Talking Climate: Identity
Our Second Fridays programming continued in April with Talking Climate: Identity. This event took place on April 9, 2021.
Expert panelists at Talking Climate: Identity, Yessenia Funes, Climate Editor at Atmos Magazine; Sloan Leo, Artist, CEO and Founder of FLOX Studio; Jade Lozada, Policy Director for TREEage and Climate Speaks 2019 performer; and Amy Westervelt, Founder of the Critical Frequency podcast network, highlighted narratives at the intersection of climate, identity, and inequality. The conversation addressed themes that included fossil fuel industry propaganda, building community around climate engagement, activist commitments to climate justice, and more.
Like all of the Climate Museum’s programming, Identity aims to provide a foundation for community-building, democratic engagement, and civic action.
The event began with a reading by the celebrated poet Ada Limón.
This resource guide is designed to complement our Second Fridays programming. If you enjoyed these readings or want to add to the list, please let us know!
How Fossil Fuels Impact Identity
“The Petro-Masculinity of This Weekend's Trump Highway Rallies” by Brian Kahn (Gizmodo, November 2020)
“Basically, fossil fuel use and extraction is emblematic of traditional values and America being great, synonymous with conservatism. The dependence of American society on fossil fuels is something that has been reinforced by the decisions of predominantly rich white men and has in turn helped uphold the status quo. While that puts us all in major danger due to climate change, giving it up poses a risk to those who have constructed their identity around petro-masculinity.”
“Oil companies want you to think they're feminist. It's BS.” by Alexandria Herr (Grist, March 2021)
“Mike Rowe’s New Discovery+ Show Is Big Oil-Funded Propaganda.” by Dharna Noor (Gizmodo, April 2021)
“They want to impress upon us that they’re responsible for making a lot of the cool shit we use, starting with when you wake up in the morning and you take a hot shower, and then when you fry an egg, and then when you turn on your iPhone,” said Kert Davies, director of Climate Investigations Center.”
“The Birth of Energy” Book Talk by Cara Daggett (Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought, February 2020)
You can also read Cara Daggett’s peer-reviewed article on Petro-masculinity for free here. (Millenium, 2018)
On Climate Activism
“Dorceta E. Taylor on Environmental Justice” by Dorceta E. Taylor (Sierra Club, December 2020)
“The future of environmental justice is one in which people of color are recognized as equal partners in environmental affairs, and it is one in which people of color can realize the adage coined at the outset of the environmental justice movement: ‘We speak for ourselves.’”
“How To Fix the Climate” by Alyssa Battistoni (Boston Review, January 2021)
“Enbridge is "funding and incentivizing" Minnesota police” by Emily Atkin (Heated, March 2021)
“This is a public police force that's been privatized by a foreign oil company, and every minute they spend harassing the water protectors—and assaulting the water protectors—they turn in an invoice and they get paid,” she said. “They're making a fortune off this.”
“The Year of Virtual Activism” by Youth Climate Activist and Photographer Pamela Elizarras Acitores (Atmos, March 2021)
“Covering Young Climate Activists Isn’t an Act of Favoritism—It’s an Act of Journalism” by Mark Hertsgaard (The Nation, March 2021)
“The modern climate and environmental movements are diverse and enormous. Rather than select, elevate, and revisit a handful of celebrities, journalists should seek out a range of voices, especially activists at the local level representing Indigenous groups or people of color whose communities are often disproportionately affected by climate change.”
Work and Insights from our Expert Panelists
Yessenia Funes, Climate Editor, Atmos Magazine, Creator of the Frontline Newsletter
“Is Internet for All Actually Good for the Planet?” by Yessenia Funes (Atmos, April 2021)
“Climate denial thrives in the unchecked airwaves of the web. As does white supremacy. And that’s something worth thinking about in building a future that provides more people access to not only science and news, but also misinformation and conspiracy theories.”
“A Letter from 2030” by Yessenia Funes (Patagonia, Spring 2021)
“'An Unstoppable Force': Memphis Gears Up to Stop a Proposed Oil Pipeline” by Yessenia Funes (Atmos, April 2021)
“You Can Eat a Burger and Still Fight For the Planet” by Yessenia Funes (Gizmodo, March 2019)
Sloan Leo, Artist and Founder, FLOX Studio
For a deeper dive into Sloan Leo's commitments and the inspirations that animate their artwork, please take a look at their Artist Statement.
