Climate Changers

Kristin Ohlson's writing has appeared in NYT, Orion, Discover, Gourmet, Oprah, and many other publications. Her magazine work has been anthologized in Best American Science Writing and Best American Science Writing. Los Angeles Times called The Soil Will Save Us “a hopeful book and a necessary one...a fast-paced and entertaining shot across the bow of mainstream thinking about land use.” Sweet in Tooth and Claw is a deeply hopeful book for the climate crisis, showing real solutions from a wide-ranging set of case studies and interviews. For example, one chapter looks at how changed ranching practices in northeast Nevada are transforming desert into wetlands, showing it's possible to rehydrate the west. In another, Ohlson writes about a community trying to reclaim a river in the Bronx, which was diverted to the sewer. Residents there are working to restore it and the natural environment. Dozens of other examples throughout the book show how changing our thought patterns on nature will also help us become more generous and nurturing with each other.

About The BookAn engaging, accessible citizen’s guide to the seven urgent changes that will really make a difference for our climate—and how we can hold our governments accountable for putting these plans into action.Dozens of kids in Montgomery County, Maryland, agitated until their school board committed to electric school buses. Mothers in Colorado turned up in front of an obscure state panel to fight for clean air. If you think the only thing you can do to combat climate change is to install a smart thermostat or cook plant-based burgers, you’re thinking too small. That’s where The Big Fix comes in, offering everyday citizens a guide to the seven essential changes our communities must enact to bring our greenhouse gas emissions down to zero—and sharing stories of people who are making those changes reality.Energy policy advisor Hal Harvey and longtime New York Times reporter Justin Gillis hone in on the seven areas where ambitious but eminently practical changes will have the greatest effect: electricity production, transportation, buildings, industry, urbanization, use of land, and investment in promising new green technologies. In a lively, jargon-free style, the pair illuminate how our political economy really works, revealing who decides everything from what kind of power plants to build to how efficient cars must be before they’re allowed on the road to how much insulation a new house requires—and how we can insert ourselves into all these decisions to ensure that the most climate-conscious choices are being made.At once pragmatic and inspiring, The Big Fix is an indispensable action plan for citizens looking to drive our country’s greenhouse gas emissions down to zero—and save our climate.

Eric Davidson is an ecologist, soil scientist, and biogeochemist whose research career has focused on how human changes to the land affect carbon and nitrogen in the soil, water, and air. He is working as a science advisor to the Bureau of Environmental Quality at the U.S. Department of State, where he is helping scope out the USG position on a new international agreement on plastic waste.In his new book, Science for a Green New Deal, Davidson explains for a broad audience how to employ exciting technologies, from carbon sequestration to renewable energy, and how scientists, farmers, CEOs, renewable energy advocates, teachers, and investors must work in tandem to tackle humanity’s greatest challenge.Each chapter ends with science-backed recommendations to meet the stated goals of the Green New Deal. Davidson’s integrated approach to climate solutions explains:why neither environmental quality, economic prosperity, nor social justice can be dealt with independentlyhow the cost of deep decarbonization of the energy sector is more affordable than you thinkhow regenerative agriculture can help us meet the challenges of feeding 10-12 billion people later this century, while minimizing environmental impacthow the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change share many features, including their global scope, disproportionately high impacts on the poor and people of color, and a proliferation of misinformation that has led to denial by many despite strong scientific evidenceDavidson covers all of this with clarity that makes his book readily approachable to the non-scientist. He weaves in engaging stories, often using his own life experience—from his childhood in Montana, to his days as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, to conducting research on deforestation in Brazil, to undergoing open-heart surgery.

Andrew Reagan is the Executive Director of Clean Energy for America, a 501c(4) organization that leverages their unique industry-spanning network to amplify the voice of the clean energy workforce to advocate for just, equitable and rapid decarbonization. CE4A is historic. The clean energy industry has never before been unified in a grassroots effort like this. To lay the groundwork for a stronger clean energy workforce voice in public policy, they engage in: #1 Policy Advocacy & Accountability Supporting clean energy and equitable transition goals while holding Members of Congress accountable for their votes. #2 Public Education Hosting events—both in person and virtual—to educate the public, connect the industry, and elevate the voice of the clean energy sector. #3 Electoral Engagement Through their connected political action committee (CE4A PAC), they mobilize the clean energy workforce to support pro-clean energy federal candidates. Additionally, candidates at all levels can sign our Clean Energy Candidate Pledge and be spotlighted to their network.

Lucy Hargreaves has had an amazing career, and every moment of it has been devoted to issues of sustainability, climate, and the environment. She’s traveled the world while working on sustainable development initiatives for UNESCO in Bangkok and OECD in Paris. She’s shaped progressive climate policy from within the Trudeau Administration, led sustainability programs at a non-profit foundation, and helped find private-sector solutions at an innovative climate-tech startup, Patch.

Shannon Jahn is the Green Workforce Lead at City and County of Denver, Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency. In this interview Shannon talks about growing a green economy and a climate resilient future while creating a vibrant workforce with well-paying job opportunities for everybody in the community.

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