Climate Change: When Liberals and Conservatives Actually Agree
Climate change discussions usually end in shouting matches about melting glaciers and coal jobs. But what happens when a liberal and a conservative actually sit down to talk through the science, the solutions, and the politics without trying to win? Today we're tackling the topic that's supposedly dividing America, and discovering we might have more common ground than cable news wants you to believe.
The Data Dilemma
I (Nicole) get nervous talking about climate science because I'm not a scientist, and getting the facts wrong feels like handing ammunition to skeptics. What I do know: 2024 was the hottest year on record since we started measuring. That feels significant, even if I can't explain all the atmospheric chemistry behind it.
Jolene's take surprised me. She's not a climate denier. She acknowledges climate change is real. Her question is about human influence and natural variation. She points to NOAA data showing the 1930s had extreme heat too, which complicates the "unprecedented warming" narrative. Fair point that deserves honest discussion, not dismissal.
We both want clean air, energy independence, and a healthy planet for the generations to come. The disagreement isn't about goals - it's about methods and timelines.
I see the Paris Agreement as hopeful global cooperation. Jolene sees it as performative politics when major polluters like China and India aren't fully committed. We're both right. International agreements matter, but they're only as strong as their weakest participants.
America as Innovators
China is dominating wind and solar manufacturing while we debate whether climate change is real. That should concern everyone, regardless of your position on carbon emissions. America used to lead in energy innovation - from oil drilling to nuclear power. Why are we letting other countries win the clean energy race?
Jolene's concern about economic competitiveness is valid. Mandating expensive solutions without considering market realities or consumer costs isn't a sustainable policy. But neither is ignoring the economic opportunities in emerging energy sectors.
Take electric vehicles. I see them as necessary climate action. Jolene sees government mandates forcing expensive technology on consumers who aren't ready. We're both addressing real concerns - environmental impact versus economic accessibility.
Maybe the solution isn't mandates or bans, but making clean technology so good and affordable that people choose it naturally. Tesla succeeded not because of government requirements, but because they made electric cars people actually wanted (though that’s also up for debate).
What struck us most was how much we agreed once we moved past the standard political scripts. We both want:
Energy independence from unstable regions
Clean air and water for our communities
Economic opportunities in growing industries
Practical solutions that actually work
The difference is how we prioritize these goals and what trade-offs we're willing to make.
Where We Are Divided
The climate debate has become another way to signal tribal loyalty instead of solving problems. Liberals focus on environmental urgency, conservatives focus on economic impact, and both sides talk past each other instead of finding solutions that address both concerns.
But climate change doesn't care about your political party. Neither do rising energy costs, extreme weather events, or global economic competition in clean technology sectors.
Maybe we need to stop treating climate policy like a zero-sum game between environmentalists and economists. The countries that figure out clean, affordable, reliable energy will have massive advantages in the coming decades. That could be us, if we can get past the political theater.
We don't have to agree on every detail of climate science to agree that America should lead in energy innovation. We don't have to choose between environmental protection and economic growth if we're smart about how we pursue both.
resources mentioned:
Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/that-obama-scientist-climate-skeptic-youve-been-hearing-about/
Landman scene: https://youtu.be/fmbZwxEnAFc?si=ULiyV_j9JaPVWLW1
The Climate Deniers Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climate-deniers-playbook/id1694759084?i=1000706646820
Conservatives on Climate Change: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/
Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobeccles/2023/12/31/what-ive-learned-from-conservatives-who-are-addressing-the-challenge-of-climate-change/
NOAA Report March 2025: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202503
Solar South Article: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pmbnpqZK2ucmgqg1vwvnCFC3r8k_dRuXMTCUZuGcHik/edit?pli=1&gid=1975818729#gid=1975818729
Drama Club NYC: https://www.dramaclub.org/
Water: https://water.org/
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[00:00:00] Nicole: She's a conservative and I'm a liberal, and yet we've been friends for almost 40 years. Everyone says you shouldn't discuss politics, religion, or money. And we say, that's exactly what friends should be talking about. Join us as we tackle the conversations you're having in your head, but are too afraid to say out loud.
[00:00:20] Nicole: Welcome to, we've got to talk. listener. We are doing a topic about climate and climate change and. I will just say that I am very nervous about this topic. I'm not a scientist and I know I'm gonna get facts wrong no matter what I've researched and what I haven't researched. It has been a really interesting journey, researching it.
[00:00:45] Nicole: What I find wild is look at your shirt
[00:00:49] Jolene: Jeff has gone this weekend, so I had the whole weekend to myself and which I was so excited about and just do what I wanted and eat what I wanted and watch what I wanted and go to bed when I wanted and wake up when I wanted.[00:01:00]
[00:01:00] Jolene: All the things that you'd do when you're alone. And now since Jeff has retired, we are together all the time. so he did a golfing weekend with his buddy. So I was so excited to have this weekend to myself. Unfortunately, I went to church last night and then came home and, made a glass of wine and popped some popcorn and started, a noon Netflix series.
[00:01:24] Jolene: Went to bed, woke up at three o'clock in the morning, sicker than a dog.
[00:01:27] Nicole: kind of wake up at seven and I'm like,oh my God, I just feel so groggy. 'cause I was up for probably 45 minutes in the middle of the night. Apparently I went back to sleep 'cause I didn't wake up till nine o'clock when Jeff was calling me saying he's on his way home.
[00:01:39] Jolene: And I went, oh, oh my gosh. Like, I've gotta get up. So I get up and do all the things and take a shower and I'm like, okay, I'm going all natural today. Like no hair, no makeup. Like here we go. And I throw this shirt on because this is my comfy go-to shirt.
[00:01:53] Nicole: Okay. Yeah.
