News Reporter: Climate Coach: Is fear the strongest climate emotion?

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Down-to-earth advice for life on our changing planet.

By Michael J. Coren

Welcome. This week, the 'akikiki and Chinese parking lots. But first, is anger the most powerful climate emotion?

Three scientists asked 2,000 Norwegian adults their feelings about the climate crisis. They got an earful about anger, sadness, fear, guilt and hope.

Their paper, "The strength and content of climate anger," takes a deep look at how people's emotions drive their reaction to the climate crisis.

Of the three outcomes they studied — activism, policy support and individual action — they found anger drove activism, such as joining a climate demonstration, but not much else. Guilt predicted policy support. Hope drove both individual behaviors and policy support. Only fear consistently made people engage in all three.

So, is simply communicating fear the key to amping up our climate response? I'm not so sure.

Research shows the links between how we feel and how we act are not clear cut. It's also impossible to draw conclusions from just one study, especially one limited to Norway and that measured intentions rather than direct action.

But one clue, I think, is that respondents who were primarily angry at "external actors," such as politicians or industries, reported no increase in activism, policy support or individual action, the authors found.

People who directed their anger at society's apathy, inaction or denial of global warming, as well as damage to ecosystems and people, reported engaging in more climate action.

There's no shortage of blame to go around: politicians, companies and a system that reinforces the power of both.

But I suspect that if we believe that all the solutions are truly "external," then we're likely to remain passive (or apathetic) bystanders, no matter how angry we are.

Field Sample

The Hawaiian 'akikiki is the most endangered bird in the United States — and that was before the deadly fire that struck Maui this month showed up at their doorstep.

An ʻakikiki at the Maui Bird Recovery Project. (Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post)

Staff at the Maui Bird Conservation Center fought off the flames, keeping the birds safe. "Fighting wildfires, sterilizing mosquitoes, breeding birds," writes The Washington Post's Dino Grandoni. "This is what saving species in the age of extinction looks like."

Learning Curve

Most Americans say their area is being affected by extreme heat, but the perception of why depends on their political affiliation.

A Post-UMD poll found 35 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say climate change is a major factor behind extremely hot days, compared to 85 percent of those leaning Democratic.

This partisan divide extends beyond extreme heat to severe storms, flooding, droughts and wildfires — and it is growing.

The share of Republicans skeptical climate change is behind heat waves hasn't budged since 2019. Meanwhile, the percentage of Democrats making that link rose from 79 percent to 85 percent in 2023.

The Second Degree

After reading my column about sunscreen, many of you asked about avoiding the "white cast" that bedeviled old mineral varieties. Good news: Many have done away with that white, chalky texture, and some are virtually clear.

There are many, many, many reviews to help you pick.

For those who know the secret to happiness is not your stuff, you might want to hire a "move manager," especially if you're relocating from a longtime home — or helping a parent do this.

"Our motto is lose the stuff, keep the memories," says Mary Kay Buysse of the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers, a trade association of companies helping seniors move.

"A move manager puts all the pieces together before the move and then puts everything together after the move for a smooth entrance into the new environment, right down to making the nightstand look exactly like the same," she says.

The Post assembled a guide to help you through the process of hiring a move manager.

On the Climate Front

From The Post

The southwestern willow flycatcher offers the latest evidence that climate change is driving some animals to evolve for warmer, wetter conditions.

July was Earth's hottest month in recorded history — even as extreme heat continues to break records from Japan to the Midwest, where the heat index is approaching 130 degrees.

Maui officials promised to improve fire safety after a terrifying fire in 2018, but they didn't follow through, according to a Post investigation.

There's a surprising reason the richest Americans account for 40 percent of U.S. climate emissions: their investments.

From elsewhere:

Ecuadorians voted to end drilling in the Amazon rainforest, Grist reports.

The Fukushima nuclear plant will start releasing treated wastewater. Here's what you need to know, via the AP.

Bloomberg explores the Chinese parking lots where thousands of obsolete electric cars were abandoned, mostly by bankrupt ride-hailing companies.

A study suggests parts of tropical rainforests could get too hot for photosynthesis, CNN reports.

Wayne sent a shot from a commercial jet flying over northern Canada and Greenland on May 3. A bluish sheet of ice in front of the glacier "looks pretty thin to me for early spring in the far north," he wrote.

If anyone recognizes the glacier, let us know.