When Is a Climate-beat Journalist Not Enough? Now.

So I tried out Clubhouse today, joining Canary Media for a panel discussion entitled The Future of Climate Journalism. It featured Stephanie Primavera and Jeff St. John of Canary Media, Katie Fehrenbacher of GreenBiz, Sammy Roth of the Los Angeles Times and Jennifer Kho of Huffington Post. I’ve been both relieved and excited about Canary Media because it is now the berth of some of the journalists that were temporarily homeless after the shuttering of GreenTech Media AND it’s pumping out incredibly smart and stick-to-your-ribs good climate-related stories.

So, I joined Clubhouse and clicked at the appointed time to listen to one of my favorite topics - climate and the media that covers it.

There were a variety of good points made by the panelists right off the bat including the underlying themes of urgency, the increasing appetite for the geeky tech side of climate, the blurred lines between traditional journalist (is that even a thing anymore) and advocate journalists and how to navigate both-sideism. The latter being the scourge of my existence when I was overseeing engagement on building electrification and even today when I see yet ANOTHER comment from a fossil-fueled pundit on how apparently all EVs are powered by coal, so they don’t really do anything for the environment.

After the panel was audience Q&A and and I was surprised that I had my “hand” up first - didn’t everyone have a billion questions for the panel? I introduced myself and gave my affiliation and then asked if the panelist thought that the mainstream media was going to start investing in climate knowledge and competency across their coverage. It’s something that I deal with because I get staff reporters and even beat reporters who are trying to catch up on the basics of the difference between particulate and greenhouse gas emissions before we can even dive into the vastly different markets, applications and availability of light-duty vs. medium/heavy-duty zero emissions vehicles. And then there’s ‘splaining that zero emissions doesn’t necessarily mean electric - hello hydrogen and other techs. So that was my question to the panel. I can’t say I got the response that I expected. I’ll take my part in that maybe I could have been more clear, but the panel resoundingly responded with an ever-so-slightly defensive “they are investing.” It was pointed out that outlets were again hiring to cover energy and cleantech and environment, etc. By everyone on the panel. Repeatedly.

Didja catch that? I asked “across coverage” and got back specific beats. Not what I asked for. (Snarky coms professional aside - When I do that, I get accused of dodging.) Not sure why that happened, but I always have that sneaky suspicion that journalists don’t like getting questioned by coms folks. And maybe just coincidentally, the next comment was from a broadcast journalist who, stating she felt she had to follow up on my question and talked at length about the lack of interest from MSM in climate coverage. And then there were several other questions asked that, as the conversation evolved, actually reaped the discussion that I was looking for - there is a clustering of climate knowledge in specific outlets or specialized beats, but basic climate facts are not being integrated into all of the beats that it touches in the same way basics about politics, economics other core integrated competencies are.

So, I got the discussion I wanted, but it went a roundabout way. Such is the life of a flack, am I right?

I’m left thinking about the effectiveness of climate communications and understanding if it isn’t an integrated topic. It keeps climate siloed and easily bypassed - left in the realm of what Jennifer Kho labeled the “loyal audience.” Wouldn’t the real estate beat be more factual and informed by climate knowledge about drought, indoor air pollution, wildfires and sea-level rise (looking at you Florida real estate reporters)? Wouldn’t the manufacturing beat? Of course I think that if a journalist is covering automotive, transportation or logistics, they need a base knowledge of climate. City beat - yes. Agriculture and commodities - yes. Business? Yes, yes, yes. Crime - well, maybe not so relevant there. Immigration - yes!

Work to be done here for sure and I welcome thoughtful ideas on what kind of platforms there are to accomplish this. I naturally think about ACCO - but I also recognize that committing yourself to the CCP certification is a lot to ask. I recall that during the Great Recession, NPR created a training program for affiliate reporters, often from smaller outlets, to learn about economics and finance to enhance their coverage because those topics were integral to almost every local story. I hosted them at the Milken Institute during the program. Do large media outlets do this? Could it be a required training (insert eye rolling) like cybersecurity, sexual harassment, etc.? How much better would news coverage be if there was a knowledge base on climate and how would that change the reach and impact to viewers and readers? It may be the already-a-believer in me, but I think we need it.

R-R-Retail Therapy - Part 2: Morning Edition

A silver lining (or fleck) from the past year of everyone-at-home-all-the-time has been a better morning routine. By better, I mean more time because I don’t have to do school drop-off or commute to work. I know that many folks have used this time to get a better sleep practice, but I’m an early riser, with or without the commute - so I just literally have more time to do stuff. So my morning routine is now a bit more comfortable and relaxed. Or I just pack more stuff in. Depends on the mood.

