Former Obama EPA head Gina McCarthy recently told scientists that it’s vital to speak about a changing climate in a way the public understands — jargon-free — and to invest in an economy that can flourish in both rural and urban America, the Boston Globe reports. A key component of getting legislation crafted and passed that works for both the environment, the city center and heartland? Talking to one another, despite political disagreements.
“We have to get over it!” she reportedly thundered, recalling that young EPA staffers told her they weren’t communicating with their parents because they disagreed on policy issues. “Tell people we have a path to the future that is good, whether or not they believe in climate change.”
McCarthy, who is lauded by environmentalists for her protection of rivers and streams that provide drinking water, as well as the Clean Power Plan, also told scientists that it’s time to talk about protecting the environment differently.
“I’m tired of climate change being projected as polar bears, or EPA being looked at as the birds-and-bunnies agency,” McCarthy said, according to the Globe. “I work for children, for human beings.”
She argues It’s the human ability to thrive on this planet, not the planet itself, that is in real jeopardy.
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