Refugia Newsletter #72
RNC platform on climate, then lots of good news sources and videos
Refugia News
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a hard time concentrating on anything in the past two weeks. I’m so weary of feeling insecure and even terrified over U.S. political news. So much feels dumbfoundingly horrid. How are you faring these days?
To deal with this, I’m trying to focus on good people doing incredible work, both to preserve and strengthen democracy and to address the climate crisis. The two go together! Hence, we’re going to focus on good news today.
First, I’ll share with you a nifty podcast, produced by my colleague Craig Mattson. Craig teaches Communication and Media Studies at Calvin University, and he has a heart for young people trying to navigate the workplace. His podcast, Mode/Switch, convenes a group representing Gen X, millennials, and Gen Zers to talk about workplace issues. Great podcast to recommend to young people you know! I got to be a guest on the podcast to talk about climate and the workplace. At first, I didn’t think I had much to say, but once I got going, well, I guess I did! Here’s the episode, if you’d like to listen.
A video! I know I talk about our front-yard refugium garden all the time, but husband Ron and I have been going outside every day lately just to watch the pollinators party on these native plants—it feels like therapy.
This Week in Climate News
I’m sorry to begin with the icky-yet-tragically-unsurprising news first, so let’s get it over with. You already know: the Republican platform is a disaster for climate, not to mention democracy. No one has summed this up better than Bill McKibben. Please read his summary. As he points out, the Republican position on climate change is worse than the Taliban’s, for crying out loud. On climate, the Republican platform amounts to this: scorning the idea that climate change is a problem, doubling down on fossil fuel development, and dismantling the government’s ability to put brakes on carbon emissions or support a clean energy transition. It is exactly the opposite of what we need right now. Nefariously so.
The RNC platform document literally says this:
We will DRILL, BABY, DRILL and we will become Energy Independent, and even Dominant again. The United States has more liquid gold under our feet than any other Nation, and it’s not even close. The Republican Party will harness that potential to power our future.
It’s not hard to trace how both Trump and J.D. Vance, his VP pick, act as eager puppets of the fossil fuel industry.
As I wrote last time, the recent Supreme Court decision overturning the Chevron deference is already an ominous example of how Trump’s presidency has already set up systems designed to undermine climate efforts—not to mention the rule of law and democratic process. There is no doubt another presidency would be far worse. There is nothing secret about it.
Please read this New York Times article about Trump’s connection to Project 2025. Fortunately, despite Trump’s attempts to deny his connection to Project 2025, people are becoming aware of this “shadow agenda” behind the Republican platform. It’s not really a shadow. You can read both Project 2025 and the RNC platform online (though I won’t link to them). Everything that happened at the RNC convention merely confirmed what Republicans now stand for.
For a summary of Project 2025 in historical context by the rock-star historian Heather Cox Richardson, watch this video and spread the word!
What can we do? Spread the word and get out the vote. If you want to help, and you’re “older” (in your 50s and above) you might consider joining Third Act, a great group that focuses on climate and democracy. (I’m part of the subgroup ThirdAct Faith, as I’ve mentioned before.) But there are many, many groups! Here’s a quick video from Jessica Craven that mentions ten organizations focused on very strategic voter turnout operations.
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And as I always say about climate work: there’s joy here! There’s joy in working together toward positive change with wonderful, determined, smart, and beautiful people. They really are everywhere! We have to find those refugia spaces with good people and keep working for hope.
Deeper Dive
All right! Time for good news. More specifically, where to go for a constant IV drip of good news on climate. I’ve got five suggestions, which will be enough to provide you with an avalanche of good news.
This podcast is produced by a group called Fix the News (formerly Future Crunch). They have a newsletter, too. Here’s what they say about the podcast, hosted by Amy Davoren-Rose and Angus Hervey:
What does it take to change the world? In this new podcast from Fix The News, we'll introduce you to the people who are making it happen: the unknown heroes who are mending our planet, stitching together a new future and showing us the best of what it is to be human.
