Eeyore's lament

It's not actually that fun to learn about a depressing subject that you feel you have little control over. Surprising? Many of the climate change events for Focus the Nation events are poorly attended, which is really not that surprising (though disappointing). Who wants to be depressed? When I look around the audience and see the fallen faces, I can't blame them. So, how to overcome it? - turning our backs just because it is painful is not a good solution. A few thoughts on antidotes to climate depression:

• the more we can find a sense of community to support us, the easier it will be
  
• focus on solutions
  
• empower people
  
• meditate
• get out in nature
• forget about it for awhile :)
  
• I'll probably write more on this later, but a sense of spirituality, a connection to a greater whole, has been a great antidote for me.
• Other thoughts?
  

Carbon overdose!

It's only the second day of Focus the Nation, and I'm already a little sick of thinking about climate change... It happens, I suppose. No deep thoughts for tonight!

P.S.

I want to add an addendum to that last post: I often walk past the proverbial man on the stoop. I don't want to falsely paint myself as some kind of climate saint or anything else - we're all "rational" sometimes. The salient point, however, is that, contrary to popular belief, sometimes we're not. It's those moments of "irrationality" we all (myself included) need to work to cultivate :)

On Moral Integrity

Tonight is the first night of Focus the Nation, a week of climate-related events, on my campus. This means I'll be thinking about, learning about, talking about climate change even more than usual.

So, tonight I am hurrying home in the Burlington chill from "Climate Change 101," a great talk a friend of mine gave, when I walk by a man huddled up in a dark stoop. He asks me for change. I walk on, mumbling, "sorry," then stop. It's 15 degrees outside. It's cold. I am wearing a long down jacket with my hood pulled down, a hat, a scarf and gloves, and I'm still cold. I pull out my wallet and give him a couple of bucks. Is that irrational?

Something I've been struggling with lately - a pet peeve of mine - is this idea that humans only behave in ways that benefit themselves. Even when academics or the talking heads discuss charitable behavior, they still manage to attribute it to selfishness - people do good things to make themselves look good, they say - to get their name on the building or impress their neighbors. But when I walked by that man tonight and decided to stop, decided to take the time to take out my wallet and give him a couple bucks, no one was watching. And I didn't do it with the intention of writing about it either. Before you try to discredit me, stop and ask yourself, would you have done the same? I bet you would - you would have done something. And if not in that case, I am sure there are cases you can think of when you have gone out of your way to do some good without receiving anything in return - no one was watching. But the academics don't believe it, and the economists would call us irrational - "rational" behavior is selfish behavior.

This idea that selfish behavior is the default makes it that much harder to promote individual action on climate change. If you internalize the belief that humans are fundamentally selfish, why would you take the bus or forgo that SUV? You wouldn't. Because climate solutions are not just about individual action - they rely on aggregate action. So, you not only have to trust that you are capable of making choices with moral integrity, but you also have to convince yourself that enough others will do the same to make your action worthwhile. Ah, the tragedy of the commons - the prisoner's dilemma... But these theories of human behavior assume two things: you will act selfishly, and so will everyone else. But if you were grazing cows in Garret Hardin's tragedy and you could trust that your neighbors would do their best to keep from overgrazing the land, you would be much more likely to limit your herd, as well. After all, what's the point of limiting your herd if no one else does? It is the belief that the tragedy will occur - the belief that others are selfish - that helps fulfill the prophesy.

So, turn it around: I just stopped and gave a couple bucks to a stranger in the total darkness on a desolate street. I don't presume to be any more morally sophisticated than anyone else - I think it's safe to assume others would do the same. Interestingly, when I act with moral integrity, it makes it easier to believe that others will as well - a positive feedback loop. When I believe others will act on a problem that takes collective action, it makes it easier for me to act and vice versa.

So, let's stop thinking about humans as an amoral "rational" species. I'd rather be irrational.

Climate Victim?

So, I was trying to get back to work after writing that first post, but I kept thinking about what I mean by being both "victim and perpetrator." Am I really a victim of climate change? Well, if you count reduced ski days...but that hardly makes me a "victim." Probably, if you subscribe to liberal democracy's individualistic philosophy (as described by Benjamin Barber, 1984), I am not a victim. But if you don't accept the individual as the sole unit of analysis, if you are willing to accept the interconnected nature of existence, then perhaps I am a victim - we all are. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," and, "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." I am a "victim" in the sense that I share the "broader concerns of all humanity," and those concerns affect my emotional well-being and outlook. As I said before, however, I am also a perpetrator.

Climate Journaling

There's a common sentiment in our society that the events of our day-to-day lives should affect us - the cost of internet, competition for a parking spot, the insensitive comment you accidentally made to a friend - but that world events, large-scale trends, are just fodder for the 6:00 news, with no impact on our state-of-mind or well-being. As a consequence, those of us who can't help but internalize the state of the world feel isolated - trapped in solitude without the strength or community to strive for change. This blog presents a counter-argument. It is a dumping ground for the thoughts and grievances of a first-world citizen trying to make sense of an ominous future - how the news and knowledge of climate change, global warming, climate disruption (whatever you want to call it) affect me personally and emotionally, spiritually and logically.

I am a second year masters student studying natural resources - climate and renewable energy policy, to be exact. I live in Burlington, Vermont, in a bubble within a bubble within a bubble within a bubble. I study climate change and I am surrounded by friends and colleagues studying the environment, or at least caring about it. It shapes our conversations, our thoughts, our choices and our state of mind. Some fears disappear when brought to the light. Climate change is the opposite. The more I learn, the more threatening it seems. That's not to say I'm consumed by it, in fact, I often forget about it entirely as I drive my car, buy an avocado, and generally pursue a pretty average lifestyle. But, from an academic perspective, I find the ability to forget just as interesting as the philosophizing and concerns. I imagine the question, asked 50 or a 100 years from now: What were they thinking? How could they do this? Here is an answer from both victim and perpetrator, the truth and reconciliation of a single individual.

I hope to drop notes - just a few lines everyday - to document my latest thoughts, compelling news, etc. This is only the beginning.

Peace,
Rebecca