Battling Hopelessness in the Face Of The Climate Emergency
By: Brett Christensen
Tags: Hope, Sustainability, Climate Change, Climate Action, Environment

The enormity of the burgeoning climate emergency and the baffling propensity of our leaders — and many of our citizens — to take a “do nothing” stance can easily leave people feeling hopeless and helpless.

Given the situation we find ourselves in, a sense of hopelessness is perhaps understandable.

But, I think that it is vital that we do everything we can to remain positive and keep trying, even if our actions initially seem futile.

Why? Because there IS still time to build and maintain a sustainable future. We CAN still take meaningful action. There IS still hope. All is not yet lost.

And, every one of us is capable of taking meaningful action, however small.

It’s true that the actions you take may not make a great deal of difference by themselves. But, one way or another, actions lead to further actions. Further actions by yourself and by others that you have inspired or encouraged. And all those little actions combined can CERTAINLY make a difference.

How? Here’s a simple example to illustrate the point

Lets’ say you decide to try to reduce waste in your household.

So, when shopping, you choose products that are not needlessly bagged or plastic-wrapped. If a product uses excessive and unnecessary packaging, you seek a less overpackaged alternative.

You don’t buy more food than you can actually eat before its use-by date and you get creative with leftovers.

You compost your food scraps and ensure that you recycle everything you can. You start reusing glass jars or other containers to store food rather than using plastic bags or cling wrap.

You keep documents digital rather than printing them.

You slap a “No Junk Mail” sign on your letterbox.

Such simple actions might seem unimportant in the grander scheme of things.

But, taking that first action can get you thinking about other things you can do to combat climate change and help protect the natural environment.

You might write to a politician or sign a petition calling on the government to take meaningful action to address the climate emergency. You might become actively involved in political and environmental groups fighting for our future.

You might start speaking up about your concerns about climate change rather than staying silent.

Because you are now more actively involved, your awareness is elevated. You will likely see more and more ways of helping. And because you’re passionate about the issues and feel inspired and empowered, you'll likely tell your friends and family about what you are doing, either in person or on social media.

At least a few of those people may follow your lead and start taking action as well. And, in turn, they’ll inspire others to act.

Imagine the same scenario played out thousands or millions of times by ordinary people all around the world. Tiny actions by ordinary people can and do lead to meaningful change.

So, if you’re feeling hopeless and don’t think that you can do anything meaningful to help, push through it. Take some tiny action and see where it leads.

Last week, I was feeling disillusioned and greatly frustrated by the betrayal of our leaders regarding climate change action. So I grabbed a bag and walked for about 2 kilometres along the foreshore near my home picking up rubbish as I went. I was amazed at how much I found in such a short stretch. Much of it was plastic that would have soon ended up in the ocean.

Sure, the amount of garbage I collected was infinitesimal when compared to how much ends up in our oceans and waterways.

But, even if I saved just one marine animal from being killed by plastic waste, then I feel that my efforts were worthwhile. And, other people I saw along the way were taking notice. Perhaps one of them will be inspired to take some small action as well.

Don’t ever think that you can’t make a difference. You can! Your actions count. Don’t give up hope. Don’t give in.