizzed, How states will keep fighting for climate progress under Trump
- 01/30: Union News & Events, Climate solutions focus of this year’s ESPE series
- 02/05: Penn Today, Fifth Energy Week to bring Penn community together around solutions
- 02/06: Penn Engineering Today, Fifth Energy Week to Bring Penn Community Together Around Solutions
Events
Past events
- 01/27-28: Conway, SC – Coastal Carolina University/Former Members for Congress “Congress to Campus” program
- 02/03: Schenectady, NY – Environmental speaker series “Climate Policy Solutions,” Union College Environmental Science Policy and Engineering Program
Upcoming events
- 02/11: Virtual – “Intro to Sustainability” class guest speaker. University of Georgia
- 02/13: Philadelphia, PA – “Conservative and Concerned About Climate Change? You’re Not Alone” keynote speaker, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania
- 02/20: Virtual – Part 1: “BUST or TRUST? The scientific consensus on climate change” presented by republicEn
- 02/21-22: Charleston, SC – 2025 Young Republican National Federation – Spring Meeting
- 02/27: Virtual – Part 2: “BUST or TRUST? The scientific consensus on climate change” presented by republicEn
- 03/19: Virtual – “Environmental Thought and Practice” class guest speaker, University of Virginia
- 03/25: Savannah, GA – Savannah South Rotary Club guest speaker
- 04/04: Spartanburg, SC – Sustainability Leadership Initiative “Energy and Emissions” guest speaker, Furman University
- 04/17: Virtual – “Climate Change Communication” class guest speaker, Eckerd College, Florida