For our cspan and public radio audiences please be aware that in the audience today there are members of the general public in addition to journalists so any applause or reactions you hear are not necessarily from the working press. [laughter] id like to begin by introducing our head table. Please hold your applause until all the head table guests are introduced. To my far left is Valerie Jackson washingtonbased editor , a. Doug harr brecht former npc president and a member of the Club Journalism institutes board of directors. Next to doug and debbie carol f key, a guest of our speaker. Jacqueline policastro whos the Washington Bureau chief at gray television. Adam eaton a reporter at e news ira our look whos the Communications Director for a company. Next is Elizabeth Mcgowan a reporter at the Energy News Network to my immediate right is donna line one lachey shes the president at Dc Media Strategies a former npc president and a cochair of the nbc Headliners Team which organizes these events skipping over our speaker for a moment weve Amanda Bennett the director of voice of america and this Years National press Club Fourth Estate honoree. Next to amanda is Mary Williams , janes daughter. Next to mary Rebecca Baker shes Deputy Team Leader at Bloomberg Law and a past president of the society for professional journalists. And gil kline, the university of oklahomas gaylord news Washington Bureau chief and npc past president. And finally Valerie Hopkins the South East Europe correspondent at the financial times. [applause] thank you everybody for being here. Actor jane fonda turns 82 this saturday. [applause] huh . Etty impressive, however, she might very well wake up on her birthday morning in jail. [laughter] since she moved to washington in september miss fonda has spent every friday often accompanied by fellow celebrities engaged in what she has termed fire drill fridays protest of the lack of , a Government Action on Climate Change. Friday will mark her 11th protest and potentially her fifth arrest. The idea she said came to her over Labor Day Weekend spent in big sur with friends and fellow actors Catherine Keener and rosanna arquette. Naomi kleins book called quote on fire the burning case for a Green New Deal spurred her to action. As she wrote in the New York Times last summer at the wildfires wrecked havoc on my home state california and young people like Greta Thunberg so powerfully reminded us that we are the last generation that can prevent an unthinkable global catastrophe, i decided it was time for me to do more the do more. The United States fonda says is failing to act even as the worlds leading scientists declare a Climate Emergency that demands profound economic and social change. Civic protests have defined her life as much as a remarkable acting career that has brought oscars, seven golden globes, two baftas and one emmy. The Grayson Frankie stars advocated for civil rights and womens rights and pushed back against fossil feels, but its not always been without controversy. During a tour of vietnam in 1972 to protest the war fondas photo on an antiaircraft gun that in hanoi that appeared to be aiming at american planes landed her on the wrong side of a publicopinion, sidelined her career, and stuck her with the nickname hanoi jane. It was a mistake she wrote that she will quote regret to my dying day, but now ms fonda says that changing climate is an emergency that the world must address for the sake of the next generation. As she wrote in the New York Times, each of us one day will have to answer this question , what did i do to protect the planet for our children grandchildren and so many precious species while we still had time . Please join me in welcoming jane fonda to the National Press club. [applause] thank you very much. Thank you for being here. Thank you to the National Press club for having me here. Thank you to the Womens Media Center which i cofounded with Gloria Steinem and robin morgan a number of years ago. You know i, i lie in bed at night searching for the right words that will galvanize people to action around the Climate Emergency and show them why its too late for moderation. I try out conversations about what the fossil fuel industry has done to us and i get so worked up i cant sleep. I tell my imaginary senator how back in july 1977, james black, a Senior Scientist at exxon told exxons Management Committee that the burning of fossil fuel was influencing Global Climate , that doubling co2 gases in the atmosphere would increase Global Temperatures by two or three degrees, and that mankind had a small window of five to ten years before they would have to make hard decisions about new ways to get energy. Wxxon new 40 years ago kne 40 years ago. I tell my listener that a decade later the fossil fuel industry scientists told them that the warming effects of their Carbon Emissions could double even earlier than previously predicted, causing ecological calamities such as the disintegration of the west Antarctic Ice sheets that would inundate entire lowlying countries and would cause the disappearance of specific ecosystems, destructive flooding , and inundation of lowlying farmlands, and that new sources of fresh water would be required , and that global changes in air temperature would quote drastically change the way people live and work, and that the changes may be the greatest in recorded history unquote and that the american midwest and other parts of the world would become desertlike. That was in the mid1980s and you know what exxons executives said . This is a quote. This problem is not as significant to mankind as a Nuclear Holocaust or world famine close quote. They continue to drill. Exxon, shell, mobil, and others knew that their products wouldnt stay