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What is eco-anxiety?
Imagine you open up your news app and discover a story about the climate crisis. Maybe it’s a piece focused on the 11,000 climate scientists who recently warned of “untold suffering” unless society transforms our way of living. Or perhaps it’s a write-up of recent research from Nature that says we’re headed toward a “global tipping point” and we can’t afford not to take action.
Maybe you live in an area increasingly affected by wildfires, or your region is seeing more flooding. Or possibly, you’ve been reading about the fact that our planet’s carbon dioxide concentration levels are the highest they’ve been in 3 million years.
No matter the version of the climate change story, the statistics probably make you feel a bit anxious. Our planet undergoing drastic changes and landscapes won’t look the same for future generations; that fact may fill you with grief, nostalgia or even panic. But concerned reactions to these stories are relatively normal and they even have a name: eco-anxiety…
Letter to a young climate activist on the first day of the new decade
Climate chaos is the worst thing human beings have brought upon themselves and the earth, and we are just beginning to see its impact, in heartbreaking phenomena from melting ice to starving whales to burning forests. If you’re sad, you’re not alone.
If you’re scared, you’re not alone. Those of you who are young have every reason to be furious that you were handed a world entering into an era of catastrophe and disruption. You did nothing to make this mess and most of us who are older didn’t do enough to avert it during the last 30 years that we have known we should act, the last 15 when we had the renewable-energy technology to leave the age of fossil fuel behind.
I would never question the rightness of that fury, but I am going to go after despair, hopelessness, and powerlessness. And maybe your fury pointed in the right direction is a treasure: a non-fossil fuel, a clean-burning fire, a passion to do what we need to do. Fury can fight for all that is still with us and all that is worth protecting. And there is so much that is worth protecting…
Greta Thunberg: ‘They try so desperately to silence us’
“Swedish activist Greta Thunberg says young people are “bringing change” to the Madrid climate talks and will not be silenced.
At a news conference Miss Thunberg said that she hoped the negotiations would yield “something concrete”
The 16-year-old was mobbed by press and spectators when she visited the conference centre earlier on Friday.
She had to be escorted away for her own safety amid shouts of “leave her alone” from concerned observers.
Having arrived via overnight train from Lisbon to large crowds waiting for her in Madrid, Miss Thunberg was set to join a large demonstration in favour of rapid climate action this evening…”
Watsonville Slough Farm
In 2009, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, CA completed the acquisition of 442 acres of farmland and wetlands at the heart of the Watsonville Sloughs. In 2010, the Land Trust acquired another 45 acres, and in 2011 an additional 4 acres.
Now, the land trust’s Watsonville Slough Farm does double duty: it produces an amazing amount of vegetables and strawberries and the restored grasslands around the farmed areas [which] capture an amazing amount of carbon, one way to reduce the greenhouse gases that are a cause of climate change.
The farm produces enough vegetables to serve 30,000 people, and enough strawberries for those 30,000 people to also get their recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, every day of the year!
The farm is hilly, however, and surrounded by wetlands. The land trust therefore retired the steepest ground and the wettest. The growers who lease on the farm were happy to give up this marginal ground, as it was expensive to farm. It is on this retired farmland that they are taking advantage of a great opportunity to capture carbon…
Capturing carbon in Mass Audubon forests
“Mass Audubon is committed to fighting climate change through conservation, advocacy, and education. And we are always looking for innovative ways to make a real and lasting impact. Our recent entry into the California Air Resources Board (CARB) carbon offset market is a prime example.
Establishing a price on carbon is an effective way to harness economic pressure to force carbon emissions reductions, but no policy has yet been implemented at the federal level. The best model is California’s comprehensive carbon emissions reduction campaign, which includes a cap-and-trade program for industries…”
The role of land conservation in fighting climate change
At Mass Audubon, [their] land conservation strategy is directly linked to climate change mitigation and adaptation. As the largest private land owner in Massachusetts with more than 38,000 acres protected, [they] know how critical land conservation and effective land management is in the age of climate change.
[Their] recent entry in the California Air Resources Board (CARB) carbon offset market ensures that 10,000 acres of forested land will be protected for the next 100 years, ensuring the carbon stored in this critical landscape remains there…
Partnering with a local city to sell carbon credits
Located in New York State, Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy is working to slow down climate change in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and the City of Albany.
The Albany Water Board will receive funding from the sale of carbon credits. The Nature Conservancy expects this revenue to surpass one million dollars over the next ten years, which the Water Board will direct toward the implementation of the Sustainable Forest Management Plan, watershed management, and Water Board priorities.
As outlined in the Plan, the Albany Water Board has entered into a Conservation Easement with the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy…
Community, woodlands, and climate change discussions
One of the ways to help motivate people to slow down climate change is to help them understand the impacts on the places they love. Notice how welcoming this invitation and event is. Here is their announcement:
“Are you a woodland owner? Get together with other woodland owners and natural resource professionals to discuss the future of Connecticut’s forests. Andrea Urbano, a Service Forester with CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, will discuss what changes we can expect to see in Connecticut’s forests as a result of climate change, and how these changes interact with other threats to our forests.
We will also discuss what we can do to help create resilient forests through the upcoming changes. Bring your questions and concerns about your woodland. Resources for further action will be provided, including information on cost-sharing opportunities for land management practices. Time for snacks and networking will round out the evening…”
Climate Report Warns Of Extreme Weather, Displacement Of Millions Without Action
“Some of the world’s top climate scientists have concluded that global warming is likely to reach dangerous levels unless new technologies are developed to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says pledges from the world’s governments to reduce greenhouse gases, made in Paris in 2015, aren’t enough to keep global warming from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees F) above pre-industrial temperatures…”
How to talk to kids about climate change
A few months ago, I was standing at the sink in the kitchen. Suddenly my daughter, who’s seven, said, “You’re lucky you got to have your adulthood before the planet was completely destroyed by climate change.”
How do you comfort a child when the science suggests she’s correct? These six tips form a guide to parenting through a slow-motion emergency…