60. The Urgent Need to Address Climate Change through the Lens of Environmental Policy and Political Activism — Jess Cadorette

"And of course we’re going to affect ecosystems, but there will not be an ecosystem untouched by human action. Unfortunately, we’re warming the planet, and, yes, of course, the climate has changed before, but we are doing it at such a rate that no species on earth will be able to adapt. The planet has certainly changed, but over the course of thousands of years, giving species time to adapt and adjust their mechanisms, the processes they need to stay alive.” - Jess Cadorette

Welcome back to another episode of Discover More.

This week’s guest is Jess Cadorette.

Jess (@jesscadorette) is an environmental advocate who currently serves as the Field Director for the Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, the statewide political voice for the environment.

In 2020, she helped turn the tides of the national election by managing one of the largest electoral campaigns an environmental organization has ever run. As the youngest field director in the agency’s history, she was voted as one of Main Line’s Next Gen 15 under 30 and comes with a wealth of knowledge around all things environmentalism and life.

In this week’s episode, she shares the lessons she learned as an environmental Field Director in this year’s election campaign and how she navigated the challenges of leading a statewide call center effort.

She explains many of the complexities around environmental issues, as well as the importance of rethinking our cultural systems and implementing environmentally-friendly initiatives as soon as possible.

We also dive into potential solutions on the horizon, and Jess’s personal story of how she found her calling in environmentalism.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Discover More, with us and Jess Cadorette. 

 

Show notes:

Jess’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesscadorette/

Jess’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesscadorette/

Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania: https://www.conservationpa.org/about/staff

PennFuture: https://www.pennfuture.org/

Jess’s Thesis “Good and bad news: Climate science affirmation and cable news coverage”: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14660466.2018.1533348

Jess’s Mainline’s Next Gen 15 under 30 Award: https://mainlinetoday.com/nextgen-2020/jess-cadorette/

 

Additional Resources:

Fossil Fuel Subsidiaries: https://www.pennfuture.org/Files/Admin/PF_FossilFuel_Report_final_2.12.21.pdf

“A Promised Land” by Barack Obama -  https://www.amazon.com/Promised-Land-Barack-Obama/dp/1524763160