#climate equity

Imagine a future where communities, schools, municipalities and studios can generate and sell their own clean energy, and creatives can partake in this new value creation.

Now, envision a world where Native and rural neighborhoods can access clean energy sources and make their own decisions about resource allocation and implementation.

Excerpt from this EcoWatch story:

A new international study has pinpointed an enormous chasm in the amount of resources the rich use versus the poor — both within their own countries and compared to an international population, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Energy.

The researchers found that the wealthiest tenth of people use up about 20 times more overall energy than the bottom ten percent, no matter where they are, according to the BBC. The greatest part of the disparity is in transportation, where the wealthiest tenth consume 187 times more fuel than the poorest ten percent.

The researchers from the University of Leeds parsed data from the World Bank and the European Union to calculate the energy consumption of residents in 86 different countries, both highly industrialized and developing countries, according to the study. The researchers also looked at what energy-intensive goods and services different income groups use and how the different income groups spend their money.

*Today is a twofer cause I missed yesterday. My bad Y'all 💕💕

Laz Alonso speaking at White House Champions of Change for Climate Equity Forum

“Climate change sees no race. It sees no gender. It sees no color of skin. No religion. No status. No social or economic class or educational achievements,” he said. “It may be the single most common issue that we all face regardless of any differences that we may have. This is not our world. It’s not our world. It’s simply on loan to us during our lifetime. And we should return it in better condition than how we inherited it. Every life form has the right to be here, and we must appreciate and respect that. That is our moral and social responsibility to each other and to those who will come after us. There will be no American dream if we don’t. ” - Laz Alonso

In a groundbreaking move for climate-vulnerable nations, Vanuatu’s Ministry of Climate Change has officially launched its National Loss and Damage Policy, marking a historic milestone in global climate governance. This pioneering framework positions Vanuatu as the first country to institutionalize a comprehensive national response to climate-induced loss and damage—an issue long sidelined in…

I love a good, one-off graphic novel. I especially love 'What If' scenarios. And flying. 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦̀𝘵𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘦𝘭 combines all three and explores what aviation could become, grounded in current tensions and future possibilities in four brilliant, differently-illustrated stories set in 2050.

As someone who loves to travel and increasingly becomes more and more aware of my carbon footprint (and handprint), aviation's outlook hasn't always been front of my mind so the title and its premise piqued my interest.

Planète Ciel asks two questions: What would it take to balance mobility, climate, equity, and responsibility in aviation?

Image via the Brower Youth Awards.

Jonathan Ferrer’s story takes place on his block in Brooklyn, New York. 22nd street between 4th and 5th avenues,where the Gowanus Expressway cuts through his Sunset Park neighborhood like a hot knife. Nearly 200,000 cars screech, stop, stall and accelerate everyday through Jonathan's community. The dense air settles on kids leaving the bodega with their hands gripping sour straws, bags of potato chips and quarter juices. The fire hydrants spew water to stave off the heat on a New York City summer day. Jonathan’s block is your cul de sac, your mobile home, or your apartment building. The places we call home. The places that affirm our belonging to the smiles, streets and sidewalks that make a community. “And” as Jonathan explained, “ if you have a love for your community, see what your community is missing out on.”

When Jonathan was 15, he met a group of community  organizers on his block. . Inspired in part by UPROSE, the organization they worked for, Jonathan took inventory of his beloved neighborhood. “I was given a different perspective. I started realizing things in my neighborhood,” said Jonathan, now a 20-year-old college student. He realized the surplus of candy and  ingenious obstacle courses the neighborhood kids devised couldn’t hide the fact that he and his friends all had asthma. But just blocks away in what Jonathan described as the more privileged neighborhood of Park Slope, things were different. The corner store sold kale chips; and unlike the stoops in Jonathan’s neighborhood, the front steps in Park Slope led to multi-million dollar homes. The blocks of Park Slope weren’t cut by a highway or shared with a powerplant. Kids weren’t plagued with asthma.

He asked himself: “What do other neighborhoods have that I don’t have?” Jonathan’s answer was as close as his next breath: clean air. “I lived on the same block for 14 years and I didn't even realize that the highway had something to do with us having asthma.”

But all neighborhoods have leaders. Jonathan understood that, “People have to represent themselves in order for any change to happen.” So he organized The New York City Climate Justice Youth Summit-- an annual  gathering of youth of color advocating for climate equity. He had support from his community to get started but more than anything, he had the kind of heart that filled in the unknown parts of the journey with a sense of possibility. As he explained, “With the time you put in, it will be worth it. You'll learn how to do it.” The summit is now in its fourth year and hundreds of kids from blocks just like Jonathan’s are making sure their communities don’t miss out.