When we start thinking about our own relationship to energy, even small shifts can spark bigger change.
Energy powers nearly everything in our lives…from the lights in our homes to the way we move through the world. But the future of energy isn’t just about technology or electricity bills; it’s also about justice, health, and the kind of world we want to live in. In this Action Pack, we’ll explore how energy connects to our everyday lives!
Here’s what we’ll cover step-by-step:
🎯 Action step 1 of 4: READ — Let's start by looking at a few articles together.
💡 What do you think about the future of energy in your personal life?
Other than solar panels and wind turbines, for example, what other ideas come up for you? (Biking instead of driving, simply requiring less resources to exist, etc?)
💡 What is the relationship between individual efforts and larger infrastructure/institutional efforts?
This past year in 2025, we're seeing massive rollbacks on federal renewable energy efforts in the United States, which is bound to ripple into other countries' legislation.
💡 How do you think about your power on an individual, household, and systemic level? What can you do on your own, and what relies on top-down incentives?
💡 What does energy independence mean to you?
"Energy independence" is thrown around a lot in geopolitical and national security conversations. (I won't pretend to know what those are like.) For me, personally? Energy independence looks like living in a city where my electricity comes from renewable sources. Having a life where I don't have to rely on cars to get around. Feeling like I don't have to worry about worsening climate disasters.
💡 How do you think about energy in other ways?
What about the energy of community, and having the confidence, agency, and means to make a difference? What about spiritually? How can we broaden our thinking around the future of energy?
When we start thinking about our own relationship to energy, even small shifts can spark bigger change. ⚡🌍
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 1 of 4: READ.
🎯 Action step 2 of 4: LISTEN — we'll watch a short video or listen to a podcast to further expand on our topic.
Energy is everything. It's also not an issue most people think about on a regular basis beyond their electricity bill, since the energy system just... is. On the other end of the spectrum, those of us who are climate-concerned can yap forever about reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to clean energy.
But, here in the real world where we live, what does that mean? Do we want to live on a planet where we "solve climate," but displace people from their homes? (We don't.) Do we want to sacrifice human rights for stable temperatures? (We don't.)
That's why we want to bring the energy conversations into an intersection you already care about.
We present to you a menu for your renewable education:
📖 GENERAL | Tell the haters they're wrong (Read it here)
If anyone tells you "renewables aren't reliable," show them how California just debunked this claim. Renewables, combined with battery storage, helped the state's power plants burn 40 percent less fossil fuel for electricity last year. Also, California's battery capacity increased 30x between 2020 and 2023, which is a bonkers case for optimism.
📖 GEOPOLITICS & MINING | What to be aware of when we think of building clean energy (Read it here)
Fossil fuels aren't the enemy. The unchecked greed of a handful of cartoon villains is. Divesting from fossil fuels is critical to protecting our future, but we must remember that everything comes with a cost. Regardless of the energy source, there is no good outcome for exponential growth. Global demand for resources that power green alternatives to fossil fuels (lithium, cobalt, nickel, and metals) will quadruple by the end of the next decade. Seems fine, until you think about the potential devastation of mining operations on the land and its inhabitants. Unlike fossil fuel adoption, we have the chance to get ahead of this and be proactive about curbing future injustice.
📖 HEALTH | How heat pumps can save you from asthma (Read it here)
Heat pumps are the unsung heroes of the climate movement. Actually, that's not true; they're fairly sung. They've been outselling gas furnaces for years now. Very cool when electricity can save you from having to burn toxic methane gas (aka "natural gas") in your precious home. Swapping yucky combustion-based boilers with heat pumps in factories could "avoid 77,200 premature deaths, 33 million asthma attacks, and more than 200,000 new asthma cases by 2050." No-brainer.
P.S. Here's how a heat pump works: "By manipulating the pressure of refrigerants, they extract warmth from outdoor air and use that energy to heat something. Because heat pumps move heat instead of generating it, they’re several times more efficient than even the best gas furnaces."
Your mission is to choose one article and deepen your knowledge, ideally getting to a place where you can share and discuss it with someone in your life.
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 2 of 4: LISTEN.
🎯 Action step 3 of 4: ACT — Now it's time to do something. Let's go!
With your help, we can be one step closer to a fossil-free future…or even baby steps to phasing out all these bad fuels polluting our planet (yuck). Take action by choosing an area of advocacy based on NCCJC's 4 R's for Social Transformation framework.
1. RESIST: Remember to call it "methane gas" instead of "natural gas"
Natural gas is methane, which is Bad For You. "Natural gas" sounds pleasant, doesn't it? Resist that term. Call it what it is. For more, read our Action Pack on methane.
2. REIMAGINE: Right now, block 15 minutes to understand where your energy comes from and how that could be different.
The action is to send yourself a calendar invite or some other reminder, because this stuff is convoluted. We wish we could tell you about where your energy comes from, but it varies from country to country, state to state, and even city to city.
3. REIMAGINE: Listen to this song about heat pumps and think about how you can use your own creativity for narrative change
Turns out heat pumps are sexy af.
4. RECREATE: Contribute to Sun Day by drawing your half of a sun (and then find an event to attend)
Climate organizations around the world are uniting for Sun Day annually on September 31.. You can draw a sun (takes 30 seconds and is super cute and fun), find an event, and look for more ways to get involved with renewable energy near you!
5. RECREATE: Commit to making ONE structural change in your life towards renewable energy by the end of 2025
Ebike to minimize driving? Yes. Amtrak USA rail pass to swap out fossil-fuel intensive plane travel? Yes. Investing in an induction range to save your kids from unnecessary asthma or even acquiring a portable induction cooktop that's a hundred bucks? Yes. A HEAT PUMP?! Hell yes.
Renewable energy doesn't have to be this whole thing. We mean, in many ways it does, but there are also so many inroads for you to make a difference starting now.
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 3 of 4: ACT.
Before we go any further, it's time for you to pledge your commitment. It takes less than 30 seconds to pledge and we can bother you about it in a friendly way, so we can hold each other accountable. Pledge here!
🎯 Action step 4 of 4: REFLECT — what can you commit to? What fresh perspectives can we look at?
Nothing heals the human heart better than the hope that art gives to us all. Reflect by reading this poem aloud to yourself or to someone around you. Then, journal and discuss what it brought up for you.
Do/Do Not by Nisha Atalie
I sniff the blooming tiger lily,
two tongues sprung open
from one mouth.
I poison the river unintentionally.
I walk on the designated paths.
I splice the mountain, its body and mouth gaping.
I collect rainwater in a wheelbarrow.
I line the whale’s belly with gifts until
they rupture its stomach.
I water the strawberries.
Again I fill my gas tank with dead things,
generations spun together until shiny.
I feed the ducks fresh lettuce.
I maneuver the dead squirrel
on the road, mark the moment
when creature becomes meat.
I accept that my love is a
poisonous flower, routinely fatal.
I calculate the force of
loving in each glittering death.
All day on this land, in the
deep forest, the electric greens and
still-wet mud writhe with life.
The pond gurgles and whispers.
Everyone here knows to shudder
when they see me coming.
The mangos arrive unbruised
at the grocery store.
The wolves should start running.
(Source: Poets.org)
To us, this poem above is about how energy is tied up in everything. We can't be perfect, but we can be the best possible stewards of Planet Earth by continuing to advocate for clean, healthy, renewable energy...while remembering to still hold the nuance in the discussion.
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 4 of 4: REFLECT.
Check out our membership community for more resources like free weekly events with social justice experts, sustainable product discounts, pre-written email templates, a social impact job board, and in-person hangouts with new friends. Thanks for taking action with Soapbox Project!