On the last day of Climate Week NYC, indie-pop musician Adam Met and Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson met to record a “Sing for Science” podcast at the decidedly un-rockstarlike hour of 10 a.m. The topic was “Inertia: Accelerating the Climate Movement with Imagination and Hope.” “Inertia” also happens to be the title of a hit song by Met’s (literal) band of brothers, the multiplatinum band AJR.
But Met is no average rockstar. He has a Ph.D. in sustainable development and human rights law and a bestselling book on activism, Amplify—not to mention an unflappable and cheerful demeanor, despite the serious nature of the subject at hand.
Abramson, a mechanical engineer and thermal transport expert—the “science” in “Sing for Science”—and Met discussed everything from “building a bigger tent” for climate activists who might not align on other issues to using collective spaces like concerts to spur people into climate action. At shows, Met said he asks fans to join him in phone banking and voter-registration efforts, noting that “15 percent of people take concrete climate action following the show.” Artists like Lorde and Billie Eilish are currently using this playbook on tour, he added, inspiring their fans to engage in climate activism as well.
“An object in motion stays in motion,” added Abramson, applying a basic rule in physics to the climate movement. “Let’s go all in on that.”
Listen to the Sing for Science podcast, and catch up on all of our Climate Week coverage here.
