By now we’ve gotten used to summers bruised by climate change—heat waves in the Northwest and around the world, drought and wildfires in some places, devastating floods in others.
At the same time, we can’t ignore the reasons for climate hope all around us. At long last, this month Congress passed a very significant climate bill, expanding access to clean energy and funding climate justice initiatives. States too are moving forward in climate leadership. The strength and resilience of our movement for climate progress is accelerating the transition to clean energy in the Northwest and beyond.
Thinking about climate hope, I’m excited to share with you some early news about Climate Solutions’ signature events coming up later this year. We’ve lined up some inspiring speakers, prominent climate advocates, writers and thinkers whose work we find consistently challenging as well as inspiring. While we’ll have to wait until later this year to host them on our virtual stage, we’re energized by their work every day—and we think you’ll be inspired as well:
You may be familiar with award-winning author and climate leader Dr. Leah Stokes, an associate professor of environmental politics at the University of California (Santa Barbara), and a Senior Policy Advisor with Evergreen Action. She’s been cited in the news recently as an advisor who helped shape the climate legislation just signed into law.
Dr. Vin Gupta, MD, MPA, is a public health physician, professor, and health policy expert, who has worked with the US Center for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and other top public health authorities. He is internationally recognized for his commentary on health policy, the effects of climate change on human health, and other subjects.
Dr. Howard Frumkin is Senior Vice President with the Trust for Public Land and former Dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health. He led the “Our Planet, Our Health” initiative at the Welcome Trust in London from 2018-2019; his research and writing have focused in part on the connections between human health, environmental health and the climate crisis.
Author and activist Rebecca Solnit is the author of more than twenty deeply inspiring books on feminism, western and indigenous history, popular power, social change, hope and disaster. Most recently she co-launched the web-based project Not Too Late to highlight solutions to the climate crisis and ways to engage people who are concerned but may not see how they can get involved.
These are some of the climate leaders who most help nurture our climate hope, and our sense of urgency for working together for a safe and healthy future for everyone. We look forward to sharing their presence with you.
Mark your calendars for Hope, Health and Climate, a Climate Solutions event series coming December 8 at 4pm PT and December 9 at 12pm PT. Registration coming soon.
