Newsletters
This year, I found a lot of my news came from the headlines of newsletters I subscribe to. My favourite newsletters of 2024 are…
1. Indigenous Clean Energy – Monthly Newsletter, 2024 Reflections
What is ICE?
A not-for-profit advancing Indigenous-led capacity building and collective action in Canada’s clean energy transition. ICE supports various initiatives including mentorship and training programs.
What do I get out of this newsletter?
Information and updates on Indigenous-led clean energy projects across Canada, and opportunities to share with Indigenous colleagues.
2. Wealthsimple – TLDR
What is Wealthsimple/TLDR?
Wealthsimple is an alternative investment management platform. TLDR is their delivery of bite-sized financial news, geared towards Canadian investors and residents.
What do I get out of this newsletter?
It helps me to keep a pulse on the stock market. The stories are short and skimmable. Most of all, though, their FOMO Index brings joy and laughter to my life. I do sometimes need to roll my eyes at and ignore their crypto-bro hype, comes with the territory of reporting on investment vehicles I suppose…
3. The Tyee – Weekly Angle
What is The Tyee?
An independent, online news magazine, The Tyee was founded in BC over 20 years ago and is devoted to fact-driven journalism.
What do I get out of this newsletter?
The headlines provide a good synopsis of what local issues I should be aware of that week or month. I’ll read their stories and search for other news sources about the same topics to round out my understanding and perspective. As a note, I financially supported the Tyee in 2023 and 2024, and this year I paused for two reasons. First, I started seeing a trend this year of more sensationalist headlines in their articles. Which I believe is ‘part of the problem’ attributing to a general decline in critical thinking and spread of misinformation. Second, I moved cities and am looking into which local news outlet I want to support in 2025. The front-runner so far, is the Discourse. I do still like the Tyee, and will likely rejoin as a Builder again in the future.
Podcasts
I listened to fewer podcasts overall this year than last year. Noticing a lot of podcasts starting and stopping, one of my longtime favourites, Making Sense, is still going strong. I did change up my podcasts/streaming habits a little this year. Partially in the interest of ‘understanding streaming culture’ better, and partially because I needed some lighter topics in my downtime. Upon reflecting on the past year, these three episodes left the most lasting impression on me:
- Beyond Tokenism: Why We Need Indigenous Ownership – Brought to you by the leaders at Aaniin
- Why Microgrids Matter More Than Ever – The first of a new series from EarthABC (no, this is not a DC Universe reference)
- Arman Mottaghi’s COP29 update #5 – founder of Properate
Books
Going the other way, I actually read a lot more books in 2024 than last year. Enjoying them all, it was difficult to pick my top ones, but here are the winners.
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Not just a popular show, this book is funny, heartbreaking, and enlightening (if you’re not already enlightened about some of the struggles of being a woman with aspirations). - 21 Things you may not know about the Indian Act by Bob Joseph
A must-read for all Canadians, Joseph breaks down a contentious aspect of Canadian law into digestible pieces. Explaining parts of the Act through historical context, real-life stories, and current events, this book provides important education for our path to Truth and Reconciliation. - The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Did you know the movie is based on a book, that’s a summary of a longer book? My friend was moving to another country, and her other friend was returning her book (this book) when she found out I hadn’t read it yet. She insisted I hold onto it. Her copy is now on to its fifth reader, and I hope it continues to bring tears of laughter to my friends and their friends.
Community Events
With all the travel and obligations a new job brings, I didn’t have as many opportunities to attend and support community initiatives this year. My involvement with Foresight continued but at a decreased capacity than in 2023. I also continued as a mentor with Student Energy. The events that stand out the most for me this year include:
- First Nations Energy Summit put on by Clean Energy BC
- WiSE 2024 put on by BC Sustainable Energy
- Women in Tech Regatta: The Fusion of Tech and Climate
I was fortunate enough to be invited as a panel participant with friends and colleagues at the intersection of sustainable energy and technology.
My Blog Posts – most read
This post may be one of my last (it will be one of the last for a while, at least). The reason is twofold. Firstly, I’m no longer using this website for work. My employer has a proper marketing team and website. I contribute to it at times, but not as a regular function of my role. Anything I do on EQ is on my own time and for my own purposes.
Blogging has reminded me of my love for creative outlets, including writing and drawing. To the point where I was maintaining three blogs at one time, for a while. The encouragement and engagement in my writing through Skyline Tavern has been overwhelmingly larger than my writing for EQ this past year. And I can’t deny that positive feedback and engagement are huge motivators for continued writing. So, I’ve decided to focus my creative efforts there for 2025. We will see how things go after that.
I will do one last newsletter and keep the list of subscribers active. But for my subscribers, don’t expect the monthly or bi-monthly updates any time soon. As always, I’m open to your thoughts and feedback! Please let me know if you’d like any deviation from this plan, from me.
