Hi Britt, congrats on your fellowship! One thing for me is that I would love (white/privileged) young people to be able to understand climate change as an entry into justice. We experience so much pain at the reality of these losses and especially the prospect of future losses but it’s important to realize that we are living with communities that have survived catastrophic multi-generational losses (colonialism, slavery) and are still here. Seeing future catastrophe for ourselves and those like us can be a gateway to more deeply caring for the inter-cultural healing work that we can do right now with those who are the descendants of groups that have survived their own apocalypses and are still suffering from the neglect of a system that does not yet know how to heal ❤️ Perhaps we (white/priviledged) need to first come to terms with our own vulnerability to be able to turn toward the “other” and heal together as equals
I'm an educator, teaching science classes to college freshmen and sophomores. I think one of the main responses received by my students after teaching them about our current crises is a general hatred for humanity. They see nothing but greed and exploitation, even when I show them ways that people across the globe are standing up and taking action. I want to be able to properly teach them how to harness these emotions and channel their anger and frustration into action. However, their anger often sinks them into a nihilistic hopelessness. I am simply their teacher, but I want to be able to help them, or steer them to proper resources that could help them. I know that the way I present these lectures plays a huge part in this, and I'm constantly searching for the best ways to communicate the crises without sending my students spiraling into doom-and-gloom. I know, however, that there will always be anger. I'm angry, too! What they do with that anger is so important.
Congrats on the fellowship! I would consider myself a young environmental activist (23 years old and freshly graduated from college), and for me, the worst thing is knowing that the climate crisis is a solvable problem that is quickly becoming unsolvable due to the complete and utter embarrassing inaction of the older generations that hold power. Even our President-Elect, Joe Biden; who's basically our last hope for maintaining some degree of climate sanity, mind you; does not propose to go nearly far enough to reverse climate change, and is instead currently in the process of filling his administration with folks that cozy up to fossil fuel companies.
Honestly, the most likely outcome of this I can see is chaos; but the only way to avert chaos is for young people like me to work like hell to force the hands of nearly-dead people like Biden who have no personal stake in this crisis. And that's entirely unjust and unfair, and it makes me very mad, and it also makes me quite depressed, sometimes.
As a result, I think political action needs to be prioritized. First and foremost. If all we can do is help young people to individually feel better while the world is burning around them, that's woefully insufficient; we need action and we need it yesterday, and anything that doesn't prioritize swift, science-led action right now is simply not up to the challenges we're facing.
I'm a Gen Xer who's been working on climate issues (in the urban planning field) my entire career and I've seen so little progress over the last 20 years, it's so disheartening. I am extremely worried about my kids and their ability to mentally handle what's going on and what's coming. I worry they will become nihilists and not care about anything, I worry they will want to flee from society entirely and go live with a bunch of rich people hiding in the woods, I worry about them suffering from unmanageable depression and anxiety. Honestly I don't know how to help them since I struggle to manage these feelings myself; although I know I'd never want to check out and go hide on a farm in the woods, I've definitely had my nihilist moments. I find that the only thing that helps me is reminding myself that we're all just stardust, that all we can do is try to make the world better for people in whatever way we can even if it's a losing battle, and live one day at a time. As Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) said, "If nothing we do matters, all that matters is what we do." (Yes, I get my spiritual guidance from cult TV shows from the 90s and 00s. I did say I'm a Gen Xer.)
Hi Britt and congratulations! I’m a psychologist in private practice, a former school psychologist and a mother of a 12-year-old. To protect and enhance young people’s well-being during the climate and ecological crisis, researchers and mental health innovators should figure out how to create the systemic and institutional changes needed to improve children’s mental health in general. What children need during the climate crisis is what they’ve always needed to be happy: stable families, adequate housing, strong communities, healthy food, access to nature, small classrooms, skilled teachers, minimal screen time, protection from consumer culture, and plenty of unstructured play. As a parent I’ve learned that meeting these essential needs naturally leads to psychologically resilient children capable of facing the realities of the climate and ecological crisis. My daughter is well-informed about the crisis and for her it’s not traumatic, it’s normal. Normal, but not acceptable. In addition to telling her the truth, one of the best decisions I’ve made as a parent is to involve my daughter in climate activism through Sunrise and Extinction Rebellion and to empower her to fight for system-level change. The systems which created the climate and ecological crisis are also responsible for the “epidemic” of mental health issues amongst children and adults. It would be a mistake for researchers and mental health innovators to focus on developing and implementing treatments and therapies to address mental health symptoms i.e., band aids. It reminds me of the educational trend of taking away recess and outdoor time and instead teaching kids mindfulness and meditation so that they can sit still and pay attention for longer in the classroom. Thanks for reading.
My identity as a microbiologist has clashed with concern for the environment, especially during the pandemic. I appreciate that many businesses encourage reusable bags (have used my own for several years) and reusable cups and do not individually wrap food but in a laboratory setting I am used to working with materials that are individually plastic-wrapped to prevent contamination. This has made me think more about how we can balance having clean (i.e. sterile) food and items sold in stores without using too much plastic.
