Record heat, rising sea levels, increasingly extreme weather and more are fueled by the man-made climate crisis.
It doesn’t seem like a good time to raise children or have them in the first place. But perhaps it still is, if we can combat fear with knowledge and hope.
I spoke with Bill Weir, CNN’s chief climate correspondent and host of the CNN original series “The Wonder List with Bill Weir,” about these topics and his new book, “Life as We Know It (Could Be): Stories of People, Climate, and Hope in a Changing World”, written as an open letter to his own children.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
David Alan: Are you fundamentally an optimist or pessimist by nature?
Bill Weir: Depends on the day. I find that when covering this beat, my mood is directly proportional to what I’m focused on. Some days it’s a firehose of peer-reviewed dread and just more signs of how many ways humanity is destroying the planet.
But the days when I focus on the problem solvers, the dreamers, the doers, the people who know there is a better future, (those days) heal the soul.
When I actually sat down to write this book, we were in a very dark situation on a national level. And I’ve found enough positive stories, seen enough momentum on the right path, that most days I now wake up with more wonder than concern.
The fight has just begun and much can be saved. And it’s worth saving a lot. This is the ethic that I am trying to transmit to my children: having a clear vision of the challenges, but full of courage and hope for solutions.
Alan: On the one hand, you wrote: “The United States of America that I knew and loved is gone… devoured from within by metastasized lies, fed by angry people in forgotten places.” On the other hand, you have intentionally had a child in recent years. What would you say to someone who feels conflicted about having a child now?
Weir: I would say we need all the help we can get. And if you believe your child will be a positive outcome for humanity, go for it. I think our basic purpose in life is to procreate. Nature wants replication and, hopefully, improvement for the next generation.
It’s a first world problem to think about whether or not you have children. It’s hard for people, and I completely understand the psychology around these kinds of things, because we still can’t really deal with the mental stress of climate change. We do not process through five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) as it relates to the climate to realize what we have lost. And we have to reach acceptance of what we need to build to survive and thrive.
There are family counselors who deal with parents who are going through this grief. They still want to expand their family (but) are very worried about what the future might bring. I think it’s a valid concern, and there was a time when I completely understood where these people were coming from. But I’m so happy my son is here. He gives me inspiration that I wouldn’t otherwise have. It gives me perspective. I guess I believe that humans can be a positive for the planet. And most people want to be, and it really comes down to the stories we tell ourselves.
Alan: Young people are worried about the climate. About 84% of 10,000 people aged 16 to 25 in 10 countries were moderately or extremely concerned about climate change, according to one study. 2021 research published in Lancet Planet Health. More than 50% in the study said they felt sad, anxious, angry, helpless, helpless and guilty about it. And more than 45% said their feelings about the topic negatively affect their daily life and functioning. You cite a similar study in your book. What would you say to these teenagers and young adults? Or what do you tell me, because your daughter is in that age group, right?
Weir: She is 20 years old. Well, to begin with, I apologize. We regret that our intended and unintended consequences have disrupted her future. They can’t take for granted the things I took for granted – air, water, temperature, how to build shelter, how to grow food – they can’t afford to ignore these things.
My dad used to tell me whenever I got in trouble, “I’m glad you’re tough.” And so I feel like we have to raise a generation of resilient kids and model for them what that looks like. We have to be constantly vigilant about unexpected and unnatural disasters. And we have to talk to each other in communities about these kinds of things.
I think a big reason for these spikes in climate anxiety in these polls is the result of us not talking about it. The result of adults not having honest conversations about what we are losing, what is worth saving, the decisions we have to make, because there are no easy decisions anymore. We have to make brutal calculations about what is worth saving and what is worth abandoning. I think it is only through these conversations that we move beyond the five stages of climate grief and reach their end, which is acceptance.
Alan: I love this detail about the birth of your son, River, that he was conceived in a lighthouse during the pandemic. It’s the perfect metaphor, a beacon of light, of hope in the darkness. To take this metaphor a little further, another characteristic of lighthouses is that they are built to withstand the worst of nature and are often isolated to the point that they need to be self-sufficient. Do you think self-reliance and fortitude are virtues that you think parents need to place greater emphasis on now?
Weir: Yes absolutely. My father was a bit of a misanthrope who loved to be alone. And he raised me with that John Muir romanticism about living in a cabin in the woods. But John Muir was using an ax made in a factory somewhere, by other people who didn’t have the luxury of going off the grid. We need everyone. We need all hands on deck these days.
In terms of teaching resilience and independence as a personality trait, I think this is vital. But I want my children to be connected to their communities and also civically involved. Know your power as citizens and consumers of conscience. Be the kind of neighbor who strengthens everyone around you, no matter what.
Alan: I also have two children, aged 12 and 16. And when I talk to them about the climate crisis, I find myself trying to pivot a little, to counteract the misfortune with optimism of reversing the course we’re on, of government action, scientific advances, stories of people making changes. How do we find that balance in daily conversations with our children, being honest but not desperate?
Weir: I’m trying to find that balance all the time. The best advice I ever received for leading a climate fight in this part of my life came from Mr. Rogers, who famously said that whenever he saw a scary event on television, his mother would tell him to “look for the helpers”; there are always helpers coming into the picture. And this book is dedicated to those who give aid, not just to the first responders who find themselves in these disaster zones, but to the countless people who live lives of quiet service and who lead us in a more positive direction.
The helpers lift me up – the idea that the same frontal lobes that built the problem as we exploded as a species, can solve it when we come together. There is so much that can be done. There is so much that can be saved.
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