Paging Earth is a climate communications blog dedicated to demystifying, depolarizing and educating the public about climate change activism and climate science.
Each week, one of our GCP team members shares the content currently making their world go ‘round.
This week, our Climate Media & Communications Design Coordinator Cate Southwell shares their top picks of the week:
Podcast of the week: Warm Regards
Indigenous Climate Knowledges and Data Sovereignty
Indigenous perspectives are very underrepresented in the media, so episodes like this always capture my attention. I was immediately struck by the raw and honest conversation, and the insightful questions that the narrator beautifully poses to Indigenous scientists James Rattling Leaf, Sr. and Krystal Tsosie.
Posting every two weeks with 50-minute episodes, the series approaches big questions at a digestible pace. This particular episode unpacks how climate communicators can incorporate wisdom from these communities without exacerbating the issue of Indigenous knowledge being misused and even stolen.
How can we build climate resilience through traditional ecological knowledge, and what does this mean? I love the idea of becoming a “bridge builder” as I continuously learn more about the many Western notions that must be challenged (which I will touch on in a new Paging Earth piece coming soon!).
Who’s in my feed: Leah Thomas, Climate Activist and Communicator
Leah Thomas, an activist for intersectional environmentalism, began her journey as a social media influencer while pursuing her Environmental Science degree. Intersectional Environmentalism encompasses the necessity of inclusion, and the interconnectedness of all living beings on the planet. Her passion for bridging justice and climate echoes through each of her posts, and her powerful voice is hard to miss.
With more than 160,000 followers on Instagram, she is encouraging activists to prioritize social justice and support BIPOC communities. Thomas’ path to social media influencer began in 2014 immediately following the shooting of Michael Brown occured in Ferguson. Her community members were threatened with bombs and liquid tear gas in the protests that followed, and Leah voiced the injustices.
What I’m reading: The End of Night, Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light, by Paul Bogard
This book has completely taken my breath away. The End of Night investigates the gradual loss of natural darkness as artificial light increasingly dominates the night sky — and what consequences have already resulted.
Paul Bogard makes clear just how important natural darkness and the night sky are to the human experience. Beyond the scope of humanity, the night sky is deeply interconnected to the well-being of the Earth’s environment and ecosystems as life cycles, behaviors, and circadian rhythms are changed for the worse.
While unpacking enough content to create a university course on light philosophy, this book remains an engaging page turner —from interviews with various scientists and philosophers to day-to-day people and personal experiences — and just feels like I’m having a candid conversation.
Add to your watchlist: Our Planet by David Attenbourough
If you are looking for a throwback to strike a chord with old childhood memories of PBS nature specials, the docu-series Our Planet by David Attenbourough showcases the beauty of the Earth and so many of it’s natural wonders. Importantly, the series takes a powerful (and upsetting) turn when the story goes from “look how beautiful this is” to “look what we are doing to it”. Ultimately, this upsetting narrative is a good thing because climate action is encouraged to viewers.
Alongside serving as a great tool for spreading awareness, the stunning imagery, fascinating animals, and David Attenbourough’s iconic voice make this series unforgettable.
Musician carrying a Message: I Know the End by Phoebe Bridgers
Bridgers abstracts this breakup story by singing about the heartache and injustices all around us. Her apocalyptic anthem echoes tones of grief and results in a climax of catharsis so many of us need — especially as we grapple with the daunting reality of climate change. When she sings,
“No, I’m not afraid to disappear
The billboard said, “The end is near”
I turned around, there was nothing there
Yeah, I guess the end is here.
The end is near.”
Phoebe confronts the sadness and grief paralleled by the billboard’s dark prophecy. Her metal-head scream in the outro of the song is a reflection of how scary it can be to confront the perils of modern life. And when Phoebe Bridgers screams at the end, she screams for all of us.
In an interview, she explains, “It’s about just kind of being at peace with the end of the world. And I don’t mean in like an apathetic way. I just mean, instead of waking up everyday during the “apocalypse” right now and being heartbroken, you’re just kinda like, ‘Okay, what can I do today?’ Taking it a day at a time instead of giving up.”
Like she said, we still have reason to hope if we can still make a change in our world. To me, this song illustrates the hope we all need to hold onto without sugar-coating the darkness.
Eye on the arts: Mary Mattingly’s “Between Bears Ears and Daneros Mine”
Mary Mattignly is a performance artist and photographer whose work explores climate, sustainability, and place. Her pieces are provocative visions of the relationship between human society and nature, and each one seems to echo with an incredible amount of purpose that begs for the viewer to think about the message of the artist. As I look at this photograph, I can almost feel the chilled breeze and the grandness of the blue, cloudless sky. I immediately notice the mountains in the background and the gold frame of the elegant display, and my first impression is witness to the beauty of this picture.
This photo was taken in the region between Bears Ears National Monument and Daneros Uranium Mine in Utah. President Trump shrank the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument by nearly 700,000 acres, threatened with mining that looms on the horizon.
The sign reads: “It’s because there is nothing, or it’s because I have no eyes.”
What is hidden at first glance when people see this land? The uranium mining tools and extraction crews are not seen in the photograph, but deplete the land behind the range of the camera. Beneath the beauty, the land is being toxified.
Her website is worth a visit, providing a journey of exploration and wonder that serves as a tool for change.
Check back next week for more leaders and creators lending their voices to the conversation on climate!
