"I hope I can be a little bit of proof to you that combining who you are and what you’re good at to fight for the change you want to see in the world works."
Drag artist and environmentalist Pattie Gonia set forth 100 miles north of San Francisco, California, in late November in an effort to raise funds for eight outdoor nonprofits. A week later, she was backpacking over the city's iconic Golden Gate Bridge, having raised $1.1 million.
At the start of her journey down the California coast, Pattie shared that she would be wearing drag and camping along the way. Over the course of the week, more than 34,000 individual donations rolled in to support her effort, she said in a post on social media.
"When I started being Pattie, everyone told me I was crazy," the artist and advocate wrote upon the completion of her days-long hike. "When I told people I wanted to do this fundraiser, people laughed in my face."
"Seven years later and I hope I can be a little bit of proof to you that combining who you are and what you’re good at to fight for the change you want to see in the world works. And if people laugh in your face or doubt your crazy idea, you’re likely on the right path."
Pattie's remarks come on the heels of many advocates calling for the preservation of trans- and non-binary-inclusive language in the Belém Gender Action Plan to guide gender-responsive climate action.
The plan ultimately adopted at the United Nations' COP30 convention may ultimately have disappointed both inclusion advocates and hardline conservatives, with progressive stakeholders noting both shortfalls and achievements. But the debate may have helped to turn a spotlight on trans and non-binary experiences of the climate crisis.
For example, in a Q&A published this month, the trans-led Gender Interactive Alliance in Pakistan told Global Voices in its post-COP30 coverage, "In urban settings like Karachi, the transgender community, especially the khwaja sira, is disproportionately affected by climate impacts, which severely intensifies their already precarious living conditions. …. Many reside in informal settlements, making them highly vulnerable to urban flooding, heat waves, and pollution."
GIA also called on governments and partners to "operationalize equity by investing directly in grassroots, trans-led organizations" and to "not treat us as a footnote."
The recipients of the funds raised through Pattie Gonia's trek — all committed to improving equitable access to nature and outdoor experiences — will each receive over $145,000. They include Vámonos Outside of Central Oregon, The Children's Home Project of Honduras, and Brave Trails for LGBTQ+ youth.
Olubusayo Ruth Akinola — Head of the Social Welfare, Drug Control, and Crime Prevention Division of the Union — exchanged emails with CG following the release of a new report from the African Union.
"We did not directly address this through these separate papers," study lead author David Luglio told CG, "but it is also important to understand if and how these wildfire and heat effects on autism development combine, especially given that they will likely co-occur in the future."
ProPublica said in late February that the agency shared it "has stopped distributing" gear containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances following the outlet's early-February reporting that the agency knew for years its pants contained potentially harmful "forever chemicals."
The U.S. halted oil shipments from Venezuela to Cuba in January. Later, the Trump administration threatened to impose tariffs on other countries that sent oil to the island nation. There have been reports of women cooking with charcoal amid blackouts — and of a surge in solar energy interest.
