Teen Vogue has been on the climate beat for some time now, running interesting articles about the youth-strike movement, climate science, personal consumer choices, etc. This month, “in honor of Earth Day 2020,” they are “rolling out stories on how climate change impacts mental health.” I just read one of these articles, by playwright Rozina Kanchwala. She points out that while “we’re weathering an earth-shattering pandemic,” we’ve been deep deep into the climate crisis for much longer. “In fact,” she writes:
the destruction of natural habitats has even been linked to disease outbreak. That’s why I wrote the play “Love in the Time of Climate Change,” following the life of a millennial woman navigating modern dating while dealing with climate anxiety. Her self-described “sobcom” deals with “the psychological pain of climate change.” Now, that’s nothing to sneeze at, esp. for people under 30, due to the “overwhelming fear that it is too late to act on climate change” — i.e., that they have no future. Johnny Rotten told my generation that, but it was all in good fun. Now it ain’t. And “if we are heading towards a climate apocalypse, then why would I want to bring children into this world anyway?” This is an excellent question. And yet, she “can’t seem to tune out two ticking clocks: The planet’s and my own” biological clock.* Now, I haven’t read or seen the play, and I’d like to, next time it comes to Kansas [*snork*]. But Kanchwala gives us this plot synopsis: the protagonist becomes “frustrated with online dating . . . until she ultimately finds comfort in a community that understands her climate anxiety.” She calls the problem “solastalgia.” But it’s hard to read this and not reflexively think of the word “solipsism,” as well. I mean it really doesn’t take much to see that the problems of two little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Mother Gaia really doesn’t give a shit whether you’re anxious or not — the geophysical processes will continue, either way. And politicians and CEOs won’t care, unless you can convert your anxiety to anger — and take it into the streets. So, there is a possible danger in regarding climate chaos as an internalized syndrome or psychological condition. And if the solution is to find a support group online, well . . . let’s just say that it could easily become a cocoon that never breaks open with a butterfly. But, Kanchwala believes that “as young people, we also have complex lives and the ability to care both about the world and ourselves all at the same time.” Hers is the multi-tasker generation, after all, so maybe they really will get the Green New Deal passed while they’re between swipes. And to her credit, she does provide a list of things you can do — which includes “Work toward a larger cause” and “Put pressure on your elected officials.” Still, her piece left me with a mix of despair and hope — despair of humans’ capacity to look beyond our immediate personal concerns (e.g., feeding, reproducing, flogging our books) to attempt to save the human race; but also hope that at least some young people have the good sense to feel anxious about the future. And perhaps that anxiety will lead them out of their (seemingly) safe space and into the rough-and-tumble public sphere, to do something about it. _______________________ * BTW, every new American brought into the world will consume as much as 16 Eritreans. FWIW. Check out the Global Footprint Network for 2019 stats.
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June 2021
Kristin Prevallet Author/Editor
I'm a writer & teacher in Lawrence, Kansas who actually believes the scientists. I wrote a book of poems called Of Some Sky that seems to have something to do with all this. |