Anna Robertson, co-founder of The Cool Down, poses for a photograph at her residence in Park Metropolis on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. The Cool Down is described by its founders as the primary mainstream local weather model on a mission to attach a wide-ranging viewers to local weather subjects and conversations. Spenser Heaps, Deseret Information
Anna Robertson, co-founder of The Cool Down, poses for a photograph together with her kids, Sibella Wildman, 7, and Jackson Wildman, 8, at their residence in Park Metropolis on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. The Cool Down is described by its founders as the primary mainstream local weather model on a mission to attach a wide-ranging viewers to local weather subjects and conversations. Spenser Heaps, Deseret Information
Anna Robertson, co-founder of The Cool Down, exhibits off the web site whereas posing for a photograph at her residence in Park Metropolis on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. The Cool Down is described by its founders as the primary mainstream local weather model on a mission to attach a wide-ranging viewers to local weather subjects and conversations. Spenser Heaps, Deseret Information
Anna Robertson was nicely right into a profitable profession as an Emmy-award profitable broadcast information skilled, following an arc that has included working with legendary journalist Diane Sawyer, overlaying main tales of the 2000s, together with 9/11, the Iraq Warfare and Hurricane Katrina, and taking up senior manufacturing duties at “Good Morning America.”
However a sequence of occasions and recognitions impressed, or maybe compelled, her to carry out a serious life pivot, shifting from the West Coast to Park Metropolis, Utah, and revamping her profession targets to concentrate on one of many largest points dealing with the world at this time — local weather change.
What drove Robertson to reevaluate and recalibrate? Raging California wildfires, together with one which compelled Robertson and her household to evacuate their Los Angeles residence in the midst of the evening, together with air high quality points that typically saved her kids residence from faculty and a rising feeling that helpful and various details about climactic change simply wasn’t making it onto the radars of a large viewers.
“The primary lightbulb second I had got here from three issues,” Robertson mentioned. “Working within the native information area and seeing the impression of the acute climate, being evacuated, and the third factor, I received curious and offended about how a lot innovation was taking place that folks didn’t actually learn about.
“I simply type of requested why isn’t there a extra mainstream supply of local weather info written in plain English?”
With the seeds of a brand new concept planted, and newly relocated to Park Metropolis, Robertson discovered that her good friend Dave Finocchio, co-founder of sports activities information website Bleacher Report, shared her sentiment a few lacking part when it got here to local weather change tales and improvements. It was an concept not altogether faraway from the inspiration behind Bleacher Report, which launched in 2005 and located success on the premise that a whole lot of info and concepts within the sports activities realm have been merely being missed by different retailers.
The self-described “local weather mother” was now on a mission to battle air pollution and funky down the planet and, together with co-founder Finocchio, launched The Cool Down web site earlier this yr.
Robertson described The Cool Down because the “first mainstream local weather model” that goals to make the problems simpler to have interaction with and perceive and “join folks with info and a extra hopeful future.”
“The Cool Down is a local weather content material hub, and accordingly our content material is a mixture of authentic content material and curated content material amplified by our editorial workforce,” Robertson mentioned. “This consists of storytelling on local weather subjects, the place our workforce profiles entrepreneurs and improvements, explains complicated subjects in accessible language, and gives actionable assets and suggestions for the way folks can dwell and store more healthy and extra sustainably.”
A latest go to to the positioning revealed tales about how scientists are experimenting with okra to scrub polluted water, the place to purchase sustainable vacation greeting playing cards and a characteristic on offshore wind power.
Anna Robertson, co-founder of The Cool Down, poses for a photograph together with her kids, Sibella Wildman, 7, and Jackson Wildman, 8, at their residence in Park Metropolis on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. The Cool Down is described by its founders as the primary mainstream local weather model on a mission to attach a wide-ranging viewers to local weather subjects and conversations.
Spenser Heaps, Deseret Information
Whereas cosmetics and private care merchandise wouldn’t usually incite a dialog about local weather change, one Cool Down contributor has made “inexperienced magnificence” her raison d’etre and is working to boost consciousness, and alter habits, relating to the nexus of the surroundings and private care.
Celeb make-up artist Katey Denno has created seems for quite a few stars, together with Gillian Anderson, Mindy Kaling, Amanda Seyfried and Margaret Qualley, however she’s devoted her profession to attaining “the look” with clear magnificence merchandise made with substances and packaging which are higher for her shoppers and for the planet.
Denno traveled an unlikely path to make-up artistry, doing social work for years at a Bronx, New York, hospital the place she first witnessed the true transformative energy of make-up — she taught home violence survivors tips on how to use concealer to cowl bruises so they may return to work with out scrutiny from co-workers.
Round 15 years in the past, a make-up skilled noticed a doodle Denno had performed on a serviette and invited her to help on an upcoming photograph shoot. From there, Denno was hooked.
Early into her new profession, Denno mentioned she was serving to a good friend who was present process chemotherapy discover the purest pores and skin merchandise she may use amid her battle towards most cancers. Denno mentioned she realized then how few assets have been accessible when it got here to discovering cosmetics and care merchandise that have been produced from wholesome and responsibly sourced substances.
“At the moment, 13 years in the past, no one was actually speaking about it a lot,” Denno mentioned. “It took a whole lot of digging and attempting to trace down as a lot info as I may discover. There have been only a few guides and little to no mentorship.”
So, Denno took it on herself to turn out to be a information and useful resource relating to planet-friendly merchandise.
“It was a pure development,” Denno mentioned. “I’ve at all times been curious about sustainability and dealing in magnificence and seeing all of the mad waste ... one thing needed to change.”
Denno has not solely turn out to be an skilled on figuring out merchandise that characteristic pure and wholesome substances, she’s additionally working to boost consciousness about how these merchandise are packaged.
On her web site, Denno mentioned for these trying to construct a much less poisonous and extra eco-friendly way of life “it’s about taking small, considerate steps and deciding what feels proper as you go alongside.”
And Robertson and Finocchio are persevering with to take their very own considerate steps with constructing content material, and conversations, with The Cool Down website.
Robertson mentioned there’s a “super treasure trove of content material and concepts” that match inside Cool Down’s mission to mainstream local weather subjects, and the positioning is rapidly constructing its choices of content material and merchandise in addition to its viewers. She additionally famous The Cool Down needs to assist break down siloed, and typically divisive, local weather conversations by together with a variety of concepts and voices inside its publishing decisions.
“All of us need clear air, clear water and a greater future for our kids,” Robertson mentioned. “Most People do perceive that local weather change is occurring. Sadly, lots of people should not speaking about it with family and friends. We have now an enormous alternative to broaden the dialog on local weather subjects. And, we’re not going to have the ability to change something if we simply discuss to at least one group of individuals.”
Anna Robertson, co-founder of The Cool Down, exhibits off the web site whereas posing for a photograph at her residence in Park Metropolis on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. The Cool Down is described by its founders as the primary mainstream local weather model on a mission to attach a wide-ranging viewers to local weather subjects and conversations.
Spenser Heaps, Deseret Information