Catalyzing Local Climate Action with Ankur Shah

Empowering the Environmental Vote with Supervoter Debbie Chang

On this episode of Seeking a Green South, Jaxon Tolbert catches up with Debbie Chang, Huntsville Chapter Leader for Citizens’ Climate Lobby [https://citizensclimatelobby.org/] and co-lead of CCL’s Environmental Justice Action Team [https://community.citizensclimate.org/groups/home/953]. Debbie shares her journey from an occasional voter to a dedicated “supervoter” with a passion for turning environmental values into action at the polls. Topics Include: 1. Debbie’s path to becoming a “supervoter” and her strategies for motivating others. 2. Making voting accessible through ballot research parties (BallotReady Guide [https://about.ballotready.org/ballot-parties]). 3. How every vote helps shift representation (Why Your Vote Counts [https://militaryfamilies.com/military-spouses/why-your-vote-counts-no-matter-what/]). 4. Insights from TED Talks by Nathaniel Stinnett [https://www.ted.com/talks/nathaniel_stinnett_why_isn_t_the_climate_movement_voting] and Eric Liu [https://www.ted.com/talks/eric_liu_there_s_no_such_thing_as_not_voting] on the impact of voting. Featured Webinar: Watch Debbie’s presentation, Become a Climate-First Supervoter [https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=SWXuQs09h6k], for more ways to make your vote count. Helpful Resources: * Election Protection Hotline [https://866ourvote.org/] * Make a Plan to Vote Toolkit [https://nationalvotereducationweek.org/partner/plan/] * The Untold Story of American Non-Voters [https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/The-100-Million-Project_KF_Report_2020.pdf] * The Politics of Optimism by Alex Steffen [https://medium.com/@AlexSteffen/the-politics-of-optimism-37a5006e8ba8] Connect with CCL: Stay connected with Citizens’ Climate Lobby on Twitter [https://twitter.com/citizensclimate] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/CitizensClimateLobby], and explore CCL’s Environmental Justice Action Team [https://community.citizensclimate.org/groups/home/953].

Catalyzing Local Climate Action with Ankur Shah

Jaxon Tolbert joins Ankur Shah, environmental educator, geospatial data scientist at Climate Engine, and Director of Operations at Mycelium, to discuss his work and how it has catalyzed local climate action in Alabama, followed by a discussion of how southerners can catalyze local climate action in their communities. * Check out Ankur’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AnkurShah [https://www.youtube.com/@AnkurShah] * Climate Engine: https://climateengine.com/ [https://climateengine.com/] * Mycelium: https://mycelium.ngo/ [https://mycelium.ngo/] Resources Mentioned: * Ankur's Climate Anxiety Video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmnlw6SBNL8&feature=youtu.be] * Project Regeneration: https://regeneration.org/solutions [https://regeneration.org/solutions] * Project Drawdown: https://drawdown.org/ [https://drawdown.org/] * Batesville School District Solar Project: https://entegritypartners.com/projects/batesville-school-district/ [https://entegritypartners.com/projects/batesville-school-district/]