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Hi <<First Name>>
Our hearts go out to those suffering the aftermath of the floods on the east coast. The heartbreak of floods after bushfires and drought, plus the impact of covid on so many Australians, is profound.
We are in a climate crisis, while our political leaders are immersed in scandals of abuse of power and denigration of women.
Psychologists Margaret Klein Salamon, founder of the Climate Mobilisation in the US and Caroline Hickman from the Climate Psychology Alliance in the UK are interviewed here about the retreat from reality that cripples our society’s response.
You will find below in Interesting Reads some references to articles on tackling the dangerous epidemic of fake news and conspiracy theories. Especially the Conspiracy Theory Handbook authored by Australians professor Stephan Lewandowsky and professor John Cook.
Warmly,
Bianca, Carol and the PSC team
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It is ever more important and relevant that Psychology for a Safe Climate continues our core work of offering space for creativity, expression and reflection on the impact of climate crisis, for those working as activists, researchers, policy makers or scientist. We emphasize the importance of self care.
Acknowledging our Climate Grief Workshop on ZOOM coming up on May 8th .
Details and bookings here.
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Here is a post workshop comment from a recent participant:
Thank you PSC. I’ve been to a number of workshops over the last two years and they have all added to helping me move forward and deal with my climate grief and depression. I really appreciate the impact you have made on my life.
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This year we have employed Maria Brett as our Outreach Project Leader to expand our capacity to offer this support by growing connections with psychologists, counsellors and mental health practitioners across Australia.
Maria has made a flying start and given our team energy and direction.
We are benefiting from her previous experience as CEO of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia ( PACFA) where Maria led the organisation through a period of restructuring and growth.
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After a career in the law, Maria followed her heart and became a campaigner for the environment and human rights. Maria later re-trained as a counsellor and psychotherapist and has managed counselling and mental health services in Australia and the UK.
Maria values "collaborating with like-minded colleagues in a supportive work environment that uses all of my skills and harnesses my ideas and insights to help the organisation and its people to grow.” We certainly value that at Psychology for a Safe Climate.
Watch out for development of the project, inviting psychologists, psychiatrists and counsellors and mental health professionals to join with us to offer help to our communities.
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Naomi Klein: "We shouldn't be surprised kids are radicalised".
- Naomi Klein states that her new book, "How to Change Everything" was inspired by the young climate activists that she was meeting. Klein outlines this book as somewhat of an inspiration for young folks already doing important climate work and older generations who need more information about why this is important
- Klein talks about her vision of an intergenerational fight for the wellbeing of the climate, rather than wanting her book to place the onus on them. Reflecting on her relationship with her young son, she states that the actions of young folks should be waking up adults and leaders to begin to step up and make real change
- There's an optimistic tone to Klein assessment of the situation. Despite the sacrifice that she sees young folks having to make in order to be heard, she sees an interconnected web of young folks rallying around one another globally and believes in the ferocity of this movement. Read it in full here.
"These issues are global": A new NGV exhibit connects country and climate
- Big Weather is a new exhibition at NGV Australia that explores the sophisticated First Nation's understandings of weather and climate, alongside the grief of First Nation's communities of the 2019/20 Australian bushfires.
- Curator of Indigenous art at the NGV, Hannah Presley, sees Indigenous connection to country as a fresh way to look at the climate crisis: "We’re facing this pretty dire messaging about climate change at the moment. And it really does feel like Indigenous cultural knowledge, and cultural leadership, is going to be a big chunk of how we deal with it, if we face it the way we need to.”
- The exhibition runs March 12th -October 12th at NGV Australia. Read more about the exhibition here.
How to tackle the dangerous epidemic of fake news and conspiracy theories
- Noel Turnbull's article looks at the "dangerous epidemic" of misinformation and conspiracy theories using the Conspiracy Theory Handbook authored by professor Stephan Lewandowsky and professor John Cook.
- The article and the book outlines seven traits that characterise the thinking of misinformation including misbelieving evidence against their view as part of the conspiracy and that nothing is random or happens by accident
- The article pays a brief mention to the ways that doubt and denial, such as climate change denial, are "tactical conspiracy theories" utilised to prolong political decision making but use many of the same tactics. Read it in full here.
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The Climate Question- Must our future be cast in concrete
- Concrete has been an ancient material for human construction. It's involved in far more than we know. This The Climate Question podcast by the BBC highlights that humans make around 25-30 billion tonnes of concrete a year, and that the impact of this on the climate is more detrimental than we know.
- The podcast explores the historical underpinnings of concrete and what the alternatives to concrete are looking forward, including the insights of scientists and architects. It highlights the need for changes in human thinking and advocates that, whilst looking for alternatives, a trade-off needs to be made in terms of getting everything done swiftly
- Because concrete is created locally and is dispersed across companies, this podcast highlights a lack of combined effort will fail to bring the CO2 emission of concrete down in a meaningful way, underscoring the need for policy and regulation that protects the earth
- If you're interested in the design aspects of responding to the climate crisis, and how that impacts everyday human life, you can listen to this podcast here.
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A call out to our community
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Are child psychologists out there interested in our work?
We are seeking the interest and ideas of child psychologists who would like to join our team from time to time.
Please if you or someone you know is interested contact us here
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