The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis

This short chapter focuses on changing humanity’s mindset to effectively combat climate change. The authors argue that the work necessary for the latter cannot take place within humanity’s prevailing frame of mind. People must take a moment to look inward and see how they personally need to change because “[o]ur current crisis requires a total shift in our thinking” (39).

In the past, people have viewed the Earth as an endless source of resources, which societies have extracted and used up inefficiently. Humankind has also put more emphasis on individualism than the collective good. These attitudes need to change, the authors contend, in order to meet the climate challenge. The authors propose three mindsets for helping us achieve our goals: “Stubborn Optimism, Endless Abundance, and Radical Regeneration” (39).

This chapter discusses the mindset of “stubborn optimism.” It begins with an overview of optimism—what it is and is not. Most importantly, the authors argue that optimism comes before, not after, action and that it requires a willingness to proceed without an assured outcome. Many people give up in the face of what they see as overwhelming odds; they feel lost or that they lack agency. This is precisely the time to be optimistic, as optimism “means recognizing that another future is possible, not promised” and “is the force that enables you to create a new reality” (46).