“I’m melting”
lol i forgot to post this after Jaanipäev came and went. Also, it was my birthday this saturday! This feels like it doubles for that too because the weather was just as hot then.

Climate Thoughts of the Day: No, This Is Not “The End”

Hi everyone, I hope you’re all well.

Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of asks from people who are concerned about various climate and environmental disasters around the world.

Let me just say: you are absolutely right to be concerned and scared. I’m concerned and scared - that’s why I engage in climate activism, and that’s why I run this blog. There are a lot of terrible things happening around the world, and a lot of people are dying unnecessarily because of these disasters.

Because of this, a lot of people - perhaps understandably - look at what is happening around the world in terms of the climate emergency, and tell themselves that these disasters spell “the end” for the world, or for humanity or human society. A lot of people think that these disasters are only the beginning of a global crisis which will one day inevitably end the world.

This crisis that we are in is extremely serious. It is deadly for many people, and we are still not at the stage where the action we need to see is being taken. And some degree of climate change is already, unfortunately, locked in.

But, with all of this in mind, “the end” is not here.

Since the beginning of human society, and even before, we have always had to experience environmental disasters. Climate change is now making those disasters more frequent and more severe. That is the truth.

But these disasters, however serious and deadly they are, are not “the end”. Singular events, or events in one or a few countries, do not mean that the end of the world is here. And they certainly do not mean that we have to give up on climate and environmental action - if anything, to save more lives and protect more people, they mean that we must fight harder for climate and environmental justice, and think and act with the future in mind.

I always like to think of this crisis as a house on fire. If your house is on fire, would you just sit and watch it all burn? Or would you try your absolute best to save everything you possibly can? Even if it’s too late to save *everything* in your house, you still have to give it everything you’ve got, otherwise you’ll be left with nothing.

Instead of seeing these disasters as “the end”, we need to treat this crisis like a house on fire - that is, we have to look at ways to both mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. In the future, we may have to build our societies with the climate crisis in mind - that means building houses, buildings and infrastructure with increased flood defences, or on higher ground, for example. We will also have to continue to work towards decarbonisation and move away from fossil fuels worldwide - this is something that must be done, and soon.

Please, if you’re reading this, do not give up on the future or assume that the end of the world is already here. The planet is not going to be fixed or saved, nor are potentially millions of lives going to be saved, by fatalism or a “let’s all just party until the apocalypse” mentality - the future needs the skills and the empathy and the hope and, indeed, the well-directed fear of climate-concerned and climate-aware people.

This isn’t the end. Not yet. Not for the planet, or for humans, or for you. Keep your head up, stay strong, and think about ways in which you can one day use your skills, whatever they may be, to help to create a better future or to raise awareness of the climate crisis.

I hope you all have a great day.