ClimateYou Founder and Senior Editor George Ropes    1944-2022

George Ropes, founder and longtime senior editor of ClimateYou.org, has passed away after battling a series of illnesses over the last few months. He died peacefully in his Wilmington, Delaware home on Thursday, July 7. He will be sorely missed.

George was a prolific contributor to ClimateYou.org, posting blogs almost daily since he started the website in 2008. A stalwart community builder, his forward-thinking vision was to advance essential and reliable information on the changing climate to the general public educators,  and students. He never compromised his views when it came to the role governments should take on tackling climate change, advocating for strong laws to speedily lesson the earth’s carbon footprint. Always concerned about changing weather patterns, he vigilantly monitored storm systems that were abnormal and and their impacts on people and places. He never shied away from addressing the tough issues in his “Our Take” column on ClimateYou.org and on social media platforms.

George’s background uniquely positioned him to eloquently write with a universal understanding about the multifaceted and serious issue of global climate change. He graduated from Dartmouth College and joined the Peace Corps, serving in the Dominican Republic. Later, he taught in public and private schools in New York City before leaving to pursue his own advanced studies. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he earned a master’s degree in political science, with a concentration in International Nutrition Policy and Planning. He joined Catholic Relief Services (CRS), a non-profit aid and development organization. As a CRS program leader and specialist in the area of food distribution, he lived and worked in Egypt, India, and Angola, and then globe-hopped as Chief of the CRS Overseas Computerization Program.

George recently authored the soon-to-be released book, Waking Up to Climate Change, published by World Scientific, a compilation of his writings that illuminate his clear and realistic view of the future. In the book, he warns of the dangers of climate change while also providing key information about the many solutions to it already in the pipeline. He sheds light on sustainable efforts by countless numbers of active professionals, organizations, and educators dedicated to keeping the planet alive and well. The book is George’s parting message and tells us to value the heroes leading the way forward and to focus on the necessary ways for us all to take action —  steps he deeply believed would, if followed, save the Earth.