WEBVTT - Why Stacey Abrams thinks Biden can electrify America to defeat Trump 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:04.640 Welcome to zero. I am Akshatrati. This week, can Joe 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:19.919 Biden electrify America? I'm in Seattle this week at the 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:24.960 Bloomberg Green Festival. It's been a hectic few days of conversations, demonstrations, 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:29.920 experiences all to shape the future of the planet. There 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:34.879 was science, arts, technology, culture, and real solutions that you 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:39.920 can see, touch, feel, and even taste. But it all 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:42.879 happened in a week where one thing on everyone's mind 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:45.559 is whether or not Joe Biden can continue as the 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:51.640 Democratic Party's presidential candidate following a series of shaky public appearances. 0:00:52.760 --> 0:00:55.880 So even as we had rich conversations about the environment, 0:00:56.480 --> 0:01:01.840 politics was unavoidable. You know, this is an existential challenge. 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:07.040 It's the difference between a chance to arrest this horrific 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:11.400 train coming down the tracks or letting it run over us. 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:14.040 That's the issue in these federal elections. 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:18.200 The climate stakes of this election could not be higher. 0:01:19.680 --> 0:01:23.160 That was a cast of top Democrats, Gina McCarthy, who 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:27.559 was the former White House National Climate Advisor, Washington State 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:32.480 Governor Jay Insley, as well as Sally Jewell, former Secretary 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:37.040 of the Interior. McCarthy, who once was the Environmental Protection 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:40.559 Agency administrator had a little more to say about whether 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:44.760 Joe Biden should stay in the race. She suspected he 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:48.720 himself was reconsidering whether to run, but no matter what 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:52.160 his decision, she said, he had already earned a place 0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:57.120 in history as America's climate president. The question of whether 0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:00.640 Biden's legacy on climate is enough was on my mind too. 0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:05.520 That matters for America's decarbonized future and for voters weighing 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:08.919 up their choices this November, and it is something I 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:13.240 got to ask voting rights advocate and former Georgia governor 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:18.080 candidate Stacy Abrams. One of Stacy's jobs is with the 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:22.799 nonprofit called Rewiring America. It is led by Obama administration 0:02:23.000 --> 0:02:27.240 veteran Ari Matusiak. Rewiring America has been focused on getting 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:30.600 Americans to reduce their household emissions, and a lot of 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.840 their work centers around making sure people know about the 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:37.040 tax breaks in the Inflation Reduction Act and how that 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:42.480 can make things like heat pumps and electric vehicles more affordable. Arie, 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:46.040 Stacy and I talked about why household emissions are such 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.440 a big deal, how to connect existential questions about the 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.680 future of the planet to kitchen table decisions, and of 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:56.440 course we talked about Joe Piden and just a note, 0:02:56.639 --> 0:03:00.480 this was recorded live in Mccawhall in Seattle. As you'll hear, 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:19.280 it was a lively audience, small children and all. Welcome 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:23.200 to zero and welcome to the Bloomberg Green Festival. Now, Ari, 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:27.600 let's start with a simple proposition. When you think about 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:31.400 climate solutions, one way to think about them is that 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:34.400 we need to electrify more and more of our lives, 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:38.320 and we need to produce that electricity as carbon free 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:43.520 as possible, ideally fully carbon free, very soon. It's not 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:45.720 going to solve all our problems, but it gets us 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:50.920 damn close. So could you talk us through what rewiring 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:54.080 America's biggest successes have been because you were trying to 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:56.280 get electrification to people. 0:03:56.920 --> 0:04:00.680 Yeah, well, thank you so much for having me and 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:04.360 for hosting this conversation. I think the thing that is 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:09.960 really not known to people about the damn close part 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:13.960 is that forty two percent of our energy related emissions 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:17.680 come from basically five decisions that we make at our 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:21.640 kitchen tables, maybe six kind of cars you drive, how 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:23.359 you heat air and water in your homes, how you 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:27.479 cook your food, dry your clothes, maybe whether you get 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:31.040 solar on your rooftop. That's forty two percent of our 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:36.000 energy related emissions. Those kitchen table decisions are really, for 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:39.400 the most of us, the largest climate impact we will 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.320 have in our lives, or have the opportunity to have. 