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Alaina Wood

@thegarbagequeen.bsky.social

3.4K followers 250 following 580 posts

Appalachian Climate Storyteller & Activist UTK Sustainability & Geography Alum 🌍 goodclimatenews.substack.com 📧 [email protected]

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · Jan 21

Good Climate News is my newsletter focused on recent examples of progress being made to address the climate crisis.

It’ll always be free, but I do have paid subscriptions open if you would like to support my work.

Don’t forget to subscribe because I publish a new edition every Friday!

Good Climate News | Alaina Wood | Substack

Good Climate News is a weekly newsletter focused on recent examples of progress being made to address the climate crisis written by award-winning climate communicator Alaina Wood. Click to read Good C...

open.substack.com

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 1d

Source:

Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity - BBC News

Developing countries lead the historic clean energy charge but the US and EU rely more on fossil fuels than before, a think tank study shows.

www.bbc.com

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 1d

Want to know why Trump is trying so hard to bring coal mining back to the United States?

Because clean energy now generates more electricity than coal on a global scale, and that’s cutting into the profits of fossil fuel companies.

(Which is great news for the planet!)

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 2d

Would y’all be interested in a video about how to stop AI data centers in your community?

A few where I live in Northeast Tennessee are successfully restricting or outright banning data centers because of grassroots public pressure.

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 4d

“They dragged little Greta by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others.” — Turkish activist ErsinÇelik

Israel accused of detaining Greta Thunberg in infested cell and making her hold flags

Activist tells Swedish officials she has been subjected to harsh treatment, including insufficient food and water

www.theguardian.com

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 4d

Greta Thunberg has allegedly been tortured by Israeli forces after being detained in international waters.

Her crime? Trying to bring food, medicine, and supplies to the frontlines of a genocide.

This is absolutely unacceptable. Stop the blockade of aid! Release the flotilla activists!

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 5d

Last year I lived through my first climate disaster, and it taught me some very important lessons about resilience.

I’m now sharing these lessons with you because that newfound resilience is helping me not lose hope under the current administration.

Reflections on Hurricane Helene

Last week was the one year anniversary of me living through my first climate disaster.

open.substack.com

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 6d

Next week the IUCN World Conservation Congress kicks off in Abu Dhabi.

Stay tuned to learn more about how the conservation world will be tackling the climate and biodiversity crises!

#IUCNCongress

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 7d

Today we lost one of my biggest inspirations for going into the environmental field.

Dr. Jane Goodall will be greatly missed, but we can carry on her legacy by not giving up hope and continuing the fight to make this planet a better place.

Source: ABC Australia

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 7d

Please make plans to attend a protest near you. If you can’t attend, that’s okay! See if you can drive by in support, and if not, share information about it online.

No Kings

As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...

www.nokings.org

Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 7d

Are you scared, angry, or overwhelmed by the illegal and immoral actions of the Trump administration?

If so, got any plans for Saturday, October 18th?

There’s going to be protests all across the country, and you can see if there’s one near you at the link in the replies.

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 8d

Hurricane Imelda couldn’t stop me from sharing my excitement over oysters with y’all!

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 9d

These are fantastic. Thank you! I will definitely be incorporating them into my sci comm content!

Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 9d

Good Climate News | Alaina Wood | Substack

A weekly newsletter focused on the science, policy, and activism helping address the climate crisis written by the award-winning Appalachian climate communicator Alaina Wood. Click to read Good Climat...

open.substack.com

Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 9d

I looked at my Substack this morning and cried happy tears. I really wasn’t expecting the outpouring of support. I got enough paid subscribers overnight to make up for most of my lost income.

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!! Y’ALL ARE TRULY THE BEST!!

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 10d

I have no paid work on the horizon, and my husband just had to take a 50% pay cut to keep his business afloat.

As much as I hate to say it, my time as a climate communicator might soon be coming to an end. It’s been a fantastic five years, but this job doesn’t pay the bills anymore.

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 10d

I think I’m allowed to get upset that I’ve lost 80% of my income since that orange turd took office.

Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 10d

Every independent climate communicator is different, but up until recently, I was getting funding for one-off campaigns and also longer term content partnerships from a wide variety of climate, policy, and conservation organizations. Now it’s just few conservation and policy organizations.

Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 11d

If you don’t want the United States to fall further behind when it comes to climate, you need to invest in climate communicators.

We are keeping conversations around climate as well as people’s willingness to take action alive, and yet we have all lost the majority of our funding this year.

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 12d

That’s incredible!!

Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 12d

Did you know that NOAA has a major office in Asheville? They put together a story map about Hurricane Helene, and it’s the best data resource I’ve seen out there about the storm.

I might be a little biased, though, because I have a geography degree and love using GIS to share data.

Helene in Southern Appalachia

One year later: An event analysis and how we move forward.

storymaps.arcgis.com

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 12d

The haters and climate naysayers can’t keep me down. I’m back with an edition full of environmental lawsuits in the United States — including one Trump is currently losing!

Edition 25: September 26, 2025

The haters and climate naysayers can't keep me down. I'm back with an edition full of environmental lawsuits from the United States — including one Trump is currently losing!

open.substack.com

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 13d

Hurricane Helene forever changed both my life and my region, and I can’t believe this Saturday marks a whole year since it hit. Recovery is coming along nicely, but there’s still a long way to go. Please come visit — Western NC in particular — because we’re back open and need your tourism support!

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 13d

Source:

6 Million Pounds of Compost Given to NYC Gardeners in 2025 in Ongoing Organic Waste Collection Effort

6 million pounds of free fertilizer has been given away by NYC authorities after the first year of lawn waste/food scraps collection.

www.goodnewsnetwork.org

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 13d

New York City launched a citywide composting program last year, and around 6 million tons of free finished compost have been handed out to residents and community gardens so far.

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Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 14d

Check out this fantastic deep dive article from @mongabay.com if you want to learn more about the High Seas Treaty.

‘Super big deal’: High seas treaty reaches enough ratifications to become law

A major treaty establishing a framework for the world’s nations to jointly manage marine conservation in international waters, which cover about half of the Earth’s surface, has reached enough ratific...

news.mongabay.com