WEBVTT - Work in Progress: Jay Inslee 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.920 Hey, listeners, I'm just interjecting to let you know this 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:07.400 episode was recorded a few weeks ago, working with Governor 0:00:07.400 --> 0:00:12.920 Insley around his incredibly busy schedule, and unfortunately, in the 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:17.520 time between recording and this episode airing, the devastating floods 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:22.040 have taken place in Texas, and we are just heartbroken 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:27.240 for everyone in Mystic and everyone affected, and it really 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:31.880 drives home an unfortunate point. The climate crisis is making 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:36.800 extreme weather more frequent and more severe, and the climate 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:40.199 doesn't care where you live, how you voted, or if 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:45.280 you believe in science. Science is here. We are particularly 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:49.640 heartbroken knowing that the current administration in the White House 0:00:49.960 --> 0:00:54.520 has slashed funding and aid response from FEMA and other 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:58.720 organizations that were meant to support victims of the flooding 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:01.960 and that were meant to warr them in the hours 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:07.440 before the flood's hit. Slashing the National Weather Service is 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:11.440 in our mind, unforgivable, and we would just like to 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:16.000 ask that if you agree or you feel similarly passionate 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:20.480 about ensuring that people are safe, whether they're your next 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:23.839 door neighbors or your neighbors a few states away, please 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:28.039 look up relief efforts for those affected. Please look up 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:33.280 local organizations wherever you live that are working to defend climate, 0:01:33.800 --> 0:01:35.800 because those are the groups that we need now more 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:40.000 than ever. And we are keeping everyone affected by this 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:44.360 flood and the hurricane season to come in all of 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:59.040 our thoughts here at work in progress. Thank you. Hello 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:04.559 whips Marty. Do we ever have a wonderful big brain 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:07.680 here with us today? I am so excited to be 0:02:07.880 --> 0:02:12.200 joined by Jay Insley. He served as the twenty third 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:15.600 governor of Washington State from twenty thirteen to twenty twenty 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:20.480 five and has been one of our most effective leaders 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:25.480 on climate in America. He has proven that bold action 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:31.560 on climate change is also incredibly successful economic policy. He 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:34.880 made climate a central focus of his administration and pushed 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:39.880 for and then implemented incredible clean energy legislation, promoted electric 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:45.200 vehicle infrastructure, supported aggressive carbon reduction goals, and under his leadership, 0:02:45.560 --> 0:02:49.799 Washington State passed one of the nation's strongest one hundred 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:53.519 percent clean energy laws, aiming to eliminate coal power and 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:57.160 transition to carbon free energy by twenty forty five. It 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:00.440 is so cool to hear him talk about how he 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:04.200 did it, how he organized folks across the political spectrum 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:06.720 and what it feels like when he meets with Washingtonians 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:10.480 who get zero dollar energy bills. Now, I think it's 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:14.560 probably why he's often called our gold standard for climate platforms, 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:19.200 and now post his governatorial tenure, he is working with 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:22.680 an amazing group that I am lucky enough to collaborate 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:27.240 with him on, called Climate Power. I got to be honest, guys, 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:30.400 I can feel a little doom and gloom about where 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:34.160 climate policy is going to go under today's leadership, and 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:38.920 this conversation with Governor Insley really put me back in 0:03:39.040 --> 0:03:43.760 my hope. He reminded me of what we've accomplished and 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:47.920 what's to come, and that this fight is absolutely not over. 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:51.400 And I think that kind of inspiration is something we 0:03:51.440 --> 0:03:52.280 all need right now. 0:03:52.320 --> 0:04:04.160 So let's dive in with Governor Jay Insley. 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:06.000 Good morning, how are you. 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:11.000 I'm well, thank you, Good morning, Well Governor. Normally, when 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:14.840 I sit down with guests, you know you've got really 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:19.400 exciting things going on, whether it's work projects or you know, 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:25.400 your incredible political tenure. I'm actually quite curious. I like 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:29.440 to go backwards before we really sit in the present, 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:33.960 and I wonder for you as a public servant and 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:39.000 an advocate. If you could go back in time and 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:44.520 encounter yourself at let's say ten, do you think you'd 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:50.480 see yourself reflected in that boy? 