Hey, hey, hey… what’s shaking? I’ve got 21 days until my manuscript is due so basically I’m waking up in a cold sweat every morning at 4:45 and then I’m working late into the evenings and eating buttered pasta for dinner. (SEND SNACKS.) I hope your life is much more balanced and that wherever you are, spring is starting to bloom.
This week’s must read: Push partisan politics to the side to create bipartisan solutions to climate change (Indy Star)
Co-authors Makenzie Binford, the chairwoman of the Indiana Federation of College Republicans and Christopher Bove, chairman of the College Democrats of Rhode Island, pose the question: “Climate politics remains politicized, so how can we achieve bipartisanship on this issue?”
And the answer: “To this end, a market-based tool like carbon pricing is vital. This approach would charge fossil fuel companies a fee for their emissions and create a market incentive for businesses to adopt cleaner energy sources like solar, wind and nuclear. In addition, if the revenue from this carbon fee were returned to citizens as direct checks, this would sidestep debates about the size of government and put money back in the pockets of US workers and families.”
EcoRight Speaks, season six, episode five: Hunter/angler Connor Parrish
I am so excited for listeners to hear this week’s episode! Connor Parrish is an avid hunter and fisherman who lives in Southwest Montana and spends most of his free time in the woods or on the water.
He is a project manager for Trout Unlimited, based out of their Bozeman office focusing on habitat and water quality issues impacting the Gallatin Watershed’s treasured trout fishery. Prior to joining Trout Unlimited, Connor spent 9 years working in the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia River basin where he focused on fisheries research and habitat restoration for steelhead, salmon, and bull trout. He has a B.S. in Natural Resource Sciences and an MS in Biology with an emphasis in fisheries ecology.
Whether you’re an angler or an outdoor enthusiast, I think you’re going to enjoy this episode!
And just for fun, I didn’t find this profile about Connor until after we recorded, but I’m sort of obsessed with how he and his wife met. Read on! Also, one more photo for the road because how could I not include this?
Quote of the week: Senator Mitt Romney of Utah
“We do a lot of things that make us feel good about ourselves but will have almost no impact on global emissions. If we want to do something serious about global emissions, we need to put a price on carbon.”
If you liked that, check out this related op-ed, Romney had a plan that is pro-business and pro-climate (Deseret News)
“Imagine a system where clean manufacturers can get ahead because of — not despite — their good faith efforts. They enjoy an economic boost for making low-emitting choices. In that system, America comes out on top. So does the climate,” writes Scott Anderson, co-chair of Utahns for Carbon Dividends. “Simply put, economic incentives that discourage pollution encourage the kind of innovation America excels at. Cleaner manufacturers would naturally gain market share, so operating cleanly would come at a lower cost. Innovative energy technologies would be exported throughout the world, giving everyone a stake. There would be global competition to do right by the environment.”
(These words sound very Bob Inglis-y, so of course, we are here for it!)
Bill Nye the Science Guy talks carbon pricing:
H/T to Angela Larck for sharing this video of the Aspen Institute’s Climate Ideas Confernece. At the 1:28ish mark, Bill Nye the Science Guy starts talking about solutions to climate change, including carbon pricing. There’s also a shout out to ACC’s Benji Backer and the wise counsel that “we have to integrate climate policy with energy policy.” Plus, he’s entertaining, so take a look. (Sorry, I couldn’t embed this video…)
And that’s it for me! I will be… writing this weekend! See you. next time.