The last few months, there’s barely a corner of the planet that hasn’t been touched by some form of climate change-related disaster, it seems.
Devastation
From Hawai’i to northern China, wildfires, drought, hot oceans, floods, severe storms and seemingly endless heatwaves are leaving a trail of devastation.
These near-daily catastrophes can make us feel like a burning, suffering world is an inescapable fate—but it’s not.
The challenges we face are significant; but they are not insurmountable. We still have the ability to change the future, starting now. And the more we do, the better off we will all be. This is literally what the science says: every bit of warming matters, and every action and every choice matters, too.
In North America there has been a strong link between religion and opinions abou
t climate change. The more conservative the denomination, the more unlikely people are to believe that a changing climate is the result of human actions. Or, indeed, that the climate is changing at all. Katharine Hayhoe has confronted this connection head-on. She is an atmospheric scientist and the director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. She is also a Canadian and a devout Christian.
Not a New Normal
That’s why I am not giving up, and neither are millions of others. I am not accepting our current circumstances as the new normal. Throughout the world, there are companies transitioning to green energy, voters speaking up, governments making progress, and people fighting for climate action. Yes, there are harrowing headlines; but there is also good climate news all around us.
The data tells us the planet is warming; the science is clear that humans are responsible; the impacts we’re seeing today are already serious; and our future is in our hands. As John Holdren once said, “We basically have three choices: mitigation, adaptation, and suffering. We’re going to do some of each. The question is what the mix is going to be. The more mitigation we do, the less adaptation will be required, and the less suffering there will be.”
Hope
As I share in my talks, we find hope in action. So here are some concrete steps everyone can take.
First, stop doom-scrolling. Seek out and share positive news, along with information about how climate change is putting the people and places we love at risk.
Do something, anything, even something very small – but don’t stop there; tell people about it! Encourage your place of work or school to make changes. We can’t do this alone, but we can if we work together; so join a like-minded community (I have a big list of them in my last newsletter).
No matter who you are right now, you’re the perfect person to act.
REVWords on Katharine – Changing Views About Climate Change
READ – Katharine’s bio.
WATCH – Katharine’s talk with Climeworks
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I really enjoyed reading her work, “Saving Us” earlier this year. She has a masterful ability to present the issues at a macro level and then zoom down to the ground and provide people with sound advice on how to navigate those same issues in a way that’s encouraging.