Climate Hope Redefined

By Tom Cox

When you think about it, hope is a rather strange concept. It is sort of a wish or a prayer in search of a possibility. We all want hope even though it has no real power. It is a prediction usually based on emotion, not fact. I guess it’s an attempt to control how we presently feel about a future event we are powerless to determine. Often, it is a rather flimsy prediction about things like the weather (“I hope it doesn’t rain on Saturday”), a sports team’s chances (“I think this is the year for the Cubs!”), a disease prognosis (“If you remain positive, there’s no reason we can’t beat this), how our kids will turn out (“I hope they have it better than I did”), or just that needed peaceful sensation that everything will turn out okay (“What could possibly go wrong?”).

Whenever I talk to people about climate change they often want me to provide them with a word of hope. “Give me hope.” “There has to be hope.” “Please, God, give us hope!”

In the beginning, I tried. I really did. After all, you can’t depress people. They’ll give up and check out. They’ll quit working on climate change. Or they’ll just “Thelma & Louise” it off the cliff!

In thinking about this, I have concluded that there are two kinds of hope. One is the dream that we can avoid negative outcomes and unsettling realities. This type of hope is fine if everything turns out okay but can set you up for bitter disappointment if they don’t. As Francis Bacon once said, “Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.” Very often, it is the desire to be let off the hook. “Give me hope so I don’t have to worry because I can’t deal with this right now.” “Give me hope so that I don’t have to feel bad and I can move on with my life.” “Tell us there will always be elephants and humpback whales and polar bears.” “Tell me it’s not going to change everything!”

The second and much more powerful form of hope involves facing unpleasant realities with a sense of acceptance and resilience yet still looking for joy and light. I find this type of hope much more rewarding because it remains possible no matter what the future brings.

This is the kind of hope the great spiritual leaders and wisdom teachers speak of:

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. —Martin Luther King

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. —Desmond Tutu

It can also represent a fundamental trust in the balance and eternal benevolence of whatever you refer to as the underlying spirit or power of the universe that will exist far beyond our meager existence:

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe. —Dalai Lama

I simply can't build my hopes on a foundation of confusion, misery and death... I think... peace and tranquillity will return again. —Anne Frank

As far as climate change goes, things are changing rapidly, and none of it seems to be changing for the better. Some experts will tell you under their breath that things are worse than we have been told. This is not just a sensation but is based on science. The warming we feel today is from carbon we released in the 1980s. Most of the carbon we release is absorbed by the ocean and is held there for decades. As things continue to get warmer, that carbon is released into the atmosphere. Put a can of beer or soda on your driveway on a hot day. A few hours later, you will open it to discover a foamy mess on top (released carbon) and a hot, flat liquid on the bottom (the earth). That’s our atmosphere. Even if we were to completely put a halt to the use of fossil fuels today, our atmosphere would continue warming for the next forty years. And we show no interest in putting a halt to our use of fossil fuels anytime soon. This increased warming will continue to accelerate the melting of polar ice caps, destroying their reflective nature and adding incredible amounts of the sun’s warmth into the oceans. It is a vicious cycle we have created.

Some environmentalists don’t want me to tell you this. Not because it’s not true but because it is, and they are afraid that you will give up, go into the fetal position, and graciously accept your demise. There are signs out there that this is not true. There are indicators that when people are given a grim prognosis they do not stop living but consciously make new commitments to live life to the fullest. They take time to grieve, but then they upgrade their self-care, reorder their priorities, cherish every moment in their relationships, and do whatever is necessary to squeeze every moment of joy out of whatever amount of life they have remaining. In the midst of crisis, their life goes from black-and-white to color.

At this point, a certain amount of global warming and biodiversity loss is locked into our future. No one can tell you how much. There are too many variables. But I believe there are two things on which we must focus: 1.) do whatever is necessary to continue to reduce our planetary carbon emissions because there still are things we CAN save, and 2.) begin to think about life in a post-climate-change world by working to make our communities more resilient to a certain amount of societal collapse that now seems probable if not inevitable in the very near future.

Thus, I have redefined hope for myself not as wishful thinking for a desired or triumphant outcome but as an inner spiritual presence that accepts and looks for joy and opportunity in whatever comes next. It is not hope for the future but hope for now. There is and will always be grief and sadness for us to acknowledge and process, but there will also be the promise of creating a better, more fulfilling, and just world to come. But this will only happen if we resist denial and face reality together with compassion, mutual support, and optimistic resilience.

Hope is not happiness or confidence or inner peace; it’s a commitment to search for possibilities. ―Rebecca Solnit

In future posts, I will dive into how our communities can come together and work to weather the hardships to come. I will challenge faith communities (churches, synagogues, mosques) to dream, collaborate, and prepare. There is much for them to do in this regard, both outward and inward. I will explore the inner shadow work that is necessary for each one of us to maintain a good spirit and positive mental health. I will also explore the skills, practices, and methods we need to adopt to become less dependent on multinational corporations and global supply chains for our daily food, clothing, durables goods, and even entertainment. And, of course, I will explore how we can find joy and meaning by doing all of it.

Pura vida.