keynote: climate change beyond a human lifetime

there’s a problem inherent in the way we’re processing the climate crisis: we don’t live long enough to truly feel it. national geographic explorer and documentary filmmaker john sutter has launched an unprecedented project to chronicle the future. he’s working with children around the world to tell an entirely new story about the climate crisis — one that lasts longer than we do.

keynote conversation: talking climate and weather with one of the most trusted voices in america

legendary nbc broadcaster al roker is one of the most recognized figures in american life. on nbc’s today show he communicates important weather information to a wide and diverse audience. as a storyteller on nbc’s climate unit, he dives into the story of climate change, extreme weather, and solutions for our planet. in this conversation, learn more about compelling climate communication and reaching your audience. then, we make a special announcement about our new planet forward comcast sustainability storytelling fellowship program, and share the story told by our first fellow, francesca edralin from the george washington university. edralin shares the piece she worked on about the green bronx machine.

conversation: meet the mayor of america’s hottest city

in 2020, phoenix, arizona, experienced 145 days of 100-degree weather. the mayor of phoenix, kate gallego, describes new urban technologies that the city is implementing to battle the dangers of extreme heat.

then join planet forward student contributors adora shortridge and william walker from arizona state university, and gw’s national geographic visiting professor of science communication and author of “hot, hungry planet,” lisa palmer, for a q&a about their work looking into feasible and equitable heat-preparedness strategies for some of our most vulnerable citizens.

institutional impact: moving away from single-use plastics

george washington university recently announced it will phase out single-use plastics on campus. gw president thomas leblanc explains why, how, and what it means.

game time! let’s talk storyfest

students published their stories on planetforward.org all year — next we put their stories front and center with a panel of science and media experts. asu global futures laboratory’s steven beschloss, pbs (wnet) executive producer eugenia harvey, project drawdown’s matt scott, and gw professor dr. tara scully join us to showcase some of the exceptional storyfest entries for 2021. then, frank sesno revealed the six grand prize winners, each of whom will receive $500 and have 50 trees planted in their names in a national forest courtesy of our friends at one tree planted.

keynote conversation: meet the new epa administrator michael s. regan

finally, we capped our event with a thoughtful and inspiring discussion with the new epa administrator michael regan — the first black man and the first graduate of a historically black college and university to lead the epa in its 50-year history. regan said he will bring science into every decision, coordinate across government, work with states and localities — and made clear that environmental justice will be at the center of his mission.

please watch and listen, and be inspired. as regan said to us — it’s not too late. as humans, we are innovative. we are resilient. and we can do this — together.

thank you again for joining us at the 2021 planet forward virtual summit. until next year, we look forward to seeing you online, and let’s keep doing our part to 2022年卡塔尔世界杯官网 .

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see the full summit playlist on youtube.

i’d like to add that most plus size sustainable fashion is quite literally earth tone linen sacks, and not in a chic way https://t.co/t8lmvooh03

— ?????? ??? (@lek_9677) september 13, 2020

it’s no secret that apparel waste, fast fashion, and climate change are linked. research from the ellen macarthur foundation showed that the average consumer bought 60% more clothes in 2014 than in 2000, but kept each garment for half as long. the world resources institute estimates that it takes about 2700 liters (approximately 713 gallons) of water — nearly 9 bathtubs’ worth — to produce just one cotton shirt. in case it wasn’t concerning enough, the fashion industry is already responsible for 8% to 10% of annual global carbon emissions, according to the un environment programme. 

clearly, the adopted solution needs to be one that everyone can participate in. for plus size women, online thrift and vintage stores are innovative options. this trend operates heavily through instagram, where accounts like @luvsickplus and @shop.fatties run “story sales” and post secondhand and vintage finds, asking followers to “swipe up” to purchase. one key advantage is that plus size women can take control of sales and market clothing they know others might actually like because they’ve selected the stock themselves. online thrifting isn’t plus specific, but plus size women are slowly starting to embrace it as an affordable option.

online thrift platforms like depop and thredup, have also begun to accommodate plus size thrifting. these sites use a more formal approach where users can purchase from “shops” or pick from stock like any other online store. there are also filtering tools for searching these sites, which makes it easier to shop the size inclusive brands we know and trust. the long term possibilities are promising, economically speaking. by 2021, the online secondhand shopping sector is set to grow by 69% according to thredup’s 2020 resale report.

still, the online thrift and vintage option is imperfect. it can be challenging to find the right size or pay an affordable price. the clothing isn’t always on trend. mainstream fashion hasn’t included plus size women for very long, so there hasn’t been much time for a large stock of secondhand plus clothing to develop. i fall at the beginning of the plus range and still find it difficult. 

however, i would be remiss if i didn’t acknowledge that this development has its strengths. online thrift and vintage shopping are solutions that when they work, seem to work pretty well. the trend could definitely make sustainable fashion more accessible to plus size women. 

alternatively, so would normalizing the production of sustainable clothing in extended sizes. the growth potential for online thrifting is exciting, but in the same breath we must ask: why are women encountering this issue in the first place? as long as sustainable brands won’t provide for all women, some are going to continue to default to fast fashion even if they’d rather not. most people want to do their part, ideally without a crisis over whether or not they can squeeze into tighter pants for the sake of the environment.