The Struggles That Come Along with Environmentalism
Those who want to take action on the deadly human impacts that have lead to the destruction of our environment, are going to be faced with many struggles along the way. Learning about all the devastating things happening to the environment is not easy, and can make some feel as if there is nothing to be done. However it is important for us to look at the brighter side, and to fight for what we know to be wrong. We need to realize that the build up of emissions and warm weathers have been up to an all time high. It has all come down to our generation and the fore coming ones to put an end to these issues. We cannot put blame on the future generations for living the way they were, because to be honest we probably would of done the same. But what we can do is start and get something moving towards the right direction, and fix the mistakes that were done in the past. The main issue being our economy, and people being all about power and wealth is not helping the movement towards a more sustainable future. Are political system is broken, and something needs to be addressed, because climate change is not.
The Impacts of Previous Generations, and the Natural World
Growing up seeing the changes in the natural world around me has been very hard to witness, as I am sure it has been for many others. Ever sense the Industrial revolution, and the big advancements in society, things have just not been the same. Now this does not mean we should have any hatred for these generations, because they were just doing what they thought was best for civilization at the time. However we should be mad that still very minimal action has been done sense than, and that we have way less time to take action. With the big incorporation of fossil fuels, advancement in technologies, we have disregarded the health of our mother Earth. Big corporations saw this as an opportunity, and took it in order to profit off of it for themselves. Now at the time it may have seemed smart, but now we are facing so many consequences, and hopefully people would start realizing that money should not be their number one priority in life. However this can be a very difficult issue to address, especially sense that is so many peoples top concerns, when it should be the health and sustainability of our planet. Its going to be hard for us to have children now, because who would want to set their own child up for failure in a world that may not even be able to sustain its self. Now is the time for our generation to step in and make a difference before are time has come to an end.
Now is Our Time To Act
We have been brought down to this moment, and change is going to need to start commencing. Sarah Ray puts it a good way, “Your demographic has unique potential: at least 70 percent of your generation cares about global warming, which is about 10 percent more than the general public.” (A Field Guide To Climate Anxiety, Page 7). With this being said, now we got to get more people involved and actually doing something in order to make a change. It is good that more people are starting to actually care about it, but with that we need action to be done. The world needs more people capable and willing to make a change in order for one to be even made. It is going to take some work, but we have the tools we need to succeed. Learning about this is not easy, and can be hard at times, but we are all in this together. A good thing to think about is the positive outcomes that will happen, rather than seeing all the negative things that has happened in the past. Now you may be wondering what it is you can do? And how can we convince those who are non believers? Well I will give you a few tips.
How To Communicate the Need For Environmental Action
Now with anything it is always good to start small. Although it may not feel as if the little actions you do have no impact, they still do. Also if you are going to fight for climate change and the environment, than you better be living a sustainable life yourself. Some small things include public transport, reusable bags, stay away from meats, reduce travel, and composting properly. When trying to bring issues to light it is always a good idea to start locally. You can easily find out the legislatures or governors in your areas information. From there you can write letters or make calls about your findings, and bring them to light. This way they see the issue as being more important because you are taking time out of your day to reach out to them. Look for local things that are put in place, that cause harm to the environment. Because trust me most areas now a days have something going on where they are doing negative things to the environment. Some ways we can get more people involved by taking action is re framing the issue at hand. If you make the problem sound more like a personal one, and provide evidence that this will be detrimental to peoples healthiness and well-beings. Than people will be more likely to act because they do not want their safety to be jeopardized. Another key thing is to talk to people with respect and being friendly rather than just saying that you are right. A person is more likely to hear you at if you are being respectful, and not forcing them to swing one way or the other. It is hard when climate change is so stigmatized by the media and politics. However if you are just being kind to the person, and expressing what you believe in, but not in a pushing manor. Than if they still get angry with you, and wont hear you out that is on them.
Getting Past Guilt and Coping with Emotions from Climate Change
When learning that all of our actions can cause harm to the environment, and that are previous actions have had such a bad impact. It is hard for anyone to learn about this, and be able to cope with the emotions coming with it. Doing things like the ‘ecologic footprint exercise’ really brings to light how much of an impact the average American has on the planet. However we should not be doing things for the environment just because we feel guilty. You should be doing it out of your own will, and because you really do want changes to be made. Using guilt to motivate yourself is never good, and only leads to minimal effort being done. We need to start making people love the environment again, and have passion for what they are doing. Having guilt brings us down a very bad rabbit hole. From personal experience, one of my good friends was in the Environmental Science major, but sadly dropped it. He had told me his main reason for doing it was because he felt so guilty, and wanted to make a change. The more and more he learned about it though just made him feel worse, and he eventually just gave up. A good way to get over this is by confronting your grief, and never trying to avoid it because that will just make things worse. Look at the positives in your work and everyday life. A good thing to do is talk to a therapist, and at the end of the day right three positive things you did to contribute to society. Getting rid of these negative emotions is key, and will help with overcoming grief. Environmental work is so much better when you actually have passion and care for what it is that you are doing.
Conclusion
With it all said and done I hope you realize how important this work is, and should be. No one want the human population to die off, we dont want to be selfish and leave our future generations with a messed up world. Our generation already has enough to deal with, and if something is not done than that puts the world in a very vulnerable state. There is still much that needs to be done with the political system, and making environmental action more publicized and accepted. More people are starting to catch on though, and hopefully it will come down to our generation and action will be put into place. We may be starting off rough, however with enough people dedicated change will be on the horizon.
References
Ray, S. J. (2020). A field guide to climate anxiety: How to keep your cool on warming planet. University of California Press.