Can the Energy Crisis Finally Unite Us?

Photo collage including the planet Earth, various natural resources, and green energy infrastructure.
Do. 23.07.2026
Ort: ASU California Center (1111 South Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90015)

Co-presented by Zócalo Public Square, in partnership with ASU Global Futures Laboratory and Palisadian-Post

Info

Diese Veranstaltung findet auf Englisch statt

A panel of experts in energy and media comes together to discuss how the future of energy can unite us, followed by a free reception. Former Florida U.S. Representative and Climate Solutions Caucus co-founder Carlos Curbelo, conservative leader in clean energy advocacy Heather Reams, and climate change journalist Kate Yoder will discuss efforts to help words win where political ideology has failed. Moderated by Uwe Jean Heuser, Journalist and 2026 Thomas Mann Fellow.

Climate debates are going nowhere. Highly ideological, they end in gridlock more often than solutions. Disasters strike, but their media shelf-life is short. And younger generations, long worried about living on a warming planet, are moving from anxiety to frustration, feeling like they’re left with all the problems but no decision-making power. The world needs a new approach.

There are signs of change: States with conservative majorities like Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma are now leaders in renewable energy, and some U.S. voters have latched onto a green economic populism that runs on affordability. And in the U.K, a recent conservative government expanded Britain’s offshore wind power. What new climate narratives, and which media messengers, will bring us together to effect progress across politics, state lines, national borders, and vast oceans? And what words will they employ? Can “energy realism” make people view renewables as a path to freedom from oil dependence? Is “sustainability” out and “our future” in?

This event is free and open to the public.

RSVP HERE.

This event will take place at the ASU California Center

1111 South Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90015



Participants

Carlos Curbelo

Carlos Curbelo is a former Republican U.S. Congressman and political analyst who represented South Florida in Congress from 2015 to 2019. Recognized as one of the House’s most bipartisan members, he worked on issues including energy and environmental policy, immigration, tax reform, and international affairs. In 2017, he received the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s New Frontier Award for promoting bipartisan cooperation on environmental policy. Today, he co-leads Vocero, a public affairs and communications firm, and serves as an on-air analyst for national media outlets.

Uwe Jean Heuser

Uwe Jean Heuser studied economics in Bonn and Berkeley, earned a Master of Public Administration at Harvard as a McCloy Scholar, and completed his doctorate in Cologne. He joined the editorial team of DIE ZEIT at the end of 1991, where he founded the Reform Workshop and headed the business editorial team for 20 years before founding the newspaper’s new “Green” section in 2021. He is an award-winning non-fiction author and serves as an honorary professor at Leuphana University. At the Thomas Mann House, Uwe Jean Heuser will deal with the climate discourse, which is highly ideologized and often ends in conflict instead of uniting society. Both in Germany and the United States, he will look for new transatlantic approaches that can create the basis for a new narrative for climate change that reaches a larger number of people.

Heather Reams

Heather Reams is a highly respected non-profit executive and a nationally recognized conservative leader of clean energy and climate advocacy. She currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) and CRES Forum, leading non-profit organizations based in Washington, DC, dedicated to conservative solutions to address our nation’s energy, economic and environmental security while increasing America’s competitive edge. She joined CRES and CRES Forum in 2016.

Kate Yoder

Kate Yoder is a journalist at the environmental magazine Grist, where she covers the politics of climate change through the lens of language, culture, and history. She has won a SEAL Environmental Journalism Award and a Folio Magazine Award for Essays & Criticism. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, WIRED, and Scientific American, and she’s regularly featured on NPR’s Here & Now. In 2022, she coined the term “heatflation” to describe how rising temperatures drive up food prices, a concept that spread to international news coverage and policy discussions.

Partner

A Collaboration with Zócalo Public Square, in Partnership with ASU Global Futures Laboratory and Palisadian Post.

 

 

 

 

Zócalo Public Square values audience safety. During events at ASU California Center, as bag searches are not permitted, only clear bags (maximum size 12” x 6” x 12”) and small clutches (maximum size 8 ½” x 5 ½”) are allowed in the venue. Zócalo may be able to provide a limited number of clear bags to help accommodate guests. Questions? Ask us at events@zocalopublicsquare.org. The ASU California Center is inclusive and accessible for all. A platform wheelchair lift is available at our main entrance via Broadway (ground level). Upon checking in for the event, please inform Zócalo staff if you need assistance, or contact events@zocalopublicsquare.org for additional information.