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Finding common ground on the environment
October 18, 2018 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Free
From the Paris Climate Agreement to the Clean Power Plan, environmental issues — and contentious debates — have been front and center in the Trump administration. Individuals on both sides have dug in their heels, and there’s little appetite for finding common ground. But is there another way forward?
Hosted by Ensia and the Institute on the Environment, this event on Thursday, October 18 from noon-1:00 p.m. will bring together two of the country’s most influential young leaders — Benji Backer, founder of the American Conservation Coalition, and Caroline Weinberg, co-founder of the March for Science — for a conversation with Ensia publisher Todd Reubold. Together they’ll discuss the role of science in policy-making and what it will take to find common ground on critical environmental challenges given our hyperpartisan landscape.
A live stream of the panel available here.
Benji Backer
Backer is president and founder of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC) — a Millennial-led national organization giving a voice to college-age conservatives who care about the environment. He has spoken at events across the country, including CPAC in 2014 and 2016. Backer describes himself as a conservative activist and through ACC hopes to “unite Americans on pro-environmental reforms and change the narrative when it comes to the environment.”
Caroline Weinberg
Weinberg is one of the founders of the March for Science — an international series of rallies and marches taking place on Earth Day. The inaugural march was held on April 22, 2017, in Washington, D.C. and more than 600 other cities across the world. Since then, the March for Science has evolved into a “global community of science supporters for nonpartisan advocacy in service of equitable and effective science and science policy.”
For the on-stage conversation with Backer and Weinberg, we’ll be discussing the big question: How can we find common ground on critical science and environmental issues in today’s hyperpartisan political climate?
About Ensia: Ensia is a solutions-focused nonprofit media outlet rigorously reporting on responses to our greatest environmental challenges. Every day Ensia works to build awareness and understanding of critical environmental issues — and promising solutions to those challenges — across sectors and ideologies. Ensia is powered by the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment.