Justice & Paix

Link to climate activism is seven times stronger for anger than it is for hope, say Norwegian researchers

A team of Penn State researchers investigated how seeing frightening news about climate change day after day may shape the way people feel about the phenomenon and how willing they are to take action to address it. They published their findings in the journal Climatic Change. 

As those most responsible for the crisis recede into history, our energy is better spent responding to the world we have created

The World’s Next Big Problem Is That We’re Too Depressed and Traumatized to Fix All the Others

Deep adaptation’ refers to the personal and collective changes that might help us to prepare for – and live with – a climate-influenced breakdown or collapse of our societies. It is a framework for responding to the terrifying realization of increasing disruption by committing ourselves to reducing suffering while saving more of society and the natural world. This is the first book to show how professionals across different sectors are beginning to incorporate the acceptance of likely or unfolding societal breakdown into their work and lives.

Humans have amazing strengths, but also significant weaknesses. Chief among them, perhaps, is our collective difficulty in grasping the mathematical consequences of exponential growth. Alternative energy technologies have trouble preserving expectations. Human psychology and political/economic institutions turn a technically difficult predicament into a nearly hopeless trap. We are lamentably ill-equipped to appreciate the abnormality of our time and assess a more accurate picture of what long-term “normal” must look like.

The author and eminent climate scientist on the deniers’ new tactics and why positive change feels closer than it has done in 20 years

Some research suggests that while fear can prompt us to spring into action, hope actually gives us something to do.