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Climate regulations can be repealed, but a renaissance can’t be rolled back. And make no mistake — we’re in the middle of one—still. In an era where environmental safeguards are being shredded like outdated memos and headlines read like obituaries for common sense, it’s easy to feel hopeless. Geopolitical agendas surrounding climate change are more out of integrity than a billionaire launching a rocket to escape it.
But while some misguided leaders are trying to rewind progress, citizens of the world are pressing forward with something more powerful than the dismantling of policy: imagination, innovation and collective will. I’ve seen it — from rewilded forests to EV design studios to the hearts of communities breaking borders—there’s an intrepid generation of entrepreneurs redefining what travel, community and sustainable living look like.
Pack Light, Travel Deep
Last year, I visited MUSA — a sanctuary for biodiversity and local culture, nestled along Costa Grande of Guerrero in Mexico. The entire travel destination is a living, breathing counterpoint to extractive tourism, where visitors aren’t consumers of a place, but stewards of it, where local economies are strengthened, not drained, where wildlife is protected, not disturbed. And every expansion is guided by the principle that impact should be regenerative, not destructive.
Travel, at its best, becomes activism with a passport. Priyanka Surio, a public health expert turned sustainable travel strategist, is making the case that climate consciousness belongs in every itinerary, and that how we travel, where we stay and who benefits from our presence are just as important as the miles we clock. She highlights the importance of giving back, fueling local economies, protecting wildlife and biodiversity, reducing carbon footprints and promoting cultural awareness while traveling.
In the spirit of bringing diverse people and communities together through cultural experiences, Yasmine El Baggari founded Voyaj, a travel company connecting people around the world through one-on-one and group exchanges to foster global understanding and peace. From astronauts to people on the move, Voyaj implores us to imagine a world where strangers no longer exist.
And it’s not just where we go and what we do. It’s how we get there. At SXSW, I spoke with Denise Cherry, the head of marketing at Rivian, one of the most exciting EV companies of our time. Their trucks are built for adventure and rooted in justice, as their software does more than optimize routes. It collects data that informs better climate design. While selling electric vehicles, Rivian is helping rewrite what mobility means, centering communities and environmental equity along the way.
Where Nature Checks In
Even in offices change is growing—literally. The Oakland, CA-based company Biome, founded by Collin Cavote, is reimagining workspaces by integrating “furnitureized” living walls. They’ve turned biophilic design into something scalable and smart by bringing nature’s benefits directly into boardrooms. In addition to enabling these spaces to have a lush, biopunk aesthetic, Biome is maximizing health and creativity in the built environment by restoring the human connection to nature — one square foot at a time — without soil, plumbing or water. Reimagining indoor life, its new planter draws moisture from thin air and waters plants automatically.
The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?
Beyond the workplace, Nokken — a modular cabin concept from London-based designers Nathan Aylott and James Van Tromp — offers low-impact structures that blend into natural landscapes. Designed for off-grid stays and minimalist retreats, the cabins provide a way to reconnect with the land. Sometimes the future doesn’t need to be invented from scratch. Its origin just needs to be remembered.
So, how do we motivate people to participate in all of this? Here’s how:
Lead With Lives, Not Laws
In my work across climate storytelling, it’s clear that people don’t rally around policy. They rally around people. Frame climate action through lived experience. Stories like MUSA’s are both inspiring and instructive because sustainable tourism isn’t a trend. It’s a lifeline, protecting both ecosystems and the communities that call them home. If you want people to care, don’t just tell them what’s at stake, show them the ecosystems they belong to. Connection fuels commitment.
Make It Visceral
Data points don’t move hearts, but a child’s asthma does, a flooded home does and a missed harvest or a canceled graduation due to wildfire smoke does. Climate communication must be embodied. The choices we make about where we travel, how we move and what we support shape the air we breathe and the lives we live. If we want action, we have to make the stakes human.
Ground Resilience in Reality
Climate resilience isn’t just about infrastructure. It’s about making sure our kids can still get to school after a hurricane or our grandmother can stay in her home during a heat wave. More companies can produce products with these realities in mind to ensure communities can move safely and sustainably through a crisis. Resilience is rooted in access, reliability and justice. The roads we build, literally and figuratively, must reflect that.
Treat Conservation As Culture
Conservation isn’t just about protecting land. It’s about preserving language, memory and identity. For many communities, land is identity. Protecting culture means creating space for human connection across borders, backgrounds and belief systems. Don’t just ask what is being protected. Ask who it belongs to, and why it matters. When we center those voices, we can help safeguard the soul of a people.
Show the Future We’re Building — Not Just the Threats We’re Fighting
Climate storytelling at its best welcomes people into a vision of what’s possible. Show what it looks like when nature and design work together — like Biome’s living walls transforming sterile offices into vibrant, breathing spaces. Paint pictures of beauty, of innovation and joy. When people can see the future, they’re more likely to help build it.
It’s our job as storytellers, entrepreneurs and engaged citizens to illuminate the quiet brilliance that’s blooming beneath the surface. More often than not, progress moves silently. But it’s there — underfoot, overhead and in every idea we refuse to give up on.
