Cultivating Climate Hope
“Active hope is not wishful thinking… Active hope is waking up to the beauty of life on whose behalf we can act.” –Joanna Macy
“Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up. Hopeful people are actively engaged in defying the odds or changing the odds.” –David Orr
Feeling distressed about climate change is an entirely normal, rational response to our collective circumstances. And despite what can sometimes feel like a never-ending onslaught of bad news, there are also many, many reasons for hope. We can be anxious and hopeful, and practicing hope can help us find the courage to engage in climate action that can make the future a better place.
WEBSITES AND ARTICLES
- Not Too Late
- The Climate Optimist (website and newsletter)
- Global Optimism
- Project Drawdown: The World’s Leading Resource for Climate Solutions
- The Guardian: Ten ways to confront the climate crisis without losing hope
- Yale Climate Connections: What can YOU do about climate change? Take this quiz to find out.
- Christian Science Monitor: Rise of the climate optimists, pushing back against doom
BOOKS
- Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In Without Going Crazy, by Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone
- Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities, by Rebecca Solnit
- The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis, by Christiana Figueres and Tom-Rivett Carnac
- Radical Joy for Hard Times: Finding Meaning and Making Beauty in Earth’s Broken Places, by Trebbe Johnson
- All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine Wilkinson
- Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, by Katharine Hayhoe
- The Parents’ Guide to Climate Revolution: 100 Ways to Build a Fossil-Free Future, Raise Empowered Kids, and Still Get a Good Night’s Sleep, by Mary DeMocker
PODCASTS
- Hope. Act. Thrive.
- Reseed: A podcast about repairing our relationship with nature
- Outrage & Optimism
- Love Letters to Planet Earth: A podcast and practice for our planetary emotional well-being
FILMS AND VIDEOS
- 2040 (documentary)
- The Scale of Hope (documentary)
- TED talk: How to shift your mindset and choose your future, by Tom Rivett-Carnac
- TED talk: The case for stubborn optimism on climate, by Christiana Figueres
- A Message from the Future with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Updated: December 2022
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