I want a livable planet for my kid: One Southie mom's thoughts on climate change

Hey there residents of Planet Southie, it's Stefanie.

Some of you know me from Planet Southie meetings (I usually facilitate). This is a very different kind of blog post. 

Olivia and me

We usually blog about boring (but important) stuff, like meetings. Ultimately, the topic of climate change is a personal one, so this is a very personal post. It's also very long (sorry) and kinda intense (yikes). While climate change evokes images of far away polar bears and icecaps, the reality of it literally hits home when we start to think practically about what it means for our community and our families (more extreme weather, power outages, disease, stress, scarcity, etc.). Because my background is in public health and human rights, I tend to focus on how climate impacts people (not that I don’t love polar bears too).

As many of you know, Aaron and I became parents last year. You may have met our beautiful daughter Olivia (especially if you ride the #9 bus!). Since Olivia's arrival, we have felt an even greater urgency to confront climate head on. About three years ago, we started Planet Southie with hopes to connect with our neighbors to cultivate homegrown solutions (and it's worked!), but we have shied away from the term “climate change” out of silly worries over controversy. Time to stop worrying what people think and just go for it.

South Boston Cooling Centers

We're building a map in Google showing locations of official City of Boston cooling centers for the South Boston area. The City of Boston website has more information to help residents cope with high temperatures. Suggestions on providing more information are always welcome, so feel free to post a comment.


View South Boston Cooling Centers in a larger map