Two Things People Need

Recently I was talking with a woman who was quite involved in racial justice work.  I asked her what she thought about climate change.  She immediately replied, “Oh I can’t even think about climate change.  I know I should.  I’m just so busy already, I think I’ll be overwhelmed if I try to look at climate change, too.”

I think a lot of people have decided that climate change is real, and a big problem.  They know the climate deniers are wrong, and perhaps dangerous.  They wish someone would do something about climate change.  However, they don’t see themselves as able to face it regularly or get involved in doing much about it.  Perhaps it’s too big.  Perhaps it’s already too late.  Perhaps they fear being overwhelmed if they try to seriously engage with the issue.  Or maybe they just can’t figure out what to do or see any significant role for themselves.

(This may describe you.  It may describe how you feel on some days.  It almost certainly describes many people you know, or are related to.) 

We need to build a mass movement
Right now most governments are quite limited in their approach to climate crisis. The federal government in the United States is consistently taking actions that are harmful and making the crisis worse.  We need to build a mass movement that will force governments and industries to do what needs to be done.  We will need millions of people involved in many different ways.

How do we broaden the number of people involved in moving things in a good direction on climate?

Two things people need most
The people who study these things and report on them (Katherine Hayhoe and others) seem to agree that the two things people need most are:

1. Hope
2. Something they can do about the problem

Some of us who are quite involved in thinking and acting on climate change, are pulled to think that if we could just tell people how dire the situation is, perhaps scare them sufficiently, then they would be more likely to get involved and take action.  It turns out that’s not the case. People need to feel hopeful and have a sense that they can do something that will help solve the problem. 

Us too
Those of us who are already involved in the climate justice movement are, I think, not so different.  We also need to regularly connect with hopeful news and evidence that others understand the issues and are taking action. We also need to be able to identify actions that either help build the movement or directly reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

I can feel hopeless about eliminating racism or reversing climate change as readily as the next person.  I am finding, however, that if I pay attention to hopeful news about race and climate I have more energy, am happier, and probably am more effective as well.  This doesn’t come easily or automatically to me.  I have to work at it. 

If I don’t make a conscious effort to remember hopeful news, I read it or hear it and it goes right out of my mind.  However, if I make a conscious effort to remember these hopeful bits, and make sure I tell a couple of other people about them soon after I learn them, then they stay with me.

What’s possible
Most recently I’ve been taking hope from the school strike for climate.   When Greta Thunberg, the 15 year old Swedish girl, started her school strike for climate last fall, demanding that the government take decisive action on climate change, she was all alone.  On March 15th of this year, 1.6 million (mostly young) people all participated in a school strike for climate – the largest global climate action ever!  If that growth is possible, then who knows what else is possible?

Make a habit of it
I recommend that we each make a habit of having a hopeful fact to share with people we meet. I’m trying to help with this by posting a new fact each week on the Hopeful News section of this website.  But you may come up with other things that work better to make you hopeful.  Please share those in the Comments section of this post or that page.

Of course it makes no sense to be pollyannaish about climate change or about eliminating racism.  To a friend who seemed unconcerned about climate change, after sharing my latest hopeful fact, I added, “Of course since the UN report said to avoid catastrophe we have 11 years to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 45%, I need all the hope I can get!”

Two things we can invite everyone to do
So we can give people reasons to be hopeful.  What can they, or we, then do about climate change?  The possibilities are endless and we’ll explore additional options in future posts.  For now, let me offer two possibilities:

1. Talk to people.  Have conversations about climate change.  Bring it up.  Share a hopeful fact.  We don’t need to know much to do this.  Share one fact; ask about their thoughts; and say, “I care about climate change”.  One by one, these conversations and relationships are the building blocks of a powerful movement for climate justice.
2. Join a climate organization – in person if possible, online if that’s the only option.  When people get together they figure out good things to do.  There’s no reason to try to work on this issue alone.  It’s going to take all of us to change everything, and that’s pretty much what we need right now.