In short, we aren’t on track to an apocalyptic extinction, and the new head is concerned that rhetoric that we are is making people apathetic and paralyzes them from making beneficial actions.
He makes it clear too that this doesn’t mean things are perfectly fine. The world is becoming and will be more dangerous with respect to climate. We’re going to still have serious problems to deal with. The problems just aren’t insurmountable and extinction level.
Ok, sure. Please tell me what I can do that will actually make a difference other than having it be a major influence in the way I vote?
This is a problem that only governments can solve and voting is the only way average people can hope to really influence them.
One person recycling or driving an EV makes no difference to the entire planet.
Oh don’t worry, voting to me is something that you do and then get back to the real work. You need to organize with people around you and fight everything and anything in your area. If it feels like you can’t do that in your area, then if you can, try moving to an area you think you might be able to find your community. (it doesn’t have to be far, it can literally be a town over, or even down the street). No one can fight climate change alone. It will take many people working together to make the change we need to see. Also you may be able to radicalize people in your area for even more direct action. Get people to feed into their anger, and channel it at the people in charge who refuse to change anything.
This can start out as small issues but you can wake people up that they DO have power. If we build up a coalition of power from the ground up, it will get easier and faster to do. Many hands make light work and all that, and eventually people will be willing to make people in power fear them again. Cause i’m going to be honest with you, I believe power corrupts absolutely, so anyone in power is so removed from the rest of our realities, that I do not think you can reason with most of them. The only thing you can do against power, is make it fear you. Ironically to all the “just vote UwU” people, voting means nothing if there is no consequences for going against the will of the people. Which we see time and time again. I have finally been able to be more active as of late, despite my disabilities and it gives me a way forward that I wouldn’t of had otherwise.
oh, even more things you can do. While I can go on and on about the complications of social media and the internet at large, and while direct action in person is the most effective, there are things you can do if you just can’t work in person for a variety of reasons. Before I got my boots on the ground, I was able to help out with community work with social media management. With the internet and our ability to connect long distances, you have options from home in regards to helping build community, and if you do this it may give you connections to help you get out of your situation so that you can be more physically involved in the future.
I know this is a lot, but there is just not a quick easy answer to “what should I do?” Our individualism has warped our reality to how things work, and trust me I battle with it every day too. There is no big savior coming to help us, and there isn’t some big magic fix. It will take a lot of tiny things that will build up to big changes. That’s how it has always worked, but it’s easier to conceptualize when we break it down into big chunks for history. Let alone the hegemony of the Great Man Theory of history
It’s hard to tell you what YOU can do, because I don’t know you. What CAN you do? Use the skills you have to help out a group or org in your area, if there isn’t one, then try making one if that is something you can do, or help online. Our changing climate talked about dual vision when dealing with climate change. It’s the idea of looking at what is possible in both a good and bad way and trying to walk that line. I don’t know if my organizing and work will make a difference, but all I can do is my best and constantly work for something better. The people in power have taken much from all of us, I refuse to let them take my one life without a fight, and without me finding happiness in the dark times. We don’t get to choose the times we live in, but we can help fight and build something better so those in the future will have something better. That’s just how I live and it’s what works for me.
This is a trying time, and sorry I did not mean for this to turn into a novel. Like i said it’s hard to answer the question “what do I do?” simply without coming off as uncaring or hand-wavy. TL;DR shit fucking sucks
I wish you luck in your journey and as much peace as anyone of us can have with our climate anxiety.
TL:DR kinda defeats the purpose but, Shit fucking sucks, and it’s hard. But we gotta try, organizing and direct action to the point of making those in power fear us is our best option.
Didn’t you answer your own question? You can advocate, you can organize, you can lobby. By pretending these things don’t give you power, you strip away your own power.
The point is to sway the government’s actions through public opinion. One can argue how effective these tactics are, but doing absolutely nothing will surely accomplish absolutely nothing.