猫咪社区

In 2020, artist Nicole Cooper was conducting research for a when she stumbled upon a NASA showing temperature rise throughout history. 鈥淚 had this realization of, 鈥楲ook at how fast temperatures are rising鈥攁nd what are we going to do about it?鈥欌�� she says.

Cooper experienced what she describes as an , feeling terrified of what would happen in her lifetime and worried that it may already be too late to act.

鈥淚 needed to be able to talk,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd express myself about the emotional reaction I was having.鈥� 

Climate change wasn鈥檛 something she felt she could discuss deeply with the people in her life, as is the case for most Americans. Though , and about about it, just 37% say they discuss the issue occasionally or often, according to a from Yale University.

But talking about climate change is important. Researchers have found it can cause of climate science and, among those who already accept the science, inspire action. That, in turn, has been shown to .

Like so many Americans, Cooper felt scared, stressed鈥攁nd largely alone. 鈥淚 was reading a lot of articles, listening to podcasts, but I had no real dialogue about it,鈥� she says. Then she heard about the , an initiative created by , who co-edited an anthology book of the same name. Launched when the book was published in 2020, the Circle is a decentralized, 10-course book club aimed at helping readers develop communities around climate solutions. 

Cooper realized she could create a space for the conversations she wanted to have. Using her , word of mouth, and social media, Cooper recruited a group of nine people鈥攕ome climate activists, others, like her, newer to the conversation鈥攖o meet virtually. Over the next six months, they discussed ways they were experiencing the climate crisis and created a shared , including ways they could take action in their own communities.

鈥淐oming together with people who had all kinds of emotions and to see them still [taking] climate action鈥攄aily, weekly, or monthly鈥攖hat was really inspiring,鈥� Cooper says. 

Cooper is part of a growing movement of Americans who are seeking out solace鈥攁nd power in numbers鈥攊n climate conversation groups. More than 3,000 people have formed All We Can Save Circles, according to the All We Can Save Project. The , a nonprofit peer support network on 12-step addiction programs, has more than 50 climate support groups nationwide. , founded by climate psychologist Margaret Klein Salamon, convenes small group conversations online that anyone for free.

These are all aimed at reversing what researchers describe as the 鈥溾�� around climate change.

鈥淲e know that humans avoid uncomfortable emotions,鈥� says Sarah Schwartz, associate professor of psychology at Suffolk University, who researches climate anxiety. She explains that climate change is stressful in ways direct (not being able to breathe the air in your city, for example) and indirect (like constant worry about an uncertain future). 

鈥淏ut when we talk about grief processing [or] trauma鈥攚e need to turn towards rather than away from these hard emotions,鈥� she adds.

Schwartz co-authored a 2022 that found that collective climate action may mitigate climate distress. But, she says, 鈥淚f you just jump into action and don鈥檛 make any space for conversations, support, and sitting with the uncomfortable emotions鈥攖hat鈥檚 a recipe for burnout.鈥�

Conversations, support, and collective action all require building community, which is key in addressing challenges that seem insurmountable, Schwartz says. 鈥淭he role of relationships and social support is huge in the difference between 鈥榳e can do something鈥� and 鈥榣et鈥檚 all just hunker down and isolate in our own anxiety and paralysis,鈥欌�� she says.

According to an internal 2023 survey conducted by the All We Can Save Project, 89% of Circle participants reported feeling an increased sense of community and 90% said they took climate action, such as switching to climate-focused careers, after joining a conversation group. 

For Inemesit Williams, former co-leader of the social justice working group at (CANIE), being part of a Circle inspired her to advocate for public transit funding and spread awareness about local bus routes. 鈥淚鈥檝e never owned a car鈥擨鈥檝e always taken public transit, ridden my bicycle, walked, carpooled,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 something I鈥檓 really passionate about: transit equity.鈥� 

Williams, who identifies as 鈥渁 queer, Black American descendant of chattel slavery,鈥� says she is the only participant in her Circle who identifies as Black. It鈥檚 a problem, she says, that is reflective of the broader among leadership at environmental organizations. 

Williams was familiar with most of the members in her Circle and felt comfortable talking about the ways the climate crisis disproportionately impacts communities of color. 鈥淚 already had a feeling of safety with this group,鈥� she says, but adds that her experience might be an exception. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 really engage in that kind of space if you don鈥檛 feel like what you have to say is going to be welcome.鈥�

Creating that safe space is why psychotherapist Taryn Crosby, who is also Black, co-organized , a climate conversation specifically for Black women and nonbinary people.

鈥淲e want to create a space where our experiences are prioritized,鈥� she says, adding that generations of trauma in nature due to slavery and lynchings, segregated state and national parks, and economic oppression have pushed and from the outdoors.

She says she hopes We Outside helps attendees understand and value their own connections to nature, and prepares them to take part in broader conversations and influence greater climate action.

鈥淏ecause we haven鈥檛 felt necessarily welcomed or invited into other climate conversations, we kind of need this to build that muscle,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd that can equip us to have these conversations before mixed company.鈥�

Leaders from the All We Can Save Project and Good Grief Network, two of the largest climate conversation networks, acknowledge that the majority of participants are white and say they are currently taking steps鈥攊ncluding partnering with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)鈥搇ed organizations and aiming to train more BIPOC facilitators鈥攖o diversify their ranks.

鈥淎s we think about plans for addressing diversity and inclusion in Circles鈥攁cross the Project and climate movement broadly鈥攚e think partnerships, intentional outreach, and relationship-building are vital,鈥� says Amy Curtis, learning and community lead of the All We Can Save Project.

Crosby says she hopes initiatives like We Outside will be a starting point for more inclusive conversations about climate change. The goal, she says, is to hold space 鈥渨here people can be open and curious about the way that they are affected by their environment and nature, and [also] how they affect their environment and nature鈥攗ltimately encouraging them to move that into action.鈥�

This article was originally co-published by and . is an editorially independent, nonprofit news service covering climate change. Follow .