Individually, the founders of one of Daily Kos' newest groups, Climate Brief, have been working for years to bring news about the growing climate crisis and possible solutions and/or mitigations to global warming, but a few things made it seem almost tailor-made to launch the group at the same time that the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its Code-Red report. Things are going to change, and we can't stop them. At best, we can mitigate damage and begin the long work of undoing what we and our forebears have done over the past two centuries. "I was aware of the IPCC report and the upcoming UN Talks in Glasgow," group administrator boatsie said, "so it seemed like the ideal time to start something new at DK."
Climate Brief was formed July 22, 2021, some three weeks ago. In that time, they've energetically produced 12 original stories and reblogged 34 related ones. "WarrenS and I had worked together for several years and talked about how we'd like to try starting up something like the #ekos Earthship we collaborated on years ago. We were both very concerned that Climate Change was not being covered as the major news story it is, but along with providing news, we really wanted to inspire folks and try to once again build a vibrant climate community here at DK like we had in the old days."
They've made a good start at building that community, with a growing slate of members and followers. Besides WarrenS and boatsie, other Kossacks—among them Pakalolo, eeff, and Angmar—were already working to promote climate awareness. Angmar has long been a tireless advocate for climate awareness, "because it's simply the most important issue of our lifetimes," he said. Eeff was already posting climate news roundups twice weekly and so was a natural fit in the group, saying, "As far as where I stand with anything in politics, if we don't fix the Climate Crisis there won't be a place left to worry about!"
In a few short weeks, Climate Brief has carved out a presence on Daily Kos, even as it's still settling into its groove. Meteor Blades, whose overnight roundups for years featured climate news and whose retirement left a gap even as the first real effects of climate change are making themselves undeniably felt, is the most recent admin to jump in. "I want to see at least one appearance of a solid climate post every day at the site," he said, "something readers can count on to help educate themselves on the ongoing details of the climate crisis."
It’s often said that knowledge is power, especially in science. The more people who work to mitigate and reverse the drivers of our global climate crisis, the more collective power we apply to the solution. Despite the dire IPCC report, it's important to remember that we can still save ourselves. If we pull together, we can save lives and the species that live around us. The Climate Brief group aims to provide the tools, the inspiration, and the endurance for the long haul. Their mission statement promises to "keep the Daily Kos community informed and engaged with breaking news about the climate crisis around the world while providing inspiring stories of environmental heroes, opportunities for direct engagement, and perspectives on the intersection of climate activism with spirituality, politics, and the arts."
The group is growing and welcoming new members, new voices, and new ideas. This is, as Angmar said, simply the most important problem we will ever have to solve. It’s good to have friends in the fight.
Community Spotlight’s mission is to ensure that the best stories from the Daily Kos Community aren’t overlooked. We encourage members who write excellent stories with original views to keep writing by promoting work that isn’t receiving enough attention. We further support a healthy Community by not rescuing topics and specific stories designed to provoke bitter comment battles, although we relish strong arguments presented fairly and backed up by credible sources.
Good news: You don’t have to search to find our rescued stories! The nightly News Roundup, an Open Thread published six days a week at 7:30 PM PDT, includes links to each day’s rescued stories.
Reminder: The numbers in parentheses after each author’s name indicate the year they joined Daily Kos, how many stories they’ve published, and how many we’ve rescued.
Movie Review: Foreign Correspondent (1940) by disinterested spectator (2010-301-46)
One cynical man receives a baptism of fire (and courage) in Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent. The film highlights the problems of anti-intellectualism, complacency, and disinterest in foreign affairs during the runup to World War II. User disinterested spectator reminds us that media arts are a reflection of us as a society, and the mirror often isn't flattering.
The nature of power & oligarchy by greatlyconcerned (2008-16-1)
Part 2 of the series “Democracy in Crisis: We’ve been headed here for decades” traces patterns of history and the nature of power, which the Founding Fathers understood well. In politics, there is a discernible trend of power consolidation from democracy to oligarchy to autocracy. We've seen this road before, and various moments and phases throughout history are signposts of where we are today.
