Sacred Headwaters Update
A quick update on where the newsletter has been the last couple months and when it will be back.
Hey folks,
I took an unannounced hiatus from writing this newsletter over the summer due to feeling a bit overwhelmed with other projects (and, thankfully, taking some actual vacation). I just wanted to reach out and give a few updates and let you know that the newsletter will be starting up again soon, hopefully in October.
Other Writing
If you’re looking for other writing of mine, I’ve been writing a column on climate and environmental politics for Canadian Dimension and occasionally appearing in other publications. This work is mostly situated within the Canadian context but I do my best to make it relevant to a broader audience. A couple that stuck out to me over the last few months and may be worth reading:
“The climate progress narrative is the newest tactic of global warming denialists” looks at how neoliberal governments, media, the fossil fuel industry, and even many in the non-profit industrial complex are increasingly promoting the idea that we’re making progress on climate change in order to prevent us from actually making that progress.
“Extreme heat is all of our problem” situates the last calendar year’s many record-breaking heatwaves in the context of the fact that the world will warm beyond than 1.5 degrees over the coming decade or two. The grim reality is that even in a best case mitigation scenario — a scenario we are quite far from — huge portions of humanity are facing an end-date for their way of life.
“We vilified the fossil fuel industry but governments are still building pipelines. What now?” in Ricochet built on my Master’s dissertation, looking at the wild success of campaigns like divestment in stigmatizing the fossil fuel industry…and the unfortunate reality that it doesn’t seem to have changed the calculus, at least not after the coordinated push for expanding production that came at the start of the Ukraine war.
Other Projects
If you’re an outdoors-person, you may be interested in a website I built in 2018 and am resurrecting this year with the support of a small outdoors company in Colorado called the #CarFreeChallenge. Basically, it allows you to set goals and track the activities (running, cycling, whatever else) you do without using a car to get to the trailhead. BAR-U-EAT is offering some prizes for hitting milestones with this new reboot, but mostly, it’s just fun to try to push yourself not to drive and I’d encourage you to check it out. It also syncs with Strava if you’re a Strava user.
As much as I tried not to drive already, doing this challenge in 2018 changed my behavior long-term and I now won’t drive to mountain bike or run without a very good justification for it, and I’ve heard the same from others.
Gearing up for a PhD
I’m in a sort of extended process of seeking out and applying for a PhD program. I’ve recently decided to broaden my search a bit beyond BC, where I live, with the understanding that many programs will allow me to be fully remote after the first year or so. In light of that, if you are someone, know someone, or have read work by someone who you think would be a good fit, please let me know. I’ve started a few conversations but am definitely still looking. Broadly speaking, I am seeking to do movement-relevant research in the area of left social movements and climate politics.
Thanks all and apologies again for the unannounced hiatus. When too many things pile up, the unpaid newsletter that no one asked me to start writing and which requires a significant time commitment is often first on the chopping block.