5 Powerful Voices To Follow For Ways To Help Protect The Planet
When it comes to decoding and combating the climate crisis, it is vital to follow inspiring figures who interrogate inequalities in the movement and recommend practical changes we can all make in our day-to-day lives. Here, KATIE BERRINGTON introduces five experts to look to for guidance and an optimistic approach on how you can help to protect both people and planet
MIKAELA LOACH
It’s Not That Radical: Climate Action To Transform Our World is the title of Mikaela Loach’s optimistic manifesto on tackling mainstream representations of the climate movement, and making strides towards a more sustainable, just future. She offers her determinedly hopeful stance and pertinent questioning on her social media platforms, too, reframing and refuting the narrative of doom and galvanizing meaningful action.
SOPHIA LI
Multi-discipline, award-winning journalist Sophia Li describes her purpose as making issues around climate justice and human rights “more accessible, more digestible, and more human”, and she does it so effectively that Harvard named her one of the top climate communicators of 2022. Her Instagram feed decodes questions such as how to recognize and tackle climate misinformation, how to travel more thoughtfully, and how to demand accountability from brands, then breaks them down into forthright posts and videos.
ADITI MAYER
Aditi Mayer brings together sustainability, style, social justice and storytelling in her multi-hyphenate mission of climate activism. Having been moved to start her journey in the wake of the Rana Plaza Collapse in Bangladesh, Mayer is committed to investigating how the fashion industry and sustainability can coexist. Passionate about the role that creativity plays in advocating for awareness and inspiring action, Mayer wrote a personal letter for PORTER’s Incredible Women series, in which she addressed her future self and said: “Today, you feel most called to the work of climate justice through your work as a storyteller. And I think that’s because you feel as though we don’t need more information. We need more meaning.”
XIYE BASTIDA
An organizer of the youth movement Fridays For Future, Xiye Bastida is a driving force in mobilizing action and driving momentum against the climate crisis. Raised in the Otomi-Toltec Indigenous community in Mexico, Bastida works to highlight how vital it is to involve Indigenous voices in the environmental movement. She is also a co-founder of the Re-Earth Initiative, which aims to “break the echo chamber and bring climate action to the masses” via educational posts, webinars and events.
LEAH THOMAS
Sharing videos that explain climate news alongside in-depth conversations with the likes of Cleo Wade and Sasha Lane, Leah Thomas – aka Green Girl Leah – champions “progress [more than] perfection” in her approach. Founder of non-profit organization The Intersectional Environmentalist and author of a book of the same name, not to mention a podcast host and public speaker, she is a fount of knowledge and offers a particular focus on the relationship between social justice and environmentalism. In an interview with Atmos, she said: “When scrolling through your social media feed, share and amplify the messages you believe the world needs to hear. Who knows – maybe it’ll surge like a waterfall and change the hearts and minds of enough people to positively alter the future. That’s an incredible responsibility.”
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