ECO ANXIETY CUTS MULTIPLE WAYS

A recent well researched article, written by Jason Horowitz and published in the New York Times, identifies a condition increasingly detectable among a growing segment of the world's younger population. Identified as an emotional disorder, this condition is described by members of the Ecology Psychiatry and Mental Health division of the World Psychiatry Association as "Eco-Anxiety" - a chronic fear of environmental doom. While the United States and Canada experienced some of the worst wildfires on record, for instance killing close to 100 in Maui, Europe is a continent on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In Greece, out of control blazes burned 310 square miles, the largest conflagration in the E.U. since 2000. If that was not enough, the fires gave way to flooding that submerged villages, washed away cars and left bodies floating in the streets. The same storm hitting Greece gained strength over the Mediterranean and pummeled Libya with flooding that killed up to 20,000 people. Add to those statistics the memory of almost 62,000 heat related deaths during the summer of 2022; the 51,000 deaths incurred during the earthquake in Turkey; and more than 3,000 fatalities from the earthquake in Morocco. With extreme heatwaves proliferating, and the incidence of hurricanes and typhoons increasing in numbers and intensity, the affects of climate change appear irreversible. It is understandable why many have become frustrated, powerless, overwhelmed or helpless, anxiously waiting for the next shoe to drop, a sentiment reminiscent of the anxiety felt by many who grew up during the 1950s and 1960s who worried about the potential of the "cold war" developing into a nuclear holocaust. Anxiety has understandably led to ever increasing pressure on governments to get behind strategies designed to mitigate the proliferation of the climate crisis. The response from the European Union to these recurring catastrophes has generally been more far reaching than that in our own country. Under its Climate Law, E.U member states are now required to cut greenhouse emissions by at least 55% by 2030, and be climate neutral by 2050. While these are lofty targets, execution by national governments have consistently come under attack. Eco-Anxiety is not a one way street. Economic interests on the receiving end of some of these strategies, while perhaps sympathetic to the motivation behind them, are often seriously concerned about their own survival. A case in point was highlighted by what I observed during a recent trip to the Netherlands. From the time I landed at Schiphol Airport we were confronted by repetitive signs declaring: "No Farms No Food!" It became evident that the Dutch government had agreed to attack the country's methane and nitrogen dioxide pollution, which is many times greater than that in all other E.U. countries. After carbon dioxide, methane is the 2nd largest contributor to climate change. It is responsible for around 30% of the current rise in global temperatures. It has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide. And 37% of methane emissions from human activity are a direct result of livestock and agricultural practices. The Dutch produce 34% more greenhouse gasses per capita than the average European. Scientists and policy makers have increasingly begun to recognize that methane reduction was crucial. So, for Dutch policy makers, this appeared to be a logical starting point. Among a number of measures to target a significant reduction of methane emissions, the government decided that it needed to achieve a 30% reduction in overall livestock numbers. This year it published a list of 3,000 of the most polluting farms, and threatens to close them forcibly. The E.U. assisted by approving a 1.47 billion Euro fund to be used to buy out Dutch farms located near nature reserves that committed to close shop voluntarily. Predictably, none of this sits well with the farmers that are affected. Many complain that the government wants to get rid of farmers all together. Strikes, demonstrations, and political opposition have been intense and unrelenting. Ultimately opponents of government policy succeeded in developing a new political party, known as the "BoerBurgerBeweging" (Farmer-Citizen Movement), also known as BBB, which, after provincial elections in March of this year, managed to become the largest party in the upper chamber of parliament. The affected farmers now have a seat at the table, potentially preventing the imposition of overly simplified government strategies that could drastically disturb their livelihood. This example illustrates that Eco-Anxiety cuts multiple ways. Extreme weather patterns have become the new normal. People are dying. Developing strategies and instilling habits to forestall Armageddon are essential. However, the process won't be as straightforward and free of resistance as many would like. Theo Wierdsma