Aug 3, 2018
On Sourcing Matters episode 29 we welcome Gina McCarthy,
Director of C-Change at Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health.
McCarthy has a background fighting for, and evolving practice &
policy relating to the environment that is second to none! A
change-agent of positivity, Gina McCarthy has been a leading
advocate for common sense strategies to protect public health and
the environment for more than 30 years. She served under President
Barack Obama as the 13th Administrator of the EPA from 2013–2017.
Her tenure as EPA Administrator heralded a paradigm shift in
national environmental policy, expressly linking it with global
public health. Prior, during her career in Massachusetts, McCarthy
advised five governors on environmental affairs, worked at the
state and local levels on critical environmental issues, and helped
coordinate policies on economic growth, energy, transportation, and
the environment.
In our 45 minute conversation we discuss both the need and
opportunity to embrace sustainable best practice across the
board. We chat about the current landscape in DC. We
discuss Scott Pruitt and his $43K soundproof phone booth, Trump’s
perspective on the environment, climate change deniers, future
food, agriculture and much more. Regarding her take on the
political divide “We need to stop Washington from simply
making climate change part of a partisan platform. Frankly, It has
nothing to do with being a Republican or Democrat. Absolutely
nothing! If you’re a human being – you need to care about this, and
you need to act.” To do this we need to motivate,
inspire and let people come to their own conclusions that this all
matters. “It’s a strategy that we need to stop
scaring people, and start creating the pied piper effect. Play
great music, and let people follow you.”
Gina explains that the EPA isn’t a birds & bunnies agency. But, instead one focused on public health and national security. “People need to realize, climate isn’t about polar bears, it’s about their kids.” McCarthy gets to the brass tacks of the movement, “The most important thing we can do is to realize the future is in our hands. We need to grab opportunities where they come, and be positive about it.” She continues, “We need to put science to work, and explain it in terms that everyone can understand.” McCarthy recently completed a few fellowships at Harvard. “I found the students to be incredibly exciting and engaging. They had a sense of social justice and equity that was just palpable. They just didn’t want to tolerate moving forward in a world that doesn’t recognize that science is real, that climate change is happening, that manmade emissions are causing it; and that we have to do something – not least of which is to more women into office!”