Sustainably Yours 7/28
3 steps to find your place in the struggle against the climate crisis, food for the future, and a chance to take action at home
Hey y’all,
Just me or is literally everyone talking about “what can I do about the climate crisis”?!
From perky infographics to in-depth reporting to even the replies to this very newsletter, it seems like everyone is desperately searching for what can be done.
Is it the very obvious signs of catastrophic climate collapse this summer? Is it a way to avoid thinking about how COVID continues to ravage us?
Who can say. But I’ll tell you what I told other folks because even though people far smarter / experienced / nicer than me have given great answers to the question of what can I do about the climate crisis?, the answer bears repeating from different perspectives.
Maybe my perspective is the one that works for you!
Here it is (excuse any errors, this was a stream-of-consciousness piece):
So the climate crisis scares you. Now what?
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Sending a one-time payment through Venmo (@polly-barks).
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Links of the week
🖊️ = blog post 🎥 = video 📰 = article 🎧 = podcast 📚 = book rec 📅 = event 💰 = where my money's going ⚡ = action item ❓= misc.
🖊️ So the climate crisis scares you. Now what?
In case you ignored the big bold link up top, here it is again :) The TL;DR three steps I try to focus on when the world feel overwhelming? Find what drives you. Amplify it. Let it radicalize you. Taking action against such a giant, existential crisis isn’t linear, but sometimes it helps my brain to organize it that way.
📰 Food for a Future Planet
I truly cannot read another piece of depressing climate news. At this point, I know. I know what’s wrong. I know what needs to be done. Perhaps more critically, I know that continuing to invite too much news into my brain pulls me into a useless, anxiety-ridden mess. So here’s something slightly hopeful.
“According to local lore, the story of Pokkali rice dates back to the 14th century, when the mighty Periyar River flooded, washing rice seeds from the mountains of the Western Ghats into saline coastal lands. There, the rice thrived. Over time, farmers took to the newly sprung varieties, which grew tall, developing the plants with the cultivation method that would eventually define them.”
📚 We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice
I’m in the middle of this book and loving it! It’s a little bit denser than I expected (that’s on me - why would a book like this be an easy read?!) but I’ve enjoyed taking the time to work through all the brilliance in it.
“When you say, ‘What would we do without prisons?’ what you are really saying is: ‘What would we do without civil death, exploitation, and state-sanctioned violence?’”
📅 Bridging the Gap: A Fireside Chat with Yejin Lee + Moji Igun
Everything Moji does is great and this looks like no exception! Consider going if you have a brand (or work for a company) that you’d like to bring greater alignment of values and action.
⚡ Text with People's Action!!!!
I’m not sure a text bank warrants FOUR!!!! exclamation points but good on them for being excited. If like me you’re now feeling safer at home again, this is a good opportunity to do something actionable, although my thoughts on the Green New Deal are definitely complex…
From People’s Action: “Join People's Action and our people-powered member organizations to send texts to folks in our communities to mobilize them to action. It's an amazing and historic time to be organizing for racial justice, economic justice, and move towards winning our long term agenda!”
💰 Some mutual aid opportunities:
Each week, I’m going to list a few funds (mostly for Black and/or Indigenous folks/orgs) you could choose to support financially. I’ve mad a contribution - will you join me in helping out?
Nevada: community member in urgent need of assistance to access care out-of state (seen via @coyotesupplyco)
The Climate Justice Alliance has such a cool ecosystem of member groups. Find one that sparks your interest and donate/help out how you can!
OK that’s all! Speak to you next week, if not sooner :) - Polly