Here at TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), there’s one question we get from our listeners more than any other: “What can I do to make a difference on climate change?” In this special episode of the podcast, three guests who have made acting on climate a big part of their lives join interim host Aaron Krol to share their stories and their advice for those who want to do more. Together, we discuss how to mobilize and inspire others, how small individual actions can lead to large societal ones, and why your contributions to a cooler, more resilient future can have benefits that aren’t just about rising seas or mounting heat waves.

Emily Her is a student at Boise State University, previously at Timberline High School, and a regular volunteer for the Sierra Club. While still in high school, she co-organized a campaign in favor of climate change education in Idaho schools and participated in the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign, petitioning the City of Boise to commit to a 100% clean energy mandate for sourcing its electricity.

Linda Cheung, an alumna of the MIT Sloan School of Business and the Sloan Sustainability Certificate program, is the founder and CEO of Before It’s Too Late, a Miami-based nonprofit that uses art and technology to educate and inspire on climate issues. Her projects at Before It’s Too Late include interactive murals, live games, hackathons, and personal challenges. She previously worked in the finance and renewable energy industries.

The Reverend Mariama White-Hammond is the pastor of New Roots AME Church in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, and serves in leadership positions with a number of environmental and social justice organizations, among them the Green Justice Coalition. Previously the Executive Director of Project HIP-HOP, the Reverend White-Hammond focuses on the intersection of the climate crisis with other social justice issues, especially where climate change will contribute to problems afflicting vulnerable minority communities.

For more short climate change explainers, check out: www.tilclimate.mit.edu.

Credits

• Laur Hesse Fisher, Host and Producer
• David Lishansky, Editor and Producer
• Aaron Krol, Interim Host
• Cecelia Bolon, Olivia Burek, and Alyssa Farkas, Student Production Assistants
• Music by Blue Dot Sessions
• Artwork by Aaron Krol

Special thanks to Tom Kiley and MIT Open Learning.
Produced by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

More Info

For more information and inspiration on climate action, check out:

More from Emily Her and Ready for 100:

• The Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign
• I experienced a backlash for using two words—climate change. Still, I speak. (Idaho Statesman)
• The lightbulb is turning on for Boise leaders: Clean, renewable energy is our future (Idaho Statesman)

More from Linda Cheung:

• Before It’s Too Late
• The 7-Day Challenge
• Spotlight: MIT Alum Linda Cheung, Founder, Before It's Too Late (MIT Climate Portal)
• In Miami, how art intersects with technology and climate change (PBS News Hour)
• Grist 50 List, 2019 (Grist)

More from the Reverend Mariama White-Hammond:

• TILclimate’s full interview with the Reverend
• New Roots AME Church
• The Green Justice Coalition
• Climate Change and Community: An Interview with Reverend Mariama White-Hammond (ClimateX)
• One Faith Leader Says Love Is The Key To Climate Action (WGBH)
• Climate Justice: What It Requires of Us All (Beacon Hill Friends House)
• Three Boston Congregations Team Up for Community Solar Project (Barr Foundation)
• Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley & Rev. Mariama White-Hammond: Green New Deal Town Hall (Jamaica Plain Forum)

National climate action organizations:

• Sunrise Movement
• Environmental Voter Project
• Climate Justice Alliance
• Mothers Out Front
• 350.org