For generative discussion and meaningful engagement on climate change, it helps to validate students’ emotions. Responses like hopelessness, anxiety, panic, nihilism, apathy, delusion, and denial are common—often within the same student. And windows of tolerance vary.
Below are a list of resources from psychotherapists, educators, activists, artists, and organizational leaders. The goal is to build a supportive environment, so both students and faculty feel encouraged as they navigate the difficult, essential, and rewarding work of climate repair.
Affective Ecocriticsm – Emotion, Embodiment, Environment, Edited by Kyle Bladow and Jennifer Ladino
Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Anxiety, by Britt Way
“provide access to education, tools, programs, and support designed to help individuals and communities recognize the signs and manage the emotional impacts of climate change.”
“envision a world where older and younger people join forces to solve problems, bridge divides and co-create the future.”
“a team of international mental health experts who produce reliable, up-to-date, and practical information on climate disruption and the impacts on mental health.”
The Case for Stubborn Optimism on Climate, TED Talk by Christiana Figueres
Bad Environmentalism: Irony and Irreverence in the Ecological Age, by Nicole Seymour
“Good Energy makes it easy and exciting to weave climate into any storyline, across every genre, in entertaining and artful ways”
Tiny Climate Chronicles with the American Public Health Association
“Personal experience makes you your own expert, and your story has more power to drive climate action than facts alone”
EarthEd: Rethinking Education on a Changing Planet, by The Worldwatch Institute
Climate Emotions Booklet for Educators by Maggi, Stefiana and McKenna Corvello
“a news service that aims to help you understand the reality of climate change and what you can do about it. Staffed by professional journalists, meteorologists, and radio producers. Independent and nonpartisan.”
*Resource list prepared by Maggie Light, Assistant Professor in Liberal Arts & Sciences
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