Resources

We’ll share a bunch of these throughout the month, but if you’re super eager to explore groups now (overachiever!), here are a few to check out:​

• Citizens’ Climate Lobby

• NDN Collective

• NRDC Action Fund 

• 350.org

• Inside the Movement (weekly action toolkit)

We nerded out and read lots of climate books last year. Here are some standouts, along with our notes. Collectively, these helped us understand how we can act effectively during this crazy time. 

• Saving Us: A Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, by Katharine Hayhoe. (Motivating! A climate scientist explains why talking about climate change is so important, and shares how to do it)

• Under the Sky We Make, by Kimberly Nicholas, PhD. (This one spoke to my soul. A climate scientist weaves together climate science and her personal story to explain how individuals can help solve the climate crisis, and why we must act urgently. You can also sign up for her monthly newsletter on fixing the climate crisis here.)

• Required Reading: Climate Justice, Adaptation and Investing in Indigenous Power, edited by the NDN Collective Climate Justice Campaign. (An Indigneous-led organization curated this collection of essays that discusses organizing for climate justice through a lens of equity, and how to invest in Indigenous power. Watch White House Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy effuse about it here!)

• We are the Weather, by Jonathan Safran Foer. (Not gonna lie, this one kind of freaked me out, but it also made me reflect deeply. The renowned author explores whether those of us who accept climate science actually believe it, and makes the case that saving the planet begins at breakfast.) 

• Hot Mess, by Matt Winning. (Written by a climate scientist who is also a stand-up comedian, this is the only book on climate change that has made me laugh out loud multiple times. Recommend the audio version for the full effect!)

• Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. (Beautiful essays from a botanist who draws on her scientific training as well as her Indigenous heritage.)

• Being the Change, by Peter Kalmus. (Stretched my thinking in various ways. A climate scientist shares his story and the lifestyle choices that dramatically slashed his personal emissions.)

• The Climate Diet: 50 Simple Ways to Trim Your Carbon Footprint, by Paul Greenberg. (Quick book that helped shape my to-do list! The sustainability author offers lots of great actionable ideas.)

• The Parents Guide to Climate Revolution, by Mary Democker. (Another book packed with actionable ideas. A climate activist provides suggestions for fighting climate change while also raising empowered kids.)

• The Day the World Stops Shopping, by J.B. MacKinnon. (Fascinating thought experiment that had me thinking for days. Premise is this: “We can’t stop shopping. And yet we must. This is the consumer dilemma.” Whoa.) 

• All We Can Save, edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson. (An incredible anthology of writings and art by 60 women focused on, you got it, all we can save in the face of climate change.)

• The Drawdown Review. (An update to Drawdown. Much more academic than most of the books listed here, but for those of you wanting to dive into the nitty gritty, this is the go-to resource for evidence-based climate solutions.)

• We're All Climate Hypocrites Now, by Sami Grover. (No one is climate perfect. Navigates the challenges of individual actions and explores how people can have the biggest impact ... regardless of their carbon footprint.)

• Zero Waste Home, by Bea Johnson. (When I first saw a picture of Bea Johnson holding her family’s year’s worth of trash in a little jar, it blew my mind. I doubt I’ll ever get to that level, but this book has lots of useful suggestions that helped me cut my family’s trash in more than half.)

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Need even more non-fiction book suggestions? Climate scientist Kimberly Nicholas recommends these recent releases, which are going straight onto our reading list: Youth to Power: Your Voice and How to Use It; The Loneliest Polar Bear; Under a White Sky; Too Hot to Handle?.

Visit Loam Bookshop for a thoughtful selection of climate-conscious cookbooks, literature and poetry that "inspires resilience and regeneration."  

We love a good novel. This isn’t book club, so we're not going to list all our top reads, but here are two favorites that have strong climate themes:

• The Overstory, by Richard Powers. Read this book! Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize. I look at trees in a totally different way now. 

• Migrations, by Charlotte McConaghy. I couldn’t put it down. And then I recommended it to everyone I know.

• How to Save a Planet. Self-described climate nerds bring you inspiring stories and solutions. (They also keep an amazing running list of calls to action and resources.)

• The Yikes Podcast. Hosted by climate activists Mikaela Loach (who, among other things, is busy suing the UK government) and Josephine Becker; they lean into the yikes of the world, thoughtfully. 

• Hot Take. An irreverent look at the climate crisis.

Want some climate info delivered straight to your inbox? (Besides our emails, of course!) We’d particularly recommend these newsletters: 

• Heated newsletter by journalist Emily Atkin

• Gen Dread newsletter by Britt Way

You might also want to check out Drilled News, which provides reporting focused on climate accountability, and Floodlight News, an environmental news collaborative that investigates corporate interests that prevent climate action.​

There are lots of great documentaries and mini-series on climate change. Here’s one list, and here’s another. Rather than duplicate those lists, we're using this space to share a few of our favorite nature documentaries (all of them happening to feature David Attenborough – that guy is everywhere!) to go along with our suggestion on finding ways to appreciate nature, as well as some climate-related films.

Nature docs:

• The Year the Earth Changed

• A Life on Our Planet

• Planet Earth

• The Blue Planet

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Regenerative Agriculture films:

• Kiss the Ground - A Netflix film, narrated by Woody Harrelson, that explores the importance of soil and the potential for regenerative agricultural practices to sequester carbon and aid in climate change.

• Biggest Little Farm - This film follows the journey of two want-to-be farmers as they chart the ebbs and flows of establishing Apricot Lane Farm as a biodiverse and regenerative ecosystem.

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Short Videos:

• Allan Savory's TED Talk, How to fight desertification and reverse climate change, discusses the power and importance of soil in our collective effort to feed and protect our planet and people. 

• Wormhole's Green Burial Episode (produced by 31DoCA's Solina) explores the carbon impact of burial practices and uncovers some greener ways to go 

While we can’t eco-buy our way out of the climate crisis, we can still buy better! Swapping in more eco-friendly options helps reduce waste, keeps us healthier, and creates demand for better practices. 

If you need (or – let’s be realistic – want) stuff, try to lean into the sharing economy first. Ask a friend! Use the library! Get the Buy Nothing app and join the hyperlocal gift economy! 

That’s obviously not going to work for some stuff. So here are some of Kaitlin's tried and true favorites. We have no affiliation with any of them; just sharing in case you love a good list of resources as much as we do! 

Food/beverages

• Pachamama coffee. I once spent over a year researching coffee sustainability. We ended up with 140+ page report, but the most practical outcome might’ve been that I found my favorite coffee company – Pachamama! All organic and totally producer-owned (which means the farmers keep the profits, which is wildly important).  

• Alter Eco Truffles. In my quest for more sustainable Halloween candy, I stumbled on–and fell in love with–AlterEco truffles. They’re pricey. But otherwise, what’s not to love? They’re organic, palm-free, fair trade, and grown with regenerative agriculture practices. And they come in compostable wrappers! 

• Imperfect Foods. Making a market for ugly food, to help reduce food waste. While I think local CSAs (community supported agriculture) are often preferable, I also am supportive of both non-profits and companies that help to reduce food waste. (See here for some criticism of the company, and here for their response.) So when you have limited local options, or during times when you need a service with more flexibility, this can be a good choice. 

Non-Food Household Goods

I went down a zero waste rabbit hole for a while, and while I was down there, I discovered and switched over to all of these household products. 

• Meliora (Non-toxic and zero waste household products. Love their bath and body soap and their solid plastic-free dish soap.)

• HiBAR (Plastic-free shampoo, conditioner, and more. After trying out several brands, this is my current fave for hair care.)

• Ethique (Plastic-free and palm-free hair, skin, and body care. I use their face soap for myself, and I use the Tip to Tot soap on my kids’ sensitive skin.)

• Who Gives a Crap (OMG, we flush 27,000 trees down the toilet every day! Opt out of that system. A bidet is one option (my sister loves this one), but if you’re sticking with TP, find a tree-free roll. This company sells both 100% recycled and 100% bamboo toilet paper.)

• Blueland (My 3-year-old calls their foaming hand soap “magic soap.” Not sure why. I love their reusable glass bottles and soap packs, though that same 3-year-old managed to shatter one of the bottles, so for high-risk areas, I now use Petal's reusable aluminum bottles.)

• Lucky Teeth (I use their compostable floss. Why use Teflon-coated plastic when you can use something compostable?)

• Stasher bags (I prefer glass when I can, but these are useful with kids and for travel.)

Clothes 

I buy most of my kids’ clothing secondhand from ThredUp. If I'm searching for something new for them, I like to check Pact (organic and fair trade) and Hanna Andersson (durable and one of the original "sustainable" brands). When not struggling through no-buy challenges for myself, I like to focus on secondhand (online options include ThredUp, TheRealReal, and eBay) and slow fashion brands.

Looking for some sustainable fashion advice? My Green Closet is a great resource.

Gifts

My most recent go-to gift is planting trees through American Forests.

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Online Stores

For other eco-friendly products, check out:

• Alibris (for used books) 

• EarthHero

• EcoRoots

• Hive (sustainable groceries and household goods) 

• Package Free Shop

• Ecosia (Search engine that plants trees. Yessss.)

• CatalogChoice (To remove yourself from the dreaded catalog mailings. How is it that companies are still chopping down trees for this?!)