Michael Thomas is making a name for himself in independent investigative climate journalism. One of his earliest pieces saw him immerse himself in dozens of Facebook groups, organized around opposing local clean energy legislation. He used that exploration to pen a series on climate misinformation, which can be found on his newsletter at distilled.earth, and has recently started creating content on YouTube. He also created Carbon Switch, a Wirecutter-like guide to help people navigate home electrification, which he donated to Rewiring America.
Michael is also a co-founder of Campfire Labs, a tech-focused content marketing agency that donates 50% of its profits to climate action. This has included a significant contribution to Climate Changemakers, a climate action platform co-founded by Cody in 2020.
We started by discussing Michael's motivations for starting his investigative journalism efforts and his climate journey. We then delved into the stories he's written and the investigations he's done. Michael also shared his advice for anyone feeling the itch to get started with something that they might not have prior experience in. Spoiler alert, it involves a strong willingness to embrace and learn from failure.
At MCJ, none of us had prior climate experience, but we believe that as long as you're willing to dive in and do the work, there's so much impactful progress to be made in the climate space. We're seeing more and more people like Michael being called into action every day.
In this episode, we cover:
- [03:24]: Michael's background and early journalism career
- [06:16]: Moments that catalyzed his climate journey
- [10:02]: His interest in home electrification and founding of Carbon Switch
- [14:14]: Investigating the alarming health impacts of gas stoves
- [17:35]: The origins of Campfire Labs and marketing climate tech companies
- [20:49]: Rewiring America's acquisition of Carbon Switch
- [25:09]: Takeaways from his immersion in clean energy opposition Facebook groups
- [32:05]: Influencers in the clean energy opposition space and their misinformation playbooks
- [37:52]: Clean energy misinformation in right wing cable news and links to big oil
- [45:19]: How anxiety about mining is weaponized against clean energy
- [49:11]: How collective action transformed Amsterdam into a bike-based beacon of hope
- [54:24]: Michael's process for finding topics and publishing his writing
- [57:10]: Potential legal ramifications and dealing with online harassment
- [58:51]: How Michael funds his work, the generosity within the climate creator space, and advice for anyone wanting to jump in
- [01:05:20]: The essential role of popular movements in shaping climate policy
Get connected:
Michael Thomas Twitter
Cody Simms
MCJ Podcast / Collective
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Episode recorded on Apr 26, 2023
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
