3. Don't be a catastrophist. Use to imagine desirable futures

2023/06/07 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Ingurumena
• Dekalogoa

Caution with the message. The situation is serious, but not irreversible. If a high degree of pessimism is transmitted, for many people it can be paralyzing and generate eco-anxiety, while others, like in the face of death, may feel wanting to take advantage of the last days and tend to waste even more resources, at best, not being able to imagine what the future will look like can generate resistance to change. We must therefore avoid excessive pessimism.

To achieve effective communication, remember the following important keys: (1) nature has an enormous capacity for regeneration; and (2) is the solution where action is needed.

But the solutions aren't comfortable or hidden that are going to be uncomfortable. Perhaps the acceptance of climate change is a grief; the assumption that we will lose the privileges that existed until now. Grief will need space, time and name.

On the contrary, the environmental emergency can also be shown as a motor of social change. It is an opportunity to review welfare and justice. An opportunity to reflect on the consequences of the capitalist economic system. More and more scientists propose decadence as a solution to the global environmental emergency, renouncing indefinite economic growth and changing the production and consumption models of this society. They believe that it can improve sustainability and human well-being if deep reflection is addressed. It would allow an equitable global distribution of resources and quality of life.

When speaking of decubitus, expressly differentiate decadence as synonymous with degeneration or decadence (energy, material or economic) and disappointment as social movement and political proposal. In fact, in the face of the crisis and the conflict that the former would bring, the latter proposes that this decline be done in a controlled and democratically planned way so that it is fair globally. It would require the reduction of the global north, so far privileged, so that other human groups can grow. In any case, the way of designating the concept of decubitus is still under discussion.