Dom just leveled up. We're thrilled to announce that he's won the prestigious Telly Award for his work on Scientific American's "The Carbon Cage" – a project that uses the power of visual storytelling to expose one of the biggest challenges of our time.
Breaking Out of the Carbon Cage
As the winner in the Craft category at the 44th annual Telly Awards, Dom's art direction, animation, and music composition brought this complex climate investigation to life in ways that make you actually feel the weight of what we're up against.
So what exactly is "The Carbon Cage"? It's the invisible prison built by our economic system – industrial capitalism's dependence on fossil fuels and its dogma of limitless growth on a planet with finite resources. The majority of humans are now feeling climate breakdown firsthand. With the planet 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer than preindustrial levels, devastating wildfires, heat waves, floods, and storms are no longer distant threats – they're part of everyday life.
The Question That Drives the Story
Here's the puzzler: Why have governments and policymakers, faced with decades of overwhelming scientific evidence, failed to produce action consistent with the threats we face? Scientists have been sounding the alarm since the 1950s. Oil companies like Exxon were actively studying the problem in the 1970s and 80s while publicly denying climate change even existed.
"If we do not break this stranglehold, we will continue to speed toward rapid and catastrophic crisis."
The research in this piece reveals how our current economic system creates bars around us that block meaningful climate action while shaping the responses we do get – like net zero commitments and carbon offsetting. It's not just about science anymore; it's about the economic forces that prevent us from acting on what we know.
Why This Matters
From the first Conference of the Parties in Germany in 1995 to COP27 in Egypt, we've seen decades of negotiations against a backdrop of failure to meaningfully change course. The Paris Agreement brought nearly 200 countries together, but the cage remains locked.
Dom's work helps us see the invisible structures holding us back – because you can't break out of a cage if you can't see the bars.
Congratulations, Dom, on this well-deserved recognition. 🏆