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:58.680 Not in the least, because I was strong, vigorous, was 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:01.279 my oyster. I'd never lost. I had not last lost 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:08.119 a campaign at that moment, and no, I was at ten. 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:13.040 I fell off my bicycle and broke my leg at 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:15.880 a very bad break, and really couldn't walk for several months. 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:19.920 So I started reading, and I remember reading a book. 0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:22.480 I was going to be a nuclear physicist when I 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:25.680 was ten years of age, and I read a book 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:29.240 about nuclear energy and it was just fascinated by it. So 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:31.520 that was my ambition when I was ten, also to 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:36.120 learn to walk again, which was maybe a formative experience 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:40.280 because I had to go through several months of procedures 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:43.080 and it was a difficult time, but maybe an interesting 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:46.080 one because I started to read. Maybe that's what caused 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:48.839 my problems to make me go into politics. 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:53.000 Why do you think you were so passionate about science 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:53.760 as a young boy. 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:56.640 Well, my father was a biology teacher. That might have 0:05:56.880 --> 0:06:01.440 something to do with it, and there was some and 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:05.359 I just remember there was a diagram about how fission worked, 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:09.560 about the splitting of the atom, and somehow that captured 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:13.560 my imagination. And I think that the wonderful thing about 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:20.279 youth is your imagination is untrammeled. It's unconstrained, that society 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:24.240 has not put any constraints on your imagination yet. So 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:26.400 last night I was sitting out on my deck out 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:30.600 here watching the sunset, and I asked my two year 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.560 old grandson, I said, how far away is the sun? 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:36.080 Is that a long ways away or is it close? 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:39.599 And he started like reaching out like he could try 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:42.599 to figure out how far away it was. And then 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:45.400 then he reached up to the sky and he says, 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:48.839 I'm going to pull the sky down and make it 0:06:48.880 --> 0:06:51.320 a blanket. And he reached up to the blue sky 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:53.880 and it's like he's reaching up and he was going 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:56.919 to make the sky a blanket. You know, and you 0:06:57.000 --> 0:07:00.560 get older, you wouldn't be able to share that imagination 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:04.520 because people would look at you a little strange. But 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:07.520 as a child, you're free to rome. And so that's 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:09.400 a wonderful thing about that part of life. 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:14.880 Yeah, free to imagine. Really, do you think that your 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:21.320 time spent reading while healing launched your interest in politics 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:22.560 or did that come. 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:27.880 Later, much much later. I really, I've always been interested 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:31.960 in public policy issues, but I did not see myself 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:35.800 being involved in politics as an official till my mid 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:40.080 to upper thirties. And you know, I was really interested 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.680 in my community affairs and kept abreast to what was 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:45.400 going on in the nation. But the way I got 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:49.680 involved in politics, that was a small town lawyer raising 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:53.040 Hay and three Pharoh boys out in the central part 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:58.400 of Washington State, and we tried to pass a school bond, 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:01.280 Trudy and I because it failed five times and they 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:04.400 were going to have to start double shifting our kids. 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:06.200 We thought that was nuts. So he said, let's go 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:08.280 build a new high school. And no one else with 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:12.000 town would try because they failed five times. Wow, Trudy 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:13.560 and I and another couple took it on. We got 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:16.400 it passed, and as soon as we passed it, though, 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:19.080 the chatterheads and the legislature changed the funding formula and 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:22.440 got our state funding in half. And I got outraged 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:25.560 about that, went over and started to raise hell An 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:27.920 Olympia in our capital. And eventually he said, well, if 0:08:27.960 --> 0:08:29.240 I'm going to do this, I might as well be 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:31.880 in office. So I ran for office one in a 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:35.960 huge upset, very very republican area against the city mayor 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:39.880 and had no chance of winning. Was in the legislature 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:43.360 for two years and went to Congress. So that's my route, 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:48.640 which was not preordained, predestined, or planned, And here I am. 