海角大神

Chloe Maxmin saw a climate emergency. Like many 20-somethings, she saw climate change as something that demanded immediate action. What鈥檚 interesting is what she did next.聽

Running for the Maine state Senate in a Republican district, Ms. Maxmin started going door to door, talking not just to supportive Democrats but also to supporters of President Donald Trump. And a remarkable thing happened.聽

鈥淚 had all these preconceptions about Republicans, and all of that was completely broken down,鈥� she tells The Nation. 鈥淏ecause when I took the time to listen to people, and really respect where they were coming from, I did find that I have way more in common with them than I thought that I did.鈥�

The result? She beat the Republican minority leader and learned to talk about climate differently to get others on board. 鈥淭he climate movement is pretty privileged and urban-centric, and that plays out in what policy looks like,鈥� she adds. 鈥淪o I wanted to start a new conversation in the statehouse about a different type of climate policy rooted in rural and working places, and really [homing] in on a just transition, especially for rural places.鈥�

Maybe that kind of politics holds a lesson for all politics 鈥� and the climate debate, she says. 鈥淭he power of local politics is you can have the kind of conversations that can humanize politics again.鈥澛犅犅犅