[00:01:54] Jolene: is when Jeff worked at, standard Oil in Knoxville, Iowa, in [00:02:00] high school.
[00:02:01] Jolene: And his mother, he loved, auto mechanics one and two. And his mother was so concerned that he was gonna be an auto mechanic and not go to college because he loved it so much that she said, okay, why don't you go to work at the gas station and just see if this is something that you really want to do.
[00:02:20] Jolene: And so he went and worked at the standard oil, but he didn't get to work on cars. He only got to work like the cash register, like when people were paying for their gas.
[00:02:30] Nicole: Yes.
[00:02:30] Jolene: So his love for automatic mechanics kind of took a backseat, but he still had the shirt. And this shirt was in the basement of his mom's house after his parents had died.
[00:02:39] Jolene: And I'm like, oh my God, I love that
[00:02:41] Nicole: It's a great shirt.
[00:02:42] Jolene: I go, how come there's, there's like no grease stains or anything on it, like it's in good shape. And he goes, yeah, I, because I was working the cash register. I mean, that's all I got to do. So this is my go-to. Had no, like, did not even think that we were doing this today with climate change and oil and [00:03:00] gas
[00:03:00] Nicole: And, and, and wind and solar and Wow. And here you are,
[00:03:05] Jolene: are. I'm dressed for the part. Didn't even, and didn't even
[00:03:08] Nicole: you are totally dressed apart. Do you have this, uh, similar anxieties to me about this? Or are you just like,
[00:03:17] Jolene: so here's what's so interesting. As I started to research this, okay, I really started to research it a couple weeks ago when I had sent you that article from Prager U you said, I'm not familiar with Prager U I've gotten Prager U stuff from, and it's P-R-A-G-E-R-U, like Prager University.
[00:03:35] Jolene: and it was about climate change. And I had sent that to you and I said, what do you think about this? And you said, I, I think you gave me the, the emoji of, you know, hmm, interesting. face. And
[00:03:48] Nicole: Well, then I looked it up 'cause it Oh yeah.
[00:03:50] Jolene: it up and you said, okay, well this PR U is known for being climate change denial people or [00:04:00] website or, you know, whatever.
[00:04:01] Jolene: And so that's kind of where the conversation ended. So we never really did talk about, okay, well, but did you like the content? Or what did you think of the content and blah, blah, blah. So that's kind of where I Mm-hmm. Was looking at that, looking to see who wrote it, then checking, you know, what did people say about the articles that he wrote.
[00:04:18] Jolene: And, you know, trying to dive into all this. Here's what's so interesting, again, this is so enlightening for, for me because as we, as I Google the person who wrote this, this person who wrote this article, it was originally published in the Wall Street Journal in 2017. It was an article written by Steve Coonan, who was the undersecretary for science for the Obama administration.
[00:04:43] Jolene: you would say that he, was working in climate, change, sector for a Democrat. So it was interesting that he wrote an article though that was kind of, Anti-climate change. I mean, he was kind of, questioning a lot of the science.
[00:04:57] Jolene: So then, so just Googling [00:05:00] him in his Google, literally in the Google search. Then it came out, all the articles, not so much about his work, but all the people then that were, were questioning his resources. and so then if I went into my brave, on my computer, I use Brave, search Engine, which doesn't allow, I think you use
[00:05:21] Nicole: Oh, duck dot go.
[00:05:23] Jolene: Yeah. So it's one that doesn't, that isn't, swayed or
[00:05:26] Nicole: Sure. Influenced.
[00:05:28] Jolene: influenced with your algorithms or what you're searching and completely different stuff comes up and it doesn't like it. It shows his stuff, but then it, it then it guides you to, the National Oceanic, the NOAA and the the EPA
[00:05:45] Nicole: National Oceanic Association. Is it Noah? Is that, is it Noah? Yeah.
[00:05:51] Jolene: atmospheric is atmospheric anyway, and the EPA article, so it's so interesting to even [00:06:00] Google a person or a topic and that Google's gonna take you down a more liberal path. And then, the other ones are going to give you articles that you can do your own, research on. Did you find that?
[00:06:13] Nicole: Well, yes, because, so first of all, I, I started with searching podcasts 'cause I love to get my information that way. I'm a very aural person. I like to listen I would say, and I went through the Apple Podcast, search engine and everything was very liberal. And there was one thing that you had shared hilariously about Landman, where I love that show so much
[00:06:49] Nicole: and I love,
[00:06:50] Jolene: have not talked about
[00:06:52] Nicole: I love that show
[00:06:53] Nicole: so much.
[00:06:54] Jolene: time that I'm watching this, I'm like, ah, Nicole would love this, and I'm like, oh God. No she wouldn't.
[00:06:58] Nicole: Oh no, I loved it. I love Billy [00:07:00] Bob Thornton. I am a huge Taylor Sheridan fan. you know, it's, yeah. So, yeah, exactly. So, the Climate Deniers Playbook is the name of the podcast and there are three, Young, very smart, getting into the weeds, about climate, and they share this clip that you sent me.
[00:07:23] Nicole: And I remember when the, when I was watched, Josh and I were watching the episode, so Billy Bob Thornton talks about how oil companies own the wind turbines and that it take, it will take 20 years to make up the cost.
[00:07:35] Nicole: And the Climate Deniers podcast said, you know, Billy Bob's an actor and he sells it really well, but in actuality it will only take five and a half months to, uh, make up the cost. Not 20 years, Because I was like, oh, wow. You know, 'cause Taylor Sheridan will get sort of political, but it's all fiction,
[00:07:58] Nicole: that was, I thought really [00:08:00] interesting. and then Jolene, I was like, are we gonna talk about this? 'cause I really don't know if I, I knew this. I was, I asked you in the last session, okay, we got climate coming up. Are you a climate denni? And you correct me if I'm wrong, you said no, but we might believe why it exists is different.
[00:08:24] Nicole: So I was like, okay,
[00:08:26] Nicole: okay. So I started googling like, okay, how do we talk about this? I would Google, What are the main points that conservatives believe about climate change? So I could look at it from that angle, there were a couple things that came up a couple weeks ago, and then different stuff came up in this in the last week, which was, conservatives, this is of course general a generalization, but conservatives were split, that the older people, were sort of questioning [00:09:00] the science and the younger people were not.
[00:09:04] Nicole: then what I found really interesting, which I will all, we can also put in the show notes, I found, this, group that you guys, it's called
[00:09:17] Nicole: The website is citizens climate lobby.org and it's conservatives on Climate Change. it's Mitt Romney.
[00:09:25] Nicole: It's Lindsey Graham. there's like five senators that are like heading this group. and it was a really interesting conversation. They, they sort of deep dove, they talked about carbon taxes, and how they felt that that was a good way to start, the conversation and how to use language in order to sell it.
[00:09:50] Nicole: Because the word tax always gets people a little like on their haunches found it really interesting. And then there was this [00:10:00] other article in Forbes magazine and it's called What I've Learned from Conservatives who are addressing the ch the challenge of climate change.
[00:10:07] Nicole: And it's written by a liberal and he has all these libertarian and conservative friends and talking about climate and how the only way we can really move ahead is, is to be bipartisan. the language is so fractured and that there's a lot of things that we actually do agree on and we can talk about where it comes from, like where the science is and we can get into the weeds about it.
[00:10:33] Nicole: Which is in a way, Jolene, I was thinking about this this past weekend. Okay. Everybody's talk. But it doesn't, it kind of doesn't matter if you and I both believe that it exists, what do we do now?
[00:10:47] Jolene: Yeah,
[00:10:48] Nicole: Because, we're all living on this earth I think we can agree we would like our future generations to live [00:11:00] a healthy, happy life.
[00:11:03] Jolene: so I think, okay, let's, so let's start there
[00:11:06] Jolene: because. I think one of the big misconceptions that Democrats have about Republicans is that we're deniers, like we're climate change
[00:11:15] Jolene: deniers.
[00:11:15] Nicole: And that's exactly Jolene what I was like, I'm going through all this research and I'm like, holy moly. We all think that you don't believe in it. And, and Jolene, that's what we're told in the media over and over and over again, which if we start to understand that actually you do believe in it, then we could work together.
[00:11:37] Jolene: So here, okay, so let's start at that point because I, I think this is what you and I have said on so many different topics. Like, if we could start at the point where we agree, you know, 80% of the things we would probably agree on, but it's the division that is, is killing us.
[00:11:53] Jolene: Okay. So we have to start on whether things are getting worse. That. [00:12:00] Let's start with that because one of the things then that I researched was going to, this, this EPA and I knew you're gonna ask me, so of course I have my notes. this is from the NOAA, the National OC AIC Atmospheric Association, March, 2025.
[00:12:20] Jolene: again, this is so interesting. So this, this data comes from the national, climatic data center.
[00:12:30] Jolene: and if you look at the last 100 years, so from 1925 to 2025, that, the intensity. Is of, of heat. just look at, let's take a look at heat
[00:12:45] Jolene: waves. The intensity and the frequency, have not changed and that like the 1930s were really bad.
[00:12:55] Jolene: I mean, we can talk about the dust bowl and you know, how, how bad the 1930s were. [00:13:00] So if you take a look at the last 100 years and you include those, the 1930s, that the frequency, intensity of heat waves is, was much worse then than it is now.
[00:13:13] Nicole: Well today, I mean, the research that I did like in 2024, it's been the hottest year on record since they have been.
[00:13:20] Jolene: But, okay, so let me finish this. If you go to the EPA website, their data starts in 1960. Interesting. Because that changes the narrative.
[00:13:32] Nicole: sure. Sure.
[00:13:34] Jolene: The thirties, if the 10 years of, you know, 1930 to 1940 were extremely, you know, this, this anomaly of, of heat waves. that's gonna skew the data, so if you look at the last 100 years, there's no change.
[00:13:49] Jolene: But if you look at the last 50 years, now it's, now it's a different story. So that right there tells me that it's where you get your data that can shape the narrative of your, [00:14:00] of your story.
[00:14:00] Nicole: Right.
[00:14:01] Jolene: Okay. So then this, the Steve Koonin, article that I, originally referenced. He then when Trump came on, on the second term, Trump wanted to start a climate, and maybe this is what you were referring to with, with MIT Romney
[00:14:16] Jolene: and,and, and those folks.
[00:14:18] Jolene: He wanted to start a climate, discussion again and have a committee, and he asked the Steve Koonin then to be a part of this committee as well, to, to try to geta balanced committee together to, you know, start having these conversations. but it is interesting though that his whole Steve Coonan's whole, his, you know, his take on this now is that there's so much ambiguity in the data and so much of the, the climate projections.
[00:14:49] Jolene: So, you know, if you take the last 100 years and then you have to project it and say in the next 100 years. This is going to happen, right? Because that's part of the narrative now that climate [00:15:00] changers are, or that climate change people are advocating, what does, what does this look like in the next 100 years?
[00:15:07] Jolene: You know, how, how, how do the things that we do right now, the, the amount of fossil fuels that we consume and, and all that, how is that going to affect us in the next 100 years or 500 years? Correct. So I think that's where there's so much, there's so much confusion because Steve Kunin was talking about you can't take what happens in the last 100 years and then extrapolate that out into the next 100 years because there are so many different factors.
[00:15:38] Jolene: You know, you look at our globe as you know, in the history of, of the Earth, and, and you've had the ice age, and then I mean. How do we know that what we are doing has that much of an effect on what the climate's going to be in a hundred years or 10 [00:16:00] years, or 500 years?
[00:16:01] Nicole: Okay, so we do know that fossil fuels create greenhouse gases and that there is a burning ozone layer and that, Here's where I'm confused because don't we as Americans, let's take this in a different direction. Don't we want, and by the way, this, just to clarify this, citizens Climate lobby.org has nothing to do with Trump.
[00:16:27] Nicole: Let's just put it out there. Like, it's nothing to do with Trump. it's just a bunch of conservative people that have come together that are very passionate about the climate and are conservative. let's look at this a different way. So as Americans, don't we wanna be innovators? like China for instance, is way ahead in the wind and solar space, and. What if we looked at this as different way? Yes, there are issues with the amount of space that you need for solar, the amount of space you need for [00:17:00] wind. They are still trying to figure out how to dispose, well of solar panels, you know, there's waste. Like nothing is perfect. And I feel like when we innovate, we need to give everyone grace to figure out how to do things.
[00:17:20] Nicole: And that we want to also be ahead in this global race of energy. and let's just look at it in a capitalistic perspective. Don't we wanna be the top of the world?
[00:17:34] Jolene: But I think you're moving on to the next step without addressing I think first fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats have to be, is there anything that we can do as humans to really affect climate change?
[00:17:50] Jolene: because one thing that came from Steve Konan's article, and again, I know I keep re referencing him, but it, it was, I thought it was a really good article that came with facts, is that [00:18:00] CO2, that the carbon dioxide hangs around for a long time and it doesn't leave the atmosphere in a few days.
[00:18:09] Jolene: In fact, 15 to 30% of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Will be that we're generating today, we'll be there in a thousand years that there, that it will take 20 years for more than 60% of that carbon dioxide to leave our atmosphere.
[00:18:28] Nicole: so because of that, do you suggest we don't do anything that's that. That's okay.
[00:18:32] Jolene: no, no, no. So, so I just, I think we have to wrap our heads around when we talk about Paris Climate Accord and trying to make, legislative changes around the amount of energy that we're consuming and, and the, the amount of, you know, the carbon emissions and all that, that we have to stop pretending that we can make a real difference by decreasing our carbon emissions by 40%.
[00:18:58] Jolene: I don't think that's really [00:19:00] going to do that much in terms of our climate. Now, if you wanna look at it That we should do it because there's nothing wrong. I mean, like, that is a proactive way that we're not gonna have fossil fuels forever. And so we've gotta find alternatives.
[00:19:14] Jolene: Absolutely. And I think we all agree with that and we can look at it from a business perspective and, and capitalism and all that, but to think that we are going to, mean, I look at California making the, everybody drive an electric car by 2030 or, you know, making legislative changes like that or demands on, on US consumers.
[00:19:35] Jolene: you are not making a big enough difference in the world climate, but it's a huge burden to the consumer who has to buy an electric car in California and can't afford it. So I think that's where the balance has to take place.
[00:19:51] Nicole: I am hearing you and I'm, I'm seeing it a little differently, in terms of the Paris Agreement, [00:20:00] and maybe this is the idealistic liberal in me, I'm gonna give you an example of something. We went to Brazil a couple summers ago and we were on a photography trip and we were in this fairly remote, uh, northern, town in Brazil.
[00:20:19] Nicole: And. We had to go to the grocery store to go get some water and supplies as a group. So we drive into town and it's this massive, massive grocery store. I've never seen anything like it. And we were going to get our waters and there was, you know, people from all over coming to get their goods they were leaving and they were like triple plasticed, bagged, leaving the store, so many plastic bags. And I looked at Josh and I was like, what the fuck? Sorry Linda. But I [00:21:00] thought, are we going to, as a world, survive? What, like, why are we recycling when this is like that? You can't, I can't, we can't compete with this. There's a huge disconnect. And so what I think of in the Paris agreement was a way for the world to come together.
[00:21:24] Nicole: Can we, can we create some regulations? Can we, can we put some, some eyes on each other to try to keep us in check, to understand that this is a whole world that we share, right? And how can we, and I, and where I think you and I agree is that it takes small steps for everyone to make agreements, because also you can't get away from greed and, and,you know, someone's always gonna work the system. Someone's always gonna cheat. So you that, that's, that's gonna happen. [00:22:00] But I think the Paris Agreement was a way to like, Hey, this collective group of people or countries, let's work together and try to figure this out.
[00:22:10] Nicole: This is, this is not an American issue or a European issue or a South American issue. This is a global issue because Yes, I, I hear you. I think we've talked about these in, in other episodes when, when the government makes these declarative, we are going to stop emissions by 2030. You will be able to only drive this, but blah, blah, blah.
[00:22:31] Nicole: It never works. It never works because people are like, f you don't tell me what to do. I mean, Americans, we are, the reason Americans exist is don't tell me what to do. Even liberals, believe it or not,
[00:22:46] Jolene: it, going back to the Paris Climate Accord, if China and India are not a part of that, and they're the biggest culprits, it doesn't matter. It
[00:22:57] Nicole: Well, we are too. We are too.
[00:22:59] Jolene: right? [00:23:00] So if we, and, and so at the peril of losing jobs to China, the way that, I mean. That was one of your very first points was, you know, don't we wanna be innovative and, and beat, you know, China at, at, you know, this game if they aren't adhering to the same rules that we are?
[00:23:18] Jolene: How is that fair? I mean, how does
[00:23:20] Nicole: it's, it's not Jolene. It's not,
[00:23:22] Jolene: okay, so would you agree that the pine, the, the Paris Climate Accord then was, was stupid. I mean, it was all fluff. It was, wait, the word that you always like to use is, performative. That it's very performative.
[00:23:34] Nicole: I think it was hopeful. I don't think it was performative. I really think that they were hoping they could do something. did it not work? I don't know. but I think there was really good intention behind it, and I think that happens a lot in, in politics.
[00:23:53] Nicole: I think this is an enormous issue that we can't do alone. but I think it's more of like, [00:24:00] how do we, we've gotta start somewhere. This is all of our world. The world doesn't care whether we're Republican or Democrat, right?
[00:24:08] Nicole: what I also think is an issue, and I think that the media exacerbates it with their language and what they report on. Where do we start? I was thinking about, I was talking to Josh yesterday. He sent me an article, it was from the Wall Street Journal and it was about solar in the south.
[00:24:31] Nicole: And it was the most confusing. It's one thing that I'm learning with doing this podcast with you like reading something, seeing the lead. Like I never did this before, but like the title was, southerners aren't Sure About Solar anymore. And so then I'm reading it and it's about this solar company and they were going to put solar panels in the forest of this forest in Georgia, but it was impacting the [00:25:00] black bears so much so that they were like crunching the black bears in a space where they were inbreeding and, and having birth defects. Then the company was like, oh, we have to, we have to stop. And they stopped and they moved it. Right. They didn't like, it wasn't like, oh, we're gonna keep on deforming the bears. Like, it was just like, okay, we didn't know. We pulled back. And then there's another farm in Tennessee where it's, it's, there's nothing there.
[00:25:30] Nicole: It's like on the highway and it's doing great. And Trump's like, it's ridiculous that, I mean, okay, Trump thinks it's ridiculous, but it's working. But it was like the weirdest article to the point where I was like, I don't really understand the point of this article.
[00:25:49] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:25:49] Jolene: Okay. I flew from, it must have been Dallas to San Diego. In January, we were at a trade show, and it was during the day. [00:26:00] And, it was so interesting to see, you know, so, so think about between Dallas and San Diego and you, you know, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and the amount of solar farms that were out there.
[00:26:14] Jolene: Like, I'm, I'm looking out there going, now what is that? And then I, then I finally realized it's all of these solar farms that are in the middle of, you know, desolate, you know, areas. And I'm like, okay. That's, that's brilliant. That, that
[00:26:27] Nicole: Okay. You and I totally agree.
[00:26:29] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:26:29] Nicole: Totally agree.
[00:26:31] Jolene: there's, that's not farmland. It's not fertile land.
[00:26:33] Jolene: It, there's, there's nothing else. It's not in, it's not near towns. It's in the desert. Why wouldn't you put a solar
[00:26:39] Nicole: And why wouldn't you put a solar panel on, on an oil field?
[00:26:42] Jolene: Right?
[00:26:43] Nicole: like, okay, we're not gonna let go of fossil fuel right now, so let's think differently. How do we as a country go? Alright. How do we start to move forward and start to sh to understand that this is not forever?
[00:26:59] Jolene: Yeah.[00:27:00]
[00:27:00] Nicole: And, and wouldn't the oil companies make a tons of bank on solar energy too?
[00:27:06] Jolene: Now I don't understand the infrastructure part of that
[00:27:09] Nicole: I don't either.
[00:27:10] Jolene: would, how do, how do you get the energy that you harness then from a solar field, how you get that to a power generator? I, I,
[00:27:19] Jolene: I mean, I
[00:27:19] Nicole: I mean, I, we I leave that to the solar people. That's not our job.
[00:27:23] Jolene: do you know, growing up, you know, my dad was a home builder and so the house that we lived in growing up, we had solar panels. and my dad was strict Dutchman conservative, but he saw this from a construction standpoint, saw the value in solar. so we had a passive system, in our, we had a passive and an active solar system in our house.
[00:27:46] Nicole: And so I mean, that's so ahead of your time.
[00:27:49] Jolene: oh my God. He, this, he built this in 1980.
[00:27:52] Nicole: That's incredible, Jolene. crazy? we had solar panels on the side of, you know, the south side of our house, but we also had, [00:28:00] an atrium with all windows and then fan system that could then, heat the house from, from that we also, we could heat our hot water through our fireplace.
[00:28:12] Jolene: So in the, in the winter. There was water piped through our fireplace. So when we had a fire in the fireplace, then it would generate heat for the, the living room. it was also going to a tank in our garage to heat our hot water. That was a hot water tank. And that, that, I mean, it was, it was truly innovative.
[00:28:28] Jolene: So like the whole solar thing, I think is, is again, let's put brilliant minds and say, how do we, how do we do
[00:28:37] Nicole: How do we do this? And, and what's been also interesting in the research too is that, if Trump has his way, I mean, he changes his mind every two seconds, but he wants no more solar, no more wind. And there's a ton of solar and wind and red states and the congress, people in the Senate are going, uh, stop.
[00:28:57] Nicole: Like we need, we're generating,
[00:28:59] Jolene: say, [00:29:00] why do you say he doesn't want any more solar or wind?
[00:29:02] Nicole: the big beautiful bill were about like cutting solar and wind and that that Senators and Congress people were like, oh my God, please don't, these are jobs in our states that voted for you. So it's that sort of extreme behavior, which
[00:29:19] Jolene: okay. So I would argue that he, it's not that he doesn't believe in it, it's that that, maybe the, the infrastructure that is around that, those things, he's cutting. I mean, he's cutting left and right. So, I mean, I, I, I would say, I don't think it's a safe assumption to say he's not for solar or wind.
