I remember the day in fourth grade when I found out that not only is there a limited supply of a fossil fuel available to the world, but also that burning it puts pollution into the air. We also learned that scientists were beginning to believe that too much of that pollution would create major problems for everyone and everything in the world.
I was a little shaken by the news, but not really worried about it because I figured that adults way smarter than me would see to it that things worked out okay.
Ten years passed as we kept polluting, talking about the eventual beginnings of climate change, and doing nothing about it. I was getting irritated and worried about the path we were on.
Ten more years passed. I had two young daughters. It was the late 1990s and basically everyone in the legitimate scientific community was saying that, without major climate action, my grandchildren would be facing environmental catastrophe near the end of their lives.
I was worried about our continued direction and angry that leaders weren’t doing anything about it. I tried to follow the advice I was given, doing things each day to live more sustainably and reduce my carbon footprint. I tried to teach my daughters to respect the environment.
But I began to worry more. A lot more.
At one point, I became so worried that I began to associate any abnormal, hot weather (or even a typical hot summer day) as the impending doom of climate change. I had sunk into depression. Climate anxiety wasn’t the only cause, it was part of a package that included major levels of job stress, too much activity, a general sense of fatigue, and total burn out. But climate was definitely a factor.
I had to address a most difficult question: what can I do about climate change?
I got myself back together over time, but I still struggle with that question . The anger I once felt at our leaders who didn’t address our climate issues, has now boiled over into an intolerant rage.
Now it’s 2023. It’s been 45 years since that day in fourth grade science class. During that time I’ve watched our summers get hotter, and our winters shrink. When winter finally comes, it’s warmer. It snows less.
The news right now is full of significant weather events; heat waves, forest fires and droughts-just like the scientists predicted.
Are we to believe that these are mere coincidences? Again? Or are they the tip of the melting iceberg?
In the meantime we’ve done very little to address our energy, pollution and lifestyle problems.
The worry that began in me decades ago still exists. Most days I can manage it or keep it deep in the background, but it still dwells on me like a parasite.
Climate anxiety is something I hadn’t heard of before until recently, but the term caught my attention. I found this excellent article from Yale that explains a lot about what’s going on in some peoples’ minds regarding the climate problem. Please read it if you have a few minutes. It addresses climate-related mental health from a variety of angles. According to the article, it seems I would be best described as climate-worried, a step or two less severe than climate-anxious.
Are you concerned about the climate too? Are you climate-worried, or suffering from climate anxiety?
If I’m fortunate enough to have grandkids, I hope their fourth grade science classes can include the story of how we got our act together at the last minute, and averted long-term climate disaster.
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