McClann had her lips pursed in an excruciating pucker. She looked like she was watching her cat burn to death but had been told if she intervened, her other cat would get it as well.
“What is the alternative? The key is for you and your members to charge the problem head on.”
At this cue, Gruber flipped to an image of young, diverse workers erecting carbon capture devices.
“For a public that has stopped trusting these companies, you must now say…”
I read the caption aloud as it floated in misty block letters on the table.
“We are faced with a challenge unlike anything in the history of the human race.”
An image of Obama at his inauguration. The next, of children planting trees in a barren landscape.
“We are told calamity will be impossible to prevent.”
An image of doctors and nurses administering to patients during the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by another of wind farms and solar panels.
“We are told there is no hope.”
An image of a coastal town laid waste by a hurricane and a family in silver foil blankets, a woman weeping upon finding her home burned down to the foundation.
“We say: Not on our watch.”
Gruber ripped through the rest of the 3D slides: forests, oceans, mountains, Black Lives Matter protests, hard-hat workers erecting wind turbines and lowering solar panels onto roofs, a majestic humpback whale, a multicultural cast of students working diligently in labs, a woman carrying a sign that says WE DEMAND A FUTURE and a face mask that reads HOPE, followed by a coal plant with the words CARBON CAPTURE FACILITY.
“From scientists to teachers, engineers to urban planners, students to community organizers, we are coming together to face the incredible challenge of climate change. Joined by millions of activists across the country, the Sustainable Future Coalition is an unprecedented collaboration of over one hundred major American companies pursuing one goaclass="underline" the transformation of the American economy to a zero-carbon future. Together, we can win the battle against climate change and ensure generations of Americans a brighter, healthier, happier future. We are stronger together. And together we are the Green New Deal.”
Beneath WE ARE THE GREEN NEW DEAL, spaceship Earth spun against the black tapestry of space.
I waited in case anyone felt like applauding. They did not.
“The message,” I went on, as if I’d always planned to explain, “is one of inclusiveness, of working together against impossible odds. The heuristic is that industry is not just embracing the Green New Deal—you are the Green New Deal.”
I felt myself wanting to ramble, to add one weak, pleading explanation, but Linda’s gaze kept me straight: Stop punching, the bell has rung. I closed my jaw with a smile. A phone buzzed in someone’s pocket.
“The approach is strategic accommodation,” said Darnell, cracking the silence. “But it’s also bold—”
“Oh, it’s bold all right,” said Duncan-Michaels. He looked to his team. “I’m not going to lie, I have a lot of skepticism about this approach.” The minions nodded. My stomach fell.
“My first thought,” said a man with hair so white, it glowed a powdery blue, “is that this is very similar to what BP tried decades ago with ‘Beyond Petroleum.’ At the end of the day, no one bought the rebrand for a second. Then they dumped two hundred million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.”
“I have to push back against that,” said Linda. “This is more than greenwashing. Polling tells us this message resonates and that people are less likely to support Randall’s legislation if they believe industry—”
“Green New Deal? Why in the hell,” Duncan-Michaels slapped the table, “are we reanimating that goddamn term? We killed ‘Green New Deal’ deader than a doornail. We hung so much baggage around that watermelon bullshit it immolated on its own, so why are we trying to claim it now?”
“Because,” said McClann, her voice eking between her teeth, “that term was once the vanguard of the climate movement. It’s now been supplanted by a more complicated notion, this Climate X thing that Morris can never actually explain, which makes it difficult to get lead on the target. Resurrecting the Green New Deal on our terms means we can co-opt the political center while inflaming the passions of the Right and hard Left.”
I found myself speaking. “Our aim is not to rebrand any particular company but to create a compelling case for your members to maintain the social license to operate.”
“We shouldn’t have to beg for the social license,” said Emii, her voice and face passionless. “There is no economy without our members. What about expanded Arctic drilling? The new energy horizons? You haven’t addressed that.”
“You’re on defense right now,” said McClann. “Once we get the ball back, we can go on offense again.”
“Why not stick with what works? That this stuff is all watermelon bullshit?” Duncan-Michaels repeated. “Green on the outside, red on the inside. It’s the Left cramming a socialist agenda down our throats.”
“Because that argument has no weight,” I said patiently. “A plurality of young voters under thirty-five are happy to identify themselves as socialists now.”
Emii absently tugged at a tight black braid, pulling it over her shoulder and fiddling with the tip. She exchanged a glance with Duncan-Michaels. He said, “And what do we do when SFC members don’t want to endorse the goddamned Green New Deal?”
I couldn’t keep the annoyance from my voice. “The Green New Deal will be whatever we say it is. This includes solar radiation management and other geoengineering techniques that, according to studies, could allow your members to continue exploiting their reserves well into the twenty-second century. There are sub-strategies as well. You get on board with renewable deployment as panacea and shift the attention and passion to environmental justice by highlighting diverse hiring practices in minority communities. The polling on this is impressive.”
“We want a candidate, a spokesperson,” said Emii, ignoring everything I’d said. “Someone beyond the political arena to advocate for a carbon-fueled future.”
“But that’s not what you need,” I protested, hearing the wheedling in my own voice. “You have the Mackowskis and conservative media making that argument already. You need this new angle.”
I could feel the meeting growing combative. The client hated the pitch, and they weren’t even being polite about it.
“Yes, but this means we’re admitting that it’s real.” Duncan-Michaels brought his hand down on the table in a karate chop, and with each phrase chopped again. “That has always been our last line of defense, and then it’s only a matter of time before we have nowhere left to retreat.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling the room’s gaze as my tone gained a blade. “Why are we even here then? Did you want us to tell you that all will be well if you just keep running ads extolling the virtues of algae fuels? You’re looking at the birth of a revolution.”
“But we don’t want to simply delay the birth,” said Emii, each word carrying the bite of a snapping turtle. “We want to strangle it in the womb. By the time we’re through, we want this issue to be a political albatross so heavy, no one ever tries it again. And if that means cratering the Randall administration, so be it.”