https://padlet.com/Padlet_Makers/thecarboncapital The Carbon Capital breaks down complex issues into bullet-point lists that don't talk down to you. Visit http://thecarboncapital.org to learn more. en-us 2016-12-22 00:51:17 UTC 2025-10-01 23:06:45 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Xmastree.png Padlet_Makers https://padlet.com/Padlet_Makers/thecarboncapital/wish/144724614 He was struck by the way the film was able to make a knotty and controversial issue appeal to people with very little knowledge of the subject.

As he grew up, his interested deepened and so did his sense of urgency. "I realized [climate change awareness] requires a lot of hands on deck, and that sort of motivated me to do more," he said via phone from NYC, where he was born and now lives.

He earned a bachelor's degree in Economics and Environmental Studies  from Wesleyan University in 2013, and immediately started working on an environmental research project funded by his alma mater. He has been working as an analyst for consulting firm ICF since then, which has given him insight into the way environmental policy is shaped.

Matt, a former part-time DJ in college, was never content to have just one gig at a time, so he cofounded a non-profit with a friend during the time he was doing research. They called it the U.S. Climate Plan, which advocated for a national, science-based climate policy. His latest project is a blog called the Carbon Capital.]]> 2016-12-23 02:00:06 UTC https://padlet.com/Padlet_Makers/thecarboncapital/wish/144724614 Padlet_Makers https://padlet.com/Padlet_Makers/thecarboncapital/wish/144756527 Most of the cutting edge research about climate changed is published and read by a small, academic community of scientists and experts. Those outside this community, receive news about the environment from general news sources, or more commonly, social media, making it easy for misinformation to spread. "There’s a whole bunch of information coming out from scientists that is not making it out to the majority of the public," Matt explains. "A lot of times the studies are either complex or in really long articles, or both. How do we communicate important pressing new research and data about climate change in a way that makes it easier to understand in a really quick way?"

On the Carbon Capital, Matt breaks down the most important issues into three quick bullet points. It's like talking to a friend over dinner and asking them to make a long story short.

He put up the site very quickly using Squarespace, and employs Mailchimp to send out a monthly newsletter. One drawback to using a website template, he says, is limited ability to post complex graphics and charts. "It’s a bit frustrating for visualizing data. It’s also a blessing in disguise, because it forces me to make things really really simple, like every chart has to be a bar chart or a pie chart, but that may be for the best."]]> 2016-12-23 21:49:53 UTC https://padlet.com/Padlet_Makers/thecarboncapital/wish/144756527 Padlet_Makers https://padlet.com/Padlet_Makers/thecarboncapital/wish/144756638 Some of the most eye-opening posts on the Carbon Capital show the immense economic impact of weather events. A popular post on Hurricane Sandy generated surprised reactions. "A bunch of people wrote back about one statistic I used," Matt recalls. [The storm] did $60 million in damage, which is more than the budget for US Homeland Security department. Hurricanes mean more government, and that was really effective for people who think that way."]]> 2016-12-23 21:58:47 UTC https://padlet.com/Padlet_Makers/thecarboncapital/wish/144756638 Padlet_Makers https://padlet.com/Padlet_Makers/thecarboncapital/wish/145099959 Matt hopes to expand the Carbon Capital to a more participatory experience. He's looking for "anything that promotes a more social aspect - like a discussion tool or feedback." 

He's been using Facebook to get the word out, posting climate memes, news and of course, the latest Carbon Capital articles.

Follow the Carbon Capital on Facebook for all the latest updates. ]]> 2017-01-03 15:54:12 UTC https://padlet.com/Padlet_Makers/thecarboncapital/wish/145099959 Padlet_Makers https://padlet.com/Padlet_Makers/thecarboncapital/wish/160678862 Read an article from the Carbon Capital and ask students to develop questions for further research. Or give them the primary source and have them distill it into three easy-to-understand bullet points, just like Matt does!

Here's an example of a class discussing climate change on Padlet. ]]> 2017-03-16 23:33:43 UTC https://padlet.com/Padlet_Makers/thecarboncapital/wish/160678862