Bored Panda reached out to Paul Goodenough to discuss "Rewriting Earth" and its current goals. When asked how his organization chooses which environmental issues to focus on next, the founder explained: “It’s like shovelling water out of a breached ship! We respond to the greatest needs, opportunities, and solutions at the time, which means we’ve got to stand ready at all times, and we created our Rapid Response Lab - where we make content with hours of issues and stories breaking.”
Scroll down to see the newest comics created in collaboration with some of the top cartoonists, and to read our full interview with Paul.
The founder of "Rewriting Earth" shared a recent example where the charity had to act quickly in response to a concerning issue: “In the UK the government said they’d put £26bn into environmental solutions, but then rescinded it because they didn’t think they’d get public backing to spend the money on the planet, rather than, say, healthcare.
So we spotted this and made a new campaign called SAVE OUR GRASSROOTS to get the public to raise their voices and by doing so, prove to the government that people WILL support them spending that money on the planet.”
Goodenough emphasized the key factors that guide "Rewriting Earth’s" actions: “We have many methods of choosing what to focus on next. Principally,
- Does it have tangible benefits for the animals and the planet?
- Who and what makes the difference to the problem? Is it the public, is it the politicians, etc.?
- Once we know who needs to be affected in order to make the change, we then decide if we’re the best people to do it.
- Then we balance this against the other issues in the world, seek expert advice from our ecosystem of experts, and go for it!”
When asked how the organization balances scientific accuracy with creative freedom when developing stories that address complex environmental challenges, Paul explained: “If you think of the job a translator does, you’ve pretty much got it. We talk first to the experts and people most affected by the issue, and then we translate that into language, comics, and content that will reach the people who can do something about it.
It sounds simple, but like most things, the complexity lies in making it seem simple.”
Next, Paul shared with us the emotional challenges of consistently working with such heavy, real-world topics: “Honestly it’s so hard. It really is. Mostly we do everything possible to make sure that we have fun creating the content, and that everyone enjoys the experience.
We desperately need everyone to enjoy saving the planet by making it more fun, like they have with the gym/‘keep fit’ culture. It can be hard, but it can be fun!”
Lastly, we wondered if there were any specific species or environmental issues that are particularly close to Goodenough’s heart but that he hasn’t had the opportunity to address yet. The founder of "Rewriting Earth" shared with us: “So many. Most of it’s us destroying the homes of animals so they have nowhere to go. That’s at the heart of most issues. We need to set aside large parts of the planet for them. Even if you don’t like animals, if they go, we go.”
Paul continued: “I’d really love to do something with giant anteaters. Just because they’re like a kid’s drawing and make no sense at all. Each of their legs looks like it belongs to a different animal. I just adore them.
In the UK I’d love to do more to help butterflies too. They just make everyone happy and are so majestic. But honestly, I kinda love all animals. So any day an animal is saved is a good day for me and something to be incredibly proud of.
And that gives me energy and so much deep happiness.”