To defeat privilege, we need politeness by rmartin1241 (2020-25-3)
Being polite shouldn’t be a radical or divisive notion, but these days even politeness is radical. The Founding Fathers understood the power of politeness and social formality—it was essential to smoothing the regional and cultural differences between them as they forged the documents that undergird our nation. We need a similar resolve to disarm the right's lies and invective so we can enlist them to help save the nation today.
To the table—Tussie Mussie by Ulanopo (2004-50-3)
In the latest installment of his delightful series about games both popular and obscure, Ulanopo describes a “microgame,” which is a simple game on a smaller board. This particular game, "Tussie Mussie," is based on a Victorian practice of assigning meanings to the flowers that friends and lovers exchanged, and is relaxing, low stress, and moreover, it supports women artists and game developers.
Sending a kid to school in Texas by Madisonian (2005-48-2)
A dad prepares his daughter for first grade, bolstering her confidence through the back-to-school rituals and combating his own fear of what he can't control, especially COVID-19. "'There’s so much that’s important today, sweetheart. It’s important to make friends. It’s important to listen to your teachers and make good choices. It’s important to have fun,' I say with a smile. And then I adjust the mask again to make sure it fits perfect.”
The Daily Bucket: KELP! SAVE US! The planet needs to rescue kelp to combat climate change by RonK (2011-101-40)
"Kelp forests are found in temperate and arctic near shore waters and comprise the second largest marine biome, second only to sea grasses." This useful (and flavorful) ocean flora is essential to supporting marine life. It's also an enormous carbon sequestration system, and it's in trouble.
Hard & soft infrastructure: How we can have (most of) our cake and eat it too! By Doctor Who (2004-526-?)
Doctor Who offers us a plot-point summary of what to expect in the $3.5 trillion budget resolution, or the "Soft Infrastructure Bill," along with things progressives should look for (filling the gaps in the "hard" bill passed by the bipartisan Senate) and should demand while mindful of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. Things to watch for, as ever, include Republican sabotage and the rules of the parliamentarian.
Speaker Sprowls unmasked in Florida by stevescoop ((2020-47-2)
On his website, Chris Sprowls, the Republican speaker of the House in the great state of Florida, assures his constituents that he is a great supporter of parental choice and freedom for principals when it comes to public education. This viewpoint is diametrically opposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Stevescoop calls on the speaker to clarify just what parental choice and local freedom mean in relation to DeSantis' top-down edicts about COVID-19, vaccines, and masks in schools.
PTSD and COVID by Animeraider (2007-112-9)
Today, a hospital stay, even for something other than COVID-19, is defined by the pandemic. When you wait 13 hours for a bed to become available, and then lie in that bed for days hearing the alarms for COVID-19 patients, you know, "We're not okay. We've let so many people die needlessly that this is going to leave a massive wound in our nation, and we're probably never going to address it."
No COVID pandemic could drag me away by RaoulDuke2 (2017-9-1)
When you live in a secluded place where public services are almost nonexistent and your elderly neighbor needs help, what will you do? The question really is: What will you not do? RaoulDuke2 finds the answer when his elderly neighbor’s caregiver quits and leaves her without notice, and her family is sick with COVID-19.
Not missing the good old days by megsk8z (2017-20-6)
Megsk8z noticed there’s a lot of nostalgia in hometown Boomer Facebook groups as folks reminisce about how innocent, free, and happy kids were when they grew up back in the good old days. They seem to obscure a few important points, like how it was the "good old days" for the white middle class, but not for everyone else, including the kids who didn’t fit in. Even for the white middle class, those precious suburban memories were possible because one parent was always home performing unpaid labor. Maybe it's more than a little possible that the memories don't really match the idealized versions on social media, even for the favored few.
If you don’t vote, you don’t count by bluemaninaredstate (2016-7-1)
Bluemaninaredstate relates the story of Vernon Dahmer, a shop owner in Mississippi who was murdered by the KKK for helping people register to vote, and writer Curtis Wilkie’s quest to bring Dahmer’s history to the public. With forces today acting in the statehouse and on the street to suppress voting rights, we should draw strength from our history.
