Future Loss: Grieving A Changing Climate

Originally, we were planning to do this series at the beginning of this year… but then COVID-19 hit. We had to put our climate change reporting on pause to focus on covering the coronavirus. But of course, climate change has not paused. In the final episode of our series, we find out what the pandemic can teach us about climate change. And, we talk to a psychiatrist about how to cope.

Climate change is a juggernaut — a huge, powerful, and overwhelming force. It's overwhelming because it’s a powerful force, and also because the very things that have created it are such deeply-rooted institutions. Fossil fuels are so ubiquitous and the industry that produces them so powerful, that challenging their influence can seem hopeless. In this episode, we hear about young people who are suing over their right to life, liberty ... and a healthy planet. Then, what do we do when one of the things that unites us is also a major contributor to climate change?

Many of the extraordinary consequences of climate change are happening in a way we can't immediately feel in our everyday lives — like desertification, sea-level rise, mass human migration. But for Californians, there is one glaring exception: Wildfires. Over the last several years, they’ve become a constant presence in our lives, and the long-term effects of wildfire smoke is worse for some than others. In this episode, we start with the story of Ta'Kira Dannette Byrd, an 11-year-old girl who lives in Vallejo. Then, we hear why some domestic workers' jobs could get even riskier. 

2020 has been a historically tense year. We’ve got a pandemic that won’t end, the biggest mass protests in American history, a divisive presidential election coming, and, by the way, global temperature rise is rapidly approaching the point of no return. It’s a frightening thought. What was true before COVID-19 is even truer now: When we try to think and talk about climate change, it’s normal to become overwhelmed. This week, we're bringing you a series about the emotional and physical impacts of climate change. And we begin with a story about sea-level rise.