We have 12 years to have a climate catastrophe.

Okay, 12 years from now my reproductive window is going to be pretty much closed.

And so it's this strange alignment between one biological clock and one planetary and political clock

that were one's urgency was making the other one feel all the more like a dilemma to act within.

This is Death, Sex, and Money.

The show from WNYC about the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more.

I'm Anna Seil.

I'm pumped for this rock.

Yeah, this is awesome. Can I carry something?

I met author and climate researcher Britt Rhaeg on a trailhead on the side of a two-lane road in the Santa Cruz mountains in California.

We'd asked her to take us to one of her favorite places to talk about her research into the mental health effects of climate change.

We're going into the Saratoga gap trail at the Casual Rock State Park.

It's a short hike. It has a flat plateau that we can set up from chairs on.

Britt has a PhD in science communications and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford.

She has a new book out called Generation Dread, Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis, which I really loved.

We all live on the same planet and are noticing different ways the changing climate is surrounding us.

But of course, each of our personal risks differ markedly depending on where we live and the amount of resources we and our communities have.

Britt and me, we've got a lot of power and access to resources comparatively.

I wanted to talk to Britt not about the effects of climate change on our physical environments, but on our psychology, which is what she researches.

Britt writes there's a pattern to how people incorporate climate threats.

Some experience mild climate anxiety, which might cause you to detach or become avoidant.

As it gets more severe, the anxiety can make it harder to function. What do I think about much else?

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