It’s Friday the 13th, which means if a black cat crosses my path, I get to keep it! (I don’t make up the cat distribution rules.) Or if I step on a crack in the sidewalk/break a mirror, it’s actually good luck.
On a serious note, thanks to everyone who reached out about Fluffy. Fang and I are carrying on and she’s actually grown to be more cuddly and a bit more needy since losing her sister.
This week’s must read: Tax credits with a scalpel — how to boost American energy without killing innovation (The Deseret Sun)
ICYMI (I did), last week Senator John Curtis penned this op-ed about the ongoing negotiation in the Senate over the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, in which he notes that “we simply cannot afford to treat good policy ideas as guilty by political association. That would be a quest for political power over intelligence and strategy.”
He continues: “We must build a thoughtful, principled bill that doesn’t pull the rug out from under American innovators. Doing otherwise risks freezing investment, delaying domestic production, increasing costs, and forfeiting our energy edge and national security to China and Russia.”
EcoRight Speaks, Season 10, Episode 16, featuring former Senator Bill Frist
I’m still giddy from my conversation with former Senator Bill Frist from Tennessee.
After working for 16 years as a surgeon, specializing in heart and lung transplants, Dr. Frist was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994, becoming the first practicing physician to serve in that body since 1928. While in the Senate, he continued annual medical missions to impoverished countries. In 2000 Senator Frist became chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Two years later, the Senate Republican Conference elected him as their party’s floor leader. As majority leader, he championed legislation to fight HIV/AIDS globally, modernize Medicare to include prescription drug coverage for seniors, reduce taxes, and achieve K-12 education reform. Majority Leader Frist retired from the Senate in 2007 but remains quite active, including serving as global board chair of The Nature Conservancy.
Senator Frist was in the Senate at the same time I worked there, and while I didn’t know him, I always had respect for him and his staff. It was such a pleasure to interview him about the nexus between public health and climate change and I send a tip of my hat to Ed Maibach for both suggesting Senator Frist for the show and connecting us.
Coming up next week, Mary Anna Mancuso, our last regular season guest of season ten before our traditional “best of” episode in two weeks. Mary Anna is going to update us on her new job at the Miami Herald and all the goings on in Florida!
Quote of the week
“We can’t possibly win the AI race and keep energy reliable and affordable with only fossil fuels,” former FERC Chair Neil Chatterjee said at the Politico Energy Summit this week. “We need every available electron.”
Congrats to Mason 4C team
When the aforementioned Ed Maibach announced his impending retirement (as much as an accomplished scientist like Ed can *really* retire) from the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, we wondered how anyone could take his place. It turned out, the answer was simple: promote from within!
Congrats to Dr. John Kotcher, the new interim director. Dr. Kotcher earned his Ph.D. in communication from George Mason and has played a central role in the Center’s research and impact for more than a decade. He currently serves as a Director of Research and Research Associate Professor at the Center, where he leads a dynamic team of faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students dedicated to advancing public engagement and climate change communication. We look forward to working with him (and having him on the podcast).
Have a great weekend.