Why We Need a Support Group for Climate Change

I want to talk to people who understand — don't you?

People are carrying on as if nothing is the matter in my everyday life. The kids are almost done with school, and summer plans are being made. Where I live, we look forward to summer since the winters can be so brutal. Of course, these past couple of years, it's gotten so hot in May that it burns the vegetables in my garden. And scientists here have known for decades that the flora and fauna are changing. It's getting hotter and more humid. But we're one of the "good" places. Likely soon to be a refuge from climate change or a "climate island."

Not that anyone around me really thinks of our area this way or thinks about climate change in general. If they do, they aren't talking, at least not to me. And I don't mean strangers on the street (it might be a bit awkward to say, "Hey, how's it going, Ed — so how do you feel about the end of the world?") but people I know more closely. A select few might discuss climate change and planetary disaster with me, but not many.

I feel like I need a support group. I have this wonderful life I'm grateful for, with three healthy children and a wonderful spouse. It's so good, and sometimes I think there might be something wrong with me — maybe I'm just too much of a "negative thinker." I've been this way all of my life, sort of going against the grain, wondering why humanity seems so horrible.

I have all the things a person could want. My own home in a beautiful, safe area. A dream job — I write novels for a living! And I'm doing what I think is right given the situation, e.g., not eating meat, growing some of my own food, minimizing my consumption in general, and saving up for an electric vehicle.

It feels like peanuts.

Because it is peanuts.

I know I could be doing more. But I'm trying to balance a marriage and being a parent and keeping us on steady ground. I don't mean those are excuses or that I'm hiding behind my responsibilities to my family. Certainly, children have gone along with their parents on all kinds of adventures. (I'm thinking of The Mosquito Coast with Harrison Ford…)

But my wife has a good, meaningful job here — she works in mental health. Not that moving would be necessary to do more, but it might. Anyway, the point is, that we're all doing the best we can, but I get frustrated at my own minuscule contribution and those of the people around me.

Climate change and ecological destruction, particularly from animal agriculture, are rarely covered in the media, and for multiple reasons, I can't control. This disproportionately low coverage — and low reaction to it when it DOES get covered — then generates these feelings that no one cares enough, that not enough is being done.

That's when I wish I could reach out to a group of people who understand.

Such a support group would be there to listen to these kinds of frustrations and understand them. On Facebook or Twitter, you'd be too likely to get the trolls who tell you to “suck it up, buttercup,” or explain why climate change is a myth and just part of “natural cycles” and other debunked-yet-persistent nonsense to make them feel better. This would be a group for people who aren't there to debate or gaslight but to move on to the next steps: any possible prevention that's left, but probably mostly coping and adaptation.

There is no feeling better about climate change. But maybe we can kind of feel the grief together.

It wouldn't have to be all sad, though.

Such a support group could be a great resource for generating ideas from DIY stuff on gardening and homesteading to the more nuts and bolts science stuff about how hydrocarbon works or how we're coming up with better batteries for storing solar better inverters for DC to AC, etc.

Maybe there'd be some great vegan recipes, some tips on growing vegetables, and long-term storage of food. People could post links to professional grief counseling or other mental health resources.

We could write articles, share articles, books, movies, and documentaries about the topic and discuss. We could talk about legislation and create petitions and work the political angle. Or, we could say "screw the politicians" and be our own change, even help one another fund green projects in their communities and neighborhoods, etc. — the sky's the limit!

So, what do you think?

Are you with me? Let's start a support group — hell, a network of people who aren't sticking their heads in the sand or denying the climate change and ecological calamity of our time but who wants to fight, adapt, to leave the world a better place if they can.

What do you say?

Hello?

Anybody?