Pique Behind the Curtain Vol. 31

Turning Anxiety into Action

Welcome back to our weekly newsletter, Pique Behind the Curtain. If you’ve come in search of climate content, new film features, and all-around positive vibes, then you’ve come to the right place.

How to Fight Back Against Climate Anxiety

We’ve been hearing a lot about the term “climate anxiety” in recent months. It’s also known as eco-anxiety, officially defined by the American Psychological Association as “a chronic fear of environmental doom.”

Eco-anxiety largely has to do with feeling overwhelmed in the face of increasing awareness of climate change. It’s easy to feel powerless. If you’ve ever had a thought like - “What will going vegan really do in the grand scheme of things?” You’re not alone. 

The implications of climate change are scary - sometimes paralyzing. But the solutions can be inspiring.

It’s important to remember that for every climate-caused problem, there are even more innovative individuals working tirelessly on solutions. While we all do our best to keep that in mind, here are three strategies to channel your eco-anxiety toward action instead of apathy:

1. Limit and control the scroll: If you’ve ever been sucked into a doom scroll, then you know how stress-inducing it can be. It’s incredibly important to be aware of what’s happening in the world around us, but it benefits no one to have a strictly negative feed depicting all of the habitat destruction, human displacement, and wild weather that has resulted from anthropogenic practices. Psychologists recommend limiting and disengaging from media in general and adding positive news sources (nice to meet you, our name is Pique) for a more balanced experience. 

1. Get involved: Engaging with your community can reduce your area’s impact on the environment, increase your sense of connection, and enhance your ability to talk about the symptoms of eco-anxiety. It’s important to remember that you’re not alone in these feelings. Joining a trash pickup, adding to a neighborhood garden, or participating in food waste programs won’t just make you feel like you’ve helped the Earth, it will connect you with others who care about that protection as much as you do. If you’re looking for a bigger commitment, consider a career in climate! There is a role out there for everyone, and websites like Climatebase, Green Jobs Board, and Work on Climate make it simple. 

For more on how to get started with a climate career, check out Climate Jobs on TikTok.

1. Learn & Engage in Resilience Techniques: Developing resilience skills is necessary to cope with all of life’s challenges and stressors. It’s relevant to both maintaining psychological wellbeing in general and to facing the climate crisis. A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety offers helpful strategies to help develop adaptive coping mechanisms, avoid emotional burnout, and built resilience while cultivating optimism.

Focusing on the solutions instead of the problems is far easier said than done. So, whenever you’re in need of a dose of climate positivity, inspiring ingenuity, and planet-saving practices… we’ll be here!

Sneak Pique: Genecis

Every year, over 3 trillion pounds of food scraps are wasted. That waste is the third-largest emitter of methane emissions, equivalent to 7% of the global GHG emissions. At the same time, 18 billion lbs of plastic pollute our oceans annually.

A new wave of green chemical companies are starting toreplace harmful plastics with plant-based alternatives - but they can still take up to 80 years to degrade. And it still doesn’t solve the high volume of waste we’re currently putting out. 

Genecis solves both of these major problems. They take food waste and convert it into compostable and marine-biodegradable plastics that break down within 12 months.

Have we piqued your interest? Check back in next week for the full film.

Good Climate News!

This week in good climate news 🌍:

The Empire State Goes Environmental

New York Joins New Jersey in Passing the Toughest Environmental Justice Legislation in the Country

New York’s newest environmental justice law could prevent pollution in hard-hit neighborhoods, also known as frontline communities. 

The bill passed in the last week of April states that industry will no longer be allowed to build polluting facilities in communities past capacity for such contamination. This includes banning new power plants, warehouses, and garbage dumps.

The law requires a close examination of the cumulative pollution burden that a neighborhood would potentially face before granting any permits to build in the area - but it also goes one step further. The state is not prohibited from approving any permits or taking any action that may add to a “disproportionate or inequitable” pollution burden on minority, economically distressed, and low-income communities. 

For decades it’s been common knowledge that governments have allowed polluting facilities to be built in communities of color and of low-income, largely due to bias and inequitable zoning laws. It’s left these neighborhoods vulnerable to accelerated climate-induced health effects such as higher rates of asthma and respiratory illnesses.

This strict legislation is being celebrated as a long-overdue win for local environmental justice movements. Protection embedded in the law is a key part of protecting both people and wild places. The hope now exists that states across the U.S. will follow suit and file for an equitable distribution of infrastructure.

What We’re Watching, Reading, and Listening to

Searching for more positive climate content? Look no further!

• As Long as Grass Grows - Dina Gilio-Whitaker

• What Your Bank Really Does With Your Money - Climate Town

• Can Seaweed Save the Planet? - Our Changing Climate

• What is Climate Anxiety? | Seat at the Table - Real Stories