Joe Manchin grew up in the coal fields of West Virginia, the grandson of a miner and the son of a small-town grocer. His worldview was shaped by a place where energy isn’t an abstract policy debate; it’s the identity of the community and vital for economic survival. Manchin was portrayed as a bit of a villain in liberal circles for his role in blocking or slowing down Biden-era policy goals, including climate policy. Yet he was also the architect of the biggest climate legislation the country has ever enacted: the Inflation Reduction Act.
Now, in the midst of the Trump administration dismantling climate policy and basic political norms, Manchin is calling for a return to compromise and “common sense.”
Episode Guests:
Joe Manchin, Former US Senator, West Virginia
Thomas Ramey, Commercial and Nonprofit Solar Evaluator, Solar Holler
For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org
Highlights:
00:00 - Intro
05:27 - Joe Manchin on his first senate run
10:42 - Joe Manchin on Build Back Better
19:26 - Joe Manchin on how the Inflation Reduction Act was written
22:51 - Joe Manchin on the dismantling of the IRA
27:21 - Joe Manchin on the effects of climate
31:02 - Joe Manchin on West Virginia’s transition to clean energy
37:10 - Joe Manchin on the state of the country
38:10 - Joe Manchin on how to make the country better
42:56 - Joe Manchin on working together
44:20 - Thomas Ramey on growing up in West Virginia
50:08 - Thomas Ramey on how he talks about solar energy
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