It’s like the subject line says: Gone Hiking. Later this afternoon, I’m off to the Shenandoah for some autumn hiking with friends. I’m hoping we can do the Whiteoak Canyon trail, which I explored several years ago with my sister and if memory serves, has great waterfall views. Fall is my time to thrive so stay tuned for more out-in-the-wild content from me!
This week’s must read: From Anxiety to Agency: How Young Leaders Are Shaping A Sustainable Future (Forbes)
Penned by former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a physician who has “long spoken about how the environment around us shapes the physical health within us” he makes the case for taking the climate anxiety of young people seriously by helping give them agency.
“This generation is navigating overlapping pressures of pandemic-era disruption, the constant pull of social media, the rapid advance of artificial intelligence, in addition to a changing environment defined by increased extreme weather events. Across the country, anxiety and depression among adolescents are rising, affecting their readiness to learn and their personal well-being,” he writes. “What if harnessing the next generation’s conviction and passion — and creating meaningful pathways for their leadership and agency — is not only good for our communities and planet, but also one of the most powerful ways to strengthen their mental health? Increasingly, the evidence shows when our youth have agency – the personal autonomy to shape their own life and the environment around them – it can counteract fears and negative thoughts arising from external pressures.”
He even convinced his grandfather…
Mason 4C Postdoctoral Fellow Doran Tucker knows a thing or two about communicating climate risk. An undergraduate degree in international affairs at Penn State sparked his interest in how investments in military infrastructure (for example, remote sensing) can become tools we use in everyday life (GPS). From this inquiry, he went on to explore in his masters and doctoral work on the nexus of identity, policy, and the environment with a particular emphasis on effective climate change communication in Appalachia and in military contexts. We talk about the effectiveness of communicating climate risk through a national security lens, including a very personal example from conversations with an important member of his own family.
Doran completed his PhD at George Mason University in the Department of Communication in 2025. As an avid hunter and crafter of medieval armor, Doran routinely intermeshes his hobbies and academic inquiry.
Coming up next week, my conversation with Mary Anna Mancuso. She’s back, friends. The queen of op-ed writing will be picking back up her proverbial pen to write for us, so if you’ve been wondering what she’s been doing the last two years and want to hear about what she’s learned and where she intends to go from here, you won’t want to miss a word.
Florida Climate Week is next week!
And yours truly will be moderaing a virtual panel, which will air on October 9th at 11:00am. Featuring our friends, Brandon Shuler and Nicole Kirchhoff, both water quality experts in the Sunshine State, the discussion centers on how to handle the challenges climate change presents in maintaining a water infrastruture system that is healthy for human, aquacutlure, and the Florida economy.
Register here to tune in and review the active schedule.
On again, off again, on again
Two weeks ago, I reported great news from National Clean Energy Week. Then last week, the news was grim. But we are back to hailing bipartisan progress on permit reform. And now the word on the street is that the “Four Corners” as Environment and Public Works Chair Shelly Moore Capito and Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (pictured above) plus Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee and Ranking Member Martin Heinrich call themselves, have agreed on the terms of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, aka, permitting reform.
There is strong bipartisan support for federal permitting reform, which is crucial if we are going to get new energy projects — around 90% of which are clean energy — built and connected to the grid.
From C2ES’s Nat Keohane, who led off season 13 of our podcast: “Thanks to bipartisan leadership in the U.S. Senate, Congress has an opportunity this year to pass durable, lasting legislation that will make it easier to build new transmission lines and connect power to the grid, getting more energy faster to businesses and consumers across America. Investors and developers of energy projects will be able to count on their permits once granted, and these projects will benefit from faster and better-coordinated environmental reviews that maintain meaningful environmental and community protections.”
“We’re motivated by one central shared concern. We want to make it easier in America to build things,” said Senator Lee, of the cooperative spirit of the Four Corners.
For a deep dive into the Senate bill, I found this Heatmap analysis informative.
The vote will happen after the election and then it’s on to the House for action.
Other announcements…
I have a new assistant!
Just kidding, but boy does Mister Darcy like to sit on the computer and “help” me work. Here he is in his cone of shame post neutering checking to see if this week’s EcoRight Speaks episode had dropped yet.
We hope you have a splendid weekend!