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thank you very much for joining us today
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and sharing your thoughts please could
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you tell me uh your name what you do for
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work if you're a student what are you
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studying my name is Erica foran I'm in
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grade 12 at King David high school and
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I'm a part of the green Club at my
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school I'm Alec Blair I'm a lecture in
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the geography Department here at
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University of R Club so my name is Holly
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densen camp and I am a fifth year
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student in the department of geography
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at UBC and I'm in the environment and
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sustainability stream I also work as a
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project assistant in the department of
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geography as a climate action plan
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assistant my name is Will Andrews I just
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completed law school and I'm in the
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process of transferring my degree from
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England back to BC I hope to pursue a
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career in environmental litigation my
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name is STA and I'm in grade three my
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name is sham Hunter and I am the manager
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of sustainability engagement with the
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UBC sustainability Hub I'm also a PhD
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candidate in the faculty of education at
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UBC I think if I had to come up with an
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answer I'd say it's seen better days um
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in terms of the richness of of
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biodiversity and and the conditions in
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which that
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biodiversity is is able to exist
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including our own species um and in
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terms of the climate system right now
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which is experiencing a lot of change I
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would call it a crisis or an emergency
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um because I think that it is something
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that needs to be acted on immediately
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and that we can't just wait around about
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it anymore which is something that like
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you would say requires an emergency
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response such as like a fire you need to
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act right away to put out the fire and I
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would say that is the state of our
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climate right now I think fundamentally
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uh in one word say complex certain in
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more words could say uh uncertain and
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maybe tenuous if you're coming from the
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perspective of the stability that we've
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enjoyed as as human beings for well as
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as long as we've been able to enjoy it
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and I think that from a larger
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perspective of course the planet is
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resilient there's the opportunities for
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for novel arrangements to come out but I
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think uh yeah there's a bit of
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tenuousness to the complexity uh that we
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come to care arize these systems right
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now when I think about the state of
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Planet I guess I conflict comes to mind
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um social economic political uh
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environmental conflict um but I also
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think about all the resources that we
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have as Humanity um how well connected
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we are with each other um you how close
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we are with each other because of
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Technology um how privileged we have
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become over the past few decades in
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terms of where we have come um in terms
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of resources and resource use and uh how
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easy that makes our
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lives I would describe climate change as
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the climate and the state of our planet
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being disrupted and shifted from what
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it's meant to be at like from its
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regular State and which is caused by
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human like consumption pollution all of
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that like it's caused by humans uh
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climate change is the long-term change
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to the planet's average weather patterns
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across local Regional and Global
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scales it looks at these long-term
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changes these shifts in average
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temperature amounts of precipitation but
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also refers to increased variability
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within those systems and increased
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unpredictability it's
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when there's big weather changes
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and
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it it's
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like it's doing different things it's
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doing things with heat and it's doing
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things with
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cold around the world so I think more
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more generally climate change is a
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widespread change in the climate system
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more specifically an increase in global
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temperatures as a result of an
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accumulation of greenhouse gases in the
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atmosphere that
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trap increased heat and impact weather
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systems across the planet climate change
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is um contemporary climate change I
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would say is both global warming as well
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as the weather weather patterns that we
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see on Earth um I see contemporary
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because climate change has happened uh
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before in the past but it it hasn't
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happened as aggressively as quickly as
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we see um in the past uh few decades dur
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uh through because of industrialization
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uh the increase in greenhouse gases like
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the carbon dioxide and and greenhouse
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gases which has rapidly um increased uh
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the time uh that we have taken to change
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the climate
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what comes to mind for me is just like
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sort of fear of the unknown and like
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having absolutely no idea what the
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future is going to bring because we know
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that like the climate like climate
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change is not doing anything positive
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for our planet and sort of but we have
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no way of predicting what actually is
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going to happen we just know it's not
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going to be good and I think that that
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can be a lot of like fear and anxiety
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for people just because there's no way
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of knowing what's to come and it's hard
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to like not think the worst about the
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future so when I think of climate an
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anxiety I think of some of the what is
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really a paralyzing um fear associated
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with a knowledge of some of the worst
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impacts of climate change that are being
