Scientists around the world have come together to protest against fossil fuels and demonstrate the urgency of the issue.  

According to The Hill, “over 1,000 scientists from around the world take to the streets in a week-long climate protest.” 

Some of the cities where the protest took place were London, Madrid, and Los Angeles.

“We have tried all the rational, normal, evidence-based policy approaches, and they’re just not acting according to it. The government is insane, and I don’t know what else to do, other than to do this to try and get the attention that we need, to wake the public up,” said Dr. Aaron Thierry, one of the group of scientists that put research papers and glued their hands on the window of a government building in London. 

In Madrid,  The science branch of the Extinction Rebellion protested by throwing red paint on the doors and steps of the Spanish Parliament building. The red paint represented the people who have died or will die because of climate change. 

“It is not the future that is at stake, it is the present. The present of all of us. Our mental and physical health is at stake. Crop failure, migrations, and marine flooding. What else do we need to know?” said Fernando Vallerades, a scientist for the Spanish National Research Council. 

The protestors held a sign saying, “escuchad a la ciencia,” which translates to listen to science. 

“The more carbon we put into the atmosphere now, the worse everything is going to get,” said Peter Kalmus, a NASA scientist who chained himself along with other scientists to a Los Angeles JPMorgan building because the company is a top fossil fuel lender. 

Path to improvement

On April 4, the UN came out with a climate report where it states, “it’s ‘now or never’ to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.” 

The report calls for climate action, however, worries about climate change have caused a scare that leads to a doomism mindset such as Twitter threads or TikTok videos that say “we are already past the point of return with climate change.” 

“Doom-mongering has overtaken denial as a threat and as a tactic. Inactivists know that if people believe there is nothing you can do, they are led down a path of disengagement,” said Michael E Mann, a climate scientist and author of “The New Climate War.” 

Professor Clayton of the College of Wooster said, “Climate change can affect mental health by just increasing people’s stress and worry about the issue, the more they hear about it.” 

While it may feel like we are getting to a point of no return, there are ways to keep our mindset healthy while also taking action against climate change. 

Joanna Macy, an environmental activist and author of “Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy,” has an outline that, according to Linda Buzzell a psychotherapist, is “a good framework to follow.” 

It is the three spheres of activism that include holding action, structural change, and a shift in consciousness. 

Buzzell said, “Yes, you need to take action – and what she calls holding actions – resist the bad. So maybe you could join Extinction Rebellion. The second one is, basically, do something to create the world you want to live in. In my case, that’s tending the backyard food forest.” 

“And then the third thing (Macy) recommends is: Raise your level of consciousness. And that could be getting more scientific information, or it could be doing some kind of consciousness practice like meditation or perhaps spending time by yourself alone out in nature.” 

Peter Kalmus still talks about the “scientist rebellion” on his TikTok where he explains what we can do to help.

He said, “What’s much more important is to create systems change. By far the most effective thing I found was the scientist rebellion on April 6th so that’s why I’m telling you to support that. Support civil disobedience, it’s got a long history of being super useful.” 

Macy said, “If the world is to be healed through human efforts, I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for this life is even greater than their fear.”