On Climate Anxiety

Following on from the above, it may be interesting to see the broader picture. Few (rational) people will doubt that we are experiencing climate change in real time - I believe it is accurate to talk about a climate emergency, not because I think we should panic - actually the good reaction is the opposite of panic - This emergency is a long emergency - we are just starting to really see the effects (though this has been predicted for a long time - 40 or 50 years). In the face of a long emergency we need a good plan - a good strategy - for our farm, for our business, and for us as individual, and collective human beings.

"Climate anxiety" is a phrase which is becoming more common, and some research is being done on this. An unhealthy (unhelpful) response to climate anxiety is denial - to try to feel better about things by blocking out the reality of the situation. This is just "papering over the cracks", which inevitably will re-appear. Some experts in this field think it is more helpful to talk of "climate mourning" - that there is a sadness, even panic around the loss of a pristine natural world. We have to accept this, but like with the mourning process we experience with the death of a close family member or friend, it is now understood, that there are specific phases it is healthy to go through: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance - probably there is no total avoidance of any of these phases - we need to work through them, but to reach a healthy realignment, we need to accept - but accepting does not mean resignation! For accepting death or climate change, the most powerful tool to take us forward in life is to get active - to become the active agent of our own lives. Get out, get onto the streets, meet people, volunteer, do stuff we believe should and can make a difference. One of the best possible ways to re-direct the climate emergency to a brighter future is to a) buy organic, seasonal, local food, to promote seasonal organic food, to grow seasonal organic food, to plant lots of trees, prefer cycling over driving etc - the possibilities are endless!

First week of September. Source: own photo

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