Proclaiming hope
14/02/24 01:22
I have had several conversations recently about the need for some kind of environmental chaplaincy in many of our communities. Some of the first articles I read about the topic centered on research involving children, youth, and young adults. Those who work on college campuses have noted the prevalence of climate anxiety among students. In December of 2021, the results of a global survey of persons aged 16 to 25 years was published in the British Medical Journal, The Lancet. The survey of 10,000 youth in ten countries collected data on participants’ thoughts and feelings about climate change and governmental responses to climate issues. Respondents across all countries were worried about climate change. 59% were very or extremely worried and 84% were at least moderately worried. Young people reported feeling sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty. More than 45% said their feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily life and functioning. 75% said they think the future is frightening and 83% said that they think people have failed to take care of the planet. Climate anxiety is related to a perceived failure by governments to respond to the climate crisis. The study’s authors proclaimed an urgent need for further research into the emotional impact of climate change on children and young people and for governments to take urgent action on climate change.
I do not doubt climate anxiety among young people. I’ve witnessed it in my interactions with youth and young adults. But I have also witnessed a significant amount of climate anxiety among older adults. People my age and older also have expressed significant levels of anxiety and fear, sometimes bordering on hopelessness. They cite their sources of news as being filled with alarming statistics and overwhelming problems.
Regardless of their age, people are feeling anxiety. Intense weather events, droughts, fires, and shortages of food and water directly contribute to that fear. It is compounded by passive experiences including news headlines, social media posts, and the words spoken and written by celebrities. In addition, the oversimplified narrative of those who sought to cause doubt about the science of climate change seems to have shifted to an even more simplistic narrative. The message they proclaim is that there is nothing individuals can do. They argue that proposed solutions to climate change do not work and tout the problems with alternative energy, more efficient vehicles, and other solutions.
It seems that the narrative embraced by too many people of all ages boils down to some version of this: “Previous generations have degraded our planet to the brink of no return, and the last hope for saving it, if there is any hope at all, rests with Generation Z.”
It is that fractured vision with I believe needs to be directly confronted by those called to environmental chaplaincy. If we are to enable people to find their way through climate anxiety we need to start with the truth: That vision of our situation is not the truth. At the very least it is not the only story. Yes, the inhabitants of this planet do face a very real climate crisis. It is not, however, a problem created by previous generations leaving solutions only to young people. There are many sustainable actions that can be undertaken by people of all ages. Solutions are already coming from all living generations. Environmental sustainability and conservation successes are frequent and common.
Elin Kelsey, an educator and scholar with a Ph.D. in science communication and international environmental policy knows that climate change is real, devastating and urgent. She also teaches that focusing only on negatives is neither truthful nor effective. She has written and spoken extensively on what she calls evidence-based hope. Such hope doesn’t come from wishful thinking or simplistic stories about good dees, but rather from fact-based study, research, and writing.
Through reading an interview with Kelsey, I discovered Solutions Story Tracker, an online database of stories about positive responses to social problems. Solutions Story Tracker now features nearly 16,000 stories from 9,000 journalists from 90 countries representing a growing movement of journalists using solutions journalism.
There are far too many telling stories of environmental doom and gloom. It seems that nearly every conversation I have about the environment with people of all ages, focuses on the negative. I find myself called to encourage people to look beyond that dominant narrative and the assumptions that come from such a perspective.
I continue to draw my inspiration not only from the news and real science about sustainability and environmental solutions that are working, but also from the stories of our people. For decades I have taught the poetry and vision of the prophet Isaiah whose legacy includes the biblical book that bears his name. The school of thought that stemmed from the prophet’s work made a critical shift in the face of the exile. Proclamations and predictions of impending doom shifted to a narrative of hope in the face of the reality of the destruction of Jerusalem and the carrying of some of its residents into exile in Babylon. The prophets not only warned of impending danger. They also offered real world solutions and proclaimed hope in the midst of destruction.
To the extent that I can participate in the work of environmental chaplaincy, I intend to take seriously the need of those who proclaim hope in our current situation. I am convinced that while fear may motivate some to action, it is not the best motivator of humans. Genuine hope, as proclaimed by biblical writers, casts out fear.
It is simply not the case that we are in a hopeless situation with all of the action taking place in the future. We are the inheritors of decades of concerted and careful action to preserve animal and plant diversity, to address problems of over consumption and injustice, and solid scientific research into real solutions. To those who say that everything is wrecked and that it is too late to change and that nobody cares, I declare that there is much more to the story. We aren’t the first people to recognize the danger, nor are we the only ones working on solutions.
