Jackie Shahinian

Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the leading causes of non-drug-related poisoning deaths nationwide. CO poisoning is a pervasive yet preventable threat in the United States, causing significant harm each year. Recognizing the urgency of this “silent killer,” UL Standards & Engagement has developed the CO Risk Assessment to evaluate each U.S. state’s code and regulatory efforts, health outcomes, and public awareness. Last week, ULSE connected with Smart Cities Dive to discuss how city officials should prioritize supporting greater CO detection. "McKnight said city officials could easily replicate ULSE’s assessments of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, which are based on health outcomes, state-level mandates for indoor CO detectors and public awareness measures. He encouraged city officials to reach out to ULSE to learn more about how they could apply the methodology to their areas." #SafetyScienceInAction Read more 👇

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2026 NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship The Fellowship will grant $20,000 each to three writers to support revision of a feature screenplay or pilot that engages with climate change in a compelling way.

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Increasingly, we are moving toward the ‘all-in-one’ trend when hiring a #communication professionals. But does this approach really work? Here are some interesting insights 👇

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Yesterday, Climate Hub hit a small first: we responded to an RFI. But we approached the process a bit atypically. For anyone unfamiliar, an RFI (request for information) usually sits upstream of an RFP (request for proposal). Until this one landed in early December, I’d never encountered one. Most of our work still comes through referrals and word of mouth, so formal procurement processes aren’t something we spend much time inside. I don't love the RFP process. I find it a bit unwieldy. (Read: long, prescriptive, optimized for completeness rather than clarity... ) I also have a hard time conforming to processes I don’t believe actually help people make better decisions. What I *do* believe in is giving decision-makers the information they need to choose well. So instead of submitting a document that mirrored the requested structure line by line, we shared a concise, narrative-driven Gdoc that covered: – what senior executives in their target companies are actually optimizing for – what matters most for carbon removal in 2026 – practical guidance on positioning a differentiated category – how we typically work – what it costs, including what you get and what you don’t – relevant experience from carbon markets, with two concrete examples Will it work? Who knows! But gently bucking the process felt worth it, for two reasons: 1️⃣ It differentiates us from a stack of 10-page documents full of corporate language. (Something about responding to corporate processes tends to draw the corporate-speak out of the best of us.) 2️⃣ It demonstrates how we think: surfacing the most salient information, focusing on what actually drives decisions, and communicating it clearly. At the end of the day, that’s the work we do for clients too.

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Grist opens applications for new rural reporting grants on climate and environmental justice. Applicants can request up to $5,000 per project. https://lnkd.in/ev7mSGK5 #News #Media #Grants #Climate #Environment 

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🌎 Georgia’s Climate Research Roadmap: Science, Equity & Action 🌿 Back in 2018, a diverse team of researchers, policymakers, and community leaders came together to ask a bold question: *What does Georgia need most to prepare for climate change?* Published in *Environmental Management*, the project — led by Murray Rudd and many co-authors, including **Dr. Jairo Garcia (Atlanta’s Office of Resilience)** — crowdsourced **180 climate-related questions** from scientists, practitioners, and residents. Through participatory workshops at Emory University, those were refined to **40 priority questions**, now known as the **Georgia Climate Research Roadmap**. Why it matters: ✅ **Equity and justice at the core** — the roadmap emphasizes that climate planning must center *vulnerable and historically marginalized communities*. ✅ **Cross-sector collaboration** — agriculture, coasts, energy, water, health, and infrastructure are deeply connected and must be addressed together. ✅ **Long-term data and monitoring** — Georgia can’t adapt effectively without reliable climate and socio-economic data. ✅ **Actionable guidance** — the roadmap offers questions that city leaders, farmers, and families can use to build resilience in real, practical ways. Dr. Jairo Garcia’s involvement highlights how this work is not only about climate science but also about human well-being. His leadership underscores the importance of connecting research directly to community needs — ensuring that plans for adaptation and resilience are as inclusive as they are forward-thinking. 💡 As the authors note, these 40 questions are not an endpoint but a beginning — a living tool designed to guide policies, strengthen collaboration, and inspire collective action. The message is clear: *Climate change does not give Georgia a choice. But research, cooperation, and community-centered leadership give Georgia a chance.* 🌱 And in your own words what is your best climate action plan? #ClimateAction #Georgia #Equity #Resilience #Sustainability #ClimateJustice #jairogarcia #georgiatech

