Happy Earth Day! This year we celebrate the 56th Earth Day.
The first Earth Day was in 1970, or as my kids say, “way back in the 1900s.” It began as teach-ins to raise public consciousness about air and water pollution. The two senators who pushed championed the idea – one a democrat and one a republican – saw the potential to positively impact human health.
On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development. For perspective, that was 10% of the total U.S. population.
And less than two weeks ago, we watched the crew of Artemis II splash down in the Pacific Ocean after circling around the moon. It was the furthest humans have ever been from Earth. The kid in me gleefully watched the launch and the splashdown.
I was struck by how much joy the four astronauts brought to the mission. It was clear that they were there to collaborate, celebrate, and tackle the journey with awe and wonder. And out of that came the new term, “moon joy.”
For those of us here on the Earth’s surface, I’m challenging each of you to find a moment of “Earth joy” today. Find beauty and joy in the small or large, the growing or person-made, the human or animal. Find a moment to celebrate, so that tomorrow we can get back to the hard work of decarbonization.
From the Creative Purpose Blog
Defining Clean Energy Branding
Common branding terms that carry multiple meanings and how to avoid confusion
When speaking with clean energy organizations about branding and brand efforts, it’s not uncommon for us to spend a few minutes defining terms. What does someone mean when asking for a rebrand? Does someone use vision and mission interchangeably? What the heck is a customer profile?
How we define and use terms can make a major difference in how a brand, marketing, or creative project is scoped. The way in which we interpret branding terminology impacts how we actually work to brand our own organizations.
Most of you are not as nerdy as I am and like reading dictionary definitions, looking up the etymology of words, etc. So, don’t expect a straight glossary of terms. For that, head over to the Merriam-Webster website.
Monthly Makeover
This month, instead of a makeover, a bit of tactical advice. Let’s talk about LinkedIn videos.
Using video on LinkedIn can be effective. However, LinkedIn handles videos slightly differently than other platforms. Other platforms will choose a screenshot in the video when placing it in a feed.
LinkedIn, on the other hand, automatically shows the very first frame of a video.
Without getting too into the weeds of the whys (message me if you want more info on the why), most videos are built with a very short fade-in at the beginning. It’s typically quick, so we often don’t notice it. However, the fade-in means that the very first frame of a video is all black.
Without a couple of changes, you end up showing a black box with a play arrow in your feed. That’s great if you’re promoting your black cat’s ability to navigate a dark cave. Otherwise, it’s not overly enticing for the viewer.
You can avoid a black box in two ways:
First: If you’re editing the video yourself, create a version for LinkedIn without a fade-in at the beginning of the video. Ensure that your first frame has an image that represents your video well.
Alternatively, LinkedIn gives you the option to add a video thumbnail. This option will provides the most flexibility and is my preferred method when adding videos to LinkedIn.
To add a thumbnail, first either screenshot and save the screen in your video you’re using for promotion. Or, create an image complementary to the video. If you’re creating an image, set the visual up with 1920x1080px dimensions. This is a different size that typical visuals on LinkedIn, but will work better with video. The 1920px size should match the longest size of your video (vertical or horizontal). Save the image as a Jpg or Png.
When you load your video, an Editor screen will appear. Below the video preview is an image icon. Click on that to add your thumbnail.
Once added, the thumbnail will show instead of an all-black screen.
Let me know if this was helpful. And don’t hesitate to reach out if you have a slide, chart, or graph you’d like to see made over.
Of note
Celebrating the largest Solar4Schools project to date!
The Brighten Haiti team has completed the installation of a solar and storage system for Convention Baptiste D’Haiti, bringing reliable electricity to 1,800 students!
This 33kW solar system is paired with a 30kW energy storage system providing lights in classrooms, fans, and power for technology. It’s truly a game changer for the students at the school.
The team in Haiti worked incredibly long hours to get this project completed. Their hard work and dedication is inspiring!
As is the donation from Silfab Solar, helping make this project possible. Thank you!
Grid goals, Great Britain style
I ran across this dashboard for Great Britain’s electricity mix. While most of what I read and follow covers energy in North America, this dashboard caught my eye.
It shows real-time data of energy sources. As I’m writing this, solar and wind are making up 62.3% of the current electricity mix. Over 60%, in Great Britain, a place known for rain.
I also love the chart showing progress towards their 2030 decarbonization targets. Some days, decarbonization can feel like an enormous task. Seeing progress laid out in one chart can feed momentum.
April joke
Something a little different in honor of Earth Day.
Visit climatoonist.com for more climate cartoons.
