Russ Vernon-Jones

love, justice, and climate change … I know you can make a difference.

Feelings

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Using Bad News and Good News

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Reading or hearing news about the climate can pose an ongoing challenge for us. Sometimes the bad news seems overwhelming. Often it’s hard to remember the good news. I actually think that both bad news and good news can be useful to us. The bad news can help keep us focused and it affirms every decision we’ve made to put our energy into climate action. The good news reminds us that literally millions of people around the world are with us in taking on this existential crisis.

Let’s start with a bad news update and then move to some good news. The UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued a “red alert” about global warming late last month. They noted that in 2023 humanity experienced record-breaking heat, ice melt, and greenhouse gas emissions. The average global temperature rise reached 1.45°C, nearly surpassing the 1.5° target set in Paris in 2015.
…Keep reading for details and 6 items of good news.

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Can we handle the harsh climate truth?

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When I was in Manhattan for New York Climate Week in late September I met climate author and activist Margaret Klein Salamon for the first time. Margaret played a key role some years ago in getting activists, and then much of the press and many political leaders to use the term “climate emergency.” In 2016 she wrote an influential paper titled “Leading the Public into Emergency Mode: A New Strategy for the Climate Movement.” That paper had a big impact on my own thinking and I’ve long admired her work, so I felt especially honored to get to meet her and talk with her.

She gave me a copy of her new book “Facing the Climate Emergency: How to Transform Yourself with Climate Truth.” Reading it has been quite an experience for me. On the one hand, I find it deeply reassuring that someone else understands how serious the climate situation is and knows that we are going to have to feel a lot of feelings in order to engage fully with it. At the same time, I’m asking myself, “Am I living my life as though we are in an emergency? Or am I still trying to have a business-as-usual lifestyle that’s inappropriate to our times?”

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Climate News From 4 Continents

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There have been so many interesting items in the climate news recently that I decided to use this post to share a few of them with you. Some have cheered me; some have infuriated me; others leave me feeling deeply sad. Here are ones that I found especially interesting.

Twenty of the world’s largest economies (the G20 nations) combined to provide government subsidies for fossil fuels of more than $1 trillion in 2022. This is the largest amount ever. This analysis came from the International Institute for Sustainable Development. The Institute said that “This support perpetuates the world’s reliance on fossil fuels …. It also severely limits the possibilities of achieving climate objectives set by the Paris Agreement by incentivizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while undermining the cost-competitiveness of clean energy.”

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5 Ideas to Hold Firmly in Your Mind

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My blog posts are mostly about racial and climate justice. This one features some ideas that are not specifically on those topics, but which can, in my experience, lead us to be more effective, see reality more clearly, and be happier in general, including in our social justice work.

We humans have a remarkable ability to choose the perspectives that we hold in our minds. Sometimes we can succeed in holding the view that we are smart, loved, and capable. However, left to their own devices, too often our minds tend to turn toward self-criticism that undermines our confidence and reduces our happiness and effectiveness. These negative ideas often come from hurtful interactions we’ve experienced and from the oppressive society in which we live. These negative notions about ourselves sap our energy and reduce our effectiveness in our anti-racism and climate work.

We tend to think that ….

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I Don’t Like Bad News

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I don’t like bad news. I don’t like reading that July 3, 4, and 6 each set a new record for the hottest average global temperature on Earth, for as long as records have been kept and, according to scientists’ best estimates, the hottest day in the last 125,000 years.

I don’t like reading that parts of China are suffering under a prolonged heat wave with temperatures up to 110° F; that 1.8 million Muslims on the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia encountered 118°F temperatures; or that scientists are alarmed at the “totally unprecedented” heat wave in the waters of the North Atlantic–melting sea ice and disrupting important currents.

I don’t like reading that wealthy nations and corporations blocked significant progress at the June UN climate session in Bonn, Germany that was designed to prepare proposals for the next big UN climate conference, COP 28, this coming December. “The Bonn Climate Conference laid bare the glaring hypocrisy of wealthy nations, showcasing a remarkable indifference to the struggles of developing countries,” said Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network, which includes more than 1,500 civil society groups.

So, what do we do with bad climate news? I think it is important that we all develop workable approaches to this situation. We are certainly going to encounter plenty more bad news about the climate crisis in the months and years ahead. We don’t want ….

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Smoke and Solidarity

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A little more than two weeks ago, my adult daughter called me and asked what I was doing. I told her I was working on a project in my yard. She said, “Have you seen the Air Quality Index (AQI)?” When I said I hadn’t, she said it was over 100 in my area in New England and suggested I stop working outside. When I looked up the AQI online, I learned that over 100 is considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” The next day it hit 163 near me, which is in the “unhealthy” range for everyone. The average for this area is under 40.

As many of us are now aware, the elevated air pollution was from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia, Canada. Climate change has led to abnormally dry, hot weather in much of Canada for months and turned normally lush forests into tinder boxes of fire danger. Over 160 wildfires were burning in Quebec with 114 of them “out of control.” Winds carried the smoke to much of northeastern United States, blanketed New York City, and reached as far south as North Carolina.

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Good News and Perspectives on 1.5°C

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Two weeks ago I shared the deeply troubling news that many scientists now think that we are definitely going to see global warming increase by more than 1.5°C. The effects of this warming will be devastating around the world, and especially in frontline nations. We do still have the possibility of overshooting that target and then, in time, with great effort, bringing warming back down below it.

This post recaps some key ideas from two weeks ago, reflects on reasons we are where we are, and offers many reasons to be encouraged about the possibilities for now accelerating our progress on solving the climate crisis.

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We Are Going Over 1.5°C. Now What?