So here are some morning products for review:

Washable Face Pads

Performance: ⭐⭐⭐

Ease:⭐⭐⭐

Impact: ⭐⭐⭐

Fun Factor: ⭐

Here’s another “just do it already” product. They work great for makeup removal and washing - close your eyes and you're getting a facial at the spa. I don’t use them for toner because YOU CAN JUST USE YOUR HANDS!!! I just learned this. I’m slow. The washable face pads are easy to wash. They came in a little mesh bag, but I just throw them in with the whites and apparently the socks are not recruiting for their escape plans these days. Again - just do it. Cotton balls and wipes are just not needed. There’s the obvious waste, packaging and transport issues - but also some horrific pesticide and we should be more aware of where the cotton comes from and what the labor conditions are. As for fun… they are cute when you get them and look great as part of an IG-worth self care gift for your bestie, but they are mostly a utility item. Just get some and ditch the cotton balls/pads now.

Xero Shoes

Performance: ⭐⭐⭐

Ease:⭐⭐

Impact: ⭐

Fun Factor: ⭐

My morning walk is a must. I try to put in at least four miles every morning. That is a time commitment. Everyday I wish that I could run those miles instead to get some time back, but every time I try, my body reminds me that the scar tissue and weird alignment that compensated for the fact that I ran on a severed ACL for years came at a price. So, I log miles and I need decent shoes. Don’t call them clown shoes, okay? Yes, they look a bit funny because you are used to seeing a more tapered look at the toe. But guess what? My toes can MOVE! I went to Xero Shoes after hearing an interview with Dr. Irene Davis on The Drive with Peter Attia and their discussion on minimalist shoes. I had been a staunch believer in lots of support in my exercise shoes (we are not discussing my heels - don’t start), but became curious after listening and did some research. I decided to try Zeros because of the combination of physiology research and what the founders call Environmentally Intelligent. I’m happy with the performance. They are holding up perfectly after six months and after about three weeks, my feet adjusted and non-scientifically I have fewer aches in my right foot. The knee is still an issue. Easy peasy - good customer service and a nice online shopping experience. Takes a bit to get used to because of the physiology as noted above.

Two major issues on impact: 1. performance shoes use resources that are energy intense and not very earth-friendly. Xero’s claims of Environmental Intelligence are keyed to this because they are aware that the products are what they are. They point out that there is definitely less of these materials used because there’s no midsole and the soles are guaranteed for 5,000 miles (which is about 10x longer than what I used to do in my Nikes). So there’s a Reduce prospect there. Also, as pointed out in the FAQ, although kinda buried in a list of product questions and NOT included in their EI discussion, the shoes are manufactured in China. Obviously some concerns there but also noted by the company - that is the current state of the manufacturing chain. I had to verify, but even TOMS shoes are made in China.

Fun is a very personal thing when it comes to shoes. My shoe fun usually involves Michael Kors. Xeros aren’t your typical sport shoe and if you are trying to get some luv for your ‘fit, this probably isn’t the shoe for you. Apparently they are better known in the serious hiking crowd (they do make hiking shoes) because I’ve gotten queries from random strangers about where I usually summit or if I’ve heard anything about PCT maintenance issues during COVID. Me: blank stare.

NOT Nespresso Re-useable Capsule

Performance: -⭐(note the negative sign)

Ease:⭐⭐

Impact: - ⭐ (again with the negative sign)

Fun Factor: NONE

Ugh. Saved the worst for last on this post because it is soooooo painful and unresolved. Yes, I love coffee. Specifically, I love my Nespresso VertuoPlus coffee. I hate using a single-use capsule even though I send them back to Nespresso and they apparently recycle them into not-so-great veggie peelers. I have one - it’s pretty rough looking. I really want my Nespresso to be a more sustainable activity. Yes, there are lots of options for coffee making and I do use them. I have a French press, I have a Moka pot (actually I have three). Please, please, please Nespresso and Nestle - fix this so that I can enjoy my favorite coffee-making experience again. But they don’t have one. My daughter got me one for Christmas from Recafimil and I am here to say - don’t do it. These are the kinds of products that turn people off from sustainable choices. Granted, after reading the reviews and posts on caffeine-addicts Reddits, it’s obvious most people purchase these capsules to save money first (less waste coming in a distant second). I’ll need to address the conflict of saving money vs. saving everything else in another post later. Regardless, this is not a comparable performance - coffee was WEAK. I tried all of the suggestions - loose pack, tight pack, multiple sizes of grind… nothing worked. Still dishwater in a cup. The last time I tried it, the machine started making a really weird sound while trying to spin the capsule and I had to unplug the machine. I gave up and now I have a crappy stainless steel capsule that I can’t even give to Goodwill. Also, I cannot prove that it was related, but about a month later my machine started leaking and luckily Nespresso repaired it even though it was out of warranty. So discouraging.

R-R-Retail Therapy - Part 1

Me: How do you feel about bamboo toilet paper?

