My wife exclaimed, "Babe, look!" as she sat on the grass, reading in the blazing heat. I was handed her book by her wife. An obviously distraught character was complaining about badly designed roundabouts. She kept going on and on about them. To be clear, my opinions on roundabouts are not mine. None. My wife was not happy. She agreed. You do have certain rants that you keep returning to. You know, like incessantly.It was impossible to argue. Although I've always been a pessimist, I recently became a Chicken Little with existential obsessions. I'll get up in the morning, check my phone for the most terrifying news and launch an immediate diatribe about how climate emergencies will almost certainly cause societal collapse. Have you heard about the events in Greece, Turkey or northern California? Are you aware of the number of billionaires fleeing New Zealand in an attempt to escape the impending apocalypse. Weather is out of control Joe Biden's woefully inadequate bill for infrastructure isn't going to fix anything. We are all doomed! DOOMED!This may seem like a lot to my wife, or anyone else, before they have a cup of coffee. However, a constant state of anxiety about the environment is not unreasonable. Greta Thunberg is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize if she becomes irate. It's problematic when I do. As Monday's IPCC report clearly showed, the world is in dire straits. If you aren't feeling anxious, then you aren't paying attention. If the increasing rates of eco-anxiety is anything to go by then a lot of people are paying attention. A survey by the American Psychological Association last years found that 68% of adults had some eco-anxiety regarding climate change and its effects.Now, my eco-anxiety is exacerbated due to parental guilt. My three-month-old daughter is my best friend. Sometimes I will wake up in middle of the night regretting having her. It's not because she wakes me up every night with banshee-like squeals (although that has definitely happened) or because I have been suffering from sleep deprivation that has made me age 30 in just three months. It is because I feel so guilty for bringing her into this world. I don't know why we did this. I'll think. Then I'll think. When deciding whether to have children, I was very conscious of the climate crisis. My conclusion was that I had to find reasons for optimism if I was to spend so much money and time on becoming a parent. How could I possibly live with myself? How can I look at my daughter in the eyes?Antonio Gramsci stated that we need both the optimism of our will and the pessimism in the intellect. These are words I believe we should live by. While we must not be deluded about the enormous challenges facing the world, anxiety shouldn't overwhelm us and cause paralysis. There is still time to make a difference. According to some respected climate scientists, the technology exists to save the planet. We don't need to wait for miracles; all we need is our will.
