How many of you are about to personally engage in the “slams laptop until January 5th” meme? [Spoiler: I will be able to tell at least in part from the number of out-of-office auto replies I get this afternoon how many of you are done for the year.]
Personally speaking (writing?), I’m looking forward to quality time off with my family and friends. It has been a year (more on that below) and we all need to take the time we need to revel, rest, and recuperate.
I hope however you’re spending the next few weeks, you’re finding peace and joy!
Speaking of joy…
Kissing Chickens
Do I have your attention now?
I’m going to give it to your straight: we want to see Bob Inglis kiss a chicken, which he will record and share but only if we raise $5,000.
If we reach $3000—which we are *this close* to hitting—we will host a virtual AMA tea party with Bob. (Get it? Ask him anything and he will spill the tea…)
So if you’re looking at your end-of-year giving plan and we aren’t in it, would you consider dropping us a (virtual) paper bag of unmarked singles (kidding, investigative types!) so that we can not only see this public display of fowl attention but also keep bringing you news, podcast episodes, and events in our key states?
Every gift large or small helps republicEn reach more conservative audiences in 2026. And we have some fun perks/gifts for generous donors. So follow the link to donate!
The EcoRight Speaks Season 11 is officially a wrap!
And so here we are with our traditional, season-end wrap up, featuring clips from our favorite episodes. In case you missed who appeared on the show, here is a sampling:
- Dr. Doug Casa from the Korey Stringer Institute on extreme weather’s dangerous impacts on athletes at all levels of play
- EcoRight legend, Mary Anna Mancuso on her job as a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board
- Corey Kerkela on the Fellowship of the Trees
- Conservataive clean energy advocate, Heather Reams
- Andrew Holland on the near term future of fusion
- Hattie Hobart sharing the true nonpartisan status of nature
Another highlight this season: we surpassed 200 episodes! I know we make it look easy, but there is so much that goes into a podcast, so we are rather proud of hitting that mark!
Next we take a break for the holidays and then January is planning month, so if you have a suggestion, be sure to take Angela’s survey.
Coming up next season…
We are making a list and checking it twice, so if you have ideas for season 12, let us know. We hope to be back in your ears by February 2026!
This week’s must read: The dividend America needs is from pricing carbon, not Trump’s tariffs (The Invading Sea)
It’s nice to see carbon pricers beating the drum all the way to the end of the year.
“Level the playing field between fossil fuels and clean renewable energies by making all the costs of fossils fuels evident to consumers, and market forces will drive down greenhouse gas emissions,” writes the author, Joseph Bonasia. “This is the conservative, fair and cost-effective way to address climate change, utilizing what is one of the most powerful global human forces on earth — our market economy — to solve a global environmental crisis.”
2025: A Year En Review
I’m not going to sugar coat it; it’s been a rough year for those of us working on climate and clean energy policy. But we tried to find the levity (see above throwback photos of, left to right, Angela, Wen, and yours truly) and there were some noteworthy highlights along the way.
Angela Larck: “This year, one of my favorite moments was collaborating with Chelsea on our joint op-ed. It captured what I love most about this work: thoughtful partnership, honest conversation, and building something stronger together than any of us could alone.”
Wen Lee: “Rejoining the republicEn team was my highlight for 2025! It’s rare to find an organization that does such important work, and also has wonderful co-workers, and also is willing to rehire you after being gone for 3.5 years! I feel so lucky and so happy to be back. Looking forward to doing great things together in 2026.
Bob Inglis: His 2025 highlight is best read here. I just couldn’t edit down this experience into a few meaningful sentences!
As for me, I loved writing that op-ed with Angela. I was happy to see Wen rejoin the team after so many years. It was exciting to stretch into a new priority state (Iowa) and see Bob have success there. AND I enjoyed being asked to travel for work, especially trips to New Hampshire for the screening of The White House Effect and to Dallas for EarthX. I want to do more travel in 2026, so if you have an event and need a speaker, moderator, panelist, hit me up!
That’s it for me and the team! We wish everyone great joy this holiday season.