CLIMATE TALK

We have dedicated this issue of the newsletter to conversation about climate. It’s a social issue to which many people have applied Becker’s synthesis. While many conversations about science do not elicit death anxiety, climate conversations have come to occupy a unique crossover between science, politics, and personal belief. You can’t talk about climate change and the potential inhabitability of our planet without bringing up the idea of our species’ mortality.

We use our culture and belief systems to psychologically buffer against death anxiety, and when those beliefs are challenged, we often prefer to attack those with opposing viewpoints rather than re-examine our own. A lot of controversy surrounding climate change makes little sense from an outside perspective, but adding the lens of death denial makes these varied reactions a lot more understandable.

Research has shown that death reminders can cause people to consume more resources, and to distance themselves from nature and animals. Thus, environmental advocates must proceed with caution when communicating about climate change. Many activists hope that reminders of mortality, such as fear-tactics or apocalyptic scenarios, will galvanize people into action and caring more about the planet; unfortunately, it often does the opposite.

Many activists hope that reminders of mortality will galvanize people into action and caring more about the planet; unfortunately, it often does the opposite.

Mortality reminders can lead to increases in resource and wealth-seeking, and other self-esteem seeking behaviors that contribute to climate change. After death reminders, we are more likely to want to distance from anything that reminds us of our animal nature, and often we do this by way of exerting control over the natural word. This may temporarily reduce our existential anxiety, but it is usually antithetical to conservation and sustainability. For this reason, fear-tactics are unlikely to result in proactive changes in behavior for the good of the climate.

So, how do we discuss issues of our planet, the climate, sustainability, and what it means for our personal survival, without our denial mechanisms kicking in and impeding progress? In this issue we interview John Halstead, author and climate activist, who discusses his “post-doom” perspective, and how the only way forward is through an acceptance of human mortality. We will also hear from Dr. Sarah Wolfe and Lauren Smith, of the Society, Environment, and Emotion (SEE) Lab, who provide a report on their research at the University of Waterloo. The SEE Lab scholars examine how death anxiety, self-esteem, and emotions intersect with responses to climate change and resource use, and how this knowledge can hopefully help inform future climate solutions.