Andy recently joined an all-star lineup of journalists at the Washington D.C. Environmental Film Festival through the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. The panel brought together reporters from TIME, PBS NewsHour, Financial Times, Scientific American, and The Seattle Times to discuss something we don't talk about enough: what happens to workers when the planet heats up?
It's Getting Hot Out There (Literally)
The panel explored a question that's becoming impossible to ignore: What are the intersections of climate and work? How are global climate risks playing out in fields, on factory floors, and in company boardrooms? From computer chip manufacturing to fast fashion, from food production to construction sites – as temperatures rise, entire industries face an existential reckoning.
The Films Tell the Story
The screening featured powerful reporting from around the globe:
"Can India Adapt to Extreme Heat?" from the Financial Times explored how one of the world's most populous nations copes with deadly temperature spikes. "Too Hot to Work: Qatar's World Cup Building Boom" from TIME investigated labor conditions during one of the biggest sporting events on Earth. PBS NewsHour's "Climate Change Forces Major Lifestyle Changes High in the Himalayan Mountains" showed how ancient ways of life are disappearing. And that's just the beginning.
"It's not like we don't know what to do about climate change."
The Real Question
After the panel, TIME journalist Aryn Baker said something that hit hard: "It's not like we don't know what to do about climate change."
And she's absolutely right. This isn't a great mystery. We know how to slow it down. We know how to stop it. The science is clear, the solutions exist, the technology is available.
The question of our time is: do we have the collective will to do it?
These films don't just document problems – they seek out solutions. Stories of companies and communities finding new ways forward. Scientists working to reduce impacts. Workers and communities adapting, innovating, and fighting for a livable future.
Because when you're working in 120-degree heat, or watching your salmon fishery collapse, or seeing your mountain home become uninhabitable – climate change isn't an abstract concept. It's Tuesday.