The sequoias reached into the Kodachrome blue sky above the Sierra Nevada, towering over me like a counsel of immovable gods. They seemed invincible, but even they were at risk from climate destruction: Last year, a wildfire tore through Sequoia National Park, killing thousands of their centuries-old siblings.

I spent eight years working to prevent disasters like this as a chemist, but climate destruction did not wait for my long-term technological solutions.

I needed another approach.

I had failed to help save the sequoias through my research. But I can help people of all backgrounds understand our climate crisis. I can empower them to forge solutions. I can blend my scientific expertise with my writing to tell the world that we are losing so much, but there is so much left to fight for.  I can show the sparks of hope amidst the flames.