I just sent that as a text to my daughter. Over the years, we try to tackle a wasteful, overconsuming household issue with something that is more aligned with the idea that you can live your life comfortably and reduce your anthropogenic impact. For the sustainability nerds, it’s more aligned with substitution than dematerialization. Most non-sust-nerd folks will likely think Reduce - which is the first “R” of that little ditty "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" we all know, but most of my activities also include “Replace,” which is a fourth “R” and implies that I am still consuming something, but it is more sustainable or less resource intensive than the previous consumable. If you are curious, there are now five, six, or SEVEN Rs and probably more, but International Talk Like a Pirate Day isn’t until September, so I only used three in the title. You can Google the rest.

Back to the top… single use paper products including toilet paper and paper towels seem to be the next target and I’m doing research on subscriptions and packaging and delivery. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of my experiences with “earth-friendly” substitutions.

I’ve chosen four factors for evaluation: Performance, Ease, Impact and Fun Factor with a simple three star rating. The first one is obvious - how does the new product perform compared with the previous one? Ease captures what might be considered as necessary effort via additional steps or time required. Impact is my unscientific assessment of what I see in the outcome and, if available, some of the claims and evidence about the positive impact of the product. Finally, Fun Factor captures that joy and satisfaction that I got as a consumer from the product. This last one is important because our consumption culture has a deeply rooted mindset that buying and using new things is fun and necessary for happiness. Whether or not you agree that this is the RIGHT way to feel about consumption, it is there and it’s easier and stickier to change a behavior by tapping into a widespread positive than it is to tap into a negative (like shame).

Oh, the response on the bamboo toilet paper?

“I’d rather get a bidet.”

Bento Box Lunches

Performance: ⭐⭐⭐

Ease:⭐⭐

Impact: ⭐

Fun Factor: ⭐⭐⭐

Starting off - pack your lunch. Seriously. It’s good for your wallet, your health and yes, the environment. The subtext here is “learn to cook,” but I’ll save that for another time. This is more apropos in an out-of-COVID environment, but I’m starting here because it is one of my personal cornerstones for living more sustainably overall - eliminating single-use plastics, cutting down on food waste, decreased emissions from driving to avoid food monotony, etc.

I specifically moved towards a bento box because I wanted to get rid of plastic baggies. I started looking for reusable lunch boxes and stumbled upon a wild and wonderful subculture of people who make amazing bento lunches and the re-useable and oh-so-cute things to buy! I’m not afraid to say that I pack a kickass bento. Wanna see? Yes, I took pictures of my bentos for over a year, almost every day.

Was it a lot of work to cut things and place things and find storage and keep things organized? Um… kinda, but it’s more like a hobby than a household chore, so that effort is overshadowed by the fun. Do they perform like regular lunches - yes, almost always. There are a few bento box thingies that were lame or broke easily, but in general I still use (or would if I was going to the office) the same boxes that I’ve had for years. Of course, all but one of mine are plastic… so there’s that. You can buy bamboo and metal ones, but I mainly have plastic ones that are durable and dishwasher safe. I have all but eliminated plastic baggies from the household! However, a couple of things that are inside that one star Impact score. My kids hated the bento thing. They didn’t like that the food sometimes touched other food items. They didn’t get into the aesthetic of it and had some not-so-great experiences at school - sometimes because it wasn’t “real” bento food (when we lived in predominantly Asian neighborhoods) and sometimes because it was seen as really weird (in predominantly non-Asian neighborhoods). At work it was a mixed bag, but haters gonna hate. The other lost star is because I have to admit that I bought and own A TON of bento stuff. An entire kitchen drawer full of boxes, kawaii food picks, onigiri molds, portable chopsticks, furoshiki, hotdog cutters, silicone cups, lids, spacers, shaped cutout tools… yikes. So my suggestion is to get a bento box (or other reusable container), learn how to pack it and keep your head about it.

Travel Coffee Mugs

Performance: ⭐⭐

Ease:⭐⭐

Impact: ⭐

Fun Factor: ⭐

I drink coffee every day. Love it. I even drink decaffeinated when I have more than one cup a day so it doesn’t impact my sleep. So it would be natural for friends, family members, coworkers to gift me reusable travel cups right? Yes, it would. I have many and, sadly, I don’t use them much. For performance - there’s really a mixed bag out there and you have to choose your mug based on what you are ordering and what the drinking experience calls for: hot or cold beverage, sitting down or walking or driving, etc. It seems that I have too much variety in my coffee experiences to have the right mug for the right occasion.

Outside of COVID, reusable mugs are not a big deal for retailers, so it’s an easy experience. I drink an espresso in the morning, so I don’t have the need to bring the coffee on the commute. That would probably bring a whole other level of scrutiny regarding spillage/leaks. There are, admittedly, some cute travel mugs, but there seems to be a tradeoff between cute and spill/leak in my limited experience. However, I’m putting a caveat on this item because during COVID I have been very consistent about long walks and if I stop for coffee I don’t even have the option to bring my own container. If I’m able to keep my walking habit when I return to the office, I might make an effort to find a travel mug that wouldn’t be burdensome to take with me on the walk to the coffee provider, would be suitable for both iced and hot beverages and would be easy to drink from with no spills as I finish my walk. Any suggestions?

