“The High House” by Jessie Greengrass, Mothers Out Front, The Climate Daily Reforestation Campaign Good News!

THE HIGH HOUSE, BY JESSIE GREENGRASS

If you haven’t picked it up yet, pick up British author Jessie Greengrass’s, The High House. Pick it up! I discovered it last week and it is a page-turner. According to Greengrass’s publishers, “In this powerful, highly anticipated novel from an award-winning author, four people attempt to make a home in the midst of environmental disaster.

This is all we know: Perched on a sloping hill, set away from a small town by the sea, the High House has a tide pool and a mill, a vegetable garden, and, most importantly, a barn full of supplies. Caro, Pauly, Sally, and Grandy are safe, so far, from the rising water that threatens to destroy the town and that has, perhaps, already destroyed everything else. But for how long?”…

The High House follows an unconventional family as they survive a climate apocalypse in a house prepared by the mother, a climate scientist and activist, who knows the floods are coming but does not survive them. It was shortlisted for the 2021 the Costa Novel Award, the Royal Society of Literature’s Encore Award, and the Orwell Prize for Political Writing.

Why does Jessie Greengrass’s The High House matter to us? Perhaps a snippet from The Guardian’s book reviewer, Melissa Harrison sums it up best. “The question with all cli-fi is what the reader should actually do with the warnings it aims to deliver. And this is where The High House stands out, for Greengrass understands that perhaps the best writers and artists can hope for now is to help us admit, accept and process our collective failure to act.

DEEPER DIVE: WPFF, The High House, RSL Encore Award, Orwell Prize, The Costa Novel Award, The Guardian

MOTHERS OUT FRONT

Mothers advocating for a livable climate for their children carry a significant moral authority, especially when they come together from all walks of life and backgrounds. Mothers Out Front is a movement of over 24,000 mothers in the United States, working to protect their children and communities from the impacts of climate change pollution. Mothers Out Front was founded on the conviction that there is no more powerful force for change than women mobilizing to protect their children. It knows when mothers come together for climate, racial, and social justice to tell their stories and share their dreams for their children, they cannot fail.

The Mothers Out Front movement started ten years ago, in 2013 when co-founders Kelsey Wirth and Vanessa Rule met in a living room in Boston. Since then, Mothers Out Front has grown into a nation-wide movement, including close to 2,000 active volunteer leaders, 42 community-based teams and 34 staff members. Their operating budget is USD 4.3 million, with two-thirds of revenue coming from small, individual donors.

Why does Mothers Out Front matter to us? Because it’s grounded in an organizing model that is decentralized and scalable, which means it is designed for rapid growth as mothers continue to join the movement from across the country. Mothers Out Front groups are currently campaigning for national-level reforms and local initiatives, such as advocating for renewable energy and upgrading to electric school buses. Happy tenth anniversary, Mothers Out Front!

DEEPER DIVE: MOF, Vimeo, Non-Profit Quarterly

MORE WORK TO DO ON THE CLIMATE’S MASSIVE REFORESTATION CAMPAIGN!

Last January, The Climate Daily ran its first ever Climate Champions, massive tree reforestation campaign. If you recall, a climate champion is A climate champion is one willing to take action to help change the current direction – so our fears don’t come to pass. 

In that first campaign, 33 listeners of The Climate Daily committed to donate $3/day for 4 months to plant 10,000 trees to reforest a Californian forest. Well, our planting partner, One Tree Planted, just sent us the certificate of planting, along with some initial photos. We’ll have them all up on Theclimate.org shortly.

(WHOO HOOO!) That’s great news. For the past month or seo, we’ve ended each episode with call to action. That call to action is to participate in The Climate’s 50/100 massive reforestation campaign—our second massive reforestation campaign– and and in the process,  become a climate champion.

Well, the good parishioners of St. Garabed’s Armenian Church took our call to action to whole new level. Over the course of three weeks, according to a brief letter included with a check they sent to us, the community donated $2750 toward replanting 10,000 trees!

And in a wonderful example of community spirit, members of the Eagle Flight Squadron of Columbia Spartanburg, SC held a carwash and netted $1500.00.

Outstanding. Thank you all. We now stand at 9,000 trees. We just need 1000 trees to make our goal by June 6th. Become a climate champion and donate $50 or $100 today.

Remember the planet needs it. The World Meteorological Organization just released a report last week that forecasts us exceeding the 1.5C/2.5F global heating limit—below which we can offset the worst effects of climate change—by the year 2027—13 years ahead of schedule!

Yikes! Become a climate champion and get us across the finish line. Donate $50 or $100 one time, to get us those last 1000 trees goal by June 6th. Become a climate champion and donate $50 or $100 today. Thank you!

DEEPER DIVE: WMO Report,  50/100 Campaign, Trillion Tree Project