Would abandoning hope help us to tackle the climate crisis?

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HARRIS, Paul [SSPS]

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Oct 24, 2024, 9:31:06 PM10/24/24
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Dear GEP-Ed colleagues,

I know that there's a school of thought in favor of focusing on positive responses to climate change and other environmental problems — of giving students hope that things can be fixed -- but there's a case to be made that this may be counterproductive and even part of the problem. This essay (freely available) in The Guardian makes a good case and would be worth discussing/debating in class:

"Would abandoning hope help us to tackle the climate crisis?"

Kind regards,

PAUL G. ​HARRIS
Chair Professor of Global and Environmental​ Studies
Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies
Author, Pathologies of Climate Governance (Cambridge University Press). Details here.
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Dale W Jamieson

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Oct 25, 2024, 10:46:47 AM10/25/24
to HARRIS, Paul [SSPS], Gep-Ed
 those who are interested in this topic might want to see the journal Environmental Ethics, which had a special section earlier this year on on darrel moellendorf's book, mobilizing hope:
for what its worth my contribution is hope-skeptical.

dale
**********************
Dale Jamieson
Professor Emeritus of Environmental Studies 
Affiliated Professor of Law. Medical Ethics, and Bioethics
Founding Director, Center for Environmental and Animal Protection 
Former Professor of Philosophy
New York University 

Animal Markets and Zoonotic Disease Risk:  A 15 Country Study, NYU Center for Environmental and Animal Protection, and Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program, Harvard Law School, 2024






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Charles Chester

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Oct 25, 2024, 1:01:37 PM10/25/24
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I just saw Ayana Elizabeth Johnson speak yesterday about her book, What if we get it right? Notably, she said that many people perceive her as a hopeful person and as an optimist, but that she is neither; rather, people are misconstruing the fact that she is a joyful person with the presence of hope and optimism.  

Having had the chance to read What if we get it right?, I should note that while most people on gep-ed will not find all that much new in the book, it is packaged in a way that will be an excellent pedagogical delivery system for many students, so very much worth the look.

I really like Dale’s classification of hope-skeptical, but I’m going to go with hope-hopeful. Which is to say: I don’t personally have a lot of hope…but I’m hoping hope helps….

Best, 

Charlie Chester
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