Grocery Shopping Bags

Performance: ⭐⭐⭐

Ease:⭐⭐

Impact: ⭐⭐⭐

Fun Factor: ⭐

If you live in California, you now know that banning single use plastic bags is not the end of the world. If you live in Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon and Vermont or some cities like Boulder, CO, you are also experiencing this non-apocalypse. It does take a little while to get used to it - and we’ll likely have to go through another round once COVID-related moratoriums are lifted - but it really isn’t that hard to bring your own bag. Do I sometimes forget? Yes. Do I usually remember? Yes. I’m not here to debate the pros and cons of the bans - they aren’t perfect. But using reusable bags is a clear win for your own sustainable practices. This is one of those things that you should just do - I am not going to say that there is a lot of fun to it. I suppose I could get a cute set of designer grocery bags to take some Insta Baddie photos, but really… It's just grocery shopping and the appropriate aesthetic, unless you are in Italy, is sweats, hair in a pony and whatever free give-away logo'ed bag you got at the last outdoor street faire, festival, farmer’s market booth you visited. I did get these cuties for my birthday which I want to use at the farmer’s market soon.

That's some for now. More reviews to come on dryer balls, compostable trash bags, wax food wraps and the last swab (Q-tip). And we'll see about the TP.

Cook Using Only What’s in Your Pantry

My kitchen overfloweth. And despite the headline, I only dream of having a pantry so various cabinets are carrying the burden of my over-buying of ingredients. I do cook - quite a bit and between a fussy eater, a household member who avoids gluten and my own Mediteranean-ish diet there is a ton of half-full this and not-yet-expired that around for the intrepid at-home chef.

So this week, instead of doing a menu plan based on whatever caught my eye on Pinterest and building a shopping list that requires going to Trader Joe’s, Vons, Sprouts, Baja Ranch Market, 99 Ranch Market and H Mart, I decided that I was going to shun my overconsumption ways and only use what was in my kitchen/garden. Enter the two-pound bag of dried fava beans that I bought at the Pasadena Farmers’ Market last summer.

Ah… dried fava beans. They promise a nutty, slightly bitter/slightly sweet taste - kinda like that cheese that came on the wine bar board that you couldn’t decide if you liked or not, but you also couldn’t stop nibbling at. A two-pound bag of them. Don’t be confused - this isn’t a bag of puffy, cute, pale “broad beans” that you buy at the grocery store. These are big, ugly greenish-grayish-brownish misshapen globs that cause cooks on the internet to attack each other on their chosen battlefields of the correct time for soaking and boiling, and of course - to shell or not to shell. This last one being of utmost importance because the fava beans I bought are still armored in their shells. Not their pods, mind you. No, those have been removed. But that’s not enough protection apparently, so favas have thick, Predator-armor-like shells too. Being one of the oldest cultivated foods on the planet - favas make you work like a beleaguered gatherer in the Fertile Crescent whose entire village’s life depends on getting the nutrition out of this hateful legume and the fava bean knows it.

To be fair, the fava bean isn’t the only culprit in this adventure. People on the internet lie. Every post, article and cooking video that states all you need to do is soak the beans overnight and then “easily slip the shells off” is a lying piece of sh*t content. The author clicked “post” and then laughed maniacally knowing that the unaware audience will read it, buy the damn beans with the shells on and have their souls crushed after hours of splitting, peeling and prying off the hide that is vacuum sealed to each and every bean. Also - unless that picture on the recipe shows a dip or purée… the author never even thought of using dried fava beans. The shelled dried fava bean only comes in two forms: pre-cooked hard as a Jolly Rancher or cooked formless mush. That’s it. Now you know the truth.

But I gotta use the beans - says the voice inside while mentally flipping through shocking infographics on carbon-emitting food waste. I decided to cast my lot with the not-gonna-shell the beans folks. Those brave folks in the comments who say, “toothsome, but edible and helps keep the shape.” Yep, I’m NOT GONNA SHELL THE FAVAS. Say it again - NOT GONNA SHELL THE FAVAS. I feel empowered. I feel bold. I’m on it… let’s soak those suckers overnight!

Next morning, they have done their osmosis thing and look like that dude who vehemently denies taking steroids at the gym (you used to go to before COVID). Call it puffy.

Gonna get ‘em cooked and add some extra power by firing up the Instapot - like a fava-bean sauna and add a couple of minutes because I DIDN’T SHELL THE FAVAS.

