Latest news with #Backer
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Expert explains why nature should not be a partisan issue: 'We're going to show politicians what Americans want'
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. 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." Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "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." 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." 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." 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." 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." 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.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Q&A: Meet the conservative working to make environmentalism nonpartisan
Nature is Nonpartisan founder Benji Backer, center, with Director of Communications Amelia Joy, left, and Chief Policy Officer Ben Cassidy, right, pose for a photo on March 18, 2025, in Belle Fourche. (Courtesy of Nature is Nonpartisan) A national nonprofit working to promote a middle ground on environmentalism launched with an event Thursday in the South Dakota city of Belle Fourche, which advertises itself as the geographic center of the United States. Benji Backer, 27, of Seattle, is the founder of Nature is Nonpartisan. The self-described conservative environmentalist founded the American Conservation Coalition in 2017 while in college. That conservative group promotes policies like free-market approaches to climate change and environmental policy. In 2024, Backer wrote a book, 'The Conservative Environmentalist,' outlining his vision for right-of-center environmentalism. With his new group, Backer is bringing people together from across the political spectrum. Nature Is Nonpartisan's board ranges from people like David Bernhardt, who was secretary of the Department of Interior during the first Trump administration, to Michael Brune, former executive director of the Sierra Club. Partners include the National Wildlife Federation, American Forests, Ducks Unlimited and more. South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden attended the Belle Fourche event and signed an executive proclamation establishing 'Nature Is Nonpartisan Week' in the state. Backer said he is critical of Green New Deal-style environmentalism, referring to a swath of proposals to help address climate change and income inequality introduced by progressive lawmakers. He said the movement has become an ineffective political football. The new nonprofit focuses on bipartisan policies like funding wildlife migration corridors, wetland and forest conservation, and farm practices that pull more heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions out of the atmosphere. Backer took questions from South Dakota Searchlight ahead of Thursday's event. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity. I grew up in the Midwest — I grew up in Wisconsin — and grew up loving the outdoors just like almost every person in this country. I also grew up a conservative, and I felt very frustrated with the fact that there wasn't really a home for dialogue on the environment that was being done in a nonpartisan way. It was either you subscribe to the Green New Deal-type ideology or you just didn't have a home at all. And the majority of Americans care a lot about the environment, but they don't want radical solutions. So, our mission is to rebuild the environmental movement, to a movement that represents all Americans, of all political backgrounds — not just the left side of the aisle — and also forges solutions that benefit and work for every American, not just Americans on one side of the aisle. We want to recreate the legacy that Americans have around the environment. This used to be seen as a nonpartisan issue in America. There used to be many environmental organizations that resembled the breadth of political beliefs in America. That does not exist anymore. So, we're here in Belle Fourche — because it is the center of the country — to launch from the heart of America an environmental movement that speaks for the heart of America. Yeah, look, it has been a partisan issue, but that doesn't mean it has to be. If you look back at history, previous iterations of the environmental movement resembled both sides of the aisle. It had hunters and anglers, it had conservatives, and it also had liberals. It had both sorts of populations represented, and so the solutions represented those communities, too. My philosophy is that when you're not at the table, you're on the table. When you're not at the table, you're automatically losing. And the majority of Americans are losing with the current environmental movement as we see it. Hunters and anglers, conservatives, used to self-identify as environmentalists. Polling back in 1990 shows nearly 80% of Americans self-identified as environmentalists. We're here in Belle Fourche — because it is the center of the country — to launch from the heart of America an environmental movement that speaks for the heart of America. – Benji Backer, founder of Nature is Nonpartisan And so, it is currently partisan, but it doesn't need to be. The reality is that the political left owning this issue only allows half of the country to be represented. So, when the other half of the country, conservatives, are running the show, whether that be in the South Dakota Legislature or in D.C., all they're doing is focusing on opposing what the left has proposed because a lot of the times it's out of touch with conservative communities. It's this political back and forth of, like, either the Green New Deal, or trying to oppose everything about the Green New Deal philosophy. What if there was an approach, that we used to have, where you put landowners, ranchers, farmers, hunters, anglers at the same table with those who care about the environment for other reasons, and created a solution that works for all the people there. That has not happened for decades, but it can happen, and it will happen again. What we're trying to create is a grassroots movement of Americans from both sides of the aisle who believe the environment is more important, and conserving the environment is more important, than partisan politics. Now, how we get there is up for debate. But that's a debate we're not even having right now. 'Wild places are worth fighting for': Concern grows for receding South Dakota wetlands Some people might be more in favor of protecting the environment through private property rights because private property owners tend to take really good care of their environment. Some people might prefer a more public land approach. Then let's have a debate, issue by issue, so we can actually get to solutions. Right now, our forests are burning at record levels. Right now, biodiversity is decreasing here and around the world. Right now, extreme storms are damaging our country's economy and our communities. And the list goes on and on. I understand why immigration, guns or some of these other issues get caught up in culture wars and partisan politics: A lot of people have inherently different end goals on those issues. But on the environment, there's not really anybody in this country that doesn't want clean air, clean water, nature to be protected and biodiversity to be protected — as long as it's not at the expense of humanity and people's communities. Politicians aren't hearing that message from an environmental organization. They're only hearing a message of doom and gloom, alarmism, kind of extremism, or an opposition to that. So, we're trying to create a movement that incentivizes politicians to get to the table and find solutions to the environmental problems that are happening, that are real, that are impacting us, and that no one's trying to find solutions to because it's become such a culture warfare issue. I would say to conservatives, over the next few years, we will prove that we're a movement for all Americans. I think there's an automatic distrust of the environmental movement that is totally fair and totally to be expected based on how this has progressed as an issue in recent years. But, we have two options. We can sit on the sidelines and complain about how bad the left's ideas are, or we can sit at the table. We're either on the sidelines complaining and losing or at the table conversing and winning. I understand the skepticism, but if you look at our board, if you look at our staff, we have some of the most hardcore conservative bona fide leaders on our team and board that you could ever imagine, that validate the fact that conservatives need to have a voice at this discussion, that validate the fact that we are going to represent both sides, not just one — not just greenwashing for the left, but also representing both sides and the priorities they have. There's nothing more pro-conservative than caring about your local community, about your country and its amazing beauty, and the legacy of conservation that our country has. There's nothing more pro-conservative than engaging in conservation conversations. I've been building this organization for the last year. I don't even take a salary right now. We already have diverse funders from across the political spectrum. We have hundreds of donors already and we haven't even launched yet. We have conservative donors, liberal donors. There's not one donor or two donors or three donors that I can point to as people who are, you know, 'buying us out.' Climate change is one of the most polarizing issues in America right now, and one of the most partisan. I think Americans can and should stand united in our desire to reduce pollution in our atmosphere. I think we should be focusing on efficiency, and Americans appreciate opportunities to save money and be more efficient, to have more abundant energy choices, to have lower energy prices, which helps scale all different energy sources. People just don't want to be told what to do. As an organization, we're going to be dedicated to reducing pollution, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but not in a way that hurts people, and in a way that actually benefits communities. We are going to show politicians what Americans want to be for, rather than what they're against. So, on the topic of climate change, people are for efficient, abundant energy; people are for resilient ecosystems to create adaptation measures in extreme storms; they are for more efficient transportation methods and more fuel-efficient vehicles, as long as it's not more expensive and comes at the cost of their livelihoods. And so that's the sort of approach we're going to take. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