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When the nations of the world met at the UN climate Conference in Paris in 2015, they seemed ready to settle on a goal of keeping global temperature rise below 2.0°C , but the poor and small island nations kept pushing for a goal of 1.5°C. Countries like Maldives said that 2.0°C was a death sentence for their island nation and many others. Just before the end of the conference the nations committed to keeping global warming “well below 2°C” and “pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” Ever since then, the 1.5°C goal has been “a symbol of mobilization and hope.” “1.5° has become central to both activist campaigns and scientific analysis,” as Tom Athanasiou, of EcoEquity puts it.

In 2018 the UN scientific body, the IPCC, published a special report comparing the effects of global temperatures increasing 1.5°C versus them increasing 2.0°C. Compared to 1.5°C, at 2.0°C we would see close to three times as many people regularly exposed to extreme heat; we would lose twice as many plant and vertebrate species and three times more insects; the marine fishing yield loss would be two times worse and crop loss more than two times worse, leading to vastly greater food insecurity. Permafrost melting would be 38% worse (emitting more methane) and ice-free arctic summers would be ten times worse. The increases in poverty and climate refugees at 2.0°C would be severe.

1.5°C was a goal that scientists repeatedly said was technologically possible to achieve, but that would require an unprecedented rate of change and political will. A tremendous amount of work on the part of activists, scientists, engineers, politicians, and people everywhere has gone into trying to keep global warming from exceeding that limit.

Despite these efforts, it is now clear that the global temperature increase is going to go over 1.5°C. I do not write this to discourage you or lead you to despair. I write it because I think we need to know the truth and start thinking about what it means. It does not mean the end of the world or that humanity is doomed. It does mean ….

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Seeing Ourselves as a Part of Nature May Be Essential

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I’ve been interested to learn about the indigenous people on whose land I live in western Massachusetts. As far as I know I don’t have any Indigenous heritage myself. I’ve learned that this area was home to the Pocumtuc and the Nipmuc people. Nipmuc people still live in Central and Western Massachusetts and have an elected tribal government.

There is some debate about dates, but indigenous people apparently moved into what’s now called New England more than 10,000 years ago, soon after the last glacial ice sheet receded. They have lived here ever since, despite disease, warfare, and displacement brought by European settler colonizers. (The 2020 U.S. Census found more than 13,000 American Indians living in Massachusetts, although other studies put the number higher. It found that the number of people in the U.S. who identify as Native American and Alaskan Native, alone and in combination with another race, is at least 9.7 million.)

It struck me that Indigenous people lived in my area for more than 9,500 years without damaging the environment nor creating environmental crises. Clearly they found ways to live in harmony with their environment–ways that allowed humans and the rest of the natural environment to thrive together. Things have gone less well for the environment since the Europeans invaded North America.

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Can Compassion Help Us Personally and Globally?

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Climate change is causing a lot of human pain and suffering in many parts of the world. In order to be healthy and effective I think we need to limit our consumption of the news, but also stay sufficiently informed to make good decisions about how to be engaged in helping to create more just and sustainable societies. We need not follow every detail of each climate catastrophe, but I do think it’s healthy to face the extent of the crisis we humans face as a result of climate change. Trying to turn away from the reality of it seems to leave us ungrounded, alienated, and anxious.

Facing the disastrous effects of climate change may cause us to feel fear, grief, or other painful emotions, but it keeps us grounded in reality. Facing our feelings and sharing them with others can be healing and lead us to be more open-hearted, appropriately vulnerable, and connected with others.

I recently listened to an audio book titled, Humankind: A Hopeful History, by Rutger Bregman. One of the things I found helpful in his book is the recommendation to “train your compassion.” He advises that in the face of other people’s suffering, rather than trying to share in their pain, we strive to call up our compassion — our feelings of “warmth, concern, and care.” These are much more likely to energize us and help us feel more connected.

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A Battle for Your Mind

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I used to think that if people of good will had more information about climate change, they would all be moved to take action to stop the climate crisis.  I don’t think that any more.  Why are some people moved to take action as they learn about climate change and some are not?  One key variable is whether you believe you might be able to make a difference, and whether or not you see yourself as significant, or potentially significant.  If you believe you can make some difference you are much more likely to take action.

Don’t we all have this problem, to some extent? Don’t we all have days when we feel engaged, connected to others, and glad to be part of the action; and other days when it seems like nothing we do matters and the problems
are all too big for us?

Many people, perhaps including yourself, feel as though they have very little choice about how the world looks to them and how they feel about it.  They take what comes their way.  Even when you don’t want to, you may find yourself feeling discouraged, hopeless, or despairing. Your perspective may seem to be buffeted about by the latest news item, a comment by a friend, a minor failure.  I invite you to consider that we humans have the power to choose, and fight to hold, a good perspective.

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A Useful Idea with Practical Implications

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One of the most useful concepts I’ve encountered in working with people and organizations is the concept of “distress patterns.” While distress patterns themselves are generally harmful and can interfere with individual relationships and with organizations–including groups tackling racism and climate change–understanding them is potentially transformative. Here is an introduction.

You may have noticed that people often respond to life in repetitive ways, that is to say there are patterns in their thinking, feelings and behavior. Some people frequently feel discouraged; some are always trying to take care of other people; some tend to feel victimized; some frequently try to dominate other people or situations; and many of us feel that we are essentially on our own and no one really understands us.

There are many ways that psychologists, therapists, and people in general think about these issues. Many approaches contain ideas that people have found helpful. I find the concept of distress patterns distinctive its power to explain people’s behavior and in its potential to help people and groups move forward.

At our best, we humans are flexible, creative, and smart; we like other people; and we are glad to be alive. We think and function in ways that fit the present situation, connect us with other people, and contribute to advancing the goals we care most about. When distress patterns occupy our minds ….

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