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:51.240 Sometimes I think that's the best way, though, you know, 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:55.480 people who see a problem and decide to run toward it. 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:59.040 When when you want to fix something to ensure a 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:01.760 better future for you, where kids and other people's kids, 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:05.319 you know, I think there's a I think there's such 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:09.680 disdain for our political system because we see so many 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:13.000 people who get into it for self interest and self enrichment. 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:17.280 And it's really a relief to be reminded that there 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:20.760 are folks who do this because they actually want to 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:25.320 serve the public. So it's nice to hear your story. 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:31.080 When when you look around the landscape of you know, 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:36.080 the world you work in. Why do you think younger 0:09:36.120 --> 0:09:43.000 generations seem so politically averse? You know, what do you 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:46.200 think that is? Is it a is it a disillusionment 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:52.000 or is it that frustration with some of that kind 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:55.360 of grift that we see in the political system. Why 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:58.679 do you think so many young folks are hands off. 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:02.640 Young. I love young people. I'd like to be one 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:08.439 actually someday. But I don't think, you know, it's changed. 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:12.280 I think that you know, when you're nineteen twenty twenty one, 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:15.719 you just you still don't have your feet under you yet. 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:18.400 You're not connected to a particular community all the time, 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:23.600 and you just haven't been hit with a mortgage rate interest, 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:28.400 you know, raise, you haven't been hit by reality to 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:32.959 some degree in that regard. And there's a maturation project, 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:35.320 you know, in life. You know, I hate to say it, 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:39.400 but you do grow into things. And I don't think 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:41.720 it's I don't I actually don't know the numbers, but 0:10:41.760 --> 0:10:45.240 I'm not sure it's changed dramatically. As far as voting 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:49.240 behavior for young people, it's always been lesser than people, 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:52.440 you know, over sixty. That's always been sort of the 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:56.280 reality of this situation. I will say that the young 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:59.960 voters that do vote and are active are so incredible, 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:06.880 well informed and scientifically literate and inspiring to those of 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:09.520 us who've been around for a few decades. So we 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:13.680 do everything humanly possible to get young people engaged because 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:17.000 they're the smartest generation and they have the most to lose, right, 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:19.880 So you know how many years have I got, I 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:23.079 don't know, but twenty year old's got several decades. And 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:25.120 if they lose the planet and a place to live 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:28.240 in a health system that takes care of them, they 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:31.360 get a lot more to lose. So we do everything 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:33.720 we do to encourage them. We do have a higher 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:38.439 voter participation of young and old in my state because 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:41.319 we have one of it's not the best voting system, 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:43.800 because we vote by mail, it's very easy. We have 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.480 same day registration. We make it really easy to vote. 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:50.560 And it just drives me nuts when I see these 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:53.960 other states, most of them run by the party that 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:56.080 I don't belong to, that you know, make people stand 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:58.560 in line for three hours to vote. It's just nuts. 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:01.959 So we do everything we can to increase voter participation, 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:03.680 and we have one of the highest rates in the nation. 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:06.800 Oh, I just love that. It is such an odd 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:12.880 thing to watch, you know, one of our two parties 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:17.120 really want to deny people the right to exercise their 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:21.600 vote and their voice. And you know, I will say 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:24.679 one of the things that not to say the two 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:26.480 parties are the same, but one of the things that 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:31.960 really frustrates me is that we couldn't get our party 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:36.320 better in line in the first two years of President 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:40.200 Biden's term. The fact that we have not reinstated the 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:42.760 John Lewis Voting Rights Act just makes me crazy. 