Transcript:
Climate change has become a charged partisan issue in the U.S., but conservative environmentalist Benji Backer hopes to change that.
Backer: “If there’s one issue that should be nonpartisan, it should be protecting the Earth, protecting our homes, protecting our communities, and making sure that we have a livable planet for future generations.”
Backer is the founder of Nature Is Nonpartisan. It’s a coalition of people from across the political spectrum who care about climate change – and are working to make bipartisan progress on the issue.
He says opportunities exist even in the midst of today’s divisive politics. For example, Americans widely support protecting public lands, restoring forests to reduce the risk of wildfire, and increasing coastal communities’ resilience to disasters.
So through the Nature is Nonpartisan website, people can write to their representatives and urge them to take action on these issues.
Backer says it can be challenging to work across the aisle.
Backer: “Our staff is half liberal, half conservative, same with our board. Everything we do is intentionally split across the political spectrum. … It isn’t easy. We’re always straddling this balance of trying to represent people’s priorities, knowing that we have the same end goal.”
But he says finding common ground is critical in order to make lasting progress.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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