Episode 5: Is Hope Overrated?
07/20/20 • 22 min
Many consider Hope to be essential for sustaining social movements where change is slow, setbacks are frequent, and the odds aren't good. As Rebecca Solnit once wrote, "To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.” But when it comes to the existential threats of climate change and mass extinction, what if hope is part of the problem? What if it obscures the enormity of our crisis, or makes us complacent, allowing the public to defer responsibility onto other people or the future?
When you look at the scale of our climate emergency and the inadequacy of society's response, hope can feel like a throwaway term, a cheap neon sign we dutifully switch on at the end of climate rallies. But those reservations about hope are not the whole story. Research shows that environmental discourse has long fueled public hopelessness by perpetuating apocalyptic narratives and the sense that it's already "too late" to act. That hopelessness becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as those who believe we're already doomed -- or that solutions don't exist -- chose *not* to act, thus ensuring the very outcome they imagined. Episode 5 explores the complicated role of hope in the fight for a livable planet, and the different forms it takes in environmental debates: hope as complacency or "cruel optimism" (a secular religion that keeps the public in line), as well as more subversive versions like "active hope," "intrinsic hope," and "critical hope."
“Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. Hope is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency."
― Rebecca Solnit
Written and narrated by Jennifer Atkinson
Music by Roberto David Rusconi
Produced by Intrasonus UK
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Dr. Jennifer Atkinson is a professor of environmental humanities at the University of Washington, where she leads seminars that help students cope with the despair, anger, and anxiety that arise from environmental loss and mass extinction. Her teaching and research have helped activists, scientists, and students build resilience to stay engaged in climate solutions and avoid burnout. She has also spoken to audiences across the U.S. about the global mental health crisis arising from climate disruption, and advocated for addressing emotional impacts in the fight for environmental justice. This episode introduces some of the experiences and insights behind that work, and explores how we can move the public to action by addressing the psychological roots of our unprecedented ecological loss.
References and Further Reading:
Jason Box tweet: If We Release a Small Fraction of Arctic Carbon, 'We're Fucked': Climatologist. Vice, August 1, 2014.
What caused Earth's biggest mass extinction? Stanford Earth, Dec 06, 2018.
Martin Luther King Jr. A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches.
Emily Dickinson. “Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314)
Mary Heglar. Home is always worth it. Sept 2019.
Greta Thunberg. "Our house is on fire." Jan 25, 2019.
Lauren Berlant.
Many consider Hope to be essential for sustaining social movements where change is slow, setbacks are frequent, and the odds aren't good. As Rebecca Solnit once wrote, "To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.” But when it comes to the existential threats of climate change and mass extinction, what if hope is part of the problem? What if it obscures the enormity of our crisis, or makes us complacent, allowing the public to defer responsibility onto other people or the future?
When you look at the scale of our climate emergency and the inadequacy of society's response, hope can feel like a throwaway term, a cheap neon sign we dutifully switch on at the end of climate rallies. But those reservations about hope are not the whole story. Research shows that environmental discourse has long fueled public hopelessness by perpetuating apocalyptic narratives and the sense that it's already "too late" to act. That hopelessness becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as those who believe we're already doomed -- or that solutions don't exist -- chose *not* to act, thus ensuring the very outcome they imagined. Episode 5 explores the complicated role of hope in the fight for a livable planet, and the different forms it takes in environmental debates: hope as complacency or "cruel optimism" (a secular religion that keeps the public in line), as well as more subversive versions like "active hope," "intrinsic hope," and "critical hope."
“Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. Hope is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency."
― Rebecca Solnit
Written and narrated by Jennifer Atkinson
Music by Roberto David Rusconi
Produced by Intrasonus UK
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Dr. Jennifer Atkinson is a professor of environmental humanities at the University of Washington, where she leads seminars that help students cope with the despair, anger, and anxiety that arise from environmental loss and mass extinction. Her teaching and research have helped activists, scientists, and students build resilience to stay engaged in climate solutions and avoid burnout. She has also spoken to audiences across the U.S. about the global mental health crisis arising from climate disruption, and advocated for addressing emotional impacts in the fight for environmental justice. This episode introduces some of the experiences and insights behind that work, and explores how we can move the public to action by addressing the psychological roots of our unprecedented ecological loss.
References and Further Reading:
Jason Box tweet: If We Release a Small Fraction of Arctic Carbon, 'We're Fucked': Climatologist. Vice, August 1, 2014.
What caused Earth's biggest mass extinction? Stanford Earth, Dec 06, 2018.
Martin Luther King Jr. A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches.
Emily Dickinson. “Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314)
Mary Heglar. Home is always worth it. Sept 2019.
Greta Thunberg. "Our house is on fire." Jan 25, 2019.
