A high-wattage new nonprofit organization is trying to do the impossible: take the politics out of climate. And by doing so, they think they can help the Trump administration make major progress on the environment.
Backed by a slew of social media influencers and leaders across the political spectrum, as well as organizations ranging from the National Wildlife Federation to Ducks Unlimited, Nature Is Nonpartisan is launching to cut through partisan politics and usher in meaningful progress.
They've already had meetings at the White House and with key cabinet officials, and their founder, Benji Backer, told The Cool Down he feels "optimistic" about "pro-environmental" actions from the Trump administration, despite public setbacks to progress toward fighting increasing global temperatures.
"I actually believe that once we shift the dialogue, we will see some of the biggest investments in the environment that America has ever made," Backer told The Cool Down. "I know for so many people, that might seem impossible right now, but I believe that that's about to happen, and that's from conversations that I've had behind the scenes, pretty much as close to the source as you can get."
So how do they plan to build the largest, broadest environmental movement in America, and counter critics who don't believe climate advocates should — or even effectively can — work with this administration?
We spoke to Backer, a longtime conservative environmentalist and founder of the American Conservation Coalition, to find out.
Who's behind Nature is Nonpartisan?
Go to the nonprofit's website, and you'll see something unique — each staff member's political leaning is explicitly called out as "Liberal" or "Conservative," to underscore the organization's intention to be politically balanced, from their staff to their board members.
To further that point, their launch event was hosted in the literal geographic center of the country — Belle Fourche, South Dakota — where Backer was joined by social media influencers and climate champions Amir Odom, Kristy Drutman, Oleysa Rulin, and Chrissy Clark.
"Today, there's really no environmental organization that spans the political spectrum," Backer told TCD. "So we're basically trying to rebrand the environment as a nonpartisan issue in America again."
The organization's board, he says, is a microcosm of how the group wants to approach America as a whole, "which is to put some really unlikely people together in the same room and start working together to forge solutions."
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
|
Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Definitely 👍 "We have David Bernhardt, who was Trump's Department of Interior Secretary, and the former CEO of the Sierra Club [Michael Brune] on the same board," Backer said. "We have one of the most well-known, up-and-coming actresses in the country who's starring in the new Accountant movie [Daniella Pineda], with one of the most famous conservative influencers in the country. These are about as diverse of people as you can get."
Liberal CNN host and commentator Van Jones, former Biden official Jerome Foster, and David Livingston of Galvanize Climate, an organization backed by Democrats John Kerry and Tom Steyer, all serve on their advisory board. On the other side of the aisle are conservative board members Jack Selby from Thiel Capital and former GOP congressman Carlos Curbelo.
"They're sick of the tribalism and American politics today, and they're sick of us being unable to solve problems, and what better way to start working together than on this issue?" Backer explained.
"Unlikely stakeholders, unlikely allies, move needles more than anything else, and that's how you get long-lasting policy. … No group has been able to do that for the past few decades."
Why has climate change gotten so political?
Backer says most Americans want clean air and clean water, but the path to get there has become unnecessarily politicized and polarizing.
"I believe that the environmental movement is inherently broken," Backer said. It's become too partisan, too difficult to get things done, he said, and "the reality is most Americans don't see the environment itself as a partisan issue."
New data from the Yale School for Climate Change Communication confirms Backer's point. A majority of people in nearly all states support a transition from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050, think that global warming is affecting the weather now, and believe that it will harm future generations as well.
"We're going to show politicians what Americans want across the political spectrum," Backer said. "Americans actually do want a lot of the same things, and that has not been showcased at the federal or state level in decades."
What is "Nature is Nonpartisan" trying to accomplish?
Too many environmental organizations are focused on fighting against things — and Backer said "Nature is Nonpartisan" will focus on advocating for things.
The organization's biggest priorities include supporting meaningful pro-environmental policy, building a coalition of one million politically diverse Americans willing to take the pledge to show politicians that there is a nonpartisan environmental movement in America, and creating a cultural movement and social identity around a nonpartisan environmental movement. On that last point, they're calling it "Make America Beautiful Again" (MABA) — which may cause some eye rolls from liberal environmentalists while, Backer surely hopes, helping to get more conservatives to embrace his way of thinking.
