Hope and Anxiety on the Path to Climate Action

“I hate the idea of giving someone hope. It’s so infantilizing to me,” writer and self-described climate person Mary Annaïse Heglar told us earlier this year: “Hope is something that you have to earn. It’s not something someone else can give you.”

She makes a fair point, but reader, if we could hand you conveniently packaged family-size portions of ready-made hope to take home, we would.

At an inflection point?

Admittedly, this November might feel particularly, um, intense among climate people.

Some of that may have to do with a certain looming U.S. election involving a former president who withdrew the country from the foremost international climate agreement of the era—and has suggested wind power causes cancer while rising seas create “more oceanfront property.”

Also, yet another round of international climate policy wrangling is slated to begin November 11 in Azerbaijan. Among the thorny questions negotiators may have to consider at this 29th Conference of the Parties: After 29 such meetings, how many more will it take to stop the planet from getting hotter?

We mention these things not to freak anyone out, but because like you, we care.

From anxiety to action

One thing we’ve found that helps when you’re worried about climate change is to do something about it—to translate that anxiety into climate action.

This action could be relatively small—opting for a vegetarian meal, say, or sharing a ride with a friend. It could also mean something bigger, like changing jobs. And if that sounds like a lot to handle, well, we want to help you with it. Our organization exists to help you step up climate action.

We’ll talk more this month about what that looks like, but here’s something to think about: In a few weeks there’s a deadline to enroll for our main online course, Learning for Action. It’s 12 weeks long and takes roughly an hour a day. That means by early next year, you could be well on your way from anxiety to action—and have a new and deeper understanding of how your skills and passions can contribute to everything that has to happen to halt global heating.

We began with Mary saying hope has to be earned. Taking action is how you earn it. Terra.do helps you accelerate climate action.

The deadline to enroll in our next Learning for Action cohort is Friday, November 22.

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