Climate change is an existential risk for all of humanity and America’s racial history continues as a festering wound on the country’s soul. While there are many important issues in the world today; climate change and America’s racism are the two on which I focus my efforts.
CLIMATE
Global warming is causing more intense weather events, droughts, sea level rise, and a growing number of climate-related refugees. The US Government is already dealing with the increased expenditures associated with recovery, mitigation, adaptation and the need for increased national security. While we cannot know exactly how bad the consequences of global warming will be, ignoring the risk is not in America's best interest.
It is important to acknowledge how much we owe fossil fuels for powering the industrial revolution; thereby improving the wellbeing of humans across the globe. While there are certainly other human-induced causes of global warming, the production and burning of fossil fuels is by far the largest single contributor. The demand for energy is forecasted to grow over the coming decades. Therefore we need to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy for the benefit of future generations. The challenge of addressing climate change should be a concern of all Americans - and we can address it while growing our economy at the same time.
Therefore as a life-long fiscal conservative I support national bi-partisan solutions like the carbon fee & dividend proposals advocated by the Republican-led group, Climate Leadership Council or the non-partisan group, Citizens Climate Lobby. A bi-partisan approach is necessary for the solution to be sustainable and it will help bridge our current political divide. It’s a way to preserve and strengthen our democracy through climate change solutions that are market-based and bi-partisan.
AMERICA’S HISTORY OF RACISM
When President Obama was elected in 2008 I thought the end of America’s racism was almost complete. I thought our painful history of violently displacing Native Americans and moving from slavery through the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Great Migration and the Civil Rights to having a Black person as President was putting an end to the inequities and discriminations suffered by all non-white people. Unfortunately the core issues of America’s racism were still deeply imbedded in our country and Trump exposed it for all to see.
The convulsions across America after the murder of George Floyd made me realize I needed to recognize my role in perpetuating our history of racism. I decided to dedicate each day to deepening my awareness and to finding ways to help dismantle it.
In “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents”, Isabel Wilkerson suggests our racist foundation of White Supremacy should be seen as something similar to India’s caste structure. Wilkerson calls it our operating system - and like any computer’s operating system, all software (judicial, educational, financial, economic, social etc) are guided and constrained by that operating system. The operating system was cultivated and it’s control is omnipresent, adaptable and entrenched. We have all inherited it without consent, but we can consciously decide we need to change.
Van Jones says it well in “Beyond the Messy Truth”...
“From the very beginning of this country, America has been two things, not one. We have our founding reality and our founding dream. And the two are not the same.” ...
“At our best, our mission is simple. For more than two centuries, we have been working to close the gap between the ugliness of our founding reality and the beauty of our founding dream. Each generation tries to narrow that gap a little bit more than the last one did.” I am committed to closing that gap by bearing witness each day and taking whatever action seems most appropriate.
BRIEF BIO
Retiring in 2008 as President and COO of Countrywide Securities Corp., Grant moved to Boulder CO as CEO of Sounds True, a position he held for 2 years before leaving full time work. He chaired the Board of Directors of Manhattan Bancorp and the Bank of Manhattan until 2015 when they were both acquired by Plaza Bank. Currently Grant is a member of the investment committee of Aravaipa Ventures, a Boulder VC fund focused on impact technology. He is a co-founder of the Conservative Caucus within Citizens Climate Lobby and gives talks around the country on market-based solutions to climate change from a fiscal conservative's perspective. As a Zen teacher and a Director of Zen Peacemakers he gives talks on Race and dedicates his practice to increasing diversity, equity and inclusion for all Americans.
Climate Resources
Alliance For Market Solutions — https://amsresearch.org/
American Conservation Coalition — https://www.acc.eco
Center for the New Energy Economy — cnee.colostate.edu
Citizens' Climate Lobby — citizensclimatelobby.org
Climate Leadership Council — clcouncil.org
Conservatives for Clean Energy — cleanenergyconservatives.com
Conservatives for Energy Freedom — energyfreedomusa.org
Evangelical Environmental Network — creationcare.org
Niskanen Center — niskanencenter.org
R Street Institute — rstreet.org
republicEn — republicen.org
The Center for Climate & Security — climateandsecurity.org
The Partnership for Responsible Growth — partnershipforresponsiblegrowth.org
World Resources Institute — wri.org
Young Conservatives for Energy Reform — yc4er.org
Race Related Resources
One Million Truths — onemilliontruths.com
“Caste” - Isabel Wilkerson
"The Half Has Never Been Told" - Edward E Baptist
“The Warmth of Other Suns” - Isabel Wilkerson
“Stamped From the Beginning” - Ibram Kendi
“Beyond the Messy Truth” - Van Jones
“Just Mercy” - Bryan Stevenson
“My Grandmother’s Hands” - Resmaa Menaken
“His Truth Is Marching On” - Jon Meacham
“Coming of Age in Mississippi” - Anne Moody
“Fredrick Douglass” -David Bligh
“The Lakota Way” - Joseph M Marshall III
“Neither Wolf Nor Dog” - Kent Nerburn
“The Heart of Everything” - Bob Drury & Tom Calvin
“Indian Boyhood” - Charles A Eastman
“Mayflower” - Nathaniel Philbrick