President Trump made headlines this week for declaring a national emergency to build a wall. Quickly, the conversation turned to the precedent set by this use of powers and the question “what if the Democrats used the same tactic to tackle climate change?” Jump on our philosophical roller coaster of a discussion about declaring a national emergency. Spoiler alert: the best way to avoid a national emergency that tackles climate change is to elect candidates up and down the ballot who have a robust pro-climate action platform. How do we get such candidates? By sending a clear message that we want climate action and we will vote for climate action.

The reading list:

• GRIST on what a climate emergency would look like
• Climate Leviathan
• Who was Cincinnatus?
• Washington and Cincinnatus
• HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES

Because we recognize the necessity of personal accountability for our actions, because we accept responsibility for building a durable future and because we believe it is our patriotic duty as citizens to speak out, we must insist that the United States put a price on carbon.

Thanks for listening.

…Ted McIntyre