Our conversation
The climate crisis is so big and catastrophic it can be overwhelming. It’s hard to comprehend how something so devastating is allowed to continue unchecked. The news carries stories of disasters, record-breaking weather and the signs of climate change are showing up everywhere. For some of us, this means it’s never far from our thoughts. At the same time, everyone around us seems to be carrying on with life as usual as if nothing was wrong. It’s disorienting and alienating. We can feel like we’re alone. In fact, this experience is described in research on climate emotions.
People have reported feelings of disorientation and absurdity: it can be difficult to deal with the fact that in societies, life seems to go on mainly as normal, while the person or the group now knows how serious the damage is.
Dr Panu Pihkala
This disconnect between what we know and feel, and how most people around us are responding to the crisis was the topic of this week’s conversation. We talked about our own experiences and feelings and looked at what a theory called the myth of apathy to what difference that perspective could make.
Our own experience in relation to shock, absurdity and disorientation
It’s often helpful to start by examining our own experiences and responses before diving into what someone else has to say on the topic. Everyone in the group was able to relate to the feeling of disconnection and the struggle to understand how the world carries on as normal. The anonymous comments below are paraphrased from our discussion.
- I don’t always realise how stressed I am.
- It results in little outbursts.
- I dislike myself for doing that, though I know it’s a sign of stress.
- I feel like I’m on tenterhooks all the time.
- Greening at work feels meaningless.
- I have an internal reaction to the news. I worry about the news. That takes time and energy. It’s exhausting.
- It’s hard to talk to anyone about it.
- I’m thinking about the film *Don’t Look Up*
- It resonated with me.
- I’m reminded of the first few weeks of lockdown when we were queuing with masks and distancing. We could absorb something big was happening. I can’t understand why we’re not reacting to the climate crisis in the same way. And at the same time, it’s easy to see how it can happen.
- It absolutely does my head in. Sometimes I feel like I’m crazy to care, to be bothered so much.
- I’ve tried ignoring the climate crisis and carrying on but I couldn’t.
- It’s frightening that people don’t seem bothered.
The Myth of Apathy
The myth of apathy is a theory from Dr Renée Lertzman. She says that what looks like apathy is in fact fear and paralysis. The climate crisis is so shocking and overwhelming the information triggers people’s psychological defences. This leads them to denial, disavowal, and other coping mechanisms. The theory is based on research Renée Lertzman has done in the Great Lakes region of America. She carried out in-depth interviews and discovered that people did care a great deal about the environment but they felt stuck.
Our thoughts:
- For some people, this might be true. But it seems like a big generalisation. Some people might not care out of selfishness or other reasons.
- Not acting doesn’t mean you don’t care. We can’t assume we know why people aren’t acting or don’t seem to care.
- It’s complicated.
- We talked about living with a high degree of stress for a generation, for example, in the Cold War and the threat of nuclear war and how that might affect us.
- Powerlessness is really important. What steers people to do what they do? Actions can give a sense of power.
- We can empathise with people who struggle or avoid taking the information on in a general sense, depending on the circumstances. With some people, we might expect more.
References
Climate Change and Happiness. “Season 2, Episode 24: Revisiting the Myth of Climate Apathy with Renée Lertzman.” Accessed September 8, 2023. https://climatechangeandhappiness.com/episodes/season-2-episode-24.
Lertzman, Renée. “Renée Lertzman: How to Turn Climate Anxiety into Action | TED Talk.” Accessed September 19, 2023. https://www.ted.com/talks/renee_lertzman_how_to_turn_climate_anxiety_into_action.
“The Myth of Apathy,” June 19, 2008. https://theecologist.org/2008/jun/19/myth-apathy.