News from a Changing Planet -- #6
Hello loyal subscribers, dear readers, etc.,
I know it's been a while and I apologize for the long hiatus...I have been on my book tour (have you heard? I wrote a book and, believe it or not, you can still buy it! Try doing that here.)
There is a lot to catch up on, and in the next few weeks, I hope to be back to you with lots of things, including but not limited to the recent announcement from the EPA about coal ash regulation. Outlook: not good.
In the meantime, I wanted to share with you two recent articles that I wrote for the New York Times which both focus on the issue of climate justice.
The first one is an interview with Dr. Narasimha Rao as part of a series on "visionaries". Dr. Rao is a climate scientist, now a professor at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, whose work demonstrates that reducing inequality — mainly between developed countries and developing ones — is one of the most effective solutions to climate change. There is a pervasive idea in our policy discussions about climate change that it’s not possible to achieve growth and reduce emissions, but that understanding relies on a purely economic understanding of growth, rather than a more holistic definition that emphasizes justice over wealth. Often, conversations about climate change tend to emphasize sacrifice and loss -- and to be sure, there are many people who will suffer and are already, and many things (1 million species, possibly, for example) will be lost -- but solving climate change or even mitigating it represents an enormous opportunity. Not only can we build a more just society, but we can also build systems that are good for people and also happen to be good for the planet: better diets, less air pollution, fewer chemicals, the list goes on. (Thank you Perrin Ireland for the suggestion!)
The second is a profile of the makers of the podcast, Mothers of Invention, which focuses on stories of women of color and indigenous women from around the world in the climate crisis who are implementing solutions in their own communities. Around the world, women are disproportionately affected by climate change, and these women are predominantly poor black, brown, and indigenous women. They are already living with the effects of climate change, and therefore, the show argues, theirs are the stories we should be listening to. You'll read about each of the women involved in creating the show, but it is particularly cool because one of the hosts is Mary Robinson, the first woman president of Ireland, who has been a powerful advocate for human rights and, more recently, climate justice around the world.
I hope you enjoy these two articles, and I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you about what you think!
More soon!
Tatiana