{"id":114698,"date":"2023-10-04T13:25:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T17:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=114698"},"modified":"2023-10-05T13:25:58","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T17:25:58","slug":"climate-optimism-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/climate-optimism-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Climate Optimism Toxic or Helpful?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/climate-optimism\/\">climate optimism<\/a>? Which is the best approach to climate change: denialism, doomism, or optimism?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When thinking about the future of Earth, some people brush off any concerns (denialism) while others feel terrified and helpless (doomism). There\u2019s another approach\u2014climate optimism\u2014but its advocates say we must choose the <em>right<\/em> kind of optimism to prevent the most catastrophic consequences of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continue reading to learn about climate optimism and it&#8217;s effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-climate-optimism\"><strong>What Is Climate Optimism?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you ask people about climate change, some respond with a hand-waving optimism, asserting that a warming planet and rising seas are at best <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/08\/03\/1191678009\/climate-change-republicans-economy-natural-disasters-biden-trump-poll\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">just a minor threat<\/a>, or at worst a problem for someone else to contend with. Others slip into a hand-wringing pessimism, fearing that we\u2019ve doomed ourselves (and all the other living things on our planet) to a fate so terrible that <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/fighting-climate-doom-d47f2ea47bc428656b7be1f48771b75d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nothing can be done<\/a> to change it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, who\u2019s right? Neither, according to proponents of climate optimism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-isn-t-pessimism-rational\"><strong>Isn\u2019t Pessimism Rational?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Is it rational to feel pessimistic about the future that awaits us? The picture painted by climate scientists can make it sound like the world is ending. According to the American Meteorological Society, scientists agree that climate change <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/01\/09\/1147805696\/climate-change-makes-heat-waves-storms-and-droughts-worse-climate-report-confirm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contributes to extreme weather<\/a> and natural disasters. In addition to citing undeniable evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate, scientists report that the crisis is unequivocally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2021\/aug\/09\/climate-crisis-unequivocally-caused-by-human-activities-says-ipcc-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">caused by human activity<\/a>. They say that the effects are already hurting people and ecosystems everywhere, and things are going to get worse. Scientists also say we still have time <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/science\/humanity-can-still-stop-worst-consequences-of-climate-change-but-time-is-running-out-ipcc-warns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to avert the worst consequences<\/a>\u2014though many people still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/science-nature\/how-to-deal-with-the-anxiety-caused-by-the-climate-crisis-180980093\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">feel anxious or even hopeless<\/a> about the future of the planet.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it seems reasonable to feel cynical about our ecological future, it\u2019s also understandable to feel pessimistic, or at least perplexed, by the political reality. <strong>Americans are divided along partisan lines on the question of whether climate change is even a serious problem<\/strong>. Republicans increasingly favor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/08\/03\/1191678009\/climate-change-republicans-economy-natural-disasters-biden-trump-poll\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ignoring climate change<\/a>, and a plurality don\u2019t believe that climate change will affect their communities. Conversely, Democrats cite climate change as a major threat and a major priority. This disagreement illustrates why Congress has taken so little action to address the causes or mitigate the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/side-effects-of-global-warming\/\">effects of climate change<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-case-for-optimism\"><strong>The Case for Optimism<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if pessimism seems warranted by the scientific or political realities of the situation, <strong>climate optimists argue that we shouldn\u2019t succumb to a sense of doom<\/strong>. One reason is pragmatic and rooted in psychology: Despair sabotages effort. Experts explain that despair and fear can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/04\/03\/briefing\/climate-optimism-ukraine-week-ahead.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">impede us from acting<\/a>. (As can the denialism implicit in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/07\/30\/politics\/republicans-climate-solutions-heat-wave\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">efforts to stall climate legislation<\/a>.) If we choose pessimism, we\u2019ll feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem. We might even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-does-hopelessness-feel-like\/\">feel hopeless<\/a>. But if instead we view the climate crisis as a call to action\u2014one that we can meet with active optimism\u2014we can understand the gravity of the situation without succumbing to pessimism\u2019s tendency to hinder, rather motivate, effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Climate optimists have empirical reasons for hope<\/strong>. They note that collective efforts have made progress toward slowing the warming of the planet. In 2015, experts expected Earth to get warmer by about four degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by the year 2100. We\u2019re now on track for the planet to warm three degrees Celsius in that period, and if various countries meet the goals they\u2019ve committed to, the planet will warm by only two degrees. This doesn\u2019t make the problem go away: The consensus at the time of the Paris Agreement was that we should <a href=\"https:\/\/news.mit.edu\/2023\/explained-climate-benchmark-rising-temperatures-0827\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">keep warming below 1.5 degrees<\/a> to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change. But it demonstrates that we can likely avoid the very worst outcomes by taking action.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-optimism-alone-isn-t-enough\"><strong>Why Optimism Alone Isn\u2019t Enough<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If pessimism sabotages action, optimism sounds like a much more practical choice. But environmentalist and data scientist Hannah Ritchie explains that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/the-highlight\/23622511\/climate-doomerism-optimism-progress-environmentalism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>optimism alone isn\u2019t enough<\/strong><\/a><strong> to ensure that we save ourselves from the worst-case scenario<\/strong>. She contends that instead, we need to pair optimism with the recognition that the world is changeable, but it will only improve if we work to improve it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann explains in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hachettebookgroup.com\/titles\/michael-e-mann\/the-new-climate-war\/9781541758223\/?lens=publicaffairs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The New Climate War<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>that he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/magazine\/2021\/04\/12\/climate-news-is-relentlessly-objectively-grim-should-we-ever-allow-ourselves-feel-optimism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">feels hopeful<\/a> about our ability to avert the worst effects of climate change. He\u2019s optimistic because every effort can make a difference. Mann explains, \u201cEvery ton of carbon that we don\u2019t burn makes our future better.\u201d We have to recognize that investing in the future is not only worthwhile but is also worthy of effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The changes experts say we need to make are immense, and difficult. Though people can meaningfully reduce their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/why-your-carbon-footprint-is-meaningless\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">individual carbon footprints<\/a>, scientists say that it\u2019s more critical to make <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5669071\/lifestyle-changes-climate-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">systemic changes<\/a> at the level of governments and industries. In this way, <strong>optimism must be informed by what\u2019s possible<\/strong>, as pointed out by critics who worry that excessively optimistic predictions based on unrealistic climate models might <a href=\"https:\/\/www.currentaffairs.org\/2023\/07\/climate-optimism-is-dangerous-and-irrational\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">offer \u201cfalse comfort<\/a>\u201d and put vulnerable people at risk. Nonetheless, some environmentalists such as Bill McKibben argue that the only cure for our fear and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/anxiety-about-the-future\/\">anxiety about the future<\/a> of our planet is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/annals-of-a-warming-planet\/climate-anxiety-makes-good-sense\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">activism and the solidarity<\/a> found among others committed to taking action.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is climate optimism? Which is the best approach to climate change: denialism, doomism, or optimism? When thinking about the future of Earth, some people brush off any concerns (denialism) while others feel terrified and helpless (doomism). There\u2019s another approach\u2014climate optimism\u2014but its advocates say we must choose the right kind of optimism to prevent the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. Continue reading to learn about climate optimism and it&#8217;s effects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":114699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160,24],"tags":[727],"class_list":["post-114698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","category-society","tag-articles","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is Climate Optimism Toxic or Helpful? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many people approach climate change with a doomism or denialism attitude, but is there a place for optimism? That&#039;s what we&#039;ll explore here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/climate-optimism-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Climate Optimism Toxic or Helpful?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many people approach climate change with a doomism or denialism attitude, but is there a place for optimism? 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