Climate Change by the Elements | March 10, 2022
The Unexpected Toll of Existential Environmental Threats
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Scientists and psychologists are slowly coming to recognize a social discomfiture with the constant threats of worldwide threats. From the most recent explosion of the coronavirus pandemic to the long-lived and extremely pernicious threat of racism, humanity as a whole appears to be reeling from the threats all around us.
Humanity’s overall bearing is one meant to adapt to fast-moving crises, yet we appear helpless in the case of slow-moving threats such as climate destruction and the ongoing threat of climate transformation. Against such slow-moving apocalypses, humanity appears to struggle against its psychological need for disasters to have a clearly defined end date.
When they don’t, it causes underlying stress, psychological trauma associated with survival, and a refusal to acknowledge the existence of the challenges, so much so, we will even pretend the threat has ended, as in the case of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic taking place even as entire nations reopen their borders, put aside their masks and reopen their restaurants, sports arenas and favorite vacation spots.
The unexpected and constant toll of existential threats such as climate change, the coronavirus and now the war in Ukraine on the psychology of Americans and the rest of the world.
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THE UNSEEN TOLL OF A WARMING WORLD
Crisis fatigue and how it affects our decision-making process.
The New York Times | Climate Change by the Elements
https://nyti.ms/3KAL32f
FROM THE ARTICLE: Experts and psychologists are racing to understand how the torments of a volatile, unpredictable planet shape our minds and mental health. In February, a major new study highlighted the mental health effects of climate change for the first time, saying that anxiety and stress from a changing climate were likely to increase in coming years.
In addition to those who have lost their homes to floods and megafires, millions have endured record-breaking heat waves. The crisis also hits home in subtle, personal ways — withered gardens, receding lakeshores and quiet walks without the birdsong that once accompanied them.
To understand what the effects of climate change feel like in America today, we heard from hundreds of people. In cities already confronting the long-term effects of climate change, and in drought-scarred ranches and rangeland, many are trying to cope with the strains of an increasingly precarious future.
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WE HAVE STOPPED CARING ABOUT THE DEAD AND DYING
Being “over” the virus means to no longer think about the dead.
The Atlantic | Pandemic Earth
Nearly 1,000,000 million officially documented coronavirus deaths have occurred since the pandemic began. What does that say about the state of our society in this continuing pandemic?
https://www.theatlantic.com/…/covid-us-death-rate/626972/
FROM THE ARTICLE: Statistically, excess death studies may double that number in the United States alone. The numbers and statistics in this document are breathtaking and should be on EVERYONE’S must-read list.
We won’t know how many people have died until the pandemic has ended. But it has to end first.
Pandemic reporter Ed Yong, Ed and our science editor, Sarah Laskow, examine the “new normal” from two different angles. Yong, who has done some of the finest objective writing on the pandemic since it started, asks a damning and terrifying question about the million+ deaths in our nation alone: How did this many deaths become normal(ized)?
• What about you?
• How are you coping with all four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on the move in the modern world?
• Do you feel psychologically sound? If so, what’s your secret? If not, how do you choose to cope with the challenges?
• Are you struggling to figure out what you should be doing?
• Can you even bear to think about the crisis of the day for more than a few seconds before retreating in your latest distraction?
• Does your political party affiliation affect how you see the world?
• What are your strategies to cope with the threat of the Four Horsemen?
– Perpetual warfare, with the latest conflict in Ukraine (War)
– The continued onslaught of the pandemic (Pestilence)
– Food shortages around the world (Famine)
– The devastating loss of life in the US and worldwide? (Death)
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All this and a host of perspectives tonight on Climate Change by the Elements (Now with Coronavirus!)
With your hosts Thaddeus Howze and Carol Bluestein
5:00 PM PDT – 8:00 PM EDT
A live-cast of The Good Men Project | Publisher: Lisa Hickey
Dial-in number: 1-701-801-1220
Access code: 934-317-242 (then press #)
You can also reach the show via your computer at:
https://www.startmeeting.com/wall/934317242
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OTHER REFERENCES:
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Which racial/ethnic groups care most about climate change?
https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/…/race-and…/
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5 Takeaways From the U.N. Report on Climate Hazards
https://www.nytimes.com/…/climate-change-ipcc-report…
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IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report
https://report.ipcc.ch/…/IPCC_AR6_WGII_FinalDraft…
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This post was previously published on Facebook and is republished on Medium.
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