This Week in MCJ (7/11/20)
Programming calendar is filling out!
Hey all,
Well, the weeks are blurring together. On the bright side, I do feel like MCJ has been making steady progress through the pandemic. Don’t get me wrong, having the kids around the house has been SUPER distracting, but we’ve been grinding it out here at MCJ (thanks Thai, for all of your help!), and I am proud of the progress we’ve made in the last few months.
One highlight from this past week was the Icebreaker event. There was a solid turnout, and as a participant, I can say personally that I made some great connections! It was so good, in fact, that we are doing a second one next Friday (details below). RSVP here!
And also on the community front, check out the shiny new MCJ member directory. There is some immense horsepower from a wide range of backgrounds in the community now, and we are excited to provide more ways to facilitate more connections!
I also attended a great MCJ climate policy event this week (details below). It had excellent speakers, was well run, had great attendance, and I learned a lot! And the best part is this was put on by MCJ members for MCJ members. It’s the only way this model scales! A recording of the event is here (password: 3T&9S5N@ ).
Speaking of great climate policy events, there is a three part event series(!), called “Elections as Levers for Climate Action,” that we are excited to announce! The first event in the series is 7/20. Details are here and below.
And finally, our little climate tech startup initiative that I’ve been hinting at lately is coming along well! Maybe a week or two away from launch. Thanks for all the recommendations so far of climate tech startups to connect with. At this point, we would still love suggestions, if you know of amazing seed/pre-seed climate tech startups that you think will represent the climate tech ecosystem well to the broader market. Can’t wait to share more info soon!
I should note that the way we can continue to keep putting on these events and developing all of this new content is with the funding from membership dues. If you have been enjoying our content and/or programming, we ask that you please consider becoming a dues-paying member, to support the cause. And if you are a member already, thank you for your support 🙏
Have a great week, everyone!
Jason
📼Episodes
Here’s this week’s episode, in case you missed it.
Episode 111: Maggie Thomas, Political Director at Evergreen Action
Evergreen Action is a recently founded nonprofit organized by the former staffers of Governor Jay Inslee's presidential campaign. They are leading the fight to put bold climate action at the top of America's agenda, implement an all-out mobilization to defeat climate change and create millions of jobs in a clean energy economy.
Prior to joining Evergreen Action, Maggie served as Climate Policy Advisor for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign and Deputy Climate Director for Governor Jay Inslee’s presidential campaign. During the Democratic presidential primaries, the Inslee campaign’s climate plans were heralded as the gold standard of climate policy for the 2020 presidential race.
I was very excited for this discussion, as climate policy is so important, and Maggie is one of the best people around to talk to about this topic! The episode does not disappoint, as we went deep into the key tenets of the Inslee climate plan, Evergreen’s role and tactics in helping get these tenets implemented, why these tenets are the right ones, and what needs to happen (and what you and I can do) to bring about the change we desire.
You don’t want to miss this one!
🙋🏾Share Your Personal Climate Journey
MCJer Lyndall Schreiner is looking for individuals to interview who have transitioned from non-climate work to dedicate their careers to climate solutions (recent interview with MCJer Olya Irzak). You're a good fit if you have transitioned in the last 5 years. Volunteer or submit nominations here.
🔦Member Spotlight: Philipp Werminghausen, Software Engineer For Hire!
If you are an MCJ member and want to submit your story for consideration or nominate another member, feel free to do so here. We can’t promise it will make the newsletter, but we will choose one to run each week and attempt to include as many as we can over time.
My name is Philipp Werminghausen. I am a software engineer located in Boston. I am looking for a senior full-stack developer position in sustainability. My ideal position would be at a plant-based startup that is working to replace animal agriculture, but I am open to working anywhere in the sustainability field. Over 5 years ago, I started to reduce my carbon footprint by going plat based. Now I want to focus my passion for coding on the environment to have an even bigger impact.
I am looking for something around the Boston area or remote. Please connect with me on LinkedIn. I would be happy for any introductions. Please don't hesitate to reach out (philpp DOT werminghausen AT gmail DOT com).
Best,
Philipp
💼Climate Jobs
Here are some jobs shared by members of the MCJ community that we think might be of interest to you. Many of these opportunities and the MCJers who shared them can be found in #climatejobs in the MCJ Slack.
BD Leader (East Coast Business Development Team) at Scale Microgrid Solutions in various locations (job description). SMS Co-Founder & Ep. 103 guest Tim Hade recently shared this opportunity. Check out the episode to learn more about this great company!
Sr. Data Scientist at ClimateAI San Francisco Bay Area, CA (or remote) (job description). MCJer and ClimateAI CEO Himanshu Gupta says the applications are due by 7/15, and there is a $1K referral bounty for successful hires.