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:45.880 Look, I wish we'd solved all our problems where we 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:47.920 had a majority. But you got to understand, you up 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:52.240 against the filibuster in the Senate, yep. And that's one 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:55.479 of the frustrating things that when you're in the minority 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:59.440 party in either chamber, or even when you're in the 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:03.199 majority party, excuse me, you have to realize up against 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:06.920 philibuster to try to pass something like that. So unless 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:09.360 you're willing to blow up the filibuster. And I'm not 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:11.719 a fan of the filibuster, if it was me, I 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:15.160 probably would vote to end it, even though there's downsize 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:18.959 when here's the minority, obviously, but that prevents a lot 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:22.720 of progress, and it is you know, that is you know, 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:25.720 a cleavage between the two parties. So the Democratic Party 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:28.560 is for the last you know, one hundred and fifty years, 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:33.800 has stood for increasing participation in our community decision making, 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:36.560 and the other party not so much. They have willfully 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:40.000 in many occasions, tried to make it more difficult and 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:43.240 continue these efforts even today in a variety of ways, 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:46.440 with all kinds of tests and barriers, and you know, 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:49.920 requiring you to go produce your birth certificate when you 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:52.760 simply want to vote, which is a real headache, by 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:54.480 the way, because a lot of people, like nine to 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:59.560 fifteen percent people literally can't find their documents on occasions, 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:03.440 so it's a serious issue. It's very disappointing that both 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:07.280 parties can't be in favor of broadening the number of 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:13.480 people participate. To put a mildly, I'm disappointed in them, you. 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:16.040 And me both, sir. We'll be back in just a 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:25.080 minute after a few words from our favorite sponsors. It's 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:30.080 interesting to me when I think about participation in the 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:39.000 system in general and expanding people's access to weigh in 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.400 on their future. It really makes me think a lot 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:46.120 about climate And you know, you are one of our 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:52.120 best leaders on climate change and on you know, bolstering 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:56.560 our power as a nation to deal with it and 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.920 to take care of our people. How did you come 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:03.440 to really focus on climate as a core issue for 0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:07.600 yourself and what do you wish people better understood about it? 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:10.720 In the first place, Well, I think there's something deep 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:13.640 like this. I'll try to give you a succinct answer 0:15:13.640 --> 0:15:18.080 of a complex problem, but basically, I really believe that 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:23.040 your highest duty as a person is to those who 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:25.239 are going to come behind you, our children, our grandchildren, 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:28.760 our nieces, our nephews, our neighbors' kids. I think that's 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:33.240 our highest duty because keeping this chain, of this beautiful 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:36.920 chain of humanity going in a healthy way and giving 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:40.600 your kids what you've enjoyed is our highest duty. There's 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:41.960 a lot of other duties in life that you know 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:46.080 everybody'd want to ask your car in a longer vacation, 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:49.800 but that's in my book, in my value system, that's 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:52.960 the number one duty of any person in any realm, 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:55.360 no matter what you're doing. So it kind of stems 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:58.320 from that. And I have six grandchildren and it is 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:03.200 my deep, deep, purple passionate desire for them to have 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:06.600 what I've had, which is clean water, to be able 0:16:06.640 --> 0:16:09.640 to drink and to swim in snow in the mountains, 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:13.480 to ski on air, to breathe it's not contaminated with 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:18.600 forest fire and smoke. And I want desperately, if I 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:21.800 can use that word, to give my grandchildren those gifts, 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:24.880 and they seem simple because I've always had them. But 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:28.040 they're not going to have those gifts of a blessed 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:32.040 and healthy life unless people of my age act to 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:34.960 build a clean energy economy. And this is a very 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:39.320 optimistic moment. I know that sounds very strange to say, 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:43.120 given what the Republicans are trying to do, but we 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:45.960 have such capability right now to do this, to use 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:49.320 our heads. Solar and wind energy is now cheaper than 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:53.320 coal power electricity about ninety four percent of the United States. 