Why climate justice matters to me

A fossil fuel divestment rally at a college where I’ve worked. You can see me on the right. Photo by James Ennis.

So, you may have noticed that I’ve been blogging more and more about climate change/climate justice.

I’m not going to stop writing about fatshion, fat acceptance, and pretty things–in fact, I’ve got several outfit posts in the works, and lots of interesting stuff about sustainable fashion. (I just need to sit down and put it together!) But climate justice….well, it’s where my heart is right now.

I’ve been aware of global warming for as long as I can remember–I learned about greenhouses gases in elementary school. And I’ve known for years that things are pretty bad, and only getting worse. But there are so many terrible things in the world–sometimes, you have to push some of them to the back of your mind to stay sane.

So I pushed what’s happening to our planet to the back of my mind, mostly.

But lately I’ve found I can’t do that anymore.

I’ve been tip-toeing the fine line between recognizing the urgency of the problem and getting overwhelmed: vacillating between hope and hopelessness, action and inaction. Doing my best to push through it all, and just act.

Sunday links, 3/4/13

Finally, here are this week’s links. And a bunch of baby goats playing Hop on Pop with a dog!

Fa(t)shion
-Fabulous hat porn!
–18 fashion rules from Beth Ditto.
–New African fashion: a refreshing look at the vast array of gorgeous fashion coming out of Africa.
-I love these photos from a runway show for a body-positive bra line.
-The “I’m fat, let’s party” shirt I’ve been eyeing forever is back in stock! I so need to get my hands on one.
-Through Offbeat Bride, I found out about the Wardrobe Shop, which has the most amazing vintage-style dresses ever–and many of them come in plus sizes.

Climate Justice and Sustainability
-A really important and interesting piece on the future of the movement: Three tactics for a stronger climate movement. I especially like this idea: “Imagine if, when blockading a pipeline construction site, radicals invited the whole community to a festival on the site? Instead of a few people locking down, what if the community barricaded the area and held a dance party or a carnival, reclaiming it as a community space for direct democracy, food growing, and celebration?”
-For my fellow Massachusettians: why the MA Democratic Senate primary is, unexpectedly, one of the hottest fronts in the planet’s biggest battle.
–Fourth-graders crowdfund their own solar-powered classroom. And they’re not the only ones using crowdfunding for clean energy.
–What steam ships and the landline can tell us about the decline of the private car.
–Victory at hand for the climate movement? I sure hope so.

Everything Else
–What’s wrong with the term “person of color”…or at least how it’s used.
-If you can, donate to help the amazing queer activist and all-around badass Kate Bornstein stay alive.
–“It isn’t rocket science”: Tin House and Granta editors on how to run a publication that isn’t sexist.
–All work and no pay: the great speedup. This is the kind of shit that just makes me angry and I don’t know what to do about it…
–This piece is beautiful. It’s about surviving the breakup of a long-term relationship, but applies to so many other situations as well.
–The revolution will not be polite: the issue of nice vs. good.
-The Hello Etsy conference that happened this weekend sounds amazing. I wish I had found out about it earlier so I could have tried to make it!

Friday links, 3/8/13

Happy Friday! If you can, help restore Re/Dress. Rachel Kacenjar of Cupcake & Cuddlebunny and Sweettooth Couture has bought the store, and she has some awesome plans for it–including re-opening a physical location in 2014.

Environmental Justice/Sustainability
-This is really important and powerful: With climate change, a bad deal gets even worse for the global South.
–How climate change affects people of color.
–The children: why a generation is putting itself on the line for the climate. I have so much respect and admiration for these students.
–Australia officially blames climate change for “angry summer.”
–Supercapacitors may have the potential to change the world.
–Back to the land again: folk schools teach skills for modern-day survival.
-Some good news: the Sierra Club Beyond Coal campaign is halfway to its goal of retiring a third of the US’ coal-fired power, and
solar power is quickly becoming economically sustainable.
–Dancing the world into being: a conversation with Idle No More’s Leanne Simpson.
–Generational impacts of climate change: what will it mean for you?
-Have I mentioned I love Boston? I have a new reason to be proud of my city: the Higher Ground Farm, which will open this spring on the roof of the Boston Design Center and will be the world’s second-largest rooftop farm.

What good is a movement without songs?

Fa(t)shion
–Welcome to Sue Kreitzman’s wild and wonderfully colorful world.
-Check out the Curvy Elle, an Etsy shop that sells vintage plus size clothing.
-On the pressure for professional black women to dress “the right way,” that is, the way that de-emphasizes their femaleness and blackness.
-This winter wedding shoot features an amazing hat made out of roses.
-Check out the new issue of Skorch! As always, it’s full of fabulousity.

I love this fat Russian ballet company.