Welcome to the inaugural Climate Connections from ClimateWiser. I'll be sharing my favorite written resources, links, videos on a bi-weekly basis to feed your curiosity about the environment, sustainability and climate advocacy. Sometimes, you'll receive a “personal bonus” - something I've started doing and why.
Feel free to share this with others and encourage them to subscribe.

Why?  Not the End of the World (Hannah Ritchie) and What if We Get it Right? (Ayana Elizabeth Johnson) are the first and last books I've read, respectively that sparked my climate curiosity. Check the Resource Hub to answer "Where do I start?" By the way, consider listening instead of reading - particularly What If…
Takeaway: Jonathan Foley (Dir. Project Drawdown) says climate has a messaging problem. These two books deliver a hopeful, data-informed overview.
What you'll love about it: Learning made simple. Goal is to inform not to scare or bully. Every chapter offers hope and inspiration for action.

Why?  Tom Steyer, Co-Executive Chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions (VC) is on a mission to demonstrate that the energy transition is accelerating because it's Cheaper, Faster and Better (also the title of his recent book).
Takeaway: Climate solutions will reach a tipping point in adoption when they demonstrate a positive economic impact. And some (solar, wind and storage) are there now.
What you'll love about it: Data about the cost curves. By the way, Texas' utility ERCOT (yes Texas) has the lowest projected cost of energy in 2025 because of its solar power investments - NOT fossil fuels. Let that sink in.

Why?  Jigar Shah, former head of the Loan Programs Office (LPO) of the Dept of Energy (DoE) which had a budget of $412B for clean energy, confirms the bottleneck for renewable electricity deployment is the grid. This post helps quantify the power of grid innovation which is cheaper, faster and better than new build. He's also restarting a podcast soon.
Takeaway: Talk to any renewable energy developer, and one of the biggest challenges is “interconnection time”, which can be 4-5+ years depending. Innovation in grid tech can help accelerate the timeline of lower cost renewables.
What you'll love about it: His post has a link to a series of papers on grid innovation from the DoE's Liftoff Reports - for the physics nerds out there.

Why?  I've become fascinated with the functioning of the water cycle (how nature circulates water between land, ocean, air). Mentioned in What If.. above, when there is disruption, it can produce hydroclimate whiplash that results in dangerous extreme weather events.
Takeaway: There are lots of other resources to understand the typical coastline water cycle, but this article speaks to the impact on the fires in LA.
What you'll love about it: This kind of post causes me to dig deeper. Happy to share some other details I found.

Why?  It's been a rough few weeks for environmental advocates. This powerful ad speaks to me as a mother of two daughters and hopefully some grandchildren.
Takeaway: We can all agree, regardless of politics, that we want clean air, clean water and a safe environment for our families.
What you'll love about it: Realistic impact of an unhealthy planet.

Why?  “Climate change is too big of a problem - I can't make an impact…”

Not true. Our mantra: Small Changes Multiply. Make this your one thing to start.
Takeaway: Food decay in landfills creates methane, an even more dangerous greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide that traps heat. Total US food waste is estimated to be the equivalent of 54% of the greenhouse gas impact of US gas-powered cars. The easy button is to use a service like Compost Nashville. 
What you'll Learn: 
• How much food you waste
• All that's left in the garbage is single-use plastics. You don't notice it with the food on top. And this will cause you to think about what you order and buy.