Climate Brief was formed July 22, 2021, some three weeks ago. In that time, they've energetically produced 12 original stories and reblogged 34 related ones. "WarrenS and I had worked together for several years and talked about how we'd like to try starting up something like the #ekos Earthship we collaborated on years ago. We were both very concerned that Climate Change was not being covered as the major news story it is, but along with providing news, we really wanted to inspire folks and try to once again build a vibrant climate community here at DK like we had in the old days."
They've made a good start at building that community, with a growing slate of members and followers. Besides WarrenS and boatsie, other Kossacks—among them Pakalolo, eeff, and Angmar—were already working to promote climate awareness. Angmar has long been a tireless advocate for climate awareness, "because it's simply the most important issue of our lifetimes," he said. Eeff was already posting climate news roundups twice weekly and so was a natural fit in the group, saying, "As far as where I stand with anything in politics, if we don't fix the Climate Crisis there won't be a place left to worry about!"
In a few short weeks, Climate Brief has carved out a presence on Daily Kos, even as it's still settling into its groove. Meteor Blades, whose overnight roundups for years featured climate news and whose retirement left a gap even as the first real effects of climate change are making themselves undeniably felt, is the most recent admin to jump in. "I want to see at least one appearance of a solid climate post every day at the site," he said, "something readers can count on to help educate themselves on the ongoing details of the climate crisis."
It’s often said that knowledge is power, especially in science. The more people who work to mitigate and reverse the drivers of our global climate crisis, the more collective power we apply to the solution. Despite the dire IPCC report, it's important to remember that we can still save ourselves. If we pull together, we can save lives and the species that live around us. The Climate Brief group aims to provide the tools, the inspiration, and the endurance for the long haul. Their mission statement promises to "keep the Daily Kos community informed and engaged with breaking news about the climate crisis around the world while providing inspiring stories of environmental heroes, opportunities for direct engagement, and perspectives on the intersection of climate activism with spirituality, politics, and the arts."
The group is growing and welcoming new members, new voices, and new ideas. This is, as Angmar said, simply the most important problem we will ever have to solve. It’s good to have friends in the fight.
twelve RESCUED STORIES FROM 1 PM PDT FRIDAY, AUG. 6, TO 1 PM PDT FRIDAY, AUG. 13, 2021
Community Spotlight’s mission is to ensure that the best stories from the Daily Kos Community aren’t overlooked. We encourage members who write excellent stories with original views to keep writing by promoting work that isn’t receiving enough attention. We further support a healthy Community by not rescuing topics and specific stories designed to provoke bitter comment battles, although we relish strong arguments presented fairly and backed up by credible sources.
Good news: You don’t have to search to find our rescued stories! The nightly News Roundup, an Open Thread published six days a week at 7:30 PM PDT, includes links to each day’s rescued stories.
Reminder: The numbers in parentheses after each author’s name indicate the year they joined Daily Kos, how many stories they’ve published, and how many we’ve rescued.
Movie Review: Foreign Correspondent (1940) by disinterested spectator (2010-301-46)
One cynical man receives a baptism of fire (and courage) in Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent. The film highlights the problems of anti-intellectualism, complacency, and disinterest in foreign affairs during the runup to World War II. User disinterested spectator reminds us that media arts are a reflection of us as a society, and the mirror often isn't flattering.
The nature of power & oligarchy by greatlyconcerned (2008-16-1)
Part 2 of the series “Democracy in Crisis: We’ve been headed here for decades” traces patterns of history and the nature of power, which the Founding Fathers understood well. In politics, there is a discernible trend of power consolidation from democracy to oligarchy to autocracy. We've seen this road before, and various moments and phases throughout history are signposts of where we are today.
To defeat privilege, we need politeness by rmartin1241 (2020-25-3)
Being polite shouldn’t be a radical or divisive notion, but these days even politeness is radical. The Founding Fathers understood the power of politeness and social formality—it was essential to smoothing the regional and cultural differences between them as they forged the documents that undergird our nation. We need a similar resolve to disarm the right's lies and invective so we can enlist them to help save the nation today.