I was shocked and saddened this past summer when a young high school grad took her life due to climate despair.(https://noharm.co/lindazhang/ ) As one of very few people in my community who is fully aware and active when it comes to our ecological emergency, I felt remorse that she had not crossed my path. I have done the despair work (Joanna Macy, the work that reconnects) and working with Extinction Rebellion in NYC kept me going. I am now in contact with Linda's family and am helping them to create a foundation that will address the intersection between climate and despair. Hoping to prevent further unnecessary loss of life. The work you and others do is essential. I will do what I can to spread the world far and wide.
As a grandparent of 5 ranging in age from19 to 11 I am concerned mostly about how my grandchildren can develop the knowledge and skills to survive in a world of collapsing natural and social systems. I am not refering to "survivalist" or bunker mentality paradigm. I would hope to point my grandchildren towards resilience and adaptability skills in a society that will likely change several times in their lifetimes as our environmental and social tipping points trigger feedback loops that I can hardly imagine. For me this is a challenge because their parents (my two daughters and sons-in-laws) are very much in the "business as usual" mode of just trying to make a living to support their families. This is a grandparent's dilema. I am felt the guilt and grief of my baby boomer generations sins and am doing my own work of moving beyond this. It is my hope that I can contribute in some ways to a better world for them, a better life for them than if I did nothing.
Another issue that is really important relates to the ways we honour different ways of knowing in young people. We are so cognitively focused whereas our deeper body wisdom informs us of danger, trouble, imbalance but we are often taught to 'override' the body. This is a metaphor for our relationship with the Earth itself, where we have over-ridden its limits.
Hi Britt, I’m a parent and elementary school teacher, and I think that a fundamental shift in how our public schools operate presents a real opportunity for a different future. Most schools today are stuck in an old industrial model designed to teach rote facts, and social and emotional skills are taught around the edges. The rigid schedule, huge summer break, cinder locks, bullying, loud bells, big classes, and typically a lack of connection to the broader community of any given place all lead students to become trained in a failing system after 13 years of indoctrination. We can do so much better through creative, emotionally intelligent and place-based instruction, and treating children as the intelligent and important beings that they are. Thanks for the opportunity to comment.
Britt, congratulations on the Fellowship. It's exciting that someone of your intelligence and linguistic command will be working toward the amelioration of ecological collapse. Thank you. One issue that I think should be prioritized is the examination of the psycho-spiritual benefits of being connected with (ecologically rich) land, or the corresponding disease of disconnection therefrom.
Hi Britt, congrats on your fellowship! One thing for me is that I would love (white/privileged) young people to be able to understand climate change as an entry into justice. We experience so much pain at the reality of these losses and especially the prospect of future losses but it’s important to realize that we are living with communities that have survived catastrophic multi-generational losses (colonialism, slavery) and are still here. Seeing future catastrophe for ourselves and those like us can be a gateway to more deeply caring for the inter-cultural healing work that we can do right now with those who are the descendants of groups that have survived their own apocalypses and are still suffering from the neglect of a system that does not yet know how to heal ❤️ Perhaps we (white/priviledged) need to first come to terms with our own vulnerability to be able to turn toward the “other” and heal together as equals
I'm an educator, teaching science classes to college freshmen and sophomores. I think one of the main responses received by my students after teaching them about our current crises is a general hatred for humanity. They see nothing but greed and exploitation, even when I show them ways that people across the globe are standing up and taking action. I want to be able to properly teach them how to harness these emotions and channel their anger and frustration into action. However, their anger often sinks them into a nihilistic hopelessness. I am simply their teacher, but I want to be able to help them, or steer them to proper resources that could help them. I know that the way I present these lectures plays a huge part in this, and I'm constantly searching for the best ways to communicate the crises without sending my students spiraling into doom-and-gloom. I know, however, that there will always be anger. I'm angry, too! What they do with that anger is so important.
Congrats on the fellowship! I would consider myself a young environmental activist (23 years old and freshly graduated from college), and for me, the worst thing is knowing that the climate crisis is a solvable problem that is quickly becoming unsolvable due to the complete and utter embarrassing inaction of the older generations that hold power. Even our President-Elect, Joe Biden; who's basically our last hope for maintaining some degree of climate sanity, mind you; does not propose to go nearly far enough to reverse climate change, and is instead currently in the process of filling his administration with folks that cozy up to fossil fuel companies.
Honestly, the most likely outcome of this I can see is chaos; but the only way to avert chaos is for young people like me to work like hell to force the hands of nearly-dead people like Biden who have no personal stake in this crisis. And that's entirely unjust and unfair, and it makes me very mad, and it also makes me quite depressed, sometimes.
As a result, I think political action needs to be prioritized. First and foremost. If all we can do is help young people to individually feel better while the world is burning around them, that's woefully insufficient; we need action and we need it yesterday, and anything that doesn't prioritize swift, science-led action right now is simply not up to the challenges we're facing.
