Climatic Despair. Part 2: The Good News - Society

With each passing month, record temperatures, hurricanes, floods and fires are observed more and more. The forecast is disappointing, and this is beginning to noticeably affect the mental health of the inhabitants of the Earth. Can you keep your sanity in anticipation of the apocalypse?

Power is in the truth

Now that we face the greatest challenge in human history, it is time for us to apply what we know about attitudes, decision making, and behavioral change. We need honest media and educational activities to raise visibility and call our leaders to action.

See also: Climate despair. Part 1: bad news

The dissemination of information is also necessary in order to combat denial. It may seem to us that the planet is still safe and sound: seasons are still changing, candidates continue to fight for government positions, and new episodes of our favorite TV series are released without noticeable interruptions. But the fact is that the climatic apocalypse will be very different from the sudden disasters that we are used to seeing in the movies. Passions will heat up gradually, and civilization will burst at the seams from the growing economic, social and psychological tension against the background of destructive natural changes.

What kind of thinking will help us finally change our reality? For example, psychological science argues ¹ that considering the long-term perspective ² and the consequences of their actions helps people to consider their heritage and become more actively involved in environmentally responsible behavior. To do this, it is useful to choose exactly global, universal human framing: if we talk about climate change as a global process, and not about local conflicts and disasters, this leads to a decrease in aggression and possessiveness.

We are all in the same boat. Sound reasoning and the context of reconciliation for the common cause is exactly what we need to prevent widespread violence amid global warming

It's time to prepare for the worst

Life on Earth can have a chance only if all people in the near future dramatically and completely change the usual foundations of their life. We need to reduce to zero the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and somehow remove its excess from there - and this means dramatic changes in the energy sector, economy and usual way of life, and in the next few years. For these purposes, for example, the United States proposed (but then, unsurprisingly, rejected) the Green New Deal ³, which described steps to prevent the Earth's temperature from rising by more than 1.5 ° C compared to pre-industrial indicators.

Many activists and opinion leaders believe that such measures can "stop" climate change, that we still have time for that. However, the facts suggest ⁴ that scientists underestimated the rate of global warming, so optimistic scenarios, even if radical reforms are successful, are unlikely.

In his devastating article ^5, “What if we stopped pretending,” journalist Jonathan Franzen urges us to recognize that the apocalypse is inevitable - this is the only way to prepare for it. According to the author, many activists fear that people may lose hope and stop fighting if they learn that there is no chance of salvation. However, Frenzen himself is convinced that the awareness of the inevitability of a catastrophe can awaken in us a real concern for loved ones and meaningful actions: blindly following the leadership can be replaced by concern for our community, the development of local agriculture and a culture of mutual assistance.

The awakening of humanity

Climate change will especially affect the lives of the younger generation. Children all over the world are beginning to realize that adults have left them a dirty and dying world. Can you imagine what it is like to be aware of this as a child? Add to this record statistics of depression and anxiety disorders among children and adolescents, and you can already think hard about whether the young inhabitants of the Earth have a chance for a happy childhood.

In her ^6th TED Talk, celebrated 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg shared the shock she went through when she learned about climate change: depression, hunger strikes, partial speech loss, all of which layered on top of Asperger's and OCD. But the brave Swede found a way out of despair, and with it her voice.

See also: Is the children's revolution coming? Psychologists' comments on Greta Thunberg

In 2015, she started solo pickets in front of the Swedish parliament with a poster “School strike for climate”. Over the past year, she has delivered calls for action to the governments of most countries, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and in September 2019 inspired millions of children, adolescents and their parents to come out to a global rally as part of the FridaysForFuture ⁷ project to increase the visibility of climate change.

Both children and adults are beginning to wake up from a dream that has lasted for decades, and finally see the consequences of their actions. Many people find ways to share their despair - and along with that, share ideas for what each of us can do. Even if it does not stop global warming, it can fill our lives with meaning, kindness and compassion.

If you are ready to tune in to the wave of caring about nature and about your neighbors on the planet, then you can be guided by these principles:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

These three Rs should bounce off teeth these days: reduced consumption, reusability and recycling can lead to less waste, especially when it comes to plastic.

Canvas grocery bags instead of plastic bags in the supermarket, reusable water bottles instead of disposable cups, minimalism of household items, fixing useful things instead of buying new ones, groceries without packaging - I want to believe that many of us already become a habit. Collecting separate waste for recycling and giving away unnecessary things in Russia is still not as easy as in Europe, but everyone can learn ⁸.

Protect, Restore, Fund

These three new principles of sustainable living were proposed ^{9 by} Greta Thunberg and another well-known activist, British journalist George Monbio. The point is to preserve the resources thanks to which nature itself would be able to maintain its balance: to protect forests from deforestation, to restore natural ecosystems after human activities and to sponsor projects to protect life on Earth.

Now that we need nature more than ever to survive, we are destroying it faster than ever before. Approximately 30 rainforest football fields disappear from the face of the planet every minute, and humanity spends 1000 times more on fossil fuels than on natural solutions to climate change. Therefore, we need to unite to fight for smarter laws that protect ecosystems and redirect taxpayer money to protect forests, not destroy them.

Each of us is able to financially support numerous charitable projects around the world that focus on wildlife conservation, tree planting, ocean cleanup and environmental innovation. If there are many of us, then even tiny payments and small steps can form a huge mosaic of significant aid.

Sources:

1. psychologicalscience.org/observer/global-warming-and-violent-behavior
2. psyh.ru/emotsionalnaya-ustojchivost-5-uprazhnenij-dlya-vsej-semi/
3. nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02738-7
4. blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/scientists-have-been-underestimating-the-pace-of-climate-change/
5. newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-if-we-stopped-pretending
6. youtube.com/watch?v=EAmmUIEsN9A
7. fridaysforfuture.org
8. collector.rf
9. conservation.org/video/nature-now-video-with-greta-thunberg