Climate Anxiety: Navigating a Doomed World

Climate anxiety occurs when one feels fear and worry of the consequences of climate change. To an extent, I believe that everyone experiences this lurking fear on some level. When you turn on the news you see the latest devastating wildfire, open instagram and you will see your friends sharing stories of sea animals being killed by plastics, scroll through Netflix and you will see the latest documentary on how your meat-filled diet is the #1 change you need to make or the world is doomed. The beacons of a world on the brink of disaster are everywhere we look today, and it makes it extremely hard to be hopeful. 

I’m an environmental science major so I probably feel this way more often than others. I spend my days learning about the hopelessness in class, then go home and see it everywhere else. Some days, when you see the negatives and not all the good that has been done, it’s easy to question why we should even try at all.

In reality, our efforts have not been for nothing

In 1985, scientists confirmed there was a hole in the ozone layer and the effects could be devastating. Today, around 99% of the chemicals that can deplete the ozone layer have been phased out, and the atmosphere is healing. In fact, the Antarctic hole is expected to be closed in the 2060’s.

Progress has also been made in the field of renewable energy. As of 2021, around 20% of electricity generation in the United States came from renewable sources. The Biden administration is pushing even further in the green direction. The Department of Interior announced plans to approve 50 renewable energy projects that could power around 9.5 million homes with wind, solar, and geothermal energy. 

The worst thing we can do is give up

The goal of mitigating climate change is to limit the warming of the earth as much as possible. Some projections estimate that we can do so by limiting warming by anywhere from 1.5 to 3 degrees celsius. How much we are able to limit warming is unknown, as political and economic changes occur everyday. The scenarios of how many animals will die and humans will be displaced by sea level rise and warming temperatures are bleak and overwhelming. However, the effects of doing anything helps more than not doing anything at all. 

Climate anxiety can be channeled into doing something good

I don’t think we will ever reach a point where everyone drives hybrid cars and eats vegetables and the world heals completely. But I also don’t think we will reach a tipping point where earth is uninhabitable. I use my anxiety of the future as motivation to be a part of the change. Knowing that I am doing something,  to be a part of the fight on climate change gives me hope that things will be okay.