Resource Center

After a hard-fought #BootPruitt win, this week Scott Pruitt’s replacement, Andrew Wheeler, landed on Capitol Hill for his first hearing as EPA’s new head. As the community reorganizes to play defense against (another) fossil fuel ally in the Cabinet, we revisit best practices for targeting a “common enemy”, and the value of also articulating a hopeful, generative vision to work toward.

Why do some people minimize the social justice aspect of climate change, and how can we address this and spur action? This paper reviews the psychological factors at play, such as a desire to avoid negative emotions, stereotypes about who is a climate activist, and concern about how one will be perceived.

Moments can lead to movements. We’ve seen as much from #MeToo, #MarchForOurLives and #KeepFamiliesTogether, all of which began with or were drastically accelerated by an event or series of events. And while the next IPCC report won’t instantaneously capture as much of the nation’s attention as those movements had, we too have our climate moments. This week’s alert walks through how we can best seize those moments and turn them into something bigger.

Adaptation does not necessarily undermine mitigation efforts. Providing people with information about possible adaptation strategies may not undermine support for more systemic mitigation strategies to combat climate change. Instead, informing people about the costs of adaptation may lead to a modest increase in mitigation support.            

This summer marks the 30th anniversary of NASA scientist James Hansen‘s landmark testimony before the U.S. Senate on climate change. As all-time heat records were set across the world last week, a number of new polls were also released, documenting how public opinion has evolved on climate and energy-related topics.

During 2000 to 2016, total lobbying expenditures related to climate change legislation in the U.S. Congress amounted to $2 billion dollars, or 3.9% of total lobbying expenditure during this time period. The primary sectors involved include utilities, fossil fuel, and transportation corporations. Expenditures by environmental organizations and renewable energy corporations were much lower during this time.