Mind Games & Motivation
Action: Consider becoming a climate communicator by checking out a variety of platforms, including Coursera, the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation, and Citizens Climate Lobby. Put in the work and research to shift your own perspective before demanding the same of others. And remember, not everyone has the capacity to plan and supply in the face of climate impacts, so find a local food bank to use or donate to depending on your circumstances, and help out our undocumented (1, 2), indigenous (1, 2, 3), and trans friends through mutual aid programs as they face these crises with fewer resources and less government support than should be the case.
Educate: Watch the PBS video on climate change as a hyperobject here. Read through the Yale paper on improving climate change communication that inspired our podcast episode. Take a deeper dive into how psychology plays a role in our ability to perceive the entirety of climate change and motivate ourselves to take action by reading through these articles from NPR, The Atlantic, and the Harvard Business Review. And read up on a few methodologies of managing conversations with people you disagree with, like the one we found at the American Psychological Association.
Source Material: Click through the links to the source material we used to research this week – take a deep dive into what was most interesting to you!
- Why is it so hard to fully address climate change? It’s a hyperobject from PBS
- Why climate change is so hard to tackle: The global problem from Axios
- The challenging politics of climate change from Brookings
- Why People Aren’t Motivated to Address Climate Change from Harvard Business Review
- Why the U.S. Can’t Solve Big Problems from The Atlantic
- Humans Wired to Respond to Short-Term Problems from NPR
- Changing Perspectives on Climate Change from Renewable Energy World
- How Psychology Can Save The World From Climate Change from NPR
- Climate Change Psychology: Five Insights from Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
