Recent BC election results and those in the U.S. presidential race have seen the rise of two political leaders that seem unconcerned about climate change.
Many of us are more than just puzzled by this – we’re fearful of what this may mean for our future.
Not long ago, in the fall of 2018, Greta Thunberg became a hero to youth, inspiring her classmates and teachers to join her on Fridays for school strikes. The movement caught on in other countries around the world including here in Canada, with Fridays For Future. One year later, her activism further inspired 4 million people to join the global climate strike on September 20, 2019, the largest climate demonstration in history. That same year Thunberg was named the person of the year by Time magazine for her plain-spoken and passionate words and her influence on so many people. Those events brought hope and ignited communities to come together to advocate for climate action.
But the concerns that drove climate activism seem to be waning. The electorate is rightly worried about affordability and housing and seem indifferent about the existential threat posed by the climate crisis, despite growing evidence.
Researchers tell us we have now exceeded the 1.5 °C average global temperature threshold, below which could have averted the worst impacts of climate change. We continue to see reports of more intense and frequent weather chaos around the world, evidenced by destruction and deaths from floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfire.
I have recently spoken to many people looking at the political landscape who are gripped with climate anxiety.
Psychologists tell us that climate anxiety is a recognized disorder. Researchers at Yale acknowledge the increase in eco-anxiety, particularly in younger people. Jiaying Zhao, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at UBC, offered advice in a recent interview on Global Vancouver. Zhao suggests not trying to deal with your anxiety alone, but instead by calling friends and family to talk about your feelings. She also proposes that we gain agency in the issue by engaging in “happy climate action” – flipping the doomscrolling behaviour into something more positive like joining a group that is doing positive things to address climate change.
A coalition of experts from the Yale School of Public Health suggest that collective action can be the antidote to these feelings of hopelessness. By taking collective action, we step out of our sense of helplessness into a realm of working to change the conditions giving rise to those emotions. Join us in rolling up our sleeves and let’s get going!
Julia Beatty,
Chair of the Shuswap Climate Action Society
