Marissa Brown, Executive Director for the Democracy Initiative, joined members of Rachel’s Network to talk about her work to combat money’s influence on government. We asked Marissa to elaborate on the movement’s recent victories and how the environmental community and funders can get involved.
Heather Taylor-Miesle, director of the NRDC Action Fund, and Rachel’s Network Advisor Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics, joined members of Rachel’s Network after the midterm elections to discuss the role environmental issues played this campaign cycle and how women candidates are faring. Here they look to the future and talk about how their work is bringing positive change to the environment and women’s leadership.
Rivers and lakes supply the majority of the water we need in our daily lives, to produce the goods and services we rely upon, and to provide places for recreation and reflection. But these waters are in trouble. Nicole Silk, executive director of The River Network, spoke with Rachel’s Network members about the role of grassroots empowerment in driving large scale protection of our waterways, and answered these questions for us.
Sucking oil and gas from dense shale formations involves drilling, explosions, toxic chemicals, and millions of gallons of water pumped at crushing pressures. Drillers maintain that these processes are well understood and tightly controlled and take place far below groundwater supplies. But ultimately the safety and quality of a well is dependent on the operator, the particularities of each site, local regulations and politics, and many other details. As water constitutes the largest component of fracking fluid by far, it is not surprising that questions about the quantity and quality of water used by drillers have been contentious.
What will it take to drive the large-scale transition to solar power? Rachel’s Network explores this question with Julia Hamm, president and CEO of the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) and one of the world’s foremost experts on the nexus between utilities and solar energy. In this Q&A, Julia shares how SEPA helps utilities integrate solar energy into their portfolios, her successes, and inspiration.
