The rapid increase in carbon dioxide is affecting the entire Earth

From a Staff Report, Yale Climate Connections, November 25, 2020

Why frightening facts don’t always move people to action on climate change. Anger, anxiety, overwhelm … climate change can evoke intense feelings.

A conversational approach often works better, says psychologist Renée Lertzman. “It’s easy to feel dwarfed in the context of such a global systemic issue.”

She says that when people experience these feelings, they often shut down and push information away. So to encourage climate action, she advises not bombarding people with frightening facts. “When we lead with information, we are actually unwittingly walking right into a situation that is set up to undermine our efforts,” she says.

She says if you want to engage people on the topic, take a compassionate approach. Ask people what they know and want to learn. Then have a conversation.

This conversational approach may seem at odds with the urgency of the issue, but Lertzman says it can get results faster.

“When we take a compassion-based approach, we are actively disarming defenses so that people are actually more willing and able to respond and engage quicker,” she says. “And we don’t have time right now to mess around, and so I do actually come to this topic with a sense of urgency…. We do not have time to not take this approach.”

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Seven (7) of the Best TED Talks about Climate Change, Climate Reality Project, April 5, 2019

These are definitely “ideas worth spreading.” Imagine being able to invite some of the leading minds of the climate movement over for dinner. You could pick anyone from anywhere. Who would be sitting around your table?

It’s hard to narrow down when there are so many amazing people out there fighting for solutions. (This must have been how Nick Fury felt while he was assembling the Avengers, right?) But, for us, we would try to pick people who are taking on the climate crisis in totally different – but equally incredible – ways.

Think of this collection of TED Talks as our guest list for the world’s most inspiring dinner party on climate. Read here about the leader of the student strike movement, climate scientists, a former president, a trained meteorologist and more.