StraightTalk 2022: A New Climate Movement
All of us feel the impact of climate change, either through more days of summer heat, increasingly devastating hurricanes and floods, numerous wildfires caused by drought, or rising sea levels that threaten our coastal communities. Unjustly, many of the people and places most impacted will be those who are already most vulnerable. The time for ambitious climate action is now.
Over the course of three weekly sessions, attendees heard what is being done by public and private sector leaders to change the trajectory of climate change before its most devastating impacts are realized. Those in the audience learned what the roadmap for meaningful action looks like. Yes, it’s daunting.
Yet, the possibilities for creating a more beautiful, healthy, and just world through climate action are endless. Envision the ways in which actionable, evidence-based strategies can benefit the things you care about the most as we hear from leaders in government, industry, and non-profit work about scaling climate solutions for a thriving world.
StraightTalk is carried out annually in partnership with OLLI@Furman.
Session I
Addressing the challenge of our changing climate is daunting, but there are reasons for hope. A strategic framework exists. There are clear steps that public leaders and private sector leaders can and should take — steps that will reduce future droughts, wildfires, floods, and extreme heat.
Speakers
- Al Gore; founding partner and chairman, Generation Investment Management; founder and chairman, The Climate Reality Project; board of directors, Apple Inc.
- Angel Hsu; assistant professor of public policy and the environment, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; founder/director, Data-Driven EnviroPolicy Lab
- Bob Inglis; executive director, Energy and Enterprise Initiative at George Mason University
- John Lanier; executive director, Ray C. Anderson Foundation
- Stinson Woodward Ferguson; counsel to The Anthony Law Firm; assistant municipal judge, City of Greenville
- Matthew Cohen (moderator); professor of sustainability science, Furman University
Session II
Why are more and more companies embracing climate action? The future is electric, carbon-neutral, and sustainable. The audience heard from the head of Proterra Transit and others about innovation and opportunities presented by the next industrial—and green—revolution.
Speakers
- Ethel Bunch; CEO and president, Sustain SC
- Phyllis Cuttino; CEO and president, The Climate Reality Project.
- Senator Tom Davis; chair, South Carolina Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee
- Kasel Knight; senior VP, general counsel, and secretary, Milliken & Company
- Julian Soell; president, Proterra Transit. Former Mercedes Benz USA, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Delta Air Lines
- Katie Thomas; lead, Kearney Consumer Institute
- Matthew Cohen (moderator); professor of sustainability science, Furman University
Session III
From hikers and beach dwellers to entrepreneurs and social justice champions, we all have a reason to care about climate change. How can we connect our values and our daily work to the new climate movement?
Speakers
- Geoffrey Habron; professor of sustainability science, Furman University
- Katharine Hayhoe; chief scientist, The Nature Conservancy; endowed professor in public policy and public law and Paul W. Horn distinguished professor, Texas Tech University
- Dale Threatt-Taylor; executive director, The Nature Conservancy
- Emily Wirzba; senior manager of federal affairs, Environmental Defense Fund
- Matthew Cohen (moderator); professor of sustainability science, Furman University
Watch Session Recordings
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