If climate change summers are going to be longer and hotter, we need more pastimes. Baseball? Ice cream eating? Going to a double feature in a cold, dark movie theater? I really struggled last week when temps were in the 100s (and the “real feel” staggeringly higher) to come up with things to do that were not just sitting on the couch binging TV. If this is a taste of climate change summers to come, I’m going to need better things to do!
This week’s must read: This Former GOP Politician Wants to Take Politics Out of Climate Change (New York Times)
[Note: If you don’t have NYT access, you can read the piece here, republished by cleantechnica.]
A past guest of the EcoRight Speaks, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is no stranger to these pages. In addition to recording a podcast episode together last June, I have frequently linked to his insightful Substack, A Second Opinion. Renown as a physician long before he ran for office, his recent work for The Nature Conservancy has him connecting the very real dots between a healthy planet and human health, as noted in this profile by the New York Times:
“In his writings, appearances and videos, Mr. Frist talks about the toll that pollution and extreme weather take on people’s health. About operating on lungs darkened by tobacco smoke and airborne particulates, and how pollution contributes to every coronary artery surgery he’s done. He comes across as straightforward and plain-spoken, like an old-fashioned kindly doctor.”
His perspective as a physician is critical and we hope that his message is one that will resonate right of center. “A healthier planet means healthier people,” Senator Frist said in the article. “The science shows it. Our experience shows it. Nobody can really argue against that.”
And because I can’t not quote our friend Alex Flint when he shares his wisdom, “In the long run, there is going to be a political response forced by the reality of the changing climate…It is inevitable.”
In case you want to relisten to last summer’s recording with Senator Frist, here you go!
Satellite Office Meeting
I couldn’t help but share this very important republicEn.org business meeting occuring over very delicious looking mac and cheese (at an actual mac and cheese restaurant) between our Summer Intern, Livia Payne and our Outreach Director, Wen Lee (and her daughter).
Our decentralized team doesn’t see each other that often so we have to highlight these rare encounters when we get to meet in person!
Also, stay tuned for Livia’s next blog post.
Climate change in the media
We recently shared the latest iteration of the YCCC-Mason 4C Climate Change in the American Mind survey. I wanted to call out a finding on the decrease in media reporting on the topic.
From the report: “Even though most Americans are interested in hearing about global warming and are worried about its impacts, in recent years, they report a substantial decline in exposure to media coverage and other people talking about it.”
Key findings:
- 39% of Americans say they hear about global warming in the media at least once a month, a decrease of 18 percentage points from 57% in 2022.
- 17% say they hear people they know talking about global warming, an 8-point drop from 25% in 2022.
- 69% of Americans “rarely” or “never” discuss global warming with family and friends, which is the highest percentage in 10 years.
More Americans need to be friends with me, I guess?
On a serious note, we touched on this topic in an EcoRight Speaks episode featuring Mason 4C head and top researcher John Kotcher.
You can catch that conversation below.
Wish me luck as I take my poor, ignored gravel bike out for a ride for the first time in 2026…
Have a great weekend!