A steam release later and I’m sweating the aromatics in a big pot on the stovetop: why do I have so many onions? Let’s put in the weird-looking rainbow carrots that actually were not rainbow - only yellow - that came from my garden. Garlic… There's always a ton of garlic around here.

Adding a splash of some random rosé (the cook in me said white, but the wine drinker wanted to get rid of the rosé that came in a bundle of taster bottles I got last year).

Needs some umami - nope, no mushrooms available. Oh - um, how about some SPAM? (Did you know SPAM is all caps? It’s also supposed to be followed by “luncheon meat” because it’s a trademark, not a noun, but AP style guide doesn’t own me.)

Why do I have SPAM, you ask. Because last year, when I was being COVID Super Mommy, I took the kids on a virtual Spring Break gastro-vacation around the world. Friday was Hawaii and I thought - SPAM Loco Moco for breakfast! But after a week of cooking and eating rather extravagantly, all I could muster was a DoorDash Hawaiian Bar-B-Que delivery for dinner. Hence SPAM in the cabinet. Chopped and in it goes.

Here’s some roasted red peppers leftover from last night and some stray cherry tomatoes that are starting to look wrinkly. It's upcycle cooking.

Beans… natch needs thyme. Dammit, my potted thyme up and died on me in November - use the ground. Ah… but there is some lovely fresh oregano from the balcony.

And of course, a bay leaf. Wait… where is the freaking bay leaf? I just bought another bottle of bay leaves. Damn - I use a lot of bay leaves.

Add in some bullion and then the favas. Mix all together. Hmmm… looks kinda thin. Tomato paste to the rescue. Plus, Salt and Peppa’s here!

Still looks blah… what’s in the fridge drawer? Chard from the garden! I have so much chard - that plant is out of control!

Let it simmer. Recite line from MacBeth for good measure while doing the clean-up:

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

After an hour or two - say the time it takes to start a new game on Sims but you get bored because the whole Master Chef career track doesn’t thrill you like it used to - sauce taste test says flavors are nicely melded.

I am ready for a satisfying lunch of Not Shelled Fava Bean Stew from the Depths of Jennifer’s Cabinets with a sprinkling of parmesan and pita triangles for scooping!

Moments later, biting down on a pod of vinyl-covered paste -

I shoulda shelled the favas and made a dip.

80’s Movies, Dr. Seuss and the Brothers Grimm Too - Classics Evolve and So Do You

COVID stay-at-home practices enshrined “movie night” at home and with the selection rotating among household members, I finally got my teenagers to watch the beloved films of my youth - classic 80’s movies like Sixteen Candles, Adventures in Babysitting, Gremlins, Heathers… And I spent the entire time cringing and apologizing to the point that my kids now have coined the term “80’s movies” as a derisive comment on occurrences of racist, misogynistic, gratuitous violence and swearing events in pop culture across eras and genres. They aren’t wrong.

If the constant barrage of mind-numbing Asian stereotypes don’t get to you first, Jake (the “hearthrob”) and Ted (the “nerd) of Sixteen Candles cheerfully plan and execute sexual violation on an unconscious woman that will make you have to stop the movie and say to your son, “That is NOT okay!” Adventures in Babysitting is just painful, as is Gremlins. And then there’s Heathers - this one hurt my teenaged-cynical heart the most. It just isn’t funny anymore… at all.

More recently, there was a weird “huh?” that hit me when I read that Dr. Seuss Enterprises is pulling some books I read a long time ago and only remember vaguely but fondly or that Disney is gating access to some movies and redesigning rides that I have in my childhood cannon of good memories. Cue the news stories, Facebook posts and Twitter wars over “classics.”

Classics hold a special place in our minds and social beings because they have what we believe is a universality to them. They tap into shared experiences and touch our own. We like to think of them as comforting constants, but actually classics evolve and change. This evolution isn’t new and doesn’t spell the end of times or deny some future generation of good stories. Classics and standards change, get reimagined and even disappear to reflect the fact that they aren’t universal anymore.

Compare the original Brothers Grimm stories to your favorite picture book or Disney film that you experienced as a child or shared with a young person. Shocking? Inappropriate? Not remotely charming or sweet? Exactly. Those original tales - collected and cobbled together from various oral traditions in another time where the world was changing quickly are not something that you would sit down to as a nice bedtime story. (Fun fact: They were written down to codify Germanic culture as a part of growing nationalistic pride - even though the primary source was French).

The actual Grimm tales are full of Quentin Tarantino-worthy violence and graphic child and spousal abuse that doesn’t come with a “may not be suitable for young ears” from NPR. Many of these stories have completely disappeared from the shelves of libraries, schools and homes decades ago because they have so passed their time. Have you ever read The Willful Child? Community-enabled infanticide as an acceptable punishment for misbehavior doesn’t exactly make for sweet dreams. Were you robbed of this classic because it was left out of your Complete Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm? Nope. Didn’t miss it at all.

