Environmental Apathy

For many of us in the climate communications scene, environmental apathy is everywhere. Characterized by a lack of interest or motivation to engage in environmental issues, initiatives, and advocacy, environmental apathy is unfortunately rampant in Western societies today. Over the past 100 years or so, we’ve seen environmentalists depicted in media and generally regarded by the public as hippies, communists, naïve youth, or people who have too much time on their hands and not enough ‘real problems’ in life. I’d argue that the loss of our ecological environments is the realest problem our communities face.

By now, most of us know how interconnected our environments are with our daily lives. With climate change worsening, we see new natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies on the news almost daily. Every year, more and more communities are put in danger as wildfires, floods, and extreme weather emergencies increase in frequency and intensity. These are the direct impacts, but climate change affects more than just the physical geography of our planet. For instance, as our summers get hotter, people who cannot afford air conditioning are at high risk for heatstroke and death. In Canada, grocery prices keep rising every year, and with issues like ocean acidification, water scarcity, and preferred crop climates all affecting food availability, we can expect that a lot of people will soon be priced out of purchasing healthy food at their local grocery stores. Even in my home province of BC, wildfires are affecting how much produce we can export to other provinces, which will affect local economies.

With all of these interconnected issues, it might be surprising that more people aren’t engaging in environmental activism, to ensure a higher quality of life for themselves and their communities. But environmental apathy is just one facet of a larger problem: people have stopped caring about each other. In North America, consumer culture and capitalist mindsets have heightened individualism within the population, resulting in the public majority only caring about issues when they themselves are directly impacted, and particularly when those impacts are too great of a disruption in their lives to ignore. We see it every day – from not returning their shopping carts, to calling in noise complaints when a neighbour’s children are playing in the front yard – people don’t go out of their way to care for their communities unless they have to.

Why is this happening? Most of us work either in offices or from home, and I’ve heard many people in my personal life complain that they’re too mentally exhausted after work to do anything but stay in and relax in front of the TV or TikTok. Getting outside and enjoying nature isn’t integrated into our daily lives anymore. Especially with most of our lives becoming digital – from communicating with friends to ordering groceries – people are avoiding the outside world at all costs, unconsciously or not.  

This is particularly dangerous for environmentalists and those involved in climate communications, like myself. We know that the bedrock of change is community action, and real improvements can only be made if people care enough to work together to find solutions. There are so many incredible environmental organizations across Canada doing important work for ecological conservation, but institutional change can only really take place when a large portion of the general public is loud and passionate enough to influence the status quo. With heightened individualism leading to more environmental apathy in recent years than ever before, it can be concerning to think about where we might be in 10, 20, 50 years if current attitudes prevail.

On that note, many of my own peers experience climate anxiety, characterized by feelings of stress and fear at the impacts of climate change on our environments. Climate anxiety isn’t necessarily the opposite of environmental apathy, though it may seem so at first glance. In fact, climate anxiety and environmental apathy can both lead to people distancing themselves from action: when people are uneasy at the thought of how climate change may affect human wellbeing, or feel guilty knowing they probably should do more, it’s very easy to want to avoid addressing these negative feelings and instead ignore the issue altogether. Doing this long enough can eventually reinforce a general, collective disinterest in environmental initiatives. Desensitization is another big causal factor of environmental apathy in today’s societal context.

Hope is not all lost! There’s a lot we can do to circumvent environmental apathy and crisis desensitization. The most effective environmental activism is still up for debate, but here are a few ways we can all contribute towards conserving our ecological landscapes:

Volunteering. This might seem obvious, but for good reason – in every city, there are sure to be environmental organizers coming up with creative ways to protect the natural land. This might include shoreline cleanups, fundraising, and advocating for policy change across public institutions. However, volunteer organizations can only flourish if people get involved and are willing to devote a few hours of their time to the cause.  

Get Vocal. Everyone’s online now, for better or for worse. The plus side is, advocacy is at your fingertips! By sharing environmental education resources or issues affecting your local community, you can influence those in your circles to get out there and make a difference. You don’t need a big following either; even just texting a few friends or family members to attend a fundraiser or park cleanup can make a big difference in your local community.

Support Local. If you have the means to do so, visit your local farmers market or go directly to the source: farms and agricultural centers in your area. This extends beyond food: for example, thrift or go to a local boutique instead of ordering from a fast-fashion company, or visit a local bookstore instead of Amazon or major book retailers that would have to ship the product to you.

Here’s a few local organizations in my city, Montreal, that I’ve come to love:

• UrbaNature: they organize local volunteer-led events such as cleanups and educational walks.

• Équiterre: a great resource if you’re interested in local policy advocacy and staying up-to-date with Canada’s response to the climate crisis. They also offer ways to get involved (sign petitions, participate in demonstrations, etc.).

• Indigenous Climate Action: they offer Indigenous knowledge systems as a way to understand how best to tackle the climate crisis.