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:47.919 And so there is this really incredible opportunity to shift 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:51.760 the locust of agency and power to the kitchen table. 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:54.800 And what we've been trying to do with Rewiring America 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:59.000 is tell that story and then empower households in those 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:04.120 kitchen table decision through a combination of policy incentives and 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:07.800 tools that they can use to actually make those decisions 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:10.360 the easy ones to go forward with and get the 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:11.920 benefits of in the process. 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:14.040 And so far, what have been your biggest successes. 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:19.120 Well, it's not our success alone, certainly, but the Inflation 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:21.840 Reduction Act was something that we were really involved with 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:25.400 in shaping because what we recognized was that the upfront 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:29.680 costs of these better electric machines are too expensive still 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:32.800 for too many households, and so the Inflation Reduction Act 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:35.560 has a lot of these kitchen table incentives for people 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:38.400 that could be as much as a half a trillion 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:41.960 dollars going two households over the next decade, and we 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:43.720 were very involved in shaping that. 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:48.080 And Stacey now working on energy and environment issues is 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:50.920 not something that's new to you. It goes as far 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:54.960 back as your senior thesis in college, I understand, and 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:57.880 of course it's featured in your work in public office 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:01.960 and your campaigns. Now with Rewiring America for over a year, 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:06.160 what are the biggest barriers that you still see are 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:10.280 remaining in trying to get people to recognize that electrifying 0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:14.000 their lives is beneficial to them, even before it is 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:15.120 beneficial to the planet. 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:18.880 I think the challenge is not convincing people it's beneficial. 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:23.360 It's convincing people it's accessible. Because for the low income, 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:26.760 moderate income families that are facing this challenge, they hear 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:31.480 the specter of climate action, but they often see the 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:34.839 behavior of people who are wealthier, who can afford to 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:38.520 make choices, and so often it feels like sacrifice. It 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:41.440 doesn't feel like progress. And I think the important piece 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:44.240 of the work Rewiring has done, the incredible investment that 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:46.960 comes from the Inflation Reduction Act is that it shifts 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:50.839 the conversation from one of can I afford it? To 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:53.479 how do I get it. When people get to make 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:56.080 decisions that benefit their lives, they are much more likely 0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:59.400 to do so. We like getting stuff, and people like 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:01.400 being cooler in the summer, they like being warmer in 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:04.640 the winter, they like their power bills going down. And 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:07.480 what we have to do is actually create the space 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:10.160 for them to understand that's doable. For the first time, 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:14.120 you mentioned that I have been working on these issues 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:16.280 for a very long time. Most people aren't aware that 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:18.960 that's part of my portfolio. But I grew up in 0:07:19.040 --> 0:07:22.720 southern Mississippi. I grew up near cancer Alley in Louisiana. 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:26.760 I grew up in petrochemical corridors where communities were often 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:30.120 not served and where it seemed impossible for progress to happen. 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:34.360 I lived in a community in college where the duxtaposition 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:36.160 of where I went to school and where my older 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:39.040 sister went to school was very distinct. And so a 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:43.080 large part of this is just letting people know what's available, 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:46.960 what's possible, and that they can afford it. Because this 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:49.080 is a moment to our's point about it being a 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:52.239 kitchen table issue. Every kitchen table can solve this problem 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:55.160 because there's money to help you, and so part of 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:57.280 the work of rewiring. In fact, the core of rewiring 0:07:57.440 --> 0:08:00.720 is helping people understand all of the money that's available, 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:03.480 all of the tools that are available, and then shifting 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:06.080 their belief system to know that they get to benefit. 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:07.920 They just have to believe it's possible. 