Links tagged “psychological”

Researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast looked to explain why so many people continue to deny what they call “the reality of climate change, its causes, impacts and the need for mitigatory action.” ... 

“Contrary to our predictions, people with high analytical abilities were even more likely to be sceptical about this,” stated study authors Nunn and Sharman in a piece for The Conversation. ... 

The researchers note that skeptics are aware of “predictions not becoming reality [and give] explanations such as ‘seeing climate change alarmists’ predictions being completely false.’” Naturally, this lends credence to skepticism.

Al Gore in NYT interview: "It is clear that our reliance on fossil fuels poses a significant and ongoing threat to democracy around the world. We must embrace the shift away from fossil fuels and refuse to allow democracy to be held hostage by petrostates like Russia. ... It has been clear for quite some time that capitalism as we know it is in significant need of reform."

"The United States and every other country around the world has reached a critical inflection point on the climate crisis, which certainly raises the risk of backsliding, though I believe history will view this as an accelerant on our transition away from fossil fuels." 

"More and more people are feeling a sense of climate despair and anxiety as the crisis worsens. Despair can be just as powerful a force against climate action as denial has been."

"The consequences of climate change can exacerbate the risk of sexual & gender-based violence, especially those facing intersecting forms of discrimination including Indigenous women & girls," tweeted Christine Clarke, the "Australian Ambassador for Women and Girls" on June 28, 2022. Clarke featured a video with her climate gender violence message. 

Ezra Klein in NYT: "No mainstream climate models suggest a return to a world as bad as the one we had in 1950, to say nothing of 1150. Was the world so bad, for virtually the entirety of human history, that our ancestors shouldn’t have made our lives possible? If not, then nothing in our near future looks so horrible that it turns reproduction into an immoral act."

Kelsey Piper in VOX Mag: "The world is a better place to live in — especially for people in lower-income countries — than it has ever been, and climate change isn’t going to make it as bad as it was even in 1950." ... In Our House Is on Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call to Save the Planet, a beautifully illustrated picture book aimed at ages 3-8...“There might not be a world to live in when she grows up. What use is school without a future?” one page describes Thunberg as thinking. Even as a setup for Thunberg’s rise as an activist, I’m not thrilled about that message. Some kids might hear that and be inspired to speak before the United Nations, but most kids are going to hear that and be scared and disempowered.

Joel Kotkin: "The dependency of the expanding serf class is also supported by green-advocacy groups, which have little interest in single-family-owned housing. In the UK, the government’s Climate Change Committee is putting forward proposals that would make it impossible to sell single-family homes — including those built mere decades ago — that do not meet stringent energy standards. ... 

These tough economic conditions could stiffen the resolve of the next generation, but to a large extent, this generation seems emotionally crippled. Thanks to the pandemic and alarm about climate change, young people are bombarded by fearmongering. Alarmist messages are pushed by social media and academics more interested in political agendas than critical thinking. Many have been persuaded, largely by the relentless and well-funded green lobby — now openly paying for “journalists” at places like the Associated Press — that the future will become a nightmare of food shortages, devastated coastlines, endless droughts and irreversible poverty. ... 

The demands for draconian climate policies or enforced “equity” require a more centralized, quasi-Stalinist mindset."

The Climate Psychology Alliance provides an online directory of climate-aware therapists; the Good Grief Network, a peer support network modeled on 12-step addiction programs, has spawned more than 50 groups; professional certification programs in climate psychology have begun to appear. ...

As for Dr. Doherty, so many people now come to him for this problem that he has built an entire practice around them: an 18-year-old student who sometimes experiences panic attacks so severe that she can’t get out of bed; a 69-year-old glacial geologist who is sometimes overwhelmed with sadness when he looks at his grandchildren; a man in his 50s who erupts in frustration over his friends’ consumption choices, unable to tolerate their chatter about vacations in Tuscany.

#

Flashback: Crying over ‘climate change’ – Tears, sobbing, & ‘climate grief’ is an actual thing for activists – Special Report

Ten-thousand young adults from 10 countries were asked how they feel about climate change. “Children started telling us that they were feeling betrayed and abandoned and they felt that governments were lying about the effectiveness of the action they were taking to address the climate emergency,” said researcher Caroline Hickman.

Researchers from the University of Bath say 84% of 16 to 25 year olds surveyed are at least somewhat worried about climate change. Nearly 60% say they are very or extremely worried about the climate crisis. Seventy-five percent say the future is frightening..."Researchers say the only cure for climate anxiety is governments around the world taking real action to protect the environment."