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A new report, published ahead of the International Day of Indigenous Women on Sept. 5, analyzed structural barriers faced by Indigenous, Afro-descendant and other local community women’s organizations in accessing funding for conservation, land rights and gender equality projects — and it offers several recommendations to address these challenges. “When women have secure land and resource rights, deforestation rates fall, food security improves, and communities are more resilient,” Omaira Bolaños, Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) program director and lead researchers on the report, told Mongabay via email. “Yet despite this central role, women remain underrepresented in decision-making and severely underfunded.” The latest report by global coalitions RRI and the Women in Global South Alliance (WiGSA) found that most of the grants that organizations in the WiGSA network receive are short-term, lasting two years or less, and very little funding reaches women directly, instead going through intermediaries such as international NGOs. Deborah Sanchez, an Indigenous leader from the Honduran Moskitia and director of the Community Land Rights and Conservation Finance Initiative (CLARIFI) by the RRI, who was not directly involved in the report, said that in addition to simplified, flexible and responsive reporting systems, donors also need to provide more core and unrestricted funding for women-led initiatives. Most critically, “we need a broad shift from control to trust in the donor-recipient relationship,” she added. https://lnkd.in/etesHKKU

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The National Climate Outlook Forum is an important national platform that translates climate science into early action. The Gu 2026 forecast provides critical guidance to strengthen preparedness and reduce risks to protect vulnerable communities.👇🏽 https://lnkd.in/dbBhVNFH

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What does reporting on climate change look like when it's super cold? Here I lay out five stories from @AP's climate and environment team. Full stories in the chat below.

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Excited to share the latest opportunity from the foundation - an RFP supporting Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) across the US! The foundation will provide up to $10M in total funding, and we are particularly interested in U.S.-based projects consisting of diverse teams of scientists, practitioners, and stakeholders (e.g., community members, landowners, state land managers, etc.) to co-develop, test, and deploy science and technology solutions addressing barriers to NCS implementation. Read more below.

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In today’s environmental landscape, conservation initiatives succeed when trust leads the conversation. Strategic public affairs helps organizations bridge the gap between science, community priorities and policy outcomes. Check out our newest article below to explore how integrated communications strategies can turn conservation goals into real-world environmental impact! https://lnkd.in/e8ZRNTUh

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“NEPA has long been used as a proxy environmental policy tool, well beyond its original scope of analyzing possible environmental impacts of a major project and considering reasonable alternative.”- Jon Sanders, director of the Center for Food, Power and Life at the John Locke Foundation https://lnkd.in/eHjVu9Yr

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The Wildfire and Watershed Initiative for Resilient Colorado is hosting a webinar series that will provide practical, non-partisan education on local and regional public funding strategies that support wildfire mitigation, forest restoration, and watershed resilience. Learn more about the series here: https://lnkd.in/ga8BUCWh

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Calling all changemakers working on climate equity! Atlantic Fellows is calling for Proposals for The Equity Review, a new publication that will serve as a leading voice in global conversations about equity. The inaugural edition will focus on a fair and equitable shift to a green future. They are seeking contributions at the intersection of equity, climate justice, and sustainability — grounded in rigorous analysis, lived experience, and transformative practice. Proposals are invited from Fellows or members of leadership initiatives or fellowship programs committed to challenging systemic inequities. Deadline: June 9, 2025. Learn more: https://ow.ly/MMK550VSw8X

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When federal climate protections take a back seat, local action steps up. 💪 In this article from Corinne Grinapol at ENR, my colleagues Sarah Varghese and Ian Minnes share how states, cities, and the private sector in the US are driving the green transition. From advances in renewable energy to new funding approaches, their insights show what’s possible when communities demonstrate climate leadership at the local level. https://arcad.is/su1APt

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⭐️ Tested at three Midwest #wildlife refuges, this report introduces a decision framework that combines resist–accept–direct approach, scenario planning, and decision analysis to guide natural resource managers through the process of planning effective #climate #adaptation strategies. ✍️ Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gUhRWmhP

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