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.000 And Ari, you talked about the Inflation Reduction Act. 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:14.840 It's a big bill. It does many things. How specifically 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.720 have you been able to use what the IRA has 0:08:17.760 --> 0:08:21.000 put out for the work that you've done with Rewarding America. 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:24.280 Yeah, Well, one of the first things that we did 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:29.200 was we built a calculator for households to access to 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:33.000 understand what they were eligible for in the Inflation Reduction 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:37.000 Act itself. We've had almost a million households access that 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:40.520 over the past two years, and we haven't spent a 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:44.400 dollar advertising for that because, to Stacy's point, people like 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:47.280 getting stuff, but they don't know how to navigate. And 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:50.199 so the first thing that we have done is really 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:54.040 start investing in these tools to help make that kitchen 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:58.840 table conversation personal and accessible, to Stacy's point, for every 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:03.520 household in the country. That's really important because most people 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.440 don't think about this stuff on a day in and 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:07.880 day out basis. I work with a lot of people 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:11.200 who are climate geeks. I still haven't met someone who says, 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:13.480 I can't wait for the new model of the water 0:09:13.559 --> 0:09:16.520 heater to come out because I'm totally upgrading extrame. That's 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:20.920 not a conversation people have, at least not most people. 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:23.959 And so we've been really focused on creating that sort 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:26.800 of the access points and the on ramps for households. 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:29.160 And then the other thing that we did that Stacy 0:09:29.160 --> 0:09:31.320 and I have been working on over the last year 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:34.760 and change is that we put together a coalition to 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:38.320 apply for something called the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:42.280 we were selected for two billion dollars to really create 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:46.720 a way forward for low and modern income households in 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:50.280 communities so that every kitchen table is able to participate 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:51.800 and afford these improvements. 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:56.079 Now, the Inflation Reduction Act came up very first answer, 0:09:56.520 --> 0:09:59.840 and it's crucial because none of this happens without policy, 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:07.040 and policy doesn't happen without politics. Now, on so many issues, 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:10.880 including on climate, there is a clear choice at the 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:14.160 twenty twenty four election, and Stacy, you said it, the 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:28.360 choice is not Donald Trump, but that means we must 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:31.920 face the inescapable question, which is then who? And you 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:36.280 wrote an op ed yesterday saying that it must be 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:40.000 the Democratic nominee for president must be Joe Biden. Why 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:41.840 is that he is our president? 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:44.640 He is our nominee and he will be president again 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:46.880 if we do the work necessary to make it so. 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:50.319 But let's be clear, we would not have the Inflation 0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:53.160 Reduction Act. We would not have the billions of dollars 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:57.160 that are being poured into communities of color, into low 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:01.719 income communities, into rural communities of American communities. But for 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:08.240 President Joe Biden, we know that, we know absolutely that 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:11.560 these dollars will be transformative in Georgia. One of the 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:14.800 ways Rewiring has been incredibly prescient in thinking about this. 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:18.160 We are doing demonstration projects around the country in Milwaukee 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:21.720 and Gresham, Oregon, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in East Point, Georgia, 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:24.840 and in Desoda, Georgia. There's a lot of Georgia. I 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:26.000 get to be a part of it, So there's a 0:11:26.000 --> 0:11:29.559 lot of Georgia. But in DeSoto, Georgia, we're actually making 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:33.320 certain that every household that wants something is getting the 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:37.800 investment of an upgraded appliance. We have a woman who 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:41.160 was living without running water in her home because she 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:44.480 couldn't afford to upgrade her water heater. It had rested out. 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:48.320 And she's an elderly woman, Mildred Carter seventy five, and 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:50.840 was just going across the street to her neighbor's house 0:11:50.880 --> 0:11:53.920 to get water because of the moneies that are going 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:56.400 to come in. Because of the work of rewiring, she 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:59.040 got a new water heater. There is a family that 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:01.800 was living in a double white trailer without central air 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:05.280 with kids, I mean three generations of families. They now 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:07.600 have central air for the first time in their lives. 