After taking my own (renewed) look at the climate crisis, an interesting thing stood out. Billions of people—despite at least some awareness of deepening catastrophe and at least some wherewithal to respond—are behaving as though things are normal.
This isn’t really that hard to fathom. On the one hand, climate reality triggers extreme psychological barriers to action, like cognitive dissonance between what we want and what we know or suspect to be true. On the other, capitalism excels at producing countless ways to avoid these tensions. It produces a discount world of short-term diversions and highs, and even manufactures the desire to consume them where there is little organic impulse. It keeps the whole topic on the down low, with almost no indication that anything is called for from us except business as usual. There are of course other reasons for civic inaction, but that’s the basic rub.
I don’t know if the magnitude of the impacts and threat of climate change will be adequate to compel the kind of mass action that is needed to prevent the worst of it.
I do believe, however, that if we are to step up, we need support in looking and responding. A sociologist by training, a life-long researcher and activist, and with other fitting background to help with that, I created this website.
The photographs on the site are my work, as is the web development.
RespondToClimateChange.net is an ongoing effort. I follow developments closely and update the open letters about monthly. I continue to develop and curate other resources. I actively promote the site (which you can help with by using the share icons). I print and distribute hard copies of the open letters.
I have no formal funding for this work. If you appreciate these efforts and can afford any level of financial support (even $1/month), please donate.
Thank you for visiting! I really mean that.
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