Emily Atkin is an environmental reporter and writer, best known for founding the daily climate newsletter HEATED. She also launched a podcast by the same name to explore the intersectional issues highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Previously she was a reporter for The New Republic and ThinkProgress. She is an author in the collection All We Can Save edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson, and a columnist at MSNBC. Atkin was raised in New York and went to school at SUNY New Paltz for journalism.
Lyrics to the song that was inspired by the interview:
HEATED
VERSE
A E
Every year the fires are getting worse
D A
And red smoke blocks the sun out of the sky
A E
Can you really say
C# A
That it's ok that way?
D E A
How can you live in denial?
VERSE
When terrifying storms do so much damage
Get stronger and move slower every year
Meteorologists exclaim
That they're running out of names
How can you live in denial?
MIDDLE
E D A
Slowly, surely sea levels rise
E D A
Along with the CO2 in the sky
C# E
If your home was destroyed
D A
Then would you believe?
D E A
How much proof do you need?
VERSE
E very year things get a little hotter
Each season sets record-breaking highs
All the ice is melting
The Arctic's close to collapse
How can you live in denial?
VERSE
Forests are disappearing overnight
So many species have been lost forever
How can you say
It is ok this way?
How can you live in denial?