Rising Climate Anxiety

Plus, what you can do to avoid a meltdown

View this email online Kaz Fantone/NPR Friends, This week, the United Nations released a landmark report on global climate change. I don’t use “landmark” in a good way.  More than 200 climate scientists reported that the evidence for warming is “unequivocal.” Human activity is causing extreme weather that is on the rise and will keep getting worse. Further, the report says even if carbon emissions plummet right now, the atmosphere will lag behind and that we’re locked into this reality for at least a few decades.  This may not come as a huge shock to you. If you live in a wildfire-prone region or much of the mainland U.S., you’ve likely already personally felt the effects of climate change just this week. And if you’re in a low-income neighborhood and/or a community of color, it’s quite possible you’ve felt the impact even more.  These are hard, scary things, friends. Newsletter continues after sponsor message This report presents a change-the-channel, “please, can we talk about anything else,” keeps you up all night thinking about disaster-type situation. But being afraid doesn’t mean you should turn away, and fear doesn’t have to take away your agency.  The silver lining of this report is that scientists say it’s not too late to save ourselves from the most dire impacts of climate change if we make “unprecedented, transformational change” — and while climate change is global, solutions are local. That means leaning in: we have to start talking about it, and we have to start moving. Shannon Wright for NPR How to get the conversation started In our interview with Death, Sex & Money host Anna Sale, she discussed the value of talking about hard things. Among a great many other pearls of wisdom, Sale shared a principle she learned from community organizer Karena Montag: expect and accept a lack of closure. That is, you shouldn’t wait until you have everything figured out to have that conversation you’ve been sitting on, or to take some action in your home or in your neighborhood.  Instead, meet the problem or the person where they’re at and “stop pretending we’re not all going through hard things,” says Sale. Acknowledging reality and just trying to make an effort — if not a solution — can make things a little less lonely for everyone. Listen to the episode here So how can we get started? Let’s talk about climate change with our kids and appreciate our local flora and fauna. Let’s work on living more sustainably, cutting carbon emissions at home, choosing more efficient light bulbs, assessing our local climate risk, reducing our plastic footprint, eating less meat or running for office. Tomorrow is neither promised nor certain so let’s — all of us together — just try.  — Andee Tagle, Life Kit producer   📢Special announcement! (This just in: we're on the radio!!) Today is the launch of our radio show with our pals over at Code Switch! Make sure to tune into your local radio station to hear more of the Life Kit content you love. Don’t hear us on-air? You can find your local station here and request that we get added to your regular programming!    Thanks for sticking with us! Watch this space for next week's episodes on:    👁️Kids & Body Image I 💰 Financial Intimacy I 👪  Step Parenting We love hearing from you. And, as always, we *love* hearing your random life tips. So send us a note at lifekit@npr.org or leave us a voicemail with a greeting, your name, phone number and your tip at 202.216.9823. Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: LifeKit@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Life Kit emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy