It’s a question we get all the time: “What can I do to address the climate crisis?” This week, our one and only original co-host, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, pays us a visit and offers her advice on how to find your place in the climate movement. We’re sharing her TED Talk, “How to find joy in climate action,” given this spring at TED2022 in Vancouver. Plus, Alex and Ayana catch up, and we hear all about what Ayana has been up to since she left the show. Hint: She did always say policy is her love language!

Guest: Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Calls to Action:

• Make your own climate action Venn diagram! Trying to figure out what you can do to address climate change? Ask yourself: What are you good at? What is the work that needs doing? And what brings you joy? “This is an invitation,” Ayana says. “Find your role, if you haven't already… Averting climate catastrophe: this is the work of our lifetimes.”
• Need inspiration? Check out climatevenn.info for simple instructions, a template, and examples of climate action Venn diagrams other people have made. 
• When you’re done – tell us about it! Post your Venn diagram to Instagram and tag Ayana at @ClimateVenn – plus tag us at @how2saveaplanet. We’ll be reposting examples listeners share with us!
• Have you used a climate action Venn diagram to inspire your own climate work? Tell us about it! Send us a voice memo via our Listener Mail Form. We might use it in a future episode!

Further Reading / Watching / Listening:

• You can watch Ayana’s full TED Talk here. 
• To hear the origins of the climate action Venn diagram, listen back to our episode, Is Your Carbon Footprint BS? 
• For more info on the policy efforts Ayana talked about in the episode, check out the Urban Ocean Lab and Ocean Justice Forum
• You can find more info on Ayana’s collaboration with artists to explore climate futurism via the Headlands Center for the Arts
• For more climate-related TED Talks, check out TED Countdown. To hear the rest of the talks from the TED2022 conference, follow TED Talks Daily.

Check out our Calls to Action archive for all of the actions we've recommended on the show. Send us your ideas or feedback with our Listener Mail Form. Sign up for our newsletter here. And follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

This episode of How to Save a Planet was produced by Rachel Waldholz. The rest of our reporting and producing team includes Kendra Pierre-Louis, Anna Ladd, and Daniel Ackerman. Our supervising producer is Matt Shilts. Our editor is Caitlin Kenney. Our intern is Janae Morris. Sound design and mixing by Peter Leonard with original music from Peter Leonard and Emma Munger.

Special thanks to TED2022 for sharing this talk with us!