through design was awarded a 2020 CERTs Seed Grant to help fund two workshops in Duluth, focusing on often-underserved populations,  about the science and benefits of using solar energy.

CERTs (Clean Energy Resource Teams) is a Minnesota nonprofit dedicated to connecting people to the resources they need to enact community-focused clean energy projects. They award grants statewide for projects and educational initiatives centered on energy efficiency and renewable energy — this year, through design’s proposal received one of the 35 grants awarded.

1965, the year I was born.

“This generation has altered the composition of the atmosphere on a global scale through . . . a steady increase in carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.”

-President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, in a Special Message to the U.S. Congress, 8 February 1965.

On September 16th, 2019, Duluth’s AICHO hosted a community forum to discuss the way climate and climate change are covered in the media. The impetus for this forum was, in part, Columbia Journalism Review’s Covering Climate Now initiative, an ongoing project to track and critique the quality of coverage climate stories receive.

I joined ten other citizen activists as part of a panel discussion. Though none of us are journalists, all of us — and all 60+ attendees — have a tremendous investment in how our news sources report on climate issues.

Below is an abbreviated version of my opening remarks for the event.