Climate of emotion: despair
Monday 31 October 2016 11:05AM
Scientists let us know all the facts and figures about climate change. They know just how quickly the icebergs are melting, and almost to the day when the Great Barrier Reef will be dead.
If you don’t fully grasp the wide ranging and complex facts, it can feel like ‘too much’. And though humans are excellent at responding quickly to immediate threat, consequences which will occur a few years down the track can be harder to come to grips with. Many of us turn away, with more immediate concerns taking priority.
But some people can’t turn away, and this two part series examines the personal impact on those on the frontline of climate change. We ask scientists young and old, plus activists, philosophers and psychologists, ‘how do you feel, about global warming?’ Their responses will move you.
Climate of emotion: hope
Monday 7 November 2016 11:05AM
Finding hope and taking positive action can be a challenging thing to do, when it comes to climate change.
In this two part series we’re looking at how climate and environmental scientists, studying everything from the Great Barrier Reef to the impact of heatwaves, manage the ‘burden of knowledge’. How do they emotionally experience the science around global warming?
In part 2 we ask where scientists, writers, philosophers and science educators find their optimism, and ways in which to take action – even if it’s as a way to counter their despair.
And we visit a very unusual dinner party, where, taking a leaf out of the plastic manufacturer Tupperware’s book, a group called Climate for Change hopes to spread the conversation amongst millions of Australians.