May 2025 Good Newsletter
Happy birthday to me.
This is my all-time favorite tree. It shades our house in the summer and in the winter it’s covered with tiny white blossoms that fall like snow. And this is one of my all-time favorite poems, “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver:
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the parries and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home agin.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
For my birthday I wish to remember my place in the family of things. How about you?
GOOD CLIMATE NEWS
In March — for the first time ever — fossil fuels generated less than half of the U.S. power mix, while energy companies project tariffs may make it too expensive to drill, baby, drill. Take a look at this new report on deep change theory, which is the idea that people can challenge the basic assumptions (new is better, consumption leads to happiness) that underpin our systems of mass production, single use, and planned obsolescence — solving the twin crises of climate and pollution in one fell swoop. Yes, we can.
Plus:
As auto manufacturers brace for tariff impacts, used EVs get set to boom. (Sign me up for that preloved Mustang!)
Temu and Shein announce higher prices due to tariffs and that's one good thing to come out of this mess: When prices are higher, fashion is not so fast.
Coldplay reduced CO2 by 50% over their previous tour by installing kinetic floors that convert dancing into energy, reusing plant-based LED wristbands, and requiring water refill stations at venues — and who else does that?
MOBILIZING CLIMATE VOTERS
Why do I postcard for the Environmental Voter Project? Since its launch nine years ago, the non-partisan organization has communicated with 12.8 million low-propensity voters and turned 2.2 million of them into "super voters" who vote in every election. Also, I welcome EVP’s ongoing analysis, which includes this recent report on the climate voter gender gap: Young women are twice as likely as young men to list climate as a top voting priority.
MOMMY GREENEST VAULT
17 years ago, I began publishing as Mommy Greenest and, now that my kids are grown, it's time to shut it down. But until I pull the plug in January 2026, I’m re-publishing content that’s still relevant today — like these tips on avoiding BPA, first published in 2013. (Check out the prices on that receipt!)
Endocrine disruptors are in the news (again) because of alarmist content warning that touching one receipt coated with BPA could send you to your grave. This is simply not true. However, it is true that studies have connected BPA with higher rates of obesity, infertility, thyroid problems, and cancer. In 2013, the United Nations and the World Health Organization called BPA a “global threat” and shortly thereafter the California EPA added the substance to its Prop 65 list of chemicals known to cause reproductive toxicity.
So, here are a few ways to avoid BPA (and other endocrine disruptors like its cousin, BPS):
On the go, drink water from a stainless steel bottle, not plastic.
Reduce the amount of canned food your family eats, and when you do choose cans, make sure they say “BPA-free.”
Wash your hands — especially first thing on returning home — to reduce the amount of toxic substances like BPA that you ingest from hand-to-mouth exposure.
Try to use credit cards instead of cash, and in the same way you might politely decline a plastic bag, just ask the cashier to throw away your register receipt. (You’ll already have a transaction record through your credit card.)
Don’t microwave meals in plastic containers or wraps; store leftovers in glass or dishware, especially if the food is warm: BPA (and other toxic chemicals in plastic) leach out much faster when heated and can contaminate the food.
Eat more fresh food! A 2011 study found just three days of eating food not canned or plastic packaged can reduce your BPA levels by 60 percent.
“Most of the things that really make us happy are not things that are the ruin of the world.” - Dominic Boyer of Rice University in Atmos
CAN WE DECARBONIZE CONSUMER GOODS?
Really proud of the work we're doing at Cascale to decarbonize global consumer goods supply chains. Season two of the "Source of Good" podcast focuses on how manufacturers and brands are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and I got to interview Lewis Perkins of the Apparel Impact Institute!
LET’S GET BUSY
50501 is a great resource to find protest events -- all organized by independent volunteers. Let's do this!
The aforementioned Environmental Voter Project motivates red, blue, and purple voters who prioritize climate to get to the polls for down ballot races.
5 Calls provides scripts and essentials to call your congressperson — with over six million calls logged so far, they're making an impact.
Let me know if you need more inspiration — there’s more where this came from!
BOOK TALKS
A few years ago, I asked the brilliant writer Valerie Laken to join me for a conversation about craft, publishing, and her page-turner, Dream House. I followed that up by connecting with Laura Warrell to discuss her stunning Sweet, Soft & Plenty Rhythm and then Omar El Akkad dropped in on my UCSB climate fiction lecture to talk about American War. (Which is also a great example of thrutopian fiction — ask me how!) Since then, I’ve spoken with Kimberly King Parsons about We Were the Universe and Crissy Van Meter about Creatures — two of my all-time favorite books — and suspect I may have an interview series!
On May 2nd, I’ll meet up with author Nayantara Roy for an Instagram Live conversation about The Magnificent Ruins, which transported me to India every time I cracked its spine and simultaneously had me examining universal questions about family and loyalty and love. The thing about these discussions that never ceases to amaze is the honesty and humility with which writers approach their craft, and the open and transparent way they share their process. Join us this Friday, May 2nd!
Tell a friend about the (free) Good Newsletter, please? We need more friends like you.
WHO’S THIS?
Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, aka “Mommy Greenest,” is a climate communicator and sustainability storyteller who has been writing a better world since 2008. She swapped tips with notables from Jane Goodall to His Majesty King Charles lll and appeared on "TODAY" and TEDx. A former journalist with an MA from USC and an MFA from Pacific University, Rachel’s career as an environmentalist informs her fiction, creative nonfiction, and consulting. She is currently querying her first novel.