Cheyenne Sundance • August 5, 2024
Imagine this, you love hiking in the woods, foraging chanterelle mushrooms, watching birds, and just soaking in nature. Now, imagine going back to your favorite spot, and it’s not the same. Maybe the trees are gone, there’s a highway running through it or the river is polluted. It hits you hard, right in the gut. That feeling of sadness and loss because nature, something you care deeply about, is hurting.
This is also called eco-grief. Which is the emotional response people feel when they see or realize that the environment has been harmed and is continuously suffering. It’s a sense of sadness or loss because of things like disappearing species, pollution, or climate change impacts. When you care about nature, and you see it getting hurt, it can make you feel really upset. This feeling can be extended beyond an individual, but to a whole community. Eco-grief reminds us that taking care of the environment is not just about saving animals and trees; it’s also about taking care of our own well-being because we’re all connected to nature in some way.
Maybe you’re scrolling through the news, and every other headline is about climate change, wildfires, melting ice caps— you name it. You start feeling this knot in your stomach, a worry that won’t let go. That’s eco-anxiety. It’s this background stress about the state of the planet and what the future might hold for you and your community.
You know, it’s not just about the environment; it’s about feeling a bit powerless in the face of these big, global problems. You care, and that caring is turning into this rumbling anxiety because it feels like things are getting out of control. I hope you know that you’re not alone in feeling this way. A lot of us are navigating this eco-anxiety road. It’s a sign that you care, which is a good thing. And there are ways to cope—getting localized by joining a climate justice organization, connecting with others who feel the same way, or finding a balance between staying informed and taking breaks from the heavy news.
There are changes to our well-being in a climate crisis, I’ll speak on my own experience to provide an example. In the spring, summer and fall I operate a vegetable farm. My mental health is deeply impacted when I lose 4 beds of heirloom tomatoes to constant heavy rains in the middle of July. Many people who work in agriculture or have a career that is on the land – can feel these affects deeply in a number of ways. In agriculture, the effects on one’s well being and the communities (in terms of access to local food) When there’s unpredictable times such as the climate going haywire, we’re facing unpredictable rainfall, crazy temperatures, and unexpected storms. Imagine planning to plant your crops, and suddenly, boom—here comes a surprise heatwave or a flood. It messes with the whole schedule of planting, cultivating and harvesting.
It’s not just about plants. Livestock, like cows and chickens, need the right conditions too. But extreme heat or changes in the availability of good pasture can stress them out and affect their health. When I raised layings, I noticed this.
These affects hurt us all, not just me and my fellow farm friends. Farmers are dealing with all these challenges, and it’s hitting us in the wallet. Crops might fail, yields might drop, and that means less income for us.
So, when we talk about the climate crisis, it’s not just about polar bears or distant ice caps. It’s about the folks who grow the food we eat every day facing a whole bunch of challenges because the weather’s acting up too. You may see these changes in the diversity of crops available, the rising cost of some produce items when they are in season and from tuning in to news sources.
The good news is, local organizing works. Joining the fight doesn’t have to be isolating and burdensome. It can be full of joy, community and fighting for policy change as well. There is a bright future ahead that we can all enjoy the fruits of.
Responses