How climate change affects your mental health | Britt Wray

Prevodilac: Djurdja Radulovic Lektor: Ivana Korom

For all that's ever been said about climate change,

Od svega što je ikada rečeno o klimatskim promenama

we haven't heard nearly enough about the psychological impacts

jedva da smo čuli o tome kako život na sve toplijoj planeti

of living in a warming world.

utiče na psihu.

If you've heard the grim climate research

Ako ste čuli za klimatska istraživanja

that science communicators like me weave into our books and documentaries,

na koje se mi, glasnici nauke pozivamo u našim knjigama i filmovima,

you've probably felt bouts of fear, fatalism or hopelessness.

verovatno ste osetili nalete straha, fatalizma ili beznadežnosti.

If you've been impacted by climate disaster,

Ako ste iskusili klimatsku katastrofu,

these feelings can set in much deeper,

ova osećanja mogu biti mnogo dublja,

leading to shock, trauma,

voditi u šok, traumu,

strained relationships, substance abuse

probleme u vezama, narkomaniju

and the loss of personal identity and control.

i gubitak ličnog identiteta i kontrole.

Vital political and technological work is underway to moderate our climate chaos,

Važan politički i tehnološki posao je na putu da reguliše klimatski haos,

but I'm here to evoke a feeling in you

ali ja sam ovde da vam probudim osećaj

for why we also need our actions and policies

da ono što preduzimamo treba da reflektuje

to reflect an understanding of how our changing environments

i razumevanje na koji način klimatske promene

threaten our mental, social and spiritual well-being.

predstavljaju pretnju našem mentalnom, društvenom i duhovnom zdravlju.

The anxiety, grief and depression of climate scientists and activists

Anksioznost, tuga i depresija među klimatskim naučnicima i aktivistima

have been reported on for years.

pojavljuju se već godinama.

Trends we've seen after extreme weather events

Nakon ekstremnih vremenskih situacija,

like hurricane Sandy or Katrina

kao što su uragan Sendi i Katrina,

for increased PTSD and suicidality.

zabeležen je porast posttraumatskog stresnog poremećaja i suicidalnosti.

And there are rich mental-health data from northern communities

Tu su i mnogi podaci o mentalnom zdravlju zajednica na severu

where warming is the fastest,

gde je zagrevanje najbrže,

like the Inuit in Labrador,

kao na primer kod Inuita u Labradoru,

who face existential distress as they witness the ice,

koji se nose sa egzistencijalnim strahom, kad se led,

a big part of their identity,

veliki deo njihovog identiteta,

vanishing before their eyes.

topi pred njihovim očima.

Now if that weren't enough,

I kao da to nije dovoljno,

the American Psychological Association

Američko psihološko udruženje

says that our psychological responses to climate change,

tvrdi da su psihološki odgovori na klimatske promene, poput

like conflict avoidance, helplessness and resignation, are growing.

izbegavanja sa suočavanjem, odustajanja i bespomoćnosti, u porastu.

This means that our conscious and unconscious mental processes

To znači da nas naši svesni i nesvesni mentalni procesi

are holding us back

sprečavaju da

from identifying the causes of the problem for what they are,

identifikujemo uzroke problema,

working on solutions and fostering our own psychological resilience,

tražimo rešenje i ojačavamo psihu,

but we need all those things to take on what we've created.

ali sve nam to treba da bismo se borili.

Lately, I've been studying a phenomenon

Proučavala sam fenomen

that's just one example of the emotional hardships

koji je jedan od primera emocionalnih teškoća,

that we're seeing.

danas.

And it comes in the form of a question

I dolazi kao pitanje

that a significant amount of people in my generation are struggling to answer.

na koje mnogi ljudi moje generacije ne znaju da odgovore.

That being:

A to je:

Should I have a child in the age of climate change?

da li imati dete danas u vreme klimatskih promena?

After all, any child born today

Dete rođeno danas

will have to live in a world where hurricanes, flooding, wildfires --

živeće u svetu gde su uragani, poplave, požari,

what we used to call natural disasters --

jednom rečju, prirodne katastrofe,

have become commonplace.

normalna stvar.

The hottest 20 years on record occurred within the last 22.

Najtoplihih 20 godina desilo se u poslednjih 22.

The UN expects that two-thirds of the global population

UN očekuje da će se dve trećine populacije

may face water shortages only six years from now.

suočiti sa nestašicom vode za oko 6 godina.