profitable once the world understood the risks , so they used the same consultants that the Tobacco Companies had used to launch a huge Communications Effort to develop strategies on how to feel less. Us. Ool the difference is that Tobacco Companies were primarily harming people who smoke. The fossil fuel companies are harming the entire planet and all its inhabitants. The companies not only hid what they knew, a coalition together with the Koch Brothers and other billionaires spent tens of millions of dollars on think tanks like the Heartland Institute that promote false science, sowing confusion about Global Warming so that people wont try to stop him. Their line was and continues to be that they quote science about Climate Change is not clear and even if it were the fault lies with governments and consumers , not with him. You see, but the thing is these Oil Companies have played a big role in actively stopping governments from enacting Clean Energy Policies with exxon leading the way. For example, exxon prevented the United States from signing the International Treaty on climate known as the kyoto protocol in 1998 to control Greenhouse Gases. Exxons tactics worked not only on the United States, but also stopped other countries such as china and india from signing the treaty. This very year saw atmospheric concentrations of Greenhouse Gases hit the highest level ever recorded in human history, while our window of opportunity to do something is quickly closing. Fossil fuel companies are frantically expanding new drilling, mining, fracking, and exports, and then theres plastic. Fearful that their oil and Gas Exploration will be curtailed and wanting to maintain profits exxon actually proclaimed recently our future is in plastic. Really . I mean, really . They feel okay about saying a thing like that when were facing the horrendous damage plastics have wreaked on our oceans, our arctic ice sheets, our waterways, and on entire species. Their newest attempts to counter efforts to halt new fossil fuel production and infrastructure includes the American Petroleum institutes just released video called Americas Energy security generation of progress at risk , a. The video shows american flags in the statue of liberty in an attempt to make fracking and drilling somehow patriotic, and bans on them somehow weakening the country. The oil and gas industry likes to say that natural gas is a Bridge Energy that has a role in reducing Carbon Emissions but they deliberately ignore frackings contributions to increases in highly dangerous Global Warming methane emissions and they deny the seismic dangers of fracking and the pollution of precious underwater s that provide Drinking Water to millions of people. A coalition called pennsylvanias against fracking is advocating for a fracking moratorium in their state and following visits from families of rare Cancer Patients announced a nearly 4 million in funding for studies on the Health Impact of fracking. The fossil fuel industry has gotten a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, which is paid for by fossil fuel money, to warn of a global recession should the u. S. Ban fracking the ban fracking. The Manhattan Institute also says the democratic president ial candidates climate claims are quote pure fantasy and moving to Clean Renewable Energy is not possible given todays technology and basic physics unquote. And they reference notorious Climate Science denying organizations like the empowerment alliance. Notablyrepublicans, senator pat toomey of pennsylvania, have introduced resolutions prohibiting a unilateral moratorium on fracking by a president just in case next november a pro climate president is elected. Know, way, just so you tumis reelection a few years ago against a progressive democrat was largely financed by Michael Bloomberg. Officials like senator toomey tells us that american oil and Gas Production is the only path to Energy Security. This narrative is at odds with the fact that we export so much gas and oil. I mean, if we need it for Energy Security what are we doing shipping it overseas . This narrative also ignores the fact that a hundred percent Renewable Energy which over 100 us cities have already committed to also creates Energy Security and independence and for a comparable lower or lower price. Climate scientists are very clear. We can transition to Clean Renewable Energy. We have the technology which is fast becoming more competitive. And economists say quote Climate Action should not be viewed as an impediment to Economic Growth but as an impetus for decoupling Economic Growth from emissions and resource extraction and as a catalyst for a green economic transition, labor rights improvements, and poverty elimination efforts unquote. We just have to break the stranglehold that the fossil fuel industry has on our government. Will we continue to allow these executives who have committed crimes against humanity and the earth to keep on doing it . Not just with oil gas and coal dangerous plastics, or lasers and pesticides . And do most americans even realize that were paying them to do this to us with subsidies of more than 16 billion a year, our taxpayer money. Oil change International Says that 45 of their existing drilling wouldnt even be profitable without these subsidies. We cannot, we cannot allow this to continue. The fossil fuel industry has controlled the Us Government and too many other governments for too long. This is the last possible moment in history when changing course can mean saving lives and species on an unimaginable scale. Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its report stating that given the worsening disasters we are already seeing and the additional warming that has already baked in because we didnt back 40 years ago, we dont stand a chance of changing course in time without profound systemic economic and social change. And they say we have at best 11 years before the Tipping Point is reached, 11 years to reduce fossil fuel emissions roughly in half and then continue to reduce them to net zero by 2050. Yes, we are facing a Climate Crisis, but were also facing an empathy crisis, and inequality crisis. It isnt only the earths lifesupport systems that are unraveling, the fabric of our society is unraveling. This is going to take an allout war on drilling and fracking and deregulation and racism and misogyny and colonialism and despair all at the same time now same time. Now some people say that we cant deal with everything all at once, but history has shown over and over again that whenever we try to solve problems without addressing the issues of inequality and injustice, it never works. Besides the problems we face now require every one of us to join the fight. It is a Herculean Task and why would people join it if they didnt see something in it for themselves . Fossil fuel workers must see that they continue to earn good union wages and benefits in a new energy economy. People of color and Indigenous People have to see that they and their communities wont continue to be viewed as sacrifice zones , where cancercausing wastes from the oil industry get dumped and pipelines and fracking pits pollute their lands and waters , that there will be a plan to invest in their communities, to rebuild and restore. All you have to do is look at what happens when theres no plan that centers workers. Look at how people have been treated in former coal country , laid off workers suffering from black lung disease, many too old to be retrained for new jobs, with Healthcare Benefits and pensions being cut. Science dictates that the fossil trillionstry leave 11 of fuel in the ground in order to guarantee a livable future. These are called stranded assets , but their workers must never be stranded assets. That is why those who are working to address the Climate Emergency support a Green New Deal. This is what provides the framework to bring all of us all of us together into a sustainable future. Proposals that dont Center Fairness and justice will not pass. Yes, it will be a huge , disruptive, superambitious undertaking, and yes, it will cost a whole lot of money, but think what inaction costs over inaction costs. Over the last three years the total cost of billiondollar weather and climate events exceeded 450 billion. We can find the money. And remember this country is kind of been here before. In the 1930s, it was a massive financial collapse known as the great depression. It was also an environmental collapse. My dad starred in a movie grapes of wrath that showed what happened to farmers. And it was a time of huge social unrest with labor protests riots in the streets of her growing inequality demanding that government step up with largescale programs to help alleviate the hardship. And you know what roosevelt said to him . I agree with you now go out and make me do it its really i agree with you. Now go out and make me do it. Its really important that we remember that they wont do it unless we make them, so they did. And with the force of public pressure behind him president roosevelt launched the new deal. Well, in his first 100 days, largely by executive order , roosevelt created Government Spending programs that put millions of people in hundreds of public projects back to work all across the country. The civilian conservation corps employed three million young men to restore the great plains. Thousands of farmers could move away from places that couldnt support them onto more fertile land, into towns and in cities where with government help they became the new american middle class. The Civil Works Administration , the Farm Security administration, the National Industrial recovery act, and the Social Security administration that we have today, all of this came into being because of the new deal. This is exactly the kind of brave bold leadership we need to see from our next president. This lastember 9, december 9, a consortium of policy experts released a plan that urges the next administration to take ten executive actions starting day one to confront the Climate Emergency without waiting for congress. By the time of the inauguration , we will have 10 years left to reduce fossil fuels by half and were saying to the next president , we have 10 years. You have 10 days, 10 executive actions to do in 10 days to make history and change course away from the climate cliff. The actions include an immediate halt to new fossil fuel leases , infrastructure, and exports, significant investment in public Renewable Energy generation use the Clean Air Act to slash green greenhouse pollution and a prosecution of fossil fuel polluters. The plan urges the next president to ensure address transition that protects workers and communities disproportionately harmed by the shift to a post Carbon Pollution economy. The plan is intended to work alongside actions taken by congress, state, and local governments, as well as international partners. In the 10step plan also urges the creation of an interagency Just Transition task force to ensure that impacted workers and communities are protected. Now the rich and powerful hated the new deal, hated roosevelt, because it set a precedent for the federal government to play a central role in the economic and social affairs of the nation it the nation. It was criticized as fascist , as socialist. Bankers try to overthrow roosevelt. Big business, big railroads, big banks ranted and raved against it, but there were millions of people in the streets demanding that roosevelt do more because