{"id":49466,"date":"2021-09-21T11:01:05","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T23:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=49466"},"modified":"2024-07-11T14:12:05","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T02:12:05","slug":"climate-hope-is-everywhere-that-you-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/climate-hope-is-everywhere-that-you-are\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Hope is everywhere that you are"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hope is a natural resource too. <\/p>\n\n

Like clean air and fresh water, it keeps us going every day. Like lush forests and pristine coasts, it restores us for tomorrow. <\/p>\n\n

Like too many natural resources, though, hope can feel in short supply these days, endangered by extractivist fossil fuel companies, corporate polluters, and governments that put profits over people.  <\/p>\n\n

With fires raging from Siberia and California to the Amazon and floods devastating communities in Belgium, New Zealand, China, and Cuba; while extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity around the world; as the accelerating global biodiversity crisis intersects with a global pandemic; all while Indigenous Peoples continue to find their rights and their lands under threat<\/a>; even the most dedicated climate defenders can experience moments of grief and anxiety.<\/p>\n\n

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Aerial view of primary forest near the river Digul in southern Papua.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

It\u2019s a LOT. Like, so much. <\/p>\n\n

So, you know what, it makes sense that each of us will sometimes experience what is being called \u201cclimate despair<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Don\u2019t blame yourself for feeling this way or worry that such feelings mean you\u2019re failing as an activist, as a neighbor, or as a parent. <\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s OK to feel distressed sometimes because the climate crisis is real \u2014 and it is here, and everywhere. <\/p>\n\n

But, don\u2019t forget, people power is real \u2014 and wherever you are.<\/p>\n\n

Hope is wherever you are, wherever we are, together, as a movement, standing right beside each other even when any one of us feels the most alone.  <\/p>\n\n

Amid the continent-spanning wildfire smoke and distressing trending headlines, there are genuine glimmers of hope for the future and many reminders of the power that we have to make a difference.<\/p>\n\n

For 50 years<\/a>, Greenpeace has put hope into action<\/a> with the backing of millions of supporters and, working alongside movement allies and local communities around the world, we have helped achieve meaningful victories<\/a>, from thwarting nuclear weapons tests<\/a> and winning a commercial whaling moratorium<\/a> in the 1970s to being part of a landmark legal victory finding Shell liable for climate destruction<\/a> in 2021. If you ever need a reminder that people who believe in a green and peaceful future \u2014 and who are willing to take action \u2014 can change the world then please visit this timeline of Greenpeace victories<\/a> over the years. <\/p>\n\n

Whenever you feel like challenges of the climate crisis are too big and the fossil fueled-powers who want to lock in the worst-case scenarios are too strong, draw strength from the words of Greenpeace founding member Dorothy Stowe: <\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt is amazing, what a few people sitting around their kitchen table can achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Think of those words and remember that together, you and I, we will make a difference. Greenpeace and our allies in the environmental movement will keep making a difference. Indigenous Peoples and frontline communities will keep making a difference. All of us, together, through acts large and small, will lead the just transition to a fairer and more sustainable world beyond fossil fuels. <\/p>\n\n

\"Rainbow
A rainbow is seen over the Pacific from the Rainbow Warrior. The Greenpeace ship is in the Pacific to bear witness to the deep sea mining industry. Part of the ongoing \u2018Protect the Oceans\u2019 campaign. \u00a9 Marten van Dijl \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n


There is hope<\/h2>\n\n

The challenges we face are huge. But so are the reasons to be hopeful! <\/p>\n\n

As we keep pushing for the safer, more equitable future that we need, let\u2019s draw inspiration from these signs of the progress that people power has already achieved: <\/p>\n\n