Sr. Full-Stack Software Engineer & (contract) Data Scientist at Forerunner (Remote) (job listings)
Product Manager at Arbor Day in Lincoln, NE (or Remote) (job description) h/t MCJer Dean Malmgren of IDEO.
Product Specialist, Sr. Software Engineer at Recurve (Remote) (job listings) h/t MCJer Stina Brock.
Research Scientist at Symbrosia in Kailua-Kona, HI (job description)
Program Officer at William & Flora Hewlett Foundation in Menlo Park, CA (job listings) h/t MCJer Marilyn Waite.
Marketing Director, Chief of Staff, Partnerships Manager, BizOps Manager, Chief Growth Officer at Activate in San Francisco Bay Area, CA (preferably) (job listings) h/t MCJers Ilan Gur and MC O’Connor.
👉Looking for a climate internship or intern?
MCJer Kai Cash had a great idea to leverage the MCJ community to match prospective interns with companies/organizations focused on climate change. If you’re seeking an internship or you’re a climate change-related organization hiring interns, take a minute to submit your information via this form. If we can even make one match it will be pretty amazing, and we are hoping to do much better!
🏗What You’re Building
Projects and ventures being built by fellow MCJers.
Climatebase.org: helping people discover climate tech jobs, organizations and events.
Congrats to MCJers Evan Hynes, Justin Hardin, and Jesse Hynes on recently launching Climatebase.org on Product Hunt. Make sure to check it out!
📢Climate News
Highlights of news this week related to climate change.
As moderate and progressive members of the Democratic party work to coalesce around a unifying platform, the Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders political camps jointly issued a plan for combatting climate change and environmental justice. (h/t Julia Pyper)
As reported by the Associate Press, The United Nations’ weather agency, The World Meteorological Organization, is forecasting a 20% chance that global temperatures will be 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the pre-industrial average in at least one year between 2020 and 2024.
Columbia University has announced it will establish the Columbia Climate School, its first new school in 25 years, to tackle the climate crisis.
📰🎧Recommended Reading/Listening
Below are recently published articles and content that we find interesting and/or that were shared by fellow MCJers.
The Economist: “What if carbon removal becomes the new Big Oil?”
This piece muses on the climate scenarios the world could find itself in come 2050.
Mother Jones: “Could Paying Farmers to Store Carbon Help the Climate and Save Farms?”
This story explores the opportunity around incenting farmers to sequester carbon.
The Wall Street Journal: “Governments Eye a Green Economic Recovery. Some Industries Aren’t Convinced.” (Link to PDF)
This article reports on how a slew of nations are coupling green initiatives with their respective economic recovery stimulus programs.
NBC News: “Atlantic Coast Pipeline canceled after years of delays, accusations of environmental injustice”
Facing opposition from communities and activists, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline has been scrapped indefinitely.
🎟Climate Events
Past and upcoming events organized or surfaced by your fellow MCJers.
Past:
MCJ Community Chat: how to get involved with climate policy
Great event on how to get involved with climate policy, put on by members, for members! Recording here (password: 3T&9S5N@ ). Special thanks to panelists Audrey Lee (Clean Energy for Biden), Caroline Spears (Climate Cabinet), and Eliza Nemser (NRDC Action Fund), and to Brianna Miller and the other MCJ community organizers who set it up!
Upcoming:
Meet a MCJer via Icebreaker (Part Two) (Friday, July 17, Noon EST)
On Monday, we had a well-attended debut of Icebreaker (thanks again Cody Simms!) in which MCJers had an opportunity to meet one another 1:1. Icebreaker is a service that connects attendees randomly in brief 5-minute video sessions in which they can casually meet a new face in the community and learn about their background. Having received a lot of positive feedback, we’re hosting our second Meet a MCJer. This event is intended for MCJ Members; if you’re interested, please RSVP and we’ll add you to the invite list.
Advanced Nuclear Tech In A Decarbonized Energy Future: Feasible or Fantastical? (July 14, 5:30 PM EST)
Duke Energy Initiative is hosting a virtual panel on nuclear energy: “Radical new reactor designs could completely change the paradigm for #nuclear energy & aid in decarbonizing our #energy future… if they can successfully go from the lab to the marketplace. RSVP now for this 7/14 event. (h/t Jessica R. Lovering)
"Elections as a Lever on Climate Action: an MCJ Exploration" (Monday, July 20, 3 PM EST)
Join us for a panel discussion on July 20th at 12p PT/3p ET, the first event in a 3-part series to explore the 2020 elections as a lever on climate action. This conversation will lay the foundation for this inquiry with a look at the critical work climate 501(c)4s are doing to set the stage for new leadership to advance climate positive policy.
The panelists are
- Tamara Toles O'Laughlin, North America Director @ 350
- Kodiak Hill-Davis, Director of Government Affairs @ Niskanen
- Tiernan Sittenfeld, Senior VP, Government Affairs @ League of Conservation VotersLearn more and register here!
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