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:12.040 This is life changing work that would not be possible 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:15.400 but for President Joe Biden. So my commitment to his 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.280 reelection is that not only do I know what he 0:12:18.600 --> 0:12:20.640 is doing, I know what the other guy said he 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:24.760 promises to do, which is to dismantle, disassociate, and destroy 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:27.000 what is possible for the future. And so for me, 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:29.440 there is no choice but to make certain that we 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:30.360 reelect Joe Biden. 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:38.079 Right, And and we are asking these questions because of 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:42.719 the poor performance at the first presidential debate. Now you 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:46.160 say that any alternative, say you go to an open convention, 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:50.240 is likely to lead to a divide among Democrats, and 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:54.040 you say that the focus should be among Democrats, not infighting, 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:58.960 but trying to defeat Trump. Any other nominee, and I 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:02.120 say in quotes won't have According to you, the campaign 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:08.520 infrastructure resources are significant national record, but sounds like Kamala 0:13:08.559 --> 0:13:11.920 Harris has all of that. So if Joe Biden does 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:15.400 step down, would you support Harris to be the nominee. 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.599 I don't do hypotheticals when we are three and a 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:22.680 half months from an existential crisis in this country. We 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:27.440 have a president who will become the nominee in mid August, 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:29.840 who will become the next president if we do the 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:33.480 work between now and then. I support the Biden Harris administration. 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:36.080 But there is one person who is the nominee for 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:39.000 president for the Democratic Party, and that is Joe Biden, 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:40.520 and that is who I support. 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:44.360 Right, So I appreciate that answer. Now, one of the 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:45.040 things that. 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:47.360 You've wasn't enough, though. 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:50.319 Not my first rodeo. 0:13:50.559 --> 0:14:01.160 Come on, you've been crucial in turning the vote out 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:05.720 in Georgia in twenty twenty, got enough votes out to 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:09.280 turn the state blue to ensure that the Senate has 0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:21.200 a Democratic majority, and you said you don't do hypotheticals, but. 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:25.880 No, I didn't say ever, but go ahead. But if 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:28.840 I write books, so I think hypotheticals all the time. 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:32.280 Just depends on the situation. But let's see if you 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:34.480 can reach that, sir. 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:40.720 If Biden stays on poles, show that currently people aren't 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:44.040 as excited about going to vote for Joe Biden, are 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:46.520 you worried that there won't be enough of a turnout 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:49.120 to be able to defeat Donald Trump. 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:53.520 People don't care about your politics. They care about their lives. 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:57.840 They vote based on their needs. We need a president 0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:01.160 who has demonstrated, for the last three and a half years, 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:05.200 an assiduous commitment to saving our planet and more importantly, 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:09.480 saving our lives. We need someone who has demonstrated through 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:12.480 word and deed, the understanding of the crisis that we 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:16.000 face in our environment, and also has a detailed and 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:19.720 dedicated plan. The work of winning an election is not 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:23.440 simply who is running. It's not just what's on the ballot. 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:25.840 It's who's in the booth. And to get people into 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:29.200 the booth, you have groups like Rewiring America, a nonpartisan 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:33.320 organization that exists to tell people what's possible when people 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:35.960 know I can get an HVAC system so that I 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:40.840 can stay cool in the sweltering heat of Seattle, which 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:44.280 is a strange when they know that in the winter 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:48.520 when delivered fuels start to increase in cost, and they 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:51.840 now have an upgraded system that lets them stay warm 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:56.280 in the winter without having to sacrifice healthcare for energy cost. 0:15:56.960 --> 0:15:59.680 That's the choice that we're asking people to make president 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:02.200 by is the right person to be on the ballot. 