If you want to see the energy transition succeed where you live, you might want to get involved in some local advocacy campaigns, or even become an organizer yourself. But how?
The energy and climate movement is overwhelmingly popular. Surveys consistently show broad public support for clean energy. Yet energy transition issues rarely crack the top ten concerns of most voters, and we remain remarkably bad at enacting political consequences when decision-makers ignore us. If being right were enough, energy transitionistas would have won by now.
In this episode, Carter Lavin—a climate and transportation activist who has spent 15 years training nonprofits, grassroots groups, businesses, and individuals to win local and state-level campaigns—shares what he's learned. His new book, If You Want to Win, You've Got to Fight - A Guide to Effective Transportation Advocacy, serves as a handbook for anyone who wants to move the needle on policies that support energy transition in their own community.
We discuss how to translate your goals into specific campaigns, how to connect with allies who share your values, and how to apply pressure at the right decision points. Carter explains the "inside-outside game" that bridges the gap between wonks who read 500-page regulatory filings and activists who show up at protests. We explore power mapping, coalition building, and why working on multiple campaigns simultaneously makes your movement stronger.
If you're ready to move from watching the energy transition unfold to actively shaping it, this conversation will show you how.
Carter Lavin is a climate and transportation activist who helps organizations and individuals hone strategy and build political power. For over 15 years, Carter has directly supported and trained non-profits, candidates, grassroots groups, businesses, and hundreds of individuals to win on the issues that matter to them at the local, regional, and state level.
He has written for Streetsblog and Convergence Magazine. He lives in Oakland, California and is a co-founder of the transportation advocacy group Transbay Coalition and the board game design company Serious Mischief.
On Substack: https://carterlavin.substack.com/
On Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/carterlavin.bsky.social
On the Web: https://www.carterlavin.com/ | https://www.transbaycoalition.org/
Recording date: January 12, 2026
Air date: January 28, 2026
Geek rating: 1