Rhode Island
Whitehouse has given 300+ climate speeches. Why he’s still trying
Whitehouse climate speeches over the decades
Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has been speaking out about climate change for decades
On Aug. 7, 2025, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse gave his 300th “Time to Wake Up” speech about the dangers of climate change.
“It’s hard, given our peril, not to feel a bitter sense of failure about where we are,” he said.
Since then, he’s given at least seven more of these speeches. This session alone, he’s sponsored more than 30 bills on environmental protection. And he warns about the dangers of climate change almost every day on his social media channels.
Climate change has long been a priority of the left. But lately, Whitehouse seems like the only Democrat remaining who’s still trying.
“The Democrats have been running away from this issue,” said J. Timmons Roberts, a professor of environmental studies at Brown University.
He’s not sure why they’re backing away. Maybe they are preoccupied with other issues, he said, such as the Iran war and immigrants’ rights. Or maybe they think that Democrats should stop talking about climate – a group Whitehouse calls “climate hushers.”
This group includes Matthew Huber, a professor of geography at Syracuse University, who argued in an opinion piece for The New York Times that climate change fuels polarization and that Democrats should stop talking about it in order to win back the working class.
But Whitehouse has taken to social media to address this line of thinking, saying in posts that it’s wrong “about pretty much everything.”
In a recent interview for Political Scene, he said it’s worth it to keep trying because the risks are so high. And he thinks that, politically, it’s actually “a winning issue that my party has just gotten wrong and overlooked.”
Do people care about climate change?
Addressing climate change under the Trump administration is “brutal,” Roberts said.
“It’s hard to know where to start,” Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director with the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said. “They’ve pretty much torn up federal agencies. Attacked budgets and staffing and expertise. They’ve undermined climate science. They’re spreading propaganda and lies about climate science. They’re boosting the fossil fuel industry, attacking clean energy. It’s just from every possible angle.”
Yet around the country, Democrats have been backing away from talking about climate change. Many rising Democratic stars, such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, speak more about affordability than climate action. And Roberts thinks that even historically climate-friendly politicians, such as Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, who he said has been “legendary” in the climate fight, have lately been quiet on the issue.
Their silence seems to correlate with polls showing that climate ranks low, or falling, on people’s priority lists. Regular Pew Research Center surveys consistently find that climate is near the bottom of people’s priority lists. An April poll from the center found that support for the United States prioritizing renewable energy development over fossil fuels has declined from 79% to 57% in the last six years – and it even declined among Democrats. And a compilation of YouGov polls show that 4.5% of Americans currently rank climate change and the environment as the most important issue for them, down from a high of 16.6% in December 2021.
Roberts said that people do care about the issues – the 2025 Rhode Island Life Index survey found that 62% of Rhode Islanders say that climate change is a serious problem in their community. But it’s not always at the top of people’s priority lists because things like the economy and crime can take precedence in voters’ minds.
Climate hushers, Whitehouse argues on social media, fall into the problem of “poll-chasing,” where they ask what voters think and parrot that back instead of leading on an issue. Instead, he and Roberts said, politicians themselves can raise the salience of climate change.
“Democrats can drive this public opinion if they choose to,” Roberts said. “These issues don’t just happen by themselves. There’s a whole theory on what drives public opinion, and there’s some great research on environmental sociology that says that it comes from party elites. That the opinion on climate change doesn’t just happen by itself; it’s really what are the politicians talking about that drives public opinion.”
Plus, Whitehouse suggested in the interview that when people connect the dots between climate change and their lives, the issue skyrockets in priority to them. He mentioned a poll he often cites that found 92% of voters in Texas are worried about home insurance, a higher amount than were worried about health care, and that 66% of Texas voters connected their home insurance concern to climate-driven extreme weather.
Why is Whitehouse still trying?
Climate change, along with what he sees as political corruption from fossil fuel companies funding legislators, is Whitehouse’s top policy issue because of its urgency and how it’s intertwined with everything else.
“It’s already in your increased grocery prices. It’s already in your increased electricity prices. It’s already in your increased home and auto insurance prices. So if you want to deal with those big cost increases, you’ve got to face the facts about what fossil fuel emissions do,” Whitehouse told Political Scene. “We’re in kind of a gradual stage of this economic distress, but there’s every prediction that this goes really bad all at once.”
It’s not that climate change is more important than issues such as wars or rights, but that it’s the context in which everything is happening, said Cleetus, of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“Yes, there are many pressing challenges, geopolitical challenges, that are making news headlines,” Cleetus said. “Climate change is not stopping for the politics. It’s here. It’s the background condition that’s exacerbating a lot of the acute challenges people are already facing.”