[00:29:37] Jolene: I think he's for nuclear. He's for, I mean, I think he's for alternative energy for sure. It's just the way that we go about it. And I would say that's probably the, the biggest thing that we've got to come together on between Democrats and liberals is. Democrats and Republicans and conservatives and liberals.
[00:29:55] Jolene: Is it it, okay? Yes. And back to your point, I mean, [00:30:00] let's, let's, let's develop the technology, all the solar panels that, that
[00:30:05] Nicole: Can't we do both at Right. Can't we do both?
[00:30:09] Jolene: But if we're, if we are sourcing our materials for solar panels and electric batteries and all of those things from China, that helps China.
[00:30:18] Jolene: That does not help America. So, I mean, this goes, and this goes to Ukraine. I mean, if we can get the minerals, that we need to make the batteries and, and the, the equipment for solar panels, but we're getting them from countries that we are not supporting. God. That's the, that's the thing that, I mean, Trump was trying to work with Ukraine going give us,
[00:30:41] Nicole: But they, but they, they made an agreement.
[00:30:44] Jolene: Right, but I'm saying, that was, that's the kind of stuff that we need to
[00:30:48] Nicole: Right? Right.
[00:30:49] Jolene: okay, who's got the stuff that we need to do this ourselves, so we're not helping China Because all of this, if you, if we're pushing this stuff, China's the one who's, who's [00:31:00] benefiting.
[00:31:00] Nicole: Yeah. I just wanna bring this up because this is gonna seem like it's not, on point, but Donald Trump on Truth Social posted this, and I'll put it if I can. I don't know how I can put in the show
[00:31:16] Jolene: Do you follow Truth? Social?
[00:31:18] Nicole: Absolutely not. so, you see this picture?
[00:31:21] Jolene: yeah, but I can't tell. Is it Trump?
[00:31:23] Nicole: It's Trump. It's Trump like
[00:31:25] Jolene: Okay.
[00:31:26] Nicole: a long time ago. And what it says is that, Joe Biden actually was executed in 2020 and he's a clone.
[00:31:35] Nicole: that Democrats are so stupid that they don't know the difference. come on. And the reason I bring that up is that it feels a little David and Goliath right now.
[00:31:48] Jolene: okay. There's a reason why you brought that up right now. Like we're having a, a conversation about climate change and then you bring that up right Now. Tell me why that triggered [00:32:00] you,
[00:32:00] Nicole: because we are having this really great discussion about climate change and we are really talking and coming together and trying to figure things. you and me. Jolene, you girl.
[00:32:12] Nicole: You
[00:32:12] Jolene: I didn't, I didn't know if you meant like, as a
[00:32:14] Nicole: No, you and me, you and me are really trying. We're, we're researching, we're delving. We wanna try to figure out, because this is something that impacts all of us.
[00:32:26] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:32:26] Nicole: It costs a ton of money, you know, damage every year. It impacts our health, all of it. So.
[00:32:34] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:32:35] Nicole: I was struck because I'm thinking to myself, I do believe that there are more of us out there than the hate. I really do. But the hate is loud and the fear is loud. it bombards us, on both sides. I'm not just saying the right, but we have a president that really likes to tweet like a lot, and it's not [00:33:00] generally Kumbaya stuff. And so what I was, why I was triggered, or inspired to bring this up was like, wow, here we are coming together thinking about things, and where I met the David and Goliath reference was that. We're up against a lot because that is just like, just being mean. Like what's the point of that?
[00:33:27] Jolene: Okay, so let me ask you, so you don't follow him on
[00:33:30] Nicole: No, I don't. No. God no.
[00:33:33] Nicole: Oh. Josh texted it to me
[00:33:35] Jolene: Where did Josh, does Josh get on Truth Social.
[00:33:38] Nicole: No, he he has a group of guy friends that are super into politics.
[00:33:43] Jolene: because this goes back to the way we started this whole thing,
[00:33:46] Nicole: Okay.
[00:33:47] Jolene: that, that there are media people, and maybe it's not media me, maybe there are organizations that are trying to pit us against each
[00:33:56] Nicole: Oh, yes.
[00:33:57] Jolene: And so for someone to [00:34:00] send that to you or some, a friend of Josh and go look what's on True social, and I'm assuming none of them look at true social.
[00:34:07] Jolene: So someone has, has sent that
[00:34:10] Nicole: So you're suggesting that it's not real?
[00:34:12] Jolene: no, I'm not saying it could be real.
[00:34:14] Nicole: Yeah. I don't know.
[00:34:15] Jolene: I have no idea because Trump, I mean, we all know that Trump put stuff out that in the middle of the night and you're like, why? And we all wish that somebody had Trump phone and said, you know, let
[00:34:26] Nicole: I mean, I don't wanna, I apologize, Jolene, I don't wanna get off. don't mean it to be about this, it's just that I feel like there's so much negative energy.
[00:34:34] Jolene: I understand, but I'm saying where's this negative energy coming from? And it triggered you enough to get so pissed off that here you and I are having a conversation about something, but this was in the back of your mind, like, why let that bother you? Like that is, and somebody went searching for that and sent it to Josh, and Josh sent it to you.
[00:34:54] Jolene: Like that's the problem, that there are things out there
[00:34:58] Nicole: On both sides, would you [00:35:00] agree?
[00:35:00] Jolene: yeah. Oh, 100% that there are things out there or people, organizations, news, whatever it is that are trying to pit us against each other instead of talking about the issues and that this is
[00:35:13] Nicole: Which is exactly what we're doing. Like we have one, we are having this discussion and then my brain goes to that. Yeah,
[00:35:23] Jolene: That, that's the whole goal, you know, and, and you could
[00:35:26] Nicole: they got me, Jolene. They got me.
