Explain
When confronting the realities associated with our changing climate, we may find ourselves wrestling with our feelings. In order to effectively cope, our emotional responses to our changing climate must be examined before we are able to use our feelings as calls to action. This section will help you navigate the impact that the changing climate has had, and will continue to have, on emotional wellbeing and feelings of joy, grief, and purpose.
Explore
- Environmental Racism is the New Jim Crow The Atlantic
- 'Climate grief': The growing emotional toll of climate change NBC
- Coping with disasters: Mental health in a time of climate change Chuch World Service
- How Climate Change Impacts Health American Public Health Association
- Racism & Climate Change 350 Seattle
- Scientists weigh public's emotional responses to climate risks Yale Climate Connections
- Doppelt, Bob (2016) Transformational Resilience: How Building Human Resilience to Climate Disruption Can Safeguard Society and Increase Wellbeing.
Engage
1. Hopelessness and despair are natural - perhaps, necessary - human responses to the climate crisis. What steps can you take to ensure that these emotions don’t corner you into states of inaction?
2. As humans, we tend to react strongly to incidents that we feel a personal connection to. What are some ways you can help prompt your peers to reflect on their emotional attachments to the Earth?
3. Small Group Discussion (30 minutes)
Get together with a group of at least three other people. Then, take turns telling one another how the state of our climate makes you feel. Try to identify any similarities in your emotional responses, and take some time to collectively reflect on why you might be feeling that way.