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Posted 8/21/12

Christmas is a time for connecting with what we truly value, made tangible in our gatherings with family and friends, our nostalgia for holidays past and the renewal of hope for the future. As we …

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Christmas is a time for connecting with what we truly value, made tangible in our gatherings with family and friends, our nostalgia for holidays past and the renewal of hope for the future. As we enjoy this brief vacation from everyday cynicism, I confess that I am shamelessly susceptible to classic holiday movies, those sentimental cultural touchstones with their timeless themes of family, community, faith and doubt, usually framed in the emotional journeys of beloved characters who desperately need to change their lives.

The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication charts public understanding and opinion about the realities of climate change and what actions we should take. Their research has shown that those opinions fluctuate depending on the latest developments in technology and research, the depth and tone of reporting in the popular media and the political orientation of each respondent, since views on climate change tend to divide very predictably along party lines.

Most recently, their research has also indicated that the extent of our emotional engagement with the issue is an even stronger predictor of our support for policies that address climate change—stronger than our political affiliations, cultural worldview or socio-economic status. “In particular,” say the study’s authors, “worry, interest and hope were strongly associated with increased policy support. The results contribute to experiential theories of risk information processing and suggest that discrete emotions play a significant role in public support for climate change policy.”

Perhaps here, at the intersection of our scientific understanding and our emotional investment—our “worry, interest and hope”—we will find the motivation to act on what we know. With that in mind, here is what I am hoping for this Christmas and in the coming year:

I hope we can all find joy in embracing our role as environmental stewards. “The environment” isn’t an abstract concept that exists in opposition to our economic needs. It’s our habitat—our air, water and food and the whole range of resources we draw upon for survival and prosperity. When we connect with the indispensability of nature in our daily lives, we stand a better chance of rejecting the damaging practices and outmoded industries that threaten our welfare.

I hope we will all come to see social justice through the sustainability prism. Racism, classism, sexism and other social prejudices; poverty wages, food insecurity and substandard housing; corruption, abuse of power and the exploitation of the vulnerable are all, in the most pragmatic sense, a shameful waste of human resources and a destructive force that keeps us divided, confused, weak and afraid.

I hope that more people will get worried about climate change and find ways to transform that worry into deeper knowledge and positive action. Whether you resolve to make changes at the personal level or embrace activism on a broader stage, change is an emotional journey. Climate science tells us clearly what we need to do. But change is motivated by feeling as well as information—fear, anger, empathy, hope. Most of all, hope.

You can learn more at environment.yale.edu/climate-communication/article/emotion-in-global-warming-policy-support/#sthash.kbZdAjj4.dpuf (tinyurl: tinyurl.com/n2ngb9z).

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