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| This week, Carl Nasman speaks to ocean scientist, author and environmentalist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson about her latest climate book with a uniquely hopeful vision. The question her readers most often ask her is one that might well be at the top of your mind too: What can I actually do to help the climate crisis?
Fortunately, Johnson has come up with a Venn diagram to help readers reach their own answer. You can give it a go yourself below – and we'd love to hear the answers you come up with. You can reach us here. Also this edition, a mysterious seismic signal and an antique Antarctic plane. | |
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THE BIG PICTURE | The revival of Finland's 'moonscape' |  | The Linnunsuo wetland has been transformed. Credit: Mika Honkalinna | After two decades of peat extraction, Finland's Linnunsuo wetland was left a brown and barren "moonscape". The drained soil was incredibly acidic and high in iron, resulting in toxic conditions for wildlife. In 2010, local fishers saw dead fish and seagulls floating in the river and raised the alarm. The land was bought by a Finnish conservation organisation, Snowchange, and with local guidance Linnunsuo was gradually restored to health. Today, extraction has ceased and the wetland is thriving, home to flocks of waders and endangered ducks. Read Becca Warner's story on the transformation here. | |
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CLIMATE CONVERSATION | A scientist's vision for a cleaner future |
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|  | Ayana Elizabeth Johnson says she is not a climate optimist, yet her books have a positive vision of the future. Credit: Landon Speers |
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| | Carl Nasman, Washington DC |
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| You'd forgive me for being slightly surprised when, during a recent conversation, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson admitted she's not an optimist.
"I think it's probably important to note that I'm not hopeful. I'm a scientist. I'm a realist."
This wasn't what I was expecting to hear from the writer of the 2020 US bestseller on climate solutions All We Can Save. Johnson is an author, co-founder of the Urban Ocean Lab think tank, and a marine scientist. You also might know her from her podcast How to Save a Planet.
The title of her latest book might also suggest a certain tone of optimism. What if We Get it Right? is a collection of interviews with 20 climate leaders. It's an eclectic collection of climate wisdom: part clean energy policy from US government official Jigar Shah, who works as the director of the Loan Programs Office in the Department of Energy, part poetry from the American farmer and activist Wendell Berry, with a view from Hollywood for good measure, courtesy of the American screenwriter and director Adam McKay.
Johnson is quick to point out that the message of her book is far from doom and gloom.
"The word that I really embrace is possibility," says Johnson. "We're not just sitting around waiting for the apocalypse. We are building the future that we will be living in," she says. |
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 | A Venn diagram for climate action. Credit: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson | Johnson's aim, she says, is to look to a future where we, as a global community, reshape the way we live to meet our climate goals. She explains that the book is a "welcome into climate work for anyone who is concerned but hasn't yet figured out where they fit in. Because there's something each of us can do."
Of the 20 contributors Johnson worked with to create this book, she says the interview that stood out to her most was with the American environmentalist and author Bill McKibben on the role that banks play. "Where we keep our money makes a huge difference," says Johnson. "If your money is in a fund that invests in fossil fuels, that could be doing more harm than all the good you do in other aspects of your life." (Read about ways to make your pension greener.) | Getting it right | But the number one thing Johnson gets asked is a more general, if heartfelt question: "what can I do to help in terms of the climate crisis?"
There's a "very generic" list of activities that remain relevant, says Johnson: "To vote, protest, march, donate, spread the word." But she believes it's also about finding out where your own skills, interests and motivations lie.
"The framework that I offer people is a very simple Venn Diagram of three circles," Johnson says.
The first circle represents: what are you good at? What are your skills, resources and networks? What can you specifically bring to the table? The second is: what work needs doing? What are the climate and justice solutions you want to work on? And the third circle is: what brings you joy or satisfaction? Or as Johnson puts it, what gets you out of bed in the morning?
"Finding your way to the centre of that Venn diagram is, I think, what everybody needs to be doing," Johnson says. | |
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CLIMATE QUIZ | Which mysterious event recently puzzled seismologists with a rhythmic signal that pulsed around the world for nine days? | A. An avalanche in Antarctica | B. An earthquake in Siberia | C. A tsunami in Greenland | Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer. |
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| 'Catastrophe' as deadly floods hit Europe | Torrential rain from Storm Boris has inundated Central Europe, leading to devastating floods. | Keep reading >
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| Cows and the great gene editing debate | Scientists can now make precise, targeted changes to DNA. Will it lead to more disease-resistant crops and animals? | Keep reading >
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| How durian is boosting the price of coffee | Troubled crops, market forces, depleted stockpiles, and the world's smelliest fruit are all making coffee more expensive. | Keep reading > |
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