Climate Courage

“What if global warming isn’t only a crisis. What if it’s our best chance to build a better world?”

Naomi Klein

Reports of wildfires, hurricanes, and extinctions are frightening, yet we rarely hear people talking about the mental health impact of these changes. This hour long show explores how coping with the mental health impacts of climate change can actually make us more effective at combating it. We hear stories about the challenge of facing the facts, and emotions including grief, hopelessness, and fear. Finally, we consider how taking action can actually lead us to greater strength, connection, and impact. Safe Space Radio combines compelling storytelling with practical expert guidance to give you the tools you need to find your own courage.

Tips & Strategies for Coping and Getting Engaged (PDF)

Listen to Stories From the Episode

Safe Space Radio · Climate Courage

Resources

From Our Guests

• Healing After Irma
  Anne Bequette
• Environmental Melancholia
  Dr. Renee Lertzman
• SustainUS
  Aneesa Khan
• Why I Disrupted the White House Fossil Fuel Panel at the United Nations Climate Talks
  Maia Winkler—Teen Vogue
• Climate Anxiety Counseling
  Kate Schapira
• Climate for Health 
  Dr. Lise van Susteren
• Protect South Portland
  Rachel Burger

Further Reading & Listening

Books

• An Inconvenient Truth
  Al Gore
• The Great Derangement
  Amitav Gosh
• Drawdown: the Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Climate Change
  Ed. Paul Hawken
• This Changes Everything
  Naomi Klein
• Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In Without Going Crazy 
  Joanna Macy
• Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change
  George Marshall
• The Madhouse Effect
  Michael Mann & Tom Toles
• The End of Nature
  Bill McKibben
• Learning to Die in the Anthropocene 
  Roy Scranton
• Climate Shock: Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet 
  Gernot Wagner & Martin L. Weitzman
• The Uninhabitable Earth
  David Wallace-Wells

General Resources for Learning About Climate Change

• Climate Change: How Do We Know?
  NASA Earth Science Communications
• Global Oneness Project
• 13 Misconceptions About Global Warming (Video)
  Derek Muller
• Our Climate, Our Future
• One Thing You Can Do—Know Your Climate Facts
  Susan Shain & Esther Horvath—New York Time
• Climate Change Myths
  Skeptical Science

Climate Change & Mental Health

• Climate Change’s Toll on Mental Health
  American Psychological Association
• First Step to Stop Eco-Grieving Over Climate Change? Admit There’s a Problem.
  Judy Fahys—NPR
• Climate Change and Mental Health: Risks, Impacts, and Priority Actions
  Katie Hayes et al.—International Journal of Mental Health Systems
• What Psychotherapy Can Do for the Climate and Biodiversity Crisis 
  Caroline Hickman—The Conversation
• How Hope and Doubt Effect Climate Change Mobilization
  Jennifer R. Marlon, et al.—Frontiers in Communication
• We Need Courage, Not Hope, to Face Climate Change
  Kate Marvel—OnBeing
• Scientists Share Their Grief, Anger, and Hope Over Climate Change (Video)
  Peter Sinclair—Yale Climate Connections
• Climate Lab Playlist (videos)
  Vox
• Why Climate Change Does Not Scare Us (Yet)
  Elke U. Weber—Climatic Change
• Climate Change in the American Mind
  Yale Center for Climate Change Communications
• Coronavirus Doubters Follow Climate Denial Playbook
  Yale Climate Connections

Talking About Climate Change

• How to Talk Effectively About Climate Change
  Max Boykoff—Scientific American
• Reassessing Emotion in Climate Change Communication
  Daniel Chapman, Brian Lickel, and Ezra Markowitz—Nature Climate Change
• The Most Important Thing You Can Do to Fight Climate Change: Talk About It
  Katherine Hayhoe—TED Talk
• 6 Tips for Talking to Kids About Climate Change
  Anya Kamenetz—NPR
• Is There a Climate ‘Spiral of Silence’ in America?
  Edward Maibach et al.—Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
• How to Talk About Climate Change so People Will Listen
  Charles C. Mann—The Atlantic
• The Secret to Talking About Climate Change (Video)
  Our Climate, Our Future
• The Role of Emotion in Global Warming Policy Support and Opposition
  Nicholas Smith and Andy Leiserowitz—Risk Analysis
• Children’s Books About Climate Change
  Yale Climate Connections

Climate Justice

• Lessons from 40 Years of Documenting Environmental