[00:35:29] Jolene: why get distracted by the crap that either Trump says or somebody else says for Trump or whatever that, I don't subscribe to true social.
[00:35:40] Jolene: I don't wanna hear that crap.
[00:35:41] Nicole: I don't either. And I remember when we started this podcast we were gonna go on all the social media platforms. And a friend of mine was like, well, aren't you gonna go on X and Truth social? And I was like, I thought about it for a couple of days and I remember saying to you, I can't. [00:36:00] I can't.
[00:36:01] Nicole: That's too much.
[00:36:02] Jolene: I know. So don't let it distract you. I, I would say that to, to both sides. Don't
[00:36:08] Nicole: you're right.
[00:36:09] Jolene: try to distract us from, you know, having conversations.
[00:36:15] Nicole: You're a very wise woman. Jolene.
[00:36:19] Jolene: It's 'cause I was sicker than a dog last night and I got rid of all the vitriol
[00:36:23] Nicole: my God.
[00:36:24] Jolene: was inside my system. The devil came out me last night. I'll tell you that right now. Like, there's no question.
[00:36:35] Nicole: I can't believe you were agreeing to do this today.
[00:36:40] Jolene: Oh, I feel better.
[00:36:41] Nicole: I'm so glad.
[00:36:43] Nicole: I'm so glad.
[00:36:45] Jolene: Okay. I have a would you rather
[00:36:47] Nicole: Oh my gosh. Give it to me. Wait, are we done with climate? We're not done with climate.
[00:36:53] Jolene: I feel like this, you know what, I'm so excited that. That we were able to have this conversation, and I would love to hear from our [00:37:00] viewer, like if this was, was this enlightening or, or did we skirt the topics? Or, I would love to hear what, what our listener thinks
[00:37:09] Nicole: and if the listener has ideas,
[00:37:11] Nicole: you're conservative or liberal, and let's talk about it. Together you know, you can comment on YouTube, um, you can reach out. We have a beautiful website, uh, www. We've got to talk.com and you can reach out to us there, you can reach out to us on Instagram that we've got to talk.
[00:37:30] Nicole: And, um, this is a topic that's impacts everyone, right? And so I think the more we understand that all of us, I, or I don't know, let's say 95% of us are on the same page, that, okay, let's start from there and baby steps and not make these huge declarations. 'cause those don't work.
[00:37:53] Jolene: Yep.
[00:37:53] Nicole: It's like when you're a little kid, you can't give an ultimatum or in a love relationship.
[00:37:59] Nicole: You cannot [00:38:00] give an ultimatum. They don't work. So where do we start? Like I think that would be a start and we can come back to this obviously.
[00:38:09] Jolene: That's the other thing. You know, we've, I think you and I have gotten such great feedback from people that, you know, Hey, could you, could you talk about this? I've
[00:38:16] Jolene: my friend has sent me something and I've not done the research. Kirby, I'll get to it, she wants our take on this, and so we love the feedback, we love listening to what your comments are. If, if you've commented on the entire show and not the 32nd snippet,
[00:38:32] Jolene: please.
[00:38:32] Jolene: because I just think that that is, so that's helpful for us that we can come back to a topic or, you know, Hey, you guys said this, could you look at this?
[00:38:40] Jolene: Um, we love to, we love to hear that.
[00:38:42] Nicole: We absolutely do. We absolutely do. okay. Would you do your, would you rather
[00:38:48] Jolene: Would you rather get on a subway train with a known gang member or get in a taxi where the driver is a [00:39:00] known terrorist?
[00:39:02] Nicole: I'd get on the subway with a known gang member.
[00:39:07] Jolene: Why?
[00:39:09] Nicole: This is a, a, a deeper answer. Jolene,
[00:39:12] Jolene: Oh. Oh, okay.
[00:39:13] Nicole: in New York City, and being a subway taker, we live among each other wildly well considering, during rush hour, it's insane how close we get together in the train. smashed up together. All economic backgrounds, all walks of life, all religions, all ethnicities.
[00:39:38] Nicole: It's, it's, it's an incredible experiment that works wildly well. and the other note, gang members are people and a lot of times having worked in my friend, I used to volunteer for my friend's organization called Drama Club, NYC, which is an incredible [00:40:00] organization, where we teach acting and improv to incarcerated kids. the kids are as young as 12 and they're incarcerated, to about 18. and some of them are gang members and a lot of the times. You find, I mean, people are in gangs, not to discredit any violence that happens, but a lot of times the gang happens because they're looking for family. They don't have any support at home. They don't have any food. I mean, there's a lot of reasons why people join gangs, and it's usually as basic as I want to belong.
[00:40:45] Nicole: And unfortunately, people take advantage of it and hurt these kids and manipulate these kids, and they turn to violence. But at the end of the beginning and the middle of the end of the [00:41:00] day, again, conservative audience, I don't condone gangs. I don't condone violence, but I, I am not afraid of people. Terrorist Hells to the, no, that's a whole other brainwash. 'cause something's going on there. I've played, done improv with the kids and they're like beautiful human beings that were so lost. And that's so that's my very long answer to why I
[00:41:33] Jolene: that was much deeper than I thought it was gonna get. I love that and I love to learn that
[00:41:40] Nicole: yeah,
[00:41:40] Jolene: and I think our listener loves to
[00:41:42] Nicole: yeah. I mean, listen, I think New York City gets a bad rap and then when you go, you've been many times, like for the most part, new New Yorkers are so kind and they can, we've talked about this before. You can totally tell when someone's lost and you all don't look. Like a New Yorker. 'cause [00:42:00] you're so clean and happy and so we know and, and we wanna help because it's a big old city.
[00:42:07] Nicole: Um,
[00:42:07] Jolene: I wear this shirt in New York and not stand out?
