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Last week, I went to an awards ceremony hosted by Justice in Aging, an organization in the United States that fights senior poverty through law. It was AMAZING!
I was there as a +1 to my aunt, Dr. Donna Benton. She’s SUPER low key about her accomplishments and I’m sure she’ll be mad at me for putting her on blast like this 💝 but I must tell you: she’s a Professor of Gerontology at USC, the Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, the Director of the USC Family Caregiver Support Center, and MUCH MORE. Basically, the gathering I attended had top experts in the field of aging and elder care. As I talked to them (#networking), I learned that even the experts are struggling to understand how to loop in climate justice into their policy decisions.
So that’s what this month’s changeletter is about: growing old in a warming world.
This is relevant to you for one of three reasons:
We're at a significant crossroads, and we must ask ourselves how to get creative about the world we want our future selves and our current elders to live in! We are all getting old, and I personally want to do it in style.
Bonus resource: Soapbox member Dan Vekhter wrote an article last week for his newsletter, "Environ / mental health", on the power of asking more expansive questions. Reply to this email with an expansive question you're asking about your climate journey, whether it's related to aging or not!
We’re going to go over some quick facts on why aging is becoming a crisis instead of a natural thing we all do, and how that’s exacerbated by climate change. Read the articles for a deeper dive!
The freaky facts 🥲
Let’s start with this 2019 New York Times article on how older people are contributing to and suffering from climate change. Elderly people will be disproportionately affected by:
The good news
Most of us care about the same things. We have WAY more allies than we think. And most importantly, we all deserve to live our best lives with our best friends on the best planet, regardless of how old we are.
And I’m SO excited for next week’s WATCH module on intergenerational housing!
See you then Reader,
Nivi
I run Soapbox Project, a friendly community for busy people to conquer their climate anxiety through a combination of personal responsibility, collective action, and fun. Sign up for our free bite-sized action plans (aka Changeletters) that I write every week!
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