Catherine Garton is not only a microbiology, applied statistics, and energy science & policy buff. She’s also the founder of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) chapter at the University of Michigan. The student group is part of a larger nonpartisan grassroots organization that aims to “build the political will for a livable world” by advocating for climate change solutions. Specifically, they support the implementation of a Carbon Fee and Dividend policy. Garton, a sophomore, founded the campus chapter only recently, but the umbrella organization has been active for over a decade and oversees 1,300+ chapters internationally. This week, co-hosts Logan and Heena talked with Catherine Garton and Lena Swirczek, another CCL student activist who is also involved in the University of Michigan’s Sustainable Living Experience, a sustainability-focused community at Oxford Houses on campus.
Garton and Swirczek cite CCL’s optimism, respect, and appreciation for the issues surrounding climate change as reasons why they fell in love with the organization. Empowered by these principles, the two students participated in the CCL’s Congressional Action Day in Washington D.C. last year, where they met with politicians on both sides of the aisle and observed the practice of “listening first and advocating later. “We don’t have time to be rude to each other,” Garton said. “We work with everyone.” You’ll find demonstrations of this nonpartisanship in any CCL member you may run into on the streets of Ann Arbor.
Ultimately, the CCL took home a hefty trophy this election season: House Resolution 7173. The bill, called the “Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act,” was introduced in November 2018 by six co-sponsors (3 Democrats and 3 Republications, AKA as bipartisan as it gets). If passed, the act would introduce a revenue-neutral price of of $15/ton of carbon dioxide-equivalent at the production level. That money would then be redistributed to households across America.
Click to find more information on the zealous student chapter or get involved locally.
Or, if you want to take an important first step when it comes to advocating for any type of change you want to see in your community, as Swirczek urges: “Find out who your representatives are.”
For those in the back, keep it hot, keep it here.
Ultimately, the CCL took home a hefty trophy this election season: House Resolution 7173. The bill, called the “Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act,” was introduced in November 2018 by six co-sponsors (3 Democrats and 3 Republications, AKA as bipartisan as it gets). If passed, the act would introduce a revenue-neutral price of of $15/ton of carbon dioxide-equivalent at the production level. That money would then be redistributed to households across America.