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:04.400 But the work of winning an election is about who 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:06.280 you get to show up to the booth, and that's 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:08.280 the work of everyone who cares about the future of 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:12.400 this country. And so I'm not concerned. I'm committed, and 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:14.960 our job is to convince every person who shares that 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:17.560 value system and wants to see that future to show 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:19.400 up and do the same work and get more people 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:26.280 to vote. 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:30.280 I had the honor of serving in the Obama White House, 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:37.440 and in twenty twelve, we had economic data that showed 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:41.040 that everything was getting better, and when we did polling, 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:44.040 people felt like it wasn't getting better in their day 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:49.200 to day lives. And today inflation numbers came out showing 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:52.800 that it's easing, setting up an opportunity for the FED 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:54.960 to do an interest rate cut, and so we talk 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:58.440 about that in terms of macroeconomic issues, but at the 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:02.000 kitchen table it is a different story. And the thing 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.160 that just to connect the dots here, the reason why 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:09.200 this is very important to our political future and very 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:14.359 important to our climate future, is that electrification and making 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:18.720 these decisions is anti inflationary to people's day to day 0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:21.160 lives because they trade out a five hundred dollars bill 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:24.760 for one hundred dollars bill. But it's also anti inflationary 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:27.959 because the most inflationary force in the history of humankind 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:29.240 is climate change. 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:31.320 So one of the things that has been surprising to 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:34.199 me as somebody who lives in the UK watching the 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:36.920 Inflation in Reduction Act play out. There are so many 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:39.359 things that are being done that are going to help 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:43.280 reduce emissions, reduce inflation, reduce the bills that people pay 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:48.800 for energy while making decobonization happen, but they've still not 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:51.960 been appreciated by people. People don't know the Inflation Reduction 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:54.840 Act most people, right, And you said, you have this 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:58.080 tool that has gone on to a million people, million 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:00.200 households that have used this tool to try and figure 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:02.480 out how to electrify their homes. There are one hundred 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:05.960 million households in America, and so there is still a 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:10.719 gap between doing which is important and showing to people 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:13.199 what you have done, because that is what will get 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:16.399 the vote to turn out. So how are you working 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:19.359 to bridge that gap? Because that gap is very big. 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:24.639 It's big, and it's important, and it is also common sense. 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:29.320 Most people don't think about what's happening in Washington day 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:32.000 in and day out. Most people don't read seven thousand 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:36.480 page legislative texts as compelling as they might be, and 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:39.680 you know, people are just trying to make do. And 0:18:40.240 --> 0:18:44.160 then the other part of this is that we live 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:47.680 in a status quo environment that is a fossil fuel environment. 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:50.440 So when your furnace conks out or when your water 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:52.919 heater stops working and you need to figure out what 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:55.919 to do again, you don't think about that stuff on 0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:57.760 a day in and day out basis. So when you 0:18:57.800 --> 0:19:01.600 call somebody to go replace it or fix it, what 0:19:01.640 --> 0:19:04.720 they tend to do is do a like for like swap. 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:07.320 So the thing that has pipes in your house that 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:09.400 connects to the pipe sticking out of your wall. When 0:19:09.440 --> 0:19:12.240 the contractor comes with their van, they have a thing 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:14.199 that has pipe sticking out of the back to connect 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:16.199 to the pipe sticking out of your wall. And if 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:18.520 at that point in time you say, I heard something 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:22.199 on a podcast about a heat pump, what's that like? 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:25.080 That's not a great time to have that conversation. And 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:27.800 so we need to get we need to cut through 0:19:28.480 --> 0:19:31.320 and get to people about the benefit and the value 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:34.080 to them, but also get the friction out of the 0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:36.159 process so that it's easier. And that is what we 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:39.440 are incredibly focused on, and the way we think about 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:42.439 it is that our job is to make it easy 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:46.960 for you, and the you in that phrase is anybody 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:49.720 in the one hundred and twenty nine million households in America, 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:52.679 And for for you, it is going to be different 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:55.479 based on where you live, what your circumstances are, and 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:59.080 we have to make it easy for the you and 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:01.760 that context to be able to make to move forward. 