When you’ve been trying to warn everyone about the enormous perils we face – not just climate change, but the whole polycrisis – it is VERY challenging to succeed, because no one wants to listen. Many will even censor you, which happens even if they ask the questions.
The challenge is most people don’t like the answers so stop please, just stop. You get it. You get it completely, but you still try, again, and again and again, always asking yourself, how can I tell this story in a different way so people DO want to listen?
I still haven’t worked out the answer to that question, and of late, I’ve seen a lot of people like me say they feel they have failed. I don’t think any of us have failed. We’ve all been doing our best, but the intentional confusion created by politicians, the media, businesses, as well as the troll farms of the world, have done their job perfectly.
In fact, they’ve succeeded brilliantly, whereas those of us who really care about you and your future have not. We haven’t failed, we just didn’t have the megaphone and the budgets of our opposition. But now the challenges are becoming too big to ignore, and those who couldn’t listen are starting to be a little more open.
However, there’s a very big challenge on our doorstep – with a huge group of people becoming aware all at once, a wave of despair is about to encircle the globe, and honestly, not only will that be rough, we also don’t have time for that. We must move from knowledge straight into massive action, but the despair is part of the journey to awareness, so I am expecting things to get even more challenging than they already are.
Anyway, I’m only going to highlight three stories this week that are worth watching/reading. The first is this video, featuring Rupert Read – someone you must follow. In this short speech, at a leadership conference in Portugal, he makes the audience look our situation in the eye. No toxic positivity here, just this is where we are, it’s never going to get better, and this is what we must do. A very worthwhile watch.
Next is this piece Slow Down: The Future Is Already Here by Jack Lowe, someone who is also worth following and he’s very active and forthright on Twitter. He also looks our predicament in the eye and doesn’t sugarcoat anything (because you can’t sugarcoat it): You see, we really are in a tight spot. Yes, the impact can be softened here and there but, tragically, catastrophe cannot be avoided or fixed despite what people might say. Well worth a read.
And finally, this article by Tim Winton – Our leaders are collaborators with fossil fuel colonialists. This is the source of our communal dread which is a very powerful piece. The part I love the most are his reflections about young people today. When my boys start getting anxious about the future, I tell them – you don’t worry about it, get on with building your dreams, and I promise I won’t stop until I make things right OK?
Soon they’ll work out I can’t deliver on this promise, but it’s given them space to keep dreaming in their youth, and I figure that’s the best gift I can give them right now. But seriously parents and grandparents, our kids are hurting, and we are not acknowledging it, and we are showing them – through our words and actions – that we are not even paying attention to the future they face.
Of course our kids are in despair. What else can we expect, when their lives are surrounded by climate collapse, war, hatred, racism, misogyny, just everything that’s ugly really. How lucky were we to have what we had, but we aren’t acknowledging our kids will not have the same.
We have to do better for our kids.
Friend’s content and my own
I wrote a short blog following Hurricane Helene – we are not ready What Hurricane Helene tells us about preparing for disasters.
Dig into the news
Plenty more to read, listen to or watch, so do click through to the reads at the image below, and a reminder, this platform (elink.io) means the articles go back weeks, so have a scan and read/watch/listen to whatever jumps out at you.
Let me know what caught your attention? Or share with me what has your attention now? There’s a lot going on, which means none of us can cover everything. Besides, it’s always great to get feedback so I know I’m delivering something of value.
Cheers
Andrea
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