"Our goal is to showcase that Americans have a deep desire for their leaders to invest in our environment — that's the main point," Backer told TCD. "Donald Trump needs to hear that, Democrats need to hear that, Republicans need to hear that. The main thing that's missing is that nobody's pushing for that message that actually resembles all of America."
How is "Nature is Nonpartisan" working with the current administration?
Backer and the team just returned from meeting Trump administration officials in the Executive Branch and cabinet leaders, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
"I'm optimistic that there's going to be a shift from this administration toward a pro-environmental vision," he claims, asserting that administration officials are open to his approach, despite being intent on what the administration has characterized as "unleashing" the country from environmental regulations, which many health experts have warned will lead to dangerous increases in air pollution.
"We're having a lot of access in a way that other environmental organizations haven't been able to have, which I think is proof of the need for our concept. An environmental movement should not lose access every time their preferred candidate doesn't win."
He told us that behind closed doors, the president and cabinet officials have expressed "a strong desire for this president to leave a pro-environmental legacy."
Backer's leaning into that slogan "Make America Beautiful Again," a term he came up with. "It doesn't matter if you believe in Make America Great Again or not — we all agree … that America has the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world," he explained.
Under the "MABA" banner, Nature is Nonpartisan is proposing a "sizable investment" in "conserving America's beauty for future generations," though the specific policy objectives remain to be seen.
"We want to see action through Congress, through the cabinet, at the state level," he explained. "We want this to be a theme that actually exceeds what 'Make America Healthy Again' can do because unlike MAHA, there's really no big opponent to … investing into America's beauty. So let's make it happen."
And, he admitted, there's a lot of work to be done.
"We are doing our environment a disservice by keeping it in the culture wars. Our national parks are underfunded. Our biodiversity numbers are decreasing. Our management of ecosystems has gotten worse. Our forest fires are getting worse. Our environment is worse today than it was in recent decades, partially due to climate change, but also partially due to our lack of ability to invest in protecting these places and conserving these places."
Bringing the president along with his mission is critical, he said.
"President Trump leading this, for so many people, would be an unlikely hero and an unlikely ally, and that's this whole point of Nature is Nonpartisan, is to show that these unlikely stakeholders can come together to find common ground on the environment."
But how do you work with a seemingly "anti-climate change" administration?
We asked Backer how he contends with an administration that has backed away from using the term "climate change" and has made policy changes that benefit the expansion of fossil fuel industries like oil and gas, which cause climate change.
While he admits "the messaging isn't that great," and he does see "cause for concern around all of the rollbacks that are happening," he also urges people to remember that "we have three over three and a half years left to make things the way that we want them to look, and what that means is that we need to work with the stakeholders who are willing to meet us in the middle and find sensible results."
He said he recognizes that many of the administration's dramatic cutbacks — to the U.S. Forest Service, National Parks Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather Service, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency — do not send a message of caring about the environment and the science being done to protect it, but he said he's focused on what happens when that "dust cloud" settles.
"What do you do to make sure that we protect national parks in the future? What do you make sure we do to protect air quality into the future? What do you make sure we do to protect wildlife and biodiversity into the future?" he asked. "And that's what we're trying to advocate to the administration, is what they should be for instead of only saying what you're against."
Addressing the skeptics
Critics might argue that working with an administration that has shown a disregard for pollution regulations and climate change science is an unacceptable compromise. To that, Backer says that it's more important to work on showing the administration the importance of certain objectives rather than fighting with them.
"The main role of Nature is Nonpartisan is to make the most impact regardless of who's in office," Backer said, adding that he started work on the initiative a year ago and that the organization would have worked with a Harris Administration just as it is working with the Trump Administration.
"I don't care who wins an election; I want to make progress," he said. "Do you want a pro-environmental voice to work with the president, or do you not? Because if you do, we're there, and if you don't, maybe you're more worried about partisan politics than you are about protecting the environment."
"It's not gonna be easy," he added. "I'm sure we're going to make some missteps along the way."
But, Backer said, "We will always be trying to do what's best for the environment and work with everybody to do that. … I think that the positives will outweigh the negatives by the end of this term, and that's my goal."
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
