Climate solutions can be found in Miami and the world. Engaging the public is critical
If there is one takeaway from today’s conversation about climate change, it is the absence of denial about the scope of the challenge that confronts us. At COP26 last November, heads of state committed to keeping the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement alive. Private sector leaders are also committing trillions of dollars’ worth of climate finance initiatives in pursuit of net zero emissions. This is encouraging progress, but it’s not enough.
Most now believe that climate change is real and that action to reduce our impact on the planet is not only needed, but possible, when people come together. But what’s also clear is that we’re not providing the public with enough opportunities to move beyond hand-wringing and include them in identifying solutions. We need more settings that allow people to discuss possibility, feel hopeful and engage in action.
That’s why the Aspen Institute — in partnership with Mayors Dan Gelber, Daniella Levine-Cava and Francis Suarez — is hosting Aspen Ideas: Climate, a major new public event focused on solutions to the climate crisis, in Miami Beach from May 9-12. With the support of Miami-based institutions including the Knight Foundation, Related Group and the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation, we’re teaming up to put together an annual convening that will, among other areas, address the implications of rising temperatures and sea levels, which are already being felt by this community and so many others around the world.
There’s no doubt that South Florida is facing the direct impacts of climate change. But it’s not alone. New York City has experienced historic flooding. Fires currently ravage the Southwest. Alaska is thawing at an alarming pace. We understand the implications of rising temperatures, and believe that globally we can not afford to go 1.5 degrees over pre-industrial levels by 2100. If we don’t act, many places will be underwater or permanently changed — and with that will be the catastrophic loss of ecosystems, economies and, yes, human lives.
For these reasons, practical solutions are at the heart of Aspen Ideas: Climate, which will bring together voices from across the sciences, policymaking, philanthropy, business, technology, activism and culture. The event will spotlight coastal communities, innovations in clean power generation, “climate-smart” economies, and ways to harness our agricultural and food systems, forests and the ocean to fight climate change. South Florida has much to share across all of these topics as a growing hub for climate innovation and a global showcase for adaptation and resilience. It’s a region the country and the world can look to with hope.
Speakers participating reflect the breadth of perspectives and experience required to tackle a problem as all-encompassing as climate change. We’ll hear from leading policymakers like Speaker Nancy Pelosi, governors from across the U.S., and such local leaders as New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. The heads of some of the most forward-thinking environmental organizations will attend, including Everglades National Park Superintendent Pedro Ramos and Sustainable Ocean Alliance Founder Daniela Fernandez. And of course, we’re excited to welcome TODAY weather anchor Al Roker to share his passion for protecting our planet.
Venture capitalist John Doerr will present his views on climate; remarkably timed with this event, he has just now announced $1.1 billion to create a Climate School at Stanford University with perhaps the most significant gift to a university in history. Renowned technologist Eric Schmidt and NBA commissioner Adam Silver will talk about the role of business, tech and money in mobilizing to address climate change. Innovative entrepreneurs will pitch their projects and present their ideas. Pioneering architect Shohei Shigematsu will show us the future of climate-resilient, sustainable design. Importantly, we’re providing a space for our future climate leaders — 100 young adults from across the country — to connect, learn and mobilize to drive change.
There are three critical assumptions embedded in Aspen Ideas: Climate. The first is that local leadership is necessary — but not sufficient. The scale of this crisis necessitates regional, national and global strategies working in alignment. The second is that every sector of our society needs to be involved in addressing this crisis, and mitigating against its implications. The third is that hope is critical — a sentiment captured in the title of a song composed for the event by the great Emilio Estefan: “We’ve Still Got Time.”
If there’s one danger in the absence of denial and in the urgency we now hear — and increasingly witness —all around us, it’s that we could run the risk of feeling overwhelmed, cynical or despondent about our ability to protect the planet. But that’s exactly the wrong message — and why we need a climate event that energizes, uplifts and focuses us on what we can do. The world is calling out for solutions, and
South Florida has many to offer.
Kitty Boone is vice president of public programs at the Aspen Institute and executive director of the Aspen Ideas Festival.
So let’s talk about That Word. Meaning the word the political left was using to define itself until the political right got hold of it and made it an object of ridicule. The word that quickly became unusable, even faintly embarrassing.
No, the word is not “woke.” It is, rather, “liberal,” a word that, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg argues in his 2006 book, “Talking Right,” was “already associated with profligacy, spinelessness, malevolence, masochism, elitism, fantasy, anarchy, idealism, softness, irresponsibility and sanctimoniousness” by the late 1970s as a result of white backlash to Black progress, the national schism over Vietnam and the perceived failures of the Great Society.
Then Ronald Reagan piled on. In 1988, he — soon to be followed by George H.W. Bush — dubbed it “the L-Word,” i.e., unsayable in polite company. Together, they conducted a master class in how, through relentless ridicule, a self definition could be weaponized against those who chose it. Democratic leaders soon began refusing the label outright or accepting it only with prickly reluctance. The left was forced into a defensive crouch from which it has never quite emerged.
Understanding how That Word was taken out of service is invaluable in understanding what is transpiring now with That Other Word. And here, yes, we are talking about “woke.”
Because we’ve seen this movie before. Once again, the right mocks a word with undisguised glee — it is slapped on a Florida education censorship bill; it is blamed by the L.A. County Sheriff for making the city unlivable; Rep. Matt Gaetz claims it will “destroy” the military. And once again, the left responds with a crouch. Or has no one else noticed how the word has magically disappeared from the mouths of all but its detractors? A list that, not incidentally, includes Democratic strategist James Carville, who made news last year by declaring, in a Vox interview, that “Wokeness is a problem.”
But is it, really? Or is the problem not that the left keeps allowing the right to frame the debate? Is the problem not the failure to finally realize that there is no word the left can use to define itself that will stop those mean conservatives from picking on them? Because it’s not the words the right opposes. Rather, it’s the beliefs those words express.
Like the belief that people should not have to breathe carcinogens in their air, drink poisons in their water or eat maggots in their meat. And that the work week should not be 80 hours long. And that children should not be in factories, nor hard-working families in slums. And that women should control their reproductive destinies, LGBTQ people should be treated like human beings, Black people should be free to vote. And that government has a responsibility to enforce it all.
Those are noble causes to fight for. That those who have historically done so find it necessary to crouch in defense speaks to how upside down and inside out is this era — and to the success of the right in defining those who are too often timid and inept in defining themselves.
“Woke” means awake and aware. “Liberal” means “generous and broad-minded.” “Progressive” — just to complete the triumvirate — means “characterized by progress.” Each is preferable to its alternative.
That’s not to advocate for any particular word. Rather, it’s to say that every moment spent debating words is a moment spent not advocating for the beliefs those words express.
It’s hard to fight from a crouch.