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predicted now combined with a a fear of
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the uncertainties associated with some
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of those unknowns the the sort of
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runaway uh feedback effects that may may
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result from for example melting of um
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methane hydrates in oceans or permafrost
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in the Arctic which will eventually lead
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to to Runaway effects that that we then
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have very little control over that's
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what I think of when I think of climate
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anxiety I think climate anxiety is
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something that is super pertinant
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especially in My Generation Um so when I
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think of climate anxiety I think of the
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fear or the uncertainty that surrounds
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our future in this world that's
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constantly changing due to climate
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change and that we can't predict so some
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of that comes down to feeling
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responsible and feeling like you need to
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do something yourself um and not knowing
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what that is or if your individual
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impact can really make a difference some
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of that comes down to uh feeling like
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you can't do anything and it's not up to
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you to make these changes and you're
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reliant on you know institutional
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organizational level changes to kind of
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Ensure your quality of life in the
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future and that's a really scary thing
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and so I think coming to terms with
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climate anxiety and at least being aware
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of it and having that awareness around
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you and in like the institutions that
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you're a part of can really help support
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you and like give you the tools that you
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need to adapt to that and to combat the
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feelings and maybe like find a more a
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healthier way to deal with those ideas U
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moving forward because it is something
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that can be immobilizing um if you don't
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know what to do in a certain situation
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or you don't know what your future is
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going to look like and so to be equipped
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with with tools and with hope and things
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like that can really help um to
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alleviate that anxiety cuz it's not a
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good
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feeling I think climate anxiety is sort
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of one of those earlier
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stage responses to the the crises that
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are arising out of climate change
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um it's sort of that
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anxiousness and and fear that people
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feel when they're confronted with an
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issue like climate change that is so
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significant uh so systemic and uh and
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generally just so huge that it's it's
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difficult to comprehend and and begin to
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understand how we could address it uh
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and I
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think that that is sort of unfortunately
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the stage that we're still at at this
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point for the vast majority of people
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where
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we haven't quite yet figured out how we
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can break down this problem and and
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address it piece by piece uh but I think
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at the same time as sort of an earlier
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stage it's important in so far is it's
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it's at least a Step Beyond denial and
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um sort of blissful ignorance and it's
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it's a step people have taken to
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recognizing that there's a fundamental
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problem to be addressed and um starting
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the process of figuring out how how each
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individual can play their part in
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addressing
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it I think we could use our fear as a
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tool um as a motivator um to make those
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personal small changes that we can do in
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our everyday lives but also take bigger
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um changes um at the organization level
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at the political level at our city level
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um through writing emails or letters to
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your politicians to your Mayors or MPS
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um so I think it could be a really good
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tool um to to act and motivate um
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changes I think it's important to try to
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shift some of our fears um into ideas of
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hope hope is a really powerful tool to
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create change um fear and guilt are some
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of the things that are actually very
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unsustainable if you're trying to um
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make a difference in your life or to uh
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encourage others to make a difference if
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you're motivated by fear or guilt it's
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going to be likely pretty short-lived um
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and once you've done maybe a very uh
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basic level of change you might feel
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those feelings of guilt relieved and you
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kind of take the pressure off but if
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you're motivated by something like hope
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and you can kind of try to turn your
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fear into hope that's a much more
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sustainable um course of action in a way
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that you can use your feelings to guide
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you in the right direction and to try to
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encourage others around you too because
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it's not going to be you don't want to
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be fear-mongering and have all the
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people around you um scared because of
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what you've told them um it's much it's
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a much better idea to try to take those
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feelings adapt them the question says a
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lot that we have to we can't um we can't
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um insulate ourselves from the knowledge
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uh of of the of these kinds of impacts
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um but but there's a lot that we can do
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by being aware of these impacts and I
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think the problem for a lot of people
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isn't isn't climate anxiety itself it's
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the feeling that state actors are not
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doing enough to try to address this
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problem as I've already said we do have
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means to to deal with this there are
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amazing developments in renewable energy
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right now know uh collectives are
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lobbying to reduce um you know to to
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decarbonize and push governments to do
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that and some of these efforts are very
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successful the divestment movement for
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example even here at UBC we had students
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participating in investment movements uh
