Collective Climate Action: Jennifer Atkinson on channeling eco-anxiety into climate action

Spring Creek Podcast

In this episode, Jennifer Atkinson explains that the age of climate consequences is upon us, and anxiety and despair are rising along with global temperatures. To successfully face the challenges ahead, we need to build more than solar panels and sea walls — we also need to build the emotional resilience to stay engaged in climate work over the long haul. She offers five key steps for navigating the psychological and emotional impacts of climate change while channeling our anxiety into collective efforts to create a livable future.

Jennifer Atkinson is an author and Professor of environmental humanities at the University of Washington, Bothell. She researches eco-anxiety, grief and hope, and teaches seminars on climate and mental health that have been featured nationwide. Her most recent book, “The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators: How to Teach in a Burning World,” offers strategies to help young people navigate the emotional toll of climate breakdown. Her podcast “Facing It” also gives listeners tools to channel eco-anxiety into action.

This talk is part of the series “Collective Climate Action: Inspired Organizing for Our Future” produced by the Spring Creek Project at Oregon State University. If you’d like to watch a video version of this talk, it’s available on Spring Creek Project’s YouTube channel.