Welcome to Climate Dopamine
Climate anxiety, climate optimism, and penguins in sweaters
Welcome to the very first issue of Climate Dopamine, a newsletter designed to take the edge off your climate anxiety. While there are many big, existentially scary things happening to the planet that need urgently to be addressed, there are also many positive changes taking place — yes, even as you’re reading this.
But as the old saying goes: No one’s talking about the good news. And when you only hear about the bad, it’s hard to find inspiration to do better. So get ready for content that doesn’t make you want to go fetal-position under your desk, and let all the goodness motivate you to do more.
The Benefits and Pitfalls of Climate Anxiety
Climate anxiety, in the right dose, is necessary. It’s motivating. Like most forms of anxiety, it’s our bodies’ way of communicating to us that something needs to change to survive. When you consume unsettling climate news, that discomfort might lead to take action, like choosing to eat less meat, shop second-hang more often, or install solar panels on your roof.
When the dose of climate anxiety gets too big, it becomes less effective. Instead of inspiring change, it inspires crawling back into bed, checking out from the news, and giving in to climate despair. No action is taken. No progress is made.
For me, the anxiety reaches this level in the summer, when both the sun and the reports of record heat levels are relentless. It triggers anxiety attacks, panic attacks, and it inhibits connection with the people I care about. That’s when it’s time to seek some balance.
That’s where Climate Dopamine comes in.
What this newsletter won’t be:
Yet another source of soul-crushing headlines that will make you want to give up
A way to bury our heads in the sand and ignore the reality of the climate crisis
A long, dull read that will haunt your inbox for days until you finally delete it
What this newsletter will be:
A soft way to combat your climate anxiety and ditch the binary, everything is either all bad or all good mentality
A short, easy read, featuring:
A roundup of positive climate news (like how in 2024, the U.S. defied clean-energy odds)
Sustainability tips
Eco-friendly product swap suggestions
Expert insights on climate + mental health topics
A little source of dopamine* and motivation to keep the good work going
Shall we begin?
Good climate news this week
📦 Kenya is giving a new meaning to “creative storage solutions” for CO2.
🤝 Meet the Republicans joining the climate fight.
🌳 These little faces have made a “remarkable” recovery since the Australian bushfires of 2019 and 2020.
🚙 London’s air just got a little less toxic after a controversial city initiative.
🛍️ The No-Buy Year, for all who celebrate, is well underway. These writers’ experiences will keep you motivated.
Let’s Keep It Up
Try these quick, inexpensive swaps that pack a big eco-friendly punch.
The swap
Trade paper towels for reusable cloth napkins and cleaning cloths. You can source both at a local thrift store or discount store.
The impact
Contrary to popular belief, resusables save water. The average person may use between three-quarters to two paper towel rolls per week. That's 39 to 104 rolls per year. Producing one roll takes about 2.5 gallons of water, so switching to reusables can save up to 41.5 to 260 (!) gallons of water.
Dopamine Dose
When these tiny penguins needed sweaters, there was only one man for the job. Tl:dr; he nailed it.
Photos by Unsplash and Pexels
*This newsletter can’t impact the literal dopamine levels in your brain (or at least, I can’t prove that it will). Instead, I use this term as its more colloquial internet-culture definition, meaning “burst of warm and fuzzy feelings.” You get it.
This newsletter is for informational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care, medical advice, or treatment. If you are experiencing mental health challenges, please reach out to a licensed professional or seek support from a trusted resource.