Turning Climate Panic Into Progress: Your Talking Points

If Americans are hearing anything about climate change, it is likely the bad news. Our planet and its oceans are warming faster than predicted, causing billion-dollar weather disasters, a myriad of health impacts, climate refugees and more, with little time to turn it around. Headlines from recent climate reports confirm that we have only a handful of years to make progress, and news reports and social media featuring victims of climate change are routine. Everyone is aware of wildfires, hurricanes, and floods like never before. We look with horror and compassion at the scores of lives impacted by these events. Perhaps we and our families are in fact the ones impacted. But, we cannot afford to spend time wallowing in resignation or fatalism, or acting so panicked that we trigger people’s fright and freeze their instincts. We need to motivate action on climate, and psychologists will tell you this is best done through inspiration rather than exasperation. And as people of faith, we are well-positioned to provide hope and show courage to our neighbors. We all need to do what great leaders do. We must inspire and support those around us, including those in positions to shift policies and outcomes, asking them to act in everyone’s immediate and long term best interest by acting on climate today. There is a positive message to be told. Want to be ready to speak with hope about opportunities and the way forward on climate action? These Talking Points will help.