Exciting
Exploring the most important global trends and events on our path to carbon neutrality. As the status quo becomes largely obsolete, an abundance of opportunities are created.
The following content is from the “Exciting” section of the What on EARTH?! sustainability newsletter:
What’s the climate crisis like in Uganda? (hear from youth activist Nyombi Morris!)
Earth's climate has changed. And it will continue to change, making it harder to live until we make society transform its systems to reverse global heating. But the climate crisis is not affecting everyone equally. And we (in the US at least) rarely hear the stories...
The world that is…and what it *could* be (part 2!)
This is the second half of a 2-part newsletter (here's part 1). And it's the longest newsletter I've ever written. Turns out it takes a while to paint a picture of a totally transformed future world. So if you happen to be pressed for time now, I'd encourage you to...
Sustainable investing, Green New Deal workshop, and big oil
I've got a few things for you this week: New video & podcast on sustainable investing Upcoming Green New Deal workshop organized by some awesome grandmothers Big oil: Some good & bad news But first, a huge thank you to everyone who donated after reading last...
3 year anniversary updates & opportunities to help!
It's May 2021, meaning I've been writing this newsletter and building this organization full-time for more than 3 years now. (saving the enormous thank you to everyone who has helped to make this happen for the end 🙂 Here's some of what we've accomplished so far:...
Exciting news!
So...something kinda cool happened: I was recently recognized by the UN! The 1M2030 initiative is working "to build a global movement of one million global youth leaders for sustainable development to carry the 17 SDGs to 2030 and beyond." I got nominated in the Fall...
How to make your company a climate leader
Last Friday I had the pleasure of speaking with Bill Weihl who has been a true pioneer in the corporate sustainability world, spearheading the efforts at Google and Facebook since 2006. In 2020 Bill started a new organization called Climate Voice which is on a mission...
Climate solutions 101 & a heartwarming story
Climate Solutions 101 You probably know that I love Project Drawdown. That's because they're the world's leading resource for climate solutions. They recently came out with a free mini-series of videos called Climate Solutions 101. Here's the trailer:...
What makes someone a sustainability leader?
I believe being a sustainability leader is fundamentally about saving and improving as many lives as possible. It's about helping life on earth to consistently thrive. The best way to do this will inevitably change over time as circumstances change. But right now, in...
Climate chess ♛♘♝♔♜♙
Climate chess: big picture strategy on climate solutions. Long-time readers will know that I'm a huge fan of Project Drawdown and their rigorous research on climate solutions. Their Executive Director, Dr. Jonathan Foley, just published "We Need to See the Whole Board...
“Biden is blitzing” & two questions for you
Short one for you this week. And I'd love to hear what you think about the two questions in bold near the end! The US is playing catch-up on climate action It's been hard to keep up with climate action in the US recently - a welcome change. David Roberts (who has a...
Best Climate and Sustainability Books
Happy Friday - hope all is well with you! Today I’m sharing my favorite climate and sustainability-related books. I decided to have a little bit of fun and weave the titles into an overarching message (you can also find the full list of books with links and...
$25,000 prizes for climate projects & help debunking deniers
I don't know about you, but I got another wave of deep relief this week. Possibly the most powerful person in the world has just changed from someone who was actively making the climate crisis worse, to someone who is working to rapidly accelerate climate solutions....
What on EARTH?! 🌍
We're mixing it up and going back to the original "What on EARTH?!" structure for the Crowdsourcing Sustainability newsletter this week! For those who don't know, this was my way of using an acronym to balance the newsletter when I first started writing it in 2018 -...
My TEDx Interview on all things climate
Two things for you this week. First, an enormous thank you to everyone who has donated to Crowdsourcing Sustainability so far! I am so grateful for your help to keep this work going and our impact growing. Y'all rock 🙂 Also, to those of you who tried to donate but...
Wisdom from Carl Sagan
Two quick things for you this week. First - Hallelujah! Seriously, what a relief. I hope you have celebrated and found some moments of peace 🙂 More than 78 million Americans stood up and voted to get Trump out of power. (Of course, Trump is still...
Climate action helps improve *every other issue at the same time*
I hope all is well with you in these trying times. Living in 2020 is a lot, isn't it? I'm just coming back from a brief, much-needed break from work (I swear, time has never moved as fast as it did last week). Today, as promised, I'll be connecting the dots between...