To the table—Tussie Mussie by Ulanopo (2004-50-3)
In the latest installment of his delightful series about games both popular and obscure, Ulanopo describes a “microgame,” which is a simple game on a smaller board. This particular game, "Tussie Mussie," is based on a Victorian practice of assigning meanings to the flowers that friends and lovers exchanged, and is relaxing, low stress, and moreover, it supports women artists and game developers.
Sending a kid to school in Texas by Madisonian (2005-48-2)
A dad prepares his daughter for first grade, bolstering her confidence through the back-to-school rituals and combating his own fear of what he can't control, especially COVID-19. "'There’s so much that’s important today, sweetheart. It’s important to make friends. It’s important to listen to your teachers and make good choices. It’s important to have fun,' I say with a smile. And then I adjust the mask again to make sure it fits perfect.”
The Daily Bucket: KELP! SAVE US! The planet needs to rescue kelp to combat climate change by RonK (2011-101-40)
"Kelp forests are found in temperate and arctic near shore waters and comprise the second largest marine biome, second only to sea grasses." This useful (and flavorful) ocean flora is essential to supporting marine life. It's also an enormous carbon sequestration system, and it's in trouble.
Hard & soft infrastructure: How we can have (most of) our cake and eat it too! By Doctor Who (2004-526-?)
Doctor Who offers us a plot-point summary of what to expect in the $3.5 trillion budget resolution, or the "Soft Infrastructure Bill," along with things progressives should look for (filling the gaps in the "hard" bill passed by the bipartisan Senate) and should demand while mindful of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. Things to watch for, as ever, include Republican sabotage and the rules of the parliamentarian.
Speaker Sprowls unmasked in Florida by stevescoop ((2020-47-2)
On his website, Chris Sprowls, the Republican speaker of the House in the great state of Florida, assures his constituents that he is a great supporter of parental choice and freedom for principals when it comes to public education. This viewpoint is diametrically opposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Stevescoop calls on the speaker to clarify just what parental choice and local freedom mean in relation to DeSantis' top-down edicts about COVID-19, vaccines, and masks in schools.
PTSD and COVID by Animeraider (2007-112-9)
Today, a hospital stay, even for something other than COVID-19, is defined by the pandemic. When you wait 13 hours for a bed to become available, and then lie in that bed for days hearing the alarms for COVID-19 patients, you know, "We're not okay. We've let so many people die needlessly that this is going to leave a massive wound in our nation, and we're probably never going to address it."
No COVID pandemic could drag me away by RaoulDuke2 (2017-9-1)
When you live in a secluded place where public services are almost nonexistent and your elderly neighbor needs help, what will you do? The question really is: What will you not do? RaoulDuke2 finds the answer when his elderly neighbor’s caregiver quits and leaves her without notice, and her family is sick with COVID-19.
Not missing the good old days by megsk8z (2017-20-6)
Megsk8z noticed there’s a lot of nostalgia in hometown Boomer Facebook groups as folks reminisce about how innocent, free, and happy kids were when they grew up back in the good old days. They seem to obscure a few important points, like how it was the "good old days" for the white middle class, but not for everyone else, including the kids who didn’t fit in. Even for the white middle class, those precious suburban memories were possible because one parent was always home performing unpaid labor. Maybe it's more than a little possible that the memories don't really match the idealized versions on social media, even for the favored few.
If you don’t vote, you don’t count by bluemaninaredstate (2016-7-1)
Bluemaninaredstate relates the story of Vernon Dahmer, a shop owner in Mississippi who was murdered by the KKK for helping people register to vote, and writer Curtis Wilkie’s quest to bring Dahmer’s history to the public. With forces today acting in the statehouse and on the street to suppress voting rights, we should draw strength from our history.
| COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT is dedicated to finding great writing by community members that isn’t getting the visibility it deserves.
An edition of our rescue roundup publishes every Saturday at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT) to the Recent Community Stories section and to the front page at 9:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT). |