It's Getting Hot In Here
So take some climate action. You'll thank me later.
Hello, darlings!
Soggy mid-winter greetings from the atmospheric river coursing through Los Angeles. While my climate victory garden and I are always grateful for the rain, wild weather events like this are evidence that we live in the age of climate disruption.
Last year was the hottest on record since at least the preindustrial period, with global average temperatures rising above the IPCC’s recommended threshold of 1.5°C every single day. And although warmer temperatures may reflect naturally warmer climate events (hola, El Niño!), experts in the U.S. and in Europe agree that human activity is responsible for these shifts.
The bad news is that we’re flirting with disaster. The good news is that every tenth of a degree makes a difference, so the individual climate actions we take really matter.
Hot for Mother Earth
The better news? According to data from over 250,000 OkCupid users, 90% reported that it was “important” for a potential date to express concern for the environment.
That’s right: you’re more likely to get some if you take some. Climate action, that is. This survey sparked an idea for Sierra Magazine’s Jessian Choy, who then reached out to me, and with a grant from Earth Alliance, we were able to bring “Take Some Action (to Get Some Action)” to life. Caring about climate — now that’s hot.
Why make a climate action music video?
As reporters, Jessian and I are well aware of the research showing that happy music can increase learning and memory as well as enhance people’s ability to generate novel solutions from flexible points of view — all crucial components in the fight against climate catastrophe.
Plus, music is my passion, and incorporating climate action into the things you love keeps you motivated, even when those actions seem like a drop in the already polluted ocean.
Enormous thanks to everyone involved, especially cinematographer/editor/actor Ashley Lowry, actor Bri Giger, track co-producer/arranger/mixer John T. Mickevich, and my sweet Denny, who allows me to rope him into appearing in my projects. What a treat to come back from hip surgery with this shoot.
And in Other News…
SCIRENS has released a new beautiful short film all about imagining better futures.
Awards season is off with a bang: I’m honored to take home Best Actress in a Feature Film from The Gladiator Film Festival for “The Last Act,” directed by Cannes award winner Shahab Hosseini, who won Best Director.
If you’ve ever wanted to chuck everything and go live your dream life, read these two profiles I wrote in Business Insider about a couple who live and work full-time on their 40’ boat and a British family who bought a French hamlet as a B&B.
Yesterday was both the National Day of the Zebra and the last day of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, both of which are near and dear to me. In addition to being one of the most iconic endangered animals, the zebra is the mascot of folks like me with hypermobility disorders. That’s because in medical school students learn the adage, “When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.” People with rare diseases like hEDS/HDS are the exceptions to the rule — zebras hiding in plain sight.
I’m also disappointed to report that my latest cervical screening after my GYN surgery to remove high-grade precancerous cells still shows abnormal cells and a nearly 20-year-long HPV infection. So onward I march to the oncologist’s office. But hey, at least I’m walking!
Forgive this shorter missive. I’m also battling the post-production crash, coupled with a bladder/kidney infection. Our bodies, like our planet, are resilient and remarkable, but without proper care and rest, entire systems begin to shut down.
I hope you are taking good care of yourself, your loved ones, and your environment. Thank you, as always, for reading, and please let me know if your climate action gets you some action!
Tanti baci,
great work and good healing!