Climate change: Don't let doom win, project tells worriers

[hunter]

A new project has been launched to address rising climate anxiety in students at the University of East Anglia.

At the opening in Norwich, students told BBC News they felt hopelessness, anger and despair about climate change.

They worry how they will live in a world with an unpredictable climate and the destruction of nature.

-- snip --

Common worries were about food security and whether or not to have children, explained Ruth Taylor from Mind. "Young people are trying to get ready for what is coming," she suggests.

-- more --

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61218933

That's got to be a familiar issue with those of us who read E&E...

As a young person I thrashed about constantly seeking the kind of "hopeful action" discussed in this article.

Unfortunately I was a white guy who grew up in an affluent community that was 99% white and I didn't know shit about the world.

I was attracted to shiny visions of utopia, like the wind turbines and electric cars of today's television ads, or Mother Earth News style country living.

Fortunately for me that didn't work out and I landed in places unprotected by wealth and privilege which gave me a whole new perspective on what it will take to "save the world."

[Triloon]

1. So ...

Please share some of this "whole new perspective"?

[hunter]

2. You are welcome to browse through my journal here...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/~hunter

I consider myself a Social Justice Warrior and radical environmentalist.

I'm an amateur evolutionary biologist by natural inclination and some rigorous formal training.

Many of my ideas won't be part of the Democratic Platform any time soon, nevertheless my politics are always practical.

I'm an enthusiastic supporter of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

[Triloon]

3. thanks.

I just read through the first several pages of your journal and find myself in no serious disagreement with you. So, we are apparently on the 'same side'.
I figure that if we can help save the plankton from extinction then we might have a chance for ourselves, otherwise 'saving the world' is only a human vanity.
Nuke energy seems to provide a much more immediate solution to energy needs than solar/wind/etc., but the success of either approach depends on energy storage. Lithium batteries seem to offer the best chance, but there's not enough lithium on this planet to pull it off. So, unless we find new battery tech or start mining lithium from asteroids like there's no tomorrow then.. there's no tomorrow.
In the mean time we individuals get to struggle with the conundrum of how to best survive an extinction, with zero guidance from anywhere. Sometimes I envy the ignorant.

[Kaleva]

4. Cross off that which you can't control is very good advice

Instead of bring overwhelmed when looking at the entire planet, focus on what one can do individually to prepare what is predicted to come in your area.

The effects of climate change will not be uniform around the world or even in the US itself. We wouldn't have weather if the climate was uniform.

[hunter]

5. Living in California as I do...

... I see a lot of my personal politics reflected in state government.

This reduces my level of frustration.

I don't think California is going to back down on issues of LGBTQ civil rights, abortion, or the environment. Sometimes it's two steps forward, one step back, but it is progress.

I'm confident that at least some of the political issues I find important are not lost causes.

[Kaleva]

6. Climate change is going to make all those other issues minor.

From what I understand, the southern half of California is going to be especially hard hit by climate change.

What are your plans?