Fast forward to today. The audience that is looking for a good bedtime story or family movie isn’t the same one that took up residence in your head years ago. And that audience also means you. If you sat down and read or watched that old movie or read that book with say… your daughter, your neighbor, your coworker, your friend… you would likely see it with new eyes that have also changed. It doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the happy but fuzzy childhood or goofy teenage memories that are associated with it. It just means that you have a wiser and more nuanced lens to view that specific story, the characters and the images. It is the kind of change that allows for space where new universal stories to come to be classics and artists are inspired to reimagine or create the future ones. The beauty of what we call this ever-changing collection of classics is that they adapt to be more and more universal and that is what endures, not specific titles.

More proof: You are blasting “Every Step You Take” by The Police and your daughter says, “Bruh, dude is a stalker… gross.” OMG... it is gross!

Allyship... still learning

What’s the clever moniker for an all-white group of alumnae from a women’s college that is the equivalent of “manel”? Because that’s the word I was looking for to characterize an online session I participated in with my alma mater, Scripps College. To be fair - it wasn’t all white. There were about nine alumnae and three staff attending - three of the alumnae were Latina. Also, there might have been more that I didn’t recognize on the Zoom platform. But still, very white. And this observation was exacerbated by the fact that the student attendees were diverse. We are, dear old Athenas, quite white.

So I went back to some of the content that my colleagues in DE&I have shared and the insights I’ve gotten during ally training to seek some guidance and decided that I have a mixed scorecard. Here’s a few of the things that stuck with me:

Start From Where You Are At The group of alumnae gathered was amazing - elected officials, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and full-time advocates/campaign leaders. They were volunteering their time and talent to discuss leadership with current students. That’s a good thing. But starting from where we (Scripps alumnae overall) are at means owning our privilege. Scripps College is a private women’s liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It’s got a 32% acceptance rate, the campus is devastatingly gorgeous and is the third most-expensive college in California. (Soooo grateful for Army ROTC scholarships.) When I started, the incoming class was 75% white. For context, the 1990 census states that California’s population was 40% white. And while the current student body is 52% white, that increase in diversity took time, so the facts are that the majority of the alumnae are white. I can’t change that and neither can the organizers who are trying to get the very busy women who graduated to give up a Saturday morning to sit for two hours on a Zoom call. That is where we are at - can’t deny it and not going to try to message around it. Look Around, Notice Who Is Absent and Speak Up I’m happy to report that the allyship mentoring and instruction that generous colleagues have shared with me is sinking in. I did look around and I did see that there were voices and faces absent. I didn't have to work very hard at the visual part. As noted above, there were three Latinas and with the help of the organizers I noted that there was some geographic and age representation. But what stood out to me was that there were at least five other women who could have been on my Christmas card because we looked so much alike. And I struggled through the event with what to do with that observation. Should I mention the lack of diversity to the organizers? Do I say something during the event? Should I not say anything because, after all, I am part of the non-representation? I decided not to bring it up during the session, but afterwards - and after I had a chance to think through things like point #1 above - I did reach out to the organizer to share my thoughts and just have an open discussion about the challenges of alumnae diversity. Insist On Diverse Participation This is the one that is solely on me and that I have to make more of a commitment to doing. I could have done more than just show up and expect that the organizers had the connections and personal relationships to get some of those earlier diverse alumnae to join. I could have and should have and I didn’t. I needed to make the extra effort to have the diversity there. That’s what I know I need to work on. It would have been easier to write about how inspiring it was to connect with Scripps women and to pepper it with snarky comments on how GoogleDocs spell check keeps insisting that I change “alumnae” to “alumni,” but the diversity piece just wasn’t sitting right with me. I know that the real work of diversity and inclusion is the hard stuff - the stuff that requires you to do more than just see and think. It requires doing things like posting a blog piece that makes you nervous and also listening to the response. So that’s what I’m going to do

now.

Henrietta Lacks - Advocacy Lessons from #WorldCancerDay

I had the opportunity to join in on the #WorldCancerDay HELA100 Centennial Conversation. This may seem a bit of a straying from my usual topics, but I read Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in 2011 as part of my “educate yourself” practice during Black History Month. It was a read that was fascinating, horrifying, and infuriating - not to mention emotionally troubling. When non-fiction makes me cry, I’m not going to drop the issue lightly. 

So when Facebook’s all-knowing algorithm served up an ad for on online discussion about Henrietta Lacks, I clicked. This month’s discussion was between Henrietta Lack’s great-granddaughter, Veronica Robinson and Keysha Brooks-Coley, VP, Federal Advocacy & Strategic Alliances at American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc. It was a casual, but honest conversation about the past, present and future of health equity, social justice and the recently passed Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act - legislation that requires the Government Accounting Office to assess access to government-funded cancer clinical trials for traditionally underrepresented groups. In short, the discussion was about getting important policy done through storytelling, collaboration and empowering advocates.  

Storytelling 

As communicators, we’re always talking about the importance of storytelling and there’s no denying that Henrietta Lack’s story is a cornerstone in understanding health inequity. Aided by Rebecca Skloot’s tenacity and craft, Veronica Lack’s courage and Oprah Winfrey’s support (full disclosure - I have not seen the movie), the story has been told. There is increased awareness of the pervasive impact HeLa cells have on our lives and the ingratitude and discard that institutions have heaped upon Henrietta, her family and her legacy. Like the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, it’s a glaring example of bias, inequity and the lasting negative impacts of health care failures. But like many others, this amazing story languished for years and the people involved went unheard and unsupported. This is true for many issues and that is why there is a role for communicators to engage fully in this critical step in advocacy. The stories are there… discover them and draw them out. Use your talent to craft them mightily and share them widely.  

Collaboration

During the event, Brooks-Coley reiterated again and again her advice to join with others to break through the noise that bombards policy makers.  While she was advocating to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in government-funded medical trials, she discovered that the Lacks family was working on the celebration of what would have been Henrietta's 100th birthday and telling her story. An introduction became a collaboration, which snowballed into a formidable powerhouse on the Hill. It's simply not enough for one organization to have a large bullhorn. You may get an audience, you may get a nodding/agreeing head… but you need dozens of those on a consistent basis over time with multiple angles. Collaborate. Reach out to others, find the common ground and create a united front on a policy objective. Find the roar that can be and must be heard in order to create influence.

Support Your Advocates

This is the part I try to keep the closest eye on when I’m running a campaign. Brooks-Coley positioned it well, noting that it is the continuation of the storytelling and collaboration aspects - finding new stories, providing messaging to your collaborators and advocates and keeping them engaged. Naturally, you spend significant resources and time developing your launch toolkit. You may be juggling such launches for multiple campaigns across several timelines for federal, state and local policy makers. Nevertheless, you’ve got to carve out the time and resources for monitoring and responding, adapting messages and creating fresh content. I’ve heard it said in advocacy circles, “if you want them there for the landing, you better have them there for the takeoff” - this is your reminder to provide some quality in-flight service. 

So maybe this online event was in my basket of typical posts topics after all - issues that touch me and how to use the best tools to advocate for better outcomes. If you aren’t familiar with the story of Henrietta Lacks and her indelible impact on your life and the life of your loved ones, I highly recommend reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It is insight into the pervasive stain of health care inequality, it offers a window into the world of medical research that will leave you better informed (perhaps a bit questioning) and will inspire you to advocate for a better world.  

Sorry, There’s No Gold Medal for Your GHG Emissions Reduction Goal

It seems like every day there is a new carbon neutrality goal announcement and is it just me or are the “by <insert year>” dates getting earlier and earlier? It’s like watching the carbon-reduction Olympics and the new records - not surprisingly - are being set by the participants with a glossy backstory filmed, edited and ready to roll. Recently, Mastercard announced its goal to reach net zero emissions by 2050. GM announced that the auto-manufacturer would aspire to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and phase out petroleum-powered cars and trucks to sell only zero tailpipe emissions by 2035. Electric-only vehicle manufacturers and electric utilities have formed a lobbying organization, ZETA, which is pushing for policies that ensure 100 percent of new car sales are electric by 2030. The incredibly shrinking date announcements are piling up on my LinkedIn feed from my admittedly pro-clean energy and transportation follows. I’m there for all the likes and shares, but what is the actual impact of these announcements?

There are several good reasons why organizations want to tout an increasingly aggressive goal. It’s good PR (and an increasingly important part of  IR) to show that you’re making a strong commitment. Beating that stodgy 2050 goal that aligns with the Paris Agreement reductions (considered shocking so many years ago) could help get a splashy headline. Maybe your sector - ahem, established automakers - is seen as a critical first-mover and so achieving that date in that segment of the economy can increase the likelihood of achieving the broader goals of 2050. Or, it could be that your business’ success is explicitly relying on making that change to a zero emissions platform and you need policy and regulatory mandates to make it happen. 

However, unlike at the Olympics, the goal in reducing carbon emissions is not to get your own gold medal. The goal is that everyone can breathe, eat, have available water and not be forced to migrate due to climate change. This means that the emissions-reduction communications need to make sense to everyone, particularly those on the margins or a few steps away from making the necessary changes to reduce their emissions.  

To keep everyone engaged, communicators should include the clear message that 2050 is the ultimate goal - to limit warming to 1.5°C, the whole world needs to have a reduction to zero by around 2050. Be explicit up front about how your organization’s specific and sooner goal supports that global need. And I know we like to reference SBTI, EV100, etc., but those are just obscure acronyms to those that don’t live in the space every day. Noting the specific 2050 goal and referencing it in your communications helps deflect the naysayers who claim that there is no fixed target or that there isn’t consensus. It can demonstrate that you are leading, but that you are aware of and supporting the common goal. It can help ensure that those sectors and participants who need a longer timeline don’t feel shut-out of the game altogether. 

Admittedly, I love it every time I see a major organization making a commitment and I’m always ready to click that like button, but I’m not the one who needs convincing. There are organizations and leaders that aren’t clicking the like button or worse are just tuning out. I want to keep them watching and engaged - edging toward stepping into the track and being able to clearly see the goal up ahead. I want them to know that they are in the race and are part of the larger team that is forging ahead to meet the 2050 goal. As much as my Gen-X heart hates to admit it, to fight climate change there are only medals for participation because we all win or we all lose. Let’s bring them all in for the win. 

Register Her!

As part of my 2021 commitment to myself about committing time to issues I care about beyond my day-job issues, I participated today in CalVet Women Veterans Webinar and Town Hall. It was both inspiring and, at times, scrapped at some uncomfortable experiences I have had as a woman veteran. First, I want to thank CalVet and Acting Deputy Secretary for Women Veterans Affairs and Deputy Secretary for Minority Veterans Affairs Xóchitl Rodriguez Murillo for hosting the Town Hall and all the awesome women veterans and advocates who joined the discussion. There was a lot of information and a sincere effort to answer the many questions and issues from those who joined. 

Part of the presentation came down to the chronic overlook that female veterans experience on a regular basis and I have to say FACTS! I can’t count the number of times that I have worn my old PT (physical training) sweatshirt, the gray zip-up with ARMY in bold letters, and been asked if my dad or brother gave it to me. Yes, an opportunity for sharing about my service, but not my favorite way to start the discussion.

 But overlook doesn’t just mean awkward conversations - it has real world implications. My worst experience was during a home-buying process in 2014 when the mortgage provider told me that the VA loan guarantee wasn’t going to be approved. What? Upon further discussion, I discovered that they had manually changed the application to put my male spouse down as the veteran despite the fact that the application and all of the supporting military documentation was in my name. This error - which required a complete re-do of the entire mortgage application - meant that the closing date got bumped and my family had to live in a hotel for more than a week. The mortgage lending officer didn’t even blink when he said, “Well, I’m used to it being the guy.” 

But before I spiral into that blackhole, I want to shift to the inspirational and uplifting campaign that was just launched by the Women’s Military Memorial, the National Registration Campaign (NRC), to collect the stories of all 3 million women who have served in or with the Armed Forces since the American Revolution. Yes, tell the stories and let them be counted! And the first step is something I think many of you can help with - registering female veterans in the Memorial registry. Let’s get on that. Registration is free and super easy… I just did it. And you can also register someone else - your mom, your sister, your aunt or your wife. Let them be counted and let the story be told to help people, like mortgage lending officers, get “used to it.” 

I joined Coro alumni from across the U.S. recently to discuss civic leadership. In typical Coro fashion - lots of diversity and very vocal opinions, but a shared resolve to leverage the broad base of Coro-trained leaders to help heal our civic environment. Thank you to my fellow alumni and the ever-undaunted Coro leadership for starting this conversation.

Here are some of the insights I took with me:

1. Love of country and a strong sense of civic duty span a broad range of experiences and backgrounds - this is our strength as a nation of many peoples.

2. Our current society lacks a shared lexicon of key civic and democratic ideas - we use the same words such as "freedom," "democracy," "socialism," "security," "fact," etc., but they mean different things.

3. There is so much work to do and we, in groups and as individuals, can't wait for someone else to take the lead. We must do the work.

So - lead on and lead well, but don't wait.

http://www.corofellowship.org

A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

I was looking at the weather for tomorrow and with great expectation it is going to rain here in Southern California. No small feat in our now-normal dry, dry, dry climate. I’m hoping that it will wash away the wildfire ash that blew down from the mountains this week, covering my patio, the sidewalks and streets here in the San Gabriel Valley. But my mind took the oncoming precipitation down another path. Suddenly, Bryan Ferry’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” started playing in my head. So I’ll walk you down that trail. 

What have we seen and heard and met in our recent past and every day, with blue eyes and brown eyes and green eyes and all the mixes in-between? And what lies ahead through seemingly insurmountable challenges of climate change, disinformation, polarization, racism and distrust of institutions? Oh yes, a hard rain is a-gonna fall. 

Dylan’s lyrics are brutally descriptive and prophetic, not just when writing it in 1962, but even as we look ahead almost 60 years later. Ferry’s rendition, released in 1972, provides the desperate and haunting quality that the lyrics deserve. But there isn’t only despair or it wouldn’t be my resident earworm tonight. Both artists seized their opportunity to move past this in the final verse because, after all, this is life - in 1962, in 1972 and here in 2021 and our job is to persevere and do what needs done.

And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’ But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zwBHd4kll0