Readers of this blog may have noticed my extended absence. Contrary to how it may appear, I have not slackened in my dedication to the climate fight! Rather, I have been totally engrossed in the formation of the group The Climate Mobilization, and writing our introductory document, Rising to the Challenge of Our Time, Together. …
The best thing about having the blog The Climate Psychologist is all of the allies it has connected me to. Climate change is a global issue, and meeting activists (and thinktavists!) from around the world has been exhilarating and enriching. Some of the people I have connected with deeply agree with my psychological, “person-to-person, Pledge …
Read more “Introducing Team Members! Fred Branfman: “Do Our Children Deserve to Live””
Since publishing, “Answering the Question of our Time, Together,” I have received lots of excellent feedback on Human Climate Movement strategy, and on the Human Climate Pledge itself. I have revised the Pledge to incorporate this feedback. (And, in a week or so, I will release a revised version of the proposal.) **This Pledge is for …
I apologize for my recent pause in posting! (Interrupted only by my recent post about Climate Collaborative’s outstanding video.) My excuse is that I have been focused on creating the foundation for a person-to-person, pledge-based Human Climate Movement. Here is a brief report on my activities: 1) Moving Human Climate Movement strategy forward, by working …
Read more “Creating the Human Climate Pledge App (and State of the Blog updates)”
This is a Climate Psychologist milestone! While I have, until now, posted only original content, this video, by Climate Collaborative provides a fantastic reason to change it up. Moral Power for Climate Action From the video: “When I look at my own 3-year old daughter, I almost never allow myself to think about climate change and …
Read more ““Moral Power for Climate Action” Video from Climate Collaborative”
**4/3/14 Update: This document (Answering the Question of Our Time) is now highly outdated. Its greatly-improved sequel, Rising to the Challenge of Our Time, Together, is now available! I highly recommend you read that, instead (Or read both if you are interested in tracking the evolution of this idea!) I have been hard at …
Read more “Answering the Question of Our Time: Strategy Proposal and Call to Collaboration”
Climate change is generally discussed from an objective, scientific, fact-based angle. But what of our subjective, psychological experience of climate change? What about the emotions it stirs, the relationships it alters, and the hopes and fears it inspires? To help explore these questions, I am excited to announce the (upcoming) Facebook group, “Climate Change: It’s …
Read more “Climate Change: It’s Personal. Want to be Involved in an Upcoming Facebook Group?”
Something remarkable happened a few days ago in the Facebook Group “Global Warming Fact of the Day,” (GWFoTD) something that I think there is much to learn from, especially regarding the emotional and psychological elements of climate change. Summary of events What happened is this: the group — which has over 2,500 members, many of …
Use of Metaphors in Therapy and beyond. Therapists, especially of the psychoanalytic persuasion, love and value metaphors. Metaphors are vivid, creative interpretations of reality that communicate on multiple levels. Like dreams, metaphors integrate rational thought with fantasy, imagery, and emotion; they are simultaneously rational and irrational. Therapists use metaphors to explain psychological concepts, like, “You …
It has been interesting to read political and environmental critiques of economic growth, coming from a psychology background. Gus Speth, for example, devotes a good portion of “Bridge at the End of the World” to arguing against the doctrine of infinite economic growth. Environmentalists and progressives decry the evil of economic growth, often calling it …
Read more “Physical vs. Psychological Growth: The Teenage Dilemma!”
As some may have noticed, my rate of posting on the Climate Psychologist has slowed to some degree, and I plan to maintain it at this slower rate, posting 1-2 pieces a week. This is emphatically not because my commitment to this blog, or to the cause of fighting climate change, has flagged. On the …
Read more “State of the Blog: Pacing Myself & Exciting Projects”
Last week, President Drew Faust announced that Harvard would not be divesting the endowment from fossil fuel investments. While this is a disappointment, it is a small one compared to Harvard’s broader failure to sound the alarm on climate crisis, and to take an active leadership role in the social movement that must fight back …
Read more “Divestment: A Small Part of Harvard’s Failure to Lead on Climate Change”
I’m very excited to share with everyone the first open-sourced strategy proposal I received for the Human Climate Movement. It is submitted by Ezra (last name: Mystery-man. 🙂 This is a “partial” proposal; meaning it is an addition to my proposal of “Person-to-person, pledge based approach” which I describe here. Ezra’s proposal addresses an element …
Read more “First Strategy Proposal: Ezra on Movement Organization”
An important goal of many therapies is for the patient to develop the capacity to reflect before acting. This may sound easy, but when people are overwhelmed by emotional distress, to act is a natural response. The key, then, is to make emotional distress less overwhelming. Psychologists talk about “Affect Tolerance” which means the ability …
Over the past week I have been contacted by a few readers telling me that they are ready to take the next step and get involved in some way. This is fantastic and extremely encouraging. I very much want to use this blog to foster and coordinate activism. I have a lot of ideas. To …