In this episode of Citizens Climate Radio, we dive into the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—the biggest climate legislation in U.S. history—and the urgent effort underway to protect its clean energy tax credits.

CCL’s Content Marketing Manager Elissa Tennant joins CCL’s Research Manager Dana Nuccitelli to break it all down. You’ll learn what the IRA funds, how clean energy tax credits work for individuals and businesses, and why these programs are now under threat. Dana also explains the budget reconciliation process, the challenges in Congress, and the surprising level of bipartisan public support for clean energy investment.

You'll leave this episode knowing exactly why the IRA matters—and what simple actions you can take to defend it.

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Danny Richter, a policy fellow for CCL, led a discussion on CCL's strategic approach to engaging with the newly configured Congress. He highlighted the organization's priorities, including defending the clean energy provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, advocating for the Fix Our Forest Act, supporting Foreign Pollution Fees and cautiously entering the permitting reform space. Danny emphasized the shift in CCL's approach from playing offense to playing defense, as we now focus on defending a bill that has already been passed. He also noted the change in the balance of power, with Republicans holding a majority in both the Senate and the House, and the importance of understanding this new context for effective Congressional engagement.

0:00 – Welcome and Learning Goals

Danny lays out the goals: confidence engaging Congress, clarity on CCL’s strategic approach, and understanding how the context has shifted.

0:46 – Why This Training Now?

Overview of CCL’s top priorities in the new Congress:

Defending IRA tax credits

Advancing the Fix Our Forests Act

Supporting foreign pollution fees

2:10 – The Shift to Playing Defense

For the first time, CCL is playing defense—not just pushing new bills.

4:26 – Political Landscape: GOP Control of Congress & Trump Presidency

What unified Republican control means for agenda-setting and strategy.

7:35 – CCL’s Strategy: Long-Term Thinking & Bipartisan Relationships

How we work across Congress configurations and why our bipartisan strategy stands out.

10:55 – Volunteer Empowerment & Staying Focused on Climate

Why keeping meetings focused on climate empowers volunteers and preserves access.

12:56 – The Role of Science & Uncomfortable Trade-Offs

The science tells us we’re in the age of consequences—renewables vs. local impact, etc.

14:12 – Durability & Consistency of CCL’s Impact

Reflections on CCL’s sustained influence and why it matters.

15:02 – Lessons from Past GOP-Controlled Congresses

How CCL passed 3 climate bills during Trump’s first term using respectful engagement.

17:03 – The New MAGA Era: GOP Unity and Behind-the-Scenes Dissent

Differences in today’s Republican Party compared to 2016–2020.

18:10 – Democratic Party Shifts

How Democrats are reassessing messaging post-election (DEI backlash, inflation, media strategy).

21:14 – Engagement Tactics: Segmenting Members of Congress

Approaches vary by chamber and ideology. Use “economy, jobs, and global competition” with Republicans.

26:35 – Conclusions: Strategy & Values Amid a Challenging Context

Empathy, strategy, and staying the course with CCL’s approach.

In this episode of Citizens Climate Radio, Elise Silvestri explores how art can strengthen climate advocacy with Carrie Ziegler, an interdisciplinary Artist, Speaker, and Community Engagement Expert. Carrie talks about her process for creating and executing the Chrysalis Project: Transforming Together, an art and climate policy project that enacted powerful change over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the participating students, Brisa Sabel, shares her experience of the successful campaign and the  joy and inspiration it gave her. 

Peterson Toscano has a surprisingly good news story: like our responses to climate change, the format of CCR is adapting! [insert finalized details here]

Listen to Carrie Ziegler discuss the power of art storytelling in making meaningful, local climate policy.

Carrie Ziegler harnesses the collective power of art to drive social and environmental transformation. Through her Art in Action initiatives, she collaborates with diverse entities—local governments, organizations, schools, and universities—to create multi-dimensional works that blend participant creativity with pressing societal issues. These projects inspire active engagement, bringing communities together to create lasting change. Along with the Chrysalis Project, Carrie also led the Plastic Whale Project, where students created a life-sized whale out of plastic bags. The whale played a pivotal role in successfully passing a ban on single-use plastic bags in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, and Thurston County, Washington.

