In 2023, after receiving a transformational gift from the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice was finally able to begin working on an issue they’d been feeling called to for a long time: climate justice.

That gift came to fruition a few months ago with the hiring of a full-time climate lobbyist: Drake Starling, a Cuban-American Miami native with a background in international environmental law. Having worked in a global context, Starling is clear on the urgency of transitioning away from fossil fuels. “If your bathtub is overflowing, you're not going to get a mop,” he says. “Transitioning away from fossil fuels is turning off the bathroom spigot.”

Drake joins his colleagues on this episode of Just Politics to share more about his own story and Catholic social justice commitments, the biggest challenges and possibilities he sees in climate advocacy, and what gives him hope in the work to save the planet.

For starters, he says, we should “try to start making everyone aware that climate change legislation equals good jobs.”

NETWORK Advocates is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advancing the principles of Catholic social justice and does not endorse or oppose any candidate or party in the upcoming election.

Learn more on this week’s episode of Just Politics.

Additional resources:

NETWORK’s Equally Sacred Issues: Freedom to Live on a Healthy Planet
https://www.nunsonthebus.org/equally-sacred/freedom-to-live-on-a-healthy-planet/

Learn more about the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate provisions
https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act

Read about FSPA’s gift to NETWORK for Climate Justice Work
https://networklobby.org/news/fspa-climate-gift/

Learn more about “Cancer Alley”
https://www.propublica.org/article/welcome-to-cancer-alley-where-toxic-air-is-about-to-get-worse