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based on ubc's um annual uh sort of um
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Investments so so I think the problem is
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trying to get State actors to to to to
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do something to do some of the work
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that's that's needed and to show that
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they're actually invested in this not to
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buy pipelines but but actually to invest
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in Renewables for example to to take the
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$4.5 billion do that Trudeau spent on
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the Transmountain Pipeline and instead
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of giving that to Kinder Morgan a
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corporation uh South of the Border
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actually use that to invest in jobs for
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people in for example Alberta and move
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them away from oil patch Industries and
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and actually help people to make the
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transition I think those are the kinds
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of things um that our fear could
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mobilize us to lobby for and we know
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that Collective action is is is fairly
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effective against these kinds of
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problems um it's about moving uh vested
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interests uh toward our goals I think
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obviously having these fears or these
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concerns uh demands our attention which
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is a good thing um I think that often
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unfortunately it can result in US
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wanting to avoid these is issues which
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is obviously not as good a thing so if
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we lean into those fears or those
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anxieties and acknowledge them then I
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think they can be really powerful
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motivators and can can really help when
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we acknowledge that it's not something
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that we experience individually but
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collectively can help to inspire um a
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sense of community around these issues
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and underline the necessity to work
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together on them and the necessity to to
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be a part of a community of action
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looking at these and and trying to
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address these
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issues I think that such a fundamental
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piece of our effort to counteract the
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effects of climate change is that first
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stage of
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awareness and I think that as a
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result any art videos or or pieces which
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raise awareness get people to engage
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with the issue and think critically
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about the issue uh are very very
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important and valuable I think that
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that's particularly true for people who
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are living comfortable Lifestyles and
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and who are to a degree sheltered from
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the detrimental impacts of climate
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change because there aren't those
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day-to-day reminders for those people of
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of what's going on on essentially the
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changing weather events or or whatever
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it is and I think that for those people
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in particular uh those reminders through
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ART through videos through sort of
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targeted education towards climate
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change are fundamentally important
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because without them um those people may
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be going dayto day without without being
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forced to think about issues of climate
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change think about the changes they
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should be making in their day-to-day
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lives think about the causes they should
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be supporting I think Creative
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Expressions are one way um that have
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been highlighted in research um as one
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good response and outlet for especially
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for students um and youth to express
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their anxiety and fears related to
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climate change so videos such as this
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one but also other forms of art Creative
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Expressions could be a really good form
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of
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um meditation and also an outlet for
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expressing the anxieties that are being
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felt because of climate
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change I think that there's lots of
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avenues that can be utilized outside of
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traditional sort of lecture or or
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reading based access to information and
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education Pathways to address climate
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change or climate change concerns things
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like art things like like videos
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podcasts films any of these provide
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really important opportunities to
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address and confront these issues from a
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slightly different perspective they have
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the advantage of being accessible often
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in a way that sort of formal academic
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materials or formal academic delivery
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might not be they have often a very um
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welcoming type of approach that that
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invites an audience to engage with it
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and to express their own opinion or to
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spr to form their own ideas about these
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um challenging topics so I think that it
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it provides this sort of alternate
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perspective that's so needed that isn't
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necessarily the same type of logical uh
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scientific Foundation that's of course
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very important but um provides sometimes
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a little bit more of an emotional
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weighin or a a creative way into
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thinking about and imagining and also
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really AC or understanding some of the
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realities that we're a part of and
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living through I think projects like
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this are really important I think
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education is the first step because
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honestly people can be so misinformed
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and not even just misinformed but like
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just have genuinely no idea about what's
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happening in our world in our climate
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and I think that when you start with
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education people know the facts and at
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that point they can make the educated
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decision on what they want to do with
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that but when they know nothing they're
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going to be no help at all because they
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can't do anything if they don't know
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anything so I think that videos like
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this and education and art is really
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should be the first step in trying to
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get more people involved because I think
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there's no point in trying to act if
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you're not educated
