Climate Change + Hope
If you're stressed about climate change, you're not alone – many young people report feeling hopeless, angry and afraid about climate change.
So, what can you do if it's weighing heavy on your shoulders? There are a lot of new words to describe this experience, like, climate anxiety, but recently I came across a new idea that I'd like to share with our community.
Climate optimism is a response to the overwhelming helplessness that so many people feel when they think about how to impact our collective future. It's about taking control of what is in our hands and celebrating progress along the way.
When there's so much uncertainty and bad news, balancing things out is essential. One way to do this is by reading/watching/listening about the positive steps toward a better future and taking action.
💌 Subscribe to monthly newsletters from Harvard University about good climate news.
📱 Take control of your FYP and follow creators who share balanced news about the climate, find them here.
🌏 Check out The Centre for Optimism to read their blogs about optimism.
📖 Read about how you can get involved in climate action and look after your mental health.
Let's use this thread to lift each other's spirits, share positive news about climate change and support one another. Share with the community what gives you hope for the future 👇🏽
Comments
Positive climate news 🎉
- Net fishing is set to be banned from the Great Barrier Reef
- Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon Rainforest fell 34% in 2023, and the government announced plains to end deforestation entirely by 2030.
- Scientists have discovered that fungi store more than half of all carbon emissions each year - for more, read Four Things to Know about Fungi Climate Warriors.
- Emissions are no longer following the worst-case scenario - read more about that here.
Hey, community 🥰
Just wanted to share the April edition of the Climate Optimist newsletter. Here are some of the "Climate things going right":
- The great news: Actions we’ve already taken have likely averted the most apocalyptic scenarios we feared just a few years ago.
- The good news: Now we have about a 50% chance of limiting warming to 2°C—a goal that once seemed laughably unattainable.
- But: Countries would need to live up to their climate pledges, which they aren’t doing. To reach our preferred goal of 1.5°C, they'd need to promise and achieve even bolder pledges within the next decade—possibly the next 3 years.
- To better understand the history and impacts behind the 1.5°C and 2°C goals, this AP article is a great explainer.
There's still work to be done but also progress worth celebrating!
thanks so much for sharing @Bre-RO , that's such great news that honestly I didn't even think was possible! what a nice note to end the week on
i just subscribed to the Harvard newsletter, that will be so helpful in lifting my spirits! sometimes it just seems that no matter what you do climate change will keep happening so it will be good to see the reminder of what is going right.
something that really brightened my spirits is learning that the ozone layer is healing! it's not quite climate change but i remember hearing about the hole in the ozone layer from early on in my life so learning that it is healing helps me believe that we can all work together and help solve climate change.
Me too @fishyie maybe we can share positive news on this thread when we come across it? I actually felt a noticeable reduction of anxiety when I read that the ozone layer is healing. Thank you for sharing that 😀