it was helping him, and because of that it succeeded. The same interests that hated the new deal are the ones telling us today that the Green New Deal is bad, that government shouldnt be so involved in economic and social regulation , and they have convinced a lot of people of this. Big government is evil, they say, but its not the size of government that matters, it is who the government is working for. And for too long its been a government controlled by corporations, most particularly the fossil fuel industry. This is why it hasnt been working for working people. And powerful forces are arrayed against the efforts to change back in theike 1930s. Already theres a rash of new laws supporting happening across the country that specifically criminalized protests aimed at fossil fuel infrastructure. These new laws are called Critical Infrastructure laws , since they reclassify fossil fuel infrastructure as critical in order to justify harsh penalties against climate advocates exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest. This is a huge problem. Scientists say we need to cut fuel use in half, but protesting the expansion of fossil fuels is being criminalized. The fact is the policies proposed by the Green New Deal are in line with what american whene have already done there was no choice, and there is no choice. Had we known with the fossil fuel industry knew in the 1970s , we could have begun a nice , polite, incremental, moderate transition to a new economy off of fossil fuels, but they lied, they hid the science, and as a result weve lost decades and our carbon budget the amount of carbon we can still burn without passing the Tipping Point has shrunk. Now because of the fossil fuel industry, it is too late for moderation. And given the emergency its those who believe in moderation in pre trump business as usual who are truly delusional. And those who lied and continue to lie about what theyre doing to the environment should be put on trial, not awarded tax cuts and made secretaries of state. [laughter] [applause] but i beg people to think about how they can ratchet up their activism on climate, not as individuals, but in concert with others in ways that will awaken more people to the urgency and with a focus on changing policy, shifting power, electing brave people who arent scared of bold actions in the but, andhis crisis, now i am addressing the media in the room, it is hard to get people to increase their activism when only 43 of americans report hearing about Climate Change and 23 said they never hear about it. We cant fix the Climate Crisis if were not talking about it if about it. If were gonna build the robust mass Climate Movement we need we need the media to step up the step up. The announcement of the global collaboration of news outlets called covering climate now is an encouraging sign, very grateful for that, but more Media Outlets need to begin to drawing the links between extreme weather events and the Climate Crisis, need to stop taking ads from the fossil fuel industry, need to stop giving a voice to climate deniers by saying theres still much debate among the scientists. There isnt. There isnt. 97 of Climate Science agree agree about the crisis, agree about its causes, and agree about the time remaining to act , and yet this two sides to the story narrative continues. If americans realized the level of consensus among scientists , they wouldnt want to do something to prevent the worst from happening. And also heres another thing , while its important to write about the tragic impacts of Climate Crisis, it is also important to give people a hopeful vision of what can be by reporting on what cities like seattle, oakland, los angeles, in boulder, colorado, and states like new york and maine are already doing to transition from fossil fuels to sustainable clean energy. Write about the young climate strikers globally who are drawing attention to the Climate Crisis and asking us older folks to take action on behalf of their future. This is it folks. Time. S the thank you. [applause] thank you. [applause] ive been talking at so many rallies, im losing my voice. [laughter] thank you. Thank you very much. We we have approximately 6,000 questions here so i dont think , were going to be able to get them, but we will do our best. I would just take a moment to mildly defend the news too, because if you , know about the global young climate strikers, chances are you heard them in the media but we , can always improve. I wonder aboutyou are pointing very specifically to exxon and the fossil fuel industry. Do you think there is more blame to go around . I mean, you are pointing very specifically but do you think , thats productive to point at one specific country or one specific industry . Jane i think its absolutely essential. For too long, even the Environmental Movement talks about Sustainable Energy and windmills and solar panels. And they dont point their finger at the culprit even the most famous , environmental organizations, because its scary. Weve got to acknowledge what is happening, because no matter what we dowe can pour billions of dollars into, you know, building out windmills and the alternative energy. But, if they keep drilling and fracking and exporting, its not going to make a difference. And so we have to start calling out the people who are responsible. And it is not our fault, ok . Itll be our fault now that we know, and we dont do every single thing we possibly can. But what has brought us to this is not our fault, it is the fossil fuel industry. [applause] alison you mentioned several times in your speech, the next administration. What will it mean for climate activism if President Trump is reelected . Jane well, one of the reasons that i have moved to d. C. For