Hope + Action: What March Madness Taught Me About Climate Anxiety

Like many sports fans, I was glued to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament last month. With no shortage of inspiring storylines, I found myself particularly drawn to the leadership lessons of the coaches. I was moved by a story involving University of South Carolina ’s head coach, Dawn Staley, dating back to her previous championship run. At a press conference after her team won the championship in 2017, she pulled out a piece of nylon net to show the press. That piece of net was from Carolyn Peck.?

Peck left head coaching in 2007 as the only Black woman to lead a Division I team to an NCAA National Championship. Peck saw in Staley the potential to be the next NCAA basketball championship coach. As a token of that belief, she gave Staley a piece of her championship net and told Staley that when her team won the championship and she had her own piece of the net, she should return it back to her.

Staley did one better. When her team won the championship, she couldn’t pick just one coach to pass a piece of her net to. So she sent a piece to every Black woman head coach in the league, to more than 70 coaches.

Staley spread the hope that Peck had instilled in her to a group of Black women coaches who have worked hard and faced many challenges to get where they are. She knows that the net is not a good luck charm. It is simply a symbol that can inspire action and a reminder of community support.?

This is the kind of hope I want us to inspire in young people today, as we celebrate Earth Day.?

Why hope is needed

Data collected by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication in Autumn 2023 show that an estimated 72% of Americans believe climate change is happening (TIME). Anxiety about climate change is at an all-time high, especially among young people. The average child today will live through roughly three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents did. A research paper published in Clinical Psychology Science in 2021 says climate change is impacting the healthy psychological development of children around the world.?

As youth-serving organizations, we have a responsibility to address these important issues and anxieties with kids and teens. I believe we can help by fostering hope. One of my sheroes Jane Goodall (who has a new book called The Book of Hope) speaks to this well:

“So for me, hope isn't just something where you sit back and say, "Oh, I hope everything will be OK." No, I don't look at the world through rose-colored spectacles. We've got to work to make what we hope for, happen.”

What hope is and what it isn’t

Researchers at 美国亚利桑那州立大学 's Center for the Advanced Study and Practice of Hope are clear about what constitutes hope versus optimism or wishful thinking. Hope is a cognitive practice that involves the intentional act of setting goals and working toward them with purpose. Hope is an active process, whereas dreams and optimism are just belief structures.?

How to build climate hope with young people

Leaning on the expertise of hope researchers, pediatric health experts, and climate scientists who are parents, we can make a plan with the young people in our programs and our lives that reduces climate anxiety and builds hope.

1. Take small steps for long-term success:

Consider your long-term climate goals as an organization or community and break them down into actions you can do on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

2. Turn individual concern into community action:

Let kids know with your actions that you are invested in their future and the future of the planet. Stay involved in causes they care about and issues that impact them. Build relationships and coalitions around the work to keep things moving and keep people connected. Even though it may be cliche, it’s important in this context to “think global, act local”. Look up climate advocacy groups in your community! To follow or get updates from other organizations leading the way, I recommend Project Dandelion, a women-led global campaign for climate justice, The Climate Reality Project with local chapters across the U.S., the National Resource Defense Council, and for youth specifically: genCLEO, a program from the CLEO Institute (Climate Leadership Engagement Opportunities), which has been focused on Florida to-date but has national reach and impact; they even have a youth-led podcast about climate called House on Fire, currently in its third season.?

3. Consider context:

Make sure that your approach centers and includes the most impacted communities and is culturally competent. Vulnerable populations around the world are most impacted by our warming world:

• BIPOC and Indigenous communities are more likely to live (or were forced to live) in areas that are under-resourced, are in food deserts, are more impacted by natural disasters, extreme heat, air quality, and more. Read more about the intersectionality of environmental racism and environmental justice here, here, and here.
• Research shows that women and girls need to be a part of climate solutions. “Women make up 80% of those impacted by climate change. That’s because, globally, women are more likely to earn less and live in poverty. In most parts of the world, women take on the majority of agricultural labor. This means that, not only does the climate crisis put women’s homes and livelihoods in jeopardy, but their health too, with marginalized groups — especially women of color — feeling it the most” (See more by Ellevest here).
• Climate change is not a one-off siloed issue; it is closely connected to public health, agriculture, and food supply, energy, water access, you name it... it’s all connected. Project Dandelion says, “Every issue is a climate issue.”

4. Foster a culture of hope:

The more we invest in young people’s ability to affect change, the more we build a collective sense of hope. We must stay committed to the priorities that impact the youth of today and tomorrow.?

5. Celebrate wins:

Take time to notice and share good news both locally and on a larger scale. These are just a few recent headlines to celebrate.

• 40% of the greenhouse gasses emitted in New Jersey, a major shipping hub, come from transportation, but the state will be among the first to adopt Advanced Clean Truck Rules, phasing out diesel trucks and requiring manufacturers to sell zero-emission trucks.?
• At the Climate Summit in Glasgow last year, the world's leaders acknowledged for the first time the role of fossil fuels in the climate crisis and pledged to roll back their reliance on coal as a fuel source.?
• Last year, legislation passed in California requiring people to toss excess food into bins to be composted by their town or city and grocery stores to donate unsold but edible food to food banks.?
• General Motors announced last year that it would phase out gas- and diesel-powered cars and trucks, pledging to sell only vehicles with zero tailpipe emissions by 2035.?

What will you and your organization do today and this year to build climate hope with youth?

Happy Earth Day!