Ended soon
Those of us who work in the field of climate change have some tough challenges. On the one hand, we struggle with the fact that everyone else is not as energized, as active, as 24x7x365 concerned about what’s happening to our planet and our communities as we are. This can lead to awkward conversations with friends who are, perhaps, more excited about Nickel Creek getting back on the road than they are about the latest White House report on the costs of delaying action on climate change.
On the other hand, we tend to read (and know) a lot about what’s happening around the world, gathering and absorbing information on potential climate impacts that is often overwhelming. Our individual and collective news feeds are filled right up with compelling and often-frightening stories, from the invasive diseases, beetles and plants headed to our our local ecosystem to the effects on the worldwide market for hops, grapes or cacao beans.
Not surprisingly, this intensity and anxiety can bum us out. Reporter Joann Silberner has a great piece up on Grist about the mental health impacts of climate change, and, as you would expect, it’s fascinating and thought-provoking. Some researchers in Australia have apparently been leading the way, digging into how people experience climate change and how it affects their well-being.
There are a couple of interesting new words that come from one of the people she interviewed, Professor Glenn Albrecht:
Solastalgia. That’s “the homesickness when you’re still at home and your home environment is changing around you in ways that you find negative, and that you have very little power over.”
and
Soliphilia — “a state that results in positive energy to collaborate, heal, and work together.” Basically, people who see the cumulative damage of climate change and work together to make repairs.
There’s more to the article (seriously, make sure you go read it) but essentially, it sounds like the conclusion that can be drawn from the research these folks in Australia are doing is this: positive action drives out despair. And you know what? I think that’s true.
As practitioners and folks working on climate solutions, the team here at ISC is most energized when we are in the field, working with local community leaders who are making things happen where they are. It’s incredible, the energy you get when you are working to make things better. It doesn’t completely shield us from our worries – about what’s likely to happen, about the actions others aren’t taking – but it is the best possible antidote to climate despair.
So when the worry overcomes you, don’t sit. Do! Go into your community and find out what’s possible. There are positive example everywhere, just look around. And consider this quote from the Australian epidemiologist:
“Climate change and associated weather-related disasters could be such a serious threat that they could actually propel people to come and work together.”
Exactly!