“The Climate Voters Are Coming”
Need some good news? I know I do. Which is why I was thrilled to read this article by Nathaniel Stinnett: "The Climate Voters Are Coming". In 2016, only 2% of US voters said climate change was the issue they cared about most. In 2018, that number more than...
100,000 readers 🏟️, our new podcast 🎧…and my deep concerns 🇺🇸
Guess what? 100,000 people now read Crowdsourcing Sustainability newsletters Kind of crazy, right? That's more than two-and-a-half Fenway Parks full of people! Surprisingly, to me at least, LinkedIn has been where these newsletters really took off: (I have three...
Key Takeaways from “The Drawdown Review 2020”
Project Drawdown is the world's leading resource for climate solutions. Their mission is to help the world reach "Drawdown" - as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible. For those who don't know, "Drawdown is the future point in time when levels of...
Biden’s New Climate Plan
So, he wasn't my first choice...or second, third, or fourth for that matter, but Joe Biden is now the guy for people prioritizing climate action. And his climate plan just got way better. This is, in no small part, thanks to climate activists (like the Sunrise...
Our 100th newsletter!
Exciting updates on Crowdsourcing Sustainability Turns out this is Crowdsourcing Sustainability's 100th newsletter. And I'm not sure what to think about it other than, "really? wow". But I would like to take the chance to thank you all SO much for reading, for your...
Connecting the Crowdsourcing Sustainability Community
I'm excited to let you know that the Crowdsourcing Sustainability community finally has a place to connect and collaborate!! Our platform is live. And I would love for you to: Read the quick manifesto below to see why this group exists, who it's for, and what...
Inspiring stories and connecting the community!
Storytime! There are so many wonderful and impressive people who get this newsletter. Every now and then someone shares a story about what a recent newsletter led to in their lives or the great things they're working on. Here are some I particularly like: Deb,...
Local climate events and orgs for my MA folks!
The Crowdsourcing Sustainability newsletter goes out to 875+ people now from 50+ countries, but every now and then I'll send a bonus one just for my friends in Mass 🙂 (170 of us now!) I wanted to share some local climate groups you may like - specifically...
Get your friends to join the newsletter!
Today is my birthday. Or as I like to put it, I just finished my 28th lap around the sun! I want to thank you all for helping to make 27 as special as it was. Your heartfelt notes, questions, collaboration opportunities, encouragement, and even just contributing to...
Some fun. Some perspective. Some <3
Happy Friday! This is a pretty epic scene from Extinction Rebellion's protest last week. Watching it brightened my day. Hope it does the same for you 🙂 (Did you notice the song selection by the way? I missed it the first time.) Two things to keep in mind...
What on Earth?! – The New Political Story That Could Change Everything
Happy Friday! I've just got some quick updates and then a Ted Talk I think you'll enjoy. 1. Mea Culpa There was a small mistake in last week's newsletter on understanding climate change through analogies (which was a big hit, so check it out if you haven't...
Greta’s speech, climate strikes, and the UN
I hope you've had a great week so far! If you read nothing else in this newsletter, please do watch... Greta's speech to the United Nations It is powerful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAJsdgTPJpU This is raw emotion from a 16-year-old's rational,...
Trees are CO2
Trees are made out of thin air. Literally. I'm guessing most of you were like me and had either never really thought about this before or assumed the substance of a tree came from the soil. But nearly all the mass of a tree comes from the air. A tree's mass...
Plastic vs trees, Greenland melting, and debate highlights
Hope you're having a great week so far! And staying cool! Did you know that June was the hottest June on record? And July was the hottest month ever recorded? I was on a family vacation for part of this week and haven't had much time to work. When I did, it...
It Only Takes 3.5% of a Population to (Nonviolently) Force Political Change
This is known as the '3.5% rule' and it's based on exhaustive research that looked at 323 campaigns from 1900 to 2006. And from 2000 to 2006, nonviolent campaigns were successful nearly 70% of the time. (Excellent Ted Talk here). "No single campaigns failed after...
“I don’t care how green you are.”
The following is the concluding section from a recent article by Mary Annaïse Heglar, "I work in the environmental movement. I don't care if you recycle". By and large, she captures how I feel about the climate movement and the attitude we need to adopt....
Loss of Biodiversity and Jay Inslee’s Climate Plan
Two things for you today. A dose of despair/reality-check followed by a genuinely exciting development: A look at just how dramatically our current system has been annihilating life on Earth. US Presidential candidate Jay Inslee is slowly unveiling an amazing...
