John Howard: Overcoming climate anxiety

Published: 08-07-2024 5:57 PM

Letter to the Editors

We are all worried about what climate change can do to our world. Some deal with it by denying it is happening. The rest of us are realizing more and more as the years go by and the world gets hotter, that our climate is changing.

One of the most powerful way to handle climate anxiety is to do something about the problem. What can I, one person, do about such a huge disaster, I hear you thinking.

Think to yourself of a raindrop — by itself pretty insignificant. As a shower there is some effect, a usual season of rain can make our crops grow, and in a storm raindrops can wash away a town.

There are billions of us and we all together in this. There are millions, from scientists to politicians, to the folks who put up solar, already working on climate change. One of the best things about working on climate change is that it makes you feel less helpless!

We created this problem and if we work hard and fast enough, we might be able to fix it. Once one starts to work on climate change, you start to begin feeling better about the fear.

There are small things to do like insulating your pipes and sealing your house. There were bigger things like replacing appliances with energy saving devices. There are boring things like recycling, reusing and repairing things, and there are very important things like voting for environmental candidates and laws.

And there is talking with everybody about the issue. We are not alone in this. George Washington lost many battles before he won our country. We will have to lose and then win many more to keep it. The climate is a war we cannot lose!

John Howard

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