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:57.240 We're building hundreds of thousands of jobs with clean energy jobs. 0:16:57.880 --> 0:17:01.040 If we just use our heads in common sense, we 0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:05.160 can tame this beast and help our economy. So it's 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:08.199 both a moment to think of our grandchildren and a 0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:12.040 moment to think of the economic benefits of clean energy 0:17:12.720 --> 0:17:16.200 and to be frankly outraged at what the Republicans want 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:20.480 to do, which is to slow down this emerging rocket 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:24.080 that's taken off in clean energy. And it's just so 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:28.600 maddening as we speak that the Republicans are fashioning a 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:31.600 bill that will you know, have already cost maybe ninety 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:36.639 thousand jobs across the United States. I look at North Carolina. 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.760 You know, Senator Tillis has a vote on this, and 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:44.560 this bill is drafted, would cost something like forty five 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:48.320 thousand jobs in North Carolina over the next several decades. Wow, 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:52.520 it's billions of dollars of investment. And here's a kicker, 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:55.880 I think there's actually been an assessment of this could 0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:58.960 result in utility bills going up three hundred dollars a 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:02.560 month for the people in Carolina because they no longer 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:06.240 will have access to the cheapest source of electricity, which 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:12.040 is electricity generated by renewable sources. So when they, out 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:17.440 of ideology do this, it's really quite maddening given the 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:20.520 pace of technology that is now available to us. So 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:24.439 it's a good moment for voices to be heard to 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:29.120 stand up for cheap energy, cheap electricity, thousands of jobs 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:32.280 and bonus, maybe our grandkids will have a place to 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:35.399 live and breathe because the issue. 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:37.800 As well, well, that's just it. You know, when I 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:48.040 think about the cost of foregoing in our environment. You know, 0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:52.920 dirty air, poisoned water, doesn't care how you voted, it's 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:57.720 going to affect all of us. And so it's certainly 0:18:57.760 --> 0:19:00.600 an environmental issue. It's also a moral issue, it's a 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:03.440 human safety issue. And then, as you said, a financial one. 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:08.800 You know, to see that since we started really investing 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:12.000 in clean energy. You know, there's a statistic I read 0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:15.080 recently that says three and a half million Americans have 0:19:15.200 --> 0:19:21.160 saved more than eight billion dollars thanks to energy efficient 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:26.080 upgrades across the country and that if they continue, that 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:30.520 savings will increase to thirty eight billion dollars by twenty thirty. 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:34.639 So when you say that this bill, you know, this 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:37.480 this reconciliation plan that they want to push through, this 0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:44.160 big awful bill, will destroy these things, I just think, well, 0:19:44.400 --> 0:19:47.919 who would want to set thirty eight billion dollars on fire? Like, 0:19:48.000 --> 0:19:51.199 imagine what we could do with that money for you know, 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:57.840 upgrades and infrastructure and kids. It's like, the the insanity 0:19:58.040 --> 0:20:03.399 of having a dirt to your world and wasting money 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:08.960 just feels so ridiculous to me. So why do you 0:20:09.080 --> 0:20:16.280 think they've worked so hard to make environmental issues, clean energy, 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:21.800 the literal evolution of an innovation in technology seem like 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:25.439 it's a partisan thing instead of just what we should 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:27.440 be doing as a global power. 