four months, to engage in these once a week teachins on thursday night, and once a week actions that include civil disobedience every friday, is because it was the best way that i could think of, of using myself, my body, my platform, meace and frankie makes kind of popular. [laughter] way, to raisethat the sense of urgency, to get the word out wider than it had been. Unfortunately, there is a cult of celebrity,. Celebrity and so i get , covered when jerome foster, whos every friday in front of the white house, and the other young people that protest every friday, dont get covered. So im trying to use my celebrity. And the reason is, to answer your question, is because im well aware that the person elected next november, whether its the republican or even certain of the democratic candidates, might not be brave enough to step up to the plate and do the kinds of things that and do the kinds of things that the and thedid in 1930s, only thing that can make the difference under that scenario is exactly what the scientists are saying. Massive numbers of americans in the streets, mobilized and organized and demanding, demanding, and even if the best person with the climate plan gets elected, we still have to be in the streets, holding their feet to the fire. You know, we dont when we elect someone that we feel is a good person, oh, good, now i can learn how to garden, or learn a new language, and that is all fine. But i have seen it. You know, theres a big advantage of being old, because you can look back, and you can see precedence. Ive seen precedence of when we just dont do, we dont force the people in office to do what they need to do, and so terrible thing happened terrible things happen. So no matter who gets elected, including if its that guy, we have to organize and be in the streets and demand. I was asked to speak to the senate task force on Climate Change. And i asked them, you know, am i doing the right thing . Can you give me some advice about Something Else i should be doing . And senator ed markey said to me, youre building an army. Make it big. We needthey need the pressure from the outside to force them to do what is right. So come on, folks, do it. We got to organize. [applause] you know, maybe some of you heard of anthony leiserowitz, the scientist at yale. He is quite well known. He told me that 43 million americans would do something about Climate Change, but nobody asked them. So we have to talk about it. Even with uncle bob at christmas dinner. [laughter] because maybe he voted for trump, but he probably has grandkids. You know, find a way into peoples hearts, so that they will feel that they have a responsibility to do something. We have to talk about it. But we dont seem to have, in our culture, like there might have been a few decades ago, the culture of marching in the streets. What you think has changed . Jane fonda where were you the day after trumps inauguration. [applause] alison i was at work. Jane you were at work, with your head in the sand . I mean, didnt you watch tv . There were over a million women in the streets. [applause] california, 750,000 men and women and children in the streets it was the largest mass , demonstration in the history of los angeles. People are out. They are just not big enough numbers. And one of the things that ive learned, with fire drill fridays, that i didnt knowyou know, you dont no. You give a party and nobody comes. I didnt know what was going to happen, but i realized after about five fridays, its got traction. People are coming from all over the country to do something theyve never done before, engage in civil disobedience, and get arrested. And theyre transformed. Its so hard, in this day and age, to align our bodies with our deepest values and become integrated as people, and that is what these kind of actions do. And im realizing that we tapped in, without really being sure that we were going to, tapped into a deep need in a whole lot of people in this country, to take the next step. Thats where were at, take the next step. We have very little time. Alison how long do you plan to continue your fire drill fridays . Jane well, i moved for i tried to get a year, but ted sarandos, whos the head of netflix, couldnt arrange it, to give us a hiatus from grace and frankie. Hes a good guy, but he had already signed a lot of contracts, so i have four months. In the last one is january 10, i go back, i do the last season, it ends in and then ill travel july. Around the country, because people want to start it in their own towns and cities. So were going to take it and build the army, man. Im going to devote two years of my life to build an army. [applause] alison is somebody here ready to take up the slack after you are gone . Jane i dont know, we will see. I mean, yeah but see, theyve , been here all along. Theyve been here for a year. The young people have been doing this every single friday. They are the ones that inspired me. And they are going to stay behind when i go, but they alison are here. Alison so what do you say to people who say what youre doing is a publicity stunt . Jane i beg your pardon . Alison what do you say to people who say that what you are doing is a publicity stunt . Jane i say, ok. [laughter] fine [applause] , doesnt matter. [applause] you think i like doing this . [laughter] i have a fourmonthold grandson. I feel like he is going to be in college by that, get back. I have a dog thats my soulmate, that i wanted to that i wanted to bring, but she had a seizure on the way to the airport. I miss her, dont i . I miss her every moment. I mean its hard being here, living in a hotel room. Publicity stunt. [laughter] but i have gotten a lot of publicity, because im a celebrity, you know. And so thats why im doing it. If