[00:42:10] Nicole: oh my god, people would love that. Are you kidding? You could get some serious cash for like in the thrift world.
[00:42:16] Jolene: had, I, I've had somebody offer
[00:42:18] Nicole: Oh,
[00:42:18] Jolene: for this shirt
[00:42:19] Nicole: absolutely. It's good.
[00:42:21] Jolene: oh, no.
[00:42:21] Nicole: The hipsters and Bushwick would be all over that shirt. are you ready?
[00:42:27] Jolene: Yes, please.
[00:42:28] Nicole: Would you rather solve world hunger or global warming?
[00:42:36] Jolene: well, obviously world hunger because I think global warming, has a natural phenomenon aspect to it. I think we are contributing to it. and I think that we can change it to a degree, like literally
[00:42:52] Jolene: one
[00:42:52] Jolene: degree.
[00:42:53] Nicole: Mm-hmm.
[00:42:57] Jolene: Thank you.
[00:42:57] Jolene: but world hunger, [00:43:00] I've often said that if I won the lottery, one of the things. That I would do is start a water project. I think water is probably more important than food that, I mean, if you don't have water, you can, you can go 30 days without food. You can't go more than three days without water.
[00:43:17] Jolene: That I, I would love to contribute and I know there's, there's a really good organization, water.org that we, did a lot of fundraising for in our church when we lived in Missouri. that, I mean, that right there is the thing that is so, man, if you can, if you can solve a water issue that you could solve so much, I mean, then you can grow crops and you can, you know, stop dysentery and I mean all the issues so.
[00:43:47] Nicole: I wish there were more billionaires. Let's just, I'll just say that, that. Thought like you thought about water, instead of worrying about space. and [00:44:00] you know what? They could do both. They probably have that much money that they could do both. and obviously there are people that contribute anonymously.
[00:44:05] Nicole: So I, I, you billionaire listening, if you're contributing, great. But I am the same. Jolene. If I had a ton of money, I would absolutely would wanna help with water.
[00:44:21] Jolene: How do you know that they're not
[00:44:22] Nicole: don't. Well, why I think they're not is because why? Why are so many people starving?
[00:44:29] Jolene: because their governments are corrupt? I mean, look at Haiti.
[00:44:33] Nicole: What about, but people are starving here.
[00:44:36] Jolene: oh, well, that's true. No.
[00:44:37] Nicole: So, it just feels like we're in that culture right now. That there are so much pe The people that have so much money have so much money. But there isn't this sense of, let me share it. It is, I don't know how long I'll have it. seems to be the impulse
[00:44:53] Jolene: I don't think we know that. I think you're making an assumption about rich people, that rich people just are money hungry and keep [00:45:00] their money and they buy things.
[00:45:01] Jolene: I would like to think that they've got a lot of money and they've, they've got ways to divert some of it, you know, for tax purposes, but they're giving it away, you know, to maybe benefit them from a tax standpoint.
[00:45:13] Jolene: But the, but also in their hearts, they're giving it away. I mean, how do you know that they're not,
[00:45:19] Nicole: uh, yeah, I'm absolutely making an assumption. I am making an assumption because from what I've read, there are more billionaires than ever, and, and it feels like at least our country, I won't speak for other countries, that our country is really struggling, that people are having a really hard time making ends meet and going to the grocery store.
[00:45:44] Nicole: And so, absolutely. I'm making assumptions.
[00:45:48] Jolene: I just know from, our community, like we have really good food banks. I mean, we do see, that there's a lot of resources also out there for
[00:45:58] Jolene: people
[00:45:58] Nicole: viewer that [00:46:00] watches on YouTube do us a big solid and press that thumb. Every time you press that thumb, it gets us one the thumbs up. It's yeah, not the thumbs down, the thumbs up. It gets us, it gets us one step closer to maybe, you know, it kicks that algorithm in and, you know, one step closer to competing with Joe Rogan.
[00:46:24] Nicole: How about that?
[00:46:26] Jolene: Oh, wow.
[00:46:27] Nicole: Let's think big girl. Let's think big.
[00:46:30] Jolene: Okay.
[00:46:31] Jolene: So yeah,
[00:46:31] Nicole: And
[00:46:31] Jolene: subscribe
[00:46:32] Nicole: subscribe on YouTube. Put, push the thumbs up button. Uh, Spotify, apple, wherever you listen to your podcast. Give us five stars if you like us. and maybe don't, if you don't, don't do anything if you don't.
[00:46:50] Jolene: Don't tell me. If you like us, please let us know and if you don't, don't say anything.
[00:46:54] Nicole: Don't say anything.
[00:46:56] Jolene: No, just
[00:46:56] Nicole: You, yeah. If you don't have something nice to say, [00:47:00] isn't that what, what your mom taught you?
[00:47:02] Jolene: at all.
[00:47:02] Nicole: There you go.
[00:47:04] Jolene: I love
[00:47:04] Nicole: But honestly, also, if you have any ideas for topics, uh, we're totally open. If you're, um, frustrated, if you're
[00:47:14] Jolene: Yep.
[00:47:14] Nicole: sad, if you're happy. You, you can share a story of someone that's opposite of you, that you've had a tough conversation and are here to talk about it and maybe got closer with your, your friend, or your sibling.
[00:47:30] Nicole: Or your parent,
[00:47:32] Jolene: Yeah,
[00:47:33] Nicole: and keep trying. This is really, really hard. But it, I think I'll just speak for myself, Jolene. It's really worth it. I'm so grateful for you.
[00:47:44] Jolene: I am so grateful that we are doing
[00:47:46] Jolene: this. Love you
[00:47:47] Nicole: I love you, friend. I'll see ya.
[00:47:49]
