Supporting environmental protection through policy beyond voting
Sharing his wisdom here is Will Hackman, an environmental policy activist who's attended four U.N. climate change conferences and a contributing writer on the topics of energy, environment, and climate change policy.
Hear about the role of international peer pressure in environmental accountability, what it means to decarbonize the economy, what we can do to impact policy besides voting, and more.
If you feel inspired by this episode, please consider donating a gift of support of any amount today!
This is a conversation on Green Dreamer Podcast with Kaméa Chayne, a show exploring environmental and intersectional sustainability from ideas to life. Subscribe to Green Dreamer on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app and let’s learn what it takes to thrive in every sense of the word!
Highlights
[1:41] What first inspired Will's passion for the environment.
[2:55] Kaméa: "Is it more effective to try and do what we can as an individual with our lifestyle choices, or is it more effective to work on environmental policy change?"
[7:01] Will's biggest frustration while working in policy in terms of what's been holding our environmental progress back.
[9:32] Kaméa: "Why do you think there's been a lack of leadership when it comes to environmental policy?"
[10:26] Will: "The conversation has gotten to a much better point. The tipping point is now occurring where people are starting to really understand what's happening."
[10:50] Where the United States stands in terms of its environmental policy in relation to other countries.
[14:15] The value of international, public peer pressure in motivating countries to take action.
[15:16] The 'ratchet mechanism' built into The Paris Agreement and how this can help countries make exponential progress.
[15:55] Kaméa: "What does 'decarbonizing the economy' entail, and what would this look like in practice?"
[18:08] Will discusses how climate change is impacting our oceans.
[22:03] Will talks about what we can do throughout the year to impact policy change beyond voting.
[25:10] Will discusses the huge potential of reforestation in helping to address climate change.
References
The United States' INDC (Intended Nationally Determined Contribution)
The Business Case for U.S. Policy Leadership in Combating Climate Change: Part one (Article)
The Business Case for U.S. Policy Leadership in Combating Climate Change: Part two (Article)
50-80% of the world's oxygen is produced by phytoplankton (Article)
The United States Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization
Can Planting Trees Help Us Avoid Climate Disaster? (Article)
Keep in Touch
Instagram: @hackman.will
Medium: @willhackman
Tips
Inspiration: The Daily Podcast from NYT and PBS NewsHour
Note to self: "I think about the future that we could have if we fully decarbonize the world's economy."
Health practice: "I just registered for two triathlons."
Sustainability practice: "I try to keep my carbon footprint pretty low. I live in an apartment, I have roommates, I ride my bike a lot, and I offset my carbon with donations."
Element of hope: "There is a lot of momentum with younger generations."
Closing words: "Keep listening to the podcast! And keep learning."