youre a celebrity, its your responsibility to use that celebrity, especially when the future of mankind is at stake. Alison so this questioner says, i have two treehugging, fearless daughters, 17 and 12. Theyre excited about fighting for the environment. How do i keep them encouraged after President Trump intimidated Greta Thunberg . Well, help them feel sorry for him. Help them understand that a man who could do that to a girl like greta is so empty, so lacking in empathy and compassion, that we need to be compassionate. We may hate the behavior, but we have to understand that the behavior is the language of the traumatized. So we dont take encourage them the traumatized. And then to see whats happening , with the students all over the world, and tell them they can join a movement. See here is the thing that ive discovered. And it wasnt just with the fire drill fridays. I learned it a long time ago. Antidote activism is the antidote to despair. Better than prozac, better than all the other things. [applause] it lifts you out of despair when you align yourself with your deepest values and start doing something more than you did before. When trump was elected, i, like many of you, im sure, i felt like a truck had hit me. I was so desperate. Rock, went to standing and the depression lifted. I was very depressed before i moved to d. C. , because i knew i wasnt doing enough. And i came here, and i started these actions, and the depression lifted. It is very interesting and i , encourage you to try it. [laughter] alison well, if you are feeling empathy, and you had five minutes with President Trump, what would you say to him . [laughter] i do have empathy, but im afraid he there is no changing him. Ill tell you, the day after the election, Gloria Steinem and i had to go to atlanta to speak to 1,600 women at the atlanta Womens Foundation and i hatched a plan , on the way, because i kind of know men like trump, only not as bad. But you know, i sort of know those inclinations and i thought, im going to get three or four of the most beautiful, voluptuous, brilliant climate activists, Pamela Anderson is one of them. [laughter] and a few scientists all going , to see trump, and we are going to get on our knees. No. [laughter] no. And were going to say to him, President Trump, you can be the hero of the entire world. You can be the most important human being ever to be born, the most better, perfect, wonderful, big, huge, wonderful, if you protect the planet. So i called jared kushner, and i told him my plan. And he said, well, uh, ivankas the environmentalist and the family, so i will have her call you. And she did, so i told [laughter] [laughter] her my plan. Said, illhed and get back to you. Well she never did. Pamela anderson was ready, and a few others. But it just didnt happen. But that was the only way that i could think of getting him to do and he wouldt have been, actually. He would have been a hero for forever. Jane who were the others . [laughter] cant say. This questioner says, women appear to have taken the lead in the Climate Movement. Why do you think women are so prominent . And what do you see as the role of women specifically . Jane well, its interesting that, you know, weve gone from 10 people being arrested to 53 people being arrested. Next friday will be more than and invariably, threequarters 100. Of them are women. As Gloria Steinem says, its not that women are better than men, we just dont have our masculinity to prove. [applause] gloria. What would we do without her . Think about it. Starting at the end of the 70s beginning of 80s, with reaganism here and thatcherism over there, the notion of the commons, the public sphere, civil society, began to be eroded. It was very deliberate. Margaret thatcher has been quoted saying, there is no such thing as society. Its obvious why these kinds of people dont want us to think about the collective good, about the commons, about our interdependence. Because when we know that in our hearts thats when we start to , organize. Women, for evolutionary reasons, biological reasons, very profound reasons, are less vulnerable to the disease of individualism. We just are. Way back, huntergathering time, the men would go out as individuals, with their spears, to get the tigers. And it was always iffy if they were ever going to bring any meat back. It was hard, and it was an individual task of great courage. But the women stayed back and help each other. They helped raise each others children. They helped deliver each others children. Human babies are the hardest of all to deliver and raise, because our heads are so big, you know. [laughter] e. L. Wilson once said that he thought maybe god granted the gift of intelligence to the wrong species. [laughter] that he should have given it to species that dont eat meat and have no thumbs, like whales and dolphins is like whales and dolphins and porpoises. But anyway, so women were there around the campfire, helping each other. The grandmas were really important, because they would stay back with the little babies but they knew where the , tiger was, and they knew where the good water was, and they knew where the best routes were. Oots were, so they all, the women all depended on each other. This is in our dna, very deep, us women. The sense of interdependence. And i think that thats why, in this moment of grave collective crisis, that requires a collective solution, that women would be in the lead. And it moves me very much. And most of the women that are coming to get arrested with me as me, butnot as old they are old. And we were talking about how much we like getting older. Yeah, its really cool, i mean, if you are healthy, if you are healthy. And we both have issues, but they dont define us, right . Yeah but