5 Things We Read This Week — February 29
Happy Leap Day! Celebrate with these great reads from this past week.
1. Vox: Carbon offsets, explained in 500 words
Umair Irfan has a high-level look at carbon offsets, and how they can be a part of the climate solution.
“Good accounting, validation, and transparency can ensure that offsets yield proper results. Offsets can also speed up climate action, routing money around the world to the places where it would be most effective at limiting climate change.”
2. Fast Company: What you can do about climate change, today
Adele Peters writes about The Future We Choose, a new book from Tom Rivett-Carnac and Christiana Figueres
“…recognize that you have power on a personal level to begin to change larger systems, whether that’s to influence corporations or policy.”
3. Washington Post: Andrew Zimmern’s new show takes on the most bizarre country of all
Jason Rezaian takes a look at the new show from Anrdrew Zimmern, of Bizarre Foods fame, which “explores some of the biggest issues facing the United States through his preferred lens: food.”
The second episode takes a stunning look at the many issues affecting food supplies, from overfishing to climate change.
4. Grist: Want people to care about climate change? Skip the jargon.
Kate Yoder talks to experts about how people hear and process language, and what we should…and should not…say if we want people to listen up on climate change.
Obscure words in articles about rising sea levels and supercharged weather could discourage people from wanting to learn more about a planetary crisis.
The solution is to put jargon and buzzwords into simple language that anyone can understand.
5. In Indonesia, Trading in Data and Octopus
Shameless plug — but our own staff writer, Larissa Hotra chronicled a woman in Indonesia whose use of a new mobile app called OurFish to track her octopus sales has her shaping a new vision of the future for her family and fishery.
Like the magnificent and modern-day octopus — big-brained problem-solvers, capable of multi-tasking, using tools, and learning from observation and experience — Nurlini recognizes the need to understand her business asset better so that she might protect it. With more fishers and less octopus, she’s keen to balance their protection with their production.
