These are the voices redefining what “climate leadership” actually means — not corporate pledges, not vague promises, but sovereignty, accountability, and justice rooted in lived experience.

Who else should we elevate? Drop your recommendations.
Let’s amplify the folks building a livable future 💚🔥

Groups like COICA, Pacific Climate Warriors, Pueblo Action Alliance, and so many others aren’t waiting for permission to protect their lands, their water, or their futures.

🌎 Why this matters:
World leaders left Brazil without a clear plan to phase out fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, the people most impacted by the climate crisis are pushing forward solutions rooted in justice, sovereignty, and survival. 🌎✊🏽

We just pulled a powerful essay from the vault that dives into why housing status should never determine access to a clean, safe bathroom.

👉 Read the essay: agentsofchangeprogram.substack.com/p/from-the-v...

For people experiencing homelessness, lack of bathrooms isn’t an inconvenience — it’s a daily barrier to health, safety, and dignity. Many cities have 1 public toilet per 100+ people, far below the UN’s recommended 1:50 standard.

💥 3.5 billion people don’t have access to safe toilets.
That’s almost half the planet.

The Taking Stock Study is a community-academic partnership between:
👩🏽🔬 @columbiauniversity.bsky.social Mailman School of Public Health
👩🏽🎓 @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social
🌱 Silent Spring Institute
🎥 LA Grit Media
💜@ bwwla.bsky.social

Learn more abput it here: takingstockstudy.org

🌍 Bottom line: Women’s choices can help reduce exposure — but equity, affordability, and policy reforms are key to safer products for everyone.

💡👩🏽🦱 Community groups like @ bwwla.bsky.social host Curls & Conversations workshops to share safer beauty tips. Efforts like these empower women — but systemic change is essential.

⚠️ BUT: “The burden to protect oneself from risky products should not be on the consumer,” says Dr. Lariah Edwards, lead author and assistant director at Agents of Change.
👉 Stronger policies + transparency in labeling are needed to protect all communities.

📉 Women who avoided parabens also showed lower exposures — though results weren’t statistically significant. Still, the pattern is clear: shopping clean matters.

✨ Findings:
👉Black women who avoided fragrance had less than half the levels of a phthalate metabolite.
👉Latinas who avoided oxybenzone (a sunscreen chemical) had much lower levels in their bodies.

🔬 Researchers analyzed urine samples from 70 women for 28 chemicals (like phthalates, parabens, oxybenzone, BPA).
They compared results with each woman’s shopping habits.