Fuel for climate changemakers:
What’s happening, what’s working, what’s needed, what you can do
Our monthly newsletter brings you upcoming events, opportunities for action, developments in key domains of climate action, including health, food and agriculture, energy, transportation, mitigation, adaptation and regeneration. We provide actionable, encouraging climate news, and updates on climate science and policy.
We distill the tsunami of information so you don’t have to. Our goal is to provide energizing content about the climate and inspiring stories to fuel your action.
We understand how it feels to give way to fear and anxiety about the future of our planet. Like so many of you, we have days where the news seems unbearable, and the future bleak. We also understand the power of good news, the stories of innovation and action that bolster our own spirits as we continue to work to create a better future with the determination to avert the terrifying interrelated crises that are hurtling towards us. We feel the uplift of identifying where we have agency, and get excited by stories of what others are doing. This substack stems from our commitment to support others like us find their own sense of hope, agency and community.
We met in college, studying systems dynamics and policy with Donella ‘Dana’ and Dennis Meadows, authors of The Limits to Growth and other books. We learned to explore the world through the lens of systems dynamics, a methodology for understanding the complex systems of the world around us. Through modeling a variety of systems, we learned about stocks and flows, feedback, information delays and reinforcing loops. This provided powerful lessons in where it is effective and where it is not effective to intervene to make lasting change. Dana taught us to distinguish between world views, facts, mental frameworks and paradigms. She also demonstrated through her own writing, how to tell compelling stories that illuminated underlying patterns, bringing understanding and clarity. We strive to carry forward what we learned from both mentors in the work we do at Minerva’s View and Minerva Ventures.
We find joy in connecting with other people who are also working towards a future based on the principles of reciprocity, reverence and regeneration. We hope our substack content will offer a source of joy and inspiration. We aspire to build community among our readers and the many visionary and practical activists, entrepreneurs, scientists, policy-makers and community members who are working for a better future.
Thank you for joining us!
Marianna Grossman is the founder and managing partner of Minerva Ventures. Through her consulting practice she works with entrepreneurs, executives of corporations and government agencies to advance their climate goals. She is the President of Transportation Choices for Sustainable Communities. She lives in Portland, Oregon where she delights in spending time with her family, gardening and her community at Havurah Shalom.
Dinyah Rein is a senior consultant with Minerva Ventures, where her focus has been on research and writing, including this newsletter. Her past career spanned a wide variety of roles, including work in international development, education marketing at Apple Computer, and launching several successful businesses. Dinyah lives in northern California, where she works with her local community on climate resilience. She enjoys hiking, biking, dancing and connecting with her family and friends.
To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.
