Our First Newsletter 😄
Welcome to the first newsletter from the Grumpy Optimists, let's see what this becomes ey?
Hello 👋
We started this blog as a way to channel our thoughts about the environment and try to provide an optimistic outlook and ways to overcome a problem. While there are plenty of problems for us to dig into, we just can’t write as fast as want to, at least not to keep you engaged.
With that, we have decided to start a weekly newsletter in-between our larger and more detailed blog posts. We can see you smiling at the thought of us being in your inbox every week.
But what will we cover? Well, that’s the exciting bit. Whatever we fancy. As a general overview we’ll be touching on our favourite content of the week, a podcast you need to check out, maybe even a book review. We may also fancy a little rant about something we have seen, but don’t worry, we’ll try and provide a solution as ever.
So, without further ado, let's start, shall we?
Articles To Read
⛏️ What a shocker; climate action creates jobs. In a victory for the economy and for climate change, estimates suggest green jobs could far exceed posts at the planned coal mine in Cumbria.
🐷 Bio-security or false sense of security? This is a post from 2020 but it perfectly highlights our recent blog post and why the idea of defeating nature is instead, punching ourselves in the face. Let's just say these farms are not what we want the future to look like...
⚡ How renewable energy as 'the default' in Switzerland shows the importance of Nudge behaviour. A study that made green energy the default tariff found that 80-90% of people stayed with green energy despite price increases of up to 15%. This is a perfect example of making changes without changing belief systems. What other options could this be used in? Pension plans perhaps?
👀 EU crackdown on greenwashing in ESG investing. How to tell some obscure tree planting toilet paper scheme apart from finance that actually supports climate change? New EU rules on what can be considered sustainable could become the global standard. About time too.
Book Review
Women Don't Owe You Pretty - Florence Given
Feminism 101. Nothing revolutionary, particularly for women who continue to navigate their way through our patriarchal society every day, but nonetheless a really important read - and nobody more so than for men.
It's easy to fall into the privilege trap where we avoid reading or learning about other people's oppression; we tell ourselves that they aren't aimed at us. Feminism is an issue for women to care about, right?
Well, it's not. As Florence shares her experiences of growing up in a society which is predominantly built for white, heterosexual, cisgender men, it becomes crystal clear that while a valuable source of empowerment for women, this book wouldn't need exist at all if it weren't for the action of men.
Unsurprisingly, it was, at times, an uncomfortable read, but this is no excuse to shy away. This is essential work for all of us men who need to educate ourselves on how we are complicit in society's male gaze, and how to become active feminists. It's not easy, but it's a hell of a lot harder for women who experience it every day. Particularly potent given this week's tragic unfolding of events in South London - this book neatly hits home the message that the onus is on us as men to do the work here, and this is an excellent place to start.
You may be wondering, how does this fit into the environmental context? Intersectionality. The key to combating climate change is addressing multiple interconnected social and environmental injustices together. Empowering women and squashing sexism is at the core of transitioning away from the fossil-fuel economy, which since its inception has been designed by, and for, white men. Although this book explores intersectionality in the context of gender, sexuality and identity rather than explicitly talking about the environment, don't for one minute thing that this isn't relevant to the climate fight.
Podcasts To Get You Inspired
🌱Green space is important, nothing has shown that more than covid. Listen to Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd find out why green space is so powerful and how everyone can access good quality green space.
Thank for getting this far, we like you. We hope you have a fantastic week, let us know in the comments if there is something we need to read…
🙏 Will and George