Based in Olympia, Washington, Carrie is recognized internationally, bringing her impactful vision to global forums, including Aotearoa (New Zealand), Ghana, France, Mexico, and Canada. She empowers Artists and Change Makers to maximize their societal impact through art, inspiring a broader movement of change driven by creativity. Complementing her hands-on work, Carrie is penning her inaugural book, Eclosion: An Artist’s Path to Power and Peace. In this work, she intertwines her memoir with a practical guide for unleashing personal and collective potential, offering a blueprint for transformative change through art—a light for a world in desperate need of inspiration.

Check out her work on her Instagram, @carriezieglerart.

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Music is provided by epidemicsound.com and Elise Silvestri

Kari Hall is an Emmy Award-winning meteorologist for NBC Bay Area’s morning newscast, Today in The Bay. Kari holds a degree in Geoscience with an emphasis in Broadcast Meteorology. Her career has spanned the country, from covering Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Gustav with KATC in Louisiana; to covering tornadoes and snowstorms at WKYT in Kentucky; to serving as Chief Meteorologist at News 12 in Connecticut. She is a member of the American Meteorological Society and a leader with the Climate Reality Project. She has won two Emmy Awards for her weather and climate coverage.

CCL hosts a training session on tabling events for Earth Month 2025, highlighting this year's significance and providing actionable recommendations. Participants learn about the new CCL Tabling Toolkit, which aids in organizing these events. Creative strategies, like using origami frogs, are shared to engage families. The session emphasizes public engagement, conversation starters, and art projects to raise climate awareness, while encouraging community involvement in bipartisan climate advocacy.

Panel discussion featuring CCL Congressional Liaison Manager Mindy Ahler, Action Team Director Drew Eyerly, and Vice President of Government Affairs Jenn Tyler. Mindy, Drew, and Jenn reviewed the outcome of our annual Conservative Climate Leadership Conference and Lobby Day and answered questions about lobby meetings, asks, and the importance of sending right-of-center volunteers to meet with Republicans.

In this episode of Citizens Climate Radio, co-hosts Peterson Toscano and Elise Silvestri dive into the pressing issue of climate anxiety with Kate Schapira, creator of the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth in Providence, Rhode Island. Kate shares her decade-long journey of listening to people’s climate worries, how she transformed these conversations into actionable climate engagement, and the insights she presents in her book, Lessons from the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth: How to Live With Care and Purpose in an Endangered World.

This episode also features an inspiring good news story: a group of students in Tucson, Arizona, successfully passed a climate action resolution for their school district, securing funding for sustainability initiatives and setting an example for youth-led climate action.

Tune in to learn how listening, storytelling, and collective action can transform climate despair into meaningful change.

Kate Schapira is a writer, educator, and climate listener based in Providence, Rhode Island. Since 2014, she has operated the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth, a public listening project where she invites people to share their climate concerns, anxieties, and hopes. Her deep engagement with these conversations has informed her approach to climate action—centering community, emotional resilience, and meaningful steps toward change.

Kate is the author of Lessons from the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth: How to Live With Care and Purpose in an Endangered World, where she explores how individuals and communities can navigate climate anxiety through connection and activism. She teaches writing at Brown University and works with organizations such as Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance (AMOR) and the People’s Port Authority Movement.

Find more about Kate’s work at KateSchapira.com.

🎧 Listen & Subscribe: Find us wherever you get your podcasts or visit cclusa.org/radio

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We want to hear your feedback about this episode. Please fill out our short survey. 

Join the Conversation

Engage with other listeners and share your thoughts on our social media channels. Follow and connect with us on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and TikTok.

Tune in next month for more inspiring stories, expert insights, and actionable climate solutions. Together, we can make a difference, one story at a time.

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We highlight two powerful voices shaping the climate conversation—Elise Silvestri, a college student and musician passionate about climate justice, and Linda Sue Park, an award-winning author using storytelling to inspire young activists.

