I'm from Asheville / Black Mountain - the destruction is beyond catastrophic - worse than what you're seeing on the news. If you're looking for places to donate, here are two. Please help if you’re able: The situation on the ground is a war zone—people urgently need water, food, and gas. My best friend lives there and is organizing relief efforts. Please donate:

PayPal: soulandsoilproject@gmail.com
Include "Donation for Helene"
You will receive a tax-deductible receipt!

I feel so numb. Intellectually, I feel rage—at the fossil fuel companies, and at many in the climate movement.

This obsession with only telling inauthentic stories about rainbows and solar panels that condescend with narratives like “We can solve this! There’s hope!” is… not just misguided— it’s dehumanizing. There’s no “solving” a hurricane wiping out Asheville, hundreds of miles from the sea—an unfathomable scenario, even for me.

As a little girl, I was captivated by Secretary @HillaryClinton during her time as First Lady. She was my first glimpse of a powerful woman in politics and instilled in me the belief that I, too, could ascend to roles of leadership. I moved from NYC to Alabama during her 2016 campaign, which I worked on, and quickly found myself on the fronlines of the climate crisis in a very red state. In the devastating aftermath of the election, I spiraled into a deep depression.

This will probs get me in trouble, but I detest this strategy - and it's extremely harmful to our climate efforts. Taylor Swift is one of the most beloved, powerful, wealth, successful women in the world. When people think of her they think of joy, community, beauty, even awe.

https://twitter.com/despondent_punk/status/1754694817349509528

Who honestly, out of anyone in the world aside from the President and Beyonce, justifiably uses a private plane due to her insane schedule and legitimate security concerns. When @goodenergystory consults on tv + film scripts with climate themes, you know what the most common...

Over the course of my 15 years working on climate + 7 years living on the Gulf Coast, I've had some pretty intense bouts of climate anxiety + depression. Def had some srsly unhealthy coping mechanisms for awhile there, but here are a few things that do help me: (obvi everyone's self care / mental health journeys are unique and what works for some doesn't work for others - but here are the things that work for me!)

Join me for a little afternoon walk through Montgomery, AL: First stop: the @eji_org museum in a former slave warehouse on commerce street (next to the riverfront). This is one of the most important & powerful museums in the country- tracing chattel slavery to Jim Crow, segregation, mass incarceration. It’s a must visit for every American

🧵 Someone recently asked me if I had advice for people like me with parents who are evangelicals and brainwashed by dangerous conspiracy theories. Here's what I came up with! Maybe it will help you if you likewise find yourself in this position. 1) Overcoming this kind of religious indoctrination and going up against parents/pastors who have been presented to you from birth as having God-given authority over your life (and rejecting the idea of submission to a right-wing God at the risk of eternal damnation, etc)

In light of all this #JaneRoe news - a little history (as I understand it). This is a long bit, so stay with me. Essentially during the 1950's and 1960's Southern (white) evangelical leaders started getting really upset with anti-segregation laws - especially when it came to their churches and schools. T

Ok - a few apocalypse thoughts. I was born into a family with a father who was certain we were in the end times before I was even born. He's been prepping us for this since we were babies. Every potential catastrophe or new illness was possibly "it."

Another fun story from my wayward youth: it involves a shipwreck. When I was 19, my best friend Bonnie and I were living in New Zealand. We wanted to go on an adventure but didn't have much cash and had already done all the touristy things NZ is famous for.

Ok, I've been holding off on commenting on the Franzen @NewYorker piece because I have mixed feels - some of which may be controversial - but I've been thinking about climate comms for 15 years now - so I do have some thoughts on it: I have a knee jerk reaction when we start tone policing writers and artists - especially those outside the climate space - on the best ways to talk about it. Obvi, the climate movement doesn't know the best ways to talk about it - or we'd be in a very different place right now.

Let's talk about kids. In one world, ages ago, I'd have them. I always imagined having them. I knew I wanted to be my own person and determined and free, but kids were always a part of that equation. Mostly because I adore my siblings and family, they are the most important people to me - and the idea of extending that adoration is appealing. My husband would be an excellent father. We have an idyllic space in Alabama, surrounded by the ocean and dolphins and flowers.

So many thoughts. All of which I’ve withheld today because: I was overwhelmed with emotion and try not to speak publicly in that state of anxiety. The IPCC report is legit terrifying but not all that surprising. The fact that it’s not surprising is concerning in and of itself.

Oooh, yay! Another big climate fear vs. hope debate. But srsly though, I've been studying climate comms since college ('07, go Tarheels!) and do actually get a weird joy from nerding out on this stuff. Hey, at least someone is thinking about it! For context, @RoyScranton tweeted this and stirred up a bunch of backlash amongst activists for being a white dude who is newish to the convo pushing nihilism and doomism from his privileged perch. Let's dig into my humble opinions.