I'm a Gen Xer who's been working on climate issues (in the urban planning field) my entire career and I've seen so little progress over the last 20 years, it's so disheartening. I am extremely worried about my kids and their ability to mentally handle what's going on and what's coming. I worry they will become nihilists and not care about anything, I worry they will want to flee from society entirely and go live with a bunch of rich people hiding in the woods, I worry about them suffering from unmanageable depression and anxiety. Honestly I don't know how to help them since I struggle to manage these feelings myself; although I know I'd never want to check out and go hide on a farm in the woods, I've definitely had my nihilist moments. I find that the only thing that helps me is reminding myself that we're all just stardust, that all we can do is try to make the world better for people in whatever way we can even if it's a losing battle, and live one day at a time. As Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) said, "If nothing we do matters, all that matters is what we do." (Yes, I get my spiritual guidance from cult TV shows from the 90s and 00s. I did say I'm a Gen Xer.)
Hi Britt and congratulations! I’m a psychologist in private practice, a former school psychologist and a mother of a 12-year-old. To protect and enhance young people’s well-being during the climate and ecological crisis, researchers and mental health innovators should figure out how to create the systemic and institutional changes needed to improve children’s mental health in general. What children need during the climate crisis is what they’ve always needed to be happy: stable families, adequate housing, strong communities, healthy food, access to nature, small classrooms, skilled teachers, minimal screen time, protection from consumer culture, and plenty of unstructured play. As a parent I’ve learned that meeting these essential needs naturally leads to psychologically resilient children capable of facing the realities of the climate and ecological crisis. My daughter is well-informed about the crisis and for her it’s not traumatic, it’s normal. Normal, but not acceptable. In addition to telling her the truth, one of the best decisions I’ve made as a parent is to involve my daughter in climate activism through Sunrise and Extinction Rebellion and to empower her to fight for system-level change. The systems which created the climate and ecological crisis are also responsible for the “epidemic” of mental health issues amongst children and adults. It would be a mistake for researchers and mental health innovators to focus on developing and implementing treatments and therapies to address mental health symptoms i.e., band aids. It reminds me of the educational trend of taking away recess and outdoor time and instead teaching kids mindfulness and meditation so that they can sit still and pay attention for longer in the classroom. Thanks for reading.
My identity as a microbiologist has clashed with concern for the environment, especially during the pandemic. I appreciate that many businesses encourage reusable bags (have used my own for several years) and reusable cups and do not individually wrap food but in a laboratory setting I am used to working with materials that are individually plastic-wrapped to prevent contamination. This has made me think more about how we can balance having clean (i.e. sterile) food and items sold in stores without using too much plastic.
I was shocked and saddened this past summer when a young high school grad took her life due to climate despair.(https://noharm.co/lindazhang/ ) As one of very few people in my community who is fully aware and active when it comes to our ecological emergency, I felt remorse that she had not crossed my path. I have done the despair work (Joanna Macy, the work that reconnects) and working with Extinction Rebellion in NYC kept me going. I am now in contact with Linda's family and am helping them to create a foundation that will address the intersection between climate and despair. Hoping to prevent further unnecessary loss of life. The work you and others do is essential. I will do what I can to spread the world far and wide.
As a grandparent of 5 ranging in age from19 to 11 I am concerned mostly about how my grandchildren can develop the knowledge and skills to survive in a world of collapsing natural and social systems. I am not refering to "survivalist" or bunker mentality paradigm. I would hope to point my grandchildren towards resilience and adaptability skills in a society that will likely change several times in their lifetimes as our environmental and social tipping points trigger feedback loops that I can hardly imagine. For me this is a challenge because their parents (my two daughters and sons-in-laws) are very much in the "business as usual" mode of just trying to make a living to support their families. This is a grandparent's dilema. I am felt the guilt and grief of my baby boomer generations sins and am doing my own work of moving beyond this. It is my hope that I can contribute in some ways to a better world for them, a better life for them than if I did nothing.
Another issue that is really important relates to the ways we honour different ways of knowing in young people. We are so cognitively focused whereas our deeper body wisdom informs us of danger, trouble, imbalance but we are often taught to 'override' the body. This is a metaphor for our relationship with the Earth itself, where we have over-ridden its limits.
Hi Britt, I’m a parent and elementary school teacher, and I think that a fundamental shift in how our public schools operate presents a real opportunity for a different future. Most schools today are stuck in an old industrial model designed to teach rote facts, and social and emotional skills are taught around the edges. The rigid schedule, huge summer break, cinder locks, bullying, loud bells, big classes, and typically a lack of connection to the broader community of any given place all lead students to become trained in a failing system after 13 years of indoctrination. We can do so much better through creative, emotionally intelligent and place-based instruction, and treating children as the intelligent and important beings that they are. Thanks for the opportunity to comment.
Britt, congratulations on the Fellowship. It's exciting that someone of your intelligence and linguistic command will be working toward the amelioration of ecological collapse. Thank you. One issue that I think should be prioritized is the examination of the psycho-spiritual benefits of being connected with (ecologically rich) land, or the corresponding disease of disconnection therefrom.