There are plenty of conservatives who want to fight climate change. But how can Republicans create environmental policies that resonate with red state voters? 

On a new episode of "Right Now with Stephen Kent," Stephen sits down with Benji Backer, the founder and president of the American Conservation Coalition, for a conversation about why today's environmental messaging fails to resonate with conservative Americans living in rural areas, the pros and cons of the environmental policies in the Biden infrastructure plan, why severe weather events are not the same thing as climate change, why and when conservatives started caring more about the environment, and the technology and innovations that we need to combat global warming. Subscribe to Rightly and check out additional info about their conversation below. 

Subscribe to Rightly and check out additional info about their conversation below. 

---- Content of This Episode ----
00:00 Episode start
00:05 Hot time, summer in the city
03:00 Welcome Benji Backer
04:23 Weather is not climate change, and vice versa
06:36 Conservatives changing their tune – adagio
08:30 Benji’s life-long activism
10:02 Environmental conservatism lives in the West
12:17 Getting the messaging right
17:40 The language of self-interest
23:04 Conservative Climate Caucus v Roosevelt Caucus
28:00 My little steps don’t matter, or do they?
32:26 The Sunrise Movement March
35:30 Getting ag on board
37:05 Good foundations for climate policy
39:00 The innovations we need now
42:34 Goals for 2021 and beyond
43:45 Good news on jobs, the Bucks and meat


---- Reading List ---- 

A lesson from Biden’s plan: If everything is infrastructure, nothing is (Benji Backer for Deseret News)
https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2021/4/19/22387900/biden-infrastructure-plan-two-trillion-dollars-american-jobs-plan-benji-backer-acc

Manassas schools’ proposed anti-racism policy an excuse to explain classroom challenges (Potomac Local News)
https://potomaclocal.com/2021/06/26/manassas-schools-proposed-equity-policy-is-wrong/

U.S. climate ads by conservatives, for conservatives, shift views (David Sherfinski for Reuters)
https://news.trust.org/item/20210630113113-dvenb

Toward a Conservative Environmentalism (Nate Hochman for National Review)
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2020/09/21/toward-a-conservative-environmentalism/#slide-1

Active Forest Management Will Reverse the Trend of Intensifying Wildfires (American Conservation Coalition)
https://www.acc.eco/blog/2018/8/16/active-forest-management-will-reverse-the-trend-of-intensifying-wildfires

U.S. conservatives stake claim to climate activism with Miami rally (Timothy Gardner for Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-climate-conservatives-rally/u-s-conservatives-stake-claim-to-climate-activism-with-miami-rally-idINL2N2NK2Z3

1 big thing: Biden's ticking climate clock (Mike Allen for Axios)
https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-deep-dives-e38f6cc4-51d9-4605-8e5f-cbe55a9d63c6.html

'This photo captures how we feel': Photo of firefighter in Big Sur's Willow Fire goes viral (Amy Graff for SFGATE)
https://www.sfgate.com/california-wildfires/article/firefighter-hotshot-Justin-Grunewald-Willow-Fire-16274671.php

---- Plugs for our guest ---- 

Follow Benji Backer on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BenjiBacker

Learn more about the American Conservation Coalition:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ACC_National
Website: https://www.acc.eco/membership






 

 

 