I may be old and retired, but I think there may be a place for another voice to speak of deep seated hope that is more than wishful thinking. Perhaps there is a need for an elder to witness to people of all ages about what works in this world and of the right of everyone, young and old, to discover ways to live and make change in the real world where change is indeed possible. As was true in the time of the biblical prophets, when voices young and old combine, the message of hope is stronger than the message of fear.
I do not doubt climate anxiety among young people. I’ve witnessed it in my interactions with youth and young adults. But I have also witnessed a significant amount of climate anxiety among older adults. People my age and older also have expressed significant levels of anxiety and fear, sometimes bordering on hopelessness. They cite their sources of news as being filled with alarming statistics and overwhelming problems.
Regardless of their age, people are feeling anxiety. Intense weather events, droughts, fires, and shortages of food and water directly contribute to that fear. It is compounded by passive experiences including news headlines, social media posts, and the words spoken and written by celebrities. In addition, the oversimplified narrative of those who sought to cause doubt about the science of climate change seems to have shifted to an even more simplistic narrative. The message they proclaim is that there is nothing individuals can do. They argue that proposed solutions to climate change do not work and tout the problems with alternative energy, more efficient vehicles, and other solutions.
It seems that the narrative embraced by too many people of all ages boils down to some version of this: “Previous generations have degraded our planet to the brink of no return, and the last hope for saving it, if there is any hope at all, rests with Generation Z.”
It is that fractured vision with I believe needs to be directly confronted by those called to environmental chaplaincy. If we are to enable people to find their way through climate anxiety we need to start with the truth: That vision of our situation is not the truth. At the very least it is not the only story. Yes, the inhabitants of this planet do face a very real climate crisis. It is not, however, a problem created by previous generations leaving solutions only to young people. There are many sustainable actions that can be undertaken by people of all ages. Solutions are already coming from all living generations. Environmental sustainability and conservation successes are frequent and common.
Elin Kelsey, an educator and scholar with a Ph.D. in science communication and international environmental policy knows that climate change is real, devastating and urgent. She also teaches that focusing only on negatives is neither truthful nor effective. She has written and spoken extensively on what she calls evidence-based hope. Such hope doesn’t come from wishful thinking or simplistic stories about good dees, but rather from fact-based study, research, and writing.
Through reading an interview with Kelsey, I discovered Solutions Story Tracker, an online database of stories about positive responses to social problems. Solutions Story Tracker now features nearly 16,000 stories from 9,000 journalists from 90 countries representing a growing movement of journalists using solutions journalism.
There are far too many telling stories of environmental doom and gloom. It seems that nearly every conversation I have about the environment with people of all ages, focuses on the negative. I find myself called to encourage people to look beyond that dominant narrative and the assumptions that come from such a perspective.
I continue to draw my inspiration not only from the news and real science about sustainability and environmental solutions that are working, but also from the stories of our people. For decades I have taught the poetry and vision of the prophet Isaiah whose legacy includes the biblical book that bears his name. The school of thought that stemmed from the prophet’s work made a critical shift in the face of the exile. Proclamations and predictions of impending doom shifted to a narrative of hope in the face of the reality of the destruction of Jerusalem and the carrying of some of its residents into exile in Babylon. The prophets not only warned of impending danger. They also offered real world solutions and proclaimed hope in the midst of destruction.
To the extent that I can participate in the work of environmental chaplaincy, I intend to take seriously the need of those who proclaim hope in our current situation. I am convinced that while fear may motivate some to action, it is not the best motivator of humans. Genuine hope, as proclaimed by biblical writers, casts out fear.
It is simply not the case that we are in a hopeless situation with all of the action taking place in the future. We are the inheritors of decades of concerted and careful action to preserve animal and plant diversity, to address problems of over consumption and injustice, and solid scientific research into real solutions. To those who say that everything is wrecked and that it is too late to change and that nobody cares, I declare that there is much more to the story. We aren’t the first people to recognize the danger, nor are we the only ones working on solutions.
I may be old and retired, but I think there may be a place for another voice to speak of deep seated hope that is more than wishful thinking. Perhaps there is a need for an elder to witness to people of all ages about what works in this world and of the right of everyone, young and old, to discover ways to live and make change in the real world where change is indeed possible. As was true in the time of the biblical prophets, when voices young and old combine, the message of hope is stronger than the message of fear.
