E19: E19: Benji Backer's new brand of conservative ecoactivism could help save the planet

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 start00:05 Hot time, summer in the city03:00 Welcome Benji Backer04:23 Weather is not climate change, and vice versa06:36 Conservatives changing their tune – adagio08:30 Benji’s life-long activism10:02 Environmental conservatism lives in the West12:17 Getting the messaging right17:40 The language of self-interest23:04 Conservative Climate Caucus v Roosevelt Caucus28:00 My little steps don’t matter, or do they?32:26 The Sunrise Movement March35:30 Getting ag on board37:05 Good foundations for climate policy39:00 The innovations we need now42:34 Goals for 2021 and beyond43:45 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-dvenbToward a Conservative Environmentalism (Nate Hochman for National Review)https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2020/09/21/toward-a-conservative-environmentalism/#slide-1Active 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-wildfiresU.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-idINL2N2NK2Z31 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/BenjiBackerLearn more about the American Conservation Coalition:Twitter: https://twitter.com/ACC_NationalWebsite: https://www.acc.eco/membership