Can’t have hope without action

Contemporary author / journalist, Elizabeth Kolbert – Wikipedia, who wrote the The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History – Wikipedia, is out with a new book Climate Change A to Z – H is for Hope – Not yet published (Random House). I have not read either book yet, but both are now added to the ‘reading list’.

Grist had an interview with her about her new book. In that interview, one of the best lines about climate changed surfaced … maybe as a joke, but I think one of the most important statements yet. I included the question posed for context. (bold italics my emphasis on key phrase).

Q: I want to start by talking about hope, which is usually how people end interviews. I’ve heard climate scientists and activists say they’re tired of being asked what gives them hope, I think because it can feel naive. How can we talk about hope in a way that’s more realistic and useful?

A: Well, many people, as you say, have pointed out that that’s not really the opposition that we should be focusing on, hope versus not hope. I think we should be focusing on action versus non-action. How we feel about it — it really doesn’t make much difference to the climate. What we do is what makes a difference. Now, that being said, having written this book called H Is for Hope, I am very interested in how we think about hope, and that’s one of the motivating ideas behind the book.

Grist

Feelings only matter if they drive positive actions … we must act, …. not just think, feel and write