And it’s not some abstract, future problem either, Whitehouse said. While states such as Florida and Texas may be seeing the brunt of the home insurance crisis, Rhode Island won’t be far behind. He’s afraid of another insurance meltdown in the state, like the Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity Corp. collapse in 1991.
Whitehouse argues that voters are ahead of politicians on this issue. And Roberts is optimistic that lawmakers will come around, too, especially if the midterms don’t go Trump’s way.
“I think the pendulum is about to swing back, and people, I mean this, people do care about this issue over the long haul,” Roberts said. “We need people like Sheldon Whitehouse who are continuing to talk about it.”
Video: Braden Lynch, of Lincoln, wins RI tennis singles title
Braden Lynch, of Lincoln, wins RI tennis singles title on May 17 at Slater Park.
PAWTUCKET – Sunday afternoon brought a breakthrough for Braden Lynch, the first boys tennis state singles champion from Lincoln in 38 years.
The sophomore was impressive throughout on the hardcourts at Slater Park, taking care of Bishop Hendricken standout Luca Testa in straight sets.
Lynch never appeared anything but comfortable under the warm sunshine and in front of the crowd gathered outside the fence, posting a 6-3, 6-2 triumph in 75 minutes. He became the first member of the Lions to lift the trophy since Tom Evans did the honors in 1988 and just the third sophomore to claim the crown in the last two decades.
“I’m proud to do it for my school,” Lynch said. “I’m proud to do it for myself. Proud to do it for my coaches, for my family – I’m just very proud right now.”
David Levy and Liam Levy took even less time to become the first boys doubles champions from East Greenwich, racing to a 6-4, 6-0 victory over the La Salle tandem of Gavin Britt and Connor Cavanagh. That match wrapped up while Lynch was taking full command against Testa, using multiple breaks of serve in the second set to build what turned out to be an insurmountable lead.
“Luca’s obviously a great player, so I knew I was going to have to play pretty much at my best if I was going to beat him,” Lynch said. “I ended up playing pretty well.
“I thought my forehand was able to dictate, and I was very happy with how I served throughout the match. I was able to keep that in mind.”
Lynch held at love to take the opening set and closed the match with what became a familiar sequence by the end of this one. He approached the net behind a forehand down the line and put away an overhead smash to clinch it. Lynch lived up to his No. 1 seed in the process and delivered on his own expectations entering the season.
“I definitely did think I could,” Lynch said. “That was in my mind from the start of the year – to be able to do this. It’s great to see it come to life.”
Testa needed three sets to eliminate North Kingstown’s Will Michaud in the quarterfinals before dropping just three games in his semifinal meeting with Barrington’s Gabe Anderson. Lynch traveled the more difficult path, beating South Kingstown’s Jonah Plonsky in straight sets in the quarterfinals before matching up with La Salle’s Andrew Smith in the semifinals. Lynch dropped the opening set to the defending champion before rallying to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
“It definitely gave me a whole bunch of confidence,” Lynch said. “He’s obviously a great player with a huge serve. He has a huge wingspan. He’s hard to pass.
“I felt that I was able to play super well in that match, and that definitely gave me some confidence going into this one.”
Lynch was immediately penciled in as Lincoln’s top singles player as a freshman and lost to Smith in the quarterfinals. His offseason work included time in the gym and some sessions with a mental skills coach to sharpen his focus. Lynch joined Kyle Burke (South Kingstown, 2007) and Max Schmidhauser (Classical, 2018) among recent second-year winners of this event.
“It was a ton of work, to be honest,” Lynch said. “A lot of time on court. A lot of work in the gym, speed – pretty much doing everything you could think of to better my game.”
Levy and Levy were surprise finalists in 2024 as the No. 2 doubles team for the Avengers. Thet fell to Gabe Anderson and Bryce Kupperman in straight sets, as the Barrington duo put an end to a storybook run. Levy and Levy authored a different finish this time thanks to their steady play both from the baseline and at the net.
It had been more than 40 years since two brothers teamed up to win a doubles championship in the state. Gordie Ernst and Bobby Ernst were the last to do it from Cranston East, capturing three straight from 1983-85. The tournament format has since changed – Gordie Ernst was also a four-time state singles champion, and doubles entries are now based on the team ladder rather than a selection off the roster.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On X: @BillKoch25
People turning to ChatGPT for mental health help
A growing number of people are turning to ChatGPT for help with their mental health.
Fox – 5 Atlanta
I was diagnosed with anorexia when I was 17 years old. My extreme fear of gaining weight instilled a steely resolve to overexercise and pick at meals – no matter how hungry I felt. Eventually, I got too thin to be healthy.
My doctor recommended residential treatment. Only one local residential treatment center specialized in eating disorders. My mother and I toured the center, which was designed to be a warm, home-like environment, rather than a clinical ward. At that time, it accepted only women and girls, and I recall feeling relieved that I would be among people like myself, struggling with similar fears, fighting the same urges.
Then we learned our insurance wouldn’t cover it.
Instead, I was approved for four weeks at a generalized, institutional residential treatment center, where teens with a wide range of conditions – addiction, self-harm and behavioral issues – were treated together. There was no specialized care for eating disorders. No individualized treatment. I attended AA and NA meetings that weren’t relevant to my illness and did my best to make the most of them.
I stabilized and began eating again – not because the care was right, but because I was desperate to go home. After discharge, insurance covered four weeks of step-down care and outpatient therapy.
Anorexia has one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric illness. I was fortunate: I recovered. But many others are not as lucky.
The care I received was dictated by my health insurance. Someone else could receive far less care, simply because they have a different plan. This is the inequity baked into our health care system: two people can present with the same illness, severity and clinical needs – and receive different treatment plans. Not because their doctors disagree, but because their insurance plans differ. When coverage determines care, recovery becomes a matter of luck.
Rhode Island has an opportunity to change that.
State lawmakers are considering legislation (S2564 and H7945) which would require insurers to use the same standards providers rely on when determining whether behavioral health treatment is medically necessary. These clinical guidelines are developed by nonprofit professional associations, grounded in medical research, and reflect consensus across the field. Currently, insurers may rely on internal guidelines that can vary, lack transparency, or fall short of generally accepted standards of care.
Many Rhode Islanders face barriers to behavioral health care: higher costs, delays and limited provider networks. Additional state reforms can help improve access.
- Bills S2687 and J7946 would codify federal parity regulations into state law. Parity requires insurers to cover behavioral health services on the same terms as medical services, including comparable limits, costs and access to services. In 2024, new federal rules strengthened these requirements, but a recent legal challenge from a group of employers has left them uncertain. The administration has stopped enforcing key provisions and has urged states to pause their own enforcement efforts. Rhode Island does not have to stand by and accept reduced access to behavioral health care – we can enshrine these critical protections in state law.
- Bills S2467 and H7943 would eliminate prior authorization for in-network behavioral health care, removing one of the most common sources of delay. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has had this policy in effect for years.
One in four Rhode Islanders lives with a mental health condition. Access to timely, appropriate care should not depend on an insurance plan.
When my doctor recommended care, he was guided by clinical expertise and clear standards of what I needed to recover. Our laws should require insurers to follow those same standards.
Because when it comes to behavioral health care, the stakes are too high to leave treatment up to chance.
Laurie-Marie Pisciotta is executive director of Mental Health Association of Rhode Island.
RIDEM has been busy building a new boardwalk at Roger Wheeler and expanding access to parking at Misquamicut
New boardwalk at Roger Wheeler State Beach in Narragansett, RI
A look at the new boardwalk under construction at Roger Wheeler State Beach
When Roger Wheeler State Beach and Misquamicut State Beach reopen on Memorial Day weekend, beachgoers will find that both places have undergone a makeover.
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has been busy during the offseason improving access, amenities and parking at both state beaches.
At Roger Wheeler in Narragansett, workers have been installing a new boardwalk, doubling the size of the current one to nearly 1,200 feet in length and making it accessible for people with disabilities. On a recent windy Saturday, some beachgoers soaked in the sun while a few workers milled about the construction site.
The work includes new stairs, sidewalks, shade structures, a foot-washing station and concrete benches. Most of it is expected to be completed by Memorial Day, but some work will continue in June with minimal impacts to beachgoers, according to the DEM.
At Misquamicut, in Westerly, the DEM has been improving access to the beach’s parking lot by expanding the entrance from three to eight lanes, which will help improve traffic flow. The work is expected to be completed in May, according to the DEM.
Memorial Day weekend also means reopening of the rest of Rhode Island’s state beaches. It marks the return of seasonal amenities, lifeguards, beach staff, concessions and restrooms.
And it marks the return of paid parking as well. Daily passes are available to purchase at the site, while season beach passes are available to purchase online – though visitors should know that parking is first-come, first-served. Before leaving home, check whether parking is available online.
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