There are plenty of conservatives who want to fight climate change. But how can Republicans create environmental policies that resonate with red state voters? On a new episode of "Right Now with Stephen Kent," Stephen sits down with Benji Backer, the founder and president of the American Conservation Coalition, for a conversation about why today's environmental messaging fails to resonate with conservative Americans living in rural areas, the pros and cons of the environmental policies in the Biden infrastructure plan, why severe weather events are not the same thing as climate change, why and when conservatives started caring more about the environment, and the technology and innovations that we need to combat global warming. Subscribe to Rightly and check out additional info about their conversation below.&nbsp; Subscribe to Rightly and check out additional info about their conversation below.&nbsp; ---- Content of This Episode ---- 00:00 Episode start 00:05 Hot time, summer in the city 03:00 Welcome Benji Backer 04:23 Weather is not climate change, and vice versa 06:36 Conservatives changing their tune &ndash; adagio 08:30 Benji&rsquo;s life-long activism 10:02 Environmental conservatism lives in the West 12:17 Getting the messaging right 17:40 The language of self-interest 23:04 Conservative Climate Caucus v Roosevelt Caucus 28:00 My little steps don&rsquo;t matter, or do they? 32:26 The Sunrise Movement March 35:30 Getting ag on board 37:05 Good foundations for climate policy 39:00 The innovations we need now 42:34 Goals for 2021 and beyond 43:45 Good news on jobs, the Bucks and meat
 ---- Reading List ----&nbsp; A lesson from Biden&rsquo;s plan: If everything is infrastructure, nothing is (Benji Backer for Deseret News) <a href="https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2021/4/19/22387900/biden-infrastructure-plan-two-trillion-dollars-american-jobs-plan-benji-backer-acc">https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2021/4/19/22387900/biden-infrastructure-plan-two-trillion-dollars-american-jobs-plan-benji-backer-acc</a>
Manassas schools&rsquo; proposed anti-racism policy an excuse to explain classroom challenges (Potomac Local News) <a href="https://potomaclocal.com/2021/06/26/manassas-schools-proposed-equity-policy-is-wrong/">https://potomaclocal.com/2021/06/26/manassas-schools-proposed-equity-policy-is-wrong/</a> U.S. climate ads by conservatives, for conservatives, shift views (David Sherfinski for Reuters) <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20210630113113-dvenb">https://news.trust.org/item/20210630113113-dvenb</a> Toward a Conservative Environmentalism (Nate Hochman for National Review) <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2020/09/21/toward-a-conservative-environmentalism/#slide-1">https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2020/09/21/toward-a-conservative-environmentalism/#slide-1</a> Active Forest Management Will Reverse the Trend of Intensifying Wildfires (American Conservation Coalition) <a href="https://www.acc.eco/blog/2018/8/16/active-forest-management-will-reverse-the-trend-of-intensifying-wildfires">https://www.acc.eco/blog/2018/8/16/active-forest-management-will-reverse-the-trend-of-intensifying-wildfires</a> U.S. conservatives stake claim to climate activism with Miami rally (Timothy Gardner for Reuters) <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-climate-conservatives-rally/u-s-conservatives-stake-claim-to-climate-activism-with-miami-rally-idINL2N2NK2Z3">https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-climate-conservatives-rally/u-s-conservatives-stake-claim-to-climate-activism-with-miami-rally-idINL2N2NK2Z3</a> 1 big thing: Biden's ticking climate clock (Mike Allen for Axios) <a href="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-deep-dives-e38f6cc4-51d9-4605-8e5f-cbe55a9d63c6.html">https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-deep-dives-e38f6cc4-51d9-4605-8e5f-cbe55a9d63c6.html</a> 'This photo captures how we feel': Photo of firefighter in Big Sur's Willow Fire goes viral (Amy Graff for SFGATE) <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/california-wildfires/article/firefighter-hotshot-Justin-Grunewald-Willow-Fire-16274671.php">https://www.sfgate.com/california-wildfires/article/firefighter-hotshot-Justin-Grunewald-Willow-Fire-16274671.php</a> ---- Plugs for our guest ----&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sfgate.com/author/amy-graff/" data-hdn-analytics="visit-from-image|Amy Graff-Author Page|articleHeader-header|1"></a> Follow Benji Backer on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/BenjiBacker">https://twitter.com/BenjiBacker</a> Learn more about the American Conservation Coalition: Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ACC_National">https://twitter.com/ACC_National</a> Website: <a href="https://www.acc.eco/membership">https://www.acc.eco/membership</a> 
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Right Now with Stephen Kent, is hosted by one of the rising young stars of the conservative/libertarian movement in America. Stephen will be joined by some awesome co-hosts for the YouTube-based show. It’s an opinion-led interview program that seeks to get beyond talking points and retweets to engage current newsmakers, opinion leaders and incisive commentators from across the political spectrum in a discussion about the issues animating the American right.

Right Now with Stephen Kent, is hosted by one of the rising young stars of the conservative/libertarian movement in America. Stephen will be joined by some awesome co-hosts for the YouTube-based show. It&rsquo;s an opinion-led interview program that seeks to get beyond talking points and retweets to engage current newsmakers, opinion leaders and incisive commentators from across the political spectrum in a discussion about the issues animating the American right.

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