Whoa, I'm a Grist 50 climate leader!
Well, what a sweet way to land back home from tour.
Thanks to all of YOU who've joined a climate action workshop on tour, signed up for office hours, browsed the starter list of useful actions, joined the monthly Patreon hangouts, or worked with me one-on-one to figure out what you can do...I'm on this year's Grist 50 list of "climate leaders you should know"!
From Grist's lovely writeup:
While musicians have a rich history of raising awareness for social causes, Teng takes it a step further. She sees an “untapped opportunity” in the bond between artists and their fans. “These emotional connections can open up conversations and willingness to step forward into something,” she said. She now holds workshops after shows and monthly virtual climate action hangouts on Patreon. “I’ve sort of joked, ‘I would like to be your climate action concierge.’”
She’s found her fans are craving concrete advice about how to contribute, and she offers them personalized guidance on high-impact actions. When a retired engineer in Ohio asked how to electrify her house, Teng encouraged her to think bigger. Since then, the retiree stopped a solar ban in her town and is now leading an effort to bring solar panels to farms and apartment rooftops. Other fans have improved sustainability at their workplaces, started climate conversations with conservative relatives, and launched a climate book club for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
You all are mighty, in other words, and it's been a joy to help you tap into your awesomeness.
If you need a dose of all-is-not-lost, good-people-are-doing-good-things-everywhere today, I heartily recommend wandering through the Grist 50. It's an honor to be listed alongside these folks, working across food + land, business + tech, science + energy, policy + advocacy, and of course arts + media.
I thought I'd share the behind-the-scenes process of how this whole thing unfolded. Grist asked me to keep the news tightly under wraps, which is why I didn't share anything prior to today's announcement. But it's a pretty fun Patreon story from start to finish.
Next week I'll be speaking at the Grist 50 celebration at New York Climate Week, sharing my oddball journey to doing this stuff with you. Part of what I'll say: in the songs I’m writing now, I’m trying to reflect your efforts back to you. I’m trying to capture what it’s like to stumble through trying to make a difference - and the fine company you find yourself in when you do.