what was i going to say . [laughter] yeah, see, when you get older, what have you got to lose, right . Im not in the market for some guy thats scared of older women any more, scared of strong women. I have been married three times to one of those. [laughter] i anymore. Eed that im on my own, man. And ive got courage. And thats of got time why older women are stepping up. Grandmas unite, right . [applause] and 2005, helped found the Womens Media Center with Gloria Steinem and robin morgan to, ensure women are powerfully and visibly represented in the media. What do you think the status is and the biggest achievement of the Womens Media Center . Jane fonda the status of women in the media or the Womens Media Center . The Womens Media Center is just fine. Were Alison Fitzgerald kodjak the status of women in the media. Jane we train women we let, you , know, news organizations of all kinds know we have the she source, who is, you know too , often, a network or a magazine, well, we couldnt get a woman, because theres no woman thats an expert in this, that, or the other. And no we now have lists. We , have lists of all the women that are experts in all kinds of things. [applause] so we are doing good, but there is work to do, yeah. Alison you were once married to ted turner, i think most people know that. He created cnn. What do you think when you watch the network now . Jane oh, i will always be nice to ted. I was sitting, like right there, when he gave his last speech in this very room. That is when jerry levan was taking over teds, what ted built. And ted, he said, i feel like a woman whos had genital mutilation. He called it clitorectomized. Anyway alison i see a very wideeyed man out there. [laughter] jane how many of you ever knew ted . So you, oh, im sorry, there are not more. It it was a treat to know ted and i miss ted, and i think cnn , misses ted. But, you know, cnn is good. Anything thats not fox news is good. [applause] i mean cnn tells , the news, as do a lot of other Networks Just need to talk more. About climate. Alison ok this is another , nonclimate question. Whats your view of the portrayal of a female reporter sleeping with a source to get richardry in the movie, jewell . Its based on a real person who is now deceased, but there is no evidence. Jane i dont know, i havent seen it. I have to see the movie before i can comment on it. Alison we have a question from somebody from germany who points , this out in the question. Just like great thunberg is for younger generations, you seem to be a symbolic figure for the older generation. Are you protesting because you feel the need to make up for what your generation has done to the environment . Alison hey my generation didnt , wait a minute now. Do anything to the environment. It was the fossil fuel industry, knowingly harmed the environment, not my generation. We didnt know, or we werent paying close enough attention, but maybe. But basically, the information was kept from us. So dont feel guilty. Guilt is terrible. You know, unless you deserve to feel guilty. And then we dont feel, deserve to feel guilty, for what has happened to the environment. So i dont agree with that. What is that, over boomer thing . What is that . [laughter] whatever it is, its wrong. Its probably started by the fossil fuel industry. [laughter] alison here is somebody whos looking for some concrete information, because possibly they want to join you. Where do i meet you on where do i meet you on fridays to get arrested . [applause] jane well, we are there right whats it called . Behind the capital. Whats it called . Southeast lawn. It starts you know whos going at 11 00. To be there . Gloria steinem, delores huerta, martin sheen, reverend william barber, aijen poo. I mean, thats just to mention a few. Its going to be something. Its going to be my 82nd birthday. And were focusing on health and climate, which is a very important issue. [applause] starts at 11 00. Alison what kinds of actions can state governments do to transform to 100 Percent Clean Energy without the federal governments support . Alison jane it is not easy without federal support. But some of the cities that i mentioned, like seattle and oakland, and the a state like maine, the key thing weve discovered is for all the stakeholders to be at the table. If labor isnt at the table, it doesnt work. Labor has to be there. Frontline communities, people of color, the communities that have been the most impacted, indigenous communities, where those are, and state legislators. And a lot of lawyers. And one thing that becomes clear when you look at whats cities isin all these that there isnt a cookiecutter. Thats why it has to be decentralized. Because every city has different challenges and different opportunities, depending on topography, depending on their proximity to water, depending on a lot of things, depending on already existing public transit, for example. So they all are doing it little differently, buddy and all the cases, labor has signed on. And that is critical. I mean, when you think about the without labor being there, it 1930s, wouldnt have happened. So thats what they do. Its different everywhere. You think is the biggest misconception about you and what would you like people , to know that might change that misconception . Jane i dont care. [applause] [laughter] next. Alison all right next. Well, this is sort of in the same vein. Washington post review of your book, my life so far talked about how complex your causes and convictions have been, calling them a, beautiful bundle of contradictions. What you think of that description is it accurate . Jane beautiful bundle of contradictions . Well then, else maybete it, or it was my fault because theyre , all interconnected. Therell interconnected