👋 Hey there, Looking Forward fam. This week has been a tough one in the news cycle, from the U.S. government shutting down and conservation icon Jane Goodall’s passing (I had the opportunity to hear her speak last year and wrote about what she inspired in people) to hurricanes, earthquakes, and typhoons. The climate and geopolitical news of the moment is pretty dark. But in today’s newsletter, we’ve got a little ray of sunshine to help you see beyond our current horizon. We’ve also got a few encouraging news stories about climate-informed art, state-level progress, and local conservation efforts. 

In 2050, the climate headline I hope to read is …

A photo shows a Grist poster board with a headline writing prompt

Olivia Peay

Last week was Climate Week in New York, and at several events Grist asked participants to ponder a question of possibility: What climate headline would you like to see in 2050? On live bulletin boards and in virtual submissions, the exercise invited people to think a little outside the box, filling in 25 years of progress and action and landing on the good news we could achieve if we do things right. 

Reading over the headlines — some dreamt up by adults and some by kids as young as 3 (those were more doodles than headlines, but still fun!) — gave me a boost this week. I hope they’ll do the same for you. 

Some of the visions people conjured were a vibe: a general sense of how we hope to feel in 2050, rather than a specific news item. (And one pair of youngsters took the opportunity to spotlight an adorable and critically endangered salamander.) 

The waters run clean with hope

Snowy winter is back this year to Central Europe

Fun, fulfilled, and thriving: Remember when life was hard? We don’t either!

Responsible farmer named People’s Sexiest Man of 2050

Axolotls! No more waste! Axolotls! No more plastic!

There are more axolotls!

A young girl places a note card on a poster board

Olivia Peay

Other contributions envisioned a future where we’ve successfully transitioned away from polluting systems, with headlines celebrating the end of antiquated technologies as well as what could replace them.

Community garden replaces the last big parking lot in the city

World’s final coal power plant closes its doors

Last gas combustion car retired in NYC: Mayor declares holiday

US completes buildout of high-speed rail network

First solar-powered transatlantic flight successfully makes its maiden voyage

A Grist-branded poster board filled with note cards displaying people's imagined headlines

Olivia Peay

And some people used the exercise to “manifest” specific developments they hope to see in their cities. These ones are my personal favorites — they reflect a sense of local pride, some tangible community-level goals, and also (though this may be me extrapolating a bit) a thriving local news ecosystem alive and well in 2050, reporting on these developments.  

NYC’s East River beach and bird preserve recognized as a national park

Summer River Watch has record turnout! Families and tourists alike gather for annual veneration and celebration of sea life at major NYC waterways.

Artesia Blvd. subway opens in South L.A., culminating the first 300 miles of the region’s rapid transit buildout

The Gowanus Canal is finally clean!

Jersey City leads as not just the most diverse city in the US, but uses biophilic design principles in its design planning

Two side-by-side photos show headlines and drawings by children at an outdoor street fair

Rachel Bouton / Grist

“It felt like people wanted that breath of fresh air,” said Rachel Bouton, Grist’s senior events manager, who ran the two in-person headline-writing tables at Climate Week. Compared with previous events where she’s done the exercise, many people at this year’s Climate Week needed to take more of a beat to get into a future-visioning mindset, Rachel said. They’d see the table, and want to participate, but would take a loop around the room before coming back to write their headline. 

“Even though they were long days, I left both events energized,” she said. “Talking to people directly about their thoughts and feelings — it’s something I don’t think we’re doing enough of right now.” 

More from Grist

🚲 Like riding an e-bike

E-bikes — bicycles that pack some power for getting up hills and covering longer distances — are becoming increasingly popular as a low-carbon form of active transportation. Will cities respond by incentivizing them, and building safer infrastructure for them? Read more

🍎 Lunch break

While the federal government slashes funding for farmers, food assistance, and climate resilience, California has been running a successful farm-to-school program to support local growers — often using climate-smart practices — and get more fresh, nutritious food into cafeterias. A new report examined the first few years of the program. Read more

🎭 Flood lights

In New York City, an urban planner turned playwright is exploring how public theater can help inform communities about the risks of climate impacts. The play, Flood Sensor Aunty, combines synth music, bright costumes, and cultural references with important information about flooding — and spectators walk away with freebies like flood alarms and headlamps. Read more

In other news

And finally, looking forward to …

… more hopeful climate headlines! If you’d like to share your vision for the future in drabble form (it doesn’t have to be in any way related to news media), I would love to hear from you. 

🌳🗞️🌳

You can’t remember the last time you saw a physical newspaper — you had to ask your dad where to go to even find one. The charging station cashier gives you a quizzical look when you ask how much for the paper. 

“It’s free, hon,” they say. “Same as online.” 

Of course, that makes sense. It just feels different somehow, walking out with the physical object in your hands. You hold it up and beam at the front-page story. Years of hard work — your hard work — celebrated in the headline: 

Meet the designer turning Texas’ public parks into cool, climate-resilient oases

— a drabble by Claire Elise Thompson

🌳🗞️🌳

A drabble is a 100-word piece of fiction — in this case, offering a tiny glimpse of what a clean, green, just future might look like. Want to try writing your own (and see it featured in a future newsletter)? We would love to hear from you! Please send us your visions for our climate future, in drabble form, at lookingforward@grist.org

👋 See you next week!