My thoughts would be for them to give up their use of fossil fuels, ice makers, washing machines, switch out their fridge for a really expensive one using the newer gases pushed by the Cult of Climastrology, turn the AC up to 80 and heat down to 65, take very short showers, live in a tiny house/apartment, only buy local, grow your own food, give up meat, unplug every appliance not being used, and so much more, making their lives 100% carbon neutral. I’m doubting that’s what Rob Law, who “has worked on climate change for more than a decade for government, universities and not-for-profit organisations”, thinks, though. Let’s read the article from the super Socialist UK Guardian and find out
I have felt hopelessness over climate change. Here is how we move past the immense grief
These are some of the headlines that bombard us at ever-increasing rates.
Each day new reports and household names such as David Attenborough warn of “irreversible damage to the natural world and the collapse of our societiesâ€. The United Nations says we have 12 years to avoid climate catastrophe. We are also amidst the world’s sixth mass extinction, the worst since the time of the dinosaurs.
This reality is taking its toll on our mental health, especially among younger people who are understandably losing hope for their futures on a hotter planet. We are seeing the rise of what is known as climate or ecological grief. This grief summarises feelings of loss, anger, hopelessness, despair and distress caused by climate change and ecological decline.
If Warmist parents and teachers are constantly telling kids about Doom right before they jump into a fossil fueled vehicle, yeah, they might become mentally unbalanced. Just look at all the kids skipping school to protest a slight increase in global temperatures over almost 170 years.
Former UN climate chief Cristiana Figueres has argued the only way we can save the planet is with relentless, stubborn optimism. This is the kind of attitude that many of us are culturally trained to adopt, to keep looking on the bright side and remain hopeful.
Climate change and environmental movements have long been criticised for trying to motivate the population through negative narratives and doomsday scenarios. It is obvious how such framings can turn people off or at worse encourages a state of denial. As a result, we have seen much of the movement shift in recent years towards more positive narratives of climate hope and telling stories of change.
They won’t change. And I’m not sure where these narratives of climate hope come from. I haven’t seen any.
People also need agency to act to avoid feelings of apathy and hopelessness.
Acknowledging this, the last decade has seen a focus on what the individual can do to tackle climate change in their own life. This has largely resulted in a politically passive eco-modern citizen that is more concerned with energy-efficient technologies, light bulbs and recycling than dissent, protest and structural change. Personal guilt comes to the fore when the virtuous lists and sustainable resolutions are not kept up with, and the issue is again pushed out of mind.
Huh what? The CoC has been telling people for over a decade that it isn’t about their individual actions, but about holding corporations accountable.
Eco-psychologist Joanna Macy teaches useful frameworks for facing up to disturbing realities and finding capacity for action. First there is the gratitude stage, which focuses our attention on those aspects of life and the world that nourish us. Then there is a stage that honours the pain that we are experiencing. The third and fourth stages relate to exploring new possibilities and finding practical actions to take.
So, yeah, no recommendations forthcoming about practicing what they preach.
Last month I found myself crying when a platypus appeared in the creek down from our house. Standing on the bridge with my two young boys we watched it swim in a creek that has been tirelessly regenerated by the local friends group over at least 15 years. A creek, which for the past 150 years, flowed through a highly degraded landscape decimated by goldmining and agriculture.
And this has nothing to do with anthropogenic climate change. But, the uber-focus on making everything about ACC deflects attention away from dealing properly with real world environmental issues. Real environmental issues need their own solutions. Things like carbon taxes would not have fixed that degraded landscape.
But to truly tackle the climate and extinction crisis we also need to give ourselves permission to grieve, personally and collectively. We can use grief to galvanise what is most important and bring forth new visions.
Then we need to be empowered, to be fearless and take action. One of the most important ways to take action is to vote for what matters most and to vote for parties which have clear policies to address climate change.
Good grief, this was all about voting in the Aussie elections. Bunch of climahypocrites.
