Written by Erin Bell - Communitopia Board VP

Let’s be honest. Climate change is a big, scary beast. With headlines like Is The Climate Apocalypse Upon Us? and Summer of Disaster and Nowhere Is Safe, it’s easy to feel helpless, overwhelmed, and even downright afraid about what the future holds. Our planet is rapidly warming, and efforts to stop it are slow at best and contentious at worst. Anyone who knows the first thing about climate change knows that a warming planet has serious and sometimes dire consequences: extreme weather events, displacement of people and animals, scarcity of food and water, and more. This isn’t something that’s happening in some far away place like the North Pole. And it isn’t something that’s happening in some unthinkable distant future. It’s happening HERE and NOW!

At Communitopia, doom and gloom isn’t really our style. Fear and pessimism isn’t especially healthy or productive, so instead we strive to focus on plugging people into solutions and learning opportunities. The people of Pittsburgh, and especially students, hold so much power towards unlocking a greener, brighter future, and we love connecting locals with climate action opportunities.

But…but…

Sometimes, it’s okay to acknowledge that climate change is a dark, dreadful cloud looming over us. It’s okay to be overwhelmed and fed up and scared and confused by it all. After all, climate change has (appropriately) been deemed “the biggest threat that modern humans have ever faced.” It’s not realistic to expect unwavering positivity in the face of such a colossal challenge. More and more research is coming out showing that climate anxiety is real and that our youth are especially impacted by it. At Communitopia, we use emotional wellbeing practices to help young people and educators understand how to process these big emotions. Check out our suite of resources here!

So, acknowledge that the stress around climate change is REAL and it’s okay to feel this way. If you’re ready to try a strategy to cope with this stress, these are some of the practices we incorporate into our work that have positive impacts for us!