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:10.160 After the break, Stacy and Aery talk about the policies 0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:13.919 they most hope to see in another Biden term and 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:18.639 what they anticipate would happen under another Trump term. And 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:21.359 by the way, if you've been enjoying this episode, please 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:23.320 take a moment to rate and review the show on 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:27.159 Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It helps other listeners find it. 0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:37.240 Stacy say, the big question that we are grappling with 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:39.919 right now, we move on from that. Joe Biden remains 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:42.960 presidential nominee. What do you think the next three months 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:46.280 should look like to get the vote out for Joe Biden. 0:20:46.520 --> 0:20:50.840 So it's conversations like this. It's explaining to the people 0:20:50.880 --> 0:20:54.600 who understand what's at stake what they can do. It's 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:58.199 connecting the dots between the pain they feel and the 0:20:58.320 --> 0:21:01.600 opportunity to solve that pain. That's what canvassing is, that's 0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:05.359 what organizing is, that's what campaigning is. And so we 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:08.040 have a lot of work to do. To your point, 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:11.240 not as many people know about it because it's shocking, 0:21:11.280 --> 0:21:15.640 but in government things move slowly, and so even though 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:19.000 the Inflation Reduction Act pasted in twenty three, it has 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:22.399 taken time to deploy that much money. Those dollars are 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:26.200 now coming online. So part of the responsibility for anyone 0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:29.080 who is of good conscience is to share this information 0:21:29.600 --> 0:21:32.480 when you're on social media, talk about what you know. 0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:36.080 People get most of their information about kitchen table decisions 0:21:36.080 --> 0:21:39.520 from people that they know, and so part of our responsibility. 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:44.000 One of the ways we not only proselytize about the IRA, 0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:46.919 but proselytize about climate the climate future we can have 0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:50.920 is by convincing average folks who are voters to talk 0:21:51.000 --> 0:21:52.960 to people who may not be voters, who may not 0:21:53.000 --> 0:21:55.320 think they need to be voters, but who want their 0:21:55.320 --> 0:21:57.760 lives to be better, and they need to understand that 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:01.280 if you vote, you get this. If you don't vote, 0:22:01.680 --> 0:22:04.680 you lose this. And right now people don't know what's 0:22:04.680 --> 0:22:07.480 at stake. And so that's the next three months, connecting 0:22:07.480 --> 0:22:10.000 the dot between what's at stake and what is possible. 0:22:10.320 --> 0:22:13.760 And we have one person who is making possibility real, 0:22:14.000 --> 0:22:16.080 and that's the person that we're going to support for president. 0:22:17.720 --> 0:22:21.479 Now we have seen a term of Donald Trump in power. 0:22:22.320 --> 0:22:25.119 If he does come to power again, and you know, 0:22:25.160 --> 0:22:29.320 you've been quite forthright about what it could mean for America. 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:32.040 What is at stake, not just in climate, but beyond it. 0:22:32.520 --> 0:22:36.800 You know, in the pop ed you say, former President 0:22:36.800 --> 0:22:38.680 Donald Trump has made it clear his plan is to 0:22:38.720 --> 0:22:42.639 be dictator on day one. How does your work change 0:22:42.720 --> 0:22:45.159 if Trump returns to White House one? 0:22:45.640 --> 0:22:47.639 We do the work to make certain that doesn't happen, 0:22:47.760 --> 0:22:50.560 and part of that is to explain what's possible under 0:22:51.119 --> 0:22:54.040 the current term or the just complete a term. In 0:22:54.040 --> 0:22:58.320 the Supreme Court, the Chevron defferences decision means that the EPA, 0:22:58.680 --> 0:23:01.359 the Clean Water Act, all of the work to protect 0:23:01.480 --> 0:23:05.719 our climate could be vitiated with the stroke of a pen. 0:23:07.000 --> 0:23:11.520 A lesser known decision was the Snyder decision, which says 0:23:11.520 --> 0:23:14.439 that it's now legal to bribe local officials, that the 0:23:14.480 --> 0:23:18.600 federal law that precludes that bribery is now permitted. Well, 0:23:18.680 --> 0:23:22.080 if you're looking at public utility commissions that are making decisions, 0:23:22.600 --> 0:23:25.080 if you don't have oversight and they can get money, 0:23:25.240 --> 0:23:27.520 I invite all of you to engage in one hypothetical 0:23:27.600 --> 0:23:30.920 of what could possibly happen. And so I think our 0:23:31.000 --> 0:23:35.040 responsibility is to, as Aari said, we've got to connect 0:23:35.280 --> 0:23:40.240 people to these moments. The way you preclude a Trump 0:23:40.400 --> 0:23:43.960 administration is by doing the work to re elect the 0:23:43.960 --> 0:23:47.640 current administration. But more importantly, we've got to take ourselves 0:23:47.680 --> 0:23:50.639 out of the conversation of what's happening in Washington and 0:23:50.640 --> 0:23:52.720 take it back to what can happen in my life 0:23:52.920 --> 0:23:56.160 if there's the removal of a regulatory body that says 0:23:56.160 --> 0:24:00.399 that you shouldn't have to breathe in dirty air. If 0:24:00.480 --> 0:24:03.480 there is the removal of a regulatory body that tells 0:24:03.520 --> 0:24:07.119 companies they can't pollute where you live, that's a real 0:24:07.240 --> 0:24:13.080 consequence and it's not a hypothetical. The law now permits 0:24:13.119 --> 0:24:15.680 that to happen, and it is only those who are 0:24:15.680 --> 0:24:18.439 in power who can stop it and make it not so. 0:24:18.880 --> 0:24:22.720