Europe Gets It

LISTENING: to this coffee shop play Taylor Swift on repeat
FEELING: hopeful, still!
SEEING: others grind away on their laptops, too

What is community? Is the handful of people in your favorite group chat? Neighbors on the block? Your city? Your country?

Community comes in different shapes and sizes. Today, I'm thinking a lot about the values of my American community — and how different those values look from the European community. In Europe, nearly all nations offer some form of universal healthcare. There are also generous family leave policies when parents welcome a new baby home.

I bring this all up because, well, Europe gets it. They're building a community over there that prioritizes health and well-being — for people and planet. A new report out this week found that wind and solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the E.U. during the first half of 2024. As one would expect, the success of renewable energy is responsible for the decrease in fossil fuel generation.

But that's not the whole story. As I'm learning for a story I'm writing, money and financial investments are factors here, too.

Welcome to Possibilities, a creative climate newsletter on the possibilities that lie where crisis meets community. I'm Yessenia Funes, and I'm celebrating some good news.

The European Union is a rare region that invests more than $10 toward clean energy for every $1 in fossil fuels. The U.S., on the other hand, spends less on clean energy than the global average: for every $1.40 toward clean energy, it puts $1 toward fossil fuels. The global average is a 1.8:1 ratio.

The way a country spends money absolutely determines the success or downfall of an energy source. That's why climate activists in New York City are targeting Citigroup, a bank financing dirty energy projects. I'm writing a story about the campaign, which I hope is out in the next few weeks. As the International Energy Agency makes clear, the U.S. remains a major global investor in fossil fuels. If our leaders want to see the same numbers as countries in the E.U. — and if they plan to meet their Paris Agreement promises — they need to put their money where their mouths are.

Transitioning off fossil fuels is necessary to stop further climate calamity — and to protect the health and well-being of the Black and Brown communities that live near fossil fuel polluters in this country. I'm looking forward to seeing Vice President Kamala Harris's climate platform.

I have to believe that, with her, my community in the U.S. has a fighting chance to leave fossil fuels behind and build a greener, cleaner world. The alternative is "drill, baby, drill." No, thanks. 🌀

Rest in Power

While we can't say for certain that climate change led to these specific weather events (we need attribution studies for that), we do know that the Earth's rising temperatures are already creating more disasters like these.

Typhoon Gaemi has killed at least 22 people in China and North Korea.

In Texas, the death toll from Hurricane Beryl has risen to at least 36.

The landslide in Ethiopia had killed at least 257 people, but the U.N. warns that the death toll could be closer to 500.

Currently Reading

The Guardian has a new series called "The other petrostates." Climate justice reporter Nina Lakhani scooped a story I've been working on — sigh!! — but I'm forever in awe of the journalism she and the team there do. Definitely check this out.

I'm here for the "underconsumption core" trend.

Amy Westervelt has a deep dive into how carbon capture and storage is a big old lie!

The Associated Press has an important story about incarcerated workers in Louisiana standing up to the poor conditions they face as they toil in extreme heat — on the same fields enslaved people once sweated upon.

Poetry

I dreamt the Sea
was orbiting the Sun last night

amid the space dust,
I saw your face
swimming —
helplessly

how did you get there?

I dreamt the Stars
slammed
into the Earth
and your body
limped,
crashing down with it
the light left your eyes
and sparked a new Sun in the sky —
a glimmering crimson star

one just for me

-ylf-

I've got some cool projects publishing in the next few weeks. Can't wait to share them with y'all. Talk more next week. Happy August, aka almost end-of-summer! xx

- Yessenia