How YOU Can Help Stop Climate Change
Hope you've had a great week so far! Back in April I encouraged you to sign up for the "Let's Save the Planet" web series so you could get tips on how to be more sustainable from various experts including myself. Below is my interview with my new friend Gail,...
Greta Thunberg’s Speeches
Happy Friday! Just two things today: 1. Green New Deal Tour In Cities Across the US The Sunrise Movement is laying out a "Road to the Green New Deal" by hosting town halls over the next few weeks. I went to the opener in Boston last Thursday (and met up with...
Kindergarteners and Climate Migrants
Hope you've had a great week so far! Okay, hmmm. Let's start with... Kindergarteners and Climate Migrants Last week I spoke at my neighbor's kindergarten class (the same room I was in 21 years ago actually - kind of surreal). They were adorable, engaged, and...
Green New Deal and Global Warming Interviews and Our Planet
I hope you've had a great week so far - finally feels like Spring here in Boston! ...kind of whacky weather recently, but what else is new? Three things for you this week: 1. Did you catch AOC's recent interview on the Green New Deal? The Green New Deal...
Global school strikes and Dalai Lama quote
The following quote is a big part of how I try to live my life: “We are visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most. During that period we must try to do something good, something useful, with our lives. If you...
Juliana vs US, healthcare industry pollution kills, Ecosia, and Jay Inslee
This week I'm going back to the original structure with a slight twist - it's a bit shorter and I'm tying in or building on the ~90 articles I've written in the last 10 months. Exciting The most important federal court case in the US gets some recognition Last...
“The Man in the Arena,” PG&E bankruptcy, and economists encourage carbon pricing
Just a few things for you today: One of my favorite inspirational quotes. Did you hear climate change caused a major bankruptcy?? (3-minute video on corporations and climate risk). Exciting: 40 of the best economists in the US wrote a joint op-ed telling everyone to...
More Americans waking up to climate crisis
Three things this week: For those who want to wrap their heads around the Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Ed Markey's Green New Deal resolution, David Robert's article is excellent (I am very excited about the GND and will be covering it again in the future...my...
Magnitude and pace of climate change
For those who don't know, I live just outside of Boston, MA in the US. We've had a bit of freezing cold this week, but it was nothing compared to the cold felt in the upper Midwest. If you didn't catch it the first time, here's my quick article on why climate change...
World Economic Forum, Greta Thunberg, and Nobel Prize for climate action
Here's some of the most notable climate and sustainability news, the story of an activist working to bring a Nobel Prize for climate action to life, and an easy action you can take to help. Climate Change DOMINATES World Economic Forum's 2019 Global Risk Report...
Where we stand in 2019
Welcome to the Crowdsourcing Sustainability community! I hope you're 2019 is off to a great start. I thought this would be a good time to do a brief summary of the big picture and where we stand today (it's not pretty), then share some highly encouraging news, and end...
Thank you for sharing and top 4 impactful actions
First off, a BIG thank you Thank you so much for all of you who read and shared last week's 16 Sustainability Leaders article with your friends - it really took off! You can see for yourself how all that sharing helped to spread awareness of the most...
Greta Thunberg speaking truth to power
I just wanted to share these two videos of Greta Thunberg with you. In them she is speaking truth to power. She tells it like it is. You may remember, I mentioned Greta a few emails ago. She's the 15 year old Swedish girl who has sparked school strikes for...
Big picture of where we stand
Watch out, comin' in hot! Quick high-level reminder and update. We have warmed the world by at least 1°C (1.8°F) so far. We are on pace to reach 3°C to 3.5°C (5.4°F to 6.3°F). The Paris Agreement is our attempt to limit global warming to 1.5°C because of how much...
Introduction to Crowdsourcing Sustainability
I just have two things to mention this week because I think it's important you know what to expect so we can stay on the same page. If you're new and want to see what a typical What on EARTH?! email looks like, please do so here. 1. Email frequency I...
Governments representing over 10% of the world have officially declared a climate emergency
So far 1,216 governments in 26 countries have declared a climate emergency. They represent nearly 800 million people. Almost all of this happened in 2019. Why am I sharing this with you? Well, mostly because it's a BFD. Momentum is picking up. Governments are...
Carbon Pricing: What it is and Current Status Globally (2018)
Carbon Pricing is Picking up Steam Around the World! Hold on, what is carbon pricing exactly? The public (you and me) currently pays hundreds of billions of dollars annually (possibly trillions) for the societal damages caused by greenhouse gas emissions. These costs...