Hi everyone, it’s been an emotionally intense two weeks for sure.

I was out for a walk the other day and happened upon this Woolly Bear Caterpillar which of course I loved to see as a kid (still do). And, I wondered if the caterpillar had any idea what dramatic changes are in store for it over the next few weeks. I wondered if it was scared, excited, hopeful — or indifferent.

And then I realized it kind of doesn’t matter. The caterpillar is beautiful now, and it will be beautiful once it emerges from its cocoon, too. The radical transformation from Woolly Bear Caterpillar to Isabella Tiger Moth, at the end of the day, is just a different moment in its life.

It’s kind of like that for us right now.

I don’t know about y’all, but I’m going to need awhile to come to terms with the slow, generational pace of social change in the context of the rapid, emergency pace of environmental change. This tension is something I’ve struggled with my entire life.

I am really really trying hard lately not to judge days or weeks or years as “good” or “bad”, and just recognize them instead as context in which I’m showing up in my own life. The ongoing genocide in Gaza, the climate emergency, another Trump presidency — I am too small to make a tangible difference in any of these directly. AND YET I can still make a tangible difference in my own life, and help bring about a world more grounded in justice and the fundamental ecology that binds us all together.

Understanding this distinction and living it is my active practice right now. And it’s what consistently helps me be hopeful (to a fault!) at my capacity to keep seeing ways out of the darkness.

While Trump was elected on a “burn it all to the ground” platform, he will not be able to undo everything we’ve gained on climate.

Once success story that emerged from the election results was the fact the most progressive state climate law in the country (in Washington state) was upheld by a huge majority.

I wrote about it for Fast Company:

This result affirmed a truth that should serve as a playbook during the coming Trump years and beyond: Aggressive climate action can tangibly improve people’s lives right away.

I think it’s important to say that all the collective work pushing for a greener world for the past 50 years has also measurably altered the trajectory of our civilization away from a worst-case climate scenario and toward a more verdant world.

I really believe that the massive growth of renewable energy we’ve seen over the past 10 years will continue no matter what Trump does.

I wrote about that for Slate:

What I’m watching

Bluesky has become another emergent bright spot over the past few days, reaching 20 million active users today. That’s still just a few percent of Twitter or Instagram or TikTok, but finally you can start to squint and see a future where distributed social media has a real place — reclaiming power from billionaires. And that’s exciting.

In other news

I had the luxury of scheduling an extra therapy session last week — and ended up focusing explicitly on how I can better live in the present moment and focus my attention and effort on doing things that actually matter and can actually make a difference in my life and in the world.

My therapist recommended I start an emotions journal — specifically using the How We Feel app. It’s honestly amazing how much this practice has helped me feel more present over the past few days and see emotions as inherently temporary. Just something that’s happening now.

This turned into a really introspective newsletter! I’ve got a ton of thoughts trying to make sense of what’s happening right now in weather and climate and our collective push for justice, and I’m planning to continue iterating this newsletter towards those goals — and keep trying out ideas to build community along the way.

May you have good weather,

Eric