Why You Should Watch "Our America: Climate of Hope"

By Anna Robertson, VP Content & Partner Innovation, ABC Owned Television Stations

Over the past two years, I’ve had the honor of collaborating with trusted meteorologists and our incredible partners at National Geographic on coverage of one of the most important issues of our lives: climate change. Pre-pandemic, we brought together some of our meteorologists in New York for an innovation summit with weather and climate teams from National Geographic and ABC News. Our conversations were filled with energy and enthusiasm, with passion and purpose, and with genuine concern for the future of our communities. It ended up being extremely well-timed – in 2020, we experienced more $1B weather and climate related disasters than any time in history. Many of the breaking news stories that drove viewers to our platforms were extreme weather events.

Our gathering – and the events of the past year – prompted the production of an hour-long documentary, “Our America: Climate of Hope,” which will air starting April 17 across the ABC owned television stations on television and streaming apps, as well as on Hulu. Fueled by research from Smith Geiger that told us viewers wanted to hear from their trusted meteorologists about the changes they are seeing in their communities, we decided to boldly and definitively reinforce the reality of climate change through the perspective of our team on the front lines of extreme weather. Inspired by the notion of “climate hope,” which we heard from National Geographic Explorer Victoria Hermann, and buoyed by our inherent faith in the future of our communities, we decided to tell the story of how our cities could thrive through innovation, local heroes and a spirit of ingenuity. After all, if we can come together to fight COVID-19 with a vaccine in less than a year, than surely, we can turn the tide on climate change.

This is one of the biggest equity and justice issues of our lifetime. It affects our security, our economy and our health. Disney, our parent company, has made ambitious commitments to sustainability, which you can learn more about here, and in airing this special, our stations are committing to doing our part to inform, reflect and serve our communities who are seeing the realities of climate change. As Victoria says, “We need everyone to commit to climate actions because every single person can be a climate change champion.”

So how can you play a part in a future of innovation?

First, learn about what's happening and talk about it within your community.

• Watch “Our America: Climate of Hope,” and share it with your friends and family. Search "Our America" on Hulu to find it, or check your local listings if you live in an ABC Owned Television Stations market (NY, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Raleigh-Durham or Fresno).
• Dive into the myriad of resources from National Geographic on these issues, subscribe to the magazine and newsletters.
• Engage with Climate Central or take Project Drawdown’s Climate Solutions 101 course.

Second, take an audit of the choices you make throughout your day, as profiled in this Nat Geo article. Can you reduce, reuse and recycle? How do you play a part?

Here’s some inspiration from WPVI’s Chief Meteorologist Cecily Tynan: “As a family, we often try to have low carbon or no carbon footprint days, usually a weekend or on a vacation week. We leave the car in the garage, we bike we walk we kayak, we try to eat lower on the food chain, vegetarian meals once a week. We recycle, we avoid using disposable goods. We don't use plastic straws. Sometimes the little things can really add up.”

WLS’ meteorologist Larry Mowry told us his family cuts down on waste and packaging, trying to limit individually packaged goods in favor of bulk items that can be split up. And his colleague Cheryl Scott suggested “looking at things you can do a bit differently around your home,” like turning the thermostat down, using less water, using less waste. Can you get rid of your plastic water bottle?

KABC’s chief meteorologist Dallas Raines has adapted his yard with water-wise plants, replacing grass with palm trees and succulents. And KGO’s meteorologist Sandhya Patel has encouraged her family to cut down on water use in her house.

Finally, get involved! There are so many ways to do this!

• Spend your money on sustainable products and companies, and invest in them!
• Work with your facilities team to make changes in your own environment.
• Clean up your community or beach.

In my house, we’ve swapped plastic water bottles for reusable water bottles that we love. We reduced the amount of meat we eat – which is a health benefit as well – and we try to buy local produce when possible. We use cloth bags at the grocery store for produce and groceries, and we compost leftover food scraps or put them in our green bin. We support companies who reduce packaging and plastic. We’re not perfect, but by doing our part, we’re setting an example for our children that we value the future of our Earth and the generations that will come after us.

As WABC’s Sam Champion said, “We can handle tomorrow, if we start making smart decisions now.” Are you with us? Let’s all do our part towards a better future.