Lauren Berlant.
Previous Episode
Episode 4: Coping with Climate Despair in Four Steps
With the urgency of our climate crisis increasing by the day, many scientists and climate leaders are calling for global action on the scale of World-War II mobilizations. Yet in the face of this daunting task and the existential threat of climate disruption (both present and future) many find themselves paralyzed by fear, hopelessness or cynicism.
Luckily, there are steps we can all take to overcome despair and start contributing to solutions. This episode outlines 4 basic strategies to beat the climate blues and become an agent of change.
"Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
The Talmud
Written and narrated by Jennifer Atkinson
Music by Roberto David Rusconi
Produced by Intrasonus UK
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Dr. Jennifer Atkinson is a professor of environmental humanities at the University of Washington, where she leads seminars that help students cope with the despair, anger, and anxiety that arise from environmental loss and mass extinction. Her teaching and research have helped activists, scientists, and students build resilience to stay engaged in climate solutions and avoid burnout. She has also spoken to audiences across the U.S. about the global mental health crisis arising from climate disruption, and advocated for addressing emotional impacts in the fight for environmental justice. This episode introduces some of the experiences and insights behind that work, and explores how we can move the public to action by addressing the psychological roots of our unprecedented ecological loss.
References and Further Reading:
Mike Pearl. 'Climate Despair' Is Making People Give Up on Life. Vice. Jul 11, 2019
Zhiwa Woodbury. "Climate Trauma: Toward a New Taxonomy of Trauma." Ecopsychology. January 2019
Emily Johnston. Loving a vanishing world. Medium. May 9, 2019.
"Columbia University experiment": J. M. Darley & B. Latané. "Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 8: 377–383 (1968)
Julia Rosen. "Feeling distressed about climate change? Here’s how to manage it." Los Angeles Times. Jan. 11, 2020
Leslie Davenport, Emotional Resiliency in the Era of Climate Change. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2017.
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Climate Change in the American Mind: April 2020. May 19, 2020
George Marshall. Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change. Bloomsbury, 2015
Reene Lertzman. How Can We Talk About Global Warming? Sierra, Jul 19 2017
Florence Williams. The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes ...
Next Episode
Episode 6: Embracing Uncertainty
Eco-anxiety and climate grief are sometimes framed as “disorders,” but in fact these feelings typically arise from an accurate perception of our ecological crisis. It may be more appropriate to identify eco-anxiety as a “moral emotion” -- a sign of compassion, attachment to life, and desire for justice. And so paradoxically, we can take some encouragement from the global increase in eco-anxiety and climate grief, since that very existential discomfort affirms our desire to live in a more just and sustainable world.
Because the fight for climate solutions is filled with such contradictions, this episode explores some ways we are strengthened by challenging easy assumptions about climate distress. Our future remains unwritten, and by embracing the unknown we are better able to reframe our thinking in empowering ways. So-called “negative” feelings that arise in response to ecological disruption (grief, anxiety, anger) can be seen as signs of emotional health, while “undesirable” states like uncertainty are potential doorways to transformation. Climate anxiety might even be seen as a kind of superpower -- a signal that alerts us when something's wrong and needs to be addressed, especially while others are sleepwalking through the crisis because their alarm isn't tuned as well. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "the salvation of the world lies in the hands of the maladjusted." The time has come for the maladjusted to rise.
*This episode includes extended excerpts from Rebecca Solnit and Clarissa Pinkola Estés
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Written and narrated by Jennifer Atkinson
Music by Roberto David Rusconi
Produced by Intrasonus UK
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Dr. Jennifer Atkinson is a professor of environmental humanities at the University of Washington, where she leads seminars that help students cope with the despair, anger, and anxiety that arise from environmental loss and mass extinction. Her teaching and research have helped activists, scientists, and students build resilience to stay engaged in climate solutions and avoid burnout. She has also spoken to audiences across the U.S. about the global mental health crisis arising from climate disruption, and advocated for addressing emotional impacts in the fight for environmental justice. This episode introduces some of the experiences and insights behind that work, and explores how we can move the public to action by addressing the psychological roots of our unprecedented ecological loss.
References and Further Reading:
Joseph Winters. Denial is out, alarm is in. Oct 13, 2020.
Yale Program on Climate Communication. Global Warming’s Six Americas in 2020. Oct 10, 2020.
Elin Kelsey. Hope Matters. 2020.
Alex Steffan. The Politics of Optimism. Apr 28, 2015.
James Baldwin. The Price of the Ticket. 1985.
Rebecca Solnit. Hope in the Dark (2016) and The impossible has already happened: what coronavirus can teach us about hope. 2020
Emanuele Coccia. The Life of Plants: A Metaphysics of Mixture. 2018.
Kate Brown.
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