Heatmap Turns 1

I can’t quite believe it: Today is the one-year anniversary of Heatmap. And what a year it’s been.

When I left my old job as editor of The Week, climate change had a reputation among journalists as being the one scary subject that nobody wanted to read. It was too depressing, too technical, too boring to sustain dedicated coverage. That misperception is finally ending — and I like to think Heatmap put some nails in the coffin.

Heatmap’s mission is to tell the inside story of the race to fix the planet. We think this is the most important and interesting issue of our time, so we strive to make Heatmap punchy and personable as well as informative and trustworthy. It’s why you’ll find that Heatmap’s writers follow the facts where they lead and tell you — in hopefully engaging, elevated ways — what they see and hear.

Heatmap is also a bet that readers want to go deep into the nuances and tradeoffs at the heart of the energy transition. We love works in progress — how policymakers are thinking about a particularly thorny problem, how a geothermal company is trying to bring down costs fast, why a community is skeptical of a wind farm. It can be upsetting. It can be inspiring. We hope it’s always fascinating and helpful. After all, this is how the planet gets fixed.

But I’m preaching to the choir. If you’re reading this note, you are probably shaping the future of the planet yourself, whether through your work or the choices you make at home or both. I hope we’ve helped you understand what’s actually happening and make more informed decisions.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll be hearing from our writers about some of their favorite stories to get a behind-the-scenes look at the process behind them.

I hope you’ll also consider supporting our work if you haven’t already. Paid subscribers get full access to our two daily newsletters, our weekly podcast, and all the original reporting we publish on the site every day. They also receive the unending gratitude of our newsroom. (As a party favor for our birthday, you can also get 20% off an annual subscription with the code ANNIVERSARY.)

We know there are other outlets covering climate and energy, and we don’t take your trust or interest for granted. Thank you for your continued support.

Nico Lauricella
Founder and editor in chief