Elise, who has worked on the Citizens Climate Radio team for six months, shares her journey through eco-anxiety, activism, and music production. She believes that addressing the climate crisis requires radical imagination—envisioning the world we want to create rather than just reacting to the crises around us. Elise also introduces us to Linda Sue Park, whose latest book, Gracie Under the Waves, follows a young snorkeling enthusiast as she discovers the urgent need for ocean conservation.

Elise Silvestri knows firsthand the overwhelming anxiety that can come from thinking about climate change. Like many young activists, she has struggled with fears about the future, moments of paralysis, and the emotional weight of the crisis. In this episode, Elise shares how she transformed her eco-anxiety into action—first through climate organizing with the Sunrise Movement and later through audio engineering and music production.

"I consider the climate crisis a crisis of imagination. We are stuck in a status quo that hangs us high and dry. We must be bold and imagine a world that we are excited to wake up in." —Elise Silvestri

By blending her passion for music with climate activism, Elise has found ways to build resilience for herself and the communities she works with. From powering live sound stages with solar energy to using podcasting as a medium for climate storytelling, Elise exemplifies the power of creativity in climate advocacy.

Newbery Medal-winning author Linda Sue Park joins the conversation to discuss Gracie Under the Waves, her latest book for young readers. Inspired by her love for snorkeling, the book follows Gracie’s growing awareness of coral reef degradation and its broader implications for the health of our oceans.

"Gracie's journey parallels my own. At first, I just wanted to snorkel. Then I realized that the coral reefs were imperiled, and I had to do something." —Linda Sue Park.

Linda encourages young readers to find their own path into climate activism by connecting their passions to climate justice. Whether through art, science, writing, or community work, she believes that the most effective advocacy comes from personal investment.

"There are many ways to help our planet. The most effective way is to connect it to something you already love—because then your enthusiasm is genuine, and you won’t get tired of talking about it." —Linda Sue Park.

Learn more: https://lindasuepark.com/

In their conversation, Elise and Linda emphasize the importance of community in climate activism. Linda notes that for too long, Western culture has celebrated rugged individualism—but collaboration is essential when it comes to the climate crisis.

"For a very long time, children's books emphasized the idea of solving problems alone. But that time has passed. We are stronger when we work together." —Linda Sue Park.

Elise echoes this sentiment, recalling how her work with Sunrise Movement helped her feel less alone in her climate anxiety. By finding a community, she could channel her fear into tangible action.

What motivates you to take climate action? How have you navigated eco-anxiety in your own life? We'd love to hear your story!

📩 Email us at [email protected]

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Avatar Photo by Belle Co

Danielle Watson manages American Forests’ climate policy portfolio, focusing on programs, policies, and funding that empowers those who steward state, private, and Tribal lands. She also supports policy and government relations needs for American Forests' Tree Equity and Resilient Forests programs. Prior to joining American Forests, Watson worked for over a decade in the forest policy arena with the Society of American Foresters. On CCL's February call, she discussed American Forests' work and their support of the new bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act.

In the eighth and final episode of Hot Mess: How Climate Consensus Turned Into Political Chaos, we bring together a powerhouse panel of conservative leaders and thinkers to reflect on the series and chart a path forward. Former Republican Congressman Bob Inglis, Chelsea Henderson (host of EcoRight Speaks), and Katie Zakrzewski and Zach Torpie (hosts of Green Tea Party Radio) join host Peterson Toscano to explore cultural and political factors shaping the conservative climate movement. Later, Peterson speaks with Drew Eyerly, Citizens Climate Lobby’s Conservative Outreach Director, about how conservatives are creating solutions and opportunities for climate action. This episode provides insights, inspiration, and a roadmap for bipartisan collaboration on climate solutions.

Featured Guests:

Bob Inglis:

Chelsea Henderson:

Katie Zakrzewski:

Zach Torpie:

Drew Eyerly:

Compelling Quotes:

Links and Resources Mentioned:

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Credits:

Research and Editorial Team: Horace Mo, Lily Russian, Peterson Toscano, Flannery Winchester, Elise Silvestri, and Brett Cease.

Disclaimer:

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