Starting things isn’t easy.
When I realized it was time to address the mental health impacts of the climate crisis and encourage more people to “see” themselves in climate action, the whole concept was new.
I founded OneGreenThing the nonprofit in April 2021 with Chief of Start Up Emily Necessary Fowler and an outstanding board of directors and national advisory council. Now, “eco-anxiety” is a household term, and I’ve published three books on the topic.
From wildfires on both coasts to historic hurricanes impacting North Carolina and Florida we live in “unprecedented times.” More and more people are connecting the dots between their mental, physical, and emotional health and climate change.
Young people are especially worried. A recent national survey of 16,000 young people in the U.S. found that 85% experience eco-anxiety and more than half do not want children of their own because of the climate crisis.
As board member Erin Brockovich likes to say, and it’s the title of her most recent book, Superman’s not coming. We need systems change, but that’s unlikely to happen at the national level for a while. As a result, community has never been more important.
From Silicon Valley to London to UTA to Harvard University, this journey has taken OneGreenThing all over the map with our message of hope through action.
We’ve made big progress - in not only encouraging people to process their feelings but also to take climate action and create the culture shift we need.
THANK YOU for joining me on this journey.
Together, we will continue to make a greener, healthier, more just future.
XOXO -Heather
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