Saturday, September 19, 2020. Union Square, Manhattan, NY. Seven years, 103 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes, seven seconds. The culmination of scientists’ and activists’ loudest voices for decades all displayed in faint orange, electronic numbers.
Artists Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd offered a startling new addition to the public art project, Metronome, that has been a part of New York City for over 20 years. In an article with the New York Times, the artists described the project as “a way to publicly illustrate the urgency of combating climate change” (Moynihan 2020). The new clock face of Metronome, which the artists are calling the Climate Clock, displays the length of time we have as a society to combat climate change before the effects we are currently enduring become irreversible. Images captured of the clock went viral across several social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, as did the NYT article documenting the display. Note: this is not a slander of the Climate Clock; I find it to be a profound and necessary display. I admire the simplistic truth it offers. However, I am human and like many others, had a very human reaction to it. People across the world, all of whom are experiencing varying degrees of the climate crisis, are viewers of this art display. More importantly, they are victims of these earthly changes and of the devastating mental toll this situation causes.
Sitting with the weight of the world ending is no easy task. Seeing the exact date of when our suffering will become exponential, with no way out, is bound to cause fear, anger, depression, and sorrow in anyone. Someone may look at a picture of that clock once and worry for the rest of the day then be fine, or it may consume them. For many people like myself, who study this issue in some capacity, the consumption exists as a constant. What then, do we do with that consumption? How do we, as the generation that will first suffer the devastation of climate change, live on? Personally, I find myself living in a rather dark cycle: I need to make a difference, I need to fight for others to make a difference because I am wrought with anger and fear about the future, but then those emotions catch up and I wonder if there’s any point in it all. That hopelessness easily leaches into other parts of life and can become inescapable if not careful.
My generation is full of incredibly driven, talented, and heartful activists capable of creating so much change. I worry that our drive will be halted by the looming threats that may not go away. I hope that our fight is not discouraged when we are not met with cooperation, or the first (of many) time(s) our efforts do not do as much as we hope. I believe that as our world seems to be burning, many of us may start to burn out. I know that we are the ones who can scream for it to stop but since so many have been before us, it’s hard not to wonder what good it will really do.
My advice for my peers is first and foremost to keep fighting. We have to keep creating change and demanding justice. Concurrently, we must take care of ourselves. We cannot all become entangled in the cycle I have previously described, so we must establish boundaries with ourselves. This can take several forms, so I will list just a few.
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Do not monitor the news 24/7. I know that staying aware and informed is our specialty, but it becomes numbing. Take frequent breaks from being logged in online when you start to feel overwhelmed with anger or despair.
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Read more scientific research regarding the issues you care most deeply about. Publications will state findings, explain them, and then offer further opportunities to explore. If the ocean is your primary concern, then read about what marine scientists at a university near you are doing. The University of New Hampshire is currently examining the acoustic mapping of methane gas seeps. Knowing that there are others working tirelessly to solve these complex issues and continuing to ask new questions provides a lot of hope.
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Place yourself within the natural world. It is one thing to advocate for environmental protections and research climate change; it is another to ensure you’re taking time to enjoy the earth you are fighting so hard to protect. Make an effort to spend at least 10 minutes outside each day, in complete silence. You will feel the difference.
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Orient yourself with action-based items in addition to academic language and journalism regarding the climate crisis. Learn everything you can yes, but finding a local organization you can dedicate some of your time to is mutually rewarding.
There are plenty of other ways to ground yourself during the fight for the climate, but these are the few that I have found myself turning towards when it weighs too heavy on myself. The world will thank us for the work we put in, even when it seems otherwise. It is okay to care so much that you cannot always contend with it. Just don’t let it burn you out. You matter as much as the planet you live on matters. We are all in this together.