Nothing ruins my day like an avalanche of bad news about the climate crisis. Now it’s easier than ever to be inundated with news updates thanks to smartphones, and the mental effects of this change are staggering. Young people in particular experience high rates of climate anxiety. Given the problem’s scale, hopelessness is an understandable reaction. However, losing hope isn’t productive, and giving up isn’t an option.
I have to admit: I’m definitely a glass-half-empty person. That way, I’m either right or pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, this means I tend to fly off the handle at the first sign of bad news. As you can imagine, reading articles about climate change usually stresses me out, and experiencing unusual climate events is even worse.
Last summer I was in Portland during the heat wave. It was one of the most brutal weekends of my life. As the temperature crept up to a miserable 116 degrees, I laid on the floor of my non-air-conditioned house and hated everything for three days. I remember texting my friends about the record-setting temperatures each day and the horrifying realization that every summer for the rest of our lives could be even hotter. From my bedroom floor, in a heat-induced brain fog, I started thinking about how it would be easier to die in another heat wave in a few years than to try to relocate to cooler places for the rest of my life. I was completely ready to give up.
One thing that stands out vividly in my mind from that weekend is how often I checked the news. I gawked obsessively at weather reports, and as articles rolled in about hospitalizations and cooling centers, I couldn’t look away. I was glued to my phone, and it just made me more worried about the world. Any trace of optimism I might’ve had otherwise was snuffed out. At that point, I couldn’t vote, and climate protests were effectively impossible due to the pandemic. I felt useless. The world was practically burning up, and all I could do was read about it.
This is the effect negative news has on people today. A 2019 Yale survey found that 66 percent of Americans are worried about climate change — a figure that has increased 10 percent since 2014. Instead of just reading local news, we’re exposed to devastating reports from around the world, and the exposure is constant. This compounded negativity invites a sense of hopelessness. What can you do to fix everything? How can you save the planet? You’re just one person, and no one will ever listen to you. It’s maddening.
As easy as it sounds, we can’t just give up. When you feel powerless, it’s vital to remind yourself that millions of other people care about preventing climate change. Many of them are working on large-scale projects – from building robots to explore underwater ecosystems to organizing mass school strikes for climate action – to achieve that goal. People around the world with money and power tend to misuse both with little regard for others, but they’re dramatically outnumbered. It doesn’t always feel like it, but your voice has power, and there’s always something you can do to help.
But with news coming in from every direction, what are you supposed to do to preserve your sanity? The journalist side of my brain is too intent on staying informed to ever let me try a “news cleanse,” but there are plenty of other options. Dare to let yourself read good news. I usually just look for positive headlines, but some publications (like Yes Magazine and Good News Network) broadly practice optimistic reporting. It can be terrifying to read climate news on a global scale, which is why focusing yourself is so important. Zero in on one person’s (or one community’s) positive impact on the environment. While policy makers sometimes seem to get everything about climate change wrong, people around the world are working hard to save the planet one cause at a time.
If you spend too much time on social media (it happens to the best of us), make an effort to follow accounts that share positive news. My personal favorite is The Happy Broadcast on Instagram. Social media especially encourages tragic and shocking news stories, making it the perfect place to start a panic. Limit your exposure to sensationalism, and focus on healthy levels of news consumption. Acknowledge that we’re dealing with an incredibly serious problem, and it’s normal to feel sad, angry and afraid, but don’t let those feelings overwhelm you. Look for climate activism and volunteer opportunities in your community, and remember that you’re allowed to have some hope for the future.
