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The Carbon Wave: A Story of Democracy, Parenthood, and the Race to Save our Planet
September 29 @ 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
The Carbon Wave: A Story of Democracy, Parenthood, and the Race to Save our Planet
Join us for a book talk with author and UC Santa Barbara political science professor Leah C. Stokes, as she sits down for a moderated discussion with UBC political science professor Kathryn Harrison about her book The Carbon Wave.
September 29, 2026, 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm
Franklin Lew Forum | Allard Hall, 1822 East Mall
Registration: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aWrw8nG8km35z3o
About The Carbon Wave
They were perhaps an unlikely trio: the professor Leah Stokes, the policy wonk Sonia Aggarwal in the White House, and the DC insider Adrian Deveny in the Senate, but together, they crafted the boldest climate legislation of our time.
In The Carbon Wave, Stokes chronicles the turbulent path of their climate bill as it veered between breakthrough and collapse—from the hopeful beginnings of the Green New Deal in 2018, to the bill’s near-certain defeat by Senator Joe Manchin in the winter of 2021, to the surprise passage of the landmark legislation in August 2022. During this critical time, the author was pregnant or in the NICU with her premature twins, and Aggarwal and Deveny were new parents too.
Interlacing personal narratives with stories from Congress, the White House, and outside activists, Stokes shows how dogged perseverance and collective action can still bend the course of history. The book concludes with an update from the second Trump administration, explaining the parts of the bill that were—and were not—rolled back, and why we should remain hopeful that progress is still being made.
