Solutions for our weirdly warming world are getting weirder.
But can we pause to marvel at their ingenuity? See, for example, the factories in Brazil that are manufacturing mosquitoes that decrease the spread of Dengue fever. Or all the ways that Singapore is redesigning buildings to cool itself off. Or how this giant blade of a wind turbine looks like a sandworm emerging from the deserts of Dune.Indeed, climate solutions are everywhere, and everyone can help keep us on track as we barrel towards our clean, green future. Which is great news because, as Saturday Night Live so aptly warns, we are running out of time.
But that’s where stubborn optimism comes in. It’s the deeply-felt confidence that we are up to the challenge of tackling climate change and creating a healthier, more equitable world—all we need is a little inspiration to stay motivated. Is there a better way to feel inspired than to peruse some nerdy data, tools, and opportunities that can turn on your heartlight? No. So let’s get into it.
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Get a load of these charts
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I'm neither nerd nor visual thinker, and even I quite enjoy them.
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We’ve grown accustomed to scary red lines shooting skyward in graphs depicting rising air and sea temperatures, wildfire hotspots, and other alarming benchmarks etched into our cowering psyches. If we're saturated with red lines everywhere, how do we find hope?
Enter the equally dramatic charts you will find in this article, arranged in soothing blue tones, each telling the story of how we’re turning the tide with climate solutions.
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| | Get tools to help frontline clinics prepare for climate shocks
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A very exciting development, if we do say so ourselves.
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Our Climate and Health Equity for Community Clinics Program, supported by Johnson & Johnson, will pilot a program in Arizona, Florida and Louisiana to protect the most vulnerable patients from the health impacts of extreme heat. It will start with 10 clinics and then expand across the country with a goal of bolstering climate resilience in 100 free and charitable clinics and community health centers by 2025.
This program is part of our Center's ongoing work with community health clinics. Check out NBC’s feature on our Climate Resilience for Frontline Clinics toolkit that we developed with Americares, and the heat alert system we developed with Climate Central to warn clinics serving low-income populations in advance of extreme heat.
All of our resources on heat, wildfires, flooding, and hurricanes are now available in Spanish to help providers, patients, and clinics stay safe in a warming world.
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Exquisite assortment of world-saving nerds seek fearless leader.
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We are inviting applications for a full-time, tenure-ladder faculty position at the rank of associate or full professor as Director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (pssst ... that's us!). Read the job description and learn how to apply
Or if a life in academia is not your bag, you can nab one of 20,000 new jobs as part of the new American Climate Corps, which will train young adults in clean energy, conservation, and the skills needed to tackle the climate crisis.
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| | Get busy while The Climate Optimist takes a break
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Stretch your legs, grab a snack, launch a community solar program, and meet me back here in January.
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I’ll be taking some time off to help my mom navigate some health issues, so The Climate Optimist is going on hiatus.
But never fear, Dear Optimists. If you need a quick fix of optimism, check out our issue archive or head on over to my op-ed in WBUR’s blog Cognoscenti, in which I explore how to avoid getting sucked into a vortex of doom and also say “crap” in an NPR news outlet. Definitely never thought I’d check that one off my bucket list, but I never miss an opportunity to make Mom proud.
So let’s keep on keeping on, Optimists! See you next year.
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