17 Fantastic Newsletters on Climate & Sustainability

Everyone needs to be educated on climate change because climate change and our response to it is going to change the world over the next 25 years as much as the internet did in the last 25 years.” — Joe Romm

“The climate emergency is not just another issue — it’s an era.” – Alex Steffen

The following newsletters will help you to better understand the quickly evolving climate crisis, how it’s effecting everything, how society is responding, and much more. Importantly, some also share what you can do about it.

It’s impossible to read all of these newsletters, so don’t overwhelm yourself. I just want to let you know what other newsletters are out there that I know of and appreciate. Let me know your favorite or if you have a favorite that’s not on here in the comments below!

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HEATED

It's extremely close, but HEATED is probably my favorite on the list.

Emily Atkin is a climate journalist working “to expose and explain the forces behind past and present inaction on the most existential threat of our time.”

And Emily. is. awesome. She brings us accountability journalism for the climate crisis with a knack for important stories and needed investigations. Get ready to better understand the pernicious role the fossil fuel industry and others have played (and are playing) to block climate action.

Most people don’t understand why we’re in this mess. Hint: it’s not because of people like you and me. This story needs to be told.

Also, if you like my style, I believe you’ll enjoy Emily’s as well. (Sign up here)

The Snap Forward

Alex Steffen is a futurist who has been an author, journalist, editor, and advisor to 100+ companies and institutions over the last 30 years. His exploration of our fast-changing planet and what it means for us is mind-bending. You'll learn about the discontinuity we're living through, the importance of ruggedization, predatory delay, the brittlness of our systems, risk, and much more.

Alex is on the cutting edge of understanding our place in time and what the future may hold. When he talks, I listen. (Sign up here)

The Crucial Years

Bill McKibben is a living legend. It scares me to think about where the climate movement would be right now without his efforts. He is an author, activist, and co-founder of?both 350.org and Third Act. This is his "unfiltered communication about the deepest problem humans have ever encountered". Trust me, you don’t want to miss Bill’s insights. (Sign up here)

Hot Take

Building on their must-listen-to podcast, Amy Westervelt and Mary Anna?se Heglar's complementary newsletter is on “the climate crisis and all the ways we’re talking and not talking about it.”

Mary and Amy always have fantastic insights and analysis on where the climate conversation stands in society. There's also a healthy dose of media criticism, explainer pieces, personal essays, and more! (Sign up here)

Multisolving Institute

Beth Sawin has a beautiful mind. She's a systems thinker, mentored by the likes of Donella Meadows and Joanna Macy.

"The solutions to our toughest problems come from seeing systems as interconnected wholes, not disconnected parts."

Her monthly newsletter shares short reflections on multisolving and multisolvers. Highly recommend you follow this and everything Beth does! (Sign up here)

Volts

This is a fantastic newsletter by David Roberts focusing on “the technology, politics, and policy of decarbonization”.

It’s often on the wonkier side, but if you want to learn more about a specific energy or political topic, you’ll want to hear what David has to say about it. He’s been writing about this stuff for more than 15 years and always delivers high-quality info in an easy-to-understand style. (Sign up here)

The Weekly Planet

As a part of their recognition of the climate crisis touching every part of our lives and changing everything, The Atlantic launched The Weekly Planet in 2020. In it, “Robinson Meyer brings you the biggest ideas and most vital information to help you flourish on a changing planet.”

Easy to read and Robinson has a knack for focusing on impactful stories. (Sign up here)

Generation Dread

A critical, yet often under-discussed, part of the climate crisis is how it affects us emotionally and what it means for our mental health.

As Britt puts it, this newsletter is “the clearinghouse for new, old, and emerging ideas to strengthen our emotional intelligence, psychological resilience, and mental health while we’re in this planetary pickle.”

I believe this kind of intelligence and resilience are key to understanding each other, taking care of ourselves, and ultimately, getting climate solutions implemented at the speed and scale needed. (Sign up here)

The Phoenix

Eric Holthaus knows we can’t just point out what’s we’re?against?– we also have to say what we’re?for.

He aptly named this newsletter The Phoenix because “the world is on fire, and we’ve got to create a new one from the ashes.” Check out this newsletter about radical change to see a new world being envisioned that’s rooted in justice. (Sign up here)

The Beacon

This is a daily roundup of interesting stories from Grist which is an independent, climate-focused news organization. Their mantra is “Don’t freak out. Figure it out.”

