It’s time to stop pretending that it’s not happening. It’s time to stop making excuses. It’s time to stop saying it’s too hard or it’s too late. It’s time to stop acting like our daily decisions don’t make a difference. It’s time to stop being in denial that you need to act now on climate change.
Consider this your intervention on climate action denial. We want to help you break out of this corrosive, backwards, unhealthy situation, so you can realize your full potential. We even have a 3-Step Program.
Humans are great at denial. We deny that we drink too much alcohol. We deny that we have to worry about what we eat, or to think about exercising. We deny that wasting water and driving a gas guzzler has consequences. We deny that people around the world are already suffering and dying because of climate change, not to mention air and water pollution. While we’re at it, let’s not plan for any climate change disasters, eh?
Maybe we’re not even thinking about it yet. We’re so in the clouds that we believe that we’re just going to go on living our lives doing what we do, not worrying about our choices, toiling along daily, having fun whenever possible, believing that because of the contributions we do make, as a productive member of society and tax-deductible funder to good causes, we’re doing enough. The problem with that is we also need to think about and act on climate, every day. Otherwise, let’s face it: we’re being irresponsible. Sure, cheap air conditioning in the US means we’ll have no problem with increased temperatures in some areas; but what if there’s a prolonged heat wave or drought, or a tornado, or a hurricane, or a new mosquito-borne disease, or some of the above at the same time? What about people around the world who don’t have air conditioning? The many dangers of climate change are only getting worse. But if everyone starts paying attention, we can make a difference.
It’s time to wake up to actual reality. Every choice we make every day is a determinant of the state of the current and future planet. Everything you do has an impact. Everything is connected and what you do has reverberations across the globe. You can take the path leading upward, that brings us all up, or the path downward, perhaps easier in the short term for you but bringing us all down in the long run. If the planet hasn’t got her health, we haven’t got anything. We need to reverse the trajectory of climate change by taking climate action now, or temperatures will continue to increase and cause drastic and irreversible changes to the planet.
It’s not a guilt trip or fear-mongering; it’s just actual reality. It’s the elephant in the room, so go ahead and look at it. Even on this website, we talk about protecting future generations, and we need to do that, but things are happening already. That’s the hard truth. But don’t give up! Taking climate action is actually not that hard.
Here are three things you can do today, right now:
- Do what you need to do to burst out of your bubble of comfort, and face the truth. You’re part of humanity, and you have a role to play. Denial is just a comforting dream, but in reality you can do so much. Check out The Climate Economy’s 3-Step Program Towards a Low-Carbon Lifestyle.
- Maybe before you can take action, you feel like you need help overcoming your feelings of helplessness, and breaking that connection to whatever it is that’s holding you back from facing climate reality. Someday, eco-anxiety will be a common term, but for now you have to out and seek the answers you need. Check out these 10 steps to resiliency (may remind you of certain 12-step programs), or read more about eco-anxiety.
- Truth is what we need now. Acting on the truth is what we need now. The truth will set you free! Thanks to groups like The Climate Mobilization, The Climate Reality Project, and the Transition Network, people are getting motivated to face the truth and take action in their lives and their communities.
You can leave climate action denial behind and choose how to take action yourself, action that’s rewarding for humanity, the economy and the environment. And, it feels good; it’s rewarding. It opens you up to new opportunities, connections and experiences. The truth of the matter is we need to tackle every solution to climate change from every angle, simultaneously, at this point, in order to realistically tackle climate change. Stay tuned to The Climate Economy for more about all that you can do, and must do. Together, we will overcome this challenge.
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