Philippe Lazaro is a climate communicator, a storyteller, and a visual artist. His work strives to promote justice, presence, and hope through a global perspective. As the Communications Manager for the nonprofit Plant With Purpose, he aims to promote rural community development through ecological and spiritual lenses. He also hosts the Grassroots Podcast where he seeks to refocus the climate conversation on the people and communities who are most affected by the crisis at hand. Philippe’s visual art is inspired by lessons from nature, travel, and human resilience. His multidisciplinary approach to storytelling has uncovered a broad array of subjects ranging from the proliferation of Thai cuisine internationally to the false promises of recycling programs. He lives in Southern California with his wife and kids.
Climate change will be the historically defining issue of our lifetimes, and I’ve gotten to see things unfold up close.
Spanish and American colonizers brought whiteness upon our lands. Today, whiteness lingers as a ghost, and many Filipinos struggle to see beyond it, cursed with an inferiority complex that strives for the white ideal — an ideal that can never truly be achieved.