I appreciate the diversity of voices, topics, and that these journalist’s personalities often shine through in their writing. (Sign up here)

InsideClimate News

This is a fantastic organization. They’re “A Pulitzer Prize-winning, non-profit, non-partisan news organization dedicated to covering climate change, energy and the environment.”

They helped break open the?Exxon disinformation campaign?in a big way with investigative reporting.

I typically scan the headlines to see what’s going on and occasionally dive into anything particularly interesting. (Sign up here)

Joro

This newsletter is well written and has a light, clever style about it. It gives quick overviews to a wide range of climate-related news, spotlights someone doing good work, and offers additional resources you may be interested in (books, videos, events).

Joro is actually a carbon footprint app so the newsletter often focuses on personal footprint actions. (Sign up here)

Yale Climate Communications

Some of Yale and George Mason’s social scientists have teamed up to study the public opinion and behavior of people in the US when it comes to climate change. Very interesting to see where people stand and how these trends are changing over time.

Almost always comes with charts and data! (Sign up here)

Hothouse Solutions

"Hothouse is original climate journalism with a way to act."

Their investigative reporting focuses heavily on climate solutions (hallelujah!) and shares ways for readers to engage with them in their own lives. In a time where we desperately need to accelerate climate solutions, this is much-needed work. (Sign up here)

Exxon Knews

As Emily Sanders writes, "The climate crisis wasn’t inevitable. Like the opioid and tobacco industries, Big Oil?knew its products posed a “catastrophic” risk long before we did. But instead of sharing that knowledge or taking action to prevent disaster, oil and gas executives decided to bankroll an enormously consequential campaign to deceive the public and policymakers about climate change and obstruct action to address it."

"We serve as a watchdog over the fossil fuel industry’s continued campaigns to deceive the public, delay climate action, and avoid paying for the harm they knowingly caused. And we’ll bring you the latest on what’s being done to hold these polluters accountable." (Sign up here)

David Wallace-Wells NYT Newsletter

David Wallace-Wells is a best-selling author and essayist, perhaps best known for "The Uninhabitable Earth".

As a fan of David's work, I was pretty excited when I heard he started a newsletter (though, FYI, it seems you can only get 4 weeks free). He dives into "climate change, technology, and the future of the planet and how we live on it." (Sign up here)

Crowdsourcing Sustainability

Be warned! I write this one so I’m a bit biased ??

(I can’t?not?plug my own newsletter, right?)

I basically started writing the climate newsletter I wanted to read back in 2018 (you're reading the LinkedIn version of it now but the email version is where I publish everything first). I focus on what I believe are the most important things to know about the climate crisis and share?effective?actions we can all take to help reverse global warming ASAP.

“Strikes a perfect balance between smart, understandable, funny and compelling.”?— Jackie F.

We're also increasingly building community around taking action towards a safer, healthier, and more just world. (Sign up here)

Again, there’s no way to read all of these. My hope is that this list introduces you to some new amazing people working on climate, leads you to information that helps you on your climate journey, gives you ideas that light you up, and ultimately helps society to rebuild a safer, healthier, and more just world a tiny bit faster.

Much love,

Ryan

P.S. Crowdsourcing Sustainability is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit run by myself and 2 wonderful part-time interns.?If you believe our work is valuable, please consider?supporting us financially?so we can keep increasing our climate impact (donate here!). Large or small, your donation makes a difference and is deeply appreciated!

Funds raised so far: $131,825 | CS Budget for 2022: $140,000

We need to raise ~$8,000 more to meet this years budget. If you're unable to comfortably give financially, liking, commenting, or sharing the newsletter with a friend also helps a lot! (email newsletter?|?this LinkedIn newsletter)

Sign up for our main sustainability newsletter here?to receive every newsletter I write when I write it and get access to the growing Crowdsourcing Sustainability community on slack where you can connect and collaborate with others working to reverse global warming!

Finally, if you'd like to follow Crowdsourcing Sustainability elsewhere, you can find us here:?Twitter,?Instagram,?YouTube,?LinkedIn,?Podcast,?Website.

(This article was originally published?on?Crowdsourcing Sustainability.)