You might start with this episode, in which Angus Hervey explains why he founded an alternative news source. The idea is that so much good is happening, but the regular news media doesn’t report it. So they do! The newsletter and the podcast always leave me feeling hopeful and inspired.
They also have such a pretty cover image!
This is a media group also specializing in good news in several formats. Here’s what they say about themselves:
Our mission is to change the conversation. We focus on the solutions and the positive stories. We elevate the people in the fight solving problems, and we help get the entrepreneurs what they need - public awareness to push policy, investment, and workers. How do we do that? Reach millions through social. We are the opposite of doom scrolling.
They produce three video series, including Next/Now and Reinventing Tomorrow, which both focus on climate solutions, and Unf*cking the Planet, an explainer series aimed at a younger audience, full of humor but also good information (yes, there is cussing: viewer beware). They also have a newsletter. You can find all this stuff at their website.
If you need something short and just relentlessly positive, get a dose of Sam. I watch him on TikTok, but he has content on all the platforms, including YouTube. He makes short videos that feature climate solutions, even on a small scale. He wants to “help inspire positive change,” and he’s just fun to listen to. He’s got a new book out, too.
I’ll feature one of his stories below.
The energy transition is happening, and journalist Michael Thomas is graphing it. If you love wonky graphs and charts and heaps of data, this new site promises to “track the energy transition in real-time”:
Cleanview crunches millions of data points and tracks thousands of projects each month so you don't have to.
Well, I wasn’t planning on doing that myself, thanks, but I do love a good graph. Here’s one:
The graphs are all interactive and dynamic (they stay up to date). You can sign up for free access, which will let you see the “Trends” section. The site is meant for businesses and policy-makers, too, so there are many more layers of data to see—but you have to pay to see those.
I’ve referred to Katharine Hayhoe many times before, the climate scientist who is also open about her Christian faith. But I’ll mention her here again in case you want to sign up for her Substack newsletter, too. Her newsletter always contains a Good News section and a What You Can Do section. Even her Not-So-Good News section somehow doesn’t feel defeating, thanks to her focus on action, solutions, and talking about it with others. Her unflagging energy and positivity are a miraculous gift.
Where do you go for positive climate news?
Refugia Sighting
As promised, here is a lovely story from Sam Bentley’s TikTok account this week. It features a perfect example of a literal refugium: the Wild Mile on the Chicago River. The Wild Mile is a “floating eco-park” on the Chicago River’s North Branch. The “park” helps filter and clean the polluted river while creating beautiful public space and community involvement.
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The Wild Mile’s website explains how the project was developed by a nonprofit called Urban Rivers, along with city partners. Here’s how they describe their goal:
This flagship project is dedicated to transforming urban waterways into vibrant wildlife sanctuaries, showcasing the power of partnership in creating sustainable urban spaces.
Image credit: wildmile.org
The park features pontoon modules made of natural materials, planted with native plants whose roots dangle into the river. An ADA-accessible boardwalk allows the public to explore, and volunteers called River Rangers help maintain the park—using kayaks! The area is now used for recreation, research, and education.
Image credit: wildmile.org
The Looking Forward Machine
Season of Creation is coming up September 1 - October 6. This is a global, ecumenical time of “prayer and action for our common home.” Is your church or faith group planning to observe? Do you need some good resources to help you plan?
The Season of Creation website has lots of materials. One Home One Future can also help. One Home One Future is “a multi-faith campaign to strengthen vitality, relevance, and community connection across generations in local congregations nationwide.” They are, among other things, a resource hub. Here are their resources for Season of Creation, helpfully marked with denominational sources (if applicable). Here is their general resource hub, too.
Meanwhile, Creation Justice Ministries, in partnership with One Home One Future, is hosting a webinar on August 1 to help introduce the Season of Creation and highlight what churches and denominations are doing to incorporate it into their programming. Learn more and register here!
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading. Stay positive, and let’s do good work and support each other. Until next time, be well.
As always, bold type in quotations is added unless otherwise indicated.