Young people, like their adult counterparts, are making strides in the environmental movement across the country. They organize their classmates, their parents, and their communities around issues they care about. But often, young people feel lost in trying to make change in a world that seems like they have little control over. Young people of course are essential in the environmental movement, as they are they are stakeholders in their own futures and should be able to act accordingly for a world they want to see.

This is what Earth Guardians, a youth centered organization seeks to do. » Read More

Building the capacity for relational engagement on climate change between scientists and communities. By Faith Kearns and Clare Gupta

Participants gathered at Mayacamas Ranch in northern California for an interdisciplinary pause. Photo by Susie Kocher.

It was a warm weekday night in the middle of our typically dry California summer as our group gathered around a fire ring at Mayacamas Ranch in Sonoma County to talk about relationship-centered approaches to climate change. We couldn’t have known then what we do now – that this beautiful ranch would suffer devastating damage in the wildfires that are still burning through this beloved part of the world. It now feels like a bit of a full circle moment – so much of the work that we are carrying out today was inspired by the collective grief around a large set of wildfires that happened in an adjacent California county just a decade ago. » Read More

If tech is going to be a force for social good, Silicon Valley must take a hard look at itself and course correct. In an era of both increasing social divisions and unexpected alliances, the tech community must grapple with its ethical identity. How it takes action in support of the communities it so often leaves on the sidelines (or pays below a living wage) will shape our cities, our country, and our humanity. » Read More

There are about 1.5 million NGOs just in the United States. No wonder their calls to action, their ads with forlorn-looking children, and their mission statements can start blending together. Over the last 30 years, NGOs have increasingly taken on the role of government. As privatization has rapidly defunded the State, NGOs have rapidly expanded to take on the role of providing social services to those relegated to unliveable wages and polluted communities by the private sector.¹  Thus, the funding streams for those services are fickle, as they follow the wishes and whims of the ruling class, as they direct the lion’s share of philanthropic funding to NGOs.² » Read More

Last year ITP celebrated its 10-year anniversary during our Annual Grant Partner Gathering, now a formalized part of the initial ITP grant process.  While we hoped it would provide both a respite from the day-to-day churn, we also worked hard to ensure it was invigorating for our grant partners, both personally and professionally, as well as our invited Allies (visiting experts that join the Gathering to provide advice).  We took great care to work with trusted facilitators and engaging presenters in a beloved and beautiful setting (Westerbeke Ranch), to create a welcoming, purposeful and truly ‘pause’- worthy experience.  » Read More

“In order to (re)create conditions conducive to life on this planet for ALL life, including effectively managing a rapidly changing climate, we need to reimagine and evolve the way our children learn to have the most significant, positive impact over the long term... moving us as a species towards stewardship and regenerative action, rather than utilization.”

Our 'Pause' opened with a council: a beginning free of pretense and hierarchy,a forum nurturing to all vulnerabilities. » Read More

36.5 is a durational time-based art project, spanning seven years and six continents, that engages people directly on personal, local, and global scales about the crisis of sea-level rise.  36.5 founder, Sarah Sunde writes about her 'pause' experience. 
Flexibility is a necessity when working with water.  Therefore it is necessary in all parts of my process as well.  Question: What can you do when it seems impossible to get together a big group at the same time? Answer: Take stock of where you are in the process and keep moving forward in whatever way makes sense, and something better than what you initially imagined is likely to occur.  » Read More

 Read the latest from our Planet Protector superheroes at DreamRider Productions. 

Sign of the Times
Can your money shrink your carbon footprint? The New York Times explored the ways that investors can support sustainability with their money, featuring ITP Grant Partner As You Sow's work on Fossil Free Funds. If you haven't been to Fossil Free Funds yet, check it out! You have more power over where your money goes than you know.