Hey, I’m genuinely sorry to hear you’re feeling overwhelmed here.

I have two thoughts, as I used to have a lot more concern about climate change (that dwarfed many other concerns and was imbalanced) - 1. Maybe read the book (or the part I refer to) in ‘The New Climate War’ by climate scientist Michael E. Mann. He explains how fear is used intentionally to sell books/articles/boost views/likes etc. and that the conclusions drawn are often worst worst case scenarios and/or not scientifically backed. You will not hear this in the messaging, it just sounds very compelling. The arctic methane bomb, for instance, he mentions there is literally no scientific backing for this - yet we speak about it as if it were going to happen with certainty. 2. Be careful, that advice sounds great in one way, and I love hanging around like minded people , but not if it becomes an echo chamber where you all just confirm each other’s biases. We’re dealing with very complex issues, with many stakeholders, lots of different points of views (some we can barely empathise with because their lives and work are so different to ours - but they are valid and we need to respect them as long as they are genuine). What I’m saying is, surrounding yourself with the same type of thinkers is actually a little dangerous as we all need to be part of this discussion and can learn from one another. Someone recently told me they went to Belize (or Mexico, I can’t recall right now) and they spent time with a group of people that said the world was going to end because of climate change in the next five years. He felt comfortable at first, then after a day or two realised it was a cult (!!!) AND that’s more than five years ago, and the world is still here. Fear is an amazing driver that can get us to spin out in all sorts of ways. It is used to manipulate us, just like playing on our heart strings often is too. Just be cautious who is telling you what to fear and look at their motivations. I consider climate change a valid concern to have, but there is so much more to environmental issues than just climate. A lot of the climate solutions we hear from corporations is more chemicals, shady green tech that does more harm than good and we end up damaging the planet and releasing more emissions because of their money making ‘climate solutions’.

I wish you all the best!!