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.
— Tom Steyer
If you know your destination, choosing a route - while not trivial - is manageable.
Only when the oil and gas industry has taken full account of, and responsibility for, the impacts of exploring for and extracting fossil fuels can we engage in a serious and worthy evaluation of whether fracking can indeed provide a bridge to a sustainable energy future.
I am a true believer that we have to change the way we generate and consume energy in the United States.
My experience of American politics is that people raise issues, and they get addressed in an effective but imperfect way. But that's sort of the American system: Mind the problem and worry it, and then we attack it with overwhelming power and put it away - and that's the end of that problem.
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.
Tar sands oil is dirtier, more corrosive, and worse for the environment than conventional oil.
Demanding that our leaders take action on climate change is about a lot more than polar bears and ice caps; it's about safeguarding our health, preserving our prosperity, and protecting the future of our children.
The dialogue around climate change can often become mired in gloom and doom, which is understandable given the topic.
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.
Despite the frequent use of coal miners as a potent political symbol, coal jobs are disappearing - and they're not coming back.
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.
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.
The most expensive way to do business is to do it deal by deal, each of which is highly contentious.
The fact of the matter is, people care about their own human interests: the people they love, their families, and their communities.
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.
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.'
Tax cuts for the rich defund the critical public programs on which American families depend.
Clarity of vision is the key to achieving your objectives.
On the path to a low-carbon, clean-energy future, we need cleaner, non-intermittent sources of power that will allow us to keep the lights on when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining.
I really don't want the highlight of my life to be my success as an investor. Genuinely. My idea of death would be that person who is still telling you about that goal he scored in 1974.
The whole key to a fight is throwing the first punch.
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.
When an oil company executive tells American families that we don't need to be concerned with tar sands pipeline safety, it's not only misleading, it's insulting.
As a Californian, I feel lucky to live in what is truly the Golden State - a place of sunshine, agricultural bounty, natural beauty, technological innovation, and boundless optimism.
I founded NextGen Climate with a clear mission in mind: to act politically to prevent climate disaster and preserve American prosperity.
I am passionate about preserving the rights and opportunities of current and future Americans. That has meant fighting to stop global warming.
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.
I think that Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi obviously are incredibly sympathetic to the DACA people. And so am I, of course.
I've spent a lot of time studying corporations and what makes them tick.
I was in business for 30 years, and my experience is that the best way to operate is to work fairly and closely with partners over a long period of time.
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.
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.
Americans can take on huge projects. But they need to understand why they should take on a huge project.
What makes a successful country is when you invest in the people of the country - whether it's education, health care, job training - and you rebuild a clean America to provide the kind of infrastructure that will be sustainable and let us grow.
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.
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.
I think I was on this very straightforward escalator - grammar school, high school, college, get a job on Wall Street, kind of everything leads to the next thing. But at what point do you get to step back and say, 'I'd like to take a broader view of my time on this planet?'
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.
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.
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.
Voting is our right, but it is also our responsibility because if we don't take the next step and elect leaders who are committed to building a better future for our kids, other rights - our rights to clean air, clean water, health, and prosperity - are placed directly in harm's way.
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.
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.'
Tragically, no industry has done more to block crucial action to address climate change than the oil industry.
I believe that trying to deal with Donald Trump is like trying to play three-card monte in Central Park: it's not going to work out.
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.
I know there are five stages of grief, but my parents raised me to pull up my socks when times get tough.
We try to separate the world into the stuff we can control and the stuff we can't.
That is not something I embrace. I think there are real distinctions between the Koch brothers and us.
