Eco-Anxiety: "The kids are not alright"

[Pic from Zion Lights]

"The kids are not alright.
    "I know how they feel. I was anxious about the state of the planet from a young age and did everything I could to make a difference. I know many people think of activists as attention-seekers, and certainly, some of them have problems with inflated egos, but I was never driven by narcissism. I was driven by fear.
    "Anxiety, a feeling of helplessness, and fear.
    "Now that fear is widespread....
    "Out of desperation and fear, eco-anxious individuals are joining mainstream climate activist groups. I understand why: I’ve been there, done that, bought the rhetoric. But after two decades of taking action, it’s become clear that some groups are doing more harm than good....
    "The idea of being on a special mission to save humanity is one of the things that makes it so difficult to leave. We have a cause to win, only it isn’t winnable in any real sense, which means we are also trapped....
    "The late statistician Hans Rosling liked to point out that most people around the world incorrectly believe that the world is getting worse, when the contrary is true in many respects. In reality, data shows that extreme poverty is on the decline, access to education is on the rise, and global child mortality is on the decline.
    "This is crucial information for the young people who will inherit the world’s problems. How can we address important issues if we don’t understand what they are? And how can we reach out to people who have already succumbed to doomerism?
    "It is difficult, but not impossible....
    "As a mother of two young daughters, I do not wish to see my children, or their friends, experience eco-anxiety because they have been convinced that they don’t have a future....
    "The most powerful preventative method is to tell children positive stories about how much humankind has already achieved. This may not come naturally to you, but if you’re not doing it, you’re only a few steps away from doomerist territory yourself.
    "For many years I was surrounded by people who believe that humankind is a virus on the planet and that people deserve to be eradicated. This dark ideology is more common than you think, and it is easily reinforced by relentless bad news in the media. We must learn to tell better stories about humanity. Celebrate humankind and all of our achievements, and share this with your children. Because the truth is that the humans are alright."

~ Zion Lights, from her post 'In an era of eco-anxiety, how do we protect young people from the lure of doomerism?'