I think climate despair is not such a great thing, actually . . .

Right now* the streets of our little town in southern Oregon are carpeted in ash. The air is more or less unbreathable. Fires are swallowing forests to the north, the east, and the south, ladeling smoke into our wilting valley, where it settles for days at a time, clears for a few hours, then settles again.

It didn't used to be this way.

But we've been hit over the last several years by a severe drought—caused in large part by climate change.

And that severe drought is tucked like a Russian doll into a 20-year mega-drought—caused in large part by climate change.

Which means that when I hike through these parched hills wearing my N95 mask, what I see are trees browned and depleted, sagging, starving, and what I can feel, if I let myself, is despair.

But I have come to think that despair is not an option.

Because, as Max Swanger pointed out in a recent article, climate denial is no longer the leading roadblock to large-scale aggressive action on climate change.

These days that honor goes to climate despair.

(And, obviously, continued lobbying by industry groups and Fox News anchors.)

Because if we allow ourselves to believe that things are terrible, unresolvable, that humans are too dumb or too greedy or too complacent to take on something as herculean as cutting carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 . . . well, then we won't take the collective actions necessary to push our governments and industries to take those steps.

But if we assume that of course humans are intelligent and industrious and forward-thinking, though perhaps a bit slow on the uptake on this particular issue, then we will take those collective actions and, quite possibly, bring about a massive transformation in everything from electrical grids to energy production to rainforest conservation.

Do these thoughts seem half-formed?

That's because they are. Too simple, of course. A little vague maybe.

But good enough, I believe, to start a conversation.

And conversations are what interest me.

I want to be talking with people about climate despair, climate action, and, in particular, what Buddhism and meditation can offer the dialogue.

I have some frameworks that have been lighting me up lately, like Bhikkhu Anālayo's thoughts on cultivating positive emotions as a necessary progression in climate activism, Cornell West's distinction between hope and faith, and the Dalai Lama's teaching on view, meditation, and conduct in political activism.

Devon, needless to say, has been sitting with all this stuff too.

And so the two of us decided to lead a workshop. It's scheduled for October 2nd.

And since we don't actually know that much about climate policy, we invited our friend Camila to join the discussion. She's Bernie Sanders's advisor on climate, and knows a thing or two about the issues.

So you could join us if you want. Just click here.

Until then, I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Sending lots of good wishes,
nico hase

*I wrote this post on Sept 8 . . .