Join us during Climate Week for the launch of The Climate Story Project!
The Climate Story Project is an initiative led by The New York Climate Exchange, supported by the Wellcome Trust, to record, archive and share real personal stories about climate change to inspire action and connection. This is a living archive that captures a snapshot of life in the midst of climate change—offering people space to reflect on the past, connect in the present, and imagine possible futures.
The project will launch during Climate Week with two public pop ups where you can listen to stories from our network and record your own climate story. The first is Science and Society: Heat Advisory, at Pioneer Works on Tuesday September 23 at 7pm!
Pioneer Works and Wellcome co-present Heat Week including this special episode of Science & Society, bringing health to the heart of Climate Week NYC.
The Earth is hotter now than at any other point in human history. As fossil fuels burn and ecosystems are destroyed, heat is driving increasingly extreme weather—turbo-charging hurricanes, floods, fires, and droughts. By 2070, one-fifth of the planet could be as scorchingly hot as the (rapidly expanding) Sahara Desert, and up to 3.5 billion people may have to move as their homes become inhospitable.
Extreme heat is a public health threat that leads to school closures, workplace injuries, droughts, famine, mental health crises, and increased domestic violence. In the United States, heat stress is the leading cause of weather-related deaths—killing more people than hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods combined. Those among us with the fewest resources are disproportionally affected—specifically, people of color, low-income people, children, and the elderly.
Put simply, we now live in an entirely new climate era—one that is hotter and more unpredictable—and we are inadequately prepared for the unavoidable consequences. Heat-related illnesses and deaths are largely preventable with proper planning, education, and action. So, how do we make our homes, neighborhoods, and cities cooler? How do we design and build for the future, with heat adaptation and risk prevention in mind? How do we care for our vulnerable populations? How do we craft policies to advance climate solutions and human well-being?
For a conversation grappling with how we might adapt to and live in a warming world, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson will host journalist and writer Jeff Goodell and climate resilience expert Jainey Bavishi for Science & Society: Heat Advisory. Brad Einstein will offer a comedic introduction (with puppets).