Influencer is a term that has become increasingly popular with the rise of social media. You no longer have to be a celebrity or born into wealth to make a profound difference in the world. Anyone with a phone and access to the internet can make their voices heard by politicians, people in power and the general public. Creating a likeminded community online is easier than ever. Everyday people like you and me are now making headlines, affecting policies and becoming activists by posting photos, creating online campaigns and creating community online.
Although the online climate activist communities are out there, sometimes they are hard to find. Because we get to choose what and who shows up in our feeds, we might miss out on important conversations, perspectives and debates in the environmental movement. Diversifying our feeds is an important thing to do to get a more accurate picture of what the world actually looks like outside of social media. Regardless if you spend every free minute scrolling or if you’re a checking-my-instagram-once-a-week type of person, being exposed to more than one type of person is important. This is true also for the environmental movement. Climate change is more than refilling glass jars with pasta and recycling old cans, it’s about understanding how climate change is affecting people from different communities.
A great place to start to get a better idea of what the climate movement actually looks like and to become better activists is to diversifying our feeds. We’ve put together a list of 10 intersectional climate activists using social media and online platforms to diversify the environmental movement.
Leah Thomas
Founder of the platform Intersectional Environmentalist, Leah Tomas is (as the name suggests) an intersectional environmentalist. She uses her platform to speak about social justice and how it has been missing from the environmental movement for far too long. She educates, inspires and empowers others to make real change.
Intersectional Environmentalist
Pattie Gonia
Known for dancing in heels on hiking trails, the drag queen Pattie Gonia is bringing queer issues to the forefront of the climate movement. Through their platform, Pattie Gonia is combining their love for the outdoors with all things drag to encourage other queer people to develop a relationship with nature while educating on why the outdoors might be an unsafe space for queer folk.
Mikaela Loach
Mikaela is a climate justice advocate, medical student and founder of The Yikes Podcast. She is an environmentalist focused on diversifying the movement. She is a claimant on the Paid to Pollute court case against the UK government for spending billions in the oil and gas industry. She speaks on racism, system change, the medical industry and effective activism.
Summer Dean
Summer Dean, going by Climate Diva on social media, is a writer, content creator and model who uses social media to talk about sustainable living and the climate crisis. She is passionate about making sustainable living fun, non-daunting and intersectional while addressing social, political and economic issues.
Aalayna Green
Aalayna is a PhD student and an intersectional conservationist advocating for the protection of our planet. She works with the Black Girl Environmentalist community to empower black women and non-binary environmentalists. She fights for anti-racism within the environmental and climate movements.
Isaias Hernandez
Isaias runs the platform Queer Brown Vegan, advocating for queer rights, environmental and social justice by unlearning what we know and bringing an intersectional perspective on current issues. In addition to social media, Isaias has created environmental resources on his website that bring together creativity and science to educate about climate change issues.
Shina Novalinga
Shina is an indigenous Inuit throat singer who is educating people on the importance of indigenous culture and traditions. She throat sings with her mother to bring awareness about indigenous communities and the environmental threats facing Inuit culture.
Kirsty Drutman
Going by the name Brown Girl Green on social media, Kirsty is an environmentalist and educator who advocates for a more intersectional environmental dialogue. In addition to her Instagram and YouTube channel, she has a podcast by the same name, Brown Girl Green, where she’s joined by pioneers in the sustainability movement to discuss intersectional environmental issues.
Kamea Chayne
Host of the podcast Green Dreamer, writer, creative Kamea is a hakka-taiwanese influencer. Her content is focused on regenerative healing for both people and planet. Her nuanced take on sustainability is centred around people, social justice and exploitation of minority communities. She writes an independent and reader funded newsletter called Uprooted.
Nina Gualinga
Nina is an indigenous woman and activist from Ecuador. Nina is part of the Kichwa-speaking indigenous community in Ecuador and fights for indigenous peoples rights and protection. She is currently studying human rights in Sweden, while advocating for environmental protection of ancient, biodiverse-rich and threatened ecosystems.
