So much has happened in the past month since my last post, both socially and personally. I want to start by saying that I stand with and support the black community in their call for Police (and systemic) accountability and racial justice.
I am making a collection of resources on anti-racism. I have a bookmarked folder in my browser to keep track of everything, and I would recommend this method for those who want to save the resources you find. It’s so important to realize how we, as white people, are contributing to racism and how we must strive for more racial equity both personally and systemically.
Here are some goals that I am trying to live more actively by:
- Talk about these issues with friends and family, especially when the conversation might be uncomfortable (all too often those are the people who need to hear it the most).
- Remember you are an ally and not a champion. Do not drown out the voices of BIPOC who have been fighting for this for so long. You could do more harm than good by taking up space that should be filled by a person of color.
- Challenge racism when you see it, including in yourself. We all make mistakes and we must learn from them. Don’t forget to call yourself out.
I welcome any conversations about this and am open to learning more! Speaking on learning more, for the past three months, I have been attending regular Thursday night lectures with a group of friends to expand my knowledge. Each lecture is done by a different person on a subject they specialize in or are passionate about. On Thursday, June 18th, I actually gave my own lecture about the Banks that are Funding Climate Change! Check it out below!
And if you took the time to watch that video, please excuse my overuse of the phrase “very unfortunate”, I am a rookie at lectures and should’ve come up with more synonyms for that phrase ahead of time.
For those who want the summary version of my lecture, here it is. Most of my information from this lecture was gathered from the Rainforest Action Network’s (RAN) Banking on Climate Change Report. In this report, they list the major funders of the Fossil Fuels and breakdown which Fossil Fuel sectors are receiving funding from where. You can also view the World Resource Institute’s Green Targets Tool for similar information collected from a different source. Both of these tools scour banks internationally to find the worst funders of fossil fuels, and both resources (along with many others) determined JP Morgan Chase as the largest funder of climate change. And according to RAN’s report, the next 3 banks are Wells Fargo, Citi and Bank of America. US banks are racking in the top 4 slots for the most funding given to the fossil fuel industry internationally.
So what can you do? Would you like to hold these banks accountable? Call them regularly and tell them why you would like them to stop funding fossil fuels. Maybe you would like to move your money elsewhere? Please ensure you tell your bank why you are leaving. RAN has created a draft letter for you to send to your bank, if you are leaving due to their funding of climate change – plus how fun is a breakup letter! If you would like any more resources on this, please feel free to reach out to me!
I have also been accepted to the Colorado-Wyoming Red Cross chapter as a member of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team. On this team, we assist Red Cross with: making disaster maps in order to inform disaster teams where help is needed, maps of Red Cross work around the nation, and marketing tools to help people better understand what and where the Red Cross is functioning. We use ESRI’s ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online and Story Maps programs in order to create informational maps. Check out this cool Story Map that a fellow volunteer made (you may have to be patient while the maps load).
I am still working my way through Red Cross’s volunteer trainings so I have not yet started any work for them. Since they are a well-established organization, they have ~12 hours of official training for all of their volunteers to go through. That way, anyone who joins as a volunteer, regardless of the team they are on, and if a disaster is in need of additional volunteers, anyone can get deployed. With that said, I will primarily be on the backside helping with maps. I’m so excited to join the Red Cross team as a volunteer and hopefully spend some time doing some good!
Last update, I will officially be unemployed come August 1st. I have been laid off from my company as a Permanent Reduction in Staff due to the changing needs in my current program. My primary job is travel arrangement and travel for business likely won’t come back until 2021. With all that said I see this as a great opportunity to hopefully find a position that will help build my skills or prepare me for grad school! Plus, I was given 30 days notice which is a lovely buffer for job hunting. This face is back on the job market ->
I will be moving into a new apartment on July 10th and am excited to be living more Downtown. It will give me more flexibility with where I can work since I will be much closer to public transport. Plus, living directly Downtown will give me more of a city feel compared to my current place, which I am excited to experience.
Are you looking for a dance song to get you energized in quarantine? Give this one a shot! Since I am stuck inside (and usually in the same position), I sometimes need a good beat to wake me back up!
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Lastly, if you have a dog, I highly recommend introducing them to bubbles (ft. the one, the only, Madeline Nall).
Emma Hagen 