It was in 2022 that I really began to notice things weren’t turning out too well – Russia invaded Ukraine, the Covid pandemic continued its spread and inequality had become so extreme that 1% of the world’s richest people owned as much as half the global population.
In 2023–24 world tension has continued to worsen after Israel invaded Gaza following the Hamas attack. Our screens daily bring home to us the horror of tens of thousands of women and children killed and injured by the Israeli Defence Force.
But most alarming because it’s on a global scale, has been the news that rapid climatic warming is leading to ever more extreme weather events. Glaciers and snow-cover are shrinking, and sea levels are rising. Record-breaking rainfall brings flooding in some areas, and excessive heat adds to drought in others. Wild fires are predicted to worsen, taking lives and livelihoods in many countries. Anew term for the increase in extreme weather entered the climate debate – ‘global weirding’.
Fear of the future
Wow, is it any wonder that many of us, feeling frightened and powerless, are switching off from the news and getting on with our everyday lives? And, is it surprising that those of us with children and grandchildren feel fear and anger when we consider their future prospects?
We’re living at a massive turning point in human history. Many who enjoy wealth and power are working very hard to maintain that position of privilege, while ignoring the problems faced by billions of us – which makes me angry. Here are a few examples:
- I’m angry about the acre upon acre of majestic trees cut down, and seas and rivers poisoned
- I’m angry thinking about those millions of refugees, many of whom die as they struggle to leave miserable lives in search of something better, while so few people-smugglers, profiting from their misery, are prosecuted
- I’m angry and worried about those people who have no home and can’t afford to feed their children while others enjoy a life of excessive luxury
- I’m angry at the global spread of capitalism resulting in the genocide of indigenous peoples and their way of life, and the extermination of many species with whom we share our planet Earth home
- I’m angry to see democracy fast becoming a sham as, more and more, money buys power
Anger is the spur
Most of all – let’s not beat about the bush! – I’m very angry that unless we make a real start to bring about urgent change NOW, the plans and dreams our children and grandchildren tell us they have for their lives will be disrupted by social breakdown and ever more catastrophic weather events.
Research has found that anger is the greatest spur to action: a recent study which asked 2,000 Norwegian adults how they felt about the climate crisis, found the link to activism was seven times stronger for anger than it was for hope.
So it is that an increasing number of us, facing the fear, feeling angry and recognising that humanity has taken the wrong road, are trying to find a better route.
In her timely and inspiring book Do Something, Kajal Odedra describes ordinary individuals – like you and me – who have seen the injustices in our world, have taken action and succeeded in bringing about change.
We can all be changemakers
I was pretty surprised when I found out from the campaigning group ONE that throughout history major change has often resulted from the actions of one person. Even great giants can be tamed.
Alastair Campbell in his book But What Can I Do? – Why politics has gone wrong, and how you can help fix it makes it very clear that we all need to rise to the occasion if we want to make a difference. He goes to great lengths to help us resist cynicism and defeatism and believes: “We can all be change-makers and we can all make a positive difference, if we choose to.”
So there we go. I’m trying to follow – in my own small way – the path of the naturalist, activist and TV broadcaster Chris Packham who told Positive News:
“I was a very angry young man, and I’m a very angry old man. But I’ve always done everything within my power to turn that anger into something positive.”
Sounds like a plan.