The World Bank predicts that by 2050,

Svetska banka predviđa do 2050.

there's going to be 140 million climate refugees

140 miliona klimatskih izbeglica

in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and South Asia.

iz Subsaharske Afrike, Latinske Amerike i Južne Azije.

And other estimates put that number at over one billion.

Neki predviđaju da će taj broj biti veći od milijardu.

Mass migrations and resource scarcity

Masovne migracije i nestašica

increase the risk for violence, war and political instability.

povećavaju rizik od nasilja, rata i političke nestabilnosti.

The UN just reported that we are pushing up to a million species to extinction,

Istrebili smo skoro milion vrsta, kažu UN

many within decades,

mnogo za par decenija,

and our emissions are still increasing, even after the Paris Agreement.

a emisije gasova se povećavaju, čak i nakon Pariskog sporazima.

Over the last year and a half,

Tokom poslednjih godinu ipo,

I've been conducting workshops and interviews

vodila sam brojne radionice i razgovore

with hundreds of people

sa stotinama ljudi

about parenting in the climate crisis.

o roditeljstvu u klimatskoj krizi.

And I can tell you

I mogu vam reći

that people who are worried about having kids because of climate change

da ljudi koji se pitaju da li imati dete danas,

are not motivated by an ascetic pride.

ne mare za asketski ponos.

They're nerve-racked.

Oni su zaprepašćeni.

There's even a movement called BirthStrike,

Postoji čak i pokret, Štrajk Rađanja,

whose members have declared they're not going to have kids

čiji članovi su odlučili da neće imati decu

because of the state of the ecological crisis

zbog stepena ekološke krize

and inaction from governments to address this existential threat.

i pasivnosti vlada da odgovore na pretnju.

And yes, other generations have also faced their own apocalyptic dangers,

I druge generacije su se suočile sa raznim apokalipsama

but that is no reason to disregard the very real threat to our survival now.

ali to nije razlog da umanjimo veoma stvarnu pretnju opstanku, danas.

Some feel that it's better to adopt children.

Neki misle da je bolje usvojiti dete.

Or that it's unethical to have more than one,

Ili da je neetički imati više od jednog,

especially three, four or more,

naročito, troje, četvoro ili više,

because kids increase greenhouse gas emissions.

jer deca povećavaju efekat staklene bašte.

Now, it is a really unfortunate state of affairs

Situacija je stvarno nezavidna

when people who want kids sacrifice their right to

kada ljudi koji žele decu žrtvuju pravo na njih

because, somehow, they have been told that their lifestyle choices are to blame

jer im je rečeno da je njihov životni stil odgovoran za problem,

when the fault is far more systemic,

dok je krivica sistematičnija,

but let's just unpack the logic here.

ali hajde da uđemo u tu logiku.

So an oft-cited study shows that, on average,

Jedna često citirana studija pokazuje da

having one less child in an industrialized nation

imati jedno dete manje u proseku, u razvijenoj zemlji

can save about 59 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

štedi oko 59 tona ugljen dioksida godišnje.

While in comparison,

U poređenju,

living car-free saves nearly 2.5 tons,

život bez kola, štedi skoro 2,5 tone,

avoiding a transatlantic flight -- and this is just one --

izbegavanje prekookeanskih letova - i to samo jednog -

saves about 1.5 tons,

štedi oko 1,5 tona,

and eating a plant-based diet can save almost one ton per year.

a veganska ishrana štedi i do jedne tone godišnje.

And consider that a Bangladeshi child

Dete iz Bangladeša

only adds 56 metric tons of carbon to their parents' carbon legacy

dodaje samo 56 tona ugljen dioksida

over their lifetime,

tokom celog života,

while an American child, in comparison, adds 9,441 to theirs.

dok Američko dete dodaje 9,441 tona.

So this is why some people argue

Zato neki ljudi smatraju

that it's parents from nations with huge carbon footprints

da su ljudi iz zemalja sa velikom potrošnjom ugljen-dioksida

who should think the hardest about how many kids they have.

ti koji treba da razmisle o broju dece.

But the decision to have a child and one's feelings about the future

Ali odluka o roditeljstvu, i nečije planiranje budućnosti

are deeply personal,

veoma su lične stvari,

and wrapped up in all sorts of cultural norms,

pod uticajem raznih kulturnih normi,

religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, education levels and more.

religije, socioekonomskog statusa, nivoa obrazovanja, itd.

And so to some, this debate about kids in the climate crisis

I tako nekima ova debata o deci u toku klimatskih promena

can seem like it came from another planet.

izgleda kao da je sa druge planete.

