Climate change ‘hope punk’: Hopelessness is uninformed, disempowering
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Elin Kelsey
Agathe Bern
It’s not naïve to be hopeful about climate change. This is the best and only way to be responsible.
It is so! Elin KelseyClimate change communications scholar, teacher, and author.
Kelsey holds a doctorate in environmental policy. She works with communications projects to increase engagement in environmental initiatives. A University of Victoria School of Environmental Studies adjunct faculty member, Kelsey is the author of a number of children’s books, as well as an author of “Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think Is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis,”An adult book.
CNBC interviewed Kelsey (60) over the telephone for a series about managing anxiety and how to respond to it.
Here are some excerpts from Kelsey’s conversation on CNBC. These excerpts have been edited to be concise and clear.
Focus on evidence-based, practical solutions
All over the globe, we are witnessing a significant rise in public concern and desire for action on climate change. They also feel helpless and despair that there is no way to stop it.
This is a crucial issue for engagement, according to me.
Because almost every news item about the environment focuses on the problem and not the solution, I believe we inadvertently fuel that feeling of helplessness.
The feeling is that everything is not happening, and it’s too late.
Also, I am a book author for children. So I find myself often with young children discussing these topics. Then I realized that ratings and violence scenes in movies are often used to judge films. This was not appropriate for young children.
Yet, it’s perfectly acceptable to walk into classrooms and tell children that the Earth has been destroyed or show them how climate change is predicted to end. The emotional environment for children is something we haven’t been as sensitive to.
The very real challenges we face, and the fact that almost all of the problems are being discussed is feeding this gloom-and despair narrative.
The only thing we can change, and this is something we must do, is to start talking about evidence-based strategies. I find it exciting to watch solutions journalism emerge. These fields are just as concerned with solutions than they are about the problems they solve.
This is the direction that we should be heading.
So that everyone is aware of changes happening, and the things they are concerned about, we need to make them more easily accessible. This will help people feel less alone. This false message about nothing good is happening and no positive outcomes is true must be dispelled.
Hopelessness is being uninformed. Collectively, we are actually uninformed, because we are so inundated with this narrative of doom and gloom that we don’t hear anything about any productive happenings. That is when we see the truth.
Elin Kelsey is a slumbering outside, on her deck at Victoria, British Columbia. She said, “I do this because the seasons really reinforce me.” “I see nature everywhere even though I only have a small yard and live in a big city.”
Credit to Agathe Bernard
For example, this is something we already know. more than 110 countriesWe have established net zero carbon emissions goals for 2050. That’s more than 70% global economic activity. This is an important fact to remember.
Do we have to get there faster? Absolutely. Are we required to hold them responsible for these promises? Yes. However, knowing this is not the same as believing that no country is doing anything.
Complacency is not possible with optimism
According to psychological research, fear and shame can cause us shut down and even give up.
People are often afraid of the idea that by talking about hope they will breed complacency in a moment when there is no immediate need for action.
However, the psychology literature proves that the reverse is true.
When you think others care about things that you care about — and you have a sense of pride that some things are moving in the direction they should and the determination, the to stick-to-it-ness, the empathy and compassion for others who care about what you do — you’re way more likely to stay and do the difficult work.
A climate of doom is when something seems hopeless. Michael MannIt is called it. You feel powerless and isolated. Apathy can lead to you feeling helpless and giving up.
It’s in fact the opposite of what our intuitions tell us.
We know that it is there. We know if we work in a work environment where someone just yells at us and tells us we’re not getting there fast enough or we’re doing well enough — how motivating is that? But it isn’t. When someone says to us, honestly, that they did this, where are we at now, and where we want to go, we are much more inclined to put in the work necessary to reach our goals. This is the message I want to convey.
It’s not my intention to suggest that we do not have urgent problems. Yes, we do. We do. But, this hopeless narrative is disempowering and leading us to the wrong direction.
Accepting the narrative of hope punk
These are the big stories people discuss, noblebright — we’re looking for one shining superhero to save us. Or, the dystopian tale of everything being destroyed. This is where much of climate change fiction has been taken.
The rise in popularity of hope punk is evident. The hope punk movement is making a comeback in films, books and other places. It is the belief that everyone should live their lives the way they know how. The things we believe are what motivate us to work.
It is a common goal for many to be successful in their endeavors. Greta Thunberg into a noblebright character. She’s not trying to do this, I think. But they hold her up — or Jane GoodallThis is the person who does everything. Environmental communications was based on finding the hero. People tell their stories about him and hopefully they become heroes.
Another rising narrative is hope punk. This tells us that everyone is doing their best. It also shows how we all are more united and live the life we want, no matter what. This is because we live by that ethic. This is a great one for people who believe in climate change and social justice. It involves compassion and equality as well as the acceptance of individual self-worth. And that’s why I find that the hope punk story appeals to them.
Michael Mann claims that climate doom has become the new climate denial.
Because when we could deny climate, which not is not so popular anymore — there’s been a real rise in people accepting climate change. You could argue that climate denial is not necessary because it doesn’t happen.
Inaction can be just as effective in climate doom. If you declare it too late, no need for political action. You can choose to remain hopeful. It’s an important choice. This decision must be made with the right information.
The point is, it can be hard to stay informed because our tendency to focus on the problems makes us lazy.
This is something I believe the Solutions Journalism NetworkThis is a growing trend, along with other media initiatives like Climate MattersIt is made up of a number of news media outlets focused on climate. They are crucial because they allow us to see more of the positive aspects of things.
Kelsey is found outside Victoria, British Columbia. In winter, it’s often rainy. “So I am covered enough to keep out the rain but it pours all around me and I love that. She said, “I just love it.”
Photo credit Agathe Bern
Help someone trapped in climate doom
First, I try to be open to their ideas.
This is why I feel that creating safe environments for people to truly express their emotions is essential. If we’re overwhelmed by our emotions, then we won’t be open to other ideas. That is part of why I created it. Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice EducatorsI wanted to make all the psychological and other literature about creating safe environments more accessible. So I listened.
Because these feelings indicate that someone cares about the issues, I try to really listen. It doesn’t matter if the person is angry. Listen to them and make sure you create a safe place.
Secondly, find out their top issues and bring current, timestamped content.
To them, I suggest that you be medialiterate and aware of the fact that most people only hear about these issues. You can Google the most important issue that you are concerned about, and then add the keywords “recent solutions”, “positive developments”, and other keywords. Solutions Journalism NetworkYou can search their content by keyword, or filter the article list to find those that move in your desired direction.
When you really start to see things, you find many more possibilities than you could have ever imagined. It’s about actively looking for evidence-based solutions rather than believing that despair is all there is.
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