Bob Inglis joined members of the Darlington County GOP in Hartsville, South Carolina, for a conversation about conservative leadership, free enterprise, and practical solutions to our energy and climate challenges. Photo credit: Darlington County GOP.
Dear EcoRight Supporter,
Hartsville is where the coastal plain meets the inland, sandhills region of South Carolina. It’s a city of 7,400 people, home to Coker College and the Coker family’s very successful Fortune 500 company, Sonoco Products. It’s surrounded by big farms that grow peanuts, cotton, and corn, among other crops.
I was there on Tuesday, May 19, to speak to the Hartsville Rotary Club, to have an afternoon coffee with farmers from the Farm Bureau, and to speak to an evening gathering of the Darlington County GOP.
President Trump’s presence was felt. The farmers told me that the President’s tariffs had destroyed their markets. China used to buy their peanuts. Now they’re buying from Argentina. Still, the farmers were somewhat reticent to speak against the President.
At the GOP gathering, the self-proclaimed father of the Darlington County GOP confronted a state senator who was making quick rounds to shake hands before moving on. “This redistricting map is a disaster,” the father of the GOP told the senator. “What does Hartsville have in common with Rock Hill?” (The redistricting map dictated by the White House would have put Hartsville in a district with Rock Hill, SC, a suburb of Charlotte, NC.)
“The Orange Man wants it,” the senator responded, “and who can stand against the Orange Man?”
To me, the most shocking thing wasn’t the abdication of the senator’s role in representing his constituents. We’re all getting used to that. The most shocking thing was the irreverent reference to the President. “Orange Man?” To the father of the GOP? In the midst of a gathering of the Darlington County GOP?
The irreverence gives me some hope. Maybe the devotion isn’t as deep as it seems. Maybe the reruns of the reality TV show are becoming tiresome. Maybe those farmers or their children who hope to keep the family farm realize that climate change isn’t a hoax. And that redistricting map? It was rejected by the South Carolina Senate one week later when 12 Republicans did, in fact, stand against the Orange Man.
Onward,
Bob
Community Outreach & Engagement
Is Ford Having a Model T Moment?
China is moving fast in the electric era, and Ford is responding in a way few would have predicted. The company has built a dedicated EV development center in California, bringing together engineers, designers, and manufacturing experts to rethink how vehicles are designed, tested, and built. Some inside Ford have compared the effort to the company’s Model T moment. On June 30, we’ll explore what that means for American manufacturing, global competition, and the future of transportation with Evan Belser, Deputy General Counsel at Ford Motor Company.
Interested in being part of the conversation? Register here.
EcoRight Speaks Podcast
May saw the EcoRight Speaks podcast sprinting to the finish line for our 12th season, which wrapped up on June 9th with our typical recap episode. But as we cruised to the end, we featured a return of past guest and huge carbon tax advocate Danny Richter; Jim Howe from The Nature Conservancy, pleading for help saving a key restoration program on the Administration’s chopping block; and the guy who is at the core of what the EcoRight stands for, former Congressman Carlos Curbelo.
Now it’s onward to planning for lucky season 13! We already have some exciting new-to-the-show guests lined up!
Latest episodes:
-
-
- 05/05: Community engagement is a necessary component of the transition to clean energy (Matt Glazewski of the Washington Climate Corps Network)
- 05/19: What Next: Carbon tax advocates focus on other adjacent policies (featuring Danny Richter)
- 05/26: Cuts to key sustainable rivers program could ultimately post more costs than savings (featuring The Nature Conservancy’s Jim Howe)
- 06/02: For the good of the nation and our prosperity, we can and should work together (featuring former Rep. Carlos Curbelo)
- 06/09: The Best of Season 12 (with special guest Angela Larck)
-
EcoRight News Hub
Your weekly newsletter plus podcast show notes and stories.
-
-
- 05/15: Climate Week En Review: May Flowers
- 05/19: The EcoRight Speaks talks shop with Danny Richter
- 05/22: Climate Week En Review: Remembrance
- 05/26: The EcoRight Speaks on how cuts to a key sustainable rivers program could ultimately cost more than they save
- 05/29: Climate Week En Review: Bye, May
- 06/02: The EcoRight Speaks in conversation with Carlos Curbelo
- 06/05: Climate Week En Review: Maniac
- 06/09: EcoRight Speaks, The Best of Season 12
-
In the Media
republicEn articles/opinions
-
-
- 05/19: The Invading Sea, China leads in clean energy but the US can catch up
- 05/20: Yahoo! Finance, China leads in clean energy but the US can catch up
- 06/08: South Florida Sun Sentinel, China leads in clean energy, but the U.S. can catch up
-
republicEn mentions/quotes/coverage
-
-
- 05/05: Montana Standard, Citizens’ Climate Lobby: Artemis II and Earth Day
- 05/13: Political Capital (LinkedIn Newsletter), Cents and Sensibility
- 05/13: Angles (Sophia University), Manipulated and Biased Public Views on Climate Change
- 05/26: Forbes, Clarifying A Climate ‘Worst-Case’ Scenario With A Simple Analogy
-
Multimedia coverage
-
-
- 05/12: The Brian Nichols Show, Is A Carbon Tax Really the “Free Market” Climate Answer?
-
Events
Upcoming events
-
-
- 06/13: Spartanburg, SC – Speaking event with Spartanburg GOP
- 07/21: Highlands, NC – Lecturer for Center For Life Enrichment
- 07/27: Clemson, SC – Speaking event with Rotary Club of Clemson
- 08/04: Columbia, SC – Speaking event with First Tuesday Republican Club of the Midlands
- 08/20: Travelers Rest, SC – Speaking event with Rotary Club of Travelers Rest
- 09/29-09/30: Ithaca, NY – Congress-to-Campus
- 10/14: Charleston, SC – Guest lecturer at The Citadel
- 11/05: Dahlonega, GA – Speaking event with Lumpkin County GOP
- 11/10: Columbia, SC – Speaking event with Capitol City Republican Women
- 11/18: Virtual – Speaker for the Environment Seminar Series (ESS) at University of Toronto
- 02/05/27: Bloomington, IN – Keynote speaker for Indiana Sustainability and Resilience Conference
- 04/06/27: Greenville, SC – Speaking event with Rotary Club of the Reedy River Greenville
-
Recent events
-
-
- 05/07: Greenville, SC – Speaking event with Pleasantburg Rotary Club
- 05/11: Virtual – Meeting with leadership team of Ducks Unlimited
- 05/19: Hartsville, SC – Speaking event with Hartsville Rotary Club
- 05/19: Hartsville, SC – Meeting with Darlington County Farm Bureau
- 05/19: Hartsville, SC – Speaking event with Darlington County GOP
- 06/03: Asheville, NC – Speaking event with Kiwanis Club of Asheville
- 06/08: Columbia, SC – Speaking event with Rotary Club of Columbia
-