0:20:27.720 --> 0:20:31.680 Well, it's a very difficult question as to why people 0:20:31.760 --> 0:20:35.560 who are literate could shut their eyes to both the 0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:39.200 obvious threat and the obvious benefits of clean energy. It's 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:42.359 very difficult, but I'll give it my best shot to 0:20:42.520 --> 0:20:45.480 see where this comes from. Number One, you ask who 0:20:45.520 --> 0:20:48.080 these people are. These are people who are behold into 0:20:48.119 --> 0:20:51.159 the fossil fuel industries. In the fossil fuel industries are 0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:54.920 the most powerful corporations in world history. They're much more 0:20:54.960 --> 0:20:58.960 powerful than the mediciese during the Italian period. So they're 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:02.719 answering to their their bosses, if you will, Who are 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:06.119 the people with the billions of dollars in an old, 0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:11.520 unfortunately dirty industry that they are answering to. Those are 0:21:11.560 --> 0:21:14.080 the people telling them how to vote. So that's number one. 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:19.240 Number two, they've got a cult going on right now 0:21:19.320 --> 0:21:21.199 where they've got a guy in the White House that 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:24.919 somehow has a phobia about wind turbines. He says they 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:27.800 cause cancer, but we know they don't cause cancer, they 0:21:27.880 --> 0:21:31.120 cause jobs, And he somehow he didn't want to see 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:33.280 a wind turbine within sight of his golf course and 0:21:33.359 --> 0:21:37.040 decided he wanted to destroy this entire industry. It's nuts. 0:21:37.720 --> 0:21:40.800 But number three, there is a deeper reason. If I 0:21:40.840 --> 0:21:44.160 can and it requires a little more thought to think about. 0:21:44.760 --> 0:21:48.720 It's fear. Fear is very powerful, and in their case, 0:21:49.280 --> 0:21:52.920 they are afraid that we can't solve this problem. They're 0:21:52.960 --> 0:21:58.080 afraid that we can't have a modern lifestyle by addressing 0:21:58.119 --> 0:22:00.400 this problem, and so they shut their eyes. It. It's 0:22:00.400 --> 0:22:02.600 like they want to put the monster in the in 0:22:02.640 --> 0:22:04.879 the closet, you know. They get the monster in the closet. 0:22:04.920 --> 0:22:07.400 They don't want to let it out because they're afraid 0:22:07.440 --> 0:22:10.840 that will lose all of the modern benefits we have 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:14.840 of ev warmth in our house and food on the table, 0:22:14.920 --> 0:22:18.720 and electronics at our disposal. And they don't see a 0:22:18.840 --> 0:22:22.680 vision that can allow us to live that life. I do, 0:22:22.920 --> 0:22:25.639 and so many thousands and millions, and the majority of 0:22:25.640 --> 0:22:29.600 Americans do because we're now experiencing it and the joy 0:22:29.640 --> 0:22:32.480 of this. It's the joy of clean energy. I remember 0:22:33.119 --> 0:22:38.280 talking to this woman. We got solar panels for a house. 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:40.560 We have a thing called the Climate Commitment Act Washington State, 0:22:40.640 --> 0:22:44.280 and it generates money so we can help Washingtonians get 0:22:44.280 --> 0:22:47.040 access to clean energy. So she lives in top and 0:22:47.119 --> 0:22:49.120 it she gets up at three o'clock every morning, goes 0:22:49.160 --> 0:22:52.959 picks apples. Top finished Washington, and I met she and 0:22:53.000 --> 0:22:55.600 her daughter right their front yard looking up at her 0:22:55.640 --> 0:22:58.600 solar panels, and she said, I am the best day 0:22:58.640 --> 0:23:01.080 of my month is the day I get my utility 0:23:01.119 --> 0:23:04.520 bills because it's zero, says I. Just it's like a 0:23:04.600 --> 0:23:08.439 gift every month. So we hear these stories of people 0:23:08.480 --> 0:23:11.760 getting heat pumps who've lowered their costs and have much more, 0:23:13.359 --> 0:23:15.240 you know, comfortable homes. And by the way, now heat 0:23:15.240 --> 0:23:17.880 pump now gives you air conditioning too, and we now 0:23:18.040 --> 0:23:21.800 need that in Seattle. We never needed air conditioning until now, 0:23:21.840 --> 0:23:25.399 but now the heat domes are hitting us right and 0:23:26.840 --> 0:23:29.040 it helps on air quality in so many ways. And 0:23:29.040 --> 0:23:31.440 we've had a problem with air quality because of forest fires. 0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:35.239 By the way, you mentioned financial impact on this. One 0:23:35.320 --> 0:23:37.280 of the great things people don't think about are the 0:23:37.359 --> 0:23:41.080 health costs associated with this. We have an epidemic of asthma. 0:23:41.680 --> 0:23:44.160 We have kids with neighbors that they don't know anybody 0:23:44.200 --> 0:23:47.600 doesn't have asthma, and it's getting worse because of forest 0:23:47.600 --> 0:23:51.000 fire smoke and also because of the particular matter that 0:23:51.080 --> 0:23:55.439 comes from burning fossil fuels. So the financial cost is 0:23:55.480 --> 0:24:01.400 not just losing jobs. It's not just losing industries. It's 0:24:01.440 --> 0:24:04.600 losing your health and the health costs have gone up 0:24:05.000 --> 0:24:08.679 dramatically because of that. So there's so many ways this 0:24:08.840 --> 0:24:12.760 makes sense. I've given you my best explanation as to 0:24:12.880 --> 0:24:16.439 why this is. And it's very unique to America. You know, 0:24:16.520 --> 0:24:18.679 you go to other continents. This is not a debate 0:24:18.760 --> 0:24:23.159 between the liberal and conservative parties. You know, every country 0:24:23.200 --> 0:24:26.399 has a liberal and conservative party, and there's unanimity that 0:24:26.440 --> 0:24:28.320 we got to do something about this. And the rest 0:24:28.320 --> 0:24:30.919 of the world. It's a very strange thing in the 0:24:31.000 --> 0:24:34.840 United States and most bizarre because we're the most technologically 0:24:34.840 --> 0:24:38.200 adept people in the world. You know, we're the ones 0:24:38.240 --> 0:24:42.000 that went to the moon. Yeah, and so why this 0:24:42.359 --> 0:24:44.640 has infected us is a little strange. But we need 0:24:44.680 --> 0:24:46.239 to do something about it, which is get out there 0:24:46.240 --> 0:24:48.640 and vote in March. 0:24:49.000 --> 0:24:52.000 Yes, sir. And you know what's also not lost on me. 0:24:52.800 --> 0:24:58.160 There's the economic cost. There's obviously that the health costs. 0:24:58.760 --> 0:25:03.960 There's also a cost to our national security, which you 0:25:04.040 --> 0:25:06.600 were just referencing. You know, the United States is really 0:25:06.600 --> 0:25:10.200 a leader on science and technology, and as we see 0:25:10.240 --> 0:25:16.560 these threats to you know, our research institutions, funding grants, 0:25:16.720 --> 0:25:20.000 all of these things It's not lost on me that 0:25:20.040 --> 0:25:23.960 if we, you know, knock the wheels off the bus 0:25:23.960 --> 0:25:28.880 of progress on environmental science, we're given it to other 0:25:28.960 --> 0:25:34.879 countries like we will forfeit our future as technologists to 0:25:35.160 --> 0:25:40.760 countries like China. And it's really important for us to 0:25:41.080 --> 0:25:45.320