Many have more immediate threats to their survival to think about,

Mnogi imaju neposrednije pretnje opstanku,

like, how they're going to put food on the table,

kao, kako obezbediti hranu za obrok,

when they're a single mom working three jobs,

ako su samohrana mama sa tri posla,

or they're HIV positive or on the move in a migrant caravan.

ili su HIV pozitivni, ili u migrantskom karavanu.

Tragically, though, climate change is really great at intersectionality.

Nažalost, klimatske promene se lako mešaju sa drugim problemima.

It multiplies the stresses marginalized communities already face.

Uvećavaju patnje marginalizovanih.

A political scientist once said to me that a leading indicator

Jedan politikolog mi je jednom rekao da je glavni znak

that climate change is starting to hit home, psychologically,

realizacije veličine problema,

would be an increase in the rate of informed women

povećanje broja informisanih žena,

deciding to not have children.

koje se odlučuju da nemaju decu.

Interesting.

Zanimljivo.

Is it hitting home with you, psychologically?

Da li i vi shvatate problem?

Are you perhaps someone with climate-linked pre-traumatic stress?

Da li ste vi neko sa pred-traumatskim stresom?

A climate psychiatrist coined that term,

Jedan klimatski psihijatar je skovao taj termin,

and that's a profession now, by the way, shrinks for climate woes.

i inače to je sad profesija, psihići za klimatske muke.

They're getting work at a time when some high schoolers

Imaju posla danas kada srednjoškolci

don't want to apply to university any longer,

ne žele da apliciraju za univerzitete

because they can't foresee a future for themselves.

jer ne vide budućnost za sebe.

And this brings me back to my main point.

A to me dovodi do glavne tačke.

The growing concern about having kids in the climate crisis

Sve veća briga o roditeljstvu u klimatskoj katastrofi

is an urgent indicator of how hard-pressed people are feeling.

je znak koliko se ljudi osećaju pritisnuto.

Right now, students around the world are screaming for change

Studenti širom sveta upravo vrište za promenama

in the piercing voice of despair.

bolnim glasom očaja.

And the fact that we can see how we contribute to this problem

A činjenica da znamo kako doprinosimo problemu

that makes us feel unsafe

koji nas ugrožava

is crazy-making in itself.

dovoljna je da se osetimo ludima.

Climate change is all-encompassing

Klimatske promene su sveobuhvatajuće

and so are the ways that it messes with our minds.

kao i načini na koje se poigravaju sa našim umom.

Many activists will tell you

Mnogi aktivisti će reći

that the best antidote to grief is activism.

da je najbolje boriti se aktivizmom.

And some psychologists will tell you the answer can be found in therapy.

A psiholozi će reći da je odgovor u psihoterapiji.

Others believe the key is to imagine you're on your deathbed,

Drugi veruju da treba zamisliti da ste na samrti

reflecting back on what's mattered the most in your life,

i razmišljati šta je bilo najvažnije u vašem životu,

so you can identify what you should do more of now,

da biste shvatili šta je najbolje učiniti

with the time that you have left.

sa vremenom koje vam je ostalo.

We need all these ideas, and more,

Sve ove i ostale ideje nam trebaju

to take care of our innermost selves

da bismo se starali o svom biću

as the environments we've known become more punishing towards us.

dok priroda postaje sve grublja prema nama.

And whether you have children or not,

I bez obzira na to imate li dece,

we need to be honest about what is happening,

treba biti iskren povodom situacije

and what we owe one another.

i toga šta dugujemo jedni drugima.

We cannot afford to treat

Luksuz je tretirati

the psychological impacts of climate change

psihološki uticaj klimatskih promena

as some afterthought,

kao sporednu stvar,

because the other issues, of science, technology and the politics and economy,

jer se druga pitanja nauke, tehnologije, politike, ekonomije

feel hard, while this somehow feels soft.

čine jakim, dok je ovo nekako slabo.

Mental health needs to be an integral part

Mentalno zdravlje treba da bude glavni deo

of any climate change survival strategy,

preživljavanja klimatskih promena,

requiring funding, and ethics of equity and care,

koji zahteva finansiranje i etiku jednakosti i brige,

and widespread awareness.

kao i podizanje nivoa svesti.

Because even if you're the most emotionally avoidant person on the planet,

Jer iako ste potpuno emocionalno izbegavajuća osoba,

there's no rug in the world that's big enough to sweep this up under.

ne postoji dovoljno veliki tepih pod koji ćete ovo gurnuti.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)