Avoiding a catastrophe and building a new America
For the socially conscious and politically curious
Note: These times are hard. For many of us, our upcoming elections give hope. We’ve been piloting this weekly newsletter over the past couple of weeks, while hosting virtual events with political leaders like Senator Mark Warner to help channel this aspirational energy into action. And now, we want to introduce this to you.
Election Day countdown: 193 days
The lowdown
The take: Our crisis presents a generational opportunity, of which we have had three times since the turn of the century. Dick Cheney exploited our nation’s trauma after 9/11 by pushing through the USA PATRIOT Act. Bernie Sanders leveraged the class divide underscored by the Great Recession into two momentous bids for presidency. Today, business wants to build and government wants to reform. Together, those two present an opportunity to develop a green economy. On the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, this is our last chance to initiate a rural revitalization, preserve our coastal cities, create millions of new jobs that provide Americans with security and stability, and avoid a climate catastrophe.
What you can do: Join us for an intimate, virtual conversation with climate champion and public health expert, on Thursday, April 30th at 8pm ET, with Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL). Her race is heavily contested. If you are able to join us or give to her directly, she needs your support!
Candidate of the Week: There are plenty! We created a tool that matches you with critical candidates and organizations, based on your interests.
Shout outs
This week, we begin to shout out what The Next 50 and our extended community are up to, starting with an Earth Day theme.
Caroline Spears and Climate Cabinet are providing candidates with guides to local climate solutions.
Eliza Nemser and GiveGreen are organizing donors to support climate candidates.
Erik Martin and Day One Project are preparing science and technology ideas for the next administration.
Katie Eder and Future Coalition are leading this week’s Earth Day Live 2020!
Mackenzie Burnett is wrapping up research that she started at Stanford on the impact of climate change on U.S. national security.
Ryan Orbuch is helping lead Stripe’s negative emissions efforts and recently wrote an introductory article to the carbon field.
Shara Mohtadi and Kendra Kostek are advising candidates on climate and science strategy.
Ani Mohan continued The Next 50’s virtual series with State Rep. Tom Winter (D-MT) where we discussed rural politics, climate and more.
What we are reading
The America we need: “A critical part of America’s post-crisis rebuilding project is to restore the effectiveness of the government and to rebuild public confidence in it.” (The New York Times)
Time to build: “We need to break the rapidly escalating price curves for housing, education, and healthcare, to make sure that every American can realize the dream, and the only way to do that is to build.” (Marc Andreessen)
Living in a failed state: “If 9/11 and 2008 wore out trust in the old political establishment, 2020 should kill off the idea that anti-politics is our salvation.” (The Atlantic)
Trials of a Never Trumper: “Biden, so recently written off as politically dead, won ten of fourteen states on Super Tuesday. Longwell and the Never Trumpers cheered Biden’s resurrection—and their own.” (The New Yorker)
Election money with a catch: “But unlike other funds provided in the act, the money came with a catch: States would need to put up a 20 percent match to get their share.” (Mother Jones)
Earth Day at 50, passing the torch: “Jamie Margolin, a high school student who founded Zero Hour, met [Earth Day founder and Bullit Foundation CEO Denis] Hayes at his office last summer. She...recalled him saying, ‘People love Tweeting about activism but they don’t like funding it.’ They would get a grant of $100,000. The funding, she said, delivers an important message: ‘The torch has to keep being passed.’” (The New York Times)
Stay safe,
Zak
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