Children holding a ball painted like the earth in the air

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   Dr. Katharine Hayhoe (kathhayhoe@climatejustice.rocks)'s status on Thursday, 24-Aug-2023 07:56:51 JST Dr. Katharine Hayhoe

   As disasters fill the headlines, I'm more convinced than ever that hope is our first best weapon against climate change.

   Every time I say this, though, there's an immediate knee-jerk reaction: “We don’t need hope, we need ACTION,” they say.

   But here’s the thing: we will not act if we feel we have already lost, if there is no hope.

   And that’s not all - there’s a positive feedback effect between action and hope. When we act, and join with others in doing so, and see that our voices do matter, our hope grows.

   It is easy to focus on the negative and feel defeated, especially when it seems to be coming for us from every angle. “In a 2021 survey of 10,000 children and young adults from 10 countries (including the U.S.), 59 percent said they were very or extremely worried about climate change. More than half said they felt sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless or guilty. Three-quarters said they think the future is ‘frightening,’” says this article.

   Stories of crisis make headline news every day, but there are many examples of hopeful stories that get lost between the doom and gloom – from companies, governments, people, and organizations taking action. (I mention these stories every week in my newsletter if you don't believe me! Subscribe here, it's free: https://www.talkingclimate.ca/)

   If there was nothing we could do about climate change, giving up would be a logical response. The good news is, we can still make a difference, if we take swift action. When we realize that the future is in our hands, that means we can make a difference. That is what our hope is based on.

   Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/what-is-best-weapon-against-climate-change-hope-1815325