women, war, environment, climate, injustice, racism. They are all connected. And thats one reason why i insisted, when i came here, and we started fire drill fridays, that every week we focus on a different aspect of the Climate Crisis, so that we can show the new word that everybody, intersectionality, we can maybe show maybe the connections between them. I just didnt write my book well enough so that i made those interconnections visible. Maybe i need to write a new i one, dont know. [laughter] Alison Fitzgerald kodjak in your extra time . We have several questions about the recent United Nations convention on climate in madrid, and what many questioners have said are the disappointing results. Well, yeah. It was disappointing, i think. We hoped that it would conclude with some concrete successes. But one thing was very important, and it hasnt been reported in the press very much, as far as i know, and that is, though for the first time that one of these conferences, they talked about the fossil fuel industry. They named names. And that is new, and that is essential. So that is good. And i guess now we wait for the next one. And you know, we just have to , make Alison Alison our voices heard. A lot of people are asking, who is your favorite candidate for 2020 . Jane im not im not whoever wins, we have to mobilize in the streets in huge numbers and hold their feet to the fire. And it doesnt help anything for me to say who i prefer. I mean, ive said pretty clearly its too late for moderation. So i guess that tells you something. [laughter] know, the idea of going back to what existed before trump, i mean trump isnt some unicorn that appeared out of nowhere theres a reason that he was , elected. And so the solution requires much more than going back before he was elected it requires addressing , the reasons that he was elected. And thats why i like the Green New Deal, because itll not only solve the Climate Crisis, it will address the reasons that someone like trump could get elected in a country that is supposed to be a democracy. [laughter] this is where you clap. [applause] Michael Bloomberg has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to stop Climate Change, but he has also spent a lot of money electing republicans, including the 2018 midterms. Do you consider him to be on the same side as you . Jane i like michael. I admire much, i love his work on gun, but but i dont like the fact that he supports candidates i mean pat toomey in pennsylvania was running against a very progressive woman and michael , bloomberg put a lot of money into toomeys campaign, because toomey is good on guns, but he is terrible on climate and fracking. So theres a lot about where bloomberg is coming from that i dont like, but on top of that, i dont like people buying their way into the electoral process. We have got to get money out of politics. [applause] we are almost out of time, but before i ask you the final question, i just want to present you with the very highly coveted National Press column National Press club coffee mug. Jane cool. Alison or anything mug. [applause] jane thank you. Alison now this question seems , to have come from many, many corners. How much fun are you having working with lily tomlin . Jane oh yeah shes coming , friday the 27th to get arrested with me. [applause] grace and frankie do jail. [laughter] tomlin, ok . Lily tomlin is an inescapably lovable human being, with the largest talent of anybody ive known feel very blessed that i. And im just, i go to work every day and get to see her radiant face, and we love each other a lot. [applause] sorry whether you , one final. Somebody asked ever intend to bring dolly parton back into your threesome. Jane well, weve tried. Weve tried. Dolly is kind of busy, and so she might. She wants to, she says. So i dont know but we keep , trying. Alison jane fonda, thank you very much. You all, very much, appreciate it. [applause] alison for being with us today at the National Press club. [applause] this event,s after jane fonda was arrested in washington, along with 137 other protesters at the heart Center Office building while having her weekly road test called fire drill fridays. According to the Washington Post she was led away by a police officer, her hounds her hands bound. The rest is her fifth during demonstrations calling for Government Action on Climate Change. Today, saturday, she turns 82. Monday night on the communicators, intellectual property is important, but china has other policies and make it a normatively make it a normally difficult for u. S. Compete fairly in china and away we dont make it difficult for their companies to compete. Financial services, cant issue cards and cant offer services, but Chinese Tech Companies can compete fairly in china and awaydo so here in the. Crossborder data flows are restricted. China imposes restrictions on the ability of companies to do business without a local partner and the Chinese Government maintains the ability to take information at will. All these fundamental issues need to be addressed. President of the Information Technology industry council, monday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on the communicators on cspan2. Next, virginia senator mark nationaleaks at the Competitiveness Forum in washington dc. He is vice chair of the Senate Intelligence committee as well as a member of the banking and finance committees. [applause] senator warner thank you for that kind introduction. The first time i have spoken to the council since i was a governor. And in that ensuing numbers of years i have to use glasses now. In that, apologize while most of the action is going on in the house today, we are actually plowing through a , and im goings to be a little limited. I have to