“#DeconstructingHome” by Sloan Leo and Flox Studio Inc. (March 2021)
Leo's latest project offers a stirring meditation on identity formation by exploring the meanings of "home" and how those anchor and unsettle our individual and collective senses of self. Offered as an interactive documentation and unravelling of life as we emerge from a year of pandemic-induced confinement, Leo's project asks: “What is community to us moving forward? What do we aspire to? What are we paving roads too? And how will we design our new futures -- together?”
“A Watermelon For Leo” by Sloan Leo (Fall 2020)
“QUEERBOOK” by Sloan Leo (September 2020)
You can watch the mini-documentary of Leo's project here.
Jade Lozada, Policy Director, TREEage; Climate Speaks 2019 performer
Jade's climate path has incorporated poetry, protest and policy. She was a performer at the Climate Museum's inaugural youth poetry showcase, Climate Speaks, where she gave a reading of her poem, “Babygirls” at the Apollo theater in 2019. You can catch a recording of Jade's new poem, "The Worst Crime" below:
Jade's work has covered organizing and participating in youth climate strike, for which she has given interviews:
“Thousands Plan to Take Part in Youth-Led Climate Strike” interview by Brian Lehrer (WNYC, September 2019)
“Meet The Impassioned Teens Behind Today's Climate Crisis Walkout In NYC” Gwynne Hogan (Gothamist, September 2019)
Jade has turned her poetic sensibilities to combating environmental injustice by shifting political paradigms on climate and community investment as the Policy Director of TREEage. The latest piece of policy innovation Jade and her colleagues are promoting is the Climate and Community Investment Act, which offers a financial template for climate justice. If you live in New York state, please consider supporting this initiative in whichever ways you are able.
Amy Westervelt, Founder, Critical Frequency podcast network
“Selfishness Isn't Freedom” by Amy Westervelt as part of her new newsletter “The Contract” (March 2021)
“It's possible that there are simply too many opinions that differ too wildly about what individuals owe society and vice versa, what "freedom" really means, for America to ever make good on its original promise. But times like these, when so much has been stripped away, offer us a choice: do we craft a social contract that all can live with, or do we revert to being individuals, alone in the wilderness, every man for himself?”
“Another Line 3 Battleground: Free Speech” by Amy Westervelt (Drilled News, March 2021)
"Is Your Favorite News Source Shilling for Big Oil?" by Amy Westervelt (The Nation, February 2020)
“With those companies facing acute pressure from activists in the street, prosecutors in the courtroom, and investors in the boardroom, it’s not surprising that they’re trying to reframe the climate story in the public mind, say these experts. But a free press shouldn’t be part of those efforts.”
“The Case for Climate Rage” By Amy Westervelt (Popula, August 2019)
"Why Are the New York Times and The Washington Post Producing Ads for Big Oil?" by Amy Westervelt (The Nation, April 2019)
Ada Limón, Poet
“A New National Anthem” by Ada Limón from The Carrying: Poems (Milkweed Editions, 2018)
Consider purchasing Ada Limón’s book The Carrying: Poems from your local independent bookstore.
Support Indigenous Activism
In a virtual context where readers and audience members join us from across the United States and around the world, we acknowledge that this event, and our work and lives generally, take place on unceded Indigenous territories. We encourage readers to discover the longer histories of their particular locations and of others listed here, and to consider donating to efforts restoring land back to Indigenous stewardship.
Native Land Digital: This is a tool to use as a first step in learning more about the names, traditions, and histories of Indigenous communities and land across the globe.
“Resource Guide for Indigenous Solidarity Funding Projects: Honor Taxes and Real Rent Projects.” Compiled by the Indigenous Solidarity Network and representatives from the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust/Shuumi Land Tax, Real Rent Duwamish, and the Manna-hatta Fund.
May 5th is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). Below, please find more information on the MMIWG movement, and ways to support organizations working to end violence against Indigenous women and girls.
Coalition To Stop Violence Against Native Women
“We are focused on shaping policy, conducting outreach, increasing awareness, informing priorities and working to ensure that our tribal communities are represented within conversations where we have historically been underrepresented. Our grounding in the movement to end violence is not only to organize, but to mobilize our communities towards healthier families and healthier communities. Our work gives us unique insight into how to increase social change and gender justice advocacy through community-based solutions to violence. The voices of our communities, and the strength of our women and children, shape our priorities and approach.”
The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
“The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Inc. (NIWRC) is a Native-led nonprofit organization dedicated to ending violence against Native women and children. The NIWRC provides national leadership in ending gender-based violence in tribal communities by lifting up the collective voices of grassroots advocates and offering culturally grounded resources, technical assistance and training, and policy development to strengthen tribal sovereignty.”