How to Face Overwhelming Climate Change Topics Like Plastic

With Plastic Free July just a couple of weeks away, I’ve been reflecting on the topic of plastic and all of the other daunting topics relating to climate change, like greenhouse gases, dependence on fossil fuels, dwindling rainforests and other habitat losses. It can be overwhelming to face topics like these because they are so large and require multi-faceted approaches to begin turning the tide in favour of our planet. This is why I’m taking some time to reflect on what impact I can have as one person in the midst of this overwhelming climate crisis.

This post is a part of our Climate Change Collective conversations. We’re happy to contribute the lead post for the conversation this month. Learn more about the Climate Change Collective below.

The overwhelm of big topics

Our planet’s core temperature is rising, the ozone layer is depleting, forests are getting chopped down, species are going extinct. The big overwhelming topics related to climate change are many and, since we are each only one person, it can feel disheartening to think about them.

With Plastic Free July almost upon us, the vast topic of “plastic” has been at the forefront of my mind. I was chatting with a friend about all the different topics we’ve written about for Plastic Free July and it was surprising just how much there is to say about something that seems simple on the surface.

We’ve written about:

The life cycle of plastic in Looking into the Life Cycle of Plastic

Many plastic free ideas and swaps in 31 Plastic Free Swaps for Plastic Free July

Different types of plastic in Plastic Free July: 8 Types of Plastic to Know About

Innovations in plastic solutions in Unique Plastic Solutions: 6 Innovations for a Greener Future

The impact of plastic pollution in Types of plastic pollution and their impact

Just one topic like plastic has a never ending list of things to learn about, which brings up the question of: how to do we approach such large topics? I have a few questions here to explore which will hopefully break things down into more manageable bites.

How do I interact with the topic and problem?

Big, overarching topics dealing with climate change can be overwhelming and can result in climate anxiety. This is why it is important to be aware of how we interact with these big issues.

Important things to keep in mind are:

1. Is this topic overruling your thoughts? Is it something that you are thinking about all of the time?
2. How does this topic make you feel? Are you hopeful? In despair? Apathetic?
3. Am I consuming a lot of media on this topic?
4. How is the media I’m consuming influencing my thoughts and feelings?

Mulling over questions like these can help us be aware of whether our relationship with a topic is healthy or detrimental to our health. It’s important to have boundaries and be mindful of how much energy we are dedicating to a topic.

If a topic becomes too overwhelming, it’s important to remember that there are resources out there for support–whether that’s close friends and family or professional help. Asking for help is a sign of strength, in my opinion. There are more resources and suggestions in Molly’s Climate Anxiety post on Transatlantic Notes linked above, but here is one she’s shared which is a global search for helplines: https://findahelpline.com/

How do I stay conscious of this topic in my daily life?

When faced with these overwhelming climate change topics, it can be tempting to pretend they don’t exist. It is important, however, to stay conscious of these things in our daily lives if we want to help create change.

While limiting media can become an important part of your journey, reading about a topic and staying current on events is one way to stay conscious about a topic in our daily lives.

Some other ideas for staying conscious about topics such as plastic in daily life are:

• Chat with friends about the various climate change topics–try out these conversations to have with friends and family;
• Take part in challenges like Plastic Free July with a worldwide group of participants;
• Have a weekly reminder to learn something new about the topic or to try a new plastic free swap;
• Listen to podcasts or watch documentaries on a regular basis;
• Find some social media accounts to follow that give reminders on the topic.

Find what works best for your life. For example, if you don’t like podcasts then that likely isn’t the option you want to try. The idea isn’t to burden yourself, but to find ways to gently remind yourself about the topics at hand.

How do I make good choices with these realities around me?

We’re all human and it can be difficult to live a perfectly sustainable life–especially with all of the changing information out there. Every choice we make is going to have many pros and cons to its impact. The best thing we can do is try and then be gracious to ourselves when we find a better choice.

When aiming to make good choices, try to:

• Talk to friends and family to get advice;
• Seek out reviews and other people’s experiences;
• Read company websites and learn their values and practices;
• Read books or listen to podcasts to broaden your knowledge.

Focusing on too big of a picture can sometimes weigh us down and make it difficult to see how our everyday choices make a difference. There are many things we can do every day to minimize plastic use, for example, and to set good examples for those around us.

For some further reading on everyday life, check out these posts:
1. As a reminder that we can’t always be perfect: What to do when plastic shows up in your life
2. As a reminder that some choices aren’t the best ones: Plastic Free Tofu: An Honest Red Lentil Tofu Recipe Review
3. As a reminder of some little things that can make an impact: 5 Easy and Sustainable Alternatives to Plastic Wrap

How do I, as one person, make a dent in dealing with this problem?

When topics are so daunting and we know the reality will take years to tackle, it can be easy to lose sight of how we can each individually be making an impact. What I will say, though, is your choices do matter.

I remember 20 years ago when I decided to become vegan and I never expected people to understand my way of eating. There was so much ignorance around the topic of not eating meat at the time. It was impossible to find tofu or meat substitutes–and don’t even get me started on vegan cheeses.

But as the years went on, attitudes began to shift from “oh I could never stop eating meat” to “I’ve stopped eating red meat” to “I regularly have meatless meals.” It’s been fascinating to watch. Also, dairy free milks and meat free products are such a normal part of the grocery store now.

All this to say that big changes can happen in the world. It took many single persons making choices to turn the tide on whether I was able to find vegan cheese at a regular grocery store. That seems miraculous to me based on what my experience 20 years ago was. Every time we make a choice for climate change I believe it makes a bigger impact than we realize.

And outside of our daily life choices, we can make an even bigger impact by using our voices to vote, send letters, and sign petitions. Joining together with other like minded people can make these daunting topics feel more possible to tackle.

The Climate Change Collective

This post is a part of our Climate Change Collective conversations.

The Climate Change Collective was born out of an exchange that took place between Michelle and Jamie in the comments section of a Jamie Ad Stories blog post. Jamie and Michelle both care deeply about the impact of human activity on our planet and wanted to find a way to keep the climate change message top of mind for everyone. A tweet was sent out, bloggers responded, and we’ve all now teamed up to create the Climate Change Collective! Learn more about the bloggers behind this group in our post introducing everyone: Get to Know our 5 Fantastic Climate Change Collective Bloggers.

The idea is simple. The members of the collective will take turns writing a monthly blog post sharing their concerns and unique perspective about climate change. After the post is published, the rest of the group will keep the conversation going by sharing a link to the post on their blogs along with their thoughts and ideas. If you’re a like-minded blogger and would like to join our collective, please get in touch. The more the merrier!

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