Since the Reagan era, Republicans have prescribed cuts for rich people and corporations as a cure-all. But every time they put their theory into practice, the rich just get richer, and everyone else gets left behind.
I am a true believer that we have to change the way we generate and consume energy in the United States.
We try to separate the world into the stuff we can control and the stuff we can't.
In American politics, the deepest rivalry is between the rational world and the right wing of the GOP, who are increasingly marginalized in their view that America cannot take on the big challenges.
We need to make sure that we're not in a society that is unbalanced and unfair and where the richest Americans are taking advantage of everybody else.
As I like to say, if you want to pay attention to a horse race, put two dollars on a horse, and you'll pay enormous attention to all 11 horses in the race.
We need to ask elected officials supporting Keystone XL whether they're willing to put their constituents and our environment at risk so that foreign oil tycoons get a better return on their tar sands investments. Keystone XL backers will keep trying to sell us a sucker's deal; it's up to us to say no.
Our message to leaders from every continent was simple: California has succeeded on climate and clean energy because we've emphasized local, human values and built a coalition that includes community and environmental leaders, working families, and communities of color - as well as unions and progressive business.
My mother, Marnie Fahr Steyer, was a lifelong smoker - up to three packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day. I like to think that, if Mom were still with us today, she'd be happy with the strides we've made to protect our children from the ongoing health crisis of tobacco addiction.
We eliminated the monarchy. We put limits on how long one person could lead our country and on the powers they held while in office. We took differences of opinion seriously - in fact, we built them into the fabric of our government.
When Republicans say they want to run government 'like a business,' they apparently mean 'run government like a Trump casino headed straight for bankruptcy court.'
America can't stop talking about Donald Trump. Even if we want to look away, we just can't.
Despite the frequent use of coal miners as a potent political symbol, coal jobs are disappearing - and they're not coming back.
Trump's one consistent position is that he will stop at nothing to protect his properties and his profits.
Fossil fuels are raw materials that have to be extracted and processed. Wind and solar energy are different. The only costs associated with them are technological.
The most expensive way to do business is to do it deal by deal, each of which is highly contentious.
We agree that Citizens United is a very bad decision. We don't believe outspending your opponent is the way to go, since we don't believe we will ever be outspending our opponents!
In the presidential debates back in 2008 and 2012, the candidates clearly didn't know how to make climate change resonate with voters - if they mentioned it at all.
I think that my general feeling about the United States is that democracy works, and I've believed that my whole life, and my experience as a businessperson for 30 years was if you ignore the sound and fury, American democracy works if you give it enough time.
Republican politicians often evoke the Bible when it suits their purposes. But they disregard some of its most important teachings when formulating policy. This includes the story of Noah's Ark.
Some members of the ruling class are making a concerted effort to expand the wealth gap.
Tar sands oil is dirtier, more corrosive, and worse for the environment than conventional oil.
Donald Trump may be unusually flamboyant, but his views are all too representative of the party that is about to nominate him for president.
I think the days of the climate deniers are over. To deny basic science is to risk the trust of the general public.
In 2013, I dedicated myself full-time to combating the very real impacts of climate change. Working across the country, NextGen Climate Action formed new coalitions and worked hard to make climate change a part of our national conversation - and across the country, we had a big impact.
I'm willing to do just about anything to try and contribute to getting us back on a growth path that is just and good for America.
The whole key to a fight is throwing the first punch.
America faces very real challenges. The climate crisis, inequality, stagnant wages, student debt - the list goes on. Rather than address these serious problems, Trump uses hate-filled rhetoric to divide America by race, religion, and ancestry.
For years, TransCanada has been selling the Keystone XL pipeline to Americans with all of the enthusiasm of a used car salesman - and using all of the same tricks. However, one myth is more egregious than all the rest: this pipeline will enhance America's energy independence.
If he truly thinks he can be president, Donald Trump needs to understand that we need real solutions - not more walls and giveaways to polluting special interests.
I think I understand the relationships between different people within the company: people who are straightforward employees, people who can impact the bottom line, and people who share in the bottom line. I don't think you can understand inequality in America unless you understand what's driving profitability.
Tax cuts for the rich defund the critical public programs on which American families depend.
American democracy depends on the public's ability to remain accurately informed on our state of affairs.
Trump has become the star of our 24-hour political news cycle, and every pundit in America seems to be grabbing for some of the reflected light from his explosive campaign.
Bringing climate change to the forefront of American politics means making politicians feel the heat - in their campaign coffers and at the polls - and it's time we voters make a change.
Here's the truth: Keystone XL won't make America energy-independent. It will threaten our land and livelihoods to pump Canadian tar sands' heavy crude through America and out to foreign countries, like China.
Climate change carries implications that stretch far beyond extreme weather, however. The effects on public health are far more alarming - and those have to be taken into account in order to calculate an accurate estimate of the costs of inaction.
What Bernie Sanders is talking about, which is trying to get back to a more perfect democracy, is something that we support, too. We just think that the idea of... wishing the rules were different and then pretending they were is something which, unfortunately, probably would be disastrous from the standpoint of energy and climate.
We must transform the relationship between police and the communities they serve.
If we are to candidly and comprehensively address climate change - which I believe is the true crisis of our time - we must find new ways to generate energy and fuel.
Republicans like to accuse Democrats of trying to 'pick winners and losers.' They say we should run government 'like a business' and let 'the market' decide important matters. When it comes to the declining fortunes of dirty fuels like coal, however, they quickly they abandon these principles.
That is not something I embrace. I think there are real distinctions between the Koch brothers and us.
If you're struggling to make your mortgage payment, and you've got three kids between the ages of 12 and 18, and you and your spouse works, and someone says, 'Oh, by the way, the world's ending,' it's like, 'Please. You don't need to tell me that.'
I've always said that climate change is the defining issue of our generation. I've set out to hold candidates and elected officials accountable and to push our democracy to truly represent the interests of our kids.
We think that when the American people make a decision together that they want something, politicians have to listen to them, and that's the process we believe in.
The idea of 'climate' - in quotation marks - is never going to be the issue. It's always going to be a local, human issue. And so to the extent that you put 'climate' on the ballot, that's never going to move the needle.
As president, Trump's economic proposals will bend our very economy and tax system to his purposes.
The most sacred duty of the President of the United States of America is to defend and protect the Constitution and the principles it enshrines: freedom, fairness, and equality.
Investing in more fossil fuel infrastructure will not